Getting ready

How to pray, lesson 4 of 8

These lessons are shared with the GABLVM app. Where a lesson mentions the app, this site has the same tools: Prayer Times, Qibla Finder, and the Quran Player.

Wudu is done. Four quick things before you begin.

  1. Clothing. Men cover at least from the navel to the knees. Something over the shoulders is Sunnah, and one school requires it. A shirt and trousers are enough. Women cover everything except the face and hands. Most scholars include the feet, so wear socks or something long. A loose top, long skirt or trousers, and a scarf are enough. Whatever you wear should be clean.
  2. Place. Any clean floor. A prayer mat is common but not required. Pick a spot where nobody will walk in front of you.
  3. Direction. You face the Kaaba in Makkah. From North America that is roughly northeast. The Qibla screen in this app points you there. Once you know the direction in your own home, you do not need to check again.
  4. Time. Each prayer has a window. It opens at the time on the Times screen. Fajr closes at sunrise. Dhuhr closes when Asr begins. Maghrib closes when Isha begins. Pray Asr before the sun turns yellow. Pray Isha before the middle of the night. Pray any time inside the window. Earlier is usually better.

Then decide which prayer you are about to pray and how many units it has. You do not need to say it out loud. Knowing it in your mind is the intention, and the intention is what makes this a prayer.

Sources

Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are authenticated collections. Other hadith show their grading and who graded them.