4.3.4

Salah & Its Significance

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Salah

Salah means daily prayers. Prayer is important for Muslims as it strengthens their relationship with Allah. It’s also one of their daily duties.

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Times for prayer

  • Sunni Muslims pray 5 times a day whilst Shia Muslims pray three times a day.
  • The times for prayer are based on the hours of sunrise and sunset. So they will change daily and quite drastically between summer and winter.
  • Muslim communities will produce timetables so followers know when to pray throughout the day. This could mean that lessons in school or university are interrupted or work meetings are scheduled around the different times to pray.
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The daily prayers

  • Fajr - just before sunrise
  • Dhuhr (other spellings include Zuhr, Duhr, etc.) - just after midday
  • Asr - afternoon
  • Maghrib - just after sunset
  • Isha - night
  • Shi'a Muslims combine Dhuhr and Asr, as well as Maghrib and Isha, thereby reducing the overall number of daily prayers to three.
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Features of Muslim Salah

  • Muslims always wash before they pray and pray in the direction of Mecca.
  • In Mosques, men and women pray separately and this prayer is led by the Imam.
  • The daily prayers are composed of set recitations and action sequences known as Rak’ah.
  • Jummah prayer happens on Friday at midday and is a special time.
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Community

  • Prayer brings the Muslim community together in unified worship. Wherever a Muslim goes he/she will recognise the prayers and will feel part of the community.

Jump to other topics

1Buddhism

2Christianity

3Catholicism (Christianity)

4Islam

5Judaism

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