How To Pray Salah Consistently (& Never Miss It Again!)
We all know the importance of Salah in Islam.
It makes up one of the pillars of Islam. It is also the first thing that will protect us in the grave and the first thing that we will be asked about on the Day of Judgement.
And yet, Salah is neglected day to day.
Daily responsibilities – household tasks, work, children, family, friends, social activities etc. – may cause you to delay your Salah, and at worst, miss it completely.
It becomes that your daily life, aka your worldly tasks, starts taking precedence over your Salah. You start to fit your Salah around your daily schedule, when it should be the opposite.
At the end of the day, when this all ends, and it inevitably will, none of it would have mattered. But what you did as a Muslim, this is what truly matters. This is what you will be tested on, and by passing this test, you will attain a hereafter that is unfathomable for you now.
So, if you currently don’t pray regularly or want to know how to pray Salah on time, these tips below will help you make the five salah the non-negotiable foundational points of the day where you can incorporate your daily tasks around your Salah rather than trying to fit your Salah in where you can.
Your five prayers are your anchors – they are what will keep you grounded and focused on what is truly important.
Find out how to pray your Salah in a timely manner, and use these five points of the day to maximise your productivity/ efficiency and get more things done overall.
Related:
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How to pray Salah & incorporate it into your schedule
Everyone has different productivity times and levels. Therefore, using the time management techniques below, assess your ‘high productivity’ and ‘low productivity’ times of the day, and then assign tasks to your five anchors of the day based on your energy levels.
Preparation
Alarms
It goes without saying that if you’re struggling to do something on time or forgetting to do it, the best thing to do would be to set alarms. So, either using your clock app on your phone, or an actual Adhan app, set alarms that remind you when it is time for Salah.
You could also set an alarm for 5-10 minutes before Adhan if you need time to prepare for Salah (such as doing Wudhu, freshening up, brushing your teeth with a Miswak etc.)
Wudhu
Stay in a state of wudhu so that you can pray sooner and prevent procrastination before prayer.
This will also keep you mindful throughout the day about your prayer and help you maintain good habits as you are continually in a state of purity.
Make it a habit to do Wudhu whether it is just before you leave for work or at night before you go to bed.
Already being in a state of Wudhu may even encourage you to do voluntary prayers such as Duha prayer or Qiyyam-al-Layl, both which have amazing benefits and adds greatly to your scale of good deeds.
Carry a pocket prayer mat & find a space to pray
It’s easy to find a space to pray when you’re at home but can be difficult when you’re at work/ in education.
Speak to your manager/ teacher about having a small, quiet space to pray if there is no designated prayer space already, and carry a pocket prayer mat, so you always have a clean space to pray.
When out with friends/ family, keeping a pocket prayer mat will be handy when you don’t have an indoor space to pray.
Creating a schedule around you Salah
If you keep week/ month schedules, time block your Salah into your schedule so that it becomes a part of your daily routine.
During work, schedule meetings around your Salah so that you can get it done first and not have to worry about it should your meeting run over a bit.
Social Activities
Plan your outings based on Salah times.
For example, if your friends are saying to meet up at 1pm, but Dhuhr prayer is at 1:10pm, ask them if you could re-schedule to 2pm so that you can pray Dhuhr on time.
In addition to this, rather than thinking about conventional times (like 1pm, 2pm, 3pm etc.), think about Salah times instead.
So, if you go out at a particular time, rather than thinking ‘I want to be home by 6pm,’ think instead ‘I want to be home before Maghrib which is at 7:30pm, so that I can pray Asr on time.’
Then, you can plan further – realistically, will you be home by Asr, or do you need to take your pocket prayer mat with you?
If you know there’s a chance of missing it, or delaying it severely, take the pocket prayer mat with you (it’s best to take it anyway).
Figure out your high/ low energy times
This activity will take you a few days of self-assessment but is well worth it.
Simply observe your energy levels for the next couple of days. What time do you feel the most energetic/ efficient/ productive, and what time do you feel the least?
If you have more energy at the beginning of the day, batch your high intensity tasks around Fajr and Dhuhr and low intensity tasks later on in the day.
Batching your tasks around your prayer times will make it more likely for you to pray on time as praying will be part of those tasks.
Make the prayer times signposts for your tasks. Once the next prayer time begins, move onto the next set of tasks.
Even better, if you have repetitive tasks that you do daily, batch those tasks to a specific Salah time so that you get into the habit of doing both the Salah on time as well as the task!
If you want to learn how to be more efficient with your time and get more out of doing less, apply the pareto principle to your tasks for increased output.
Habit stack
Habit stack certain things you want to do consistently with a prayer time for increased chances of getting it all done!
Fajr is a great time for self-reflection and Ibadah so why not combine that with other tasks that can compliment it? This may include journaling or doing your morning skin care.
Stack these habits together in a specific routine to trigger your brain into thinking about the next task.
So, if you wake up to pray Tahajjud before Fajr, you can use the time in between to do self-reflection, do dhikr etc. Then after Fajr, you could get into the habit of doing a morning journal, doing your skin care, making a cup of tea, then reading the Quran.
Likewise, you can habit stack your prayer with other things you would generally do during the day such as having your meals. You could make it a point to only have lunch after you’ve prayed Dhuhr, for example.
Do this repeatedly, and you will naturally be doing these tasks without thinking too much about it.
Having a prayer habit tracker will also motivate you to do all your prayers on time.
Create a morning & evening routine
Having a morning and evening routine ensures that you stay organised and prepared for the day ahead as well as the next day.
If you have a poor routine at the end of the day and sleep late, you may miss Fajr the next day.
Similarly, not having a proper morning routine may make you feel disorganised and lethargic, this can easily affect your mood and cause you to delay your prayer.
It doesn’t need to be complicated – simply being in the habit of waking up on time to pray, then having breakfast can be your morning routine. Likewise, your evening routine may just consist of planning the next day and going to bed early.
These two times of the day – one at the beginning and one at the end – act like productivity boosters. Not having a morning and evening routine doesn’t mean you won’t be productive, but they enhance your efficiency so that you can do more.
If you struggle to go to sleep, here are some science-backed tips that will help you get to sleep earlier and have a better quality of sleep too.
Ask Allah for Guidance
Last but definitely not least, in fact the most important point of all, is to make sincere Dua to Allah to help you and allow you to do all your prayers on time.
Work on achieving Taqwa so that you attain the constant awareness that Allah is always there watching and that you can’t sin in front of Him.
Make it your utmost goal above everything to learn how to pray Salah in a consistent and timely manner. It is not just an obligation but an opportunity for you to pause in the Dunya and focus on what is most important.
Related:
A Simple Guide On Making Duas In Islam
What is Taqwa? Qualities & How to Attain It
How To Be A Better Muslim (+ Centre Your Life Around Islam!)
Key Points – How To Pray Salah Consistently (& Never Miss It Again!)
- It goes without saying that if you’re struggling to do something on time or forgetting to do it, the best thing to do would be to set alarms. So, either using your clock app on your phone, or an actual Adhan app, set alarms that remind you when it is time for Salah.
- Stay in a state of wudhu so that you can pray sooner and prevent procrastination before prayer.
- Speak to your manager/ teacher about having a small, quiet space to pray if there is no designated prayer space already, and carry a pocket prayer mat, so you always have a clean space to pray.
- If you keep week/ month schedules, time block your Salah into your schedule so that it becomes a part of your daily routine.
- Plan your outings based on Salah times.
- If you have more energy at the beginning of the day, batch your high intensity tasks around Fajr and Dhuhr and low intensity tasks later on in the day. Batching your tasks around your prayer times will make it more likely for you to pray on time as praying will be part of those tasks.
- Habit stack certain things you want to do consistently with a prayer time for increased chances of getting it all done!
- Last but definitely not least, in fact the most important point of all, is to make sincere Dua to Allah to help you and allow you to do all your prayers on time.
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