Fatwa ID: 03707

Answered by: Maulana Muhammad Imad Ali

Question

Is there any difference between 'prayer' and 'invocation'?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Usually speaking, the term ‘prayer’ is used for Salah and the term ‘invocation’ is used for Du’a when translating.

Literally the word Salah means connection and the word Du’a means to call.

Also, for performing Salah (prayer), there is a fixed method and as for performing Du’a, there is no fixed method – it’s more of a request whereas the prayer is more to do with praising Allah (SWT).

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Muhammad Imad Ali

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ilm Birmingham