What is “Salah?”
SALAH is one of the five pillars of Islam, and the only thing that distinguishes a Muslim from all other people.
God has made the five daily prayers obligatory upon all men, women, and children who have reached puberty, and are of sane mind and body. Each time we stand before our creator, the one God without any partners, He cleanses our sins. A man once asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) why we pray five times a day. The prophet asked the man– if you came to five streams, and bathed in each one, would you not be clean? The man replied, Yes [you would be clean]. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) then said that each time we pray, God cleanses us of the minor sins we’ve committed so far in our day.
The FIVE prayers are:
FAJR—consists of 2 units, and is done before the sun rises.
DHUR—consists of 4 units, and is done in the early afternoon.
‘ASR—consists of 4 units, and is done in the later half of the afternoon, but before the sky looks like an explosion of tangerines.
MAGHRIB—consists of 3 units, and is done at sunset.
ISHA—consists of 4 units and is done at night (between 8 and 10 8 p.m.).
