One of the five pillars of Islam is prayer, prayer, through which a person engages in dialogue with the Almighty. Reading it, a Muslim pays tribute to devotion to Allah. The performance of prayer is obligatory for all believers. Without it, a person loses touch with God, commits a sin for which, according to the canons of Islam, he will be severely punished on Judgment Day.
It is necessary to read the prayer five times a day at a strictly set time for him. Wherever a person is, no matter what is busy, he is obliged to perform a prayer. Especially important is the morning prayer. Fajr, as it is also called Muslims, has tremendous power. Its fulfillment is equivalent to a prayer that a person would read all night.
What time do morning prayers be performed?
Fajr prayer should be performed in the early morning, when a white band appears on the horizon, and the sun has not yet risen. It is during this period of time that the faithful Muslims pray to Allah. It is desirable that a person begins a sacred action 20-30 minutes before sunrise. In Muslim countries, people can navigate by the azan coming from the mosque. A person living in other places is more difficult. How do you know when to perform fajr prayer? The time of its completion can be determined by a special calendar or schedule called rusnam.
Some Muslims use mobile applications for this purpose, for example, “Namaz Time ® Muslim Toolbox”. It will help to know when to start a prayer, and will determine the qibla, the direction in which the holy Kaaba is located.
Beyond the Arctic Circle, where day and night last longer than usual, it is more difficult for people to determine the time at which the prayer should be performed. Fajr, however, must be performed. Muslims recommend focusing on time in Mecca or in a nearby country, where the change of day and night occurs in the usual rhythm. The latter option is preferred.
What is the power of fajr prayer?
People who regularly pray to Allah before sunrise show deep patience and true faith. Indeed, for the sake of performing fajra, it is necessary to rise before dawn every day, and not to sleep in a sweet sleep, succumbing to the entreaties of shaitan. This is the first test that morning has prepared for man, and he must be passed with dignity.
The people who do not succumb to the shaitan, reciting the prayer on time, the Almighty will protect from adversity and problems until the next day. In addition, they will succeed in eternal life, because the observance of namaz will be reckoned to all on Judgment Day.
This prayer in Islam has tremendous power, because on the threshold of dawn, the angels of the departing night and the coming day are next to the person who are closely watching him. Allah will then ask them what his slave did. The angels of the night will answer that, leaving, they saw him praying, and the angels of the coming day will say that they also found him at prayer.
Stories of the Sahaba who performed the morning prayer in spite of everything
Fajr requires strict observance, no matter what the circumstances in a person’s life. In those distant times, when the Prophet Muhammad was still alive, people performed real deeds in the name of faith. They performed namaz against all odds.
The Sahaba, the companions of the messenger of the Almighty, performed the morning fajra even when they were wounded. No misfortune could stop them. Thus, an outstanding statesman Umar ibn al-Khattab read a prayer, bleeding after an assassination attempt. He did not even think of giving up service to Allah.
And the companion of the Prophet Muhammad Abbad was struck by an arrow in the instant of prayer. He pulled her out of his body and continued to pray. The enemy shot him several more times, but this did not stop Abbad.
Sada ibn Rabi, who was also seriously wounded, died performing a prayer in a tent specially built for the holy action.
Preparation for Salah: Ablution
Prayer in Islam requires some preparation. Before transgressing to any prayer, be it fajr, zuhr, asr, maghrib or isha, the Muslim is ordered to perform a ritual bath. In Islam, it is called voodoo.
The faithful Muslim man washes his hands (brushes), his face, caresses his mouth and nose. He performs every action three times. Then the believer washes each hand with water to the elbow: first the right, then the left. After that, he rubs his head. With a wet hand, a Muslim runs from her forehead to the back of her head. Then he wipes his ears inside and out. After washing the feet to the ankles, the believer should complete the bath with the words of remembrance of Allah.
During the prayer, Islam orders men to cover the body from the navel to the knees. The rules for women are more stringent. It should be completely covered. The only exceptions are the face and hands. Under no circumstances should tight-fitting or dirty clothes be worn. The body of a person, his vestments and the place of prayer must be clean. If voodoo is not enough, you need to complete a complete bath of the body (ghusl).
Fajr: Rakatas and terms
Each of the five prayers consists of rak'ahs. So they call one cycle of prayer, which is repeated two to four times. The amount depends on what kind of prayer a Muslim performs. Each rakat includes a certain sequence of actions. Depending on the type of prayer, it may vary slightly.
Let us consider what fajr consists of, how many rak'ahs a believer must fulfill and how to make them correctly. The morning prayer consists of only two successive cycles of prayer.
Some of the actions included in them bear specific names that came to us from the Arabic language. The following is a list of the most necessary concepts that a believer should know:
- niyat - the intention to perform namaz;
- takbir - the exaltation of Allah (the words "Allahu Akbar" meaning "Allah is Great");
- kyam - standing;
- sajjda - kneeling pose or bow to the ground;
- dua - prayer;
- taslim - salutation, the final part of prayer.
Now we will consider both cycles of prayer fajr. How to read a prayer, people who have just recently converted to Islam will ask? In addition to following the sequence of actions, it is necessary to monitor the pronunciation of words. Of course, a true Muslim not only pronounces them correctly, but also puts his soul into them.
The first rakat of fajr prayer
The first cycle of prayer begins with niyat in kyyam position. The believer expresses the intention mentally, mentioning in it the name of namaz.
Then the Muslim should raise his hands at ear level, touch the toes with his thumbs and point his palms towards the qibla. Being in this position, he should pronounce takbir. It must be spoken aloud, and it is not necessary to do so in full voice. In Islam, one can glorify Allah in a whisper, but so that the believer hears himself.
Then he covers the left with the palm of his right hand, clutching his wrist with his little finger and thumb, lowers his hands just below the navel and reads the first Surah of the Qur'an Al-Fatiha. If desired, the Muslim can additionally speak another chapter of scripture.
This is followed by a bow, straightening, and sajda. Then the Muslim unbends his back, remaining in a kneeling position, prostrates himself before Allah again and straightens up again. This is the end of the rak'ah.
The second rakat of fajr prayer
The cycles included in the morning prayer (fajr) are performed differently. In the second rak'ah, it is not necessary to pronounce niyat. The Muslim becomes in the position of kyyam, folding his hands on his chest, as in the first cycle, begins to pronounce the Surah al-Fatiha.
Then he makes two earthly obeisances and sits on his feet, shifted to the right. In this position, the du-At-tahiyat should be pronounced.
At the end of the prayer, the Muslim pronounces taslim. He pronounces it twice, turning his head first towards the right shoulder, then the left.
This ends the namaz. Fajr is performed by both men and women. However, they perform it in different ways.
How do women pray in the morning?
When performing the first rakah, a woman should keep her hands at shoulder level, while a man raises them to the ears.
She makes a bow bow not as deep as a man, and she folds her hands while reading the Al-Fatih sura on her chest, and not below the navel.
The rules for the performance of the Fajr prayer prayer for women are slightly different from men's. In addition to them, a Muslim woman should know that it is forbidden to commit it during menstruation (hyde) or postpartum hemorrhage (nifas). Only having cleansed of filth can she perform the prayer correctly, otherwise the woman will become a sinner.
What to do to the person who missed the morning prayer?
It is worth touching on another important issue. What to do a Muslim who missed the morning prayer? In such a situation, the reason why he made such a mistake should be taken into account. From whether she is respectful or not, further actions of a person depend. For example, if a Muslim set an alarm clock, he specially went to bed early, but in spite of all his actions he overslept, he can fulfill his duty to the Almighty in any free time, since, in fact, he is not to blame.
However, if the reason was disrespectful, then the rules are different. Prayer of fajra should be performed as quickly as possible, but not in those time periods when prayer is strictly forbidden.
When is prayer impossible?
There are several such intervals during the day during which it is extremely undesirable to pray. These include periods
- after reading the morning prayer and before sunrise;
- within 15 minutes after dawn, until the star rises in the sky to the height of one spear;
- when it is at its zenith;
- after reading the asra (afternoon prayer) before sunset.
At any other time, it is possible to compensate for the namaz, but it is better not to neglect the sacred action, because the pre-dawn prayer, read in time, in which the person put his heart and soul, as the Prophet Muhammad said, is better than the whole world, more significant than everything that fills it. A Muslim who performs fajr at sunrise will not go to hell, but will be awarded the great rewards that Allah will give him.