kitab al- salaat the book of prayer

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KITAB
AL SALAAT
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KITAB
AL- SALAAT
(THE BOOK OF PRAYER)
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NATHIFJAMA ADAM
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COOPERATIVE OFFICE
FOR
CALL AND GUIDANCE
UNDER SUPERVISION
PRESIDENCYOF ISLAMIC RESEARCH
IFTA AND PROPAGATION
RIYADH 11465
P.O. Box: (20824)
- FAX. &30142
TEL.4030251
PermissionNo. ll73lM On 22/2/t4ll
H
This book may not be reproduced
without prior written permission
from the office
PREF A C E
PRAISEbe to "Allah 6Wn "who ordained
As Salaat (Prayer)as an act of worship
on His servants, and may the utmost
peaceand blessings of Allah(SWT) be
u p o n H i s p r o p h etw h o ta u g h tth e U mmah
(Muslim nation) how best to performthe
prayer.
I do not intendtowrite a longpreface,but I
merelywish to makea briefexplanationof
g i s w o rk.l t is
my re a s o n sf o r un d e rta ki n th
natural that by virtue of its importance,
many bookshave in the pastbeenwritten
on the Sa/aatby different muslims in
different parts of the world - may Allah
6WD reward them all for their efforts.
A n d ,w h i l e a l a r gen u mb e ro f th e w o rksso
t a ve g e n e rally
f a r ca r r i e d o u t o n S a l a a h
been well appreciated,it is however no
s ec r e t a l s o t h a t ma n y b o o ks o n this
subject suffer serious shortcomings
which notably may be summarised as
follows:
(1 ) Apparent
lack of subject
comprehensiveness
in mostbooks.While,
certainly, no single writer can
comprehenda subject aswide as Salaat,
but it is true that many books on this
subjectonly make scantytouch on it.
(2) The unfortunateexistencein many of
the books of various matters such as
recitations,supplicationsand even acts
purported to be part of the prayer but
which cannotbe correctlytracedto having
been recited and/.or performed by the
Pro p h e t ( P B U H )o r e ve n b y h i s ri g htly
g u i d e dC a l i p h s(su cce sso rs).
(3 )T h ea b s e n ceo f a rra n g e me nat n do r der
in most bookswith regardto the various
matters relatingto the prayer.
(4) The virtual absencein most booksof
2
T R A N S L I T E R A T I O Nt o t h e v a r i o u s
supplicationswhich a person needs to
recite in the course of the Prayer.
Needlessto say, but, the importanceof
transliterationto the non-Arabicspeaking
Mus lim sc a n n o tbe o ve r-e mp h a si se d .
It is in view of the foregoing that the
though t o f c o m p i l i n ga mo re a p p ro p ri a te
treatiseon I lat arose to me and it is by
the graceoI Allah 6Wf ) that it is now in
o u r ha n d sa l t h o u g hI a m q u i te co n sci o us
o f h o w u n e q u a lI a m to a su b j e ctsu ch a s
this on e t o w h i c h a ma n o f mu ch g re a ter
capab i l i t i e st h a n myse l f w a s re q u i re d .I
a m, h o w e v e r ,s u s ta i n e db yth e co n vi cti on
that the readers will overlook mY
shortcomings and treat them with
indulgence.
In compiling this treatise, lhave
endea v o u r e tdo t ou ch o ve r a l mo sta l l th e
importantaspectsof the prayerand there
is perhapsno other book which provides
such an elaborateaccountof the subject
a l t h o u g h ,a s me n ti o n e de a rl i e r,S alaat
is
ju s t s u c h a w i d e su b j e ctth a t e ve n this
t re a t i s e i s s ti l l i n w a n t o f mu ch other
in f o r m a t i o no n th e sa meb u t w h i ch ,Insha
- A l l a h , s h a l lb e ta ke ni n to a cco u n ti n the
next reproduction.
How far I have succeededin this work is
not for me to say but it is my sincerehope
that it will, lrshaAllah,go a long way in
f u l fi l l i n gt h e g a p sa n dsh o rtco mi n gfound
s
in other books written so lar on the
subject.The book,howevercannotand, is
not meant to be a substituteto the other
works on the .g/aaf but rather
c o m p l e m e n ti veMe
. a n w h i l e ,ma n i s to er r
and this work may not necessarilybe free
f rom errors whether tech n icaI,
t y p o g r a p h i c aolr o th e rw i seH
. e n ce I, m ake
a k in d a p p e a l t o a l l th o se w h o ma Y
discoversomethingincorrectin this work
to communicate the same to the
p u b lis h e r sf o r d u e co rre cti o ni n th e n e xt
r e -p rin t .
C ompi l i n g s u c h a w o rk, d i d n o t o n l Y
require my referenceto a wide range of
b o o k s i n c l u d i n gt he H o l y Ou r'a n , H a d i th
b o o k sa n d F i q h( j uri sp ru d e n ceb)o o ksb u t
als o t o s e e k t h e h e l p o f o th e r l e a rn e d
m u s lim b r e t h r e nan d i n th i s re g a rd ,my
a p p re c i a t i o ng o e s to S h e i kh H a mo u dM.
A l la h i m a n d b r o t he rA b d a l l aK a rsh eb o th
o f Riya d h- m a y t h e A l mi g h tyA l l a hb l e ss
t h e mf o r t h e i rc o n t i n u o ucso u n s e l l i nagn d
a d v ic e . Si m i l a r l y,th i s w o rk w o u l d n o t
hav eb e e nc o m p l e teh a di t n o t b e e nfo r th e
t ire less e f f o r t s o f b ro th e r Mu h a mme d
office for
AmeenCaveof the Co-operative
Ca ll an d G u i d a n ce ,R i ya d hw h o n o t o n l y
did the system data entering but even
h e lpe ds o m u c h i n th e f i n a l p ro o f-re a d i ng
- may Allah reward him for h i s s h a r eof
contributionin this work.
N AT H I FJ . AD A M
R I Y A D H2, 1 s t M a y , 1 9 9 1
In this Book the words (SWT) inserted
after the name of Allah stand for
,,SUBHANAHU
WA TA'ALA" WhiCh
m e a n s "T h e Gl o ri fi e d ,th e Mo st H igh";
while, the words (PBUH)insertedafterthe
name of the Prophetstandfor " pEACEBE
U P O NH I M " .
6
AS-SALAAT (PRAYER)
INTRODUCTION
Salaat (PraYer) is one of the main
obfigations which "Attah 6Wn" has
ordainedon His servants.lt is the first act
of worship decreedon the Muslim Nation
(Ummah) bY "Allah 6Wn " and was
ordained on the night of the Prophet's
(PB U H l a s c e n s i oto
n th e se ve nh e a ve n s.lt
is t h e s e c o n do f th e fi ve p i l l a rso f l sl am
after the proclamationof the "Shahada"
(the words of witness)'
I t is e n j o i n e d on th e Mu sl i ms a s an
obfigatoryact by" Allah 6wff'as can be
noted from the following verses of the
H o l yO u r ' a n :
,'ESTABLISHREGULAR PRAYERSAT
THE SUru'S DECLINE TILL THE
AND THE
DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT,
'(Our'a
n 17:781
MORNTNGPRAYER"""'
I
In another verse "Allah 6Wn"
says:
..AND
ESTABLISH REGULAR PRAYERS
AT THE TWO ENDS OF THE DAY AND AT
THE APPROACHES OF THE NIGHT.''
( O u r ' a n1 1 : 1 1 4 ! .
T h e i m p o r t a n ceo f th e S a l a a t h a s also
been explicitly expressed by Allah's
M e s s e n g e r( PB U H ),a s ca n b e n o te dfr om
t h e f o l l o w i n gsa yi n g s:
"What lies between a perfect man and
disbelief is the leaving of prayer". (Related
b y l m a m sA h m e d a n d M u s l i m )
Th e P r o p h e t( P B U H )a l so sa i d :
"The obligation which separates us from
them (the non-believers)is the prayer and
he w h o r e n o u n ce s i t b e co me s a
" (Relatedby lmams Ahmed
disbeliever.
and Muslim)
The abovequotedOur'aniccommandsby
"Altah ,Swff'and the honouredsayings
) e a rl yi n d i ca teth e
o f t he Pr o p h e (t PB U Hcl
im p o r t a n c e o f Sa l a a t su ch th a t i t i s
unanimously agreed bY all Muslim
s c hol a r st h a t r e n o u n ci n gi t i s re g a rd e da n
a c t of d i s b e l i e (f Ku fr).
T HEV I R T U ESO F P R A Y E R
) erfo rme dg e n u i n e l yw i th
Sala a t( P r a y e r p
h u m il i t ya n d s u b mi ssi o nto " A l l a h(S Wf) "
h a s u n l i m i t e dv i r tu e sa n db e n e if ts.l t i s th e
n o b le s te x p r e s s io no f fa i th a n d th e su re st
His
way of thanking "Allah 6wfyfor
unlim i t e d f a v o urs. l t i s th e w a y to
obtaining Allah's mercy, generosity,
k in d n e s s ,b l e s s in g sa n d a su re w a y to
paradise."Allah (SWf)" says in the Holy
Our'an:
''PROSPEROUS INDEED ARE THE
BELIEVERSWHO ARE HUMBLE IN THEIR
PRAYERS". (Our'an 23:1 -2l,
3
It is a deliverance on the Day of
Judgementfor thosewho usedto observe
it well. The Prophet(PBUH)says:
"The first thing that the servant of "Allah
(SWT)"will be calledto accounlfor on the
Day of Judgementwill be the prayer;and
if it was goodthe person'sdeedswill have
been good,but if it was bad,the person's
deeds will have been bad". (Reportedby
lmambhukari)
Prayer purifiqp the soul, refines the
c h a r a c t e r a n d i n cu l ca te s i n ma n the
excellentvirtues of truthfulness,honesty
and modesty.lt keepsone who performsit
from falsehood and from all forbidden
actions as is categoricallyconfirmed by
the following verse of the Holy Our,an:
"...VERILY, PRAYER REFRAINSFROM
INDECENCY
AND EVIL..."(Our'an 29:45)
4
W UDH U( AB L U T ION )
Prio r to e n t e r i n g S a l a a t,th e p e rso n i s
r e q u i r e d t o u n d e r t ak e a c e r t a i n
purification procedureknown as"Wudhu"
wit h o u t w h i c h ,t h e p e rso n 'sp ra ye rw o u l d
not be acceptablein the sight of "Allah
(S WT ) . "A l l a h , t h e A l mi g h tY sa
, Y s:
,'O
YE WHO BELIEVE. WHEN YE
PREPARE FOR PRAYER, WASH YOUR
FACES AND YOUR ARMS TO THE
ELBOWS; RUB YOUR HEADS (WITH
WATER); AND (WASH) YOUR FEET TO
T H EA N K L E S . . .("O u r ' a n5 : 6 )
), i d :
A n d t h e P r o p h e t(P B U Hsa
Prayer without ablution /s invalid".
(Reportedby lmam Muslim)
C O N D I T I O N SF OR T H E P E R F OR MANCE
oF w U D H U ( A B L U T |ON )
Th e r e a r e v a ri o u sco n d i ti o n sre q u i redto
be f u l f i l l e di n th e p e rfo rma n ceo f Wudhu
wh i c h a r e a s fo l l o w s:
1. Ac c e p t a n ceo f th e l sl a mi cF a i th .
2. Sa n i t ya n d co n sci o u sn e ss.
3 . I n t e n t i o n( A n n i ya h )to p e rfo rmWudhu
as a n a c t o f wo rsh i p .
4. Purifying oneself from urine,
exc r e m e n a
t n d a l l o th e rki n do f i mp u rities
be f o r ep e r f o r mi n gWu d h u .
5 . E n s u r i n gt h e p u ri ty o f th e w a te r to be
u s e df o r t h e Wu d h u
6. E n s u r i n gt ha t w a te r i s n o t p re vented
f ro m r e a c h i n gth e p a rtso f th e b o d yw hich
need to be washed in the performanceof
6
the wudhu.
7 . Be i n g c o n s c i o u s a n d ke e P i n g th e
Wudhuin mind.
ES SE N T I AA
L C T SOF WU D H U
1. Wa s h i n gt h e e n ti refa ce o n ce .
2 . W a s h i n ge a c ha r m o n c e .
3 . W i p i n gt h e e n t i r eh e a do n c e .
4. Wa s h i n gt h e f ee t u p to th e a n kl e s'
5 . En s u r i n gt h a t th e a b o ve 4 a cts a re
perf or m e di n t h e g i ve n se q u e n ce .
6. Performing the Wudhu acts
cont in u o u s l ya n d w i th o u t u n n e ce ssar y
l e t - u p su n t i l c o m P l e t i o n .
VOLUNTARYACTS OF WUDHU
Besides the above essential acts of
Wudhu, there are alsosomevoluntarybut
recommended acts in the Wudhu
procedure.These are as follows:
a. InvokingAllah (SWT)at the start of the
Wudhu.
b. Washingof both handsuptothe wrists.
c . R i n s i n gt h e mo u n thw i th w a te r.
d. Sniffing of water in and out of the
nostrils.
e. Passingof water outsideand insideof
t h e e a r l o b e s.
H O W T H EW U D H UI S P E R F O R M E D
The essential and voluntary acts
discussedaboveshall now be integrated
to demonstratehow the prophet(PBUH)
8
used to performWudhu:
1 . M a k i n gt h e i n t e n ti o nto p e rfo rmWu d h u
as an act of sincerehomageand worship
for the pleasure of Allah 6Wn' The
intentionneednot be utteredbut it should
be k ep t i n m i n d d u ri n g th e th e Wu d h u '
2. fnvoking Atlah (SWT)at the start of the
W udh u b Y s a Yi n g:
'' ISM ILLAHI -R -RAHM AN I -R-RAHIIM ". B
(ln t h e n a m e o f A l l a h , Mo st Gra ci o us'
Most Merciful).
3. Wa s h i n gt h e ha n d su p toth e w ri sts for
t hree t i m e s , w hi l e ru b b i n g th e m a n d
letting the water reach between the
fingers.
4 . Rin s i n gt h e m o u th w i th w a te r th ri ce'
preferably using the "Miswak" (tooth
stick),tooth brush, or f ingersto brushthe
t eet h a n d t h e g u m. R e g a rd i n g the
9
importanceof the Miswak, the prophet
( P B U H s) a i d :
"lf it had not been too great
a burden on
my Ummah, I would have ordered them
to
use the "Miswak', at every Wudhu.,,
(R e p o r t e db y l ma m Ma fi k)
5 . C l e a n i n gt he n o stri l sb y sn i ffi n gwater
in a n d o u t f o r th re e ti me s.
6 . W a s h i n g t h e e n ti re fa ce th ri ce using
both hands from the top of the forehead
down to the bottom of the chin and from
ear to ear.
7. W a s h i n gt h e a rmsth re eti me s u p to
the
up p e r e n d o f th e e l b o w s;ri g h t a rm fir st,
a n d t h e n , t h e l e ft a rm. A rms sh o u ld
be
rL O b e O
w h i l e th e y a re b e i n gw a sh e d.
8 . W e t t i n g b oth h a n d s a n d p a ssi n g
the
same over the head starting from above
t h e f o r e h e a dd o w nto th e n a p e(th eb a ck
of
l0
t h e n e c k )a n d f r o m th e re , re tu rn i n gb o th
h ands u p t o a b o v eth e fo re h e a d .
9 . Fro m t h e h e a d , w i th o u t w e tti n g th e
h ands a g a i n , t he P e rso n w i P e s th e
e a rlob e su, s i n gt h e fo re fi n g e rsto w i p eth e
i n n e r p a r t o f t h e l o b e sa n d th e th u mb sfo r
th e ou t s i d ep a r t .
1 0 . Wa s h i n gb o t h fe e t u p toth e a n kl e sfo r
three times or more if necessarY,
b e g in n i n gw i t h t he ri g h t fo o t a n d th e n
wit h th e l e f t f o o t. B o th fe e t sh o u l d b e
r u b b e dw h i l e t h e y a re b e i n gw a sh e da n d
wat er s h o u l d f r ee l y p a ss b e tw e e n th e
toes .
I M P O R T A NP
T O I N T SO N W U D H U
a . M u c h v i r t u e i s a t t a c h e dt o W u d h u
whic h i s p r o p e rl yp e rfo rme da s ca n be
not ed f r o m t h e fo l l o w i n g sa yi n g o f th e
P r o p h e (t P B U H ) :
1l
"A person who performs Wudhu properly
will have his sins removed from hisbody,
so much that the sins are removed even
from underneath his nails,,. (Reportedby
lmamMuslim)
b . H a v i n g c o mp l e te d th e Wu d h u , the
person may recite the "SHAHADA',,i.e.
the words of witness and the supplication
f o r c o n c l u d i ngth e Wu d h u a s fo l l o ws:
.,ASH-HADU
ANLAA ILAHA ILLA-LAAHU
WA ASH-HADU ANNA MIJHAMMADAN
ABDUHU WA RASUULUHU...ALLAHUMMA IJ'ALNII M INAT.AWABIIN
WA IJ'ALNII MINA.L MUTADAHIRIIN...
wh i c h m e a n s
"l bear witness that there is no god
but
Allah and that Muhammad is His servant
and messenger...OLord, make me among
those who return to you in repentanceand
of those who are undefited.,'
t2
Rega r d i n g t h e vi rtu e o f th e a b o ve
s u p p l i c a t i o nt,h e l e a d e r o f th e fa i th ful,
Um a r l b n - u l Kh a tta b (ma y A l l a h b e
pleased with him) reportedthe Prophet
(P BU H )a s s a Yi n g :
"tf anyone Performs the
completely and then saYs":
Wudhu
" 'l testify that there is no god but Allah
alone, He hasno partner; and I testify that
Muhammad is His servant and
messenger', the eight gates of Paradise
wilt be opened for him and may enter by
whichever of the gates he wishes""
( R e l a t e db Y l m a m M u s l i m ) .
c. When Performing Wudhu, it is
recommended to let the water reach
beyond the area required to be washed
(e . g . ,w h e n w a sh i n gth e a rms th e p e rs on
may wash beyondthe elbows or beyond
t he a n k l e sw h e n w a sh i n gth e fe e t)'Great
v irt u e h a s b e e n a tta ch e dto th i s fa ct, as
l3
can be notedfrom the followingsayingof
t h e Pr o p h e t( pB U H ):
"My nation (tJmmah)
will be called
(distinguised) on the Day of Judgement
as
a people with bright faces and limbs from
the effect of their Wudhu practices.
Therefore, anyone of you who wishes to
increase his brightness may do so (by
washing beyond the required areaswhen
performing W"udhu).,.(Reported by lmams
Bukhari and Muslim)
d. The person is required to avoid use of
water more than what is necessary.
e . M u c h i m p o rta n ce h a s b e e n a tta ched
t o t h e p e r f o r m a n ceo f tw o ra ka a tsa fter
performing Wudhuas can be notedfrom the
f o l l o w i n g c o n v e r s a t i o nb e t w e e n t h e
Prophet (PBUH) and Bilat, the first
Mua d h i n( m a yA l l a h b e p l e a se dw i th h im) :
t4
"O Bilal! tell me which of your acts is most
meritorious since ioining lslam, f or I heard
the sound of your shoesin Paradiseahead
of me?
Bilal replied: I do not have any action more
m e rito r i o u s t h a n th a t w h e n e ve r I
performed Wudhu (purification) during
the day or night, I each time offered a
prayer as much as Allah has destined for
me" . ( R e p o r t e db y l ma ms B u kh a ri a nd
Muslim)
WIPING OVER THE SOCKS
a. lf someone's"Wudhu", gets nullified,
t hen , w h e n p e rfo rmi n g a su b se q u ent
Wu d h u , i t i s a ll o w e d to w i P e o ve r the
s oc k sw i t h w e t h a n d s,i n ste a do f w a sh i ng
bot hf e e t o n c o n d i ti o nth a t th e so cksw e r e
put o n a f t e r w a sh i n gth e fe e t i n th e fi r st
W u d h u o r b e f o r et h e s a m e i s n u l l i f i e d .
b . A t r a v e l l e rm a y a v a i l h i m s e l fo f t h i s
l5
privilege continuously for three
consecutivedays and nights (72 hours),
but a residentmay do so for only one day
and one night continuously(24 hours).
HO WW I PI N GOV E RT H ES OC K SIS D ONE
Wiping is done accordingto the tradition
of the Prophet(PBUH),as follows:
After removingthe shoes,wet hands are
passed only over the upper surface of
sockswithout the needto wipe the bottom
parts.
WH E N T H EW I PIN GP R IV IL E GE
C E A SES
T h e w i p i n g p r i vi l e g eb e co me si n va l i din
the eventthat one or moreof the following
casesoccur:
1. W h e n t h e m a xi mu mti mi n g sa l l o w e das
dis c u s s e de a r l ie rl a p se .
16
2. The moment the socksare removed.
3 . Wh e n a n y o f th e ca se s re q u l rl n g
"G hus l " o c c u r .
MA TT E R S W H I C H IN V A L ID A T E T H E
WUDHU
The person will remain in a state of
Wu d h u u n t i l a n y of th e fo l l o w i n gma tte r s
is committed:
1 . Pass i n go f e x cre me n t,u ri n e o r w i n d'
When s o m e o n e p a sse s u ri n e a n d /o r
excrement, it becomes mandatoryupon
such a personto removethe foulnessof
thes e t h i n g s b e f o re p e rfo rmi n gWu d h u.
Pu re w a t e r s h ou l d b e u se d fo r th i s
p u rp o s e ,b u t i n c a se , i t i s n o t a va i l a ble
after earnestsearchfor it, the personmay
resort to the use of certain dry objects,
such as stones, dry woods and tissue
p a p e rt o r e m o v eth e f i l th .T h i s i s kn o w nas
"lstijmaar" . Odd numbersof the objectto
17
be used is preferred,such as 3, S, etc.The
person should ensure that no drops of
ur i n e o r s t a i n s o f fo u l n e ss a re l eft on
his,/herbody or clothes.
However,in the case of personsafflicted
wi t h p e r m a n e n t w e tti n g o r p e rmanent
p a s s i n go f w i n d , o r o f w o me n w h o ar e
sufferingfrom prolongedflows of blood,
s u c h p e r s o n s a re re q u i re d to p e r for m
Wudhu only once beforethe start of each
pr a y e r a n d t he i r Wu d h u w o u l d re main
v a l i d e v e n i f th e a b o ve p ro b l e ms m ay
o c c u r l a t e r i n th e co u rseo f th e p ra yer .
2. E a t i n go f c ame l 'sme a t.
3 . Sl e e p i n gi n w h i ch th e p e rso n l o sses
c o n s c i o u s n ess.
4. L o s s o f c o n sci o u sn e ss
re su l ti n gfr om
insa n i t y ,f a i n ti n g ,e tc.
l8
5. Touching of the sexual organs
i n t e n t i o n a l l yd, i r e ctl ya n d u n cl o th e d .
6. After washing a dead person(corpse)'
7. Renouncino
g f l s l a m i cF a i t h .
GHUSL (TOTALBATH)
Ghusl in lslam means the bathing of the
entire body with water. Proof of fts
tegitimacy is embodiedinthe Holy Aur'an
as follows:
,'....AND IF YE ARE IN A STATE OF
CEREMONIALIMPURITY, BATHE YOUR
WHO L EB O D Y . . .."(Ou r'a n5 :6 )
OCCASIONS WHEN GHUSL IS
YC T
AS AN OB L IGA T ORA
REO U I R ED
G husl i s r e q u i r eda s a n o b l i g a to rya ct i n
l9
the following cases:
1. After the dischargeof semenas a result
of stimulation whether awake or asleep
(i.e.in a wet dream).Thisstateis known in
Arabic as"JUNUB".lf , alter the dream no
wetness is traced in one's clothing,
bathingis not obligatory.However,in case
wetness is found but without recalling
any dream, performing Ghusl is
obligatory.
2. After sexual intercourse(or the mere
coming together of the two organs of a
ma n a n d a w o ma n , e ve n th o u g h ther e
m a y b e n o a c tu a le j a cu l a ti o np) e rfo rm ing
G h u s l i s r e q u i re d .
3. Followinga period of menstruation,a
wo m a n i s r e q u i re dto p e rfo rmGh u s l.
4. At the end of 40 daysafter childbirth,a
wo m a n i s r e q u i re dto p e rfo rmGh u sl.
20
5. When a disbelievernewly embraces
f s lam , s u c h a p e rso n i s re q u i re d to
p e rf o r mG h u s l .
6 . W h e n a M u s l i md i e s ,G h u s li s r e q u i r e d
for him/her.
O C C A S I O N SF O R W H I C H G H U S L I S
PREFERRED
G hus l i s r e c o m me n d e di n th e fo l l o w i ng
cases:
1 . B e f o r e g o i ng to Ju ma 'h
Cong r e g a t i o nI aPra ye r).
(F ri day
2 . B e f o r e g o i n g to E i d P ra ye rs(Mu sl i m
annu a lf e a s t p r a ye rs).
3. Before undertaking Umrah or Hajj
( P i l g r i m a gteo M a k k a h ) .
4. Up o n w a s h i n ga co rp se .(A cco rd i n gto
o f Gh u s l
manys c h o l a r st,he p e rfo rma n ce
2l
is preferredfor a person who washes a
corpse).
E S S E N T I AR
L E O U I R E M E N TOSF G H U S L
T h e r e a r e t w o e sse n ti a l re q u i re m ents
which need to be f ulfilledfor Ghuslto be
valid. These are as follows:
1. In t e n t i o nt o p e rfo rmGh u sli s n e ce ssar y
bec a u s ei t i s th e d i vi d i n g l i n e b e tween
a c t s p e r f o r m eda s a me re cu sto m and
deeds which are rewardable acts of
wo r s h i p .H o w e ve r,th e i n te n ti o ni s o n lyby
heart and need not be uttered.
2 . T h e e n t i r e b o d y sh o u l d b e w a shed.
Wa t e r s h o u l d r e a cha n d fl o w fre e l yover
every part of the body.
H O W G H U S LI S P E R F O R M E D
Besides the above two essential
r e q u i r e m e n t s ,t h e r e a r e a l s o o t h e r
22
v olu n t a r ya c t s r e co mme n d e dfo r Gh u s l.
Both the essentialand the voluntaryacts
are now integrated herebelow to
d e m o n s t r a t eh o w th e P ro p h e t (P B UH)
us edt o p e r f o r mth e Gh u sl .
a. I nte n db y h e a rtto p e rfo rmGh u sl .
b . Wa s h b o t h h an d s u p to th e w ri sts for
t h r e et i m e s .
c . Wa s h t h e s e x o rg a n sp ro p e rl y.
d . P e r f o r mW u d h ua s u s u a l ( i nt h e m a n n e r
a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d )e x c e p t , t h a t t h e
wa s h i n go f t h e f e e tw o u l db e d e l a ye du n til
la t e r w h e n a l l th e re st o f th e b o d y is
bathed.
e . P o u r w a t e r o ve r th e h e a d th re e ti mes,
m a s s a g i n gt h e h a i r t o a l l o w w a t e r t o
re a c h i t s r o o t s .
f . Pou rw a t e r l i b e ra l l yo ve rth e e n ti reb o dy,
23
b e g i n n i n gw i t h th e ri g h tsi d ea n dth e n ,the
left side ensuringthat no part of the body
is untouched by water such as the
a rm p i t s , i n s i d e th e e a rl o b e s,i n si d e the
navel, between the fingers and toes, etc.
g . F i n a l l ym
, o vea l i ttl efu rth e rfro mw her e
you were and wash your feet, beginning
with your right foot and then, the left.
Notes:
1 . A w o m a n w i l l p e r f o r mG h u s lj u s t a s a
man does, except,that if she has plaited
h a i r ,s h e n e e dno t u n d oi t. S h eo n l yn eeds
to throw three handfuls of water over her
hea d .
2. T h e p e r s o n ma y a fte r co mp l e ti n gthe
Ghusl recite the supplication for
c on c l u d i n gG h u slw h i ch sh o u l db e re cited
outs i d et h e t o i le t,/b a th ro o m
a n d w h i c h is
the same as the one recited after
c o m p l e t i n n*u On r;O
T O P E R S ON SWH O
A CT S F O R B I D D E N
T O P E R F OR MGH U S L
A RE R E O U I R E D
Persons requiring to perform Ghusl are
forbiddento undertakecertainacts.These
are as follows:
1. Any type of prayerwhether obligatory
or v o l u n t a r y .
2. Circumambulating the Ka'abah
(Tawaf).
3 . To u c h i n go r ca rryi n gth e H o l y Ou r'a n.
However,the prohibitiondoesnot applyto
ot he r b o o k s wh i ch co n ta i n Ou r'a nic
pas sa g e ss u c h a s co mme n ta ri e so f the
Holy Our'an or works of lslamic
ju risp r u d e n c e .
4 . ' R e c i t i n gt h e H o l yO u r ' a n .
5 . Sta y i n gi n s i deth e Mo sq u e .
25
(H A ID H }
ME N S T R U AT ION
This refers to the periodicaldischargeof
b lo o d b y w o me n i n th e i r sta te o f h ealth
and i s e a s i l y di sti n g u i sh a b l eto w o m en
f ro m p o s t - c h i l d b i rth
bleeding.
P O S T - C H t L D B t RB
T LHE E D T N(G
NtFAS)
S u c h b l e e d i n gu su a l l yo ccu rsto w o men
af t e r c h i l d b i r t ha n d ma y co n ti n u ew i thout
f ix e d d u r a t i o n ,a l th o u g h i n so me ca ses,
t h e r e m a y n ot o ccu r b l e e d i n g a t all.
However,on the strengthof the teachings
of the Prophet (PBUH), a woman
po st-ch i l d b i rth
experiencing
b l e e d i n ghas
a ma x i m u mc on fi n e me n tp e ri o do f a bout
forty (4O)daysafter which, she is required
t o m a k eG h u s l a n dco mme n ceh e r l sl am ic
duties. lf, however, the blood does not
ceaseafter 40 days,most scholarsare of
the opinion that the woman should
c on t i n u ew i t h he r re g u l a rl sl a mi cd u ties.
ACTS FORBIDDEN TO WOMEN
EX PE R I EN C I N G
ME N S T R U A T IONA N D
PO S T - C H I L D B IR TBH
L E E D IN G
1. A ll a c t s m e nti o n e dh e re i n b e fo rea, s
f o rb id d e nt o p e r so n sre q u i ri n gGh u sla re
als o p r o h i b i t e dto w o me n e xp e ri e n cing
menstruation and post-childbirth
bleeding.
2. A w o m a n c a n n o t e n g a g ei n a se xu al
in t e rc o u r s e .
T h e c o m p a n i o nso f th e P ro p h e t(P B U H) ,
asked him about this and "Allah (SWT)"
rev ea l e dt h e f o l l o w i n gOu r'a n i cve rse :
''THEY
ASK THEE CONCERNING
WOMEN'S COU,9SES.S/ Y: THEYARE A
HURT AND A POLLUTION..SO KEEP
AWAY FROM WOMEN IN THEIR
COURSES,AND DO NOT APPROACH
THEM UNTIL THEY ARE CLEAN......''
(O u r' a n2 : 2 2 2 1
27
However,all scholarsare of the opinion
t ha t a h u s b a n dma y to u ch a n y p a rt o f his
wife's bodyabovethe naveland/ or below
the knees. This fact, is based on the
confirmationsof the Prophet'swives,that
wh e n t h e P r o p h e t(P B U H )w i sh e d ro be
wit h t h e m d uri n g th e i r p e ri o d s, they
wo u l d p u t s o m e th i n go ve r th e i r p ri vate
parts.
AT-TAYAMMUM(ABLUTIONUSINGTHE
EARTH)
"At-Tayammum" is a means of usingthe
s oi lt o w i p e o n e'sfa cea n d h a n d sw i th the
intentionof preparingoneselfto perform
prayer.Proofof its legitimacyis found in
t h e H o l y O u r ' an a s fo l l o w s:
,"...^ND
IF YE ARE ILL. OR ON A
JOURNEY, OR ONE OF YOU COMETH
FROM OFFICES OF NATURE. OR YE
HAVE BEENIN CONTACTWITH WOMEN.
AND YE FIND NO WATER. THEN TAKE
28
FOR YOURSELVES CLEAN SAND OR
EARTH, AND RUB THEREWITH YOUR
FACES AND HANDS, FOR ALLAH DOES
BLOT OUT SINSAND FORGIVESAGAIN
AND AGAIN." (Our'an4:431
T h e P r o p h e t( P B U H ),a l so sa i d :
"All of the earth has been made a pure
place of prayer for me and my "Ummah"
( Na t io n ) .W h e n e ve r a p e rso n fro m my
nat io n w a n t s t o p ra y, h e h a s so me th i ng
wit h w h i c h t o p u ri fy h i mse l f...th aits th e
e a rt h ". ( R e p o r t edb y l ma m A h ma n d )
INSTANCESWHEN AT-TAYAMMUM IS
PE RMI T T E D
At-Tayammum is permitted only on
specificinstancesas follows:
1. Where the personcannotf ind water or
t h e amo u n t o f w ate r i s n o t su ffi ci e n tfo r
Wudhu. However,beforeperformingAT29
Tayammum,the personis requiredto look
for water earnestly from any possible
source.
2 . W h e n a p e rso n i s i n j u re d o r i l l and
believesthat the use of water will worsen
h i s , / h e rc o n di ti o nth
, e n ,A t-T a ya mmumis
allowed.
3 . W h e n w a t e r i s to o co l dsu chth a t i t may
ha r m t h e pe rso n , A T -T a ya mmum is
all o w e di f t h e u se r ca n n o tfi n d me ansof
he a t i n gt h e w a te r.
4. W h e n w a t er i s n e a rb y,b u tth e p e rsonis
not able to fetch it due to fear for his,/her
lif e , f a m i l y an d w e a l th , (e .g .fro m an
e n e m y e i t h er b e a st o r h u ma n i n the
v ic i n i t y ) t h e n, A t-T a ya mmu m ma y be
performed.
5. W h e n t h e re i s n o t e n o u g hw a te r and
on e i s f o r c e dto sa vew h a t i s a va i l a blefor
drinking and/or cooking, then, At30
Ta y a m m u mi s a l l o w e d .
THE E A R T H( S O T L IT O
B E U S E DF ORA T TAYAMMUM
T h is s h o u l db e p u re e a rtho r so i l a n d ca n
be sand, stone or gypsumwhich produce
d us t wh e n h i t w i t h th e h a n d s.
HOW TO PERFORMAT-TAYAMMUM
1 . Th e p e r s o ns h o u l dfi rst i n te n db y h e a rt
t o perfo r mAt - T a ya mmu m.
2 . T h e p e r s o nt h e n stri keth e so i l w i th th e
p alm s o f b o t h h a nd s.
3 . Th e p e r s o nt h e n w i p e s th e fa ce u si n g
bothpalms.
4 . Th e r e a f t e r ,t h e p e rso n u se s th e l e ft
palm to w i p e o v er th e b a ck o f th e ri g h t
h a n d u p t o t h e w r i st, a n d th e n , u se s th e
r ight p a l mt o w i p e o ve rth e b a cko f th e l e ft
3t
hand upto the wrist.
Notes:
1 . l f a n y d u s t cl i n g s to th e h a n d s upon
striking the earth, it should be blown out
first beforewiping the face and the hands
to avoid the dust.
2. Only one strikeon the earth is sufficient
for wiping both the face and hands.
3. For persons who are required to
p e r f o r m G h u sl , b u t a re u n a b l e to find
water,then, At-Tayammumas discussed
would suffice.
MATTERS WHICH
TAYAMMUM
NULLIFY AT-
P u r i f i c a t i o nby A t-T a ya mmu m h a s the
s a m e v a l i d ity a s Wu d h u a n d Ghusl
performed with water, but becomes
invalidatedin the following cases:
32
1 . A l l a c t i o n sa n d c o n d i t i o n st h a t n u l l i f y
Wu d h u a l s o n u l l i fyA t-T a ya mmu m.
2. lf after performing At-Tayammum,
wa t e r i s f o u n d f or Wu d h u o r Gh u sl .
THE TIMINGS OF THE OELIGATORY
PRAYERS
lslam has prescribed specified time limits
for each obligatoryprayer as can be noted
from the following verse of the Holy
Aur'an:
"Prayer is enjoined on believers at stated
t im e s "( O u r ' a n4 :1 0 3 )
And i n a n a u t h e n ti cp ro p h e ti csa yi n gi t is
c onf i r m e dt h a t so me o n eo n ce a ske dthe
prop h e t( P B U H )a b o u t th e b e st a cti o n in
the sight ol Allah 6WD and the prophet
re p lie d :
33
" Off ering prayer at its prescribed
b yd l ma m B u kh a ri )
t ime . . . . . . . "( R e p o rte
T h u s ,t h e a r r i v a lo f th e ti me fo r p ra ye ri s a
f und a m e n t a lc o n d i ti o nfo r p e rfo rmi ngit
, p ra ye ri s i n te n ti o nally
and i f , t h e r e f o re a
performedbefore or after its designated
t im e i t s h a l ln o t b e a cce p ta b l ien th e si ght
of Atlah 6Wn. However, Personswho
m a y f o r g e t( w i th o u ti n te n ti o n )top e rfor m
any o f t h e o b li g a to ryp ra ye rsw i th i n its
ord a i n e dt i m e o r w h o a re o ve rta ke nby
s lee p ,t h e n s u ch p e rso n ssh o u l dp e rfor m
t h e p r a y e ra s s o o n a s th e y re me mb erit
and / o r a s s o o na sth e yw a ke u p f ro mtheir
s lee p .
We s h a l l n o w e n u me ra teth e d i ffe r ent
t imi n g s o f t h e fi ve o b l i g a to ryp ra ye rs:
1. F A J R( D a w n )P R A Y E R- l ts ti me b e gins
a t d a w n w h e n mo rn i n gl i g h tf i rsta p p ear s
i n t h e h o r i z o na n dc o n t i n u e su n t i l t h es u n
ris e s .
2. DHUHR (Nonn) PRAYER- lts time
begin sw h e n t h e su n re a ch e si ts h i g h est
poin t i n t h e s k y a n d co n ti n u e su p to the
time of Asr Prayer.
3. AS R ( Af t e r no o n )P R A Y E R- l ts ti me
begin sw h e n t h e sh a d o w o f a n o b j e ctis
equa lt o i t s o w n l e n g th ,p l u sth e l e n g thof
it s n o o n t i m es h a d o wa n d co n ti n u e su n til
s unse t .
4. MAGHRI8 (Sunset)PRAYER- tts time
s t a r t sf r o m s u n s e ta n dc o n t i n u e su n t i l t h e
e n d o f t w i l i g h t . T w i l i g h t i s th e re d n e ss
whic h r e m a i n si n th e h o ri zo na fte rsu n set.
- l tsti mesta rts
5 . I S H A( Ev e n i n gP) R A Y E R
wh e n t h e t w i l i gh t d i sa p p e a rsa n d
c o n t i n u e su p t o m i d - n i g h t .M i d - n i g h ti n
this case may not necessarily be
in t e r p r e t e tdo m e a n1 2 :OO
o 'cl o ckb u t may
be c o n s t r u e da s th e mi d -ti me b e tw e en
35
s u n s e t a n d t he a p p e a ra n ceo f th e
dawn.
ADHAAN (CALLTO PRAYER)
The "Adhaan" is a call to inform othersin
specific words that the time lor a
pa r t i c u l a rp r a ye rh a s b e g u n .l t i s a call to
t he c o n g r e g ati o na n d i s a n e xp re ssionof
t he l s l a m i cp r a cti cel.t i s re q u i re da s a n act
f or a l l t h e O b l i g a to ryP ra ye rs.
T H E VI R T U ESOF A D H A A N
T h e g r e a t n e sso f th e vi rtu e w h i ch l s lam
a t t a c h e st o t h e " A d h a a n " a n d th e one
who performs it i.e. the "Muadhin", can
b e n o t e d f r o m th e fo l l o w i n gve rseo f the
H o l yO u r ' a n :
36
"WHO IS BETTERIN SPEECH THAN ONE
WHO CALLS (THE PEOPLE) TO ALLAH
AND WORKS RIGHTEOUSIVESS.,,
( O u r ' a n4 1 : 3 3 )
T h e mo t h e r o f t he fa i th fu l , A i sh a (ma y
A lla h b e p l e a s e dwi th h e r)co n fi rme dth a t
t his v e r s e c o n c e rn s a n d re fe rs to th e
M u a d h i n a n d w a s re ve a l e do n n o o th er
re a s o nt h a n f o r t he Mu a d h i n .
A n d , fr o m t h e p r o p h e ti ctra d i ti o n s,A b u
Hurairah reported that the Prophet
( P B U H )s, a i d :
"lf the people knew the reward in the
Adhaan and the f irst row of the prayer and
that they could not get it (the reward)save
by drawing lots, they would draw |ots....."
( N a r r a t e db y l m a m B u k h a r i )
And, in another saYing the ProPhet
( P B U H ) ,s a i d :
l7
"The "Muadhins" will on the Day of
Judgement have the longest necks
(re f l e c t i n gt h ei r e xcl u si vee mi n e n c e) ".
(R e p o r t e db y lma m Mu sl i m)
HOW T H EA D H A A N IS P E R F OR MED
Pr e f e r a b l yt,h ere sh o u l db e a n a p p o inted
M u a d h i na t e a chMo sq u ew h o w i l l ca llthe
people to prayer when the time of a
pa r t i c u l a rp r a ye ri s d u e .l n p e rfg rmi ngthe
Adhaan, the Muadhrn would stand facing
the directionof the "Aibbh" (the sacred
mo s q u ei n M a kka h ).H e w o u l d th e n raise
bo t h h a n d su ptoh i s e a rsa n d sa y i n a loud
v o i c et h e f o l l o w i n gw o rd s:
1. ALLAHU AKBAR
Allah r's the
greatest.(tobe repeated4 times)
2. ASH-HADU ANLA ILAHA ILLALLAAHI testify that there is no god but Altah. (to
be r e p e a t e d2 ti me s)
3. ASH.HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAN
RASUULULLAAH - ltestifythat
Muhammad is Allah's messenger. (to be
repeated2 times)
4. HAYYA'ALAS SALAAT - Come fast to
prayer. (to be repeated 2 times). The
Muadhin, when reciting this turns the
f ac e s l i g h t l yt o t he ri g h t si d e .
5. HAYYA'ALAL FALAAH - Come fast to
success. (to be repeated 2 times). The
Muadhin, when reciting this turns the
f a c e s l i g h t l yt o t he l e ft si d e .
6. ALLAHU AKBAR - Allah is the greatest.
(t o be r e p e a t e d2 ti me s)
7. LAA ILAHA ILLALLAAH - There is no
god but Allah. (to be recitedonce)
No t e : l n t h e Ad ha a n ,fo rth e F a j r (D a w n)
pray e r ,t h e f o l l o w i n g w o rd s a re re ci ted
t wic e a f t e r H a y y a 'a l aFl a l a a h :
39
"ASSALATU KHEIRUM MINA NAWM''.
(to be recitedfor two times)whichmeans"Salaat is better than sleep".
WH A T S O M E ON ES U P P L IC A T EU
S PON
HE AR I N GT H E A D H A A N
It is preferredpracticethat when a person
hears the Adhaan, he should repeatthe
wo r d s t h e Mu a d h i n ca l l s o u t, e xcept,
wh e n h e s a y s " H a a ya a l a l S a l a a t and
H a y y aa l a l F a l a a h " ,t h e l i s t e n e r s h o u l d
insteadsay:
"LA
HOWLA WALA AUWATA ILA
BILLAH", which means "There is no power and strength exceptby
Allah".
40
THE SUPPLICATION AFTER THE
ADHAAN
Upon the completionof the Adhaan, it is
recommendedthat the listener recites
t he f o l l o w i n gs u pp l i ca ti o n :
''ALL AH U M M A
R A B B A H A D H IH ID
TAMMAH. WASALATIL
DA'WATI
AA'IMAH. ATI MUHAMMADANAL
WASILATA WAL FADHILATA,
WAA B ' AT H U H U MA A A MU M MA H .
M UDA N - A L L A D H II WA 'A D T A H U ".
whic h m e a n s"O Allah, Lord of this complete call and of
the prayer to be held, grant Muhammad
the most favoured and excellent position
in the Paradiseand raise him to the praise
worthy place that You have promised
him".
I t is h i g h l y r e c omme n d e dto re ci te the
above s u p p l i c a ti o na t th e e n d o f e ve ry
4l
Adhaan and in this regard the Prophet
( P B U H s) a i d :
"....it becomes obligatory upon me to
intercede for him (person reciting the
supplication) on the Day of Judgement".
(R e p o r t e db y l ma m B u kh a ri )
ToAMAH(SECONDCALL TO PRAYER)
"lqamah" is the secondcall to the prayer
a n d i s s a i d i n si d eth e Mo sq u ea t th e s tar t
o f t h e c o n g r e g a ti o n apl ra ye r.l t g o es as
follows:
l. ALLAHUAKBAR (repeatedtwo times)
2. ASH-HADU ANLA ILLAHA ILA LAAH.
(on c e )
3. ASH-HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAR
RASULUL-LAAH.(once)
4. HAYYAALAS-SALAAL (once)
42
5. HAYYAALAL-FALAAH.(once)
6. AAD AAMATIS-SALAAT. (rePeated
two times)
7. ALLAHUAKBAR.(repeatedtwo times)
8. LAA ILAAHA ILA-LAAH. (once)
Notes:
a . lt is r e c o m m e n d e dth a t a b ri e f ti me
gappi n g b e m ai n ta i n e d b e tw e e n th e
" A d h a a n "a n d t h e " l q a m a h "t o a l l o wt h e
t o ge t re a d yfo r th e sa l a a t.
c ongr e g a t i o n
b . lt i s p r e f e r r e dth a t th e " l q a ma h " i s
p e r f o r m e db y t h e s a m ep e r s o n( M u a d h i n )
who p e r f o r m e dt he " A d h a a n " .
c . lt i s d i s l i k e dfo r a n yo n eto l e a veth e
m o s q u e o n c e t h e " A d h a a n " i s ma d e,
u n less f o r u r g e n t re a so n (s)b u t w i th a
det er m i n a t i o nt o re tu rnfo r th e p ra ye r.
43
d. lt is prohibitedto offervoluntaryprayers
aft e r l q a m a h h a s b e e n ca l l e d o u t. The
Pr o p h e t( P B U H )sa ys:
"When lqamah is called out, no prayer is
permissible except the obligatory one".
(R e p o r t e db y l ma m Mu sl i m)
e. l f a p e r s o n mi sse s a p ra ye r d ue to
o v e r s l e e p i n g o r f o r g e t fu l n e s s , t h e n ,
before starting the missed prayer the
pe r s o ni s r e qu i re dto co me u p w i th both
A d h a a n a n d l q a ma h ,
However,if a personmissesa number of
pra y e r s ,i t i s pre fe rre dth a t h e co mes up
w i t h o n l yo n e " A d h a a n "f o r a l l t h em i s s e d
p ra y e r s ,b u t t o co me u p w i th a se p ar ate
" l q a m a h "f o r e a c hs a l a a t .
t. Where a person misses the
c on g r e g a t i o na p
l ra ye r a t th e mo sque,
s uc ha p e r s o n,b e fo resta rti n gto p ra yis at
lib e r t y t o e i t h e r p e rfo rm o r o mi t the
M
A d h a a n a n d t h e l q a ma h .H o w e ve r,i f he
decides to Perform the Adhaan, it is
preferredthat he does it in a low voiceso
as not to attract the attention of others
out si d e .
g. lt is not obligatoryon women to perform
t he A d h a a na n d l q a ma hb u t i f th e yw i shto
perfo r mt h e s a m e th e re i s n o h a rm.
PE R F O R M AN COF
E T H ES A I A A T
After introducing the salaat and
d is cu s s i n g i t s p re -re q u i si te s,w e shall
now t u r n t o ma tte rs p e rta i n i n gto its
ac t u a lp e r f o r m a n ce .
CONDITIONS FOR THE PRAYER
(SH U R U U D - L -S A IA T )
Th e r e a r e a n u mb e ro f co n d i ti o n sw h ich
n e e d t o b e f u l fi l l e dfo r th e p ra ye rto be
v a l i d .T h e s ea r e a s f o l l o w s :
45
1. A c c e p t a n ce o f l sl a mi c F a i th
d is b e l i e v e r as r e n o t re q u i re dto e sta b lish
Safaat until they believein "Attah6WD"
and b e a rw i t n e s sth a t th e re i s n o g o d but
Alla h a n d b e a rwi tn e ssth a t Mu h a mm ad
is Hi s s e r v a n ta n d me sse n g e r.
2. Anniyah - this in Arabic means the
intention by heart to perform the
p a rt i c u l a rp r a y e r.
3. Cleanliness- this includescleanliness
o f t h e b o d y , t h e cl o th e s a n d th e p l ace
where the prayer is to be performed.
4. Purification this refers to the
performanceof Wudhu(or Ghuslwhere it
is re q u i r e d ) p ri o r to u n d e rta ki n gthe
praye r .
5. Concealing of the Private parts - for a
m a n , i t i s e s s e nti a th
l a t h e b e co ve re dat
leastf r o m t h e n a ve l toth e kn e e sa l l ro u nd,
wh ile , i n t h e c a seo f a w o ma n , h e r b o dy
46
should be totally coveredexceptfor the
f a c e a n d w r i s t s.
6. Facingthe "Aiblah" - this meansthat a
person when prayingmust face towards
t h e d i r e c t i o n o f th e sa cre d mo sq u e in
"Makkah". Where a personis not able to
lo c a t e t h e d i r ecti o nb y h i mse l f/h e rself,
the person may ask another personwho
may know the direction of the Aibbh.
Ho w e v e r ,i f n o o n e i s i n si g h tto g u i d eto
t h e r i g h t d i r ecti o n , th e n , th e p e rson
f
s ho u l d d e c i d e fo r h i mse l f,/h e rse land
correct
guess
the
of
make the best
direction of the Aiblah, and accordingly,
p e r f o r mt h e p r aye ri n th a t d i re cti o ne ven
t ho u g h t h e g u e ss ma yb e i n co rre ct.The
prayer performed would still be
a c c e p t a b l e( l n s h a A l l a h ) i n vi e w o f the
f o llo w i n gv e r s eo f th e H o l YOu r'a n .
"Whichever direction ye turn' there is the
P re s e n c eo f A l l a h ," (Ou r'a n2 :1 1 5 l ''
7. Timing - prayersare to be observedin
t h e i r p r e s c r i b e dti me s.
8. Sanity and consciousness- prayer is
re q u i r e do n l y fr om p e rso n so f so u n dmi nd.
9. Ability to distinguish - prayer is
requ i r e do n l y w h e re th e p e rso n(ch i l d)is
a b let o d i s t i n g ui shb e tw e e ng o o da n d b ad,
a n d i s a b l e t o un d e rsta n da n d a p p re ciate
fully what is to be recited,performedetc.
Note:
I t is p r e f e r r e d fo r ch i l d re n to b e gin
performingthe praverat the age of seven
f or i t a w a k e n si n th e m th e p re se n ceof
"Allah (SWT)"and incutcatesin them
the
h a b i t o f p r a y i n ga s a n a ct o f w o rsh i pa nd
lovetof Allah 6WD". A child at the ageof
1 O is m a d e t o u n d e rsta n dth a t p ra ye ris
n e c e s s a r i lay p a rto f th e p e rso n ,sd a i l yl i fe
and is a solemn duty ordainedby ',Altah
(S W T ) "o na l l M u sl i ms,a n d th a t fa i l u reto
48
p e rf o rm i t i s a n a ct o f d i sb e l i e f(K u fr).
Therefore,parentsare requiredto guide
th eir ch i l d r e n t o th e ri g h t p a th b y
p u n is h i n ga n y o f t he m w h o a t th e a g e o f
1 O in t e n t i o n a l l ymi sse sth e p ra ye rs.
Th e P ro p h e t( P B U H ),sa i d :
"Order your children to pray when they
reach the age of seven and punish them
for not performing it at the age of ten and
separate them (i.e. boys and girls) in their
be d s . " ( R e p o r t e db y l ma m B u h ka ri )
U p o n a t t a i n i n gt h e a g e o f 1 5 , a c h i l d i s
d e e m e d t o h a v e re a ch e d a d u l th o o d,
whereby, he,/she is requiredto perform
th e p ra y e r . H e r e be l o w ,a re so me o th e r
sig n sw h i c h m a y i n d i ca teth a t a ch i l dh a s
a t t a ine da d u l t h o o d .
a . T h e g r o w i n go f p u b i ch a i r s .
b . F i n d i n gt r a c e so f s e m e no n t h e c h i l d ' s
clo t h e sa n d , / o rb e d .
49
c. The start of menstruation,in the caseof
a girl.
C AT EG O R IE SOF T H E A C T S OF THE
SAr AvAT
A l l t h e a c t s, re a d i n g sa n d su p p l i cations
u n d e r t a k e ni n th e co u rse o f th e salaat
have different legal weights and
im p l i c a t i o n s.T h e y a re ca te g o ri sedas
follows:
A. Pilfarsof the Salaat - (Arkanu-Salaat)
B . N e c e s s a ry D u ti e s o f th e S a laat
(Wajibatu-Salaat)
C . P r e f e r r e d A cts o f th e S a l aat
(Sunnanu-Salaat)
W e s h a l l no w d i scu ss e a ch o f these
c a t e g o r i e si n tu rn .
50
PILLARSOF THE SAr ^vAT - (ARKANUSAI AAT)
Th e pra y e r h a s o b l i g a to ryp i l l a rsw h i ch
m u s t be f u l fi l l e df o r i t to b eva l i da n dth e se
are as f o l l o w s :
1.
Al-Aiyaam" - prayer is to be
p erf orme d i n a sta n d i n g p o si ti o n i f a
p ers oni s p h y s i c a l l yca p a b l e .
2. "Takbiiratil lhraam", that is saying
"ALLAHU AKBAR". at the commencem e n t o f t h e p r a y er.
3. "Al-Fatihah" - that is reciting the
openin g c h a p t e r of th e H o l y Ou r'a n i n
ev e ryR a k a a t .
4. "Rukuu" - this is bowing posture
wh e re b y t h e h e ad a n d th e b a ck a re
p os it io n e do n t h e sa me l e ve l a n d b o th
h a n d s a r e r e s t e do n th e kn e e sw i th th e
f ingerss p r e a da p a rt.
5l
5 . A r e q u i r e me nto
t ra i seth e h e a du p f r om
t h e R u k u up osi ti o n .
6 . A r e q u i r e me n tto sta n d u p fro m the
R u k u u p o s i ti o n i n su ch a w a y th at the
person feels that all his,/her backbones
a r e s t r a i g h te n e d .
7. "Sujuud" that is prostratingoneselfin
s u c h a w a y t h a t th e fo l l o w i n gse ve npar ts
o f t h e b o d y a re fi rml y p l a ce d o n the
g r o u n d :t h e f ore h e a dto g e th e rw i th the tip
o f t h e n o s e, b o th th e p a l ms, b o th the
knees,the bottom surface of the toes of
both feet.
t ra i seth e h e a dfr om
8 . A r e q u i r e me n to
t h e S u j u u dp o s i t i o n .
9 . A r e q u i r e m e nt to s i t u p r i g h td u r i n gt h e
pause between the two prostrations.
1 0 . A r e q u i r e m e n tt o t a k e a S i t t i n g
Position for the recitation of the "AtTashahud" (words of witness).
1 1 . A requirement to recite the tinal "AtTashahud". .
1 2 . A r e q u i r e m ento
t re ci teth e w o rd s of
s uppl i c a t i o nf o r t h e P ro p h e t(P B U H ).
1 3 . A r e q u i r e m ento
t co n cl u d eth e p ra yer
with the words of peace "Tasleem", i.e.
"Assalamu Aleykum Wa Rahmatullaahi
Wa Barakatuh".
1 4 . A r e q u i r e m e n tt h a t i n f u l f i l l i n g t h e
above pillarsthe person should be in a
state of tranquility.
The above are the pillars of the prayer,
wherein, if any of them is missed,it is
r e q u i r e dt o r e p e a tt h e w h o l e R a k a a t( U n i t )
i n w h i c h t h e p i l l a r i s o m i t t e d ,b u t i f , t h e
Takbiiratil - lhraam is omitted, it becomes
n e c e s s a r yt o r e p e a t t h e w h o l e s a l a a t .
53
NECESSARY
DUTIESOF THE SALAAT
(wAJTBATU-SAr
AAT)
ln a d d i t i o nt o th e a b o ve1 4 p i l l a rso f the
pra y e r ,t h e r e are a l so ce rta i n n e ce ssar y
du t i e s w h i c h n e e d to b e fu l fi l l e d i n the
c ou r s eo f t h e sa l a a t.T h e sea re a s fo l l ows:
1 . Sa y i n g "AL L A H U A K B A R " i n the
courseof the prayerwhere it is necessary,
e. g . u p o n c o mme n ci n gR u ku ue tc.,e tc.
2. Saying "SUBHANAA RABBIYAL
A Z I M . " w h e n i n R u k u up o s i t i o n .
"SAMI ALLAHU LIMAN
3. Saying
HA M I D A H " wh i l e re su mi n g sta n ding
p o s i t i o nf r o m t h e R u k u u w h e t h e r t h e
per s o ni s a n "l ma m" (l e a d e r)o irs p ra ying
alone.
54
4. Saying "RABBANA WALAKALHAMD"
when r e s u m i n g th e sta n d i n g p o si ti on
f ro m th e R u k u u a fte r sa yi n gth e w o rd s:
SAMI ALLAHU LIMAN HAMIDAH". This
is required from the lmam (leader), from
the congregation and even from a person
who is praying alone.
5. Saying 'SUBHANARABBIYALA'ALA"
wh e n i n S u j u u d( p ro stra ti o np)o si ti o n .
6. Saying "RABBI IGHFIR LEE" in the
s it t in gp a u s eb e t we e nth e tw o p ro tra ti o ns
of eve r y u n i t o f t he p ra ye r.
7. Ta k i n g a Si tti n g P o si ti o n fo r the
recitation of At-Tashahudafter the first
f huhrA
, s r ,M a g h r i b
t w o r a k a a t s( u n i t s ) oD
and ls h a p r a y e r s.
8 . Re c i t i n gt h e A t-T a sh a h u d (w o rd s of
wit n e s s )a f t e rt h e fi rst tw o ra ka a ts(u n i ts)
o f D h u h r ,A s r , M a g h r i ba n d l s h ap r a y e r s .
55
The above8 actsconstitutethe necessary
du t i e so f t h e p ra ye ra n d i f o n e o f th em is
m i s s e du n i n t e n ti o n a l l y,
th e nth e p e rsonis
re q u i r e dt o a me n dth e mi sta keb y co ming
up with the two prostrations of
forgetfulnessat the end of the prayer.
However,if any of these duties is left out
d e l i b e r a t e l y ,th e n th e w h o l e p ra yer is
n u l l i f i e da n d s h a l l r e q u i r ea r e p e t i t i o n .
PREFERREDACTS OF THE SALAAT
(s u N AN U - S A A
r AT)
I n a d d i t i o nt o th e P i l l a rsa n d N e ce ssar y
du t i e s a l r e a d yd i scu sse dth
, e re a re also
c e r t a i np r e f e r re da ctsto b e f u tfi l l e di n the
courseof the prayer.Theseare as follows:
1. R e c i t i n g o f a n o p e n i n g su p p l i cation
(Du'a-al-lstiftaah) after the "Takbiiratillhraam".
2 . P l a c i n gt h e h a n d so ve rth e ch e stw hile
t h e p e r s o ni s in a sta n d i n gp o si ti o nwith
56
t h e ri g h t h a n d p l a ce do ve r th e l e ft h a n d.
3 . Ra i s i n go f b o t h h a n d su p toth e l e ve lof
the shouldersor near to the lobesof the
ears when saying "Takbiiratil-lhraam";
wh e n h e a d i n g l o r th e R u ku u ; w h e n
re s u m i n g s t a n di n g p o si ti o n fro m th e
Rukuu and when resuming standing
positionfrom the prostration.
4. See k i n gt h e p r o te cti o no f A l l a hfro m th e
c u rs e ds a t a n( o n l ya t th e sta rt o f th e fi rst
ra k a a t )b y s a y i n g:
"Auzu billahi minas- shaytani-r-rajiim,"
which means
"l seek Allah's refuge from the cursed
satan."
5 . Sta r t i n g t h e p ra ye r w i th th e si l e nt
invocationof "Allah (SWf)" by saying:
57
'' ISM ILLAHI -R.RAHMAN I -R- B
RAHEEM." which means
"ln
the name of Allah'
Compassionate,the M erciful."
the
6. S a y i n g"A me e n " u p o n co n cl u d i ng
the recitation of "Al-Fatihah".
( at
7 . R e c i t i n gs o mech a p te rso r p a ssa g es
le a s tt h r e e ( 3 ) ve rse s)o f th e H o l yOur ' an
atter Al-Fatihah in the first two rakaats
(un i t s )o f e a c h p ra ye r.
8. A preferencethat the recitationof AlFatihah and of any other additional
re a d i n g sf r o m th e H o l yOu r'a na re re cited
in a l o u d v o i c e i n th e fi rst tw o ra ka atsof
Fa j r ,M a g h r i ba n d l sh a p ra ye rs.
9 . A p r e f e r e nceth a t w h e n si tti n gfo r the
tirstAt-Tashahudand in betweenthe two
p ro s t r a t i o n sth
, e p e rso nre stso n h i s left
f o o tf l a t t e n e do n th e g ro u n dw h i l e ke eping
58
the right foot erect with the bottomof the
t oes f i r m e d o n t h e g ro u n d .
1O.A preferenceto practtceAt-Tawaruk
when sitting for the final At-Tashahudin
the Dh u h r ,A s r , M a g h ri ba n d l sh ap ra ye rs.
"At-Tawaruk" is a mode of sitting,
w here i nt h e p e r so np ro tru d e so u t h i s l e ft
f oot f r o m u n d e r ne a thh i s ri g h tl e g ,i n su ch
a way that the persondoesnot relaxon his
left foot.
11 . R e c i t i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g s u p p l i c a t ion, w h e n s i t t i n g fo r A t-T a sh a h u d ,i n
b e t we e nt h e s u p p l i ca ti o n
fo r th e P ro p h et
(PB U H )a n d t h e f i n a l w o rd s o f p e a ce :
,,ALLAHUMMA
INII AUDHU BIKA MIN
ADHABI JAHANAMA. WAMIN ADHABIIL
AABR. WAMIN FITNATILMAHYAA WALMA-MATI, WAMIN FITNATIL MASIHIDD A J AA L ". w h i c h me a n s-
59
"O Lord I seek your protection from the
torment of Jahanam (the hell fire), and
from the torment of the grave, and from
the trials of living and dying and from the
trials of the Masiih Addajaal."
The abovepointsare the preferredactsof
the prayer and all M uslims are
encouragedto preservethese practices
because their observance entitles the
"Allah
person great rewards f rom
(SWf)". However, missing any of them
d o e s n e i t h e r i n va l i d a teth e sa l a a t nor
require the two prostrations of
f o r g e tu
f lness.
HO W T H E S A L A A TIS P E R F OR ME D
Ha v i n g k n o wn i n d e ta i l a l l th e d i ffer ent
acts of the praYer, i.e.,its Pillars,
n e c e s s a r yd u ti e s a n d p re fe rre da cts ,we
s h a l ln o w d i s c u s si n b r i e fh o w t h e S a l a a t
is p e r f o r m e dfo l l o w i n gth e e xa mp l eof the
P r o p h e (t P B U H )a, n d i n d u e r e g a r dt o h i s
60
f amouss a y i n g :
,,SALUU KAMA RAEYTUMUNIIUSALI'',
which means
"Perform your prayers in the same
manner you have seen me doing."
Trans m i t t e db y Al -B u kh a ri
o f e a ch
W e s ha l ld i s c u s st h e p e rfo rma n ce
prayer in its properperspective.
r. " F AJR ( D AW N )P R A Y E R " .
Number of Rakaats.'Two
R e c it a t i o n 'O u r ' a n i c re ci ta ti o n si n th i s
p ra y e r a r e m a d e in a l o u d vo i ce b y th e
lm a m i n a c o n g r e g a ti o np ra ye r a n d b y
w h o e v e rp r a y sa l o n e .
Performance:
1. Th e p e r s o nt u r ns to w a rd sth e d i re cti o n
of the Aibbh, (the sacred Mosque at
6l
Makkah), intending by heart to perform
the Fajr (Dawn)prayer.
Note:
T h e p e r s o ns h o u l dn o t p ro n o u n ceh i s,/her
in t e n t i o n o pe n l y b e ca u se n e i th er the
P r o p h e (t P B U H )n o r h i s co mp a n i o n sused
t o u t t e r t h e ir i n te n ti o nfo r p ra ye r.Thus,
p r o n o u n c i n gth e i n te n ti o ni n a l o u dvoice
is a n i n n o v a ti o na n d i s to ta l l yre j e c ted.
2.T h e p e r s o nth e n ra i se sb o thh a n d sup to
t h e l e v e lo f t h e sh o u l d e rso r n e a rth e lobes
of the ears, pronouncesthe "Takbiiratit lhraam" by saying "ALLAHU AKBAR"
an d p l a c e sb oth h a n d so ve rth e ch e s twith
t h e r i g h t h a nd o ve r th e l e ft.
B y r e c i t i n gt h e " T a k b i i r a t i-l l h r a a m " .t h e
person thus, resolves for prayer and
enters into a state of worship and is
t h e n c e f o r t hre q u i re dto ca l l to mi n d the
majestyand glory of "Allah (SWT)" and to
62
dedicate his intentions, recitationsand
act io n st o H i m a l o ne u n ti l th e e n d o f th e
pray er . W h i l e p r ayi n g th e p e rso n i s
requiredto direct his eyesdownwardsat
the spot of Prostration.
3. The personthen recitesin a low voice
an o p e n i n g s u p p l i ca ti o nfo r th e p ra ye r.
H e reb e l o wa r e t h r e e o f th e su p p l i ca ti o n s
d p ra cti ce
w h ic h t h e P r o p h e(t P B U H )u seto
an d t he M u s l i m i s e xh o rte dto me mo ri ze
at least one of them for recitationeach
t ime a p r a y e ri s p erfo rme d :
a). "SUBHANAKA ALLAHUMMA WA
BEHAMDIKA WATABARAKA ISMOKA,
WATA'ALA JADDOKA WALA ILAHA
GHAYROKA".which means "Praise and glory be to Allah. Blessed be
Your name exalted be Your maiesty and
glory. There is no god but You".
63
b). "ALLAHUMMA BA|'D BAYNT WA
BAYNA KHATAYAYA KAMA BAA'DTA
BAYNA.AL.MASHRIKI WAL MAGHRIBI.
ALLAHUMMA NAAANIY MIN KHATAYAYAKAMA YONAAA-AL-THOWBO
ALABYADO MIN-AL.DANASI,
ALLAHUMMA IAYSILNIY MIN KHA.
TAYAYA BIL-MAI.
WATHALJI,
WALBARAD".which means
"O Lord, separateme from my sinsasyou
have separated the east and west. O Lord,
cleanse me of my srns as the white robe is
cleansed from dirt. O Lord, wash away my
sins with water, snow and hail".
c). "WAJAHTU WAJHIYA LtLLADHtt
-AL-SAMAWATI WAL.ARDHI
FA.'TARA
HANIIFAN MUSLIMAN WAMAA ANA
MINAL MUSHRIKIINA, INNA SALATII
WANUSUKII WAMAHYAYA WAMAMATII LILLAHI RABEIL'ALAMIINA LAA
SH,ARIKALAHU WABIDHALIKA UMIRTU
WA ,ANA MINAL-MUSLIMIINA". which
means
"l turn my face to Him Who created the
heavens and the earth, as a true believer
and a Muslim, and nay, am I one of the
polytheists. Truly, my prayer and my
sacrifices, my life and my death. allbelong
to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Who has no
partner. Thisam lcommanded, and lam of
those who submit to His Will".
4. The personthen seeksthe protectionof
"Allah (SWf)" from the cursed satan by
"AUZO BILLAHI MTNAL
saying
SHAYTANI-R-RAJIIM".
5. Th e p e r s o nt h en si l e n tl yi n vo ke s" A l tah
(SWf)" by saying:
,,
B ISM IL LA H -R-RAHMAN -R-RAHIIM".
w h i c h m e a n s-
65
"ln the name of Allah. the all Merciful, the
all Compassionate".
The personimmediatelythereafterrecites
"AL-FATIHAH" (openingchapter of the
G lo r i o u s O u r ' a n ) i n d u e re g a rd to the
f o l l o w i n gs a y i n go f th e P ro p h e t(P B UH) :
"Prayer without reciting the'Al-Fatihah'
is invalid". (Reportedby lmam Bukhari)
Upon completionof the "Al-Fatihah" the
pe r s o ns a y s "A me e n " l o u d l y.
6. T h e p e r s on th e n re ci te s ch a p ter s,
v er s e s o r p a ssa g e s(mi n i mu m o f thr ee
,
v er s e s )f r o m t he H o l yOu r'a n .H o w e v er it
is r e c o m m e nd e dth a t l o n g p a ssa g esar e
re c i t e df o r t h e F a j r(D a w np) ra ye r.
No t e :
lf the person is praying with a
i o n g r e g a t i o nb e h i n d a n l m a m ( l e a d e r )
66
h e , / s h ew o u l da pp l yN o s.1,2 ,3 a n d 4 , a nd
woufd listento the lmam recitingthe "AlFatihah" loudly and upon the lmam
c omp l e t i n gi t s r e ci ta ti o nth
, e p e rso na l o ng
with the rest of the congregationwould
say "Ameen" loudly after which, the
personwould apply No. 5 in a low voice.
7. Th e n ,t h e p e r so np ro ce e d sto " R u ku u"
(b o w i n g )p o s i t i onra i si n gb o th h a n d su p to
the levelof the shouldersor nearthe lobes
of the ears saying "ALLAHU AKBAR".
Wh ile i n t h i s po si ti o n , th e p e rso n is
required to excercise serenity and
t ranq u i l i t yp o s i t io n i n gth e h e a da n d b a ck
on t h e s a m e l e ve l ,p u tti n gb o th h a n d so n
t h e kn e e s w i t h th e fi n g e rs sp re a d a nd
s ay in g t h e f o l l o w i n g w o rd s fo r a t l e ast
t h r e et i m e s :
"SUBHANA RABBIYAL A'Z\M". which
m e a n s"Glorified is my Lord the Great."
67
In additionw
, h i l e i n R u ku up o si ti o n ,i t is
also advisableto say:
"SUBHANAKA ALLAHUMMA WA
BIHAM DIKA, ALLAHUM MA EGHFIRLII'',
wh i c h m e a n s"Glory be to Thee, O Allah, and praise be
to Thee, forgive me my sins".
8. Then, the person raises from the
" Ru k u u " p o s i ti o nl i fti n gb o th h a n d supto
t h e l e v e lo f t h e sh o u l d e rso r n e a rth el obes
of the ears saying:
''SAMI A'ALLAHU LIMAN HAMIDAH",
wh i c h m e a n s
"Allah listens to him who praises Him."
Th e p e r s o nt h e n , i mme d i a te l yre ci te sthe
following supplication while still
standing:
68
.'RABBANA
WA LAKA AL HAMDU
HAMD AN K A T HE E R 'A N T A Y Y IB A N
MOBARAKAN FEEHIY MILA'S
SAMAWATI WA MILA' ALARDHI WA
MILA' MA BAYNAHOMA WA MILA' MA
SHIATA MIN SHIYIN BAA'D", which
means
"Our Lord, praise be to Theeonly, praises
plentiful and blessings as to fill the
heavens, the earth, and what /s in
between, and fill that which will please
Thee besides them".
Howe v e r i, f a p e r so nfo l l o w i n ga n l ma m i n
a c on g r e g a t i o n apl ra ye r i s n o t a b l e to
conrplete the above supplication it
suffices to say "RABBANA WA LAKA
ALHAMD".
I t i s a l s o a d v i s a b l ef o r t h e l m a m . t h e
f ollow e r o r o n e wh o p ra ys a l o n e to a d d
f u r t h e rt h e s u p p l i c a t i o hn e r e b e l o w :
"AHLU THANAA'I WALMAJDI A-HAAU
MA AAALA ALABDU WAKULUNA LAKA
ABD, ALLAHUMMA LA MAANI'A LIMA
ADEYTA WALA M U'DIYA LIMA
MAN'ATA WALA YANFA'UDHAL-JADDI
MINKAL JADD". which means "You Allah who deserves all praises and
all glory, Your praising is the best and
most true of whatever Your servant can
say, we are allYour servants.Our Lord,no
one can ever depriveanything of what You
have bestowed and no one can ever give
anything of what You have deprived."
Wh i l e i n t h e sta n d i n g p o si ti o n after
Ru k u u ,t h e p e rso ni s a d vi se dto p l a ceboth
ha n d so v e rt h e ch e sti n th e sa mema nner
be f o r e b o w in g , si n ce , th i s w a s the
pr a c t i c eo f t h e P ro p h e t(P B U H ).
9. T h e p e r s o n th e re a fte r p ro ce e dsto
prostration saying: "ALLAHU AKBAR"
a n d t o u c h i n gt h e g r o u n dw i t h t h e k n e e s
70
first before the hands if possible.
However,if not possible,the personmay
t ouc h t h e g r o u n dw i th th e h a n d sb e fo re
t he k n e e s . W h il e i n p ro stra ti o n ,th e
p e rs o n s h o u l d p l a ce se ve n p a rts o f th e
b o d yo n t h e g r o un d .T h e sep a rtsa re :th e
forehead, together with the nose, both
p a lms o f t h e h an d s (fi n g e rs sh o u l d be
stretched, closed together and pointed
t owa r d st h e d i r e cti o no f th e Oi b l a h ),b o th
knees,the bottompartsof the toesof both
f eet (t o e s p o i n t e dto th e d i re cti o no f the
O i b l a h ) . D u r i n g t h e p r o s t r a t i o n s t, h e
p e rs o ns a y s f o r th re e ti me s o r mo re the
f o llo w i n gw o r d s :
"SUBHANA RABBIYAL A'ALA", which
means
"Glorified is my Lord the Exalted".
I t is a l s o a d v i s a b l eto sa y fu rth e r:
7l
,,SUBHANAKAALLAHUM MA RABBANA
WA BI HAMDIKA, ALLAHUMMA IGHFIR
Lll", which means
"Glory be to Thee,our Lord, and I praise be
to Thee. O Lord, forgiue me my sins"'
Wh i l e i n p r o stra ti o n i,t i s re co mmended
that the person recites as many
supplicationsas possible asking "Allah
(SWf)" for prosperityboth in this worldly
lif e a n d i n t h e l i fe h e re a fte rb e ca u sethe
P r o p h e t ' ( P B U sHa) i d :
'When performing 'Rukuu' glorify 'Allah
,
(SW T I , b u t d u ri n gp ro stra ti o ne, n d e avour
t o m a k ea s m an ysu p p l i ca ti o nass p o s sible
'Allah (SWTL'for
to
supplicationsduring
p ro s t r a t i o n a re a l mo st ce rta i n to be
a c c e p t e d . "( Re p o rte
b yd l ma m Mu sl i m )
I n v i e w o f t h e a b o vep ro p h e ti ctra d ition,
we q u o t e h e re b e l o w so me o f the
s u p p l i c a t i o n sa n d p ri va tep ra ye rsw hich
72
t h e P r o p h e t( PB U H )u se d to sa y w h i l e i n
pros tr a t i o n :
a.,'ALLAHUMMA LAKA SAJADTU,
WABIKA AMANTU, WALAKA ASLAMTU'
SAJADA WAJHII LILLADHII KHALAAAHU FASAWARAHU FAAH.SANA
SUW A R A H I J , FA S H A A A S A M'A H U
WABAS ARA H U. FATABA RAKA. LLAH U
AHSANA-L-KHAUAllN". which means
"O Lord, to Thee I prostrate' in Thee I
believe and to Thee I submit; MY face
prostrates to He Who created and
fashioned it and made its form good and
provided it with hearing and sight; praise
be to Altah, the most excellent of
creators".
''RABBI A'DI NAFSII TAAWAHA'
b.
WAZAKIHA, ANTA KHAYRIJ-MANZAKAHA ANTA WALIYUHAA WAMAUL AH AA . " w h i c h me a n s
" O Lord, give my soul its
devoutnessand
purify it, for none other than Thou
can
purify it, Thou are its Lord and Master,,.
Wh i l e i n p r o s tra tl o nth
, e p e rso nsh ould
no t b r i n gt h e ha n d scl o seto th e h e a dand
should not stick the arms to the
a b d o m e nA. l s o,th e p e rso nsh o u l dn e i ther
s t ic kt h e a b d o me nto th i g h sn o rth e th ighs
t o l e g s . T h e a rms sh o u l d b e d i sta nced
from the body and raised up from the
g ro u n d b e c a use th e p ro p h e t (p BUH)
p ro h i b i t e df l a t te n i n gth e m o n th e g ro und
a c c o r d i n gt o t h e fo l l o w i n gsa yi n g ;
"Adjust your prostration,
keep straight in
it and stretch not your hands on the
ground as dogs do". (Reporterdby lmam
Bukhari)
10. T h e p e r s o nth e re a fte rra i se s u p
the
h e a d f r o m p r o stra ti o nsa yi n g ,'A L L AHU
AKBAR", and sits up resting on the left
f ootfl a t t e n e do n th e g ro u n dw h i l e ke e p ing
74
the right foot erect with the toes of the
right f o o t f i r m e d o n th e g ro u n d 'Wh i l e i n
, o th p a l msa re to b e p l a ced
t h is p o s i t i o n b
on the knees and the person recitesthe
f o llo w i n gs u P P l i ca ti o n :
''RA BI Y A I AH F IR L II, WA R H A MN II'
WAHDINII. WAJBIJRNII. WARZANEE'
WA'A FINEE", which means
"O my Lord, forgive me' have mercY on
me, guide me, consoleme, provide for me'
and h e a l m e . "
1 1. T h e p e r s o np ro stra te sa g a i n sa yi ng
"ALLAHUAKBAR"andrepeatswhat was
d o n e i n t h e f i r s t P ro stra ti o n '
1 2 . f h e p e r s o nth e n ra i se sth e h e a dfrom
" A L L A HU
t h e se c o n dp r o stra ti o nsa yi n g
AK B A R ",a n d t a ke sa si tti n gp a u sesi mi lar
t o t h e P au s e b e t w e e n t h e t w o
p ro s t r a t i o n sT.h i s i s a p a u sefo r re sta n d it
is re c o m m e n de dto't5ta ke su ch a p a u s e'
alt h o u g ht h e r e i s n o h a rm i f o mi tte d That
.
is the endof one "Rakaat,,(unit).
13. The personthereafter,says ALLAHU
AKBAR and stands up for the second
Ra k a a tw h i c h i s p e rfo rme di n th e sam e
m a n n e r a s t h e fi rst R a ka a tw h e re b ythe
p e r s o nc o m e sup w i th a l l th e a cti o n sand
reci t a t i o n s f r o m N o s. 1 u p to 1 1 as
discussedabove.
14. Upon completing the second
prostrationas discussedin No. 12 above,
the person takes a sitting for the ',At_
Tashahud" (wordsof witness)and while
in th i s p o s i t i on ,th e fi n g e rs o f th e ri ght
han da r e t o b e pl a ce dcl o se -fi stesa
d vethe
inde x f i n g e r wh i ch th e p e rso n u se s to
p o in to u t a s a n in d i ca ti o nfo r mo n o th e istic
beli e f a l t h o u g h,th e p e rso nma y a s well
k ee p b o t h t h e li ttl e a n d th e ri n g fi n g er s
c l o s e d ,w h i l e r o u n d i n gt h e t h u m b a n d
mid d l ef i n g e r i n a ri n g -sh a p e dfo rm a nd
us e st h e i n d e xf in g e rto p o i n to u t a s a sign
f or m o n o t h e i s ti b
c e l i e f.l t h a sb e e nre l a ted
76
that the Prophet(PBUH),practicedboth
these methods and it is advisable to
practicethe first methodat times and the
other methodat othertimes'The left hand
is placedon the left kneewith the f ingers
kept open.
After sitting as discussed above, the
of
personrecitesthe,4T-Tashahud(words
wit n e s s )a s f o l l o w s:
''AT TAHIYYATULILAHI WASALAWATU
WATAYYIBATU ASSALAMU ALAYKA
AYUHAN-NABIYU WA RAHMATULLAHI
WA BARAKATUHU,ASALAMU ALAYNA
WA ALA IBADI-L-LAHI-S-SALIHIYN.
ASH-HADU ANLA ILAHA ILA LAHU WAH
DAHU LA SHARIKA LAHU WA ASH.HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAN ABDUHU WA
RASUULUH.ALLAHUMMA SALLIYALA
WA ALA AALI
MUHAMMAD
MUHAMMAD, KAMA SALAYTA ALA
IBRAHIMA, WA AALA AALI IBRAHIM.
INAKA HAMIDON MAJID. WA BARIK
ALAA MUHAMMAD WA ALAA AALI
MUHAMMAD KAMA BARAKTA ALA
IBRAHIMA WA ALAA AALI IERAHIM.
INAKA HAMTDONMAJtD...which means
"Greetings, prayers and our good
deeds
are for Allah. Peace,mercy and blessings
of Allah be on you O prophet. May peace
be upon us and on the devout slaves of
Allah. 'l testify that there is no god but
Allah (the person when reciting this
testimony points out the index finger as a
sign of monotheistic belief) and I testify
that Muhammad /s His slave and
messenger'. O Lord, bless Muhammad
and his family as you blessedlbrahim and
his family. You are the Most-praised, The
Most-Glorious. O Lord,bestow your grace
on Muhammad and his famity as you
bestowed it on lbrahim and hisfamily. you
a re t h e M o s t-p ra i se d , th e Mo st_
Glorious."
78
It is recommendedto add to the above
read i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g su p p l i ca ti o nin
whic h t h e p e rso n a sks fo r A l l a h' s
p ro t e c t i o nf r o m fo u r e vi l s:
,'ALLAHUMMA INII AUDHU BIKA MIN
ADHABI JAHANNAMA, WA M IN
ADHABIL AABR. WAMIN FITNATIL
MAHYAA WAL-MAMATI, WAMIN
FtTNATtL MASIHID-DAJAAL". which
m e a n s"My Lord, I seekYourprotection from the
torment of Hell, from the torment of the
grave, from the trials in lifetime and after
death, and from the impostor Masihidajaal".
Th e p e r s o n m a y a l so ma ke f u rther
s u p p l i c a t i o ntso " A l l a h (S WD " a ski n gfor
p ro s p e r i t yb o t h i n th i s l i fe a n d i n th e life
her e a f t e r ,a n d to b e sto w H i s fa vo u rson
. h i sw a s
h i s p a r e n t sa n d o t h e rM u s l i m s T
t h e c o n f i r m e d p ra cti ce o f th e P ro phet
79
(PB U H )a s r e p orte db y l b n Ma sso u d(may
A lla h b e p l e a se dw i th h i m).
15. H a v i n g c o mp l e te dth e A t-T a sh a hud
t he p e r s o n t e rmi n a te s th e p ra ye r by
sayingfor two times
''AS-SALAMU
ALEYKUM WA
RAHMATU-LAAH".which mean
" Peace and mercy of Attah be upon you",
t u rn i n gt h e f a c efi rstto th e ri g h ta n dth en,
to the left.
Th a t i s t h e e n d o f th e F a j r p ra ye r.
I I . " D H U H R( N O O N )P R A Y E R "
Number of Rakaat: Four
Recitation: Our'anic recitations in this
p ra y e ri s m a d ei n a l o w vo i ceb y th e l mam
(lead e r )t,h e f o ll o w e rso r w h o e ve r p rays
alone.
80
Performahce:
1. T h e f i r s t t w o Ra ka a tso f th e D h u h r
p ra y e ra r e p e r f o r me di n th e sa mema n n e r
as the two Rakaatsof the Fajrprayerwith
re gardt o N o s .1 u pto 1 4 . H o w e ve r,i n th e
c as eof D h u h rp r a ye r,th e si tti n gi n N o . 1 4
re pres e n t tsh e f t r s tA t-T a sh a h u idn w h i ch
c a s e ,t h e p e r s o ni s re q u i re dto re ci teo n l y
the f irst part of the words of witness up to
'"...WA
ASHADUANNA MUHAMMADAN
ABDUHU WA RASUULUHU". Meanwhile, i t i s p r e f e r re dth a t, fo r th e D h u h r
pray er ,t h e o u r ' a ni c re ci ta ti o n sa fte r th e
A l-F a t i h a h a r e o f me d i u m l e n g th (i .e .
n e it he rt o o s h o r t n o r to o l o n g ).
2 . Up o n c o n c l u d in gth e re ci ta ti o no f th e
fi rs t p a r t o l A t - T ash a h u di n N o . 1 4 , th e
person, instead of proceedingto action
No. 15 (of the Fajr prayer),stands up for
t h e t wo r e m a i n i n gR a ka a tso f th e D h u h r
p ra y e rw h i c h a r e a l so p e rfo rme di n th e
sa m e m a n n e ra s t h e fi rst tw o .
81
3 . U p o n p e r fo rmi n gN o . 1 2 i n th e four th
Rakaat,the person sits for the tinal At'
Ta s h a h u d a n d co me s u p w i th f ull
re c i t a t i o no f th e sa mea s i n N o . 1 4 of the
F a j r p r a y e r .T h e p e rso nth e n p ro ce edson
t o N o . 1 5 a n d th u s, co n cl u d e sth e p rayer .
P )R A Y E R "
I I I ." A S R ( A F T E R N O O N
Number of rakaats: Four
R e c i t a t i o n ' Ou r'a n i c re ci ta ti o n si n this
p r a y e r a r e ma d e i n a l o w vo i ce bY the
le a d e r( l m a m ),th e fo l l o w e rs,o r w h oever
p r a y sa l o n e .
Performance:lt is performedsimilarto the
D h u h r ( N o o n )p r a y e ri n a l l r e s p e c t s .
rv . "M AG H R IB(S U N S E TP) R A Y E R"
Number of Rakaats.'Three
82
Recitation' Our'anic recitationsin this
prayer is made loudly in the first two
r ak aats b y t h e le a d e r (l ma m) o r b y
w hoeve rp r a y sa l o n e .
Performance:
1. The first two Rakaatsof this prayerare
p e rf o rm e di n t h e s a mema n n e ra s th e f i rst
two Rakaats of the Dhuhr prayer.
Ho wev e r ,t h e p e r so n p ra yi n gb e h i n d a n
lm a m i n a c o n g re g a ti o ni s re q u i re dto
li s t e nt o t h e l m a m's re ci ta ti o no f th e A l Fatihah,in the first two Rakaats.Uponthe
lmam's completionof the Al-Fatihah,the
person says Ameen with the rest of the
congregationand then recitesAl-Fatihah
sile n t l yb y h i m s e l f.T h e p e rso nth e re a fte r,
m a y no t n e e dt o r eci teOu r'a n i cp a ssa g e s
h ims el f b u t s h o u l d p a y a tte n ti o nto th e
l m a m ' sr e c i t a t i o n .
M e a n w h i l e ,O u r ' a n i cr e c i t a t i o n si n t h i s
prayer after the Al-Fatihah by the lmam
83
(or by whoeverpraysalone)may be either
long or short passagesof the HolyOur'an.
2. Upon raisingthe headfrom the second
prostration of the second Rakaat, the
personsits down for the firstAt-Tashahud
and iecites the first part of the words of
witness (i.e. upto "....wA ASHADUANNA
MUHAMMADAN ABDUHU WA
RASUULUHU").
r n d su p for the
3 . T h e p e r s o nth e re a fte sta
p e r f o r m a n ceo f th e th i rd a n d l a st Rakaat
o f t h e M a g h ri b p ra ye ra n d u p o n raising
the head from the second prostrationof
this third Rakaat,the personsits down for
the final At-Tashahud and recites the
w o r d s o f w i tn e ss i n fu l l .
4 . T h e p e r so nth e n co n cl u d e sth e pr ayer
b y t h e " T a s l e e m "( i . e .a c t i o nN o ' 1 5 o f t h e
F a j r p r a y e r ).
v . " l s H A ( E V E N I N GP)R A Y E R "
Number of rakaats.'Four
Recitation' Our'anic recitations in this
pray e r i s m a d e l o u d l y i n th e fi rst tw o
Ra k a a t sb y t h e l ma m a n d b y w h o e ver
p ray sa l o n e .
Performance:
1 . Th i s p r a y e ri s p e rfo rme di n th e sa me
m a n n e ra s t h e D h u h r( N o o n a
) n dt h e A s r
( Af t er n o o n p) r a y e rs.
H o w e v e rw
, h e n p r a y i n gb e h i n da n l m a m ,
the p e r s o n i s r e q u i re dto l i ste n to th e
lm a m ' sr e c i t a t i o no f th e " A L -F A T IH A H i"n
t he f ir s t t w o R a ka a ts.U p o n th e l ma m's
compl e t i o no f t h e A l -F a ti h a hth e p e rso n
says Ameen with the rest of the
c ongre g a t i o n
a n d th e n re ci te sA l -F a ti h a h
s ilent l yb y h i m s e lf.T h e p e rso nth e re a fter
85
ma y n o t n e e dto re ci teOu r'a n i cp a ssages
him s e l f b u t sh o u l d p a y a tte n ti o nto the
l m a m ' sr e c i t a t i o n .
T H E F O R G E T F U L N E SPSR OS T R A TIONS
(SU J U U DSA H W)
A s h u m a n be i n g s, w e a re b Y n atur e
s u b j e c t t o m i sta ke sa n d e rro rs, a nd as
m e n t i o n e d ea rl i e r, i f a p e rso n fa i ls to
pe r f o r m a n y o f th e p i l l a rs o f th e p r ayer
an d / o r n e c essa ryd u ti e s, th e p e rson is
re q u i r e dt o me n d th e e rro r b y co mi ngup
wi t h t w o p r ostra ti o n sa t th e e n d of the
prayer known as "Suiuud Sahw" i.e'
f o r g e t f u l n e s s p r o s t r a t i o n s ,a l t h o u g h ,
wh e r e a p i l l ar(s)i s o mi tte da re p e ti tionof
t h e m i s s e dp i l l a r(s)i s n e ce ssa ry.
b e tween
T h e r e a r e s o me d i sa g re e me n ts
ts
r e l i g i o u sj u r i s t sr e g a r d i n gt h i s s u b j e c a
t o w h e t h e r i t sh o u l db e p e rfo rme dbefor e
or after the words of peace (Tasleem).
What seems to be a fair solution,
86
however, is that if a person made an
a ddit i o n t o t h e p ra ye r, th e n , th e tw o
prostrationsof forgetfulnessshould be
performed after reciting the Tasleem.
W hile, i f a d e d u cti o ni s ma d e fro m th e
prayer, then, the two prostrations of
forgetf u l n e s s h o ul db e p e rfo rme db e fo re
reciting the Tasleem. However, where
b o t h a n a d d i t i o n a n d a d e d u cti o nma y
h a v e b e e n m a d e i n th e co u rse o f th e
prayer, then, in th is case, the
f o r g e t fu I n e s s p r o s t r a t i o n s c an b e
performed before the recitation of the
words of peace(Tasleem).
V A R I O U SI N S T A N C EW
S H E R E" S U J U U D
S AHW " BE C O M E SA P P A R E N T
A. Where a Pillar of the Prayer is Omitted
1. Whe r e ,f o r e x a mp l ea, p e rso nfo rg e tsto
recite the "Al-Fatihah" but remembers
th e s am e b e f o r eRu ku uo r i n th e p ro ce ss
o f bow i n g ,t h e n ,t he p e rso ni s re q u i re dto
87
re s u m e a p r op e r sta n d i n gp o si ti o nand
read the "Al-Fatihah" and some other
v e r s e sf r o m th e H o l y Ou r'a n a s u sual.lf
t h i s o m i s s i o no ccu re di n th e fi rst rakaat
a n d t h e p e r s o nre me mb e rsth e o mi ssion
wh i l e i n t h e co u rseo f th e se co n dra kaat,
t h e n , t h e p e r so nsh o u l dco u n tth e second
ra k a a ta s b e i n gth e fi rst ra ka a ta n d tr eat
t h e f i r s t o n e i n w h i ch h e ,/sh emi ssedto
recite the "Al-Fatihah"as null and void.
Th e p e r s o n sh o u l d th e n P ro ce ed to
pe r f o r m o n e mo re ra ka a t to co mplete
h i s , / h e rSa l aa t a n d a t th e e n d , re ci tethe
" T a s l e e m "( w o rd so f p e a ce )a fte r w hich,
t h e p e r s o n co me s u P w i th th e two
pr o s t r a t i o n so f fo rg e tfu l n e ssa n d again,
recites the Tasleem.
, h i l e s i t t i n gf o r t h e f i n a l
2. lf, howeverw
"At-Tashahud",(the words of witness),a
p e r s o n r e m e mb e rs th a t h e mi ss ed a
p r o s t r a t i o n , th e n th e p e rso n should
im m e d i a t e l yco me u p w i th th e m issed
p r o s t r a t i o nan d si t b a cka g a i nto re peata
88
recitationof the At-Tashahud.The person
would then say the Tasleemto conclude
t he p ra y e r ,b u t w ou l d th e re a fte rco me u p
with the two prostrationsof forgetfulness
beforeonce again reciting the Tasleem.
T he a b o v e a r e so me e xa mp l e sw h e re
e rrors a r e c o mmi tte d i n p e rfo rmi ng
FARA I D H ( i . e . Pi l l a rs) o f th e S a l a at,
w h e re i n ,t h e p e r so ni s n o to n l yre q u i re dto
r epea t h e m i s s e da ct,b u t a l so ,to co meu p
with the two prostrationsof forgetfulness.
B. Where a Necessary DutY is Omitted
Ho we v e r , w h e r e so me o n e mi sse s a "
WAJIB" (NecessaryDuty) of the prayer,
t h e me r e c o m i n g u p w i th th e tw o
p ro s t r a t i o n so f f o rg e tfu l n e ssw i l l su ffi ce
wit ho u tt h e n e e dfo r re p e a ti n gth e mi ssed
act.Thus, it a Waiib act is missedand the
person remembers it after starting
anot h e ra c t i o n o f th e p ra Y e r,th e n , h e i s
89
not requiredto repeatthe forgottenact but
would proceedto completethe rest of the
s a l a a t a n d a t th e e n d , j u st b e fo re the
Tasleem,the person comes up with the
two prostrationsof forgetfulness.
C. Where a Preferred Act is Omitted
As for SUNNANS(PreferredActs) of the
pr a y e rw h i c h m a yb e mi sse d n
, e i th e ris it a
re q u i r e m e nto
t re p e rfo rmth e m n o r i s the
f o r g e t f u l n e s sp ro stra ti o n sn e e d e d .
P R I V A T E S U P P L I C A T I O N SR E C I T E D
UP O NC O M PL E T IN G
PRAYERS
I n a c c o r d a ncew i th th e te a ch i n g so f the
P r o p h e(t P B U H )t ,h e r ea r eq u i t ea n u m b e r
of p r i v a t e s up p l i ca ti o n sa n d w o rds of
extollingAllah (SWf) i.e. "Dhikr" which
a r e h i g h l y d e s i r a bal en d r e c o m m e n d efdo r
re c i t a t i o na t t h e e n d o f e a chp ra ye r.T hese
s u p p l i c a t i o nasn d e x t o l l a t i o n(sd h i k r )a r e
no n - o b l i g a t orya n d co n sti tu te se p ar ate
90
forms of "IBADAH" (Worship), hence,
re c it in gt h e m o r f a i l u reto d o so , d o e sn ot
affect the prayer.
However, a person who recites these
s u p p l i c a t i o n sa n d e x t o l l a t i o n sw o u l d
certainly achieve much additional
rewa r d sb e s i d e sth e re w a rdA l l a h g ra n ts
f or t h e Sa l a a t ,I N S H AA L L A H .
We s h a l l n o w di scu ss so me o f th e s e
s u p p l i c a t i o nasn d e x t o l l a t i o n s .
a ) . l m m e d i a t e l yu p o n c o m p l e t i n gt h e
prayer it is recommendedfor the
worshipperto invokeAllah (SWf) and to
a s k f o r H i s f o r g i ve n e ssb y sa yi n g :
"ISTAAFIRULLAAH"for three times,
which means
"l seek Allah's forgiveness".
9l
b). lmmediately thereafter, the
wo r s h i p p e r ma y re ci te th e fo l l o wing
supplication:
"ALLAHUMMA ANTA SALAAM. WA
MINKA SALAAM. TABARAKTA YAA
DHAL JALALI WAL IKRAAAM." which
m e a n s"O Allah, Youare the source of peace and
fromYou comes peace, exaltedYou are, O
Lord of Majesty and Honour."
c ). l t i s a l so re co mme n d e d fo r the
worshipper to recite thereafter the
f o l l o wni g s u p p il c a t i o n :
,,LA
ILAHA ILAL-LAHU WAHDAHU.LAA
SHARIKA LAHU, LAHUL-MULKU.
WALAHUL-HAMDU. WAHUWA A'LAA
KULI SHEY-INAAAR". which means
92
"There is no god but Allah, He is one, He
has no partner, to Him belongs
sovereignty and to Him belongs praise,
and has power over all things."
d). The person may thereaftersay:
.,ALLAHUMMA
LAA MANI'A LIMAA
A'DEYTA WALA MU'DIYA LIMA
MANA'ATA WALA YANFAUDHAL JADDI
MINKAL JAD". which means "O Allah, none can withhold what You
have granted, and none can grant what
You have withheld, and nothing can be
offered by the rich; richness and fortune
comes from You alone".
e). And says thereafter:
''LAA
HOWLA WALAA AUWATA ILLA
BILLAAH."which means -
93
"There is no might or power, except from
Allah".
f). Also, the person may thereaftersay:
,'LAA
ILLAHA ILAL LAAHU WALA
NA'ABUDU ILLA IYAHU, LAHU NI'MATU
WALAHULFADHLU, WALAHUL THANAA
AL-HASSAI". which means"There is no god but Allah and we worship
none but Him, to Him belongs prosperity,
and to Him belongs favours and to Him
belongs all good praises".
g ) . T h e p e r s o nma y a l so sa y:
''LAA
ILAHA ILLAL LAAHU MUKHLISINA
LAHU DIINA WALAO KARIHAAL
KAFIRUUN".which means "There is no god but Allah, (and we) offer
Him sincere devotion even though the
unbelievers may detest it".
94
h ). Als o , s a y s :
''ALLAHIJMMA A'INNI'ALA DHIKRIKA.
WASHUKRIKA. WA HUSNA IBADATIK."
w h i c h m e a n s"O Allah, help me in remembering You,
thanking You and conducting my worship
to You in a perfect way.".
i ). T h e p e r s o na l s o sa ys:
(l )SUBHANA-ALLAH- GlorybetoALLAH
- (33 times)
(2)AL HAMDU-LILLAH- PraisebetoAllah
- (33 times)
(2) ALLAHU AKBAR - Allah is great (33
times)
T h e n , a t t h e e n d o f th e a b o ve th re e
r ec it a t i o n s ,t h e wo rsh i p p e r re ci te s th e
f o l l o w i n gs u p pilc a t i o n :
95
,LAA ILLAHA ILAL LAAHU WAHDAHU
LAA SHARIKA LAHU, LAHUL MUL.KU,
WALA.HUL HAMDU. WAHUWA A'LAA
KULI SHEY'INNAAAR". which means "There is no god but Allah alone; He has
no partners, to Him belongs dominion and
to Him belongs praises; and He has power
over all things".
By t h i s s u pp l i ca ti o n ,th e w o rshipper
ma k e s u p a to ta l o f 1 OOre a d i n g sand in
t h i s r e g a r d i,t w a s re p o rte di n a n a u thentic
p r o p h e t i cs a y i n gth a t w h o e ve rco mes up
w i t h t h i s 1 O Op h ra se sa t th e e n d o f ever y
o b l i g a t o r yp r aye r," A l l a h w i l l fo rg i vehim,
e v e n i f h i s s i n s w e re a s a b u n d a n tas the
f o a m o f t h e se a ." (R e p o rte db Y lm am
Muslim)
j) . l t i s a l s or e co mme n d e d fo rthpee rsonto
re c i t et h e r e afte r" A Y A TA L K U R S I"i .ethe
v e r s e o f t h e T h ro n e(H o l yOu r'a n 2 :255}
which has the following English
96
t rans l a t i o n : "Allah! there is no god but He, the Living
the Self-Subsisting, the Eternal. No
slumber can seize Him nor sleep. To Him
belongs all that is in the heavens and on
earth. Who is there can intercede in His
presence except as He permitteth? He
knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures
as) before or after or behind them. Nor
shall they compass aught of His
knowledge except as He willeth. His
Throne doth extend over the heavens and
the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in
guarding and preserving them for He is
the Most High, the Supreme (in glory)".
T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f th i s ve rse w a s
c o n f ir m e db y t h e P ro p h e t(P B U H )i n a n
a ut he n t i cs a y i n gth a t:
"Whoever recites this verse at the end of
every prayer, nothing will prevent him
from entering Paradise."(Reported by
97
lmam Bukhari)
k). lt is also strongly recommendedthat
the person recites the following three
chapters of the Holy Our'an after each
prayer:
(1) Surah Al-lkhlaas (Purity of Faith) Q u r ' a n ,C h a p te r1 1 2 .
(2) Su r a h Al - F a l a q(T h e D a w n ) - Ou r ' an,
C h a p t e r1 1 3 .
(3) Su r a h An - N a a s (Ma n ki n d )- Ou r' an,
C h a p t e r1 1 4 .
Note: lt is preferredthat each of these
three chaptersbe recitedfor three times
a t t h e e n d o f F a j r (D a w n ) a n d Ma ghr ib
(Su n s e t p
) r a y ers;w h i l e ,e a chch a p te rmay
be recited only once at the end of the
o t h e r o b l i g a to ryp ra ye rsn a me l y,D huhr
(N o o n )As
, r ( A fte rn o o n )a nldsh a(E ve ning)
prayers.
THINGS WHICH INVALIDATE THE
PRAYER
Prayerif performedwell with due regard
t o it s c o n d i t i o n s, p i l l a rs, d u ti e s a n d
pref e r r e da c t st r u l y i l l u mi n a te sth e h e a rt
and p u r i f i e st h e so u l . l t i s th e me a n sby
whic h m a n c o m mu n i ca te sw i th A l l a h
(SWT)and therefore,one should keep it
f re e f r o m a n y t h i n gw h i ch w o u l d re n d e rit
in v a l i d .l n Ar a b i c L a n g u a g ea, cts w h i ch
in v a l i d a t e t h e p ra ye r a re kn o w n as
"Mubdillatu-Salaah" and we now list
them herebelow:
1. S p e a k i n go r t a l ki n gi n th e co u rseo f th e
prayer.
2. Lau g h i n gi n t h e co u rseo f th e p ra ye r.
3. Ea t i n gw h i l e p ra yi n ge, ve nth o u g hw h at
is ea t e n m a y b e a s sma l l a s a p i e ce of
dates.
99
4 . D r i n k i n gw h i l e p ra yi n g ,e ve n th ough
wh a t i s d r a n k ma yb ea s sma l l a s taking
o n l y a m o u t h fu l .
5. lf someonein the courseof the prayer
remembersthat he,/shedid not actually
pe r f o r mt h e a b l u ti o n(w u d h u ),th e n , such
a person is requiredto break the prayer
a n d g e t o u t t o p e rfo rmWu d h u .
6. lf a person's ablution (wudhu) gets
invalidatedin the course of the prayer,
t h e n t h e p r a ye rb e co me si n va l i d .
7. T h e p r a ye r i s a l so i n va l i d a tedby
c a r r y i n g o u t th e R u ku u a n d S ujuud
postures with haste and without ease.
Wh i l e i n p r o s tra ti o nb, o b b i n g(j e rki ng)up
and down like chickenpeckingfood from
t h e g r o u n di s n o t a l l o w e d .
8. Turning oneself away f rom the
directionof the Aiblahalsoinvalidatesthe
prayer.
100
D
T H I N G SW H I C HA R EN O TP R E F E R R EI N
T HE P R AY E R
1. Turning of the eyes up . The Prophet
(P BU H )s t r o n g l yad mo n i sh e da g a i n stth is
a s c a n b e n o t e df ro m th e fo l l o w i n gsa yi ng:
"What is the matter with the people who
raise their eyes towards the sky while
praying? They shall have to refrain from
this or else they will lose their eyesights".
(Re p o r t e db y l m a m B u kh a ri )
I t is a l s od i s l i k e dto l o o kri g h t a n d l e ft a nd
t he P r o p h e t( P B U H )i n th i s re g a rdsa ys:
"lt /s a deception with which satan
deceives the servant while in prayer".
(Reprotedby lmam Bukhari)
The person while praying is required to
direct his eyes at the point of prostration.
l0l
2. Closing the eyes in the course of the
prayer.
3. Placing the hands above the kidneys or
on the waist. Hands should be placed over
the chest.
4. Wiping the earth more than once to
remove pebbles on it.
5. Reading of the Holy Qur'an, while
i n Rukuu and in Sujuud positions.
6. Making unnecessarymovements in the
course of the prayer such as touching the
chin (beard) or fidgetting the fingertips or
mending up the clothes e.g. the head
turban etc.
7. Entering to prayer, while food has been
served to the person before the prayer or
while badly in need of passing excrement
and/or urine. The Prophet (PBUH) in this
regard says:
l'z
"Prayer is not valid when food has been
served and when a person is in need of
relieving himself of excrement and/or
urine." (Reported by lmam Muslim)
8. lt is prohibited for someone in a
congregational prayer to raise the head
from Rukuu and Suiuud positions ahead
of the lmam. The Prophet (PBUH)strongly
warned persons doing this as can be
noted from the following saYing:
"Doesn't the person who raises uP his
head before the lmam fear that Allah will
turn his head to that of a donkey or make
his face look like a donkey". (Reportedby
lmamBukhari)
T OT E SR E GA R D ING
O TH E RI M PO R T A NN
PRAYER
, nion,
1 . l f a p e r s o ni s s m e l l i n go f g a r l i c o
leek, cigarettes, tobacco or anything
103
s im i l a r w h i c h h a s a n u n p l e a sa n to d our
and which may cause inconvenienceto
others, then, such person must not join
t h e c o n g r e g a ti o n a p
l ra ye r a n d sh o uld
k ee pa w a y u n t i lth e o d o u rd i ssi p a te from
s
him / h e r . T h e P ro p h e t (P B U H ) i n this
regardsays:
"A person who has eaten garlic or onion
or any other bad smelling thing should not
approach our Mosques because the
angels are offended by the things which
human beings get offended f rom".
(Re p o r t e db y l m a m Mu sl i m).
2 . Th e w h o l e e a rth i s fo r th e Mu sl i ms a
p lace o f p r a y e r a n d vi rtu a l l y cl e an.
Therefore,anyone can pray wherever he
may be when the time of prayercomes if
there are no Mosquesnearby.However,it
is forbidden to perform prayers at
cemeteries, except the funeral prayer
a d m i n i s t e r e do v e r a d e a d Mu sl i m. l t is
also forbidden to pray inside toilets
IM
and/ o r b a t h r o o msa n d a t f i l th yp l a ce s.All
prayers performed in such areas are
c o n s i d e r e dn u l l a n d vo i d .
3. W h e n e n t e r i n g a mo sq u e i t i s the
traditionthat the personstepsin with the
right f oot reciting the f ollowing
s upp l i c a t i o n :
,'BISMILLAH WASSALATU WASSA.
RASULULLAAH.
LAMU'ALAA
A L AH U M M A IA F IR L II D H U N U BI.
WAFTAH LII ABWABA RAHMATIK".
w h i c h m e a n s"tn the name of Allah..and blessings and
peace be upon the messenger of Allah- O
Lord, forgive me mY sins and open for me
the gates of Your mercY".
A n d , w h e n d e pa rti n gfro m th e mo sque,
the personstepsout with the left foot f irst
saying:
105
''BISMILLAH
WASSALATU .
WASSALAMU 'ALA RASULULLAAAH.
ALLAHUMMA IAGHFIR LII DHUNIJBII
WAFTAH LII ABWABA FADHLIKA'"
wh i c h m e a n s
"ln the name of Allah...may blessings and
peace upon the messenger of Allah. O
Lord, forgive me my sins and open for me
the gates of your favours".
4. lt is not proper to come to the prayer
h a s t e n i n gb u t th e p e rso n i s re q u i re dto
c o m ec a l m l ya n d i n a sta teo f se re n i tyand
t ran q u i l i t y .l f a p e rso n j o i n s th e p rayer
wh i l e t h e l m a m,/co n g re g a ti o na re in
Ru k u u p o s i t i on , th e n , th a t p a rti cular
raka a t( u n i t ) i s co u n te dfo r h i m a s i f he
started the rakaat (unit) with the rest of
the congregationfrom the start.However,
if a person joins the prayer after the
lma m , / c o n g r e g a ti o nh a s a l re a d y ri s en
f ro m t h e R u k u u p o si ti o n , th e n , that
p a rt i c u l a rr a k a a ti s n o t co u n te dfo r h im,
106
but he should continue prayingwith the
rest until the lmam completesthe prayer
after which the personis requiredto come
up with the missed rakaat(s)inorder to
completehis prayer.
Here b e l o w i s a n e xa mp l e :
As s u m i n gt h a t a p e rso nj o i n s th e D h uhr
prayer in the first rakaat but after the
c o n g r e g a t i o nh a s a l re a d yri se n fro m the
Rukuu position, the person would
c o m p l e t et h e r e ma i n i n gp a rt o f th e ra kaat
wit h t h e r e s t ,a l th o u g hsu ch ra ka a ti s not
c o u n t e d f o r h i m. T h e l ma m a n d the
congregation proceed to the second
rak a a t ,b u t t h e l a te co me r sh o u l d co unt
t h e s e c o n dr a k aa ta s h i s fi rst ra ka a t.
Thereafter,the congregationsits for the
first "At-Tashahuh" and would then,
s t an d u p t o p e rfo rmth e th i rd ra ka a ta nd
s u b s e q u e n t l yt ,h e fo u rth ra ka a tu p to the
s ec o n d a n d f i n a l " A t-T a sh a h u d " .A fter
t07
the lmam reads the words of peace to
concludethe prayerthe late-comerunder
discussion,would thereby stand up to
perform one more rakaat in lieu of the
ra k a a tm i s s e da t th e b e g i n n i n g .
5. lt is allowedfor a personto pray while
wearing shoes, but before doing so, the
personis requiredto checkon the solesof
t he s h o e s ,a n d sh o u l dth e re a p p e a rany
trace of wetness and/or defilement,this
s ho u l db e c l e a n e dw e l l o n th e g ro u n d.
6. A personis not allowedto pass infront
of a n o t h e r p e r so n w h o i s p ra yi n g no
matter how long and how much
in c o n v e n i e n c eth e w a i ti n g ma y ca u se.
Th e P r o p h e t( P B U H )sa ys:
"lf a person who passes infront of a
praying person could realize the gravity of
the sin, it would have been better for him
to wait for forty rather than passinfront of
the praying person. The narrator was not
108
sure whether the Prophet (PBUH) said
forty days or forty months or forty Years".
(Rep o r t e db y l m am B u kh a ri )
7. lt a person who wishes to perform a
prayer fears others may pass infront of
him i n t h e c o urse o f h i s P ra ye r, i t is
advisablefor such a personto place any
kind of object infront of him before
commencingthe prayer.Such an objectis
known as SUTRAin Arabicand it actsas a
boundary for the person so that people
may pass only beyond the object. lf
thereater, any person attempts to pass
betweenhim and the object,the personin
prayermay push away the passerby.Butif
the passerby insists on passing, the
praying person has perfect right to fight
t he in t r u d e rf o r h e i s a n e vi l o n e .
8 . A s t r a n g e rw o ma n p a ssi n gto o cl o se
in f ro n to f a p r a yi n gma l e p e rso nw h o h as
no" Sutra", has the effect of invalidating
the prayer, except when the prayer is
bein g d o n e i n th e g ra n d mo sq u e of
Makkah.
109
CON G R EG A T ION APLR A Y E R
Performanceof the prayertogetherwith
t he o t h e r M u sl i ms i n co n g re g a ti onat
Mosques is a duty required from every
mafe Muslim of sound mind.Allah 6Wf)
says:
"...And bow down your heads with those
who bow down (in worship)". (Our'an
2:43l'
M u c h e m p h a si sh a s a l so b e e n ma d e by
the Prophet (PBUH) about the
CongregationalPrayers as can be
gathered from the following authentic
s ayi n g s :
1. "Performing prayer in congregation is
27 times better than prayer performed on
individua I basis".(Reported by lmam
Bukhari)
2 . l b n M a k t u ms a i d :
lr0
"l told the Messenger of Allah that I am
btind and my house is far awaY and I have
no suitable guide to the mosgue..doI not
have permission to pray at home?"
The Prophet(PBUH),asked me: "Do You
hear the call to the prayer?"
I an s w e r e d : "Y e s" ,a n d th e P ro P het
(P BU H )t h e n s a id to me :
"Respond accordingly (bV coming to the
mosque)".(Reportedby lmam Muslim)
3. "lf there happens to be (even) three
persons in a village, desert or iungle and
they do not praY in congregation, satan
would surely dominate them. So, observe
your prayers in congregation' for
certainly, the wolf devours the lonelY
sheep". (ReportedbYAbuu Dawoud)
4. "1 swear by Allah in Whose possession
is my life, I feel like asking for firewood to
lll
be gathered, and order for the prayerto be
held and the call for prayer (Adhaan) to be
announced, and then asksomeoneto lead
the prayer, and I go after those who failed
to join the congregational prayer and set
fire to them while they are in their
houses". (Reportedby lmam Bukhari)
By virtue of the above quoted Our,anic
verseas well as the varioussayingsof the
Prophet(PBUH),congregationalprayeris
in c u m b e n t u p o n e ve ry ma l e Mu s lim
unlessa personis excusedfrom doing so
as a result of one or more of the following
reasons:
1. Sickness
2 . F e a rt h a t g o in gto th e mo sq u ew i l l b ring
abo u t u n d u e h a rd sh i p s,o r p e ri l fro m an
ene m y .
3 . H e a v yr a i n .
It is permitted for women to attend the
congregationator1l1. at the mosques
and their husbandsmay not preventthem
from doing so unlessit is fearedthat harm
will come to them. However, it is
preferablefor women to perform prayers
a t t he i r h o m e s .T he P ro p h e (p
t B U H )sa ys:
"Do not prohibit women to attend prayer
at mosgue, but prayer at their homes is
better for them". (Reported by lmam
Ahma d )
lf, however, women decide to go out for
prayer at the mosques, they should
neitherdressnor perfumethemselvesin a
manner that may attract the attentionof
men. At the mosques,it is an established
tradition that women perform their
prayers preferablyin their own partition
behin dt h e r o w s o f me n .
P URPO S EO F T HE C ON GR E GA T IONAL
PRAYER
Performance of the prayer in
c ongr e g a t i o ni s a g re a t l sl a mi c p ra cti c e
lt3
through which equality and justice are
made manifest. Here, the ruler and the
subject,the old and the young, the rich
and the poor, thb powerful and the
d o w n t r o d d e nt,h e i n f l u e n t i a l a n d t h e
wretchedall assemblein rows shoulderto
s h o u l d e r i n f ro n t o f A l l a h , th e A l mi ghty,
with neither differencesnor distinctions
between them - all of them servantsof
Allah (SWf). .They meet on common
gr o u n d i n t h e h o u se s o f A l l a h th i nking
on l yo f H i m i n h u mi l i tyi n d u e re g a rdto the
following verse of the Holy Our'an:
"....Verily,the most honouredof you inthe
sight of Allah is (he who is) the most
righteousof you...." (HolyOur'an 49:13)
ls l a mi s a r e l i g i o no f g re a tso ci a l o rd erand
wh e n a c o m mu n i tyo f Mu sl i msi n a given
area meet at the CongregationalPrayers
f iv e t i m e s e a ch d a y, th e n , ce rta i n ly,we
c a n i m a g i n e th e i n n u me ra b l eb e nefits
that could be derived - people knowing
tt4
each other; people learning each others
affairs;peoplemeetingtheir leadersand
communityheads;peoplediscussingand
solvingtheir day-to-dayproblems;people
cooperating etc. Thus, cohesiveness,
unity, love and brotherhoodbecometruly
e v id e n ta m o n gt h e mu sl i m co mmu n i ty.
In an lslamicstate,the headof the stateor
his representativeis supposedto leadthe
five daily congregationalprayers at the
central mosqueof the capitalcity as was
the practiceof the Prophet(PBUH),in the
firs t lsl a m i cs t a t e e sta b l i sh e da t Me d i n a.
T h e le a d e r o r h e a d o f th e l sl a mi csta te
would, of course, be a person of
u nque s t i o n a b l ei nte g ri ty, kn o w n to b e
more knowledgeablethan his subjects
and ab o v ea l l r i g h te o u s.
Persons wish ing to perform a
c ongr e g a t i o n aplr a ye rw o u l d ch o o sefro m
among s t t h e m s e l ve sa n l ma m (l e a d e r)
w h o ha st h e q u a l iti e sd e scri b e d
a b o vea n d
ll5
who would stand infront of the others at
the center of the row.
After the second call for the prayer
(lq a m a h )i s pe rfo rme d ,th e l ma m tur ns
towards the congregation and would
endeavour to straighten out the row(s)
and urge the congregationto stand close
to each other as much as possible.These
acts were established practices of the
Prophet(PBUH)as can be notedfrom the
following sayings:
1." Straighten your rows and stand close
to each other in prayer..." (Reportedby
lmamBukhari)
2. "You shall have to straighten Yourows
in prayer or else Allah will create
differences among you". (Reported by
lmamBukhari)
The lmam, thereafter, starts the prayer
with the words of "TakbiiratilAl-lhraam"
tt6
as us u a l a n d t h e co n g re g a ti o nw o u l d
fo llo w s u i t . T h e c o n g re g a ti o w
n o u l d th e n
proceed to complete the prayer as
d is c u s s e di n d e t a i le a rl i e r.
THEP R A Y E R
O FAT R A V E L L IN G
P E R S ON
(MUSAFTR)
lsla m i s a r e l i g io n fu l l o f me rcy a n d
because of the harships and
in c onv e n i e n c ew
s hi ch a p e rso n u su a l l y
undergoesduring travels, Allah FWf)
has m a d e c e r t a i n co n ce ssi o n sto th e
tr av elle rO
. n eo f t h e seco n ce ssi o niss th a t
a t ra v e l l e r m a y sh o rte n so me o f th e
ob ligato r yp r a y e r s.A l l a h sa ysi n th e H o l y
Our'an:
"When ye travelthrough the earth there is
no blame on you if ye shorten your
pr a y e rs . .". ( O u r ' a n4 :10 1 )
Becauseof this grant lrom Atlah (SWT),it
tt7
is a n e s t a b l ish e p
d ra cti ceth a t a tra velling
M u s l i m m a y sh o rte nth e fo u r (4 ) rakaats
obligatoryprayers into two rakaatsonly.
Th u s , t h e D h u h r, A sr a n d l sh a p rayer s
may each be shortenedinto two rakaats.
However. the Maghrib and the Fajr
prayerscannotbe shortenedand are to be
p e r f o r m e di n fu l l .
I t i s a l s o a n esta b l i sh e dp ra cti ceth at the
t r a v e l l e r m a y co mb i n e so me o f the
o b l i g a t o r y pra ye rs. T h u s, th e Dhuhr
p r a y e rm a yb e d e l a ye du n ti lth e ti me of the
Asr prayerwhen both will be performed;
or, the Asr prayermay be broughtforward
t o t h e t i m e o f th e D h u h rp ra ye rw h e n both
w i l l b e p e r fo rme d .L i ke w i se ,th e lsha
p r a y e rm a y be b ro u g h tfo rw a rdto th e tim e
o f M a g h r i bpra ye r;o r, th e Ma g h ri bpr ayer
ma y b e d e l aye d u n ti l th e ti me o f lsha
p r a y e r .T h e F a j r p ra ye r ca n n e i ther be
b r o u g h tf o r w a rdn o r d e l a ye da n d h a sto be
performedat its prescribedtime.
ll8
Characteristics of combining the prayers
1. Each prayer will be performed
separately.
2 . O n ly o n e Pr a y e rC a l l(A D H A N )sh a l l b e
made for both prayers but two Second
) a l l b e re q u i re d(i .e .
C a lls (I O , AM A H Ssh
o n e Se c o n dC a l l ( l q a ma h )sh a l l b e ma d e
separatelyfor each prayer).
l f we ma y g i v ea n e xa mp l ea, ssu mi n gth a t
a t rav e l l e rw i s h e sto co mb i n eD h u h r a n d
As r p ra y e r sb y b r i n g i n gth e A sr p ra ye r
fo wa rd t o t h e t i m e o f th e D h u h r p ra ye r ,
the personwould proceedas follows:
( 1 ) T h e p e r s o nw o u l d fi rst co me u p w i th
th e Ca l l f o r p r a y e r" A d h a a n " i n te n d i n gi t
for both the two prayers.
( 2 ) T h e p e r s o nw o ul d th e n co me u p w i th
t h e s e c o n dc a l l " l q a m a h " f o r t h e D h u h r
Pra'er'
rt9
(3) The person would then perform the
Dhuhr prayershorteningit to two rakaats
only.
,
(4 ) Af t e rc o mp l e ti n gth e D h u h rp ra y erthe
p e r s o n s t a n d s u p a n d ma ke s a nother
s e c o n dc a l l " l q a ma h " fo r th e A sr pr ayer .
( 5 ) T h ep e r s onw o u l dth e n p e rfo rmtheAsr
prayeralsoshortenedto two rakaatsonly.
Note:
A t r a v e l l e r ma y l e a d th e p ra ye r as an
" I M A M " o f t h e re si d e n tso f th e p l a cehe is
v i s i t i n ga n d i n s u c h a c a s e ,h e ( b e i n ga n
lm a m ) ,m a y p e rfo rmo n l y tw o ra kaatsfor
th e D h u h r , Asr, a n d l sh a p ra ye rswhile,
t h e r e s i d e n t sh e i s l e a d i n gs, h a l lu p o nh i s
c o m p l e t i o n co n ti n u e to co mp l e te the
r e m a i n i n gt w o ra ka a tso f th e re spective
prayers. However, in such cases, it is
r h o ma yactas
d e s i r a b l et h a t th e tra ve l l e w
a n l m a m f i rst g i ve s n o ti ce to the
t20
congre g a t i o nr e g ard i n gh i s p o si ti o na n d
his intentionto shorten his prayerso that
the congregationcontinues to complete
the prayer.
On t h e o t h e r h a n d , i f th e tra ve l l e rh a s to
pray be h i n da n l m a m w h o i s a re si d e n o
tf
th e pla c eh e i s v i s i ti n g th
, e n i n su chca se ,
th e t ra v e l l e rs h a l l p ra y w i th th e l ma m a l l
th e f ou r ( 4 ) r a k a a tsa s u su a l .
PERFO R M A N COEFT H EP R A Y E R
B YON E
WHO IS SICK
A sickpersonhas to performthe prayerin
ac c ord a n c ew i t h t he p e rso n 'sco n d i ti o n s.
Th e Pro p h e t( PB U H )w a so n ce a ske db y a
si c kc o m p a n i o na s to h o w h e ca n p e rfo rm
th e pray e ra n d t h e Pro p h e (P
t B U H )re p l i e d
him as follows:
"Pray standing but if unable then by
sitting and if still unable then do so whilst
on your back". (Reported by lmam
Bukhari)
nl
Thus:
1 . lf, it is impossiblefor the sickpersonto
stand up, he,/sheshall performthe prayer
by sitting and makingtoken gesturesfor
t h e "R u k u u " a n d " S u j u u d " p o si ti onsby
b r i n g i n g t h e h e a d sl i g h tl y d o w n as
indication for "Rukuu" and slightly
f u r t h e r d o w n a s i n d i ca ti o nfo r " S u j uud".
2 . l t , i t i s i m po ssi b l efo r th e si ckp e rs onto
pray sitting, he,/she shall perform the
prayer by lying on his,/her back. Allah
(S W f ) s a y s :
'"...THOSE ARE THEY (MEN OF
UNDERSTANDING) WHO REMEMBER
ALLAH WHILESTANDING,SITTINGAND
(Ou r'a n3 :1 9 O-1
9 1)
R E C L I N I N G...."
The person'slegsaredirectedtowardsthe
Q i b l a ha n d w i l l ma keme reto ke ng e s tur es
a s f a r a s p o ssi b l ew i th th e h e a d for the
b o w i n g ( R u ku u ) a n d th e p ro str ation
122
(Suju u d )p o s i t i o n s.
3 . lf , s t i l l , i t i s i m p o ssi b l efo r th e th e si ck
person to performthe prayerwhile lying
a s dis c u s s e di n No . 2 a b o ve ,th e n , th e
personshall performthe prayerby heart.
Th e pe r s o n s h a l l co me u p w i th a l l th e
re q u ir e dr e c i t a t i on a
s s fa r a s p o ssi b l ea, n d
will re c a l l t o m i n d a l l th e n e ce ssa ry
posturesfor the prayer.
S u c h is t h e i m p o rta n ceo f th e P ra ye ri n
l s lam th a t a p e r so n mu st p e rfo rm i t n o
ma t t e rw h a t h i s , zh e co
r n d i ti o n .
VOLUNTARYPRAYERS
Besides the prescribed obligatory
prayers,a person may come up with as
ma n y v o l u n t a r y p ra ye rs a s i s p o ssi b l e.
T hroug h v o l u n t a ry p ra ye rs a p e rso n
r ec eiv e sa d d i t i o n a re
l w a rd sa n d th ro u g h
them he draws closer to "Allah (SWf)"
a lt hou g ha p e r s o nwi l l n o t b e p u n i sh e dfo r
123
neglectingto perform voluntaryprayers.
However,the Prophet(PBUH)had set a
t r a d i t i o n o f p ra cti ci n gce rta i n vo l untar y
prayersbeforeand/ or afterthe obligatory
prayers and every Muslim is strongly
recommendedto performthem.Theseare
as follows:
a . D H U H R( N O O N )P R A Y E R:
Four (4) rakaats before (with each two
d ( 2)
ra k a a t sp e r fo rme dse p a ra te l y)a ntwo
rakaatsafter.
b . M A G H R I B( S U N S E TP) R A Y E R
Two (2) rakaatsafter.
c . I S H A( E V E N I N GP)R A Y E R
Two (2) rakaatsafter.
r24
e. FAJR (DAWN)PRAYER
Two (2) rakaats before.
These Voluntary prayers are known in
Arabic Languageas (Rawatrblwhich may
be construedto mean definite practices
and the Prophet(PBUH),usedto preserve
their performance continuously
whenever in residence.However,during
his travels he used to omit their practice
except the two rakaats before the Fajr
prayer.Performanceof these two rakaats
is so important that the prophet(PBUH)
s a id :
"These two Rakaatsare more important to
me than the whole world." (Reported by
imamMuslim)
While there is no objection to perform
these optionalprayersat the mosque,it is
preferredto performthem at home in vieu
r25
of the following
Prophet(PBUH):
saying of
the
"The best of the prayers are those which
are fulfilled at one's home, with the
exception of the obligatory prayers (which
are to be performed with the congregation
at the Mosgue)". (Reportedby lmam Abu
Dawoud)
F u f f i l l i n g t h e se tw e l ve (1 2 ! vo l u ntar y
pr a y e r si s a me a n sto g a i n a d mi ss ionto
paradise as can be noted from the
f o l l o w i n gs a yi n go f th e P ro p h e t(P B UH) :
"Whoever prays optionally twelve rakaats
every one day and night, Allah will reward
him by an established dwelling in the
paradise".(Reported
by lmam Bukhari)
B e s i d e s t h e a b o ve tw e l ve d e finite
voluntary prayers,the person may also
pray four optional rakaats before Asr
(Afternoon)prayer, and two before lsha
126
(Evening)prayer,becausethesewere also
reported to have been practiced by the
P ro p h e t( P B U H ) .
T I M E S W H E N P E R F O R M A N C EO F
VOLUNTARYPRAYERSIS PROHIBITED.
There are certain times when voluntary
prayersare not allowed to be performed
and these are as follows:
1. In between the Fajr Prayer and the
r is in g o f t h e s u n .
2. In betweenwhen the sun is closeto its
z enit ha n d t h e D h u h r P ra ye r.
3. ln between the Asr Prayer and until
suns e t .
However, a person can perform the two
rakaatsprayedas salutationto mosques
whenevera personentersa mosqueeven
t houg h ,t h e t i m e of e n te ri n gth e mo sq u e
may coincidewith one of the abovestated
tim ing s . T h i s i s i n a cco rd a n cew i th th e
r27
following propheticsaying:
"Anyone of you entering a mosgue,
should not sit until after perfoming two
rakaats."(Reportedby lmam Al-Bhukari)
JUMA'H (FRIDAY)PRAYER
Besidesthe five obligatoryprayers,"Allah
(SWff' has also ordained the "Juma'h"
(Friday Congregational Prayer) as a
necessary prayer on the Muslim Nation
(Ummah) as is made clear in the following
verse of the Holy Qur'an.
,,O YE WHO
BELIEVE.WHEN THECALL IS
PROCLAIMED TO PRAYER ON FRIDAY
(THE DAY OF ASSEMBLY), HASTEN
EARNESTLYTO THEREMEMBRANCEOF
ALLAH AND LEAVEOFF BUSINESS(AND
TRAFFIC):THAT tS BEST FOR YOU lF YE
BUT KNEW." (O.ur'an62:9)
r28
Th e Pr o p h e (t P B U H )a l soi ,n e xh o rti n gth e
M u s l i m s t o t h e i mp o rta n ceo f th e F ri d ay
pray e rs a i d :
"They (peopl e) will have to stop
neglecting the Friday prayer or otherwise,
" Alla h ( S W f l ' w i l l se a l th e i r h e a rtsa nd
they will be counted among the
negli g e n t ".( R e p o rte db y l ma m Mu sl i m ) .i
T h e P r o p h e t( PB U H )a l so sa ys:
"He
who deliberately neglects three
consecutive Friday prayers, "Allah
(S WT ) " w i l l m a ke a ma rk o n h i s h e a rt".
(Reportedby Abu Dawoud)
B y v i r t u e c i t t n e a b o veOu r'a n i cve rseas
we ll a s t h e r e sp e cte dsa yi n g s o f the
P ro p h e t ( PB U H ), th e F ri d a y C o n g reg a t io n a l P r a y e r i s, th e re fo re , a d u ty
(Wa j i b )r e q u i r e dfro m e ve rya d u l ta n d free
M u s l i mw h o i s i n r e s i d e n c e .
129
F ri d a y i s a g l o ri o u s d a y i n l sl a m and
represents a great weekly meeting in
wh i c h t h e M u sl i msg a th e r i n th e h o uses
o f " Al l a h ( S W T|'l e a vi n ga si d ea l l w o r ldly
affairs. The "Juma'h" prayer is therefore
s pe c i f i c w i t h a S e rmo n i n w h i ch the
m o s q u e p r e a ch e rs(l ma ms)d i scu ssand
d e a l w i t h t h e d a i l y p ro b l e ms o f the
M u s l i m ' ss o c ie tya n d g i ve e n l i g h te n ment
from the torch of lslam. The "Juma'h"
prayerreflectsthat lslam is a great social
order which fosters brotherhood,abhors
d is u n i t ya n d d i sco u ra g e se vi l s.
The Juma'h is not a duty on women, who
instead, may perform the obligatory
Dh u h r ( N o o n) p ra ye r a t th e i r h o mes
a f t h o u g h t h e y ma y j o i n th e Ju ma' h
prayers,if by doingso doesnot affecttheir
h o u s e h o l d d u ti e s, o r ca u se th e m any
inc o n v e n i e n ce .
130
THE P E R F O R MA N C E
OF T H E JU MA 'H
(FRtDAY)PRAYER
Performanceof the Juma'h prayeris only
allow e d i n t h e Co n g re g a ti o n aMo
l sq u es
wher e , M u s l i m s co n g re g a tea n d fro m
wh e re t h e l m a m g i ve s th e m a d vi cea n d
s p irit u a li n s i g h t s.
The time for the Juma'h prayeris the time
o f t h e D h u h r pra ye r, a l th o u g h , so me
M u s l i m j u r i s t s a n d sch o l a rsa re o f th e
opin i o nt h a t i t i s pe rmi ssi b l eto p e rfo rmit
b e f o r et h e s u n r e a ch e si ts ze n i th .
M u c h i m p o r t a n cea n d re w a rd h a s b e en
at t ach e db y l s l a m to th e ti mi n g so f g o i ng
t o t h e F r i d a yP r a ye ra s ca n b e n o te dfro m
t h e fo l l o w i n g sa yi n g o f th e p ro p h et
(PBUH):
''ANY
PERSON WHO TAKES TOTAL
ABLUTION (GHUSL) ON FRIDAY AND
GOES OUT FOR THEFRIDAYPRAYERIN
l3l
THE FIRSTHOUR (i.e. EARLY).lT tS AS tF
HE SACRTFTCED
A CAMEL (lN ALLAH',S
CAUSE); AND WHOEVER GOES IN THE
S E C O N D H OU R . IT /S ,4 S IF HE
SACRIFICED A COW; AND WHOEVER
GOES IN THE THIRDHOUR, IT IS AS IF HE
SACRIFICED A HORNED RAM; AND
WHOEVERGOES IN THEFOURTHHOUR,
tT lS AS lF HE SACRIFICEDA HEN; AND
WHOEVER GOES IN THE FIFTH HOUR.
THEN.IT IS AS IF HE OFFEREDAN EGG.
WHEN THE IMAM COMES OUT (TO
DELIVER THE SERMON), THE ANGELS
PRESENT THEMSELVES TO LISTEN TO
THE SERMON." (Reported by lmam
Bhukari)
Ho w e v e r ,i t is a re co mme n d e dl sl am ic
t ra d i t i o nt h a t th e p e rso nco me s u p with
t he f o l l o w i n gpre -re q u i si tebs e fo reg oing
o u t t o t h e F r i da yP ra ye r:
1. U n d e r t a k i n G
g h u s l( t o t a lb a t h ) .
r32
Th e P r o p h e t( P B U H )i n th i s re g a rdsa ys:
"Ghusl on Friday /s necessary (Wajib)
upon every adult person". (Reportedby
lmamBukhari)
2. Pu t t i n g o n t h e b e st a n d cl e a n e sto f
c lot he s .
3 . P e r f u m i n go f o n e se l f.
Having undertaken the above prer e q u is i t e s ,t h e p erso nth e n p ro ce e d sto
t h e m o s q u ei n t r a n q u i l i t yf u l l y c o n s c i o u s
ot" Allah 6WD". Upon reaching the
mos qu e ,t h e p e r so ne n te rsb y ste p p i n gi n
wit h t h e r i g h t f o o t fi rst p ro cl a i mi n gth e
f o l l o w i n gp r i v a t es u p p l i c a t i o n :
''
BISMILLA,AHWASALAATU W AS SA L AM U ' AL A A R A S U L U L L A A H..
ALLAHUMMA IAHFIR LII DHUNUBII
WAFTAHLII ABWAABA RAHMATIK.''
which means
133
"ln the name of Allah...May peace and
blessings be on the messenger of
Allah...O Lord forgive me my sins and
open to me the gates of your mercy."
Ha v i n ge n t e r edth e mo sq u e ,th e p e r son
comes up with two rakaatsas salutation
t o t h e m o s q u e i n a cco rd a n cew i th the
f o l l o w i n g f a m o u s sa yi n go f th e P rophet
(PBUH):
"lf anyone of you enters the mosque, do
not sit until you have Performed to
ra k a a t s . "{ R e p o rte db y l ma m A l -B h ukar i)
Th e p e r s o nt h e n a w a i tsfo r th e se rmonto
s t a r t a n d m a y i n th e me a n ti mere a d the
Ho l y O u r ' a n a n d /o r co me u P with
s e ca n .
wh a t e v e rs u p p l i ca ti o n h
Wh e n t h e l m a m e n te rsth e Mo sq u e,the
"MUADHIN" (PraYerCaller),would make
t h e "A D H A A N " ,(i .e .th e ca l l to th ep rayer )
an d t h e p e r s o nw o u l d b e a n sw e ri ngthe
t34
c all i n t h e m a n n e r a l re a d y d i scu ssed
earli e r .
Wh e n t h e M ua d h i n co mp l e te s the
Adha a n , t h e l m am cl i mb s th e p u l p i t to
deliv e r t h e S e r mo n a n d th e p e rso n is
req,uired
to devotehis whole attentionand
is f o r b i d d e nt o t al k o r ke e p o n e se l fb u sy
wit h e v e n m i n o racti vi ti e si n th e co u rseof
t he se r m o n .T h e P ro p h e t(P B U H )sa ys i n
t h is re g a r d :
"He who performs ablution properly and
comesto the Juma'h prayerand listensto
t he s e r m o na t t e n ti ve l y,
w i l l h a ve h i s si ns
f rom t h e p r e v i o usF ri d a yp l u s th re e mo re
day s f o r g i v e n a n d h e w h o o ccu p i es
h imse l f w i t h p e bb l e sd u ri n g th e se rmon
h a s p e r f o r m e db ad l y" .(R e p o rte b
d y l ma m
Muslim)
Up o n c o m p l e t i o no f th e fi rst p a rt o f the
s erm o n ,t h e l m a m si ts d o w n fo r a b ri ef
p a u s ea n d t h e n , sta n d s u p a g a i nfo r th e
secondpart of the sermon.After that, he
135
c o m e s d o w n fro m th e P u l P i t a n d the
MUADHIN makesthe secondcall for the
pra y e r I A A MA H a n d a tw o ra kaat
c o n g r e g a t i o n a lp r a y e r i s a c c o r d i n g l y
p e r f o r m e d w hi ch i s th e sa me i n all
respectsto the Fajr PraYer.
Upon completing the Juma'h Prayer,a
p e r s o n m a y co me u P w i th vo l u ntar Y
p ra y e r s ,w h i ch i f d o n e a t th e mo sque,
c o n s i s t so f f o u r ra ka a ts(e a chtw o ra kaats
p e r f o r m e ds e pa ra te l y)b ui f,
t d o n ea t h ome
(u p o n o n e ' s re tu rn fro m th e mo sque) ,
consists only of two rakaats as the
d do.
Pr o p h e t( PB U H ),u seto
OF T H ET WO F E A S TS
TH E P R A Y E R S
T h e s ea r e :
1. T h e p r a y e ro f th e F e a sto f B re a ki ngthe
F a s t i n go f t h e mo n th o f R a ma d a n(known
as'ldul-Fitr Prayer)
r36
2 . Th e p r a y e ro f th e F e a sto f l mmo l a ti on
( k n o w na s ' l d u l - A l - A d h aP r a Y e r ) .
We s h a l l n o w d i scu ss th e mo d e of
p e rf o r m i n ge a c h o f th e se P ra ye rs.
1.
' I D U L - F I TP
RR A Y E R
Up o nc o m p l e t i ono f th e o b l i g a to ryfa sti ng
of the blessed month oI " Ramadan"'
Muslims celebrate the occasion of
b re a k i n gt h e F ast b y fe sti vece l e b ra ti ons
wh ich l a s t f o r t h re e d a ys.T h e Mu sl i ms
welc o m et h e f e astw i th p ra ye ra n d p ri vate
s u p p l i c a t i o n sa n d b y g i v i n g p r a i s e t o
Almighty Allah (SWTI This prayer is
p e rf o r m e da s f ol l o w s:
a ) .O n t h e f i r s td a yo f S h a w a a(l t h em o n t h
) e p e rso ng o e sto
t h a t f o l l o w sR a ma d a nth
' l d M o s q u eo r p r a y i n gg r o u n dh a v i n g
the
und e r t a k e nt h e fo l l o w i n g re co mme n ded
acts:
t37
(1) .T a k e nt o t a l a b tu ti o n(Gh u st).
(2l. D r e s s e d i n th e b e st o f cl o thes
(preferablynew clothings).
(3 ) . As s u m e d a B re a ki n go f th e F a st by
eating at leasta few piecesof dates.This
is i n a c c o r d a n cew i th th e tra d i ti o no f the
P ro p h e t( P B U H ),a n d a n o d d n u mb er is
pre f e r r e di . e .3, S , j , g a n d so o n .
(4 ). l t i s t h e p r a cti ce(S u n n a h )to h e ad to
t he ' l d p r a y i n gce n te rb y w a l ki n g .
Up o n a r r i v a l a t th e p l a ce o f p ra ye r the
person sits and waits for the prayer to
begin.
b). Af t e r a b o ut 2 0 mi n u te s fro m cl ear
s un r i s e ,t h e l m a msta n d su p fo r th e p rayer
a n d l o u d l y s i g n i f i e st h e e n t e r i n g i n t o
p ra y e r b y r e ci ti n g th e ',T a kb i i ratil
lhraam" that is "ALLAHU AKBAR". The
who l e c o n g r e g a ti o na l so fo l l o w s su i t by
138
reciting the "Takbiirat i l-l hraam".
e). A s u s u a l ,w ith a n y o th e r p ra ye r,the
person thereafter comes up with the
open i n gs u p p l i ca ti o nkn o w n a s" D U A AL
ISTIFTAAH.''
d ). After that, the lmam says,"ALLAHU
AKBAR" for 6 more times,and the
c o n g r e g a t i o nw o u l d f o l l o w l i k e w i s e .
Between each recitation of "ALLAHU
AKBAR" every person recitesto himself
in a l o w v o i c et he fo l l o w i n gsu p p l i ca tion:
''ALLAHTJ AKBAR KABIIRAA, WALHAMDIJLILLAH KATHIRAA, WA
SUBH A N N A - L L A H I B U K R A T A N W A
ASILAA. WAS SALLALAHU'ALAA
'ALAA ALIHI WA
MUHAMMADIN WA
SALLAMA TASLIMMAN KATHIIRAA.''
w h i c h m e a n s"Allah is great, allthanks and praises are
due to Allah, Glory be to Allah, and may
139
Allah blessHis messenger and grant him
salvation."
No t e : Be s i d esth e a b o vesu p p l i ca ti on
the
person may recite any other
re c o mm e n d e dsu p p il ca ti o n s.
e ). A f t e r c o m p l e ti n gth e re ci ta ti o n so f the
words of greatness which total up to
s e v e n , t h e l ma m w o u l d th e n se e k the
protection of "Allah 6Wfy' yo^ the
cursed satan in a low voice by saying
..AUZU
BILLAHI MINAL SHAYTANI
RAJllM". He would thereafter silently
invoke Allah's name by saying:
''
BISM ILLAH I -R-RAHMA NI -R- RAHllM" and then recite "AL-FAT\HAH"
(t h eo p e n i n gc h a p te ro f th e H o l yOu r.an)in
a lo u dv o i c e .T h e fo l l o w e rs(co n g re g ation)
wo u l d t h e n s a y " A me e n " to g e th e rl o udly
a f t e rt h e l m a m co mp l e te sre ci ti n gth e ,.Al
Fa t i h a h ".E a c hfo l l o w e rw o u l dth e n re cite
" A l - F a t i h a h "si l e n tl y.l t i s re co mme nded
140
that the lmamthereafterrecitesthe whole
of c h a p t e r 8 7 o f th e H o l y Ou r'a n i .e.
"SABIHISMA" Glorified be the name of
thy Lord, the Most high). The followers
a re r e q u i r e d t o l i ste n to th e l ma m' s
re c ita t i o n .
f ). T h e l m a m t h e n ra i se sh i s h a n d s u pto
t h e l e v e l o f h i s sh o u l d e rso r e a rs a nd
performs "Rukuu "saYing "ALLAHU
AKBAR".Thereafterhe raiseshis headup
f ro m b o w i n g s a yi n g " S A MI'A A L L A HU
LIMAN HAMlDA" followed bY the
congregation saYing "RABBANNA
WA L A K A L H AMD " . T h e l ma m a n d the
congregation thereafter proceed to
prostration saying "ALLAHUAKBAR".
th e l ma m w o uld
g ).Af t e rt h e p r ostra ti o n s,
res u m e t h e s ta n d i n g p o si ti o n fo r the
s eco n d r a k a a t a n d th e co n g re g a tion
w o u l df o l l o wh i m u p a c c o r d i n g l Y .
h ). T h e r e a f t e r, th e l ma m w o u l d say
"ALLAHU AKBAR" for 5 times and t h e
t4 l
congregationwould performlikewise,and
would recite the private supplication
between each "Takbiiratil lhraam" as
alreadydiscussedin point 4 above.
i ). Then,the lmam recites"AL-FAT\HAH',
and for this secondrakaat it is preferred
that he thereafter recites the whole of
chapter 88 of the Holy Our'an i.e. .'AtGhasiya", (The Disaster)
and the
congregationwould listen attentively.
j ). Thereafter,the lmam completesthe
Ru k u u( b o w i n g )a n d S u j u u d(p ro stration)
pos i t i o n si n t h e ma n n e ra l re a d yd i scu ssed
and sits back for the words of witness
"At-Tashahud". Then, the
lmam
concludesthe prayer with the words of
peace i.e. "ASSALAMU ALEYKUM WA
RAHMATULLAA" and of course, the
enti r e c o n g r e g a ti o nw o u l d fo l l o w the
lm a m i n a l l t h e sea ctsa s i s th e cu sto min
a ll p r a y e r s .
r42
k ).After concludingthe praYer,the lmam
wo u l d c l i m b t he p u l p i t to d e l i ve r the
'Festival Sermon', and starts the same
wit h n i n e r e c i ta ti o n s o f " A L L A HU
AKBAR" with the congregationsaying
after him the same.After listeningto the
s e r m o n , t h e c o n g r e g a t i o nd i s p e r s e s .
Listeningto the sermon is not obligatory
but is r e c o m m e n d e d .
Not e :W h e n g o i n g h o me a fte rth e p ra yer ,
it is a recommended practice to use
another route different from the route
u s e d i n c o m i n g to th e mo sq u e /p l a ceof
p ra y e r .
2.
'I D U LAD H A P R A Y E R
"IDUL ADHA", (Feast of lmmolation)
prayeris performedon the 1Othdayof the
1 2 t h m o n t h o f lsl a mi c " H i j ra " C a l e n dar
and i s p e r f o r m e de xa ctl y i n th e sa me
m a n n e r a s e n u me ra te da n d d i scu ssed
' l du l F i tr P ra ye r.
abov ef o r t h e
r43
S A L A T U L - t S T t S O U A( R A t N S E E K T N G
PRAY E R )
Dro u g h ti s a n atu ra lca l a mi tyw h i chw hen
it b e f a l l s c a u s e s u n d u e h a rd sh i p sand
dis a s t e rt o a l l l i vi n g ma tte r.l t i s fo r this
re a s o n t, h a t t h e P ro p h e (P
) d eit a
t B U Hma
custom on the Ummah to resort to this
prayerwheneveraffectedby this calamity
and seek the mercy and grace of Ailah
(SWT)toshower on them His bounty of
rain.
T h is p r a y e ri s p e rfo rme dsi mi l a rto th e ' ld
(F e a s t )p r a y e r si n a l l re sp e cts.l t ma y be
perfo r m e da n yti me d u ri n g th e d a yl ight
exceptthosetimeswhen the performance
of v o l u n t a r yp r a ye rsi s p ro h i b i te dMu
. slim
s c h o l a r sa r e l a rg e l yo f th e o p i n i o nth a t the
bestt i m e f o r i t s p e rfo rma n cei s th e sa m e
t ime f o r t h e p e r fo rma n ce
o f th e 'l d p ra yer s
i. e . a f t e r a b o u ttw e n ty (2 O)mi n u te sfrom
c l e a rs u n r i s e .
t44
In the sermonat the end of the prayer,the
lmam (leader) will exhort the
congregationof the need to repent and
return to Allah (SWT)pointing outthatthe
lack of rain is the result of the sins of
mankind.
The lmam would thereafter raise his
hands in prayer and the congregation
would also do the same. lt is confirmed
that the Prophet (PBUH)used to raise his
hands in prayer until his armpits
appeared. While in this situation, the
lmam and the congregation are required
to invokeAllah (SWf)as much as possible
and c a l l u p o n H i m fo r fo rg i ve n e ssa n d to
showeron them His bounties.Allah(SWf)
s ay s in t h e H o l y Ou r'a n :
"...ask forgivenessfrom your Lord, for He
is Oft-forgiving, He will send rain to you in
abundance".(Q.ur'an71 :1O-1 1)
145
Note:
lt i s d e s i r a b l eth a t th e h e a do f th e Muslim
state or his representativegives prior
n o t i c e t o t h e Mu sl i m co mmu n i tyof the
need to perform "Salatul-lstisqua"at a
c e r t a i n f u t u r e d a te . T h i s i s to e n a bleas
large a congregationas is possible to
attend the prayer.
PR A Y E R(S aI a tu l - K u so of)
E C L I PS E
Th e e c l i p s eo f th e S u n a n d th e Mo on ar e
t w o n a t u r a l p h e n o me n a w h i ch , when
t h e y o c c u r , ca u se d i sma y a n d u n restto
t h o s ew h o w itn e ssth e m. F o rth i s re ason,
it i s t h e t r a di ti o n i n l sl a m to p e rfor m a
s p e c i a l p r a ye r w h e n th e se p h e n o m ena
o c c u r r e q u e sti n gA l l a h , th e A l mi g hty,to
b l e s s t h e M u s l i m N a t i o n ( U m m a h )b y
c l e a r i n gt h e e cl i p se T
. h e P ro p h e t(PBUH)
says:
146
"The sun and the moon are two of the
signs of "Allah (SWff' and are not
eclipsedfor the death or livelihoodof any
person.Therefore,when you witness the
eclipse of the sun and moon resort to
prayer." (Reportedby lmam Bukhari)
This prayer is composedof two rakaats
w h ic h a r e p e r f o r m e di n co n g re g a ti o an n d
for wh i c h n e i t h e ra fi rst ca l l (A d h a n n
) ora
(
l
q
a
ma
h
)
i s re q u i re d . l t i s
s ec on d c a l l
p e rf o r m e di n t h e fo l l o w i n gma n n e r:
1 . After reciting "AL-Fatihah". the lmam
would recitea long passagefrom the Holy
O u r'a n w i t h t h e co n g re g a ti o nl i ste n i ng
attentivelyto the recitation.
2 . Up o n c o m p l e ti n gth e re ci ta ti o n ,th e
lm a m co m e su p wi th th e b o w i n g" R u ku u "
p os it i o na n d a s u su a l , th e co n g re g a ti on
wo u ld f o l l o w h i m a cco rd i n g l y.
147
3. The lmam thereafter,raisesup f rom the
" R u k u u ", b u t i n ste a do f co n ti n u i n gon to
the prostration "Sujuud" position, he
once again resumes the recitation of
some passagesfrom the Holy Our'an.
4. After the above recitation,the lmam
c o m e s u p w i th a n o th e r" R u ku u " .
5 . T h e l m a m th e n , ra i se s u p fro m the
Rukuu position and proceeds to
p r o s t r a t i o n"S u j u u d " .
6 . T h e l m a m h a sth u s,co mp l e te dth e fir st
ra k a a t a
, n d f ro m th e 'S u j u u d "p o si tion,he
w o u l d r e s u me th e sta n d i n gp o si tionto
b e g i nt h e s e co n dra ka a tw h i ch w o uld be
performedexactlyas the first rakaatin the
ma n n e rd e s cri b e da b o ve .
7 . U p o nr a i s i n gth e h e a dfro m th e second
prostrationof the secondrakaat,the lmam
w o u l d s i t f o r " A t-T a sh a h u d "a n d would
148
t h e n c o n c l u d et h e p ra ye r a s u su a l w i th
" T a s l e e m ".
No t e :U p o nc o m pl e ti n gth e e cl i p sep ra yer
a s dis c u s s e di,t i s re co mme n d e d
th a t th e
lm a m d e l i v e r sa bri e fse rmo ni n w h i ch h e
speaksof the lessonsto be learnedfrom
t he m a n i f e s t a t io n so f th e e cl i fi se . H e
draws t h e a t t e n ti o no f th e u n mi n d fu lto
the greatnessof "Allah 6WD'. and that
He possessesunrestrictedpowerto act in
any wa y H e w i s h e sw i th H i s cre a ti o n s.
T H EW I T R( O D DN U M B E RP
) RAYER
T h e " W i t r " ( O d d N u mb e r p ra ye r) i s a
volu n t a r yp r a y e rt ra d i ti o n a l l p
y ra cti ce db y
t h e P r o p h e (t P B U Hr)e g u l a r l yw h e t h e rh e
w as p r e s e n t a t h i s h o me p l a ce a s a
res id e n t ,o r w a s on a j o u rn e y.S u ch w a s
t he imp o r t a n c ea t ta ch e dto th i s p ra ye rb y
t h e P r o p h e t( P B U H )t,h a t s o m e M u s l i m
j u r i s t sa n d s c h o l a r sa r eo f t h e o p i n i o nt h a t
i t is a n e c e s s a ryp ra ye r. T h e p ro p h et
r49
( P B U H )e x h o r t i n gt h e U m m a h ( M u s l i m
Na t i o n ) t o t he i mp o rta n ceo f th e W itr
prayersays:
"Attah 6WD /s One and loves Witr'
therefore O! people who believe in the
Aur'an perform Witr prayers"' (Reported
b y l m a m sD a w o u da n d T i r m i d h i )
Th e t i m e f o r th e Wi tr P ra ye rb e g i n sfr om
t h e e n d o f l sh a (E ve n i n g )p ra ye r and
c o n t i n u e su nti l th e F a j r(D a w n l p ra y erand
is performed as the last prayer of the
night. Preference is given to its
p e r f o r m a n c ei n th e l a te rp a rt o f th e night
a s c a n b e no te d fro m w h a t h a s been
c o n f i r m e db y A i sh a(ma yA l l a h b e p l eased
w i t h h e r )t h at:
"The Prophet (PBUH) used to offer Witr
prayers in all the later part of thenight
such that his Witr praYers used to be
finished by about dawn". (Reported by
lmamBukhari)
150
T h e Pr o p h e t( p BU H )a l so sa i d :
"Make the Witr prayer your last prayer
of
the night". (Reportedby lmam Bukhari)
It is known as Witr (Odd Number)prayer
because of its nature, in that, it is
completed in units (rakaats) of odd
n umbe r s ,t h u s , l , 3 , 5 , 7 , g , a n d I 1. T h e
m i n i m u m n u m b e ro f r a k a a t si n t h e W i t r
P ra y e ri s o n e a n dt h e ma xi mu mw h i chth e
P ro p h e t ( P B U H ) u se d to p e rfo rm w a s
e lev en .
H owe v e r ,M u s l i m s l a rg e l y p e rfo rm th i s
pra y e ri n t h r e e u n i ts(ra ka a ts)
w h i ch ma y
be per f o r m e di n ei th e r o f th e fo l l o w i n g
two methods:
a. T h e w o r s h i p p e r ma y p e rfo rm tw o
r ak aats( s i m i l a rt o th e F a j rp ra ye r)a n d i n
do in g so , m a y g o fo r th e sh o rt a n d /o r
m e d ium p a s s a g eso f th e H o l y e u r,a n
l5l
preferablychapter87 "SabihismaRabikal
A ' A l a a - ( G lo ri fyth e n a me o f th e Lor d,
Mo s t H i g h ) wh i ch ma yb e re ci te di n the
f ir s t r a k a a t , w h i l e , ch a p te r 1 0 9 "AlKafiruun" (The non-believers) maybe
re c i t e di n t h e se co n dra ka a t.A s u su al,the
words of witness are recitedat the end of
the two rakaatsfollowed by the Tasleem
t o c o n c l u d eth e se fi rst tw o ra ka a ts.The
p e r s o nt h e n sta n d su p to p e rfo rma thir d
ra k a a to n i t s o w n . C h a p te r1 1 2 " A |-lklas"
o f t h e H o l y Ou r'a n ma yb ere ci te di n this
u n i t . l t i s th e p ra cti ce to re cite a
supplicationof obedienceto Allah (SWf)
k n o w n a s " A u n u u t" i n th i s l a st rakaat
a n d i f a p e rso n w i sh e s to re ci te this
s u p p l i c a t i o nh,e m a yd o s o u p o nr e s u m i n g
s t a n d i n gf r o m t h e R u k u u p o s i t i o na n d
aftersaying:
''SAMI'A ALLAHU LIMAN HAMIDA"
followed by "RABBANA WALAKAL
HAMD'"
r52
T h e OU N U U Tg o e s a s fo l l o w s:
.'ALLAHUMMA
AHDINII FIMAN
'AFEYTA,
HADEYTA. WA'AFINII FIMAN
WATAWALANII FIMAN TAWALEYTA,
WABARIKLII FIMA A'DEYTA. WAAINII
SHARA MAA OADHEYTA. FA INNAKA
TAADII WALAA YUADAA ALEYK.
INNAHU LAA YADDILU MAN WALEYTA
WALAA YA'IZU MAN A'ADEYTA.
TABARAKTARABBANA WA TA' AL EY T A"w. h i ch me a n s "O Lord. lead me to true faith with those
You have guided, pardon me with those
You have pardoned,protect me with those
Youhaveprotected,blessfor me what You
have given me, keep me safe from evils
You have ordained. lt is You Who decrees
and it is not decreed upon You, no one
under Your care is brought down and no
one to whom You show emnitY can be
exalted, O Lord, You are the Most Praised,
Most Sublime."
153
Or, the person may recite any of other
s u p p f i c a t i o n so f o b e d i e n c e ( Q u n u u t )
wh i c h t h e Pr o p h e t(P B U H )u se dto say in
his prayers.
Up o n c o m p l eti n gth e re ci ta ti o no f this
s u p p l i c a t i o no f o b e d i e n ce ,th e p er son
woufd say "ALLAHU AKBAR" and then,
proceedto prostration,thereafter,sits up
for the recitation oI (At-Tashahud) and
c o n c l u d e st h e p ra ye r a s u su a l w i th the
(Tasleem).And thus, is the Witr Prayer
done.
b. Alternatively,the person may perform
t h e W i t r p r a ye r b y p ra yi n ga l l th e thr ee
ra k a a t sc o n t in u o u sl yw i th o u t b re a k.After
ru k u u i n t h e th i rd ra ka a t, th e p er son
wo u l d r e c i t eth e Ou n u u t su p p l i ca tionas
discussedaboveand would then proceed
to prostration,then recitesAt-Tashahud
a n d c o n c l u de s th e p ra ye r w i th the
Tasleem.
154
TARAWIHPRAYER
T he ls l a m i cF a s t in gMo n th o f R a ma d a ni s
a ble s s e dm o n t h i n w h i ch Mu sl i ms a re
generally exhorted to come up with as
m a n y o p t i o n a la c ti vi ti e sa s i s p o ssi b l efo r
great rewards are awarded for deeds
perf or m e dd u r i n gth i s h o l y mo n th .l t i s i n
a ppre c i a t i o no f th i s th a t th e P ro p h et
(PB UH ) t r a d i t i o na l i ze dfo r th e Mu sl i m
Um m a h a v o l u n ta ry p ra ye r to b e
p e rf o r m e dd u r i n g th e n i g h ts o f th i s h o l y
mo n t h .T h i s v o l u nta ryp ra ye ri s kn o w na s
"Tarawih" or " O.iyaam".
The virtue of this prayercan be notedfrom
t he f o l l o w i n g s ayi n g o f th e P ro p h et
(PBUH):
"Anybody who performs Tarawih prayer
d u ring t h e m o n t h o f R a ma d a nw i th d e e p
s e n s eo f b e l i e fa n d scru ti n yw i l l h a veh i s
p re v io u s s i n s f o rg i ve n " . (R e p o rte db y
lmamBukhari)
155
I n d e e d ,t h e Pro p h e t(P B U H )ma n i fested
the importance of this prayer by
personally
leading
its initial
c o n g r e g a t i o ns
a l th o u g hh e d i d n o t i nsist
on its performancefor fear it was made
obfigatoryon the Ummah. The mother of
t h e f a i t h f u l A i sh a (ma y A l l a h b e p l e ased
with her) says:
"Many people performed Tarawih with
t he P r o p h e t( PB U H )i n th e fi rst n i g h t and
m a n y m o r e i n th e se co n d n i g h t. In the
t hi r d n i g h t , eve n a l a rg e r co n g re gation
attended the Mosque to perform the
pra y e rw i t h t h e P ro p h e (P
t B U H )b uht e did
n o t g o o u t f o r th e m. l n th e n e xt mo r ning
) l d th e m th a t 'l saw
t he Pr o p h e t( PB U H to
y o u r a s s e m b lyb u t n o th i n gp ro h i b i tedm e
f ro m c o m i n g ou t to yo u e xce p tth e fear
t ha t i t b e m a d e o b l i g a to ryu p o n y ou'
".(Reported
b y l ma m A t-T i rmi d h i ).
Af te r t h e d e a th o f th e P ro p h e t(P BUH)
t h e r ew a s n o l o n g e ra n yfe a ro f th i s p rayer
156
being made obligatoryand it was Caliph
Um a r w h o d u r i n g h i s re i g n re -a cti vi te d
th e pe r f o r m a n c e o f th i s p ra ye r i n
congregation.Sincethen, the Ummahhas
practicedthis prayerin congregationbut it
is permissiblefor someoneto perform it
o n ind i v i d u a l b a si s, a l th o u g h mu ch
preferenceis given to performingit with
the congregationas can be notedfrom the
following saying of the Prophet(pBUH):
"Whoever prays Tarawih with the
co n g re g a t i o n
t i l l t he l ma m l e a ve sw i l l b e
rewarded as if he prayed the whole
n ight " . ( R e p o r t e dby l ma ms A h ma d a n d
Tirmidhi)
This prayeris performedin rakaats(units)
of two each exceptthe lastrakaatwhich is
always prayed oddly as one. lt is
confirmedthat the Prophet(PBUH)usedto
perform eleven rakaats when praying
Tarawih.
r57
SA L AT U L . I S S T IK H A R A(P R A Y E R TO
SE E KAL L A H 'SGU ID A N C E )
I t i s n a t u r a lt h a t i n h i s d a y-to -d a a
y ffair sa
m u s l i m i s co n fro n te d w i th i mp or tant
is s u e s r g q u i ri n g d e ci si o n ma ki n g and
which mpy force the person to undergo
m u c h t h l n k i ng , a n xi e ty a n d e ve n wor r y
before the person is able to decide
affirmativelyor negatively.lt is with due
regardto such situationsthat the Prophet
(P BU H ) a c cu sto me d fo r th e Muslim
Ummah a voluntary prayer to which a
person may resortto and through which
he,/she seeks from Allah (SWf) true
g u i d a n c e a n d th e a b i l i ty to re a ch the
properdecisionoverthe particularmatter.
T h i s p r a y e r i s kn o w n i n A ra b ic as
SALATUL-ISSTIKHARA
and its
im p o r t a n c e is su ch th a t th e P rophet
(P BU H ) u s e d to te a ch h i s co mp anions
about it the same way he used to teach
them the verses of the Holy Our'an. The
158
c o m p a n i o nJ a b i r (ma y A l l a h b e p l e a se d
w it h h i m ) s a i d t h a t th e P ro p h e t(P B U H)
used to exhort us to practicelsstikhara lor
a ll our a f f a i r s .
The manner of performingthis prayer is
that the personcomesup with a voluntary
prayer of two rakaats(units) at anytime
durin g t h e d a y o r n i g h t a n d u p o n
c omple t i n gt h e s a m eth e p e rso nre ci te sa
p riv at e s u p p l i c a ti o ni n w h i ch h e ,/sh e
seeks the guidance of Allah (SWT).The
s u p p lic a t i o ng o e s as fo l l o w s :
,'ALLAHUMMA
INNI ASTAKHYIRUKA
BI 'I L M I KA W A A S T A A D IR U K A B I
AU DRA T I KA W A A S -A L U K A M IN
FADHLIKA-AL-AZIM, FA INNAKA
TAAARU WALAA AAARU WATA'LAMU
WALAA A'LAMU. WA ANTA'ALLAMULAUYYUB. ALLAHUUMA IN KUNTA
TA'LAMU ANNA HADHAL-AMRA (Here
the person makes a mention of the matter
for which guidance is sought) KHEIRUN
LEE FII DINII WAMA'AASHII WA'AAAI159
BATA AMRII FAADURHU LII, WA
YASSIR-HU LII THUMMA BAARIK LII
FIIHI. WAIN KUNTA TA' LAMU ANNA
HADHAL-AMRA (Also at this point the
person makes a mention of the matter for
which guidance is sought)SHARRUN LEE
FII DINII WA MA'AASHII WA'AAABATA
'ANNII WASRIFNII
AMRII, FASRIFHU
.ANHU WAQDUR LEE AL-KHEYRA
HEYTHU KANA THUMMA ARDHINII
BtHil"
W h i c h m e a ns:
"O Lord. I seek Your guidance, through
Your knowledge and power; and I ask You
of Yourgreat bounties; for Youdecreeand
I do not decree; and You know and I know
not; You are the knower of invisible. O
Lord, if You know that this matter (and
here the person sfates the matter for
which guidance is sought) is of benefit to
me in my religion, in my livelihood and in
its outcome, decide it for me and make it
160
easy for me and then blessitfor me. And if
You know that this matter (and here he
names it again) is bad for me in my
religion, in my livelihood, and in its
outcome, turn it from me and divert me
from it and decreegood for me wherever it
may be and make me pleased with it".
Having seekedAllah's guidance as above,
the person then resumes his/her routine
affairs and in the meantime awaiting the
due response from Allah 6Wn which
c o u ld a p p e a r t o th e p e rso n b y w a y o f
f eelin g s i n t h e p e rso n 'sh e a rt o f e i th er
c onf id e n c eo r o t h e rw i seT. h u s,w h e reth e
pers o nf e e l s i n hi s,/h e rh e a rt a se n seof
vig u o r , o p t i m i s m a n d sa ti sfa cti o na b o ut
the in t e n d e du n d e rta ki n gth
, e n th e p e rson
may construethis as a positiveresponse
from Allah (SWD and may accordingly
proceed on with the intended
undertaking. Where,however, the
oppositeis true and the person'sdoubts,
and/ o r w o r r i e sa re n o t cl e a re d th
, e n th e
161
person may avoid the intended
un d e r t a k i n gf or i t co u l d me a n d o o m for
him,/her. Allah (SWf) says:
"....lt is possible that ye dislike a thing
which is good for you, and that ye love a
thing which is bad for you. But Allah
knoweth and ye know not". (Aur'an
2:216)
indeed, the essenceof tnis prayer is to test
someone's trust in Allah (SWf) , hence,
the needto abideby the guidanceof Allah
6W f ) a c c o r d i n g l Yw h e th e r th i s may
mean pursuing or abandoning the
intended undertaking.Allah (SWT) also
says:
"....And if anyone puts his trust in Allah,
sufficient is Allah for him, for Allah surely
accomplishes His purpase: Verily, for all
things has Allah aPPointed a due
proportion". (Our'an 65 :3)
t62
SALATUL-JANMA(FUNERALPRAYER)
lslam has set certain rules and
regulationswith regardto attendingto a
deceasedpersonand some of these rules
are as follows:
1. ln most cases, death is precededby
s ic k n e s sa n d i t i s th e d u ty o f th e Mu sti m s
who happen to know the sick person to
pay h i m a v i s i t a n d ma kesu p p l i ca ti o nto
s
(SWT)tor
Allah
his recovery.Indeed,a sick
Mus li m h a s a r i g h t to b e vi si te db y o th er
M u s li m sw h o a r e a cq u i a n te dw i th h i m.
2 . l t a n dw h e n a M u s l i mi s a b o u t o d i e ,i t
is the practicethat the personis directed
to the Qiblah (the sacred mosque in
Ma k k a )a f t e r w h i ch th e " sh a h a d a ',,(th e
words of witness) is proclaimedover the
pers o n a n d h e , /sh e i s a l so u rg e d to
p r o c l a i mt h e s a m e .T h u s , :
r63
,'LAA ILAAHA ILLAL LAAH".WhiCh
me a n s :
"There is no god but Allah".
T h i s i s i n d u e re g a rd to th e fo l l o wing
s a y i n go f t h e Pro p h e t(P B U H ):
"Exhort your dying ones to affirm the
by lmam Muslim)
Shahada".(Reported
3. Where the persondies,the eyesare to
be closed, body covered with garments
a n d t h e p e o p lea ro u n dh i m a re re q u i redto
avoidtalkingof anythingelse,exceptthat
wh i c h i s g o o d ,su cha s sa yi n gfo r e xa m ple
- "O Allah forgive him and have mercY on
him." This /s in accordance with the
following saying of the Prophet (PBUH|
"Do not say over your dead ones except
s u p p l i c a t i o nfo
s r th e a n g e l ssa y" A meen"
on y o u r s u pp l i ca ti o n s" .{R e p o rted by
lmamMuslim)
t64
4. I n l s l a ma M u s l i m i s re sp e cte w
d h e th er
a liv e o r d e a d ,a n d th e re fo re ,i a
f Mu sl i m
d ies, t h e r e l i g i o nco mma n d su s to g i vethe
) n dto p e rfu me
b o d yt o t a la b l u t i o n(Gh u sl a
it properly.
5 . A d e c e a s e dm a l eMu sl i mi s g i ve na b a th
only b y o t h e r ma l e Mu sl i ms, a l th o u gh,
nothingforbidshis wife from givinghim a
b a t h . L i k e w i s e, a d e ce a se d Mu sl i m
wo m a n i s g i v e n a b a th o n l y b y o th er
M u s l i mw o m e n ,al th o u g h n, o th i n gfo rb i ds
a h u s b a n d f r o m g i vi n g a b a th to h is
deceasedwife.
6 . T h e d e c e a s e dsh o u l db e w ra p p e di n a
s hrou d .l f t h e d ece a se di s a w o ma n , she
s hou l db e w r a p pe di n a sh ro u dco mp o sing
of f ive p i e c e so f wh i te g a rme n ts,w h i l e , a
dec e a s e dm a l e s h o u l db e sh ro u d e dw i th
t h re e p i e c e so f w h i te g a rme n ts.
165
7 . l f a w o m a n d i e s w h e re th e re a re no
other women nearby to undertake the
ritualbath or if a man dies in a similar
s it u a t i o nw h e re th e re a re n o o th e r men
nearby,then, the deceasedpersonis only
)
g ive n a d r y a b l u ti o n(A T -T a ya mmu mby
rub b i n gt h e e a rth o ve r h i s,/h e rfa ce and
han d s ,b e c a u sei n su ch ca se s,co mplete
b a t h i s i m p o s si b l eP. ro p e rfu n e ra lp rayer
is then performedover the deceasedand
thereafterburied accordingly.
8. T h e f u n e ra l p ra ye r i s a co l l e ctive
obl i g a t i o no n t h e re si d e n tso f a p a rti cular
area. This is known as "FARDH-ALKIFAYA" in Arabic and if no one comes
out to perform the prayeron a deceased
Muslim of that community, the
c o m m u n i t ya s a w h o l e i s d e e me dsi n ful in
the sight of Allah 6Wf), but, if it is
performed by some of the people,then,
t h e r e s t o f t h e co mmu n i tya re a b so l vedof
the sin.
166
9. Women are not supposedto follow the
funeral processionas can be noted from
the following confirmationby Umm Atiya
(mayAl l a h b e p le a sew i th h e r)w h o sa id:
"We
were forbidden by the Praphet
{PBUH) without enforcement to follow
funeral processions".(Reportedby lmam
Bukhari)
HOW THE FUNERAL PRAYER IS
PERFORMED
The prayer over the deceased person
t ak est h e f o l l o wi n gfo rm.
1. T h e f u n e r a lp r a ye rh a s n e i th e rA d h a an
nor lqamair.
2. T h e d e c e a s e di s l a i d d o w n o n the
grou n d w i t h t n e h e a d d i re cte dto w a rds
the Ka'ba.
t67
3. Where the deceased is a male, the
lmam would stand facing towards the
middle part of the dead body,while, if the
d e c e a s e di s a w o ma n th e l ma m w ould
standfacingtowardsthe headof the dead
body.Meanwhile,the congregationwould
b e st a n d i n gb eh i n dh i m i n ro w s.
4. The funeral prayer is performedwith
o n e s t a n d i n gon l y a n d h a s n e i th e rb ows
(Ru k u u s )n o r p ro stra ti o n s(S u j u u d s).
5 . .T h e l m a m be g i n sth e p ra ye rb y ra i sing
u p h i s h a n d su p toth e l o b e so f h i s e a rsand
comes up with the words of greatnessi.e.
"Allahu Akbar". The congregationwould
f o ll o w l i k w i s e
6 . T h e n , e v e r yb o d yi n cl u d i n gth e l mam
woufd recite "Al-Fatihah".
7. After completingthe recitationof the
A l- F a t i h a h t, h e l ma m, o n ce a g a i n co mes
up with the words of greatness i.e.
"ALLAHUAKBAR", and the congregation
168
would follow likewise. After this, the
lmam a n d t h e c on g re g a ti o n
w o u l d re cite
for themselves in a low voice the
supplicationfor the ProphetsABRAHAM
a n d M U H AM MA D , (ma y p e a ce a nd
b less i n g sb e u p o nth e m),w h i ch i s u su ally
re c ite db y t h e M u sl i msd u ri n g th e i r d aily
prayers in the second part of the AtT a s h a h u d . T h e su p p l i ca ti o n g o e s as
f ollo w s :
'ALAA
ALLAHUMMA
SALLI
MUHAMMADIN WA'ALAA
AALI
'ALAA
MUHAMMADIN KAMA SALEYTA
IBRAHIMA WA 'ALAA AALI IBRAHIMA,
WABARIK 'ALAA MUHAMMADIN WA
'ALAA
AALI MUHAMMADIN. KAMAA
BARAKTA 'ALAA IBRAHIMA WA 'ALAA
AALI IBRAHIMA INNAKA HA'MIDUN
MAJIDUN". which means:
"O Lord give peace and blessings to
Muhammad and his family like You
blessed Abraham and his family and
169
shower Your blessings on Muhammad
and his family like You showered on
Abraham and his family in the two worlds.
You are the Most praised, the Most
wonderful."
8 . T h e l m a m wo u l d th e re a fte rp ro claim
the words of greatness i.e. "ALLAHU
A KB A R " f o r th e th i rd ti me a n d the
wo u l d fo l l o w l i ke w i se .
congregation
9 . T h e l m a ma n dth e o th e rme mb e rso f the
c o n g r e g a t i o nw o u l d th e re a i trr ry,a kethe
f ollo w i n g p r i v a te su p p l i ca ti o nfo r the
d e c e a s e d i f h e w e re a n a d u l t male
M u s l i m . T h e s u p p l i c a t i o nc o n s i s t s o f
prayer for self, for the deceasedperson
and f o r t h e M u s l i msa t l a rg ea n d i t g o e sas
follows:
''ALLAHUMMA IQ'FIR
LIH'AYINNA
MAYITINAA, WA SHAHIDDINAA
AAA'IBINAA. WA SAAIIRINAA.
KABIIRINA. WA DHAKARINAA
170
WA
WA
WA
WA
UNTHANAA. ALLAHUMMA MAN
AHYEYTAHU MINNAA FA'HYIHI 'ALAL
ISLAM, WAMAN T,+WAFEYTUHUMINA
FATAWWAFAH
U'ALAL IIMAAN.
ALLAHUMMA IA'FIR LAHU WAR.
HAMHU, WA'AFIHI WA'AFU 'ANHU. WAKRIM NUZULAHU. WA-WA-SI'I
M UDKHA LAH U, WAAA SILH U BIL -MAA -I
WATHALAJI, WALBARAD, WANNAAHI
MI NA - D - D U N U B I K A MA Y U N A AA
THOUBUL ABYADHU MINA DANAS,
WABADIL.HU DAARAN KHEIRAN MIN
DAARIHL WAZOWJAN KHEIRAN MIN
ZOWJ IHI,WAD. KHILH U JA NNATA.
WA 'A I D H U M I N 'A D A B IL -A A B R I WA
'ADHAEI-NAAR,
WAAFSAH LAHU FII
AABRIHI, WANAWAR LAHU FIIHI.''
which means:
"O Allah forgive those of us who are still
alive and those who have passed away,
those present (at the congregation) and
those who are absent, and our young and
t7 l
the elderly, our male and female lots. O
Allah, whomever Thou wishest to keep
alive from amongst us make him live
according to lslam and whomever Thou
wishest to die from amongst us, let him
die in the state of being a believer (with
faith).
O Allah forgive him and have mercy upon
him and keep him safe and sound and
excuse him for his faults, and grant him
respectable place in the heaven, and
make his grave spacious, and wash him
with water, snow and ice and purify him of
all his sins like a piece of white cloth is
cleared from dirt, and grant him a new
house better than his (previous)house
and a family better than his (previous)
family and a wife better than his (previous)
wife, and allow him to enter the paradise,
and protect him from the torture of the
grave and the hell-fire."
172
1 0 . lf t h e d e c e a se di s a n a d u l t w o ma n,
t h e n t h e a b o ve su p p l i ca ti o nsh a l l be
repe a t e di n f u l l an d th e o n l y ch a n g ew ill
b e t h a t t h e s u p p l i ca ti o nsh a l l b e g i ve n a
f emin i n er e a d i n gi n th e A ra b i c l a n g u a ge.
Thus:
''ALLAHUMMA
rcFIR LIHAYINNA WA
MAYITINAA, WA SHAHIDDINAA WA
AAAIBINAA. WA SAAIIRINAA, WA
KABIIRINA. WA DHAKARINAA WA
UNTHANAA, ALLAHUMMA MAN
AHYEYTAHU MINNA FAHYIHI ALAL
ISLAMI. WAMAN TAWAFEYTUHUMINA
FATAWWAFAHU ALAL IIMAAN.
ALLAHUMMA IAFN LAHA WAR-HAMHA
WA'AFIHA WA'AFU ANHA WA'AKRIM
NUZULAHA, WA-WA.SI'I MUDK HA L AH A , W AA A S IL H A B IL -MA A' I
WATHALAJ I WALBARADI.WANNAAI HA
MINA-D-DUNUBI KAMA YUNAAA
THOUBUL ABYADHU MINA DANAS.
WABADILAHA DAARAN KHEIRAN MIN
t73
DAARIHA. WAZOWJAN KHEIRAN MIN
ZOWJIHA, WAD-KHILHAJANNATA, WAAIDHA MIN-ADABIL.AABRI
WA
ADHABI-NAAR. WAAFSAH LAHA FII
AABRIHA, WANAWAR LAHA FIIHI,"
which means:
"O Allah forgive those of us who are still
alive and those who have passed away,
those present (at this congregation) and
those who are absent, and our young and
our elderly, our male and famale lots. O
Allah, whomever Thou wishes to keep
alive from amongst us make him live
according to lslam and whomever Thou
wishest to die from amongst us, let him
die in the state of being a believer (with
faith).
O Allah forgive her and have mercy upon
her and keep her safe and sound and
excuse her for her faults, and grant her
respectable place in the heaven, and
make her grave spacious, and wash her
174
with water, snow and ice and purify her of
all her sins as like a piece of white cloth is
cleared from dirt, and grant her a new
house better than her (previous) house
and a family better than her (previous)
family and a husband better than her
(previous)husband, and allow her to enter
the paradise, and protect her from the
torture of the grave and the hell-fire."
1 1. l f t h e d e c ea se di s a b o y, th e n the
f ollo w i n gs u p p l ica ti o nw o u l d b e re ci te d:
,'AI-LAHUMMA IJ'ALHU DHUKHRAN
LIWALIDEYHIWA FARADAN WA AJRAN
MUJAABAN ALLAHUMMA THAAIL BIHI
MAWAASIINAHUMA WA-AZZIM EIHI
UJUURAHUMA WA ALHIA-HU BISALIHI
SALAFIL MU'MINIIN WAJALHU FI
WAAIHI
IBRAHIM
KAFALAATI
BI RAH M A T AK A 'A D H A B A L JA H IIM.' '
which means:
175
"O Allah, make him forerunner of his
parents and make him a reward and a
treasure for them, make him one who will
pleads for his parents and accept his
pleadings. O Allah heavy him in their
scales and grant them big reward andjoin
him with the good helievers and make him
under the sponsorship of Abraham and
protect him from the hell fire."
12 . l t t h e d e c e a se di s a g i rl ,th e n th e a bove
s u p p l i c a t i o wo
n u l d b e re p e a te di n fu l land
t h e o n l y c h an g e w o u l d b e th a t the
s u p p l i c a t i o nm u st b e g i ve n a fe mi nine
r e a d i n gi n t h e A r a b i cl a n g u a g e .
1 3 . T h e l m a m w o u l d th e re a fte r,p ro c laim
t he w o r d so f g r e a tn e ssfo r th e fo u rthtim e
a n d t h e c o n gre g a ti o nw o u l d a l so say it
a f t e r h i m . l m me d i a te l yth e re a fte r,the
l m a m t u r n s h i s f a c eo n l yt o t h e r i g h ts i d e
p ro c l a i m i n g th e w o rd s o f p e a ce i.e.
,,ASSALAMU
ALAYKUM
WA
RAHMATULLAAH" to signify the
t76
completion of the prayer. The
congregation
w o ul d a l so fo l l o w l i ke w i se,
a n d t h u s ,t h e f u n era lp ra ye ri s co mp l e te d.
Note:
( 1 ) l f a p e r s o nj o i n s t h e f u n e r a l p r a y e r
wh ile t h e l m a m i s a b o u tto co mp l e teth e
s a m e , t h e n , t h e p e rso nw o u l d co n ti n u e
wit h th e c o n g r eg a ti o nu n ti l w h e n th e
lm a m c o n c l u d e sth e p ra ye r, th e n , th e
person would complete by himself
whatever he missed of the prayer
f ollow i n gt h e a b ovep ro ce d u re .
(2 1lf a l a t e - c o m e rfe a rs th a t th e b o d yo f
the deceasedmay be taken away before
h e c o m p l e t e st h e p ra y o ve r h i m, th e n,
s uc h a p e r s o nm a y o n l yco meu p w i th th e
words of greatness i.e. "ALLAHU
A KB AR " f o u r t i m e s w i th o u t n e ce ssa rily
rec it in g t h e r e q u i re dsu p p l i ca ti o n s.
The
pers o n t h e r e a f t er,co me s u p w i th th e
t77
words of peace, thereby, ending the
prayer.
(3 ) l f a p e r s o n i s u n a b l e to p ra y over a
deceasedpersonbefore burial,then, it is
permitted for him to pray over the
deceased'sgrave.
{4) lf a personwho is far away istold of the
death of another,then such a personmay
pray overthe deceasedpersonin absentia
with the intentionas thoughthe deceased
is actuaffy before him/her.
(5 ) F u n e r a lp ra ye r i s a l so re co mmended
over a baby born dead after completing
f o u r m o n t h s i n si d eth e mo th e r'swomb.
However, no funeral prayer is required
over a baby born dead beforecompleting
f o u r m o n t h s i n si d eth e mo th e r'sw omb.
178
A SUMMARYOF THE DIFFERENT
TYPES
OF PRAYERS
We shall now summarise the most
common different typesof prayerwhich a
muslim will get exposedto in his day to
day life.
A, The Obfigatory Prayers (Al Faraidh).
These are the Five Daily Prayers as
follows:
(l )
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
The Fajr (Dawn) Prayer
The Dhuhr (Noon) Prayer
The Asr (Afternoon) Prayer
The Maghrib (Sunset) Prayer
The lsha (Evening) Prayer
B. The necessary (Wajib) Friday
congregationalprayer..
C. Other confirmed
Prayers.Thus:
t79
Traditonal
(l ) The Prayers of the Two Feasts(the ldul
Fitr and ldul Adha).
(2) The Prayer for seeking bounty ol rain
from Allah.
(3) The Prayer during the Eclipse of the
Sun and Moon.
D. The twelve (l2) definite voluntary
prayers performed before and/ or after the
obligatory prayers.
E. The Witr (Odd Number) PraYer.
F. The Tarawih (Month
supererogatorY)PraYers.
of fasting
G. The prayer for seeking Allah's
guidance.
H, The Funeral Prayer.
180
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACETO TIIE BOOK
I - VI
AS-SALAAT
Introduction
The Virtuesof the Prayer
1
1
3
5
WUDHU (ABLUTTON)............
Conditionsfor the Performanceof
Wudhu
6
Essential
Actsof Wudhu .........
7
VoluntaryActs of Wudhu
8
How theWudhuis performed............ 8
11
ImportantPointson Wudhu
15
Wiping Overthe Socks
How Wiping Overthe Socksis Done. t 6
WhentheWipingPrivilegeCeases.".. 1 6
MatterswhichInvalidatetheWudhu.. t 7
GHUSL (TOTAL BATH)
Occasions
whenGhuslis Required as
an obligatory Act
Occasionsfor which Ghusl is preferred
l8r
T9
19
21
Page
Essential
Requirements
of Ghusl...... 22
Performed
How Ghuslis
...................22
Acts Forbiddento Personswho are
requiredto PerformGhusl
25
MENSTRUATION (HAIDH)
26
POST.CHILDBIRTHBLEEDING
(NTFAS)
26
Acts Forbiddento WomenExperiencing
Menstruation
andPost-Childbirth
Bleeding
27
AT-TAYAMMUM (ABLUTION
usrNc THE EARTT{).........
Instances
whenAt-Tayammumis
Permitted
The Earth(Soil)to be usedfor
28
29
At-Tavammaum
31
How to PerformAt-Tayammum............31
Matters which Nullify At-Tayammum .. 32
THE TIMINGS OF THE OBLIGATORY
PRAYERS
33
t82
Pages
Page
ADHAAN (CALL TO PRAYER) ....... 36
The Virtuesof Adhaan .............
36
How the Adhaanis performed............ 3 8
What SomeoneSupplicatesUpon
Hearing the Adhaan
40
The Supplicationafter the Adhaan ....... 4 l
IQAMAH (SecondCall to Pra..............42
Notes (RegardingAdhaan andlqamah.. 43
PERFORMANCE OF THE SALAAT .. 45
Conditions for the Prayer (ShuruudSalaat)
45
Categoriesof the Acts of theSalaat...... 50
Pillars of the Salaat(Arkanu-Salaat)... 5 1
NecessaryDuties (Wajibatu-Salaat).. 54
PreferredActs of the Salaat (Sunnanu-Salaat)
56
How the Salaatis'performed ..............60
Performanceof Fajr the Prayer
61
Performanceof the Dhuhr Praver ..... 79
Performanceof the Asr Prayei
81
Performanceof the Maghrib Prayer.. 8 1
Performanceof the Isha Prayer ......... 84
FORGETzuLNES S PROSTRATIONS
(SUruUDSAHW)
85
183
Page
Where"Sujuud
VariousInstances
86
Apparent...................
Sahw"Becomes
PRTVATESUPPLICATIONSRECITED
UPON COMPLETINGPRAYERS ...... 89
THINGS WHICH INVALIDATE THE
PRAYER(MUBDILATU-SALAAT) ... 98
THINGS WHICH ARE NOT PRElOO
FERREDIN TTM PRAYER .................
OTI#R IMPORTANT NOTESRE..........102
GARDINGPRAYER
109
CONGREGATIONALPRAYER
112
Prayer
..
Purposeof the Congregational
THE PRAYER OF A TRAVELLING
PERSON(MUSAFIR)..............
116
PERFORMANCEOF THE PRAYER BY
I2O
ONE WHO IS SICK
lZ2
VOLUNTARYPRAYERS...................
Times WhenPerformanceof Voluntary
L26
Prayersis Prohibited..............
184
Page
JUMA'H PRAYER (FRIDAY CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER)
The Performanceof the Juma'h
Prayer
130
TI{E PRAYERS OF THE TWO
FEASTS
'Idul-Fitr Prayer
'Idul-Adha
Prayer
135
136
t42
r27
SALATUL-ISTISQUA (RAIhI SEEKrNG PRAYER) ...........
143
ECLIPSEPRAYER (SALATUL-KU-
sooF)
r45
THE WrTR (ODD NUMBER.)
PRAYER
148
TARAWIH PRAYER
t54
SALATUL-IS STIKHARA (PRAYER
TO SEEKALLAH'S GUIDANCE)..... t57
185
Pages
SALATUL-JANAZA (FUNERAL
PRAYER)
162
How the FuneralPrayeris Performed 166
A SUMMARY OF TIIE DIFFERENT
TYPESOF PRAYERS...........
178
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