The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2083 page)

’ (Night Journey) to heaven.
al
t should be performed in common, in a
mosque
, especially the Noon prayer on Friday (
Jum‘a
). But the Muslim may pray individually or in small groups, when one member is chosen as the
Im
m
, and this may be in any ritually clean area, marked off by
sutra
. A prayer mat,
sajj
da
, is commonly used.
al
t must be performed facing the
qibla
, the direction of
Mecca
, which in a mosque is indicated by the
mi
r
b
(see
MOSQUE
).
al
t is preceded by ritual ablution (
wu
’,
ghusl
, or
tayammum
) as appropriate. It is divided into distinct movements, accompanied by formulae. First, in a standing position facing the qibla, is the pronouncement of the
niy(y)a
(intention) to perform the
al