Prayer is one of the most important acts in the Branches of Islam (Furooa-a-Deen).  It is way to worship Allah showing love and devotion to Him.  It keeps the soul and mind free from any pollution such as paganism.  Prayer is also a cleansing agent for our hearts and soul.  It brings spiritual happiness and prevents our souls from becoming depressed, dull, or sad.  When making prayer a habit, it discourages carelessness and helps to progress oneself in life.  If a person's prayer is accepted, then other acts of worship are accepted.  If a person thinks that prayer is unimportant and ordinary, then he is like the person who does not pray.  The word prayer in Arabic is "salat" and in Urdu and Persian it is "namaz".

The Wajib(obligatory) prayers
1) Five daily praye 6) Salat Al-Kassam
2) Salat Al-Ayyat  7) Salat Al-Juma
3)  Salat Al-Mayyat  8) Salat Al-Istejara
4) Salat Al-Tawaf  9) Salat Al-Qatha
5) Salat Al-Nithir  10) Salat Al-Ehtiyat

Rules for prayer
 (In some conditions one or more listed below is slightly altered.)
 

1) One must be pure (tahar) and wear pure clothing.
2) Perform ablution (Wudu).
3) Face the correct direction towards the Kaba (Qibla).
4) Must cover all private areas of the body (for women it must be the modest dress, the Hijab.)

Places to Pray
 

1) Must be lawful:  One must receive permission to pray on the property unless it is for public use.

2) Should be motionless:  Boats and planes should be avoided, but if there is no other place then he/she should try to perform it and stay towards the Qibla.

3) Leveled area:  When in prostration (sajda) the head can not be higher or lower  (four fingers
 

4) Infringing the sanctity:  One's back should not be face the grave of a Prophet or Imam when praying or pray on a surface with the name of Allah, the Prophet, or Imams written on.
5) Men do not pray behind women:  If a women prays in front of a man while he is praying then her prayer becomes invalid and the same is for a man if he does the same.
 

6) Must be pure (Tahir):  It applies particularly to the prostration position.

1) Five daily prayers:
 Name  Rakat  Time
 Subah      2    from dawn before sunrise
 Thuhr     4    from noon before sunset
 Asr      4  from afternoon before sunset (after Thuhr)
 Maghrib     3   after sunset before midnight
 Isha      4  after sunset before midnight (after Maghrib)

 Obligatory acts to make prayer valid:
 1) Intention (Niyyat)
 2) Standing (Qiyam)
 3) Saying "Allahu Akbar" to start the prayer (Takbiratul Ehram)
 4) Bowing (Ruku)
 5) The two prostration’s (Sajdatayn)
 6) Reciting of Surat Al-Fatiha and another sura (Qira'at)
 7) Reciting in bowing (Ruku) and prostration (Sajadah), (Zikir)
 8) Bearing witness after finishing prostration (Sajadah) of the second and last Rakat (Tashahud)
 9) Salutation (Salaam)
 10) Sequence (Tarteeb)
 11) Praying with no time or action gaps (Muwalat)

If any of these five elements are missed from the prayer then the prayer is invalid:
 1) Intention (Niyyat)
 2) Saying "Allahu Akbar" to start the prayer (Takbiratul Ehram)
 3) Standing before bowing (Ruku),  (Qiyam)
 4) Bowing (Ruku)
 5) The two prostration’s (Sajdatayn)
 
2) Salat Al-Ayat
 This prayer becomes obligatory (wajib) when acts of Allah take place such  as earthquakes,
eclipses, and cyclones.
 

The way this prayer is performed is:
 1)  It consists of two rakat and may be prayed individually or in a group.
 2) The intention is "Salat-e-Ayat" (prayer of the signs).
 3)In the first rakat, one says surat Al-Fatiha following it with a short sura (such as Al-Ikhlas) and
bows in a ruka.
 4) The person does this five times in total.
 5)Then after the fifth time, one continues the prayer until one reaches the second rakat.
 6)The second rakat is the same as the first and then completes the prayer.

3) Salat Al-Mayyat
 This prayer is obligatory when it is burial time for the dead.

4) Salat Al-Tawaf
 It is offered when one is going around the Kaba at the time Haj.  The  intention is "Salat
Al-Tawaf" and it is performed like the morning prayer.

5) Salat Al-Nithir
 When a person declares that he/she will perform a prayer if a certain desire is fulfilled.  "SalatAl-Nithir" is the intention and prays the amount in which he/she declared to pray.

6) Salat Al-Kasam
 When one has taken an oath, one must perform this prayer.  The intention is "Salat Al-Kasam"and prays the amount in which he/she vowed to pray.

7) Salat Al-Jumah
 The Friday congregational prayer is obligatory when Imam Mehdi (P) is present.  It must be
prayed in congregation and can replace the noon (Thuhr) prayer.  There must be at least seven
people (including the prayer-leader) and the distance between another Friday prayer must be more than three miles in order for the prayer to be valid.  The leader should give two sermons: one to praise Allah and the second is asking the people to follow the religion.  It is only two rakat and can be prayed like the morning prayer.

8) Salat Al-Istejara
 When a one is responsible for offering on behalf of a person who passed away the prayers in
which he/she has omitted in his/her lifetime.  The intention is "Salat Al-Istejara" and prays what ever prayers that were missed (for example the Thur prayer).

9) Salat Al-Qada
 Prayers which are obligatory on the oldest son to perform for his father the prayers that did not do in his lifetime.  The intention is "Salat Al-Qada" and prays the prayers that were missed (such as the Maghrib prayer).

10) Salat Al-Ihtiyat
 When there is certain doubts which occur in the daily prayers.

Some sayings about prayer
 

- "Supposing in front of the house of one of you there is a river and you wash   yourself in it five times a day, will there still remain any dirt on your body?  The five time salawat does the same thing.  With these five daily salawat, Allah obliterates all sins and makes one pure and clean."
Prophet Mohammed (P)
-  "A person who does not attach any importance and considers it to be something insignificant deserves chastisement in the hereafter." Holy Prophet (P)
-  (speaking about a man while praying improperly) "If this man dies and his prayer continue to be this way, he will not depart on my religion." Holy Prophet (P)
- "Prayer is the pillar of religion."

Bibliography

1)Naqvi, Ali Muhammad.  A Manual of Islamic Beliefs and Practice vol. 1.
 pg. 173-226.

2) Lalljee, N. Yousuf.  Know Your Islam pg. 178-181.

3)  Seestani, Ali Al-Husaini.  Islamic Laws pg. 260-278.