All creation is immersed in ecstatic praise of its Creator. The five daily prayers of Islam establish conscious connection with this cosmic dimension. The quality of light at each divinely ordained salat invokes a particular state of consciousness and hints at certain spiritual gifts that this period of prayer contains. The times move a minute or two each day as the sun subtly changes its orientation to the earth. Salat is a spiritual astrolabe, a way for the timeless soul to navigate successfully through the temporal cosmos. Those who participate in salat experience the personal and cosmic harmony that flows mercifully from the Source of Being.
The fard (required) prayers are as follows:
Dawn (fajr)
Rakats: 2
Recitation: The Quranic recitations in the fard rakats of fajr are prayed aloud.
Time: This period for salat arrives when the first white light extends across the horizon, and extends until just before the sun breaks the horizon.
Spiritual quality: The quality of fajr is purity of intention, as one is newly born into the Divine Light we call creation.
Noon (zuhr)
Rakats: 4
Recitation: The Quranic suras are recited under the breath to intensify inwardness.
Time: When the sun passes its zenith, extending until the time of the afternoon prayer.
Spiritual quality: This prayer transmits the sense of AllahÕs Sovereign Power and Divine Clarity, as well as unveiling human dignity, rectitude, and plenitude.
Afternoon prayer (asr)
Rakats: 4
Recitation: The Quranic suras are recited under the breath to intensify inwardness.
Time: This central prayer period of the day opens when the shadow projected by a vertical pole is twice the length of the pole.
Spiritual quality: The quality of this salat is the refreshing energy of transcendence.
Sunset prayer (maghrib)
Rakats: 3
Recitation: The Quranic suras in the first two rakats are recited aloud.
Time: The period for sunset prayer begins immediately after the Sun has dropped below the horizon, until the twilight disappears into the full blackness of night.
Spiritual quality: The serenity and completion radiated by the sunset prayer heals the entire heart and mind, just as twilight coolness refreshes the body after the heat of the day. OneÕs entire being is filled with the youthfulness of Paradise consciousness.
Night Prayer (isha)
Rakats: 4
Recitation: The Quranic suras in the first two rakats are recited aloud.
Time: The period for night prayer begins approximately an hour to an hour and a half after sunset, extending to fajr, leaving the door to Supreme Identity wide open all night. Postponing and waiting for this prayer is considered a blessing.
Spiritual quality: This is the salat of Divine Mystery, which leads beyond the far boundary of Paradise into the Garden of Essence, the sublime annihilation of limited existence. This entering into Essence was demonstrated and activated for all humankind by the Seal of Prophesy during his mystical night journey. Into the mystic darkness of the isha prayer, the original Divine Mystery, the ray of our separate human awareness disappears.