Praying at school, wudu away from home, what to do after a missed prayer, Jumu'ah, and the years after high school.
In Lesson 10, the whole prayer came together, every word with its meaning. Today we take that prayer out of the classroom and into your real week.
By the end of today, you will have a written plan for the three salah situations that are hardest for you.
Islamic Studies · Worship class · about 75 minutes · your notebook, your cards, and a pen
Swap decks with your partner. One reads the cue, the other says the Arabic and the meaning, then switch. Lesson 10's cards come first.
ارْجِعْ فَصَلِّ فَإِنَّكَ لَمْ تُصَلِّ
Irji' fa-salli, fa-innaka lam tusalli
"Go back and pray, for you have not prayed."
Lesson 10 · Sahih al-Bukhari 757
طُمَأْنِينَة
Tuma'ninah
Being at rest in each position before moving on, as in "until you are at rest in ruku".
Lesson 10
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ
Qad aflahal-mu'minun, alladhina hum fi salatihim khashi'un
Certainly will the believers have succeeded: they who are during their prayer humbly intent.
Lesson 10 · Surah Al-Mu'minun 23:1-2
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ
As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah (SWT).
Lesson 9 · Sunan Abi Dawud 996
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى
Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.
Lesson 8 · Sahih Muslim 772
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim
Guide us to the straight path.
Lesson 7 · Al-Fatihah 1:6
If a card is still shaky, put it in your "Still learning" pile and go through that pile every day this week.
The last lesson ended with this: pray one prayer a day slowly, with the meaning running in your head, staying still in ruku and sujud.
Write privately, at the back of your notebook:
Your writing stays with you.
You know every word of the prayer now. Today is about keeping it in the places where real life happens.
Why it matters
Praying at school and away from home
When you miss a prayer
Jumu'ah
The years ahead
Your own plan
This lesson is not here to make anyone feel bad. Everyone in this room is at a different point with salah, and every point is a place to start from.
إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
"Indeed, I am Allah (SWT). There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance."
Allah (SWT) said this to Musa (AS) at the fire, when He first called him. Notice the order: who He (SWT) is, then worship, then prayer, so that He is remembered.
Start today's page with "Lesson 11: Salah in Your Real Life". Write "Aqimis-salata li-dhikri" in the first column, and "Establish prayer for My remembrance" in the second.
Ask yourself: on a normal school day, how long do you go without remembering Allah (SWT) at all? What would five set reminders a day change?
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ صَلاَتُهُ فَإِنْ صَلُحَتْ فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ وَأَنْجَحَ وَإِنْ فَسَدَتْ فَقَدْ خَابَ وَخَسِرَ فَإِنِ انْتَقَصَ مِنْ فَرِيضَتِهِ شَيْءٌ قَالَ الرَّبُّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ انْظُرُوا هَلْ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ فَيُكَمَّلَ بِهَا مَا انْتَقَصَ مِنَ الْفَرِيضَةِ ثُمَّ يَكُونُ سَائِرُ عَمَلِهِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ
Abu Hurairah (RA) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) say: "The first of his deeds that a servant will be called to account for on the Day of Resurrection is his salah. If it is sound, he has succeeded and been saved. If it is corrupt, he has failed and lost. If anything is lacking from his obligatory [prayer], the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, will say: 'Look, does My servant have any voluntary [prayer]?' Then what was lacking from the obligatory [prayer] will be made complete with it. Then the rest of his deeds will be treated the same way."
This hadith is serious, and it is also full of mercy: Allah (SWT) looks for a way to complete what is missing. Why do you think both sit in the same hadith, like Al-Adheem beside Al-Wadud in Lesson 2?
وَجُعِلَتْ لِيَ الأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، فَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلاَةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "...The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification, so whenever the time of prayer reaches any man of my ummah, let him pray..."
In Lesson 5, this hadith taught us tayammum. Today, look at the first words of this line: the earth itself was made a place of prayer.
Where does the time of prayer usually reach you on a school day? Name the real place: a classroom, the bus, practice, a friend's house.
Know the times. Check which prayers fall in your school day this month. Dhuhr usually does, and in the winter months Asr can too.
Ask early and kindly. Ask a teacher, a counselor, or the office for a quiet room, before the day you need it.
Keep a small kit. Carry a small mat or a clean jacket in your bag, and work out the direction of the qiblah (Lesson 4) once.
Find a partner. If another Muslim student prays, pray together. It is easier to keep a prayer with a friend.
Combining two prayers, or praying one later than usual, is something the schools of fiqh differ on, so please do not guess. Ask your imam.
Ask yourself: what has actually stopped you from praying at school before? Time, a place, or the feeling of being noticed?
For many students this is the hardest part. It does not have to be embarrassing.
Start with wudu. Make wudu at home before you leave, and try to keep it through the day.
Pick your moment. Go at a quieter time, or use a single-person restroom if your school has one.
Leave it cleaner. Bring a small towel and wipe the counter and floor dry when you finish.
Have a short answer ready. "I'm washing up before I pray." Most people are curious, not unkind.
The feet are the awkward part at a sink. In Lesson 5 we saw the Prophet (pbuh) wipe over his khuffs, leather socks he had put on when his feet were pure. Whether ordinary cotton or wool socks count is something the scholars differ on, so ask your imam before you rely on it.
Someone walks in while you are washing your feet. What is a calm, honest thing you could say?
إِذَا رَقَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَنِ الصَّلاَةِ أَوْ غَفَلَ عَنْهَا فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُولُ أَقِمِ الصَّلاَةَ لِذِكْرِي
Anas ibn Malik (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) said: "When one of you sleeps through the prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it, for Allah (SWT) says: 'Establish prayer for My remembrance.'"
The Prophet (pbuh) ends with the same words from Surah Ta-Ha that we read at the start. A prayer missed on purpose is a separate question. Ask your imam about it.
Write "Idha raqada ahadukum 'anis-salati aw ghafala 'anha, fal-yusalliha idha dhakaraha" and its meaning: When one of you sleeps through the prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.
The spiral sounds like this:
The comeback looks like this:
"Let him pray it when he remembers it."Sahih Muslim 684d
Turn back to Allah (SWT). If it was your own fault, ask Him (SWT) to forgive you.
Catch the very next prayer on time. That one is still in front of you.
Fix one cause: an alarm across the room, an earlier bedtime, or someone to wake you.
Why do you think one missed prayer so often turns into a missed day? Which voice in the spiral is the loudest for you?
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah (SWT). Indeed, Allah (SWT) forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
Look at how Allah (SWT) addresses people who have done wrong: "O My servants." They are still His (SWT).
Write "La taqnatu min rahmatillah" and its meaning: Do not despair of the mercy of Allah (SWT).
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
"O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah (SWT) and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew."
The ayah tells the believers to proceed to "the remembrance of Allah (SWT)", the same word, dhikr, as in Surah Ta-Ha. For a student, Friday prayer often falls in school hours. Who must attend, and what to do when it falls during school, are questions of fiqh. Ask your imam. If you need to talk to your school about it, ask a parent or another adult you trust to help you.
If you have been to Jumu'ah, what do you usually do while the khutbah is going on? What would it take to really listen to one this month?
For many Muslims, the prayer is not lost in middle school. It is lost a few years later, after high school: at college, at a first job, after moving out, when the schedule changes.
Usually nobody decides to stop. The people and routines that held the prayer for them are gone. No one wakes them for Fajr, and no one asks if they prayed Asr. A prayer that ran on autopilot stops when the autopilot is switched off.
In Lesson 1, we said that at some point the deed to your Islam has to transfer to your name, and that an owner stays when the storm comes. That is what this course has been doing. You now know every word you say in salah, in English. Your prayer is yours now.
If you came to Islam yourself, or nobody at home prays, you may already know what it is like to hold the prayer on your own.
At the bottom of today's page, under "In my own words", write one sentence: why will my salah still be mine when nobody is checking?
The ayahs just before these two are about the prophets. These two are about the people who came after them.
فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ ۖ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا ● إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا
"But there came after them successors [i.e., later generations] who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil - except those who repent, believe and do righteousness; for those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged at all."
The first ayah is a warning, and the second opens a door straight away. Who is the door open for? Ask yourself: why would Allah (SWT) put the warning and the door side by side?
سَبْعَةٌ يُظِلُّهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظِلِّهِ يَوْمَ لاَ ظِلَّ إِلاَّ ظِلُّهُ الإِمَامُ الْعَادِلُ، وَشَابٌّ نَشَأَ فِي عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ
The Prophet (pbuh) said: "Seven people Allah (SWT) will shade in His shade on the Day when there is no shade except His: a just leader, and a youth who grew up in the worship of his Lord..."
You are young right now. This hadith is about what a young person does with these years.
Ask yourself: what would it look like for me to be a youth who grew up in the worship of my Lord, starting this year?
Dhuhr comes in during fourth period, and you have never asked anyone at school about a place to pray.
You are spending the afternoon at a friend's house and Asr comes in. Nobody else there prays.
Your game runs from 4:30 to 6:30, and a prayer time comes in while you are on the field.
Your family drives six hours to visit relatives, and two prayers come in on the road.
You wake up and the sun is already up. Fajr is gone, and part of you says the day is already ruined.
1. What makes this situation hard?
2. What can you do before it happens?
3. What do you do in the moment?
4. What would you ask your imam?
Plan for about 5 minutes. Then each group shares its plan with the room in one minute.
Travel and combining prayers have detailed rulings, and the schools differ on them. "Ask my imam before the trip" is a real step in a plan.
On today's notebook page, write a plan for the three salah situations that are hardest for you. They can be from the list, or your own: a sport, a job, a house where nobody prays, the Fajr alarm.
| Situation | What usually happens | My plan before it happens | My plan in the moment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | |||
| 2. | |||
| 3. |
Your plan stays with you. Write it for your real week, not an ideal one.
There are no graded answers here. Talking about your own salah in your own words is the point.
Front: the cue, the Arabic, and the words. Back: the meaning and the source.
أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي
Aqimis-salata li-dhikri
Establish prayer for My remembrance.
Lesson 11 · Surah Ta-Ha 20:14
إِذَا رَقَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ عَنِ الصَّلاَةِ أَوْ غَفَلَ عَنْهَا فَلْيُصَلِّهَا إِذَا ذَكَرَهَا
Idha raqada ahadukum 'anis-salati aw ghafala 'anha, fal-yusalliha idha dhakaraha
When one of you sleeps through the prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.
Lesson 11 · Sahih Muslim 684d
لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ
La taqnatu min rahmatillah
Do not despair of the mercy of Allah (SWT).
Lesson 11 · Surah Az-Zumar 39:53
Your cards stay with you. Nobody collects them.
Your writing stays with you.
Choose one of your three hardest salah situations and carry out your written plan for it this week.
If it does not go the way you planned, change one thing in the plan and try again. Keep studying your cards one or two minutes a day, for example after a prayer.
The card drill at the start of the next lesson begins with today's three cards.
Capstone: The Meeting. You will explain part of the salah in English to a partner, finish your personal salah plan, and bring your real questions. Bring your notebook and your cards.