Five Daily Prayers

Muslims have been ordered to pray five times a day and the best place to observe these prayers is in the Mosque, as the most reward is gained by doing so. The five prayers are spread out through the day and are determined by the movement of the sun from dawn till night time. Dulwich Islamic Centre facilitates the Five daily prayers in its main prayer hall.

1. The first prayer is known as Fajr and the time to pray this is from the crack of dawn till sunrise.
2. The second prayer is known as Dhuhr and it begins about 10 minutes after midday
3. The third prayer is known as Asr and it begins in late afternoon
4. The fourth prayer is known as Maghrib and begins just after sunset
5. The fifth and final prayer is known as Isha and begins at night time, approximately 2 hours after sunset.

Friday Prayers (Salatul Jum’uah)

The Friday Prayer (Arabic: Salatul Jum’uah) is the core congregational gathering of the week for the Muslim community the world over and Dulwich is no different. We get up to around 300 worshippers who attend Friday prayers at Dulwich Islamic Centre, but the capacity is straining and we will need to expand the current space that we have to be able to accommodate more worshippers.

The Friday prayer is prayed at the same time as the afternoon prayer called Dhuhr, which is prayed on all other days, except for Friday.

The Friday Prayer comprises of two parts. the first part is the ‘Khutbah’ (sermon), which is delivered by the Imam. This lasts for about 10 minutes and after that there is prayer that consists of two units. After the completion of the prayer, The Friday Prayer is over and worshippers are free to leave or stay as they wish.

Children’s Madrassah

The weekly Children’s Madrassah takes place on the weekend.

During the Madrassah, which means school is Arabic, children between the ages of 5 – 16 learn how to read the Arabic language, read the Qur’an and also memorise portions of the Qur’an.

Also taught during the Madrassah are the basics of Islam, how to pray and tenets of Belief.

Normally, when children first join, if they haven’t already begun to read Arabic at home, then this is the first point at which they start in the Madrassah. As they progress, they also memorise portions of the Qur’an through listening and repetition. Once they have become proficient in reading Arabic, they then move onto reading the Qur’an exclusively. During their time at the Madrassah, they aim to finish the reading the whole Qur’an from cover to cover at least once and memorise at least the 30th portion (Juz) of the Qur’an, which has the most chapters and many of them are very short.

Adult’s Qur’an Class

Dulwich Islamic Centre hasn’t forgotten it’s elder members of he community. Special afternoon class is led by the Imam to teach the adults in the community how to read the Qur’an and pronounce it correctly.

This is a valuable resource for many who haven’t learnt how to read he Qur’an properly.

Daily Iftar meal and dinner

Every year, during the Blessed month of Ramadan, Dulwich Islamic Centre provides daily evening meals for those who were fasting in the community, free of charge.

The food is donated on a daily basis by members of the community, so that every day there is something different for the congregation to eat. Young and old sit together in communal harmony, enjoying the Iftar meal and sharing a conversation with their fellow Muslim.

Daily Night Prayers (Tarawih)

After opening the fast and praying the sunset prayer, Maghrib, Muslims then get themselves ready for the special night prayer in Ramadan, called Tarawih.

The Tarawih prayer starts after the late evening prayer, ‘Isha, has been completed. The name Tarawih, which in Arabic means ‘to rest’, was given by the early Muslim community because it would be a long prayer, in between which the worshippers would take a rest. The Tarawih consists of two units of prayer, which are normally longer than the normal prayer. At Dulwich Islamic Centre, the Tarawih prayer is 23 units (rakah) in total, which includes 3 rakah at the end called The Witr prayer, which literally means ‘odd number’, because the Witr prayer is prayed in an odd number of units. The Witr prayer is also prayed outside of Ramadan, anytime after ‘Isha and before the dawn prayer, Fajr.

Dulwich Islamic Centre is filled to capacity during the Tarawih prayers, with worshippers praying on both the ground and first floors.

Eid-ul-Fitr Prayer

The end of the month of Ramadan is marked by a festival called Eid-ul-Fitr, which is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the month immediately after Ramadan.

The normal routine on the day of Eid-Ul-Fitr is that Muslim take a bath, wear new clothes and have breakfast in the morning, to set it apart from the daily routine of Ramadan, when they would have been fasting. They then head out to either their local Islamic Centre or a designated outside location where the Eid prayer is held.

The manner of this prayer is a bit different from other prayers that are observed throughout the year. It begins with two units of prayer, and after they have been completed the Imam then delivers a sermon, which differs from the Friday prayer, where the sermon is delivered before the prayer. Once the Eid sermon has been completed, it is a tradition that the worshippers will get up and hug each other and say ‘Eid Mubarak’. Thereafter they are free to go home with their families, to enjoy the rest of the day.

Dulwich Islamic Centre normally facilitates for about four Eid prayers throughout the morning, so that they can regulate the numbers of worshippers and also for those who who are able to pray it early or later. The Eid prayer can be prayed at any time between sunrise and noon, just before Dhuhr, the afternoon prayer.

Eid-ul-Adha Prayer

Eid-ul-Adha is the second of the two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate globally. It coincides with the Hajj pilgrimage, that takes place in the sacred city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The routine for Eid-ul-Adha is similar to Eid-ul-Fitr, only that the breakfast is normally eaten after returning from the Eid prayer. The Eid prayer itself is prayed in the same manner as at Eid-ul-Fitr. Muslims normally get a whole sheep or goat prepared to eat and to distribute to friends and family. Many Muslims also donate their meat to other countries in order to feed the poor. The Muslims who are on the Hajj do not celebrate Eid, as this day is known as the main day of Hajj.

Dulwich Islamic Centre facilitate Eid-ul-Adha prayers in a similar manner to Eid-ul-Fitr, four prayers spread out throughout the morning, from sunrise to noon time.