Slice of Lemon Presents: Can I Get a A-Men? The Basics of Learning How to Pray
Posted on November 16, 2009
Filed Under Daily, How to Pray, Redesign | 18 Comments
Today, we are launching a new section on this site called “How to Pray,” a step-by-step guide on how to perform the ritual obligatory prayer called “Salah” that Muslims all over the world do at least five times a day.
(The really good ones add a few extras here and there.)
When I was in elementary school, I made a poster for my bff Tina, on which I drew stick figures, and wrote little captions teaching her how to pray. No, I wasn’t trying to convert her, she was already Muslim. Since then, I’ve built on the poster idea, which eventually turned into pages and pages of loose-leaf notebook paper with more illustrations, and more information, which eventually found a home on my first personal computer. Over the years, I’ve made improvements to this book/pamphlet/informational guide of mine, and up until about two years ago, bff Tina was the only one who had a copy. (Okay, more like six copies because she always got the up-to-date versions to add to her collection.)
About two years ago, I revamped the entire thing after meeting a new convert to Islam. I figured a step-by-step guide on how to pray (along with a bag full of halal candy) would help her along as she began her journey into this beautiful religion. This time, I scrapped the stick figures, and finally gave it a name. It’s now officially called, “Can I get a A-Men? The Basics of Learning How to Pray,” and yup, you guessed it, bff Tina also got her own (updated) copy.
I think it’s probably important to mention that bff Tina has known how to pray for a long time, but because she’s just awesome like that, she continues to accept my random gifts, and lets me use her as a guinea pig to do other (not so safe) and random things, like give her a haircut, and come way too close to her face with large and small barreled curling irons, sharp mascara wands, and blue eyeshadow, among many other things.
Also, it’s imperative to know that she must always be called, “bff Tina” because that’s just how things work when you’ve been best friends with someone since you were 7.
If you can’t dig it, take it up with the Universe.
I can’t be blamed for The Laws of Best Friendship.
Naturally, prayer is essential to every religion, but what makes prayer in Islam so unique is that it’s done so often during the day, and does not necessarily need to be done in a religious place of worship (i.e. a temple, mosque, church, etc.) though it is highly recommended that men go to the mosque as often as possible.
Even with the addition of the “How to Pray” section, we still consider this site “non-denominational.” The new section is for anyone who wants to learn how to pray, to better understand the prayer they already know, or to read about what exactly Muslims are saying when they stand, bow, and prostrate in prayer. Maybe it’s just because I have an inquisitive personality, but if I weren’t Muslim myself, I would definitely want to know what was going on.
One of our neighbors is Buddhist (we think) and he often burns incense while he meditates. He also sings and chants in these really harmonic, and rhythmic patterns, and I’m about this close to knocking on his door one day to ask him what he’s saying — and also why he always worships in his boxers.
(He leaves the blinds and door open. Not my fault.)
The How to Pray section on Slice of Lemon.com launches today, and we’ve added a link to it in the header for easy navigation.
It’s also been divided into two parts for easy reading. The first part can be read section by section, and the second part is the complete how-to.
As always, anything in pink is a link — unless of course it’s a picture of me in a pink hijab. In that case, don’t click on my head because that could very well be a direct link to my brain, and once you’re in there, I cannot promise that you’ll find your way out with all your limbs, eyelashes, or teeth intact.
Also, if you cherish your nasal cavity in any way whatsoever, you should probably stay away.
It’s a scary place in there, what can I say?
Since we were in the mood to add something new, we also added a link at the top of the header for the archives, so you don’t have to dig around the site so much when searching for older posts.
I am really excited about launching this new section of the site, and I hope that everyone who browses through here will benefit somehow. In college, one of my roommates had a little poster of Tweety Bird hanging next to her bed with this prayer on it:
Dear Lord,
So far today, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over indulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But, in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help.
That prayer makes me smile, and it also reminds me how important Salah really is. It’s that extra help “from above” that you often need to get through your day — it’s a time to recharge your batteries, and count your blessings. It’s a few minutes of solace during a busy day that so quickly turns into night, and though it’s not uncommon for many of us to sometimes feel like prayer is a burden, it truly is the opposite. Those few minutes with God, scattered throughout each day help us to remember what our purpose is. We are forced to pause from focusing on ourselves, and others to reevaluate what we’ve done so far, and how we’re going to tackle what’s ahead.
And though I timidly admit that I can be among the “many” who sometimes groan when it’s time to stand up in worship, I truly feel blessed that this is something required of me.
It essentially keeps me safe from myself. And Self can be a dangerous counterpart sometimes.
Comments
18 Responses to “Slice of Lemon Presents: Can I Get a A-Men? The Basics of Learning How to Pray”
Leave a Reply
Sabrina on YouTube: Indian parathas: the easiest recipe ever
On Newlyweds-Dish: How are you making a change in your community?
“Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient times” - Nobel laureate, Tawakul Karman, in response to journalists who said her hijab was not proportionate with her level of intellect and education.
Want to know the truth about Shari'ah and how this Islamic law effects the U.S. Constitution? Watch the videos below.
On Newlyweds-Dish: How are you making a change in your community?
“Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient times” - Nobel laureate, Tawakul Karman, in response to journalists who said her hijab was not proportionate with her level of intellect and education.
Want to know the truth about Shari'ah and how this Islamic law effects the U.S. Constitution? Watch the videos below.
“Man in the early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what I’m wearing represents the highest level of thought and civilization that man has achieved, and is not regressive. It’s the removal of clothes again that is regressive back to ancient times” - Nobel laureate, Tawakul Karman, in response to journalists who said her hijab was not proportionate with her level of intellect and education.
Want to know the truth about Shari'ah and how this Islamic law effects the U.S. Constitution? Watch the videos below.
Want to know the truth about Shari'ah and how this Islamic law effects the U.S. Constitution? Watch the videos below.
© 2008 - 2011 Slice of Lemon.com. All Rights Reserved. Hosted by Liquid Web
MashAllah, love the new addition, and i think u nailed it by saying it’s not just for those of us who already know, but will help those who are curious about what it is we are doing and the meaning behind it…BTW can we start a side project making a coffee table book of stick figure drawing instructing how to pray? I’ve seen so many of these over the years. I can contribute a Shia version plus a few Sunni versions, one with pink stick figure hijabi!
Hi Sab, love the How to Pray section! Do include the stick figures for illustrations. It’ll be easier to understand and will look cute too!
Whose we?
I’m trying to teach my 6 yr old to pray.. she knows most of it cept the tashahud. i had been looking for kids books to teach her the meaning but i guess now i can just use this site coz she loves using the computer. Thank you May Allah bless u for ur efforts.
Brilliant as always. I love the site as well. Have sent it to everyone of my contacts. May Allah guide you to what is pleasing to Him. How’s the Man?? Lots of love to him. Yawar Uncle & Sammu Khala
I think this a nice imitative for beginners.
initiative*
This is a really good idea Sabrina, especially since you get quite a few people on your website
Sabrina – you are awesome! A long time ago I read a book called “Road to Mecca” by Muhammad Asad , its a must read,this is an excerpt from the novel explaining why muslims pray the way they do:
‘Do you really believe that God expects you to show Him your respect by repeated bowing and kneeling and prostration? Might it not be better only to look into oneself and to pray to Him in stillness of one’s heart? Why all these movements of your body?’
As soon as I uttered these words I felt remorse, for I had not intended to injure the old man’s religious feelings. But the hajji did not appear in the least offended. He smiled with his toothless mouth and replied:
‘How else then should we worship God? Did He not create both, soul and body, together? And this being so, should man not pray with his body as well as with his soul?
Listen, I will tell you why we Muslims pray as we pray. We turn toward the Kaaba, God’s holy temple in Mecca, knowing that the faces of all Muslims, wherever they may be, are turned to it in prayer, and that we are like one body, with Him as the centre of our thoughts.
First we stand upright and recite from the Holy Koran, remembering that it is His Word, given to man that he may be upright and steadfast in life. Then we say, “God is the Greatest,” reminding ourselves that no one deserves to be worshipped but Him; and bow down deep because we honour Him above all, and praise His power and glory.
Thereafter we prostrate ourselves on our foreheads because we feel that we are but dust and nothingness before Him, and that He is our Creator and Sustainer on high.
Then we lift our faces from the ground and remain sitting, praying that He forgive us our sins and bestow His grace upon us, and guide us aright, and give us health and sustenance.
Then we again prostrate ourselves on the ground and touch the dust with our foreheads before the might and the glory of the One.
After that, we remain sitting and pray that He bless the Prophet Muhammad who brought His message to us, just as He blessed the earlier Prophets; and that He bless us as well, and all those who follow the right guidance; and we ask Him to give us of the food of this world and of the good of the world to come.
In the end we turn our heads to the right and to the left, saying “Peace and the grace of God be upon you” – and thus greet all who are righteous, wherever they may be.
‘It was thus that our Prophet used to pray and taught his followers to pray for all times, so that they might willingly surrender themselves to God – which is what Islam means – and so be at peace with Him and with their own destiny.’
The old man did not, of course, use these exactly these words, but this was their meaning, and this is how I remember them. Years later I realized that with his simple explaination the hajji had opened to me the first door to Islam; but even then, long before any thougt that Islam might become my own faith entered my mind, I began to feel an unwonted humility whenever I saw, as I often did, a man standing barefoot on his prayer rug, or on a straw mat, or on the bare earth, with his arms folded over his chest and his head lowered, entirely submerged within himself, oblivious of what was going on around him, whether it was in a mosque or on the sidewalk of a busy street: a man at peace with himself.
You’ve hit the nail on the head… fantastic! Thank you!
Absolutely love it! I do not pray YET, but during Ramadan I really did tried to learn all the surah’s you have to know.. but now Ramadan is gone and so is my motivation. Maybe this will help.
Jazakallahu Khayran.
Great initiative.
It’s always great to refresh on the How-to-Pray element.
Salaam. Great blog, Sabrina. And your tutorial is very nice too.
Very comprehensive and practical, I especially love the tip with regard to praying at work…exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thank you Sabrina.
excellent initiative sabrina! subhanallah!
also, just wanted to say to fatima: that’s a beautiful excerpt, thanks for sharing
Fatima: I can’t believe you posted that; I came to the comments section to do the exact same thing! I have the book on my bedside table as I am re-reading it. Its an engrossing book and he writes so eloquently about a world that has disappeared.
In all my years of being taught prayer from childhood, I found the focus was always the movements. It wasn’t until much, much later (in my late twenties!!) that I fully realized the mental part of it. They way I pray before I read this is nothing like what I do now.
When I teach my 7 yr old son to pray now, I’m so much more concerned with him connecting with what he’s saying as set forth in the M. Asad’s explanation, than praying all five prayers, for now.
Its worth noting here also that his translation of the Quran is the most spiritual and beautiful one (IMHO), and is called, “The Message of the Quran”.
Where do they offer a place to pray at Tysons?? I’ve often times found myself in that predicament there.
Hi Lauren. This is from an e-mail I got about the prayer area at Tysons. Hope it helps!
PRAYER AREA AT TYSONS:
As you enter the mall area coming out from Nordstrom on the main level there is an alley to your right hand side that has signs for “Security, Elevators and Restrooms”. Go into that alley and down all the way till you see the Elevators on your right hand side. (You’ll pass the Restrooms on your right and security office on your left.) Directly across from the Elevators is an area underneath the stairs behind the glass wall where there is ample room to pray even with a small congregation. Currently there you will see some extra furniture and other small items laying around, please ignore that.
You will probably need the prayer rug or something to put there for prostration. Currently there is marble flooring and no carpet in this area.
(You may also ask the information desk as to the location of the prayer area and/or security office and they’ll provide you directions to it)
Please be considerate and not leave any trash and any other items behind which cause any problems for the cleaning crew of the mall.
Qibla Direction:
If you are behind the glass wall area and facing the Elevators. Turn to your right about 30 degrees and that is the location of the Qibla. http://www.qiblalocator.com
WUDU INSTRUCTIONS (prohibited acts):
There are restrooms close by the prayer area. It is very important that we DO NOT WASH OUR FEET in the sinks there. We must make Masah. Regardless of the weather (winter/summer), we must abstain from putting our feet in the sink as this is a public mall restroom and federal health regulations prohibits this act of placing feet in the sinks for any reason. We don’t want to lose this place due to our non-conformance with Federal and Mall regulations.
Some people may not understand these restrictions, in which case it becomes incumbent upon us to remind them politely if we see them violating these rules in the restroom area. It is our duty to remind the person that due to his/her actions in violating this rule, all local Muslims may suffer at his/her hands by losing the place of prayer in Tysons Mall.
It is natural to have some water spill on the sink counter while washing our arms, hence it is very important that once you wipe your face and hands with the paper-towels, please use it to clean/wipe the area around the sink. It is better to grab a few paper towels ahead of time and keep them with you while making wudu, because once you leave the sink to go get paper-towel, someone else might take your place and have a very bad impression of you. This is a courteous act in which others looking at the Muslims making wudu will have respect for our action. Please repeat this action after each person makes wudu, even if you have someone behind you who will be using the sink for the same purpose. So, the cleanest sink in that restroom should be the one you have just made wudu in because you have just wiped it down. Cleanliness is half of Iman, and all this should become second nature to us. I would also go the extra mile of wiping down someone else’s place of wudu next to us in case they forgot or didn’t pay attention to it.