Prayer: Dress Attire, Etiquette and Prayer Beads

Just some simple things to get you thinking before the prayer workshop with our guest on Saturday:

Basic Intro to Salat (Prayer)
Prayer Times - Kabul, Afghanistan
Further Islamic Etiquette
History of Muslim Prayer Beads
Blog on Islam Beliefs and Traditions

I would just glance over those links to gain a better understanding on the history of prayer, the meaning of prayer, and how to use prayer beads.

The Adhan and Iqama

The Adhan literally translates to a 'call to prayer'. For each prayer in the Muslim faith, in most areas of the middle east, there are minarets where a cassette recording sings the Adhan which calls Muslims to prayer (5 times a day). These clearly aren't the prayers themselves, but in short: they let the community know that it is time to pray. 


The sound itself is very melodic, but there is no definite melody assigned to the hymn. So it can sound very differently in different parts of the globe - no region specificity. It is the same for each of the five prayers EXCEPT for the Fajr - the sunrise prayer. In an outdoor setting, the Adhan acts as a reminder to go to a Mosque.
Basic Adhan prayer chart:

Recital	Arabic	Transliteration	Translation
4x	الله أكبر	Allahu Akbar	God is Greatest
2x	أشهد أن لا اله إلا الله	Ash-hadu al-la ilaha illa llah	I bear witness that there is no God except Allah.
2x	أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله	Ash-hadu anna MuħammaduRasulullah	I bear witness that Muhammad is God's messenger
2x	حي على الصلاة	Hayya 'ala s-salah	Come to salat (prayer, worship)
2x	حي على الفلاح	Hayya 'ala 'l-falah	Come to salvation
2x	الله أكبر	Allāhu akbar	God is greatest
1x	لا إله إلا الله	La ilaha illallah	There is no god except Allah.

Following the Adhan, immediately before prayer, the Iqama is prayed. The Iqamah refers to the second call to Islamic prayer said immediately before prayer begins. 
Basic Iqama prayer chart:

Recital	Arabic	Transliteration	Translation
2x	الله اكبر الله اكبر	āllahu ākbar, āllahu ākbar	Allah is Greatest, Allah is Greatest,
2x	اشهد ان لا اله الا الله	āsh'hadu ān lā ilaha illā-llah	I assert that there is no god but Allah,
2x	اشهد ان محمد رسول الله	āsh'hadu ānna mūhammadār rasūlu-llah	I assert that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
2x	حي على الصلاة	hayyā `alā-s-salat	Come to prayer,
2x	حي على الفلاح	hayyā `alā-l-falāh	Come to worship,
2x	قد قامت الصلاة	qad qāma tis-salaat	Prayer has begun,
1x	الله اكبر الله اكبر	āllahu ākbar, āllahu ākbar	God is Greatest, God is Greatest,
1x	لا اله الا الله	lā ilaha illā-llah	There is no god but Allah

More info on the Adhan and Iqama
Sample sound sample of the Adhan
The Adhan - Basic

Glossary--Compiled by Isaac.

Adhan

Aimaq

Bacha Bareesh

Bhopal Disaster

Cudgels

Dari

Hazaras

Jihadists

Muhammad

Nuristani

Opium/Poppies

Pamirian

Qizilbash

Sitar

Tajiks

Taliban

Turkmen

Uzbeks

Sound of Dari

Dari is the the variety of Persian spoken in Afghanistan, where it is one of the two official languages, along with Pashto, and is used as a lingua franca among the different language communities. Dari is also used as the medium of instruction in Afghan schools. About 5 million people speak Dari in Afghanistan. There are also about 2.5 million Dari speakers in the Iran and Pakistan.

The following links contain samples of spoken Dari:

Voice Samples Dari
scroll to the bottom of the page under Dari voice Actresses and Actors

Bible Stories in Dari