Salah in Polar Regions Five prayers a day are compulsory in Islam. However, in the extreme Polar Regions a day or a night lasts six months each, in the sense that the sun is always visible or always invisible. So, how does one pray there? This objection has often been...
Belief Enables Man to Attain True Humanity Belief enables man to attain true humanity, and to acquire a position above all other creatures. Thus, belief and worship are the most fundamental and important duties of man. Unbelief, by contrast, reduces him to the state of a brutal but extremely impotent...
Wudu: A Prescription for Good Health Here is a grand prescription from among the many marvels of the Qur’an. The day will come when even non-Muslims will imitate the Muslim wudu or washing before prayer, a privilege and favour Muslims have enjoyed for more than fourteen hundred years. And they...
Imam Imam (إمام imām; plural: أئمة aʼimmah: “leader,” “model”) in a general sense, one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayer. In a global sense, imam is used to refer to the head of the Muslim community (ummah). The title is found in the Qurʾān several times to refer to leaders and to Abraham. The origin and basis...
Amen Amen is used in Jewish, Christian and Islamic worship, as a concluding word, or as a response to a prayer. Amen is a declaration of affirmation first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently in the New Testament. Common English translations of the word amen include “verily”, “truly”, and “so be...
Book of Common Prayer Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break...
Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life....
What is a Hymn? A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος (hymnos), which means “a song of praise“. A writer of hymns is known...
What is a Chant? A chant (“to sing”) is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great...
Recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Academic recitation In academia, recitation is a presentation made by a student to demonstrate knowledge of a subject or to provide instruction to others. In some academic institutions the term is used...
Christian Child’s Prayer A Christian child’s prayer is Christian prayer recited primarily by children that is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers are either quotes from the Bible, or set traditional texts. While...
Petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, or...
Invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb invocare “to call on, invoke, to give”) may take the form of: Supplication, prayer or spell. A form of possession. Command or conjuration. Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms are described below, but are not mutually exclusive. See also Theurgy. Supplication or prayer As a supplication or prayer it implies to call upon God, a god, goddess, or...
Curse Tablet A curse tablet (tabella defixionis, defixio; κατάδεσμος katadesmos) is a small tablet with a curse written on it from the Greco-Roman world. The tablets were used to ask the gods, place spirits, or the deceased to perform an action on a person or object, or otherwise compel the subject of the curse....
Curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, “curse” may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spiritual power,...
Ardās The Ardās (ਅਰਦਾਸ) is a set prayer in Sikhism. It is a part of worship service in a Gurdwara (Sikh temple), daily rituals such as the opening the Guru Granth Sahib for prakash (morning light) or closing it for sukhasan (night bedroom) in larger Gurdwaras, closing of congregational worship in smaller Gurdwaras, rites-of-passages such as with the naming of child...
Worshipping and Praying within Sight of our Children There should be a place and time for performing our prayers at home. We should either perform our prayers at home in congregation, if possible, or we should take our children to the mosque, holding their hands on the way. The latter...
Novena A novena (from Latin: novem, “nine”) is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples gathered in the upper room and devote themselves to prayer, is often considered...
Veneration of The Dead The veneration of the dead, including one’s ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors....
Abhisheka Abhiṣeka or abhisheka in Sanskrit means “bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered.” It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhiṣeka is common to Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism An abhiṣeka...
