Muslim Students at Central High School pray every Friday in Science teacher Rayan King room due to being late for Salah (praying) when

they get home. Senior Haadi Naeem decided to ask for permission to let them pray at school. He also asked if he could lead the prayer. Senior Atifa Saifi was happy to join because she didn’t want to wait to pray.

“The time we get home, it’s going to be way too late to pray,” said Atifa Saifi. “So it’s a very good time to finish the prayer on time.”

The Jumu’ah is a holy day for Muslims. Before the Jumu’ah or any other prayer, Muslims do wudu. Wudu is partial ablution or preparation of prayer. Wudu is washing your hands, arms, feet, nose, mouth and ears.

“There are several events in Islamic history that mark Friday as the master of all days. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has explicitly marked Friday as the most sacred day of the week,” According to the pilgrim website. “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday; on it, Adam (AS) was created. On it he was made to enter Paradise and on it, he was expelled from it.”

The first challenge Naeem faced was to ask his peers to get permission to pray Jumu’ah, or Friday prayer day, at school. The second challenge was figuring out who is going to lead the prayer. The person who leads the prayer is Haadi. It’s a bit challenging for Haadi to lead the prayer because he doesn’t have the experience of leading prayer. While he had never led prayers before, he found joy in sharing the responsibil- ity with others.

“I haven’t had a lot of practice, because I’ve never had to lead the prayer before in my life, but I lead it most of the time at school,” Naeem said.

Initially, prayer is every day but the group settled for Fridays based on Naeem’s discussions with Principal Tim McCarthy. He acknowledges that the prayer may cause a short absence from the beginning of classes but doesn’t consider it a significant issue.

ESOL teacher Stacy Henry faced the challenge
of providing appropriate spaces and supervision for Muslim students to pray. She volunteered to supervise the Jumu’ah prayer, emphasizing the importance of honoring students’ religions and cultures. Her expec- tations were simple – students should return to class ideally by 1:15, ensuring minimal disruption to their education.

“I volunteered to supervise Jumu’ah because it’s important to do our best at Central High to honor students’ religions and cultures. I am happy to help our Muslim student population in this way,” said Henry.

During the Friday sermon (khutbah), the imam ad- dresses the congregation, offering guidance on various aspects of life based on Islamic principles. This serves as a source of spiritual guidance, imparting wisdom, and fostering a deeper understanding of the faith. The lessons shared during the khutbah are intended to inspire positive change and encourage believers to lead righteous lives.