BISMILLAH IR-RAHMAN IR-RAHIM

In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful

THE PRAYER SERVICE

There are two forms of prayer. The first is personal prayer. For this there are no procedures; each person offers it as he needs and wishes. Such prayer is common to all people.

The second form of prayer is the prayer ordained by Allah for those who have accepted His service, who seek His will rather than their own. Its form follows His preference rather than our own. Such prayer has conditions and rules. The acceptance of these rules is an obligation upon people who recognize the right of Allah over His servants. For those who know, this "obligation" is the sweetest and most precious of gifts. May Allah place us all among the ones who realize this.

The prayer ordained by Allah is called salāt in Arabic, namaz in Persian and Turkish. Its preconditions are as follows:

CONDITION Namaz must be made in a condition of purity. If the one who prays is not in a state of ablution, the prayer is not valid. Ablution has two levels, greater and lesser.

Greater, or total, ablution is broken by sexual intercourse, menstruation, or seminal emission. It is restored by total washing of the body accompanied by the intention to perform the greater ablution. (One may also renew one's greater ablution at will; men should renew it before each Friday prayer.)

Lesser ablution is broken by excretion, vomiting, passing wind, bleeding an amount more than the size of a pea, or the emission of pus; also by violent anger, hysteria, and sleep. It is restored by washing of the hands, mouth, nose, face, head, ears, neck, forearms, and feet, accompanied by the intention to perform the lesser ablution. (Lesser ablution also may be renewed without physical necessity; it is good to make ablution before each prayer even if one's state of physical purity is intact.)

Women during their periods or recuperating from childbirth cannot maintain a state of ablution; they should not offer namaz at those times and do not owe any cycles of prayer that they miss. However, if a woman's menstrual period continues more than ten days, or if she has a disorder involving an issue of blood, she should made a total ablution and return to namaz, taking care only to make a lesser ablution immediately before each prayer.

Namaz must be made in clothes that are clean of all the bodily substances that break ablution. Accidentally soiled clothing should be washed before prayer is offered in it. Women at prayer should be covered from the neck to the wrists and ankles; all hair should be concealed. Men at prayer must be covered from the navel to the knee; it is also preferable for them to cover their heads.

Along with outer ablution, inner ablution is necessary. Every precondition of prayer, every element of its form, has an inner counterpart which it protects and teaches and by which it is enlivened. The secrets of the inner life of prayer are taught by the shaykhs.

PLACE Namaz may be made in any clean place except a bathroom or a cemetery. It must be made facing the direction of Mecca, as far as that can honestly be determined.

TIME Namaz is due five times a day. The early Muslims began with two times of prayer, morning and evening. Then the afternoon prayer was added, and finally, the noon and night namaz. In this tariqat, new Muslims are often counseled to follow the same procedure, to accustom themselves to the rhythm of devotions by easy stages. One's responsibility and privilege as a servant are not fully assumed, however, until all five appointments are kept.

The best namaz is said just at the time it falls due, but any prayer made before the moment for the next prayer arrives is considered to be "on time." The Holy Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him*), however, often delayed his night prayer until just before going to bed, and this alternative is also considered to have special value.

There are two times when namaz should not be offered: during a period of 43 minutes after the moment of sunrise, and during the half hour before sunset. In this pre-sunset period it is permissible to pray, but considered undesirable, or makrūh.

Islam is a religion of ease. The affairs of life, especially in a non-Muslim country often make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to say all of one's prayers on time. It is a relief to the believer that missed prayers are not lost, but may be made up when one has the opportunity to do so. It is best to maintain the sequence of daily prayers, and make up the noon prayer, for instance, before offering afternoon prayer, or noon and afternoon in order before offering evening namaz. All that is necessary is for the intention to be made for qaza, make­ up, prayer, rather than for regular prayer -- and you will find you are much happier if you make them up as soon as possible!

Our Efendi (a.r.e.), in view of modern working conditions, gave Americans a special permission to count noon prayers said at any point in the afternoon before sunset, even together with the afternoon prayers, as if they were on time.

Namaz is not limited to the five ordained times, but may be offered freely as often as one wishes. Such voluntary devotions are called nāfilah prayers. There are two restrictions on the time of nāfilah prayers: they cannot be offered while an obligatory prayer is owed, and they are not valid if made between the afternoon prayer and sunset.

*It is an important adab of Islam, enjoined on believers in the Holy Qur'an itself, to bless the Prophet whenever his name is mentioned. The Arabic for "May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him" is sallallāhu alayhi wa sallim, here abbreviated as (s.a.w.s.). Similar blessings are offered at the mention of any of the prophets and Messengers ("peace be upon him", `alayhi assalām), the Companions of the Prophet ("may Allah be pleased with him/her" -- radiyallahu `anhu/`anhā), and the saints ("may Allah sanctify his secret",qaddusallāhu sirrahu). One extension of this principle in the adab of the tariqat is that shaykhs and babas are always addressed by their titles, not merely by their names.

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INTENTION The prayer ordained by Allah is not valid unless it follows a stated intention.

Intention must be made before each series of rak`ats that opens with Allahu akbar and closes with assalāmu `alaykum wa rahmatullāh.

To make intention properly one must know what sort of namaz one is intending to offer in each series of rak`ats. There are three fundamental levels of namaz:

Farz, or obligatory prayers. The farz rak`ats represent the basic responsibility of servanthood and the "minimum daily requirement" of one's spiritual food. Farz namaz must be performed at all costs; not to do so endangers one's inner health.

Sunnat, or prayers following the example of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). The profession of faith is double. After Lā ilāha illāllāh, "There is no god but Allah," comes Muhammadun rasulullāh, "Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) is Allah's' Messenger." The whole of the religion, and the whole of Sufism, is in following where he leads. Sunnat prayers are prayers that the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) himself regularly said, but that he specified were not binding on the Muslims. To make such namaz is to show respect for the teaching and benefit embodied in his every action, and to take a small step closer to him. Though not obligatory, their importance is great. Sunnat rak`ats, with certain specified exceptions, may not be performed in qaza, "make-up," prayers, but only when the prayer is done on time.

Nāfilah, or extra prayers, as mentioned above, are rak`ats offered-beyond the specified service of farz and sunnat.

If one is praying alone, it is sufficient to specify in one's intention the number, level, and time of the rak`ats to be offered, i.e., "For Allah's sake I intend to make four rak`ats of farz of the afternoon prayer." However, if one is praying in congregation, this also should be formulated -- "For Allah's sake I intend to make four rak`ats of farz of afternoon prayer in congregation, behind the imam."

Some adabs of prayer The time of namaz, from Allāhu akbar to assālamu `alaykum, is held to be inviolable. There should be no eating, drinking, talking, unnecessary movement or looking about during this time. The namaz once entered into should be continued to its conclusion. It is permissible to move a step or two or to brush away something at the place where one will put one's head. (though only once) . .' It is permissible to kill vermin that enter the place of prayer during the namaz, and if food is burning, it is permissible to leave the namaz to go and save it.

In the Hanafi school of Islamic practice to which we belong, it is not considered proper to walk in front of someone who is engaged in namaz. In a small room, to make it easier for other people to get around, it is considerate to place some object, a chair, a pocketbook, in front of one to define the space of prayer.

When mixed groups offer namaz, women must pray behind men. Not to observe this invalidates the prayer for the one who refuses to follow it.

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When prayer is offered in congregation, it is important that the lines of people be straight. Lines toward the front should be filled in completely before other lines are formed behind them. No member of the congregation should perform any action of the namaz, bowing, prostrating, etc, before the imam performs it.

Performing namaz in congregation has great merit. If one owes an earlier prayer and hears-the adhan summoning the congregation to a later prayer, one should join the congregation and make up the missed prayer at the end of the day (see witr, below). If one has already made the prayer being offered in congregation, one may make it again. The prayer made alone earlier will count as nafilah.

If one joins a congregation late, one should immediately make intention and fall into the prayer line. If you are in time to join in the first bowing (or even the first prostration) it is counted as if you had been present from the beginning. If you come in later than that, even if at the final prostration, you are credited with having offered prayer in congregation, but you must make up the rak`ats you missed, standing to offer them when the rest of the congregation has finished the salams at the end.

The mind wanders constantly, and even when one has gained familiarity with the namaz, it is amazingly easy to be distracted and make errors or forget where one is. "To frustrate the devil," it is said, the prostration of unconsciousness was given to the believers. If you make a mistake, rather than doing everything over, at the end of the series of rak`ats make the salam toward the right side only, then two prostrations, and then end the prayer as usual. This "unconsciousness" or "error" prostration repairs your namaz. If you cannot remember whether you have done too few or enough rak`ats, do the greater number before making the ·unconsciousness" prostration. Do not make the "unconsciousness· prostration in a congregational prayer unless the 'imam makes it.

DAILY PRAYER SERVICE

Dawn prayer (fajr namaz). Dawn prayer is due from the pre-dawn time, when there is sufficient light to distinguish a white thread from a black one, or the earth from the sky, until sunrise. It may still be made as if "on time"· up until the time of the noon prayer. It consists of

Two rak`ats of sunnat

Two rak`ats of farz.

These two rak`ats of sunnat of fajr prayer are the most binding of sunnat prayers, and should be performed even if the dawn prayer is offered late. The dawn namaz is very important, and every effort. should be made to perform it in its time. New Muslims may simply say it when they get up in the morning. With greater experience in the religion, the sweetness and value of making this prayer before sunrise becomes more and more evident.

Noon prayer (zuhr in Arabic; öğle in Turkish). Its time is from when the sun is just past the zenith until the time of afternoon prayer. It consists of

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Four rak`ats of sunnat

Four rak`ats of farz

Two rak`ats of sunnat.

Afternoon prayer (`asr in Arabic: ikindi in Turkish) Afternoon prayer is due from the time the shadow of an object,like a spear stuck in the ground, is the same length as the object itself, until sunset. It falls at roughly the half-way point between the noon and sunset prayers. (as mentioned before, to offer the prayer during the half hour just before sunset is disapproved.) It consists of

Four rak`ats of sunnat

Four· rak`ats of farz.

Evening prayer (maghrib in Arabic: akşam in Turkish) falls from the time of sunset until the full darkness of night. Since the time of the onset of full darkness is ambiguous, evening prayer may be offered as "on time" at any point after sunset and before night prayer is made. It consists of

Three rak`ats of farz

Two rak`ats of sunnat.

These two sunnat rak`ats are also of special importance and should be performed if at all possible.

Night prayer (`ishā in Arabic; yatsı in Turkish) is due from the onset of full darkness until the time dawn prayer arrives again. It consists of

Four rak`ats of sunnat

Four rak`ats of farz

Two rak`ats of sunnat

and is followed, usually immediately, by

 Three r ak ' ats of a special sunnat called witr.

The two rak`ats of sunnat after the farz, and the three rak`ats of witr, must always be offered. Witr is actually a separate prayer, sealing the day's devotions. Our Efendi (a.r.e.) called it the cream of the namaz. If one owes prayers out of sequence because of having joined a congregation while owing an earlier prayer, as mentioned above, the time to make these up is before the witr prayer. It is, however, possible to make nāfilah prayers even after witr.

SOME SPECIAL PRAYERS

Seferi If one is traveling, namaz is said differently than if one is at home. The sunnats of noon and afternoon prayers, and the first four sunnat rak`ats of night prayer, may be dropped, and the number of farz rak`ats of the noon, afternoon, and night prayers is reduced to two. Intention is made for seferi, traveling, rak`ats of whatever farz prayer is due. If of necessity one offers namaz while sitting in a bus, train, plane, etc., it is permissible to face in the

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direction of travel rather than toward Mecca. However, if possible, it is better to wait and pray more correctly later. Travel should be begun and ended with two special rak`ats, two seferi rak`ats to begin, and two shukr or thankfulness rak`ats to end.

Friday Prayer (or juma`). Juma' is a congregational prayer offered on Fridays at the ordinary time for noon prayer, in a mosque or public gathering place. It consists of four rak`ats of sunnat offered before the sermon, two rak`ats of farz of juma` prayer, and a varying number of sunnat rak`ats afterwards. Many Muslims end with four rak`ats of sunnat; our practice is to make ten rak`ats, divided into sets of four, four, arid two*. When it is offered, the juma` prayer replaces the noon prayer. If men have no valid excuse for not attending juma` prayer, it is obligatory for them. Women's attendance at juma` prayers is optional.

`Id or Bayram (Holiday) Prayer `Id prayer is offered in large congregations twice a year: on the day of the Lesser `Id that marks the completion of the fast of Ramazan, and on the day of the Greater `Id that marks the culmination of the season of Hajj. `Id prayer consists of two rak`ats offered in congregation, and is performed with special extra repetitions of Allāhu akbar. Women may attend `Id prayers even if they have their periods. They may not make the namaz proper, but may join in all·the declarations of Allāhu akbar.

Tahajjud Prayer This prayer was binding on the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) but is a nāfilah for the believers. It consists of an indefinite number of rak`ats in even numbers between two and eight offered on rising from sleep in the middle of the night, after the previous day's prayers are completed but before the next dawn prayer is due. Its blessing is very great and it is universally recommended for spiritual progress.

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To search for knowledge is the command of Allāh and the order of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). Every believer needs to know those things that will make his religion complete. May Allah be pleased with you for asking for this information, enable you to put it fully into practice, and give you abundant benefit from it. For errors and oversights that may be here, I beg His forgiveness.

Allah knows best.

* At the time this paper was written this was true. However, presently we do just four rak`ats after the farz.