Prayer in Islam and Muslim Prayers: Why it's helpful for Christians to know the differences

When did you last offer to pray for someone? Is prayer a part of your daily routine or just something you do occasionally? Take this blog post as an opportunity to draw near the Lord through prayer, and engage with your Muslims friends about their view of prayer. Muslims are forced to pray in hopes of winning Allah’s favor and salvation, but Christians delight in the Lord through prayer.  

Understanding Islamic Prayer

For Muslims, prayer is very important because it is the second of the Five Pillars of Islam. 

Islamic prayer, also called salat, is a repetitive habit that Muslims must perform every day. To understand Islamic prayer, we need to answer three questions: Why do Muslims pray, when do Muslims pray, and how must Muslims pray?  

1. Why do Muslims pray? 
   

There are three simple reasons that Muslims pray: it is a sin to neglect praying, it is a mandatory duty, and it is calculated points counted toward their possibility of entering paradise.  

The Hadith says that neglecting prayer is sinful. Take Sahih Muslim 82b, for example, where Muhammad states that abandoning prayer is equivalent to rejecting Islam.   

When we look at Quran 4:103, prayer is called a duty: “When the prayers are over, remember Allah—whether you are standing, sitting, or lying down. But when you are secure, establish regular prayers. Indeed, performing prayers is a duty on the believers at the appointed times.”

Together, the Quran and Hadith confirm that a Muslim’s prayers are a way to be cleansed from sin, gain salvation, and get into paradise. In Sahih al-Bukhari 528, Mohammad says that prayer is like a river that removes sin. Consider these verses also: 

“Establish prayer ˹O Prophet˺ at both ends of the day and in the early part of the night. Surely good deeds wipe out evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful.” Quran 11:114

My father said, "Allah's Messenger said, 'Whoever prays the two cool prayers (`Asr and Fajr) will go to Paradise.' Sahih al-Bukhari 574

Clearly, Islam teaches that prayer purchases forgiveness from Allah, while failing to pray puts a Muslim’s salvation in jeopardy. 

2. When do Muslims pray? 
   

Muslims do not get the freedom to choose when to pray or even how much they pray. Instead, the Quran requires Muslims to pray before sunrise (Fajr), at midday (Zuhr), before sunset (Asr), after sunset (Maghrib), and in late evening (Isha). Observing these five required prayers means that a Muslim prays around 25-50 minutes each day. The difference in time depends on how quickly the Muslim says the prayers, and whether they choose to repeat it more than the minimum for additional points. 

Some strict Muslims will even spend a longer time to say Tasbih (praise) to Muhammad (source).  

Prayers are made up of segments called rakaat, which means kneelings, and each of the five daily prayers has to include the correct number of these segments (source). 

Aside from required prayers, a Muslim’s personal prayer requests (called Du-aa) or supplications must be done separately (source). And Allah has specific times in the day when he is ready to hear these supplications. What a stark contrast from the God of the Bible, the Heavenly Father, who is ready to hear His children at any time! 

3. How must Muslims pray?
   

For their prayers to be heard, Muslims are told that they must follow a rigid set of guidelines. As our co-founder Samya explains: “Every aspect of the Muslim’s prayer has rewards if practiced correctly and penalties if ignored.” (source) 

For starters, Muslims may not freestyle their prayers. They must face Mecca, perfectly imitate their Imam (especially men when praying in the mosque), and recite the prayer derived from the Quran in Arabic, and only in Arabic. When a Muslim misses a prayer, it must be paid back later, like a loan (source). 

One of the most important rules of Islamic prayer is ablution because the Quran demands physical cleanliness. Ablution is the purification of specified parts of the body by washing with cold water before prayer. Here are the steps of ablution:

1. Saying the words: “In the name of Allah, most gracious and most merciful.”

2. Washing the hands, mouth, nose, face and arms (up to the elbows) 3 times thoroughly.

3. Washing the head once and the inside and outside of the ears once, using the hands.

4. Washing the feet up to the ankles three times. 

5. Drying the body and reciting the creed of Islam: “I witness that there is no god but Allah, and I witness that Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.” (source)  

Muslims also have to position themselves in a special way during prayer (source). Each prayer position earns a Muslim a specific reward. According to the Hadith, Muslims get:  

• A complete reward for standing while praying 

• A half reward for sitting while praying 

• A fourth of a reward for lying down while praying 

The Seven Steps of Prayer for Muslims

There are seven stages or steps of prayer that Muslims must complete perfectly for the prayer to “count” and please Allah:

1. Opening: The Muslim recites “Allahu Akbar” which means “God is the Greatest”

2. Surah Al-Fatiha: Muslims recite the entire opening chapter of the Quran

3. Ruku (Bowing): Muslims bow and say “Subhana rabbiyal adheem” which means “Glory be to my Lord Almighty”

4. I’tidal (Standing): As Muslims rise from the bow, they say “God hears those who praise him” and “Our Lord, praise be to You”

5. Sujud (Prostration): Muslims lower themselves to be facedown on the ground and say “Glory be to my Lord, the Most High”

6. Tashahhud (Sitting): Muslims then sit up and state the Shahadah, Statement of Faith, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger”

7. Taslim (Closing): Muslims turn their head right and left and say “Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you”

It’s important to know that despite what language the Muslim speaks, these prayer statements must be spoken and pronounced perfectly in Arabic. Specifically, the Arabic in Islam is older and more formal Arabic than what is spoken today, like a native English speaker having to speak in Shakespearean English.

Rules for prayer for Muslim men versus Muslim women

There are also specific prayer rules for men and women. Muslim men must attend congregational prayer on Fridays at noon. In fact, praying with others in a mosque earns a Muslim 25 times more rewards than individual solitary prayer. Muslim women, on the other hand, have to pray behind or apart from men (preferably at home) and they must wear their hijab (source). 

As you can see, Muslims have to do many things for their prayers to be accepted, but they must also avoid many things during prayer. They must avoid: 

• Forgetting to recite the first chapter of the Quran 

• Putting their hands on their hips 

• looking up during prayer (the Hadith says the person will be blinded)

• being passed by a woman, a monkey, a donkey, or a black dog

• burping or passing gas     

• Not being fully clothed  

See our source here. Islamic prayer is filled with attempts at perfection and concerns about praying correctly.

In one Hadith, Hadhaifah (one of Mohammad’s followers), tells another Muslim that he has prayed wrong for 40 years, which means he hasn't prayed at all. Can you imagine being told that every prayer you ever said meant absolutely nothing? This is a constant fear Muslims wrestle with. 

What makes Christian Prayer different? 

Colossians 4: 2, “Devote yourselves to prayer…” echoes the command to pray that is found throughout the Bible. But unlike Islamic prayer, the act of Christian prayer itself is not a way to be cleansed of sin and gain salvation. 

Isaiah 64:6 explains the twofold truth; that humans are unclean and that our “righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” In other words, no amount of bathing or prayerful devotion can make a person clean enough to be in God’s presence. We cannot earn the Lord’s forgiveness and favor with our own deeds; That is why God prepared the way through the redemption work on the cross. 

We are incapable of cleansing ourselves and are utterly hopeless without Jesus. He is the only One who can  wash us clean. As Titus 3:5 says: “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit…” This is exactly why Jesus says to Peter in John 13:8 “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 

To learn more about the difference between Christian and Islamic prayer, read here. 

Why Christians Pray 

Hebrews 10:22 urges Christians to “draw near” to the Lord, as our hearts have been "sprinkled clean” and our bodies “washed with pure water.” As Christians, we should pray out of love for our Redeemer. Through prayer, we can talk to the Heavenly Father who lovingly listens and answers.   

When Christians pray 

Christians are taught to converse with God all the time through prayer and talk about anything and everything. Consider these verses:

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 

How Christians pray Jesus modeled prayer for the disciples with the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. 

Just a few verses earlier, in Matthew 6:6, Jesus warned the disciples against praying to get attention: “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” 

How to Engage in Conversation

Muslims have the burden of making themselves presentable to Allah, but the blood of Christ makes all who believe in Him presentable to God. Christians pray like a child speaking to his father, but Muslims must pray like slaves begging a cruel master for mercy. 

When speaking with your Muslim friends about prayer, emphasize that Jesus loves us so much that He offers to wash away our sins forever. Ask your Muslim friend the questions posed in this blog: 

• Why do you pray? 

• When do you pray? 

• How do you pray? 

• Do you enjoy praying? 

Listen as they share their experience then share about your own prayer life and how you have seen the Lord’s love, provision, and faithfulness.    

Dear Lord, thank you for washing me of all my sins. Thank you also for the freedom I have through prayer. Please help Muslims see their need to be cleansed by You and understand that salvation comes only through your Son. Guide my conversations and shine Your light through me. Amen.