2 Rakah

●When one wants to recite Qur'an, one should these two beforehand:

1) Aaozu billa hi minasshaitan-nir-rajeem

2) Bismillaa hirrahmaan nirraheem

●Take Wazu before offering prayer

●Niyyat: to make ur mind for the prayer

I am reciting two sunnah of fajar in the name of Allah by facing towards Kabba for almighty Allah

Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory to You, O Allah, and Yours is the praise. And blessed is Your Name, and exalted is Your Majesty. And there is no deity to be worshipped but You	Subhaana   ka’lla   hu’mma  waa  bi hamdlika wa-ta baara  kasmuka  wa ta' aalaa  jad-duka wa laa ilaaha   ghairuka
I seek Allah's protection from Satan who is accursed.	Aaozu billa hi minas shaitaa-nir-rajeem
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, most Merciful	Bismillaa hirrahmaa nirraheem
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all that exists( the whole unervise)	Alhamdu  lillahi  rabbil- aalameen
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful	Ar-rahmaa-nir-raheem
Master(lord) of (the Day of Judgment)	Maliki (yaum-mid-deen)
You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help	Iyyaka   na’budu   wa iyyaka   nasta-‘een
Guide us to the Straight Way	ihdinas  siraatal  mustaqeem
The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace	Siraa-tal  lazina  ana mta   alai him
Not the way of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray	Ghairil  maghdubi  alaihim wa lad-daaleen
Aameen (Oh Allah accept)	Aameen
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, most Merciful	Bismillaa hirrahmaa nirraheem
By the time Verily	Wal asr
man is in a state of loss indeed	innal  insana  la fi  Khussr
Except those that believe and do righteous good deeds, and exhort each otherr to follow the truth, and exhort each other to observe patience	illal lazi na,‘ aamanu,  wa  amilu  salihatee wata waa sau bil  haqe, wata waa sau bis sabr
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great	Subhana rabbi-yal Azeem Subhana rabbi-yal Azeem Subhana rabbi-yal Azeem
Allah hears those who praise Him	Sami-a Allaa  hu liman  hamidah
Praise is due to our Lord	Rabbanaa wa la-kal-hamd
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High Glory be to my Lord, the Most High Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
My Lord forgive me	Rabbigh  fir li
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, most Merciful	Bismillaa hirrahmaa nirraheem
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all that exists( the whole unervise)	Alhamdu  lillahi  rabbil- aalameen
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful	Ar-rahmaa-nir-raheem
Master(lord) of (the Day of Judgment)	Maliki (yaum-mid-deen)
You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help	Iyyaka   na’budu   wa iyyaka   nasta-‘een
Guide us to the Straight Way	ihdinas  siraatal  mustaqeem
The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace	Siraa-tal  lazina  ana mta   alai him
Not the way of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray	Ghairil  maghdubi  alaihim wa lad-daaleen
Aameen(Oh Allah accept)	Aameen
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, most Merciful	Bismillaa hirrahmaa nirraheem
Say, He is Allah, the One	Qulhu   walla hu   ahad
Allah, Allah is Eternal,	Allah  hus  samad,
He begets not, nor was He begotten	Lamiyalid  walam  yulad
And there is none equal or comparable to Him	walam  yakul-lahhu  kufuwan  ahad
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great	Subhana rabbi-yal Azeem Subhana rabbi-yal Azeem Subhana rabbi-yal Azeem
Allah hears those who praise Him	Sami-a Allaa  hu liman  hamidah
Praise is due to our Lord	Rabbanaa wa la-kal-hamd
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High Glory be to my Lord, the Most High Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
My Lord forgive me	Rabbigh  fir li
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High	Subhana rabbi-yal aa-la
Allah is the Greatest	Allaahu akbar
All compliments, all physical prayer and all monetary worship are for Allah, Peace be upon you, Oh Prophet, and Allah's mercy and blessings, Peace be on us and on all righteous slaves of Allah	Attahiyyaatu  lillaahi  was-salawaatu  wat-tayyibaat(u), ‘Assalamu ‘Alaika ‘Ayyu han-na biyyu Wa rahmatul-laahi  Wa barkaatuh(u) Assalaamu  'alainaa  wa'alaa  'ibaadil-  laa his-  saali-heen
I bear witness that no one is worthy of worship except Allah And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger	Ash hadu  al-  la ila ha   illa llahu wa ash hadu  an-na  muhammadan ab-duhu  warasuluh
Oh Allah, send grace and honour on Muhammad and On the family and true followers of Muhammad just as you sent Grace and Honour on Ibrahim and on the family and true followers of Ibrahim Surely, you are praiseworthy, the Great.	Darood: Not part of Qur’an, part of prayer Allah humma  Sali aala  muhammad(in) wa aala  aali  muhammad(in), kama sal-lita  aala  ibraheem(a) wa-aala  aali  ibraheem(a) innaka  Hameedum  Majeed.
Oh Allah, send your blessing on Muhammad and the true followers of Muhammad, just as you sent blessings on Ibrahim and his true followers Surely, you are praiseworthy, the Great.	Allah huma  barik   alla muhammad(in), wa aala  aali  muhammad(in), kama  barakta  aala  ibraheem(a) wa aala   aali  ibraheem(a) innaka   Hameedum   Majeed
Oh Lord, make me and my children keep up prayers, Our Lord, accept our prayer, Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and all the Believers on the Day of Judgement	Rab-bij  alnee   muqeemas-  salati   wa min  zur-ri-yatee  rab-bana  wata qabal  dua, rabba nagh  firlee   wali waali   day-ya wa lil   mu-mineena   yawma   yaqumul   hisab
Peace & Blessings from Allah be upon you	Asslamu ‘alaikum wa rahma-tullaah
Peace & Blessings from Allah be upon you	Asslamu ‘alaikum wa rahma-tullaah

How to Improve our Daily Prayers (1)

How to improve and benefit from our Salaat: 

Today we have indeed come to treat the Prayer (Salah) as something insignificant in our lives. Very often we hear our elders say, "I will start praying when the time comes." Others, specially the younger Muslims, do not find much comfort, and joy in their Prayers. Due to our treatment of Prayer as a burden, our love and passion for the Prayer has vanished. Our hearts have become hardened, and we have become a depressed and defeated people. As a result, many are searching for 'cures and remedies' to the distress in our lives, through any means available, but are unable to find any because they have ignored the greatest medicine - Salah!

If we look deep into our daily lives and diagnose the causes of our spiritual, social and psychological illnesses, we will realize that probably something as uplifting, revolutionary, and empowering as Salah is missing. If we, the youth, realize the potential role of Prayer in changing our lives and as a constant source of hope, we would regret missing even a single Salah.

The Role of Salah in Changing our Lives 

The whole purpose of Salah is to be ever conscious of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Salah is indeed, one of the most comprehensive forms of Dhikr (Remembrance). No wonder, Allah states in a hadith qudsi: "Out of all the ways through which My servant gets closer to Me, Salah is the dearest to Me." (Bukhari) It is unfortunate, therefore, that we do not always take full advantage of this gift.

We may compare the obligatory Salah to bathing five times a day. If after such frequent bathing, your body still remains dirty, then we may question the usefulness and efficacy of such bathing. Similarly, if after regular observance of Prayer your heart remains unmoved and your morals remain corrupt, we may question the usefulness of your Prayer. If you enter into Salah and come out of it the same person, then you have missed something great.

How can you improve the quality of your Salah? Remember, first and foremost, that as soon as you commence your Salah, Shaytan makes it his duty to fill your mind with anything and everything but thoughts of Allah. He tries ceaselessly to disengage your mind and heart from such remembrance. It is this state of absentmindedness that destroys the quality of your Prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said: "God does not accept the Prayers of an individual until his heart achieves in it what his body has achieved." [Al-Ghazali in Ihya-Uloom ad-Deen]

The ability to concentrate in Prayer may be improved by undertaking adequate psychological, mental and physical preparation before the Prayer and by utilising certain techniques during the Prayer. This is not 'just a good thing' but an obligation on every Muslim male. According to the Prophet, if we knew the good in praying in jama'ah we would not miss it even if we had to crawl to the masjid!

1) Avoid praying in a state in which you are mentally and physically fatigued.
2) Keep your mind free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.
3) Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite.
4) If you do not understand Arabic learn the meaning of what you recite in your Prayer.
5) Remind yourself that engaging in Prayer offers you an opportunity to release yourself from the tensions of this world. The Prophet has said that in Prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes. Therefore cherish the opportunity to remove the burdens of this world from your shoulders.
6) Use your Prayer to remain focused on your mission in life, which is to bring your entire being to serve only Allah.
7) Use your Prayer as a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm for your life and activities.

Physical Preparation 

1) Fulfill all your personal needs before you commence your Prayer, for e.g., thirst, hunger and calls of nature.
2) Pray in a pure physical state. Perform your wudu with care and perfection.
3) Although the whole earth is a masjid or a place of worship, choose a place that is clean.
4) Pray in an environment free of noise and one where there is no distraction.
5) Adorn yourself with clean and respectable clothes.

 Performing Your Prayer

1) Assess your mental readiness for Prayer before its commencement, during the various postures, after each raka and ultimately at the end. 

2) Pray with humility both in your mental state and in your physical manner. Pray with hope and awe. 

3) Remind yourself continually that you are talking to the most important 'One' in your life - your Creator and Sustainer. He is in front of you. You are facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him. 

4) Commence your Prayer by seeking Allah's help and protection from the influences of Shaytan. 

5) Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physical environment to distract you. Anas related that the Prophet said: "My dear son, be sure to avoid being distracted during Prayer, for, to greater concentration and awareness. 

6) Adopt a whispering technique in your recitation in order to remain focused on what you are saying, and not distract others.

7) As you recite the Quran, translate it into your own language so that your attention is held. As you ponder upon the meaning and implications of the words, insha-Allah, all worldly thoughts will disappear.

8) On each occasion that you recite the Sifat or attributes of Allah in ruku (the form u go after standing is ruku after ruku u go to sajda) and sajda(in the prayer touching the ground when ur head touches, it’s called the form of sajda), consider how indebted you are and how grateful you should be to Allah and express your true emotions.


9) Utilize the occasion of sajda to make additional dua to Allah. The Prophet said: "A servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajda, so increase your supplication when in sajda." (Muslim.)


10) Make your Prayer of moderate duration so that you do not become physically and mentally tired but be aware that while in Prayer you must take your time praying.


11) Give due regard to the proper performance of all the physical postures. Do not 'peck like a crow' when doing rukus and sajdas as every posture in Salah, even the rests, are important.


12) Pray as if it is your last Prayer. The Messenger of God said: When you stand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your last...' (Ahmad)


13) Performing your prayer in a satisfactory manner should lead to a radical change in the way you lead your daily life. Salah must be as the Quran states: Surely, Salah prevents indecency and evil [al-Ankabut 29: 45.] Your improved and more disciplined life will in turn help the quality of your Prayer to increase even more. The two should continuously reinforce each other.

Remember, Salah is an obligation. Whether your heart is attentive or not, it must be performed. You cannot give up Prayer because to you it appears useless. There is punishment for a Prayer not performed satisfactorily. It will be a witness against you rather than a witness for you on the Day of Judgment. Don't give up the obligation but try to infuse it with the purpose it seeks to serve - remembrance of Allah. It is important to remember the saying of the Prophet (pbuh): "If a man performs two rakas of Salah without the distraction of any worldly thought, all his previous sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari.) 

Salaat

1. SALAAT

1) Salaat ul Fajar (Fajr) = Fajar prayer (the morning prayer)

2) Salaat ul Zuhur (Dohur) = Zohur prayer (the early afternoon prayer)

3) Salaat ul Assar (Asr) = Assar prayer (the late afternoon prayer)

4) Salaat ul Maghrib = Maghrib prayer (the sunset prayer)

5) Salaat ul Isha (Isha) = Eesha prayer (the night prayer)

  *Salaat Tahajjud

  *Salaat e Witar

  *Salaat e Istakhara : To ask Allah making some decision is good or not

2. DRESS

Before offering your Salah make sure that you are properly dressed. For men and boys, the dress should be such that it covers their bodies from the navel to the knees at least.

Women are required to cover themselves from head to foot, leaving only the face and hands uncovered. The dress for Salah must be clean and free from all filth.

During the monthly period women are free from obligation of Salah.

3. PLACE

Wherever a man might be, he can turn towards Allah in Salah and in devotion. The prophet has said, "The (whole of the) earth has been rendered for me a mosque: pure and clean". Preferably Salah is to be offered in jama'at (congregation). Whenever possible, one should pray facing the Ka'bah, Makkah. .

●When one wants to recite Qur’an, one should these two beforehand:

1) Aaozu billa hi minasshaitan-nir-rajeem

2) Bismillaa hirrahmaan nirraheem

●Take Wazu before offering prayer

●Niyyat: to make ur mind for the prayer

Stand erect facing qibla (The Ka'aba), and form the following intention in your mind:

I am reciting fajar prayer(salaat ul fajor) by facing towards Kabba for almighty Allah

"I intend to pray (2,3,4) rakaat (fard, sunnah, nafl) of salaatul (Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha) for Allah facing Al-Ka'abah"

4. SUNNAT / FARZ / NAFAL

1) Farz: Farz means "must do it" or "compulsory". These farz are directly gifted to Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.A.W) by Allah on Arsh(Sevength sky) during his visit to meet Allah over there. These are basically five prayers with total of 17 raka's of farz

2 farz in Fajr

4 Farz in Zuhur

4 Farz in Assr

3 Farz in maghrib

4 Farz in Eesha

that are necessary for every Muslim to perform. That's why i have sent u ways of performing these separately. U will see that way of performing Zuhur, Assr & Eesha farz are same as they all are 4 in number. It will help u.

2) Wajib: Wajib means "something not equal to Farz but is somehow necessary". U know that there are only 3 Wajib: Witar(name given to separate it from farz) in Isha prayer. No other prayer contains it. There is some difference in Witars(Wajib) at last Raka. As u have to say Takbeer(Allah hu Akbar) after saying Surah e Fatiha (Allham dullila hi rab...) & other surah (qul ho allah hu...),u have to take ur hands up near to ur shoulder like at start of ur prayer & then put ur hands on ur chest & u have to say Dua e Qanoot afterwards.

3) Sunnat: Sunnat means "Any prayer or action performed, told, & liked by Hazrat Muhammad  (S.A.A.W)".Sunnat are of two types.

a. .Maukda.(Prayer Which Prophet Hazrat Muhammad(S.A.A.W) performed on regular basis & liked his followers to perform it as well).
b. .Gair Maukda.(Prayer which Hazrat Muhammad(S.A.A.W) doesn’t perform on regular basis, so that it may not become compulsory on my followers).

4) Nafal: Nafal means "Any prayer which is not compulsory & if u will not perform it, u will not be considered sinful but if u will perform it u will be rewarded more by Allah". It totally depends on ur interest. How much u want Allah's attraction & love. Hope u know it as well.

Let's learn Prayer

Let's learn Wuzu (Ablution)

Islam, Slavery and the African - By Abdullah Hakim Quick