بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Salah (Arabic: صَلاة, lit. ‘prayer’), also known as namāz (Persian: نماز) and also spelt salat, solat, sholat; are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the qibla, the direction of the Kaaba for those praying, Muslims pray first standing and later kneeling or sitting on the ground, reciting from the Al-Quran and glorifying and praising Allah s.w.t. as they bow and prostrate themselves. Salah is composed of prescribed repetitive cycles of bows and prostrations, called rakaat (sing. rakaah). The number of rakaahs, also known as units of prayer, varies from prayer to prayer. Cleanliness, purity and wudu are prerequisites for performing the prayers.
The daily obligatory prayers collectively form the second of the five pillars in Islam, observed five times every day at prescribed times. These are Fajr (observed at dawn), Zuhr prayer (observed at noon), Asr (observed late in the afternoon), Maghrib (observed at dusk), and Isha (observed after sunset). Salah can be performed either in solitude or collectively (known as jama’ah). When performed in jama’ah, worshippers line up in parallel rows behind one person designated to lead the prayers. Special prayers are only performed in a congregation, such as Friday prayers and Eid prayers, including two sermons each.