How To Pray In Korea?

I am a Muslim and Islam is my faith.

If you are not one, this post might be unrelated for some of you.

This is quite an sensitive issue to approach as one of my blog readers said but I'm going to face this subject head on regardless.

By the way, this post does not determine that I will definitely enter heaven by writing one or confirm that I'm a serious Muslim to boot...only God can determine that.

But I am writing this with a positive mindset and no ill feeling whatsoever towards all Islam believers whether you are diligent in praying or not.

This post is not going to teach you how to pray but rather to plant an idea that to pray in Islam is indeed very easy. ^^

Wudhu' or ablution
We have to understand on method how to perform ablution.
You can either use water or if you don't have some around you..by clean dust or soil (tayammum).
For more details on wudhu', please refer to here and tayammum is here.

But where to perform Wudhu'?
In the toilet. I would normally use the toilet for the disable.
I know that ethically it is not right as I'm not disable but...to think about it, if you use it for good purpose and to pray to your God, it is ethically right, right? ^^

I have been scolded by the cleaning ahjumma so many times for using the toilet for disable..so I just use my precious mineral bottle and head over to normal toilet and perform my ablution there.


Most of the time, I bring with myself:
1) empty mineral bottle
2) wet tissue
3) plastic mat from Daiso (2,000won)

My pink plastic mat - praying at Jeongdok public library

(near Samcheongdong, about 500m from Anguk Station, Line 3)

Parts of body for Wudhu'
You can wash your required body just once.
For more details on parts of body to wash during wudhu' please refer to here.

Dress code
A telekung is not necessary (for woman). As long as you have your aurat properly addressed then you are good to go. Hence, it's good if you dress according to Islam's dress code.

Pray
You are allowed to shorten or combine your pray if you're on a journey for a maximum of 3 days excluding your day of travel to or from the said location.

For more details on how to pray, please refer to here and how to shorten and combine your pray during a journey is here (in Malay).

The bigger question is where to pray?
Use your head please..really, that's the reason brain is created right? ^^
As long as the place is deem clean, basically you can pray everywhere.

Of course, if you are in Malaysia you can easily find a mosque to pray but in Korea?
You don't have to go all the way to Itaewon to pray do you?

Go and find somewhere quieter and clean; for example:
1) staircase exit
2) public places - parks, libraries, museum, subway (go to the exit near the elevator..Koreans hardly use elevator..shhh..don't tell anyone ^^)

How to determine Qiblah?
In Korea, the Qiblah is 285 degree from North clockwise. Please refer to here.
Most of you have smart phone which come with compass right? A smart phone is really smart ya know..;) If you don't have the compass application, it won't take much of your precious time to install them which is FREE. You know..like you can install an angry bird game but not a compass??

Al-Baqarah 2:45-46