Conditions for the Validity of Prayer

The conditions of prayer are the matters that are not part of the prayer, but must be satisfied before starting the prayer. They are:

1-     Islam: Prayer is not valid from a blasphemer.

2-     To be at the age of mental discrimination (mumayyiz), i.e., the age at which the child understands when addressed and answers when asked.

3-     To be pure from both ritual impurities. One must have wudu', and clear of the states of minor and major ritual impurity.

4-     The clothes, body, place, and what one is carrying must be pure (tahir). If one prays while carrying in one’s pocket a piece of cloth that had najas-filth on it, one’s prayer is invalid.