been left for the individual to give vent to his own feelings before the great Maker of the universe. As regards the time and mode of prayer, the following directions will be sufficient for the information of the ordinary reader.
Times of prayer.
The saying of prayer is obligatory upon every Muslim, male or female, who has attained to the age of discretion. It is said five times a day as follows:—
- Ṣalát-ul-Fajr, or the morning prayer, is said after dawn and before sunrise.
- Ṣalát-uẓ-Ẓuhr, or the early afternoon prayer, is said when the sun begins to decline, and its time extends till the next prayer.
- Ṣalát-ul-’Aṣr, or the late afternoon prayer, is said when the sun is about midway on its course to setting, and its time extends to a little before it actually sets.
- Ṣalát-ul-Maghrib, or the sunset prayer, is said immediately after the sun sets.
- Ṣalát-ul-'Ishá, or the early night prayer, is said when the red glow in the west disappears, and its time extends to midnight. But it must be said before going to bed.
Note 1.—When a person is sick, or on a journey (or in case of rain, when the prayer is said in congregation in a mosque), the early afternoon and the late afternoon prayers may be said in conjunction, and so also the sunset and early night prayers. In the case of conjunction the sunnats may be dropped.
Note 2.—Besides these five obligatory prayers there are two optional ones. The first of these is the Ṣalát-ul-lail, the tahajjud, or the late night prayer, which is said after midnight, after being refreshed with sleep, and before dawn. This prayer is specially recommended in the Holy Qur-án. The other is known as the Ṣalát-uḍ-Ḍuhá, and it may be said at about breakfast-time. This is the time at which the two ’Íd prayers are said.
Note 3.—The service on Friday takes the place of the early afternoon prayer.
Preparation for prayer.
Before saying prayers it is necessary to wash those parts of the body which are generally exposed. This is called wuḍú, or ablution. The ablution is performed thus:—
- The hands are cleansed, washing them up to the wrists.
- Then the mouth is cleansed by means of a tooth-brush or simply with water.
- Then the nose is cleansed within the nostrils with water.
- Then the face is washed.
- Then the right arm, and after that the left arm, is washed up to the elbow.
- The head is then wiped over with wet hands, the three fingers between the little finger and the thumb of both hands being joined together.
- The feet are then washed up to the ankles, the right foot first and the left after.
But if there are socks on, and they have been put on after performing an ablution, it is not necessary to take them off: the wet hands may be passed over them. The same practice may be resorted to in case the boots are on, but it would be more decent to take off the boots when going into a mosque. It is, however, necessary that the socks be taken off and the feet washed about once in every twenty-four hours.
