Before You Begin to Pray

Before you stand for prayer there is a short checklist of 5 things you need to have. Here they are:

Step 1 – Make Your Wudu

This step is covered in detail in How to Perform Wudu?

Step 2 – Check to see if the time of prayer has arrived

Each of the five daily prayers has its own specified time in which it must be performed. Here are the general guidelines:

Fajr – before dawn
Dhur – at noon
Asr – in the afternoon
Maghrib – sunset
Isha – nightfall

The wisdom behind the prayers being spread throughout the day is so that Muslims are constantly reminded about Allah. These are opportunities for Muslims to seek forgiveness, increase our faith, and seek guidance.

Fortunately we have prayer timetables and smartphone apps that can tell us when it is time to pray. Use these tools to your advantage so you never miss a prayer.

Step 3 – Dress appropriately

Make sure to wear clothing that covers the necessary parts of your body. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed the men to cover from the naval to the knee. As for the women, he instructed them to cover their body except for her face and hands. This is known as the “awrah.”

Step 4 – Find a place to pray that is clean

It is very important to pray in a place that is generally clean. If it isn’t clean, you can use a carpet to cover the area you will be praying.

You can also pray on many different surfaces such as grass, sand, concrete, etc.

Step 5 – Face the Qibla

The Qibla is the direction the Kaaba is from your current location. Allah commanded us to face the Holy Kaaba in Makkah whenever we perform our prayers.