How many times must the Muslims pray each day?
The short answer is five times each day. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and very important to Muslims. Our word “prayer” translates to salat in Arabic. The five times per day is regulated somewhat, though the exact time can change each day “as the world turns.” The prayer times are based on the movement of the sun. Some Muslim communities publish “Prayer Schedules” to allow one to keep track of the times. Muslims also can subscribe to services that provide the exact times every day, or one can listen to radio announcements, or find the correct times in the newspaper each day. The prayer times are as follows, according to the Muslim Prayer Book, by Maulana Muhammad Ali (Lahore, Pakistan) and Salat, by Sheik Muhammad Ashraf (Lahore, Pakistan):
The morning prayer is called Fajr (Sadat al-Fajr). It is observed after dawn and before sunrise.
The early afternoon prayer is called Zuhr (Sadat al-Zuhr). It is observed when the sun begins to decline and its time extends until “the shadow of any stick or tree or wall reaches double its length.”
The late afternoon prayer is called ‘Asr (Sadat al-‘Asr). It is observed when the sun is about midway on its course to setting, and extends to a little before it actually sets.
The sunset prayer is called Maghrib (Sadat al-Maghrib). It is observed immediately after sunset.
The early night prayer is called ‘Isha (Sadat al-‘Isha). It is observed “when the red glow in the west disappears (one and a half hour after sunset). Its time extends to midnight, but in any case it must be observed before going to bed.
NOTE: When a person is sick or on a journey, or when there is rain, the early afternoon and the late afternoon prayers may be said in conjunction, and so also the sunset and early night prayers.
Besides the five obligatory prayers, there are two optional prayers: Salat al-Lail, the late night prayer, observed after midnight after being refreshed with sleep; and Salat al-Dzuha, which may be observed at about breakfast time.
PREPARATION FOR PRAYERS WUDU – ABLUTION
Before saying prayers it is necessary that the garments and every part of the body should be clean. The parts of the body which are generally exposed should be washed with clean water. Under normal circumstances, the parts of the body to be cleaned would include, in this order: hands, mouth, nostrils, face (ear-to-ear, forehead-to-chin), right arm then left, head and ears, the feet—right foot first.
When a person is sick or when it is impossible to obtain water or it is likely to do harm, tayammum will do in place of ablution. It is performed by striking both hands on pure earth or stone, wall, or anything containing pure dust, and then passing the hands over the face and the back of the hands, etc.
When the person performs ablution and then puts on socks, it is not necessary to remove them for the next ablutions. The wet hands may be passed over them. This is a one day only advantage. It applies to shoes also, but one removes shoes at mosque. Thus, travelers at airports or train stations or bus stations have options concerning prayers and ablutions that are helpful. (Muslim 2:529, 2:530, 2:537 et al)
After a happy interlude with one’s mate, a full body wash (ghusl) is required. Some imams say it is required after completing a menstrual cycle. There are other times when it is suggested, e.g., whenever a person has converted to Islam.
There are exceptions in Islam to some of the rules, and I only showed a few.
Doesn’t Europe Have Immigration Problems Concerning Islam?
Yes. The Leftist governments of Europe sometime after World War II found themselves in a position in which their new doctrine of liberalism that included more extensive use of abortion, contraceptives, casual sex, and avoidance of marriage, combined with their disdain for traditional families and Christianity, provided them with unintended consequences. Their reality proof and logic-proof dogmas never allowed them to make the simple calculation that cutting down on births also lead to a decline in European population a little later. Dumb? You bet. So, one day they discovered that in a few years they would have very few workers available to pay for their very expensive and very liberal social programs.
So, did they reverse their view on marriage and childbirth? No, that was the antithesis of their doctrine; they had to so something else. Therefore, they decided to go to the Arab states and decide on an agreement in which the Arab states would prioritize Europe economically and also provide the necessary workers. Europe, for their part, agreed to support only Arab causes in regional and international disputes and in the United Nations. The set of agreements were known as the Euro Arab Dialogues.
And one wonders why our European friends do not support us in the Middle East?
As for the immigration problems, let me quote Tony Blankly, Washington Times. Although he wrote the following article in 2005, it explains quite a lot. (Highlighting mine---hjs) [It is also from his book The West's Last Chance.]
“The threat of the radical Islamists taking over Europe is every bit as great to the United States as was the threat of the Nazis taking over Europe in the 1940s. We cannot afford to lose Europe. We cannot afford to see Europe transformed into a launching pad for Islamist jihad. While we in the United States and Europe have vast resources for protecting ourselves, we have thought ourselves into a position of near impotence. Beyond the growing number of Muslims committed to terrorism is the threat from the Islamic Diaspora's growing cultural and religious assertiveness -- particularly in largely secular Europe, where Muslim cultural assimilation has not occurred. It is beginning to dawn on Europeans that the combination of a shrinking ethnic-European population and an expanding, culturally assertive Muslim population might lead to the fall of Western civilization in Europe within a century. This phenomenon, called Eurabia, is viewed with growing fatalism both in Europe and in America. Such fatalism, however, is premature. Last November, an Islamist terrorist's butchering of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who had made a movie revealing abuse of Muslim women, aroused deep fears in Holland and across the Continent. The public anger, which included the burning of mosques in traditionally tolerant Holland, is evidence that the European instinct for survival has not been fully extinguished. But that survival instinct is threatened by the multiculturalism and political correctness advocated in media and academe -- and institutionalized in national and European Union laws and regulations for half a century. Europe's effort at cultural tolerance since World War II slowly morphed into a surprisingly deep self-loathing of Western culture that denied the instinct for cultural and national self-defense. If Europe doesn't rise to the challenge, Eurabia will come to pass. Then Europe will cease to be an American ally and instead become a base of operations (as she already is to a small degree) against us.”
NOTE: The self-loathing of Western culture is not a European phenomenon; it is typical liberal thought. Political correctness and multiculturalism also are taking their toll in Europe—again a liberal doctrine. It is a poison discovered too late by the Europeans. Can we extinguish it here? When you ask the Left about it, they think it’s great! They think everyone should taste it—like Jim Jones!
HJS
The short answer is five times each day. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and very important to Muslims. Our word “prayer” translates to salat in Arabic. The five times per day is regulated somewhat, though the exact time can change each day “as the world turns.” The prayer times are based on the movement of the sun. Some Muslim communities publish “Prayer Schedules” to allow one to keep track of the times. Muslims also can subscribe to services that provide the exact times every day, or one can listen to radio announcements, or find the correct times in the newspaper each day. The prayer times are as follows, according to the Muslim Prayer Book, by Maulana Muhammad Ali (Lahore, Pakistan) and Salat, by Sheik Muhammad Ashraf (Lahore, Pakistan):
The morning prayer is called Fajr (Sadat al-Fajr). It is observed after dawn and before sunrise.
The early afternoon prayer is called Zuhr (Sadat al-Zuhr). It is observed when the sun begins to decline and its time extends until “the shadow of any stick or tree or wall reaches double its length.”
The late afternoon prayer is called ‘Asr (Sadat al-‘Asr). It is observed when the sun is about midway on its course to setting, and extends to a little before it actually sets.
The sunset prayer is called Maghrib (Sadat al-Maghrib). It is observed immediately after sunset.
The early night prayer is called ‘Isha (Sadat al-‘Isha). It is observed “when the red glow in the west disappears (one and a half hour after sunset). Its time extends to midnight, but in any case it must be observed before going to bed.
NOTE: When a person is sick or on a journey, or when there is rain, the early afternoon and the late afternoon prayers may be said in conjunction, and so also the sunset and early night prayers.
Besides the five obligatory prayers, there are two optional prayers: Salat al-Lail, the late night prayer, observed after midnight after being refreshed with sleep; and Salat al-Dzuha, which may be observed at about breakfast time.
PREPARATION FOR PRAYERS WUDU – ABLUTION
Before saying prayers it is necessary that the garments and every part of the body should be clean. The parts of the body which are generally exposed should be washed with clean water. Under normal circumstances, the parts of the body to be cleaned would include, in this order: hands, mouth, nostrils, face (ear-to-ear, forehead-to-chin), right arm then left, head and ears, the feet—right foot first.
When a person is sick or when it is impossible to obtain water or it is likely to do harm, tayammum will do in place of ablution. It is performed by striking both hands on pure earth or stone, wall, or anything containing pure dust, and then passing the hands over the face and the back of the hands, etc.
When the person performs ablution and then puts on socks, it is not necessary to remove them for the next ablutions. The wet hands may be passed over them. This is a one day only advantage. It applies to shoes also, but one removes shoes at mosque. Thus, travelers at airports or train stations or bus stations have options concerning prayers and ablutions that are helpful. (Muslim 2:529, 2:530, 2:537 et al)
After a happy interlude with one’s mate, a full body wash (ghusl) is required. Some imams say it is required after completing a menstrual cycle. There are other times when it is suggested, e.g., whenever a person has converted to Islam.
There are exceptions in Islam to some of the rules, and I only showed a few.
Doesn’t Europe Have Immigration Problems Concerning Islam?
Yes. The Leftist governments of Europe sometime after World War II found themselves in a position in which their new doctrine of liberalism that included more extensive use of abortion, contraceptives, casual sex, and avoidance of marriage, combined with their disdain for traditional families and Christianity, provided them with unintended consequences. Their reality proof and logic-proof dogmas never allowed them to make the simple calculation that cutting down on births also lead to a decline in European population a little later. Dumb? You bet. So, one day they discovered that in a few years they would have very few workers available to pay for their very expensive and very liberal social programs.
So, did they reverse their view on marriage and childbirth? No, that was the antithesis of their doctrine; they had to so something else. Therefore, they decided to go to the Arab states and decide on an agreement in which the Arab states would prioritize Europe economically and also provide the necessary workers. Europe, for their part, agreed to support only Arab causes in regional and international disputes and in the United Nations. The set of agreements were known as the Euro Arab Dialogues.
And one wonders why our European friends do not support us in the Middle East?
As for the immigration problems, let me quote Tony Blankly, Washington Times. Although he wrote the following article in 2005, it explains quite a lot. (Highlighting mine---hjs) [It is also from his book The West's Last Chance.]
“The threat of the radical Islamists taking over Europe is every bit as great to the United States as was the threat of the Nazis taking over Europe in the 1940s. We cannot afford to lose Europe. We cannot afford to see Europe transformed into a launching pad for Islamist jihad. While we in the United States and Europe have vast resources for protecting ourselves, we have thought ourselves into a position of near impotence. Beyond the growing number of Muslims committed to terrorism is the threat from the Islamic Diaspora's growing cultural and religious assertiveness -- particularly in largely secular Europe, where Muslim cultural assimilation has not occurred. It is beginning to dawn on Europeans that the combination of a shrinking ethnic-European population and an expanding, culturally assertive Muslim population might lead to the fall of Western civilization in Europe within a century. This phenomenon, called Eurabia, is viewed with growing fatalism both in Europe and in America. Such fatalism, however, is premature. Last November, an Islamist terrorist's butchering of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who had made a movie revealing abuse of Muslim women, aroused deep fears in Holland and across the Continent. The public anger, which included the burning of mosques in traditionally tolerant Holland, is evidence that the European instinct for survival has not been fully extinguished. But that survival instinct is threatened by the multiculturalism and political correctness advocated in media and academe -- and institutionalized in national and European Union laws and regulations for half a century. Europe's effort at cultural tolerance since World War II slowly morphed into a surprisingly deep self-loathing of Western culture that denied the instinct for cultural and national self-defense. If Europe doesn't rise to the challenge, Eurabia will come to pass. Then Europe will cease to be an American ally and instead become a base of operations (as she already is to a small degree) against us.”
NOTE: The self-loathing of Western culture is not a European phenomenon; it is typical liberal thought. Political correctness and multiculturalism also are taking their toll in Europe—again a liberal doctrine. It is a poison discovered too late by the Europeans. Can we extinguish it here? When you ask the Left about it, they think it’s great! They think everyone should taste it—like Jim Jones!
HJS
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