How to pray.

d8vyh

New Member
Salaam.
I am very new to Islam and keen to learn how to pray correctly. I have a small book on how to perform salah, but as i do not speak arabic i am finding it very difficult indeed. Is it permissable to use english? Does anyone have any tips or ideas to help me.
Thanks.
 

virtualeye

Tamed Brother
WaAlaikumussalaam,

Till you learn the arabic prayer, you can pray in English. But you should learn arabic on emergency basis. :)

There are many many reverts in the west who learnt Arabic very very fluent. Did you hear brother Siraj Wahaj, Yusuf Estes and Bilal Philips?

Wasslaam,
VE
 

sirine

New Member
salamou3alaikom,

A friend who converted to islam some weeks ago asked me the same question because for him to pray in arabic without knowing the meaning doesnt help him to perform the salah. I was sure the reply to this question was prayer has to be performed in arabic and only in that language but i had no real sources, so i looked for it and i will give you what i found.

This was the question: Dear scholars, As-Salamu `alaykum. I recently spent some time with a Muslim family in which the husband was a convert to Islam. I was surprised to find that he hasn’t missed a single Prayer (Salah) in 5 years, ma sha’ Allah. However, he told me that he doesn’t do the prayers in Arabic, instead, completely in English. Is this allowed? Jazakum Allah khayran.

The reply:

Bear in mind that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Prayer is the cornerstone of religion…” Prayer stands as the second pillar of Islam after testifying that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His final Messenger. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Prayer, paying the Zakah, making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting the month of Ramadan.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)

Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

“Prayer (the word as commonly understood by the English speaking people) is of two kinds in Islam: One is the formal daily act of worship called Salah, and the other is the more informal act of remembrance of Allah through supplications, entreaties, meditations, etc. The second is variously called dhikr and du`a’. Whereas the formal act of worship (i.e., Salah, including the obligatory, recommended and the optional) must be said in Arabic, which is the language of the Qur’an, the informal prayers can be said in any language of one’s choice.

The formal worship (Salah) is governed by strict rules; the informal prayer (du`a’ and dhikr, etc.) is, however, fairly flexible. As regards Salah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) repeatedly told the faithful: “Perform Salah as you have seen me performing.” In conformity with this dictum, whenever people embraced Islam he insisted that they stay with him in order to learn the rules of Salah. Thanks to his great example, which was diligently followed by his companions who carefully passed on the rules of Salah to the posterity, there is extraordinary uniformity in the manner of performing Salah among Muslims throughout the world.

Salah must be performed as specifically taught and demonstrated by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). It must be done in Arabic. Du`a’ and dhikr, however, can be said in any language. It is, therefore, imperative on every new Muslim to learn the rules of Salah; it is the priority of priorities for him/her to do so. It must also be equally stressed that every Muslim who facilitates the conversion of anyone to Islam has an obligation to acquaint him/her with the basic rules of Salah.

It is understandable that it is rather difficult for those who do not speak Arabic to say all of the Salah in Arabic. But since Islam is flexible, the new Muslim can go about learning it in a gradual way. S/He can first start saying some tasbihs (formulas of glorification of Allah) such as the words of subhana Allah, al-hamdu lillah, la ilaha illla Allaha, etc.), followed by memorizing surat al-Fatihah, and later on the last short surahs of the Qur’an (surahs 112, 113, 114). All of this, in sha’ Allah (Allah willing), should be fairly easy for him/her with Allah’s help and with a bit of help from fellow Muslims.

salamo3alaikom i hope you have an answer to your question

May Allah help you and guide you
 

br_rizwan

Slave of Almighty
Asalam- o - Alailkum ,
I Think U got the links from brothers n sisters..

Welcome to Ummah..

May ALlah show us straigth path,
 
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