Prayer In Islam: How to Pray Part 1 – Cleanliness

I thought it may be good to help Muslims, new and old, by explaining the actions of prayer. Please note that there is not a separate kind of prayer for women – the prayer of women is the same as that of men.

CLEANLINESS

Firstly, a Muslim must be clean and have washed themselves. There are two types of washing: Ghusl (basically having a bath/shower) and Wudhu (ablution).

GHUSL (Bath/Shower)
You must do Ghusl if any one of the following conditions apply (and before performing prayer):

• After marital relations – Ghusl must be performed when either:

• semen is emitted (a thick white liquid in the case of a man and a fine yellow liquid in the case of a woman)
• a man has penetrated his wife (in this case, it doesn’t matter if semen had been emitted or not)
• [The evidence for this is in Sahih Muslim]

• After a menstrual period (for women)
• When a woman’s post-natal bleeding has stopped
• When a non-Muslim embraces Islam

Ghusl is done in the following way:

1. Make intention to perform Ghusl
2. Say “Bismillah”
3. Wash your hands three times
4. Wash your private parts and around that area (use your left hand, not your right)
5. Perform Wudhu (see below) – except that you do not need to wash the feet at this stage
6. Pour water over your head three times
7. Pour water over your whole body and rinse yourself with your hands (wash yourself beginning with the right hand side first)
8. Wash your feet
9. [the above was reported by Ahmad and Muslim and others]

WUDHU (Ablution)
Wudhu is performed if any of the following conditions apply (and before performing prayer):

• After sleeping
• After visiting the toilet, ie. if anything comes out of the two private parts. You must clean your private parts with water after this.
• After sexual discharge (this is different from semen – it is the fine fluid that comes out after a wet dream)
• After passing wind
• After becoming unconscious

Wudhu is done in the following way:

1. Make intention to perform Wudhu
2. Say “Bismillah”
3. Wash your hands three times, up to and including the wrists
4. Rinse the mouth three times
5. Rinse inside your nostrils three times
6. Wash your face three times (for men: including the beard)
7. Wash your arms three times, beginning with your right arm, from your wrist up to and including the elbow
8. Wipe your hair with water
9. Wipe your ears with water three times, including the inside of your ears
10. Wash your feet, beginning with your right foot, up to and including the ankles, three times
11. [As reported in Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukhari, Ahmad and others]
12. After completing this, you say “Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallahu, wahdahu laa shareekalahu, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasooluhu”. This means “I bear witness that none has the right to worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.” [Reported by Muslim, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhee, an-Nasaa’ee, Ibn Maajah]

Move on to “How to Pray Part 2: Getting ready for Prayer”

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