A question about muslim prayers?

Question

I have some questions about muslim beliefs....About prayers to be specific. While praying, do muslims only recite memorized materials, or do you also add your own words at some point in the prayer?

Also, why do the prayer rituals have to be so complex and formal??? It seems to me that things such as what direction the praying person is facing and when they last had a bath was would be insignificant to God. What is the reasoning behind these traditions in Islam, and what do muslims believe will happen if you pray without following these rules?(if you pray while standing, driving, talking on the phone etc.) Is it actually considered a sin in Islam if a person doesn't face the right direction or do the washing thing before they start praying?

Thanks for any answers!

Answer 1

well,u have to recite a few memorised materials(verses of the Quran,etc),and at one point during prayer,you can add ur own words



the direction muslim pray at points toward the Kaabah (in Mecca),and if ur unsure of which direction to pray towards (for example,you're on a plane,traveling etc),you can just pray at what direction u think is best....



during prayer,we have to be focused on the prayer...so you cant really pray while doing other things (but you can just recite a prayer while doing other things,but not actually PRAY)



now the washing part,(Wuduu),is important,because we must be clean since we are going to be facing Allah...



now,it's not a SIN if ur not facing the right direction,or u forgot to wash...Allah is forgiving,and like i said before,if ur unsure of which direction to face,just pray at whatever direction...but washing (wuduu) is important,and if you forgot to wash,u must wash and re-do the prayer...

Answer 2

Well at the beginning of the prayer we must mention the first Surah (chapter) of the Qur'an and then after reciting the first Surah, we can recite any other surah (that we have memorized).



I know, for me anyways, that at the end of prayer you can say any dua (prayer) you want. I think it has to be in arabic though.



You're prayer doesn't count if you purposefully don't face the proper direction and if you don't do "the washing thing." God knows best as to why it is this way but for me I think there's a certain direction we face so that we all unite together as Muslims and there's organization. When two Muslims are praying together, if there was no direction to face, they could quarrel over where it would be best to face and also they're kind of separate because they each have their own way. As for washing, when Muslims pray, they aren't just praying but they are standing and talking to the Lord of the worlds and He deserves our respect. It's like if you were to meet the president, normally you wouldn't go unshowered for weeks! Well our Lord is much more important than anything in this world so we must give Him His due respect.



Muslims are actually supposed to pray while standing and if they can't stand they can sit, if they can't sit, they can lie down. I just think that if you're "multitasking" by praying and talking on the phone, it's very disrespecting to God. Each prayer was prescribed so that we remember our Lord and that we may reform ourselves.



May God forgive me for anything wrong I may have said.

God knows best.

Peace

Answer 3

I will be happy to answer your questions as best as I can.



While praying, do muslims only recite memorized materials, or do you also add your own words at some point in the prayer?

We recite only memorized materials as in the mosque everybody prays together so we have to end it together. However, u can pray in ur own words after the ritual parayer is over.



As for the direction, no mater where u r u have 2 face the Ka'aba in Mecca. If in the mosque one person says I want to face east and another says I want 2 face west there will be disputes. It waon't be as peaceful with their ego clashes.



In Islam, cleanliness is next to holiness. We have to take a head shower if we had sex. Women after completing their menstrual cycle have 2 take a head shower. Daily baths r also recommended. Before we pray the ritual prayers 5 times a day, we have 2 wash our hands, face, nose ears, rinse mouth, wash hands till elbows and wash feet x3. This is so that u don't enter the mosque dirty. U have 2 remove footwear.



If u let a fart out during prayer it invalidates ur prayer and u have 2 go back and do the ritual washing(wudu) and begin ur prayer from the start. This is so that people do not disturb others prayers with their farts. So if they have 2 do all that again it will make them control their fart while praying.



U can pray while driving but not the ritual (5 prayers).

Answer 4

salam aleikom, how r u buddy?

in islam praying is a direct relation between God and man, and it really gives you some spirtual power and faith, of course u will not feel it if u donot pray.

we muslims have five main prayers at the day at diffrent times, u have to do these prayers, and also u can pray at any time out of these five prayers but it is optional.

all the prayers have a preserved outlines that make all muslims pray by the same way for example all muslims have to look at the kaaba (which is the most holy place for muslims and it lies in mekka city of saudia arabia).

for your first question,all muslims r ristrected to quran at the beagining of the prayer, u can read what ever u want of the quran after reading al fateha(the first surra of the quran). then during the remaining duration of the prayer u can ask god whatever u want with any language or any form.

for ur second question, :) no in fact they r not complex for muslims u might see that they r complex because u r not muslim and so u will not know the meaning of the words u r saying or the moves u r doing.

and for the direction thing , as i mentioned to u bro that we look at the kaaba.and for the bathing thing :D......we just wash our hands,mouth,nose,head,arms and legs without even getting off ur clothes.

and as i told u before that these prayers every muslim prepares himself before the prayer that he is going to stand infront of God and under his sight and feels how humble and small r u while u r standing in front of him. u feel how week ur and how powerfull is God . and it is disrespect to pray or talk on the cell phone etc while u r meeting God. but for the standing or sitting thing , we should stand and perform the other moves but if someone couldnot stand due to pain or somthing he can sit.



and i am sorry for my bad english :) i am from egypt and i was going tohave english course soon:D

i hope that i had put some meanings to u, and sorry for making my reply too long..God bless u brother and good bye... salam aleikom :)

Answer 5

Assallam mu alaikom warah matullah hi ta'ala wabarakatuh. Alhamdulillah. U are a Muslim. It is very easy to learn and do the prayer. Yes. Of course b4 U do your prayer, U need to wash yourself -Wuthu' -with water or Tayamum - with fine surface of desert sand or any of its kind ( provided there is no water available or limited, otherwise U need to use water from pond, river or sea if available). Perform your prayer five times a day ( Please get a Muslim friend to demonstrate the sequence of performing the prayer). It is an advantage if U know the direction towards Mecca, However, if U do not know, U can still perform your prayer just following your instinct - the actual kiblat is your heart, doesn't matter where U face, if U do not know, But if U know the direction, U have to face to the direction. U do not have to know Arabic language, as long as U know the surah (Al Quran) and able to recite Fatihah - Alhamdulila hi rab bil aalamin till the end, U can perform your prayer. However, it is an advantage if U could speak and understand Arabic Language. Wabillah hi taufik wal hidayat. Wassallam mu alaikom warah matullah hi ta'ala wabarakatuh.

Answer 6

There is a confusion about the term "prayer" when used in Islamic context.

Word prayer is translation of two different Arabic words.

Salat: Ritual prayer

Dua: Supplication.



For Salat all the the conditions that you mentioned applies.

Purity is required because you are approaching God with a specific rituals. It affect our whole social psychology and approach toward religion.

taking direction of Holy Kaaba actually is acknowledgment of God's choice as a specific place of blessing.





In supplication, you just speak to God and ask for everything that you want from Him.

Supplication is extremely important in Islam. However, it is not pillar of Islam.

Answer 7

The answer regarding prayer has been better answered than I can do off the top of my head.



However you mention the direction of prayer. Even Christians do this.

Most old churches are built in the shape of a cross with the top facing towards Jerusalem, even more modern churches not in this shape have the alter at the eastern end of the church so that the congregation which faces the alter are facing Jerusalem when they pray.

Answer 8

I think you are mixing up two things:



1-The ritual of prayer in Islam which is 5 times a day.



2-Praying to God meaning speaking to Him.





The first is a ritual dictated by God and we should perform it as directed. There are certain times during these prayers were you can speak to God freely.



As for number 2 were you can ask/speak to God anytime.









Piety does not lie in turning your face to East or West: Piety lies in believing in God, the Last Day and the angels, the Scriptures and the prophets, and disbursing your wealth out of love for God among your kin and the orphans, the wayfarers and mendicants, freeing the slaves, observing your devotional obligations, and in paying the zakat and fulfilling a pledge you have given, and being patient in hardship, adversity, and times of peril.



These are the men who affirm the truth, and they are those who follow the straight path. (177)



177:2

Answer 9

How are you brother,



its a very simple answer i understand for u is that for ex: we can only wear the shirt on the upper part of the body and not below that and pants on the below part and not on the upper.



What if we change there normal direction will it be okay ??



No, then so Islam is and should only be followed by what is being said in the Holy Quran & Hadith Sarif and nothing beyond that.



I'm Awfully sorry if im being rude to you.



take care.

Answer 10

one has to clean when praying in islam and their are some prayers that the prophet read that we can read in the prayer to make it better from normal, but we can pray n ask what we want in the ritual prayer but praising God has to be from his Quality that he posseses n thus we read any portion of quran we remember n praise him with the right way



no it is not a sin to pray in any other direction, the one direction is for not having confrontation with fellow muslims



yes cleanliness is important for the prayers to be accepted, one should be in a clean state when praying



peace

Answer 11

a lot of rituals in Islam might seem strange to others..

but a lot is about self discipline and if you have the ability to keep it..

Prayers are a means of relaxing, meditation, oneness with God, it has a lot of movement which can be like yoga and helpful to the body...

chanting seems to relax and focus ones mind also and clear of evil thoughts..



Also when you know every other muslim is facing the same direction, doing the exact same thing.. it is sort of a communal brotherhood feeling.. a feeling of belonging.

Also to keep innovations out.. there is strict structure to praying, otherwise, everyone will go about willynilly pu tting in all their likes, dislikes, and it will evolve into something else.. Isnt that how paganism happens, when people deviate from the norm and start different things in faith?



also washing has always been a part of all faiths.. if you look into other faiths. there is washing..

its good to be of a clean body while facing and talking to your God, but also its spiritual.. to be clean of mind also.. .. and here again.. since in Islam we pray 5 times a day.. this means we obviously wash 5 times a day.. (or less if we have kept ourselves clean from the prior ritual washing).. so we obviously will be healthier if we are clean and not dirty..

In every muslim home, you'll see a bidet or spray hose or some means of cleaning ones backside after using the toilet..

do you see this in western toilets? no.. they just dry wipe (or if no toilet paper, just get up and go) after releiving themselves... think about it.. gross.. here in most muslim countries.. we always wash our privates with water after using the toilet.. This is a must..

this helps keep down STD's (sexually transmitted diseases) keeps all sorts of diseases at bay..



God in his infinate wisdom has a reason behind all that he orders us to do..sometimes we just dont realize it..



oh, I almost forgot.. there is nothing in Islam that prevents you from making your own little private prayer to God.. its called Duah... after the end of the ritual prayers. you'll see some people just remaining seated and holding their hands up to their faces.. they are saying individual prayers for their own personal needs to God.. there are some duas that are pre said.. I mean.. already worded for you to memorize.. but you can just say what is on your mind to God in your own way.. He will hear you no matter what.. Islam isnt that strict.. God wants you to call to him...

Answer 12

God is beautiful and loves beauties.

when you want to meet a person you put your good cloths and clean yourself

when you want to speak to God it's not better that you be clean?

when we (muslims) pray we wash our face and hands before that and put our best cloths because God is the best

and we stand in special direction to Mecca.IT'S GOOD because all of muslims pray in the same direction.

God bless you

Answer 13

is in order to show respect to allah. and they do it gladlly , i live on a house full of muslims and educate me on that matter. a pray is not an obligation or something that you have to do. they have learn to enjoy it and they like to do it the way they learned. also you are wrong about the washing is not entirely accurate you can use sand if you like to remove impurities not just water.

Answer 14

I agree with all 11'' Answers,,,,,true

Answer 15

we prey towards the kubba in mecca, madina.

and yes you must follow the preyer precicely

you must be clean when u prey.

you must wash parts of ur body before u prey in order to purefy your self that is called the wu-du

hers is an helpfull site

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdgELfR5oTI

peace

Answer 16

Well. Thanx for the Q abt Islam. And too nunerous is the wisdom and significance of the Islamic prayer to put it down here with permitted space. But here is just a little:



There is two parts in prayer. The most important is the Lord praises , and of seeking of His Guidance, which is the opening chapter of the Holy Quran comprising of 7 verses called Al-Fatiha, which is mandatory in the prayers. Here it is and its transliteration and translation:



Bismillah Hirrahmaan Nirraheem (In the name of Allah, the Merciful, The Compassionate.

1) Alhamdu Lillaahi Rabbil Aalameen (All Praises is due to Allah alone, the Lord of the world’s)

2) Ar Rahmaan Nirraheem (The Merciful, The Compassionate)

3) Maaliki Yaumiddeen (The Master of the day of Judgement)

4) Iyyaaka Na’budhu waIyyaaka Nasthayeen (You do we worship, and You do we seek for help)

5) Ihdinashirothal Musthakeem (Show us the right Path)

6) Shirothalladhina An Amtha Alaihim (The path of those whom You favoured)

7) Ghairil Ma’dhuubi Alaihim Wala’ddhaleen (Neither the path of those who

earned Your wrath, nor the path of those who went astray)

Ameen (Amen)



And the second part is the recitation from anyother chapters or parts of a certain long chapter, of the Quran. The main objective of this is part is just recitation, revision and memorising of the Quran.

It is believed that for those who can't memorise other chapters of the Quran to be read in the prayers, just reciting the Al- Fatiha would suffice.



We muslims just observe the prayers exactly as how prophet Muhammad (pbuh) showed us as to how to do our prayers, and there is no complexity involved.



Muslims are told to face to the direction of the Ka'aba (if they are only sure of the direction) during the prayers. This is mainly to emphasise and stress the importance of Unity among the Muslims and for some other spiritual reason which I had to omit due to inadequate space.



Islam means Submission to God's will and commandments. We muslims were told to follow certain ways in performing the prayers as we were commanded. Doing as we will is not submitting to God's will. It will be a trangression.



Islam gives importance to personal hygiene and spiritual cleanliness of the body and soul. When a person is deemed ceremonially unclean, like after indulging in sexual activities or an intended ejaculation is when a muslim is required to take a complete body bath b4 performing any religious activity. Other than that just cleaning of certain body parts in the name of 'wudhu' is sufficient.



The significance of the 'wudhu' is equal to 'batism' in Christianity but with a different interpretation as follows:



Baptism in Christianity and Islam

In Christianity, baptism is the ceremony of sprinkling somebody with water, or, according to some sects, immersing somebody with water so as to wash off the original sin,(The Inherited Sin) once and for all, in order to be accepted as a member of the Church. After baptism, one is regarded cleansed of all sins, past, present and future and not anymore bound by the Laws of Moses, for Jesus had died for their sins, and thus are guaranteed of Salvation.



The Muslims too, though disagree with the doctrine of original sin, and the sense in which Baptism is being practiced in the church, do indeed have similar practices of Baptism by symbolically washing away of sins in the name of ablution. However, the interpretation for the Islamic way of Baptism (Ablution) differs. Islamically, all are born, clean, sinless and blameless, but with the natural instinct to sin. Only when the child grows up and reaches the age of puberty (maturity),able to distinguish good from the evil, are his deeds accountable for. But the gravest and deadliest, and the unforgivable of sins, in the sight of Allah (God), is association of partners with HIM. Other than this HE will forgive sins to whomever HE wills.



Let us see what Jesus(pbuh) has to say about sins:

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands, to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes, and be thrown into hell, where, "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched". Everyone will be salted with fire"(Mark 9 v 43-49)



Anyway, such was the gravity of sins, even that is natural to mankind, in the teachings of Jesus Christ (pbuh).The question is can we fully avoid such sins for they are all sins natural and inevitable, together with sins like backbiting, slandering, hearing and talking evils, which is part and parcel of life?. So, what a Muslim (One who has fully submitted to the will of God) does is, while learning to abstain from such sins in the course of life, putting all his hope in the Mercy of Allah (God),performs the ablution in the following manner, not once in a lifetime, but each time he faces the Lord in his prayers, or before he does some other acts of worship, like the reading of the Holy Quran, etc.. which requires cleansing, as commanded:



Begins with saying,

"Bismillah Hirrahmaan Nirraheem"(In The name of Allah (God),the Merciful, The Compassionate.

1) Says his intentions to perform the ablution (baptism) by heart

2) Washes his hands (Symbolically washes off sins done by hands).

3) Washes (Gurgles) his mouth (symbolic washing off sins done by mouth).

4) Washes interior of the nose ( washes off dirt in the nose)

5) Washes the face which includes the eyes (washing off sins done by eyes)

6) Washes arms to the elbow (washes off parts exposed to pollution)

7) Wiping head with wet hands (washes off parts exposed to pollution)

8) Cleanse the ear lobes inside out (symbolic washing of sins done by ears).

9) Finally washes both the legs (cleanse off dirt and sins done by legs).



For such was the practice of the people and the prophets of old, as ordained by God.



"He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the Altar and put water in it for washing, and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the Tent Of Meeting or approached the Altar, as the Lord commanded Moses” (Exodus 40 v 30-32).