“_Therefore glorify God when the evening overtaketh
you, and when ye rise in the morning;
And unto him be praise in heaven and earth, and at
sunset, and when ye rest at noon._”
[Sidenote: Sulát]
There are five services of prayer daily, observed with great regularity
by all religious men and women. The form is liturgical; the word
_Sulát_ has rather the meaning of devotional service than of hours of
prayer. [Sidenote: Hours] The first hour is at dawn of day. The second
is at noon. The third is between four and five in the afternoon. The
fourth service is held as the sun disappears beneath the horizon. The
fifth is at the retiring hour at night.
[Sidenote: Preparation]
Before prayer all Mussulmans cleanse face, ears and nostrils, hands and
feet; that they may be free of all bodily pollution before entering
the presence of God. Many change their garments each time they pray.
The room is cleaned, and the worshipper who has cleaned the room
changes his garments before engaging in the service.
[Sidenote: Solemnity]
This service of prayer in the case of serious worshippers is very
touching to the sympathetic witness; it is true, as so many critics
of Islam have noted, that prayer is formal, and is repeated in an
unknown tongue; but to those who know the heart hunger which constantly
finds expression in that five-times-repeated daily liturgy, who would
fain change the constant refrain “God is great” for the gladder “God
is love,” the service, whether in the mosque, in the home, or on the
wayside, is one of the most pathetic appeals addressed to the unknown
God by any people.
There is no mediation; prayer is offered directly to God, the only
reference to the Prophet being a prayer “for Muhammad and his
descendants.”
Prayer is always offered in the sacred language.