The Ways in Which Muslims Worship in the Mosque

The Ways in Which Muslims Worship in the Mosque

Firstly it is important to comprehend exactly what worship (or Ibadah

as it is known in Islam) is. Worship is according to the dictionary

definition:

'The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred

object.'

(Source: http://www.dictionary.com)

Islam would totally reject the part of this definition, which

associates worship with an idol or a sacred object, as, this would

under Islamic law be Shirk or unforgivable under the eyes of God, as

Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion, and believes in the

principle of Tawhid. However, the reverent love and particularly the

devotion to the deity (Allah) would be correct, as worship to Allah

requires the sole attention of the worshipper. Although there is a

diversity of worship within Islam, the main form of prayer that takes

place in the Mosque is Salah, and the prominent focus will be on this.

Salah is the obligatory duty of all Muslims to pray five times a day,

and is one of the five pillars (sometimes called Arkan) of Islam.

Muslims perform Salah to be closer to Allah, to bring a sense of peace

and tranquillity and as a reminder of God and His greatness. By

performing Salah Muslims also avoid the three sins or failings:

* Kufr- disbelief, ingratitude (a disbeliever is a Kafir, and is

considered to be inferior)

* Shirk- association (i.e. associating anyone or anything else with

Allah)

* Tughyan- arrogance, tyranny

Although this obligatory form of worship can take place in the home,

on the street or anywhere (so long as it is a clean area, a prayer mat

is used and one is fac...

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...a Rakah. This is known as a unit of prayer,

and this is often repeated to form two rakahs, three (salat'ul Witr)

or even four rakahs. At the end of the rakah(s), Muslims then say a

Du'a, which is explained in my introduction. The last action of the

prayer is the action to turn ones head left and right to acknowledge

the other worshipers and the guardian angels (who note ones bad and

good deeds respectively) with the words:

'Peace be with you, and the mercy of Allah.'

So in conclusion to this we can see that Salah forms a major part of a

Muslims life. The additional aspect of praying at the Mosque is also

important, and this is reinforced by the aforementioned Hadith. By

praying Muslims also say the Shahadah which is another pillar of

Islam, which shows how important these liturgical acts are to

following Islam.