One of the first questions I get when someone finds out I'm Muslim is: "Do you guys really pray five times a day?". Of course, we do, not everyone chooses to, but most Muslims pray five times a day.
A majority of the population goes to church once a week, so praying five times a day might seem like a bit much, but it isn't. Muslim prayer times are set up to help ease us.
Fajr - The Fajr prayer is the "dawn prayer". Fajr means dawn in the Arabic language.
You wake up 2-3 hours before you actually have to with one intention and that is to pray to Allah, to talk to your creator and tell him what’s on your heart. The morning time gives you a soothing sense of relief before your hectic day starts.
Zuhr - The Zuhr prayer is the "noon prayer"; also transliterated Duhr or Dhuhr.
Do you know how most people take their lunch break? During their shifts at work and they feel like they get a break from their work life, this is what Zuhr is to me. It’s an early afternoon break, where I can relax and ease myself. It’s where I can take in what’s happened during the day so far and reflect on it, calm myself down, and make sure no bad outcomes come from my early morning struggles.
Asr - The Asr prayer is the "afternoon prayer".
Asr prayer, for some reason, is my favorite to pray, no not because it’s the shortest, but because it’s my mid-day nap if that makes sense. People take naps after school and after work to feel fresh again, I get to pray, to talk to Allah about my problems. I get to thank him for my success, and thank him for my failures since everything that happens in my life is not because my creator “hates me”, but because Allah loves me enough to show me different lessons in such unique ways.
Maghrib - The Maghrib prayer "West [sun] prayer"; prayed just after sunset, is the fourth of five formal daily prayers.
Do you ever look at something for too long and is not beautiful anymore? You’ve seen it too much so it doesn’t amaze you at all. You know what’s so weird, Maghrib prayer is during sunset, and this prayer reminds me to look outside once in a while since I’m always locked up because the view of the most beautiful sunset comes with this prayer. I feel like this is a reward within itself. I love praying outside during the summer for Fajr and Maghrib. Allah is kind enough to allow us to pray, as well as give us, even more, a reason to accept our creator made the perfect world for us to live in.
Isha - The Isha prayer is the "night prayer."
Everyone has an end of the night routines. I know prayer isn’t a routine, but what I’m saying it I’d be lost without it. Isha prayer, for me, is soothing. I get to close my day off with a prayer, how beautiful is that? I start off with a prayer and I end off with one. I usually remove my makeup, shower, and pray, and when I don’t do those things, I feel incomplete and uneasy. I don’t feel ready for the next day.
Don't get me wrong, praying is one of the most relaxing things a person can do for themselves, but it gets hard sometimes. Sometimes you don't want to pray, a voice in your head is telling you t isn't worth it. I make excuses for myself like how tired or busy I am, how much work I have, but it's not worth it. When I don't pray I feel stressed. I feel like I missed out on something. I feel like I didn't get my 10-15 minute break that was there for me. It's a pillar of Islam but when I pray I don't feel like I'm doing it for my religion, I feel like my religion is providing a prayer for me. It's beneficial to me.
With that being said, I'd like to leave you all with this poem by Key Ballah.
You aren’t sure
if you believe in God anymore,
not anymore.
Not after everything.
You can’t bring yourself to bend,
to fast,to pray.
not anymore.
You don’t want to disbelieve,
but you’ve tried,
really tried.
you’ve sucked it all in,
swallowed hard,
ignored ignored ignored.
But how could it be possible that a being
that is everything good
that God could have watched him
dismantle your body,
could have watched your mother burn,
could have watched your father bloody,
could have watched your grandmother beg?
So you stay in the middle
in some sort of half-belief.
Some sort of leaving but not wanting to
some sort of foot in, foot out.
But you still say inshaAllah
because if you don’t
that thing might not happen.
You still recite Ayatul Kursi when you’re scared because you don’t know what else to do.
The Athan still makes the hair on your arms stand up.
You still keep the prayer app on your phone.
You still say mashaAllah when you see something beautiful.
You’re still afraid of jinn.
Stories of the Prophets still make you excited. You’re still half here, but you’re also half gone.
-Key Ballah, a half Ramadan
