Muslim Prayer for English Speaking Converts

Most people who know anything about Islam know that Muslims pray in Arabic. I converted 3 1/2 years ago, and one of the first things I was told was that I would have to learn to pray in Arabic. I accepted what I was told (about how to pray) without asking any questions. That was sort of strange for me, because I asked about two million questions when I was learning about Islam and deciding whether to take the leap of faith and convert. Not only did I ask the questions, but I insisted on seeing the answers somewhere besides the Quran. After all, how can you expect a person to be convinced using evidence that they don't necessarily accept as the truth?

Anyway, once I converted, I broke from my own pattern and neglected to ask the few questions that so many people have since asked me. Why do the prayers have to be said in Arabic? What if you don't speak Arabic? Is there something you can say while you are learning Arabic? If you are speaking a foreign language, then how do you "connect" with God? Is there any part of the prayer that I can say in my own language? If the words mean nothing to me, do the prayers still count? Instead of asking questions, I allowed my own spirituality to suffer by forcing myself to learn the entire prayer in Arabic. I learned to perform salat as an act of obedience instead of the true worship that it is meant to be.

Recently, a dear friend of mine converted. She (and her husband) started asking these questions of me. I had learned a few months ago that there were words that could be said while learning the Arabic, but I finally decided to do some real research myself in order to give my friend the best possible answer. So, here are the answers, all rolled in together:

The Muslim prayers, called Salat, are a prescribed form of worship which is separate from those regular prayers where we speak to God in our hearts or out loud, asking for things we want or need or just connecting on a spiritual level. Salat includes reciting a portion of the Quran. The Quran is the literal word of God, so cannot be changed by translating it into another language. Therefore, the portion of Salat that is made up of reciting Quran MUST be performed in Arabic. Otherwise, the Islamic prayers known as salat may be prayed in ANY language. Salat still counts if you don't understand what you are saying, but it does nothing to benefit you spiritually. On that level, it becomes an act of obedience, much like making your bed when you were a teenager. You do it so you don't get punished.

Some people have a very hard time learning Arabic. I'm pretty sure my friend is going to be one of those persons, simply because she doesn't seem to hear some of the strange sounds that exist only in Arabic. God, being the All-Merciful, gave us a solution for that. A man once came to Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and said that he absolutely could not learn the Arabic language. Muhammed told him to pray in his own language, then. He simply had to say, "Glory be to Allah and praise and thanks be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah and Allah is Most Exalted and Great" in the place where the Quranic verses are to be recited.

The number of rakat, or repetitions, of the salat vary depending on what time you are praying. For the dawn prayer, we pray only two rakat as a mercy from God. For the noon prayer, we perform four rakat. For the afternoon prayer, we also perform four rakat. At sunset, God has given us another mercy. We pray only three rakat. Then, once night time has fully come, we perform four rakat. Below is an explanation of how to perform Salat in English. Remember that the substituted words in step two are to be used only if you have not or cannot learn the few Quranic verses in Arabic.

First raka:

1. Stand, facing Mecca (in Saudi Arabia). Raise your hands with your thumbs near your ears and say, "God is the Greatest"

2. Fold your arms in front of you, with your right hand on your left forearm and say, "Glory be to Allah and praise and thanks be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah and Allah is Most Exalted and Great"

3. Raise your hands to about your shoulders and say, "God is the Greatest"

4. Bow with your hands on your knees. Say, "Glorified is my Lord, the Great" (3 times)

5. Stand straight up. While in the process of standing, say, "Allah listens to him who praises Him" Once completely standing, say, "Our Lord, praise be for You only," then raise your hands to about shoulder height and say, "God is the Greatest"

6. Go down on your knees, face on the floor (forehead and nose), hands just below the shoulders, toes pointing forward (bent, not behind you). Say, "Glorified is my Lord, the Exalted" (3 times)

7. Say, "God is the Greatest" then sit up on your knees and say, "Oh my Lord, forgive me and have mercy on me."

8. Then say "God is the greatest" and return to prostrating (face on the floor). Say again, "Glorified is my Lord, the Exalted" (3 times)

This completes the first rakah. For the second rakah, do steps 1 through 8, and then come to a sitting position. While coming to the sitting position, say, "God is the Greatest"

9. Sit up on your knees, bottom resting on your heels, hands resting near your knees and say, "All our oral, physical and monetary ways of worship are only for Allah. Peace, mercy and blessing of Allah be on you, O Prophet. May peace be upon us and on the devout slaves of Allah. I testify that there is no God but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and messenger".

This completes the second raka.

Since you are not reading any part of the Quran, there are no other changes. Every two rakat will be done exactly like this, with the exception of the sunset prayer. Because you only pray 3 rakat instead of 4, you will do the "second" rakah twice (eg. first rakah, second rakah, second rakah). After you have completed all rakat:
Remain sitting with your hands near your knees and say, "O God send your mercy on Muhammad and his posterity as you sent Your mercy on Abraham and his posterity. You are the Most Praised, The Most Glorious. O God, send your Blessings on Muhammad and his posterity as you have blessed Abraham and his posterity. You are the Most praised, The Most Glorious. Our Lord, grant us the good of this world and that of the Hereafter and save us from the torture of hell."

Then, turn your head to the right to address the angel at your right shoulder and say, "Peace and mercy of Allah be on you."

Then, turn your head to the left to address the angel at your left shoulder and say, "Peace and mercy of Allah be on you."

This completes the prayer.

I hope this information is helpful to anyone trying to learn to pray and enlightening to those who are just curious.