By Yusuf Pyram

Just like any act of worship, the prayer (as-salah) has its conditions and prerequisites that must be satisfied in order for it to be valid, i.e. to be accepted by Allah, the Exalted. There are two categories of criteria upon which the validity of the salah is based: external and internal. The external conditions of the prayer relates to the aspects of prayer that are done prior to its performance, and the internal ones deal with the obligatory actions that are part of the prayer ritual itself. We shall focus on the external conditions of salah although we will cover some of its internal requirements.

External Conditions

Purification

The first condition for one’s salah to be valid is proper purification (taharah). Purifying oneself prior to standing before the Lord of the worlds is a mandatory (fard) act that demonstrates the respect, reverence and fear of the Muslim for his Lord. This can be performed using one of three valid methods: wudu (called partial ablution), ghusl (known as full ablution), or tayamum (also called dry ablution). Allah, the Most High, made it in obligation when he said (in meaning) in His Glorious Qur’an:

“O you who believe! Do not approach prayer…in a state of ceremonial impurity…” [Surah (Nisaa) 4:43]

“O you who believe! When you prepare for prayer, wash your faces and your hands (and your arms) up to the elbows. Rub your heads (with water) and (wash) your feet up to the ankles.” [Surah (Maidah) 5:7]

In the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, we read about the importance of purification:

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be peace) say, “Allah does not accept prayer without purification, nor charity (sadaqah) from illegally attained wealth.” (Muslim 1/60)

From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said, ” The prayer of anyone of you breaching purification is not accepted unless he performs ablution.” (Bukhari 1/206; Muslim 225)

We see that the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, make it clear that salah is invalid without purification.

Location

A very important external requirement of the prayer is the place of prayer. Although the entire earth has been made pure for the ummah of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, there are exceptions. Some location have been prohibited, where as others can be deduced from general common moral sense.

The topmost forbidden place is the cemetery. This is because prayer there can cause one to commit shirk by association. The person may pray to the dead, especially if he was pious, as an intercessor between him and Allah, Most Gracious. Filthy places like bathrooms, stables and barns are forbidden because they go against purity. Places that are forbidden by law are also forbidden. For instance, one is forbidden from praying in an area that prohibits trespassing, unless one has no choice but to do so, in which case it’s permissible.

Qiblah

In addition to meeting the criteria of purification and location, one must satisfy that of direction. The praying Muslim has the obligation of orienting his body in the direction of Makkah, Saudi Arabia so as to face the holy house of Allah, the Exalted: the Ka’ba

Covering the Awrah

It is fard for the Muslim to cover up the parts of the body that constitute his nakedness. For men, his nakedness is any part that extends from the navel to the knees. For women her entire body, except for her face and hands. Therefore, these parts should be covered prior to beginning to pray. Not covering, or having them be partially uncovered during salah, are a common cause for the invalidation of salah.