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Introduction
In the name of Allah,
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 the Gracious, the Merciful. Indeed all praises and thanks
are due to Him. We humbly seek His help, His forgiveness and His guidance. We
seek refuge with Him from the evil in ourselves as well as the sins we commit.
No one can lead astray the one whom Allah guides and no one can guide the one
whom  Allah  has  left  astray.  I  bear  witness  that  there  is  no  divine  being  other
than  Allah  and  that  everything  besides  him  is  His  creation  which  is  subject  to
His All-Encompassing Almighty will for them. It is not for any of His creations
to be worshipped as He is the only One worthy of worship. And I bear witness
that Muhammad son of Abdullah was His final messenger sent to live and teach
mankind  the  peak  of  utopian  humanity  grounded  in  a  strong  deeply  personal
relationship with their Creator based on love, gratitude, and devout loyalty.
My very existence is in indebted to my beloved Lord and Master who guided
me after I had been living in darkness and confusion fooled by the illusion of the
material world. In retrospect reflecting upon my acceptance of Islam, I remember
the internal change all started by reading a translation of the Holy Qur’an. As my
inherent faith in God began to flourish with the help of a comprehensive doctrine,
my belief system was slowly being fixed through reading the Qur’an. But I can
truly say that my outward character as well as my feeling of closeness with God did
not strengthen until I began praying the 5 daily prayers and the optional prayers
which come with them. Since that time, I have read many books about Islamic
purity  and  prayer.  In  hindsight,  I  wish  there  would  have  been  a  better  clearer
book for me to read that would give me a simple but comprehensive approach to
learning the prayer. The goal of this book is to give a thorough introduction to
build a strong foundation for the daily prayers based on only authentic texts and
how our scholars understand them.
The goal of this book is to give the reader a solid foundation for the second
pillar of Islam. Even though it is an introduction, I did mention some differences
among the schools of Islamic Jurisprudence. This is to foster tolerance towards
other opinions. The general principle in one’s individual worship is to take the safer
opinion which is clearer from the Qur’an and Sunnah, although one may adopt
the opinion of the scholar they habitually follow. I pray that by this introduction
that Muslims may build a strong daily relationship with their Creator.
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  Arabic for «The God». It is referring to the One Creator who sent Prophets among mankind that
they may teach them His message. The word Allah is used by Muslims of all languages as well as
by Christian and Jewish Arabs.
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Difference between Prayer and Supplication
First  of  all  we  must  distinguish  between  Prayer  (Salah)  and  Supplication
(Du’aa)  in  Islam.  Most  Non-Muslims  don’t  see  a  difference  between  the  two.
The Prayer is an obligation for Muslims five times a day. It consists of a series of
movements, remembrances and supplications and must be done in accordance to
the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (May the
P
eace and
B
lessings of Allah
be
U
pon
H
im).
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  This is due to the famous Hadith
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 of the Prophet (pbuh),
“Pray as you have seen me praying.” (Bukhari 7246)
Supplication on the other hand is closer to the non-Muslim understanding of
Prayer.  It  usually  consists  of  supplicating  Allah’s  help,  guidance,  forgiveness,
etc... It can be done at any time and can be made up by the individual, although
it is best to use one of the hundreds of supplications which have been preserved
for us in the Sunnah
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 of the Prophet.

rayer is the main pillar of Islamic
worship  and  is  the  starting  point  for
becoming   a   true   servant   of   Allah.
This is because Islam is about a strong
spiritual    relationship    between    the
human  being  and  his  Creator.  In  the
Islamic Prayer, we find so many things
which   strengthen   ones   relationship
with  Allah.  One  becomes  a  Muslim
by  testifying  as  to  one’s  belief  in  the
divine  source  of  Islam  by  adopting
pure   monotheism   according   to   the
teachings  of  the  final  Messenger  of
God.  After  this  big  step  which  forms
the foundation of faith and worship, we
are taught to open up a daily channel of
personal contact with that divine source
of guidance. Prayer is so important to
being  a  Muslim  that  the  Prophet  said,
 “The covenant between us (God and His messenger) and them (the believers in
Islam) is the Prayer. So whoever doesn’t pray has without a doubt disbelieved
(in Islam).”
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 (Ahmad 5/356)
          The  Prayer  is  a  covenant  between  Allah  and  the  believers.  It  is  well
known   that   Almighty   Allah   has   sent   messengers   throughout   history   to
provide  the  believers  with  an  example  to  follow.  This  lifts  the  burden  of
figuring  out  the  best  way  to  worship  Allah.  So  of  course  the  covenant  of
Prayer  as  well  as  all  other  types  of  obligatory  worship  have  been  clearly  laid
out  in  the  teachings  of  Muhammad  (pbuh).  Allah  the  Gracious  tells  us-
“...And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad) the Qur’an,
that
you may then explain clearly to them what is sent down to them
 and that they
may be mindful of it.”(Qur’an 16:44)
“Surely, in the Messenger of Allah you have been given the best example for
those whose hope is in Allah for the Last Day and rememeber Allah often.”
(33:21)
“Whoever obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed God”(4:80)
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  There is no other form of worship in which the Prophet (pbuh) taught that the one who left it is a
disbeliever.
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Purity (Taharah)
Islam  is  the  only  religion
which    has    a    large    part
of    worship    dedicated    to
cleanliness and hygiene. Since
ritual and physical purity are
prerequisites  to  Prayer,  we
must  properly  understand  it
before  going  into  the  details
of  prayer.  Islam  teaches  that
purity  is  half  of  faith.  The
Prophet said,
“Purity is half of faith”      
          (Tirmidhi 3519)
Here  purity  is  referring
to  all  aspects  of  the  word
whether     it     be     physical,
spiritual,   or   mental.   When
talking    about    the    purity
required  in  order  to  perform
the    Prayer,    we    generally
focus
on
the
physical
meaning  although  the  mental
and spiritual aspects are there. For example- when one makes ablution or washes
as  a  result  of  following  the  message  of  God,  then  this  is  a  spiritual  builder  of
submission to Allah and His will for us. In other cases when one may be tired,
their mind was wandering or was busy in some daily activity then the purification
acts as a mental preparation for the Prayer.
Before talking about the different aspects of purity which enable one to pray, we
must remember that physical purification is a necessity which must be clearly
covered prior to performing the Prayer. The Prophet (pbuh) said,
“The  key
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  to  the  Prayer  is  purity,  saying  Allahu  Akbar  and  raising
one’s  hands  saying  Allahu  Akbar  is  its  beginning  point  and  saying  As-
salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah while turning one’s head to the right is its
finality.”(Tirmidhi 3)
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 That which allows one to enter the prayer as a key allows one to enter a locked door. Without that
key one cannot enter because the door is locked.
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The Ritual Ablution (Al-Wudoo’)
      Probably the most common form of Islamic purification is known as Wudoo.
Wudoo is a ritual ablution which consists of washing and rinsing the face, head,
and limbs with clean water like tap water. Pure water can be found in tap water
as well as natural water coming from the sky such as rain or snow or from the
earth such as lakes, rivers or oceans. Other than that if water was put into some
container we must look at its amount. The vast majority of scholars hold that if
it is less than 270 liters of pure water then it will become impure even if a small
impurity is mixed with it. If it is over 270 liters then the impurity must change the
taste, smell, or color of the water before it can be seen as impure or not allowed
to use for ablution.
What Necessitates Ablution?
Wudoo  is  the  ablution  from  the  “minor  impurity”.  The  Prophet  (pbuh)  has
taught us that there are some things which will cause a ritual impurity therefore
necessitate ablution as a precondition to performing the prayer. From them are-
1. Excretions of the anus, penis, or vagina.
This  includes  feces,  urine,  passing  gas,
blood,  sperm,  pre-seminal  fluid,  and
sexual    vaginal    secretions.    This    does
not   include   normal   vaginal   secretions
which   are   often   common.   This   is   due
to    the    authentic    Hadith    which    say’s,
“Allah does not accept the Prayer of one
who  has  excreted  an  impurity  until  he/
she performs ablution.”(Bukhari 135)
“A   man   complained   to   the   Prophet
(pbuh)  that  he  felt  as  though  he  may
have  passed  gas  during  the  Prayer  and
the  Prophet  told  him,  “Don’t  leave  until
you  hear  a  sound  or  smell  the  scent  (of
gas).”
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(Bukhari 137)

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