Prayer at ten thousand metres

I sat next to a serious muslim on the flight to Dubai. Even before take-off, he was reading the Koran. After flying for 4 hours, he anxiously asked me to open the window shield. He needed to find out when the sun set. And that’s time for his prayer.

Prayer is “Salat” in Arabic. Actually “Salat” means connection or communication literally. This is a very good description of prayer. When you pray, it’s a two-way communication between you and God. For muslims, the prayer times are in accordance with the position of the sun starting with:
(1) pre-dawn (Al Fajr);
(2) between noon and mid afternoon (Al Thuhur);
(3) between mid-afternoon and sunset (Al Asr);
(4) between sunset and darkness (Al Maghrib) and
(5) evening (Al Isha)

Right after sunset, the guy sitting next to me retreated to solitude. The Singaporean flight attendant seemed to understand his needs. She guided him to the back where he could pray.

Muslims believed that regular prayer could restrain a person from doing shameful and wrong actions. Although it sounds like rituals, this is something Christians need to learn. Never stop praying. We simply do not pray enough.