SALAT

also spelled Salah, Arabic Salat, the daily ritual prayer enjoined upon all Muslims as one of the five Pillars of Islam (arkan al-Islam). There is disagreement among Islamic scholars as to whether some passages about prayer in the Muslim sacred scripture, the Qur'an, are actually references to the salat. Within Muhammad's lifetime five ritual prayers, each preceded by ablution, were observed: salat al-fajr (dawn), az-zuhr (midday), al-'asr (afternoon), al-maghrib (sunset), and al-'isha' (evening). Under such special circumstances as illness, a journey, or war, a modification or limited postponement of these salats is allowed. Though individual performance of salat is permissible, collective worship in the mosque has special merit. With their faces turned in the direction of the shrine of the Ka'bah in Mecca, the worshipers align themselves in parallel rows behind the imam, or prayer leader, who directs them as they execute the rak'ahs (physical postures coupled with Qur'anic recitations). On Fridays, instead of the prayer just after noon, a congregational prayer (salat al-jum'ah) is offered; it includes two sermons (khutbah) delivered from the pulpit. Special congregational prayers are offered in the middle of the morning on the two festival days ( 'ids), one immediately following the month of fasting, Ramadan, and the other following the pilgrimage, or hajj. Although not obligatory, individual devotional prayers, especially during the night, are emphasized and are a common practice among pious Muslims.