Public & Private Worship in Muslim Communities (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

What is the adhan?

• Adhan literally means “announcement” in Arabic 

• The adhan is the Islamic call to prayer

  • In some countries, this takes place five times a day 

• The muezzin is the official who calls the people to prayer, sometimes from a minaret at the mosque

The performance of wudu and its significance

• Muslims must prepare themselves for prayer by spending a few moments reflecting on their niyyah (intentions)

• They must also spiritually cleanse themselves before prayer

• This is achieved by a ritual washing called wudu, following special instructions so they do it in the right order

  • The ritual involves washing faces, hands and feet under running water

  • Mosques have special rooms for this

  • In the desert, a dry wash of sand and dust can be used

    • This is called tayammum

  • It allows Muslims to fully concentrate on prayer

Ritual washing — wudu

Salah and frequency of prayer

• Salah (prayer) is the second pillar of Islam for Sunni Muslims and one of the Ten Obligatory Acts for Shi’a Muslims

  • It is considered to be the most important way of worshipping God

  • It occurs five times daily: just after dawn, just after midday, late afternoon, just after sunset and after dark

• The different prayers are given different names:

  • Fajr — just before sunrise

  • Zuhr — just after midday

  • Asr — late afternoon

  • Maghrib — just after sunset

  • Isha — between sunset and midnight

The five times of prayer

The times and sequence of the rak'ahs

• All Muslims pray towards Makkah and perform rak’ah, a set sequence of movements, during the prayers

• The actions that form the rak’ah during Muslim prayer are:

• While standing, Muslims recite the first chapter from the Qur’an

• While bowing, Muslims say in Arabic, “Glory be to my Lord who is the greatest” three times. This bowing position shows they believe God to be great

• Returning to an upright position, they make a recitation praising God

• They kneel with their forehead, nose, hands, knees and toes touching the floor

• This is called prostration and shows complete obedience to God

• They recite, “How perfect is my Lord the most high”

• Muslims then sit, reciting “God is greatest”, and after pausing for a few seconds, they repeat “God is greatest”

Positions of prayer — rak’ah

Jum'ah prayer & its significance

• Jum’ah is the midday communal prayers held on Friday; these are considered special

• There are various hadiths regarding the importance of Friday as a day of worship

• The 62nd chapter of the Qur’an is named “al-Jumuʿah” because it mentions the Friday prayer

• To prepare for prayers, Muslims bathe, apply perfume and brush their teeth to make their appearance pleasant to their fellow worshippers

• The worshippers getting together aims to develop the feeling of unity among the Muslim community

• All male Muslims are expected to attend unless they are ill or too old

  • Women can, too, but they are also able to pray at home

• Muslims read the Surah Al Kahf from the Qur’an on Fridays 

  • They believe that the one who reads it will find their entire week enlightened until the next Friday

• Once the prayer is completed, the imam will deliver a sermon to remind Muslims of their obligation to God 

  • The sermon is in two parts, with time in between for personal prayer (du’a)

• A series of rak’ahs is performed

• Salutations are sent on the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) during the Friday service

  • The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

Du'a prayer

• The word du'a in Arabic means “calling” 

  • Du’a is a personal prayer where Muslims can call upon Allah

• Muslims are encouraged to call upon Allah to ask for help, express thanks or ask for forgiveness, guidance and strength at any time throughout the day

• Du’a is in addition to the daily prayers of Salah

• Muslims can make these personal prayers in their own words, in any language

  • However, there are also recommended examples in the Qur’an and Sunnah to help them if they need help finding the words

• Du’a calls Allah to mind throughout the day for a Muslim, which strengthens their faith and connection to him

Dhikr prayer & its significance

• Dhikr means “remembrance”

• Dhikr prayer is a type of spiritual reflection, calling Allah to mind and remembering his many qualities, as the Qur’an instructs:

• Dhikr usually includes reciting the 99 beautiful names of Allah, using Misbahah to help

  • Alternatively, a believer might count the names using their fingers

• During dhikr, Muslims focus on their relationship with Allah

• Dhikr may be performed alone or with a collective group

Different views about the use and importance of the Qur'an

Use and importance of the Qur’an in public worship

• The Qur’an is central to public worship, especially during Friday (Jum’ah) prayers in the mosque

  • It is recited in Arabic during Salah (daily prayers) and other religious services

• The imam often reads the Qur’an and explains verses during sermons to teach and guide the community

• During Ramadan, the entire Qur’an is often recited over the course of the month

• Listening to the Qur’an being recited during worship helps Muslims feel spiritually connected and reminds them of Allah’s teachings

Use & importance of the Qur’an in private prayer and study

• Muslims are encouraged to read the Qur’an daily, especially in the early morning

• Many Muslims learn to recite the Qur’an in Arabic, even if it is not their first language

  • Others learn Arabic so that they can study it in greater detail

• Some Muslims aim to become Hafiz (one who has memorised the whole Qur’an), which is seen as a great honour

• Muslims may read the Qur’an:

  • For guidance when facing personal or moral decisions

  • As an act of worship and devotion, even if they do not understand every word

  • In study, to try to understand its full meanings

Different views about the use and importance of the Qur’an

• All Muslims see the Qur’an as the literal word of God (Allah), as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

• Sunni and Shi’a Muslims agree on its sacred status

  • However, they differ slightly in how they use or interpret it, especially alongside other sources of authority, for example, the Hadith

• Some Muslims emphasise the spiritual power of the recitation of the Qur’an

• Others may place more focus on studying the Qur’an intellectually and applying its teachings to social justice and daily life