If someone forgot to say, “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim” before eating then he/she should say (when he/she remembers) “Bismillahi awwalahu wa akhiruhu” (In the name of God at the beginning and at the end).
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What is basmala? Is there a hadith as follows?: "Basmala is the key to every book.”?
The hadith regarding the issue is as follows:
Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: "the Messenger of Allah said, ‘No prayer is harder for the hypocrites than the morning and the night prayers and if they knew the reward for these prayers at their respective times, they would certainly present themselves in the mosques even if they had to crawl." The Prophet added, "Certainly I decided to order the muadhdhin to pronounce adhan and order a man to lead the prayer and then take a fire flame to burn all those who had not left their houses so far for the prayer along with their houses.’” (Bukhari, Adhan 29, Husumat 5, Ahkam 52; Muslim, Masajid 252, (651); Muwatta, Salatu'l-Jama'a 3, (1, 129-130); Abu Dawud, Salat 47, (548, 549); Tirmidhi, Salat 162, (217); Nasai, Imamah 49, (2, 107).
Since the word ‘men’ is used in the hadith, women and children are regarded to be exempt from it. Besides, since praying in congregation is twenty-five or according to another narration twenty-seven times more virtuous than praying at home or somewhere else alone, our Prophet encouraged praying in congregation with this hadith.
There are many hadiths mentioning the importance of praying in congregation. As it is understood from those hadiths, the threat was uttered by the Prophet because he does not want his ummah to be deprived of the reward of praying in congregation and he wants to call people who do not pray in congregation to the mosque and hence to praying in congregation. He expressed the importance of praying in congregation like that.
The hadith should be evaluated in the form of encouraging people to pray in congregation and threatening those who abandon praying in congregation. The Prophet did not utter those words because he wanted to burn the houses of people. As a matter of fact, if he wanted to do so, he could have done it. That is, he preferred those words in order to express the importance of the issue. We also use different expressions for the important things in our daily lives.
1. SAJDA AS-SAHW (PROSTRATION OF FORGETFULNESS)
Prostration (sajda) means putting one’s forehead down on the floor or ground showing great respect; sahw (forgetfulness) means being lost in thought, being careless, skipping something inadvertently. Prostration of forgetfulness means two sajdas that become necessary at the end of the prayer due to delaying one of the essential parts of the prayer by mistake or skipping or delaying a wajib.
In case of delaying an essential part, delaying or skipping a wacib, during the final tashahhud (sitting), after reading ‘tahiyyat’, the person turns his head to right and left saying salam, then he says “Allahu akbar” and goes down to prostration; in prostration he says “Subhana rabbiyal a’la” three times and says “Allahu akbar” and sits; after sitting for a short while, he says “Allahu akbar” and goes down to prostration again, reading “Subhana rabbiyal a’la” three times; then, he says“Allahu akbar” and sits. After reading, Tahiyyat, Allahumma salli , Allahumma barik and Rabbana atina, he turns his head right and left saying salam.
It is more virtuous and appropriate for caution to turn the head to right only and say salam and then carry out the prostration of forgetfulness. As a matter of fact, in congregational prayers, it is necessary to carry out the prostration of forgetfulness after turning the head to right only and saying salam lest the congregation should leave the prayer by mistake.
According to the sound view of Hanafis, the prostration of forgetfulness is wajib; according to other sects, it is sunnah. (Ibnul-Humam, Fathul-Qadir, Egypt 1316/1898, I, 355, 374; al-Kasani, Badayiu's-Sanayi', Beirut 1394/1974, I,163-179; al-Maydani, al-Lubab, Istanbul n.d., I, 95 et al.; az-Zuhayli, al-Fiqhul-Islami wa Adillatuh, Damascus 1405/1985, I, 87 et al.).
The evidence that Hanafis base their view on is this hadith reported by Abdullah b. Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): " If anyone of you is doubtful about his prayer, he should follow what he thinks to be correct and complete his prayer accordingly and finish it and do two prostrations of forgetfulness" (Bukhari, Salat, 31; Muslim, Masajid, 88, 89; Abu Dawud, Salat, 190, 191, 193; Nasai, Sahw, 24, 25; Ibn Majah, Iqama, 132, 133; Malik, Muwatta', Nida, 61-63; Ahmad b. Hanbal, I, 190, 193, 204-206). Abu Said al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reports the Messenger of Allah saying: "When any one of you is in doubt about his prayer and he does not know how much he has prayed, three or four (rak'ats). He should cast aside his doubt and base his prayer on what he is sure of, then perform two prostrations before giving salutations. If he has prayed five rak'ats, they will make his prayer an even number for him, and if he has prayed exactly four, they will be humiliation for the devil " (Bukhari, Sahw, 6, 7; Muslim, Salat, 19, 20; Ahmad b. Hanbal, III, 12, 37, 42).
The fact that Hazrat Prophet and his Companions performed prostration of forgetfulness when necessary shows that it is wajib. When one of the wajibs of hajj is missing, it is necessary to sacrifice an animal to compensate it; similarly, prostration of forgetfulness is wajib to complete the missing parts in prayers.
According to Hanafis, a person becomes a sinner by skipping the prostration of forgetfulness but his prayer is valid because the prostration of forgetfulness is the compensation of something lost. The compensation of something can only be wajib. The prostration of forgetfulness eliminates the sins originating from skipping wajib acts like reading the tashahhud and giving salutations but it does not eliminate a missing part like not performing ruku’ (bending the body).
The prostration of forgetfulness is wajib for the imam and the person praying alone. If a person who follows the imam during the prayer makes a mistake, it is not wajib for him to perform the prostration of forgetfulness. If the imam makes a mistake, it becomes wajib for the congregation to follow him. If the person following the imam has joined the prayer later or has missed some part of the prayer, it is also wajib for him to join the prostration of forgetfulness. If the imam does not perform the prostration of forgetfulness, the congregation does not perform it either because they must follow the imam. However, the person who has joined the prayer later follows the imam in the prostrations not in the salutation.
The prostration of forgetfulness is wajib when it is suitable to perform daily prayers. For instance, if the sun rises when a person gives salutation at the end of the fajr (morning) prayer or if the redness of the sun in the horizon becomes apparent after the asr (afternoon) prayer, the prostrations of forgetfulness are skipped.
During Friday and eid prayers, if there is a big congregation, it is better to skip the prostration of forgetfulness so as not to cause any confusion. If a person makes a mistake while performing the prostration of forgetfulness, he does not have to perform another prostration of forgetfulness.
In a fard, wajib and sunnah prayer, there are fards like standing, reciting, bending and prostration, and wajibs like reciting al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or verses, observing the order and sunnahs like reciting Allahumma Salli-Allahamma barik during the final tashahhud. If they are observed fully, the prayer becomes complete.
If a person skips a fard in a prayer deliberately or by mistake, he has to perform that prayer again. The prostration of forgetfulness is not enough to compensate that big fault.
If a person skips or delays a wajib deliberately, it is a bad deed but the prostration of forgetfulness is not necessary for it; it is better to perform that prayer again. If a wajib is skipped or delayed by mistake, then it becomes necessary to perform the prostration of forgetfulness. Thus, the deficiency is compensated. If a sunnah is skipped or delayed deliberately or by mistake, the prostration of forgetfulness is not necessary but such an act is a fault; it causes deprivation from reward and virtue.
The reasons for the prostration of forgetfulness:
1) In three cases, it is necessary to perform the prostration of forgetfulness for deliberate actions: to skip the first tashahhud, to delay one prostration from the first rakat to the end of the prayer or to contemplate for a while without doing anything.
2) It is necessary to perform the prostration of forgetfulness when a person skips a wajib by mistake. It may occur by skipping that wajib, delaying it, doing it before its proper time, adding something to the prayer, or removing something from the prayer.
There are wajibs that necessitate prostration of forgetfulness when they are skipped or delayed. Six of them are essential:
a) Not to recite al-Fatiha or skip most of it in the first two rakats of fard prayers.
b) To skip reading three short verses or one long verse after al-Fatiha in the first two rakats of fard prayers.
c) Not to obey the rule of reading the Quran silently or aloud in the prayers. For instance, if the imam reads silently in the evening prayer and aloud in the noon prayer, prostration of forgetfulness is performed after the prayer to compensate the mistake. The same thing is valid for a person who prays alone.
If most of al-Fatiha is read aloud when it is necessary to be read silently, the remaining part is read silently. If some part of al-Fatiha is read silently when it is necessary to be read aloud, it is necessary to start reading it from the beginning aloud. Thus, reading aloud and silently do not combine in the same prayer. According to another view, it is not necessary to start reading from the beginning; when it is understood that reading silently is wrong, the remaining part is read aloud.
d) To skip tashahhud in the first sitting of three or four rakat prayers.
e) To skip tashahhud in the final sitting.
f) Not to follow the order in a rakat when something is necessary to be repeated. That act is the second prostration of each rakat. For instance, if someone stands up after one prostration in a rakat by mistake and performs that rakat with two prostrations and remembers that prostration that he has skipped and performs it at the end of the prayer, it becomes wajib to perform prostration of forgetfulness because he has not followed the order.
g) If a person bends down after the takbir of iftitah (opening) and then stands up realizing that he has made a mistake and reads al-Fatiha and an additional chapter, renews the bending down and performs prostration of forgetfulness at the end of the prayer because he has not followed the order. Similarly, it is necessary to perform prostration of forgetfulness if a person skips the prostration of tilawa.
On the other hand, it is necessary to perform prostration of forgetfulness when one changes the place of a fard or delays it such as sitting down instead of standing and standing up instead of sitting.
h) To skip ta’dil arkan (pausing on each posture before moving on) in bending and prostration. According to the sound view, it is wajib for a person who skips ta’dil arkan by mistake to perform prostration of forgetfulness.
i) To change the place of reading in fard prayers. For instance, it is necessary to perform prostration of forgetfulness when a person reads al-Fatiha after the additional chapter or reads the additional chapter in the last two rakats of fard prayers.
j) To skip reading al-qunut in the witr prayer. It takes place when a person bends without reading al-qunut. A person who skips al-qunut should perform prostration of forgetfulness.
k) To skip the takbir of al-qunut . It is necessary to perform prostration of forgetfulness when a person skips all or some of eid prayer takbirs, or skips the takbir of bending in the second rakat of eid prayer because they are wajib takbirs. The first takbir of bending in the first rakat is not like that.
3) To add something to the prayer which is not in the prayer, for instance bending twice. In this case, it is necessary to perform prostration of forgetfulness at the end of the prayer.
4) To return to the act that was skipped by mistake:
Suppose someone skips the first sitting by mistake and remembers it; if he is nearer to the position of sitting, he should sit down and perform tashahhud. If he is nearer to the position of standing, he should not return; he should perform prostration of forgetfulness at the end of the prayer.
If a person stands up to the fifth rakat after the final tashahhud by mistake, he should return and sit again if he has not performed the prostration of the fifth rakat and perform prostration of forgetfulness at the end of the prayer. If that person has performed the prostration of the fifth rakat, the fard prayer becomes invalid and his prayer becomes a nafilah (superogatory) prayer. It is mandoob (recommended) for such a person to add one more rakat and make it six rakats. That judgment is according to Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad.
Suppose a person stands up by mistake after the last sitting and he thinks that it is the first sitting and does not give salutation. If he has not performed the prostration of the fifth rakat, he should sit again. If he has performed the prostration of the fifth rakat, he should add one more rakat. His fard prayer becomes complete because the last sitting is in its own place. The extra two rakats that person has performed becomes nafila for him.
5) Having a doubt about the number of rakats:
Suppose a person has a doubt as to whether he has performed three or four rakats. If the incidence of forgetting happens for the first time, that is, if he does not usually forget or doubt, he should perform that prayer again. It is better for him to sit and give salutations. The Messenger of Allah said; “If any of you has a doubt during the prayer as to how many rakats he has performed, he should perform that prayer again.” (Zaylai said that that hadtih was "gharib" (weak). See Nasbu'r-Raya, II, 173).
If that person often doubts about the rakats, he should continue his prayer regarding the stronger probability as the true number of rakats. He should prefer to choose the third or fourth rakat in accordance with his opinion because it is difficult for such a person to perform the prayers again. Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) said the following regarding the issue: "When any of you doubt about the rakats fo the prayer, he should search for the true number and complete his prayer " (Bukhari, Salat, 31; Muslim, Masajid, 88, 89, Abu Dawud, Salat, 190, 191, 193; Nasai, Sahw, 24, 25)
A person who has a doubt during the prayer and cannot decide how many rakats he has performed, continues his prayer accepting that he has performed the fewer rakats because the opinion about the fewer is definite. Such a person should sit for tashahhud when he thinks it is necessary. Thus, he will not skip a fard or wajib sitting. For instance, in a four-rakat prayer, if a person doubts whether he is in the first or second rakat, he should act in accordance with his research. If his research does not help him, he should accept that he is in the first rakat (the fewer). However, it is wajib for him to sit at the end of the second rakat. Then he should stand up, perform one more rakat and then sit again. The evidence about the issue is the following hadith of the Messenger of Allah: "If one of you doubts about his prayer and does not remember whether he has performed three or four rakats, he should leave the doubt and continue his prayer accepting the fewer rakats." (Zaylai, Nasbu'r-Raya, II, 174).
If a person makes two or more mistakes in a prayer, it will be enough to perform one (two sajda) prostration of forgetfulness for him because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
"When one of you is mistaken in the prayer, he should prostrate twice at the end of the prayer.” (Ibn Majah, Iqama, 129). That hadith includes being mistaken twice.
On the other hand, the last hadith includes the mistakes in all of the wajib, sunnah and other nafila prayers with ruku’ and sujud.
If a person who is praying alone reads aloud or silently, no prostration is necessary according to zahirur-riwaya (sound hadith books). However, if a person deliberately reads aloud when it is necessary to read silently such as the noon prayer, he commits a bad deed.
It is makrooh (abominable) for a person praying alone to read aloud in the nafila prayers during the day.
If the Imam reads al-Fatiha silently, for instance in the morning prayer, by mistake and then remembers it, he should read the additional chapter aloud; he should not read al-Fatiha again.
In four or three-rakat fard or witr prayers, in the first sitting, if a person says: "Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin ve ala ali Muhammad" after tahiyyat and according to a narration from Abu Hanifa even adding only one letter after tahiyyat, prostration of forgetfulness becomes necessary. However, reading the Quran, saying prayers after tahiyyat in the last sitting do not necessitate prostration of forgetfulness because the last sitting is the place for praying and praising. The Quran includes praying and praising.
As for reminding the Imam when he makes a mistake, the Messenger of Allah said the following: "Men should say ‘subhanallah’; women should clap their hands." (ash-Shawkani, Nahyul-Awtar, II, 320 et al.)
According to Imam Shafii and Ahmed b. Hanbal, prostration of forgetfulness should be carried out by giving salutation to one side. According to Imam Malik, if prostration of forgetfulness is to be performed due to an addition to the prayer, it should be carried out after the salutation; if it is to be performed due to a missing part, it should be carried out before the salutation.
Hamdi DÖNDÜREN
2. How should one keep his fingers during tashahhud?
According to Hanafis:(1) A praying person should put his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh and keep his fingers separate. It is like the sitting between two sajdas (prostration). The fingers are kept separate very little; fingertips are put on the knees; however, according to the soundest view, the hands should not hold the kneecaps. According to the reliable view, while reciting kalima shahada, the index finger of the right hand is raised when “la” of “la ilaha” is uttered and it is lowered when “illallah” is uttered (when the divinity is proved); it is confirmed that Allah has no partners with those signs of raising and lowering.
The evidence they base their view on is the hadith reported by Ibn Zubayr in Muslim indicating it. In the narration in Muslim, it is mentioned that only raising and lowering the index finger is sufficient.
According to Malikis:(2) During tashahhud, the left hand is left free and the right hand is closed except the thumb and index finger. The ones that are closed are the middle finger, ring finger and small finger. The tips of those fingers are placed on the fleshy part under the thumb and the index finger is raised.
It is mandoob (recommended) to move the index finger to the right and left in a moderate way not up and down from the beginning of the tashahhud to the end. The evidence for that view is the hadith reported by Wail b. Hujr. Wail says the following when he describes how Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) prayed: "Then, the Prophet placed his left palm on his left thigh and knee. He placed the end of his right elbow upon his right thigh and then closed his two fingers, forming a circle; then he raised his index finger and I saw that he moved that finger."(3-4)
According to Shafiis and Hanbalis:(5) It is sunnah to put hands on the thighs in the first and final tashahhud. According to Shafiis, a person opens his left hand and keeps his fingers close to each other so that the fingertips will be level with the kneecaps; the tips of the fingers as a whole should be directed towards qiblah and the fingers should not be separate. If the fingers are kept separate, it will cause the thumb not to face qiblah.
According to Shafiis, the person in tashahhud puts his right hand on his right thigh and closes his small finger, ring finger and middle finger. According to Hanbalis, one should make a ring with his thumb and index finger.
Then, he should raise his index finger when "illallah" is uttered but should not move it to the right or left. Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) did like that. Then, as it is mentioned in the narration of Zubayr, he should look at his index finger.
According to the clearest view, during tashahhud, a person joins his thumb with his index finger. Its shape becomes like the number 53 (Arabic figures). This shape becomes visible when the thumb is put under the hand in the palm. If the thumb is left free with the index finger, or if both of them are closed on the middle finger, or if a ring is formed by joining them, or he joins the two fingers with the tip of the thumb, the sunnah is regarded to have been fulfilled because there are hadiths regarding all of them. However, the first one is more virtuous. As a matter of fact, Shafiis adopt that view because its narrators are better in fiqh.
The evidence that Shafiis and Hanbalis base their views on is the hadith reported by Ibn Umar:: "Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) put his right hand on his right knee and closed his fingers in the form of the number 53 and pointed with his index finger." (6) The evidence that one should not move his fingers is the following hadith reported by Abdullah b. Zubayr: "When Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) prayed, he would point with his finger; he would not move his finger."(7) The following is stated in the narration by Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas: "While I was praying with my fingers, Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) stopped by me and pointed with his index finger saying “ahad, ahad” (one, one)." (8)
Footnotes:
1- ad-Durru'l-Mukhtar, I,474,231 - Naylu'l-Awtar, II, 283.
2- ash-Sharhu's-Saghir, I, 330.
3- Bayhaqi said the following, “The implication of ‘he moved it’ should be that he pointed with it, not that he continued to move it.” Thus, it would be in agreement with the narration of Ibn az-Zubayr, and the following words in Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Nasai and Ibn Hibban, “The Prophet would point with his finger while supplicating, and he would not move it, and his eyes would not go beyond that finger." Naylu'l-Awtar, II, 283.
4- That hadith was reported by Ahmad, Nasai, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ibn Huzayma and Bayhaqi. (Naylu'l-Awtar, II, 283.) Bayhaqi reported a weak hadith from Ibn Umar: "To move fingers during the prayer is to give fear to the devil."
5- Mughnİ'l-Muhtaj 1.172 et al.; Hashiyatu'l-Bajuri, 1,177; al-Mughni, I, 534.
6- Muslim narrated that hadith. According to some mathematicians, the shape is 53. Most people think it is 59. Fiqh scholars preferred the meaning of fifty-three based on the words of the hadith.
7- Ahmad, Abu Dawud Nasai and Ibn Majah reported it.
8- Nasai reported that hadith.
Al-Fiqh al-Islami, Wahba Zuhayli v. II, p. 39-40
3. He should follow the imam wherever he reaches.
4. There is no need to make niyyah as the first or last tashahhud. To read the tahiyyat is important.
An adolescent person has four kinds of fluids.
1-Urine
2-Mani (semen)
3-Mazi (a white sticky fluid that flows from the sexual organs when thinking about sexual intercourse, foreplay, and so on)
4-Wadi (a thick white secretion discharged after urination)
Among these four fluids, only “Mani” (semen) requires Ghusl (major ablution). But the discharge of “Mazi” and “Wadi” do not make Ghusl obligatory; however, wudu breaks.
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During the third and fourth rakats in the fard prayers, merely al-Fatiha (first chapter of the Quran) is recited. On the other hand, you can recite extra surahs after al-Fatiha. It is not any problem at all.
A person who cannot join the imam in the first rakat is called masbuq. (Late Comer) He joins the imam anyway. He reads only at-tahiyyat in the last sitting and keeps silent. He does not read salawat and other supplications. He can read tashahhud slowly till the imam completes the prayer. When the imam gives salutation to the right side, he does not; he waits for the imam to give salutation to the left side too. After the imam gives salutation to the left side, he stands up and completes the rakat(s) he has missed.
A person who joins the imam in the second rakat, stands up by saying Allahu Akbar after the salutations of the imam. He reads Subhanaka, al-Fatiha, and some verses from the Quran; then he sits after performing the ruku and sajdahs. He reads tahiyyat, salawat and other supplications and gives salutations.
A person who joins the imam in the 3rd rakat, performs two more rakats when he stands up by reading al-Fatiha, and some verses from the Quran.
If a person joins the imam in the fourth rakat, he stands up after the salutation of the imam and reads al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran performing one rakat and sits. After reading tahiyyat, he stands up and performs two more rakats. What one should note here is to perform the first and second rakats in which al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran are read first while praying alone because he has joined the imam in the fourth rakat in which only al-Fatiha is read. Two rakats with al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran and one rakat with only al-fatiha remain. Therefore, after the salutation of the imam, he should read, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran in the first two of the remaining three rakats and only al-Fatiha in the last rakat.
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MASBÛQ (LATECOMER)
Masbuq is a person who has not caught up with the imam in the first rakat and jonied the congregational prayer after the first rakat. A person who catches up with the imam after the first rakat and joins the prayer before the imam gives the first salutation is regarded to have caught up with the prayer and he becomes subject to the decrees of masbuq. So, masbuq is a person who joins the congregation in the second rakat or tashahhud of a two-rakat player, in the second, third, fourth rakat or in the last tashahhud of a four-rakat prayer, in the second, third rakat or the last tashahhud of a three-rakat prayer.
The following decrees are applied about masbuq:
If Masbuq joins the congregation in a rakat when the Quran is recited aloud, he does not read “Subhanaka”; he says Allahuakbar and keeps silent. In the last tashahhud with the imam, he reads only "at-Tahiyyat"; when the imam gives the salutations, he stands up and read al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran after reading audhu-basmala and completes the remaining rakats. If he joins the congregation when the imam is in the ruku or sajdah, he checks the situation. If he thinks that he can join some part of the ruku and sajdah when he reads “Subhanaka”, he reads it standing. Otherwise, he joins the congregation and does not read “Subhanaka”. If he joins the congregation in tahiyyat, he does not read “Subhanaka”; he recites takbir iftitah and sits (al-Fatawal-Hindiyya, Beirut 1400/1980, I, 90, 91).
After sitting as long as tashahhud in the last sitting, Masbuq can stand up without waiting for the salutation of the imam in the following situations:
a) If Masbuq is afraid that the period of his mash will end.
b) If Masbuq has an ‘excuse’ and if he is afraid that the time for prayer will end.
c) If he is afraid that the time of asr (afternoon) prayer will start in the prayer of Friday.
d) If he is afraid that the time for noon prayer will start in the eid prayer or the sun will rise in fajr (morning) prayer.
e) If he thinks that his wudu will be invalid, he should wait for neither the salutation of the imam nor sajdah sahw (prostration of forgetfulness).
f) If Masbuq thinks that people will walk in front of him while he is praying, he can stand up after tashahhud.
If he stands up without a reason or excuse after tashahhud, his prayer is valid. However, it is tahriman makrooh (strictly abominable). It is not permissible to stand up without sitting as long as tashahhud. If Masbuq completes his prayer before the salutation of the imam and follows the imam in salutation, it is possible and permissible. (al-Fatawal-Hindiyya, I, 91).
We can explain the situations that people who join the imam after the first rakat will face while completing the missing rakat in accordance with the characteristics of prayers as follows.
1) A person who joins the imam in the second rakat of the morning prayer recites takbir and keeps silent. He recites tahiyyat in the last sitting and stands up when the imam gives salutation; he starts performing the rakat that he has missed. After reading Subhanaka, he recites audhu basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran. After the ruku and sajdahs, he sits and reads at-tahiyyat, salawat and rabbana atina; then he gives salutations.
2) If Masbuq joins the imam in the last rakat of the evening prayer, he reads Subhanaka and performs that rakat with the imam and sits in the tashahhud; then, he stands up and recites audhu basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran. He sits after the ruku and sajdahs and reads only at-tahiyyat. Then he says Allahu Akbar and stands up. He reads basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran and performs the ruku and sajdahs; then he performs the final sitting and gives salutations, finishing the prayer. Thus, he performs tashahhud three times. However, if Masbuq forgets and does not sit after the second rakat, sajdah sahw is not necessary for him because that rakat is regarded as his first rakat.
3) If Masbuq joins the imam in the fourth rakat of a four-rakat prayer, he stands up after sitting for tashahhud with the imam. He reads audhu basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran. He sits after the ruku and sajdahs and reads only at-tahiyyat. Then he stands up and reads basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran and performs the ruku and sajdahs. He stands up without sitting and performs one more rakat reading only basmala and al-Fatiha and sits. He reads reads at-tahiyyat, salawat and rabbana atina; then he gives salutations.
4) If Masbuq joins the imam in the third rakat of a four-rakat prayer, he reads only at-tahiyyat in the last sitting and stands up. He reads subhanaka, audhu basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran and performs the ruku and sajdahs; then, he stands up, reads basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran and performs the ruku and sajdahs; He sits and reads at-tahiyyat, salawat and rabbana atina; then he gives salutations, finishing his prayer.
5) If Masbuq joins the imam in the second rakat of a four-rakat prayer, it means he has performed three rakats with the imam; after tasahhud, he stands up and reads subhanaka, audhu basmala, al-Fatiha and some verses from the Quran and performs the ruku and sajdahs. Then he performs the last tashahhud and completes his prayer with salutation.
6) A person who joins the imam when he is in the ruku, he is regarded to have caught up with that rakat. However, if a person who joins the imam when he is in sajdah, he is regarded to have missed that rakat. Therefore, he needs to complete that rakat in accordance with the descriptions above.
7) It is not permissible for Masbuq to join another imam for the rakat(s) he has missed; it is not permissible for somebody else to join Masbuq in the rakat(s) he has missed. Masbuq is not regarded as praying alone regarding the issue. However, if Masbuq forgets how many rakats he has missed, he can take into consideration the state of another Masbuq; his prayer is not regarded invalid if he does so.
8) If Masbuq recites takbir iftitah with the intention of performing the prayer again, his previous prayer with the previous takbir becomes invalid. A person who prays alone, is not like that; unless he intends to perform another prayer, a new takbir for the same prayer does not invalidate his prayer because both prayers are the same in comparison to the one praying alone. As for masbuq, he is alone in his aspect; he does not have the same situation in terms of joining the imam.
9) According to Abu Hanifa, Masbuq recites the tashrik takbirs together with the imam and then stands up and completes the missing rakat(s) in the prayer of eid al-Adha. According to Abu Hanifa, a person praying alone does not have to perform those takbirs. Therefore, Masbuq is not regarded as a person praying alone but as a person who has joined the imam regarding the issue.
10) If Masbuq finishes tahiyyat before the imam gives salutations, according to a view, he reads kalima shahada again; according to another view, he keeps silent. What is the sound view is that Masbuq should read tahiyyat slowly. A person who finishes reading tahiyyat before the imam should keep silent.
11) If imam stands up for the fifth rakat by mistake and if Masbuq stands up with him, it is checked whether the imam has sat after the fourth rakat or not; if the imam has sat, the prayer of Masbuq becomes invalid when the imam stands up; if he has not sat, the prayer of Masbuq does not become invalid until the imam goes to sajdah for the fifth rakat.
12) It is possible for Masbuq to become also Lahiq (a person who joins the imam at the beginning of the prayer but then has to leave the prayer). If a person who joins the imam after the first rakat misses a pillar of the prayer or a rakat or rakats due to sleep or the breaking of wudu, he becomes both Masbuq and Lahiq. Then, he completes the rakats that he has missed without reading and joins the imam if possible for the rest of the prayer; then, he performs the rakat(s) that he has missed before joining the imam by reading. It is permissible for him to perform the rakat(s) that he has missed before joining the imam first and perform the ones that he has missed after joining the imam later. However, then, he is regarded to have committed a sin by not observing the legitimate order.
In conclusion, the aim of the decrees about Masbuq and Lahiq is to encourage Muslims to perform prayers in congregation and to provide convenience for those who have missed the beginning of the prayer or those who have not been able to perform the whole prayer with the imam. Prayer in congregation is very important in Islam and it has been stated that praying fard in congregation is twenty-seven times more virtuous than praying it alone. (For masbuq see Molla Khusraw, Durarul-Hukkam, İstanbul 1307, I, 92 et al.; al-Fatawal-Hindiyya, Beirut 1400/1980, I, 90 et al.; Ibnul-Humam, Fathul-Qadir, Egypt 1389/1970, I, 377 et al.; Ö. Nasuhi Bilmen, Büyük İslâm İlmihali, İstanbul 1985, s. 186 vd.).
Şamil İslam Ansiklopedisi
There is no such a prayer that fill up all the countless number of missed prayers.
Detailed explanation is given below. If you have any other questions you can ask us, we will try to answer your questions.
Performing an obligatory prayer (salah) in time is called execution, performing it after its specified time has elapsed is called compensation (qada); performing a prayer again that has been spoiled is called repetition.
A binding prayer (salah) is either intentionally not performed in its specified time, or it isn’t performed in time because of an excuse. It is a great sin not to perform intentionally a daily prayer in time. Man must stay away from such an act. If such a mistake was made, the prayer must be compensated at once to be completed with the duty. Because, death can come at any moment. If death comes and catches man unprepared, man will go to the hereafter under obligation.
Although one gets free from the obligation when he compensates the prayer that he has failed to perform in time, he must ask Allah for His forgiveness for the sin he has committed. So one must both compensate that prayer and also ask for Allah’s forgiveness.
Prayers that haven’t been performed owing to forgetting, sleeping or a legitimate excuse must be performed later at once when they are remembered or must be performed after the legitimate excuse terminated.
There are some excuses such that the prayers that weren’t performed in these times aren’t to be compensated later. Women’s menstruation and period of confinement after childbirth; epilepsy or insanity enduring in five prayer times are from these kinds of excuses. In fact, it isn’t religiously permissible for the women menstruating or for the women in the period of confinement after childbirth to perform prayers; it is forbidden for them.
Compensating later the five daily prayers that haven’t been performed in time is obligatory, the salat al- witr is compulsory and the sunnah is sunnah. Only the compensation of the salat al- fajr’s sunnah is sunnah. In case salat al- fajr (the morning prayer) haven’t been performed in time, then its sunnah is also performed with its fard if it is performed before noon time. If the compensation is left after noon time, then sunnah isn’t performed anymore, but only the fard is performed.
Some sunnah of the daily prayers that couldn’t been performed in time are compensated by performing them later. For example, in case the former sunnah of the salat al-zuhr (the prayer of the midday) couldn’t be performed to catch the congregation, then it is performed separately after fard and the latter two rak’ats of sunnah. If the former sunnah of the Friday prayer couldn’t been performed before the Friday sermon, then it is compensated by performing it after the two rak’ats of fard of the Friday prayer. The former sunnahs of the mid-day prayer and the Friday prayer that have been half finished by being performed as two rak’ats are also compensated later as four rak’ats in the same way. The sunnahs of the daily payers except these two sunnahs aren’t performed later if they haven’t been performed in time. For example, the sunnahs of salat al- asr (the mid-afternoon prayer) and salat al- isha’ (the prayer performed two hours after sunset) aren’t performed later if they haven’t been performed before fard.
The prayers of compensation will be executed like the daily fards. Compensation for the prayer of morning is performed as 2, of mid-day as 4, of mid-afternoon is as 4, of evening as 3 and of isha’ as 4 and of witr as 3.
There is no particular time or place for any of the compensation (qada) prayers. This is, there is no restriction that the compensation prayer of mid-afternoon is to be performed in the mid-afternoon. It can be performed when ever you want. When performing the compensations of prayers, there is no provision that compensation of mid-afternoon must be performed before compensation of isha’ or compensation of mid-day must be performed after the compensation of morning.
However, one must be careful not to perform the compensations prayers during the times called kerahat. It isn’t tolerated to perform a prayer in these times: 45 min. of duration after the sun has risen, the 45 min. of duration prior to the sunset and when the sun is just at the top (the 30 min. duration of time prior to mid-day prayer). Compensation prayers can be performed in any time except these times.
How are the compensation prayers (qada prayers) performed?
One, whose prayers that he hasn’t performed in time are 6 times or more, doesn’t regard a sequence in performing them and also he doesn’t regard a sequence between his compensation prayers and his daily prayers. He can perform his compensation prayers in any time he wants and is convenient except the three kerahat times when performing a prayer is religiously reprehensible. Because, compensation prayers have no particular times. For example, a mid-afternoon prayer that hasn’t been performed in time can be performed after the prayer of isha’, and a prayer of isha that hasn’t been performed in time can be performed after the prayer of noon.
When performing compensation prayers, there is no need to determine to which date they belong. Since this is very difficult, it is convenient to apply the easier one. A compensation prayer is performed by intending (making the niyyah) as the following:
For example: “I have intended to perform the first mid-day prayer I couldn’t perform in time for the pleasure of Allah” or “I have intended to perform the last mid-day prayer I couldn’t perform in time for the pleasure of Allah.” Then, in this way the compensation prayers are begun to be performed from the first one that hasn’t been performed in time or from the last one that hasn’t been performed in time; in both ways, the previous prayers are diminished by compensating them in an order.
Since it is easier, it is also adequate to intend as “I compensate a mid-day or a mid-afternoon prayer on me”.
When performing a compensation prayer, first the adhan (the call to prayer) and then kamet (a phrase recited before the fards indicating that the prayer is beginning) are recited and then the prayer is performed. If more than one compensation prayers will be performed, one adhan is sufficient for all of them, but it is Sunnah to recite separate kamets for every distinct fard.
One who doesn’t know precisely how many compensation prayers he has to perform behaves according to his superior prediction. If he can not predict the number of his compensation prayers, he continues to perform compensation prayers until he believes that he has no compensation prayers on him any more.
Ones who have the same prayers to be compensated (for example, all of them have to compensate a mid-day prayer) can perform this prayer with congregation. But, ones who have to compensate different prayers can not constitute a unique congregation; they have to perform their prayers separately.
Compensation prayers must be preferred to be performed at home if it is possible. If these prayers were disregarded without an excuse, since this is a sin, it is inconvenient to expose this.
Questions on Islam
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How to wake up for Salat Al-Fajr (Fajr Prayer)?
If a person cannot wake up for fajr prayer, what can s/he do for it?
It is strictly abominable (almost forbidden) to avoid beginning prayer if one needs to urinate, defecate or fart because those cases cause the loss of concentration of mind and heart during the worship. If they happen during the prayer, one should stop worshipping. It is recommended to stop the prayer even if the prayer is performed in congregation because, it is better to miss the merit of a sunnah (deed of the Prophet (PBUH)) instead of performing the prayer in a state that liquidates the merit of the worship. However, it is acceptable in case of time shortage of the allocated period of the prayer and in case of the prayer performed at the funeral. (Ibn Abidin
Nevertheless, the prayer is valid even if it is performed under those conditions and it is not necessary to repeat the prayer.
Moreover, it is also abominable to start praying in the period of abominable time of prayer and in need of urinating. If the afternoon prayer is performed while one needs to urinate but before the abominable time of prayer, the prayer will be abominable because it will be performed when one needs to urinate. If there exists the risk of the abominable time to start if one takes wudu, then the less harmful one is preferred. What is less harmful in this case is to perform the afternoon prayer in the abominable time. It is more abominable to pray when one needs to urinate than to pray in the abominable time of prayer. So, one should renew his/her ablution and then pray even if he/she performs the prayer in the abominable time. A person who has to choose between the two evils, he should choose the lesser one. The rule of Majallah (Otoman Civil Code) is as follows:
It means that if someone is obliged to do one of the two evil things, then he/she must prefer the less harmful one.
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lay in bed, he recited this prayer: “Bismika’llahumma ahya wa amut: O my Allah! I die with your name, and I am born with your name (sleep, wake up)”. After he woke up, he recited the following prayer: “Alhamdulillahilladhi ahyana ba‘da ma amatana wa ilayhi’n-nushur: All the Praises are for Allah Who has made us alive after He made us die (sleep) and unto Him is the Resurrection”. (Tirmidhi, Daawat 28; see Bukhari, Daawat 7; Muslim, Dhikr 59)
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) lay in bed, he put his blessed hand under his cheek and said “O my Allah! I die with your name, and I am born with your name”. Our Prophet meant sleeping and waking up by the words die and be born because sleep is little death. It is possible that a person will not wake up after sleeping. Therefore, a believer utters his definite belief that it is Allah Who makes people die and Who resurrects people, renewing his belief in God Almighty and expressing his submission to Him. When he wakes up and sees that he regains his strength and the ability of action, he says, “All the Praises are for Allah Who has made us alive after He made us die”, praising and thanking Allah. By saying “Unto Him is the Resurrection”, he expresses his belief that not only after metaphorical death (sleep) but also after the real death, it is Allah Who will make us wake up and resurrect and gather us in His presence.
A person who recites those prayers consciously expresses his belief in the absolute sovereignty of God Almighty over him, all human beings and creatures and carries out an important kind of worship called contemplation (tafakkur) by thinking about them.
The Messenger of Allah recited the following prayer in the morning: “Allahumma bika asbahna wa bika amsayna wa bika nahya wa bika namut wa ilayka’n-nushur: O my Allah, by You we entered upon morning, by You we entered upon evening, by You we live, by You we die, and to You is the resurrection.”
In the evening, he prayed as follows: “Allahumma bika amsayna wa bika nahya wa bika namut ve ilayka’l-masir: O' my Allah, by You we entered upon evening, by You we entered upon morning, by You we live, by You we die, and to You is the destiny.” (Abu Dawud, Adab 101; Tirmidhi, Daawat 13)
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Messenger of Allah: O Messenger of Allah! Will you teach me the holy words that I will read in the morning and in the evening? The Messenger of Allah said:
“Allahumma fatira’s-samawati wa’l-ardi alima’l-ghaybi wa’sh-shahadati, rabba kulli shay’in wa malîkahu. Ashhadu anla ilahe illa anta. Audhu bika min sharri nafsi wa sharri’sh-shaytani wa shirkihi: O Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who knowest the unseen and the seen, Lord and Possessor of everything. I testify that there is no god but Thee; I seek refuge in Thee from the evil within myself, from the evil of the devil, and his (incitement to) attributing partners (to Allah)." He said: Say this in the morning and in the evening”. (Abu Dawud, Adab 101; Tirmidhi, Daawat 14, 95)
According to what is reported from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) the Messenger of Allah told him and Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her): “When you go to bed – or when you have a rest – say Allahu akbar (Allah is the greatest) thirty-three times, subhanallah (glorious is Allah) thirty-three times, alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) thirty-four times”. (Bukhari, Fardu’l-khumus 6, Fadailu ashabi’n-nabî 9; Muslim, Dhikr 80).
When the Messenger of Allah went to bed every night, he put his palms together, recited Qul huwallahu ahad, Qul audhu bi-rabbi’l-falaq and Qul audhu bi-rabbi’n-nas (the chapters of al-Ikhlas, alfFalaq, an-Nas) onto them, blew his breath onto them and rubbed his hands on his body beginning from his head, face, the front part of his body to wherever his hands reached; he did it three times. (Bukhari, Fadailu 'l-Qur'ân 14, Tib 39)
The Messenger of Allah said the following to me:
“When you want to go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say: 'Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilayka, wa fauwadtu Amri ilayka wa aljatu zahri ilayka, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayka, lamalja'a wa la manja minka illa ilayka. Amantu bikitabi kalladhi anzalta wa bi nabiyyikal-ladhi arsalta' (O Allah! I surrender to You and entrust all my affairs to You and depend upon You for Your Blessings both with hope and fear of You. There is no fleeing from You, and there is no place of protection and safety except with You O Allah! I believe in Your Book (the Qur'an) which You have revealed and in Your Prophet (Muhammad) whom You have sent). If you should die then (after reciting this) you will die on the religion of Islam (i.e., as a Muslim); so let these words be the last you say (before going to bed)” (Bukhari , Wudu 75, Daawat 6; Muslim, Dhikr 56)
The Messenger of Allah said:
'When a person enters his bed (to sleep), an angel and a devil come near him hurriedly. The angel says ‘start it with good’, the devil says 'start it with evil’. If the person starts to mention the name of Allah, the angel drives the devil away. When the person wakes up, the angel and the devil say the same things. If the person says: "Praise be to Allah, Who returned my soul to me after death and who did not make me die in my sleep. Praise be to Allah, Who prevents the seven floors of the sky from falling unto the earth.”, he will be regarded as a martyr if he falls off his bed and dies; if he gets up and performs a prayer, he will perform it virtuously." (Razin al Abdari, see Kütüb-i Sitte Muhtasarı Tercüme ve Şerhi, 6/519)
"When the Prophet (peace be upon him) woke up at night, he said: Praise and glory be to Thee, There is no god but thou. I ask Thy pardon for my sin and I ask Thee for Thy mercy. O Allah! Advance me in knowledge: do not cause my heart to deviate (from guidance) after thou hast guided me, and grant me mercy from thyself; verily thou art the grantor. (Abu Dawud, Adab 108, (5061).)
Hz Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: "Whenever you go to your bed (for sleeping) say, 'O Allah! I have surrendered myself over to you and have turned my face towards You, and leave all my affairs to You and depend on You and put my trust in You expecting Your reward and fearing Your punishment. There is neither fleeing from You nor refuge but with You. I believe in the Book (Qur'an) which You have revealed and in Your Prophet (pbuh) whom You have sent.' If you then die on that night, then you will die as a Muslim, and if you wake alive in the morning then you will receive the reward". (Bukhari, Daawat 7,9; Tawhid 34; Muslim, Dhikr 56, (2710)
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Say the following when you wake up: “Praise be to Allah, Who has returned me my soul, who has made me healthy and who has let me mention his name.” (Nawawi, al-Adhkar, 21)
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) also said:
“Whoever gets up at night and says: -- None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He is the Only One and has no partners. For Him is the Kingdom and all the praises are due for Him. He is Omnipotent. All the praises are for Allah. All the glories are for Allah. And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, And Allah is Great And there is neither Might nor Power Except with Allah, and then says: -- O Allah! Forgive me and invokes (Allah), he will be responded to and if he performs ablution (and prays), his prayer will be accepted. ” (Bukhari, Tahajjud, 21)
According to the Hanafis, it is wajip. According to the other three sects (Shafi, Maliki, Hanbali), it is sunnah.
Can a woman take ablution (wudu) and perform prayer (salat) with make-up?
A woman should pay attention two important points in regards with that matter.
One of them, there should not be a dirty and harmful matter in the cosmetics. When taking ablution it must not prevent the water to go under. If there is a dirty matter, with that situation the prayer can not be performed it is not acceptable. Immediately it needs to be cleaned.
The second point is, if a woman puts on make up, she should not show it anyone except her husband and mahram such as her son, father and brother etc. If someone who is not her mahram sees her make up and she with make up goes out, it is sin and she becomes responsible for that.
And as for nail varnish, it is related with ablution before prayer. It is known that in order the ablution to be acceptable, the water needs to be touched to the outside of the ablution parts. If the matter put on the ablution parts prevents the water to touch the skin, that ablution is not acceptable. Nail varnish, when put on the nail, it prevents water to touch to the nail. For example, it is clearly explained in the fiqh books that candle prevents water to touch the skin.
As like without cleaning the candle on the skin one’s ablution is not acceptable, so too, without cleaning the nail varnish, the ablution is not acceptable. (Mehmet Paksu, Juridical Decisions for Family)
Is the prayer performed with pants acceptable?
Even if the prayer (salat) performed with narrow pants and shirt which shows the parts of the body clearly is valid, it is not regarded as right. There is no drawback with the condition when putting on a skirt or topcoat.
First of all there is no excuse for quitting performing prayers in our religion. A person who cannot make wudu (ablution) can make tayammum (using earth for wudu instead of water); a person who cannot stand or sit down can pray while lying down by moving his head. It means that no Muslim who is sane and without a legal excuse can neither miss nor delay his/her salah. Even if you are regarded to pay your debt by performing Salah later, you will be responsible for not praying on time.
But if you could not perform prayer on time then you have to perform it later; Performing an obligatory prayer (salah) in time is called execution, performing it after its specified time has elapsed is called compensation (qada); performing a prayer again that has been spoiled is called repetition.
If these prayers were disregarded without an excuse, since this is a sin, it is inconvenient to expose this.
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Some of the daily prayers can be performed as jam at-taqdim (early combination) and as jam at-takhir (late combination). It is sunnah. According to what is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) performed prayers in the form of late combination during the Battle of Tabuk. He performed the noon (zuhr) and afternoon (asr) prayers and the evening (maghrib) and night (isha) prayers together. The scholars of Shafii madhhab decided that the prayers could be performed in the form of early or late combination during travels and some situations based on the hadith above.
Accordingly, a traveler (musafir), whether a man or woman, can combine the noon and afternoon prayers, and the evening and night prayers. If a person performs the noon and afternoon prayers together during the time of the afternoon prayer, and the evening and night prayers during the time of the night prayer, he will perform them in the form of late combination because he delays the first prayers. However, if he performs the noon and afternoon prayers together during the time of the noon prayer, and the evening and night prayers during the time of the evening prayer, he will perform them in the form of early combination because he performs the first prayers before their due time. Both of them can be applied depending on the situation.
If the vehicle in which a person is traveling continues to move, it is better to perform the prayers in the form of late combination, that is, to perform the noon prayer together with the afternoon prayer during the time of the afternoon prayer and the evening prayer together with the night prayer during the time of the night prayer; if the person is resting, it is better to perform the prayers in the form of early combination, that is to perform the noon prayer together with the afternoon prayer during the time of the afternoon prayer and the evening prayer together with the night prayer during the time of the night prayer.
It is necessary to act in accordance with some conditions while performing prayers in the form of both late and early combination. For instance, it is necessary to perform the prayers in order in early combination. When the afternoon prayer is intended to be performed at noon and the night prayer in the evening, first one has to perform the noon prayer and then the afternoon prayer; and first the evening prayer and then the night prayer. Otherwise, it will be necessary to perform those prayers again because they will be invalidated.
The second condition is, for instance, while performing the noon prayer to say the intention silently,”I will perform the afternoon prayer in the form of early combination after this prayer.” It is necessary to say the intention silently until one finishes the prayer by salutations.
The third condition is not to give a break long enough to perform a two-rakat prayer between the two prayers. If there is a longer interval, then it becomes necessary to perform the second prayer in its due time.
The last condition is that traveling must continue until the second prayer starts to be performed. If the person arrives at the town he lives before he starts the second prayer, he has to perform that prayer in its due time.
Those conditions are for early combination. There are only two conditions for late combination. The first one is to have the intention of delaying the prayer and performing it during the time of the second prayer. For instance, if a person wants to perform the noon and afternoon prayer together, he must have the intention of performing the noon prayer during the time of the afternoon prayer and he must say the intention of performing it during the time of afternoon prayer before the time for the noon prayer ends. If he delays the prayer without saying the intention on time, he will have missed that prayer and will have committed a sin.
The second condition is that traveling must continue until the person performs both prayers. If he arrives at the place he lives in while he is performing the first and second prayer, the first prayer is regarded to have been missed and he becomes responsible.
It is not necessary to perform the prayers in order in late combination. For instance, the afternoon prayer can be performed before the noon prayer and the night prayer can be performed before the evening prayer.
If a person who intends to perform the noon and afternoon prayers in the form of early combination wants to perform the sunnah prayers too, he should perform the sunnah of the noon prayer, first; then, he should perform the fards of both prayers. After that, he should perform the last sunnah of the noon prayer and then the sunnah of the afternoon prayer. In late combination, he should perform the last sunnah of the noon prayer and the sunnah of the afternoon prayer before the afternoon prayer. The same thing is valid for the evening and night prayers, too.
It is permissible for a Shafii person to perform the four-rakat fard prayers as two rakats when he is musafir. He may perform them as four rakats without shortening if he wishes. However, he must say the intention of performing the four-rakat prayer as two rakats before he starts the prayer. That is, he must know that he is going to shorten the prayer. He may perform such a prayer alone or in congregation. Both of them are permissible.
A Hanafi person can imitate the Shafii madhhab regarding the issue and can perform prayers in the form of early or late combination by shortening his prayers when he is musafir if he follows the conditions. While praying like that, He must not do anything that will invalidate the prayer according to Shafii madhhab.
Mehmed Paksu
Detailed information regarding the conditions of combining prayers and how to combine them:
Performing the noon (zuhr) and afternoon (asr) prayers during the time of the noon prayer and performing the evening (maghrib) and night (isha) prayers during the time of the evening prayer is called early combination (jam at-taqdim).
Performing the noon and afternoon prayers during the time of the afternoon prayer and performing the evening (maghrib) and night (isha) prayers during the time of the night prayer is called late combination (jam at-takhir).
As for the morning (fajr) prayer, it cannot be combined with any prayers.
It is not permissible to perform one of the five daily prayers by performing them earlier or later than their due time combining with another prayer if one of the certain conditions does not occur. Allah, the Exalted, ordered us clearly to perform prayers in their due time: " Such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times." 1
However, Islam, which is a religion of ease and tolerance, permitted the performance of some fard prayers outside their due time in order to eliminate the problems and difficulties if certain conditions occur. We should state that it is better not to combine prayers in order to avoid the dispute among the madhhabs regarding the issue by performing them in their due time. Besides, our beloved Prophet (pbuh) always shortened his prayers when he was musafir (traveler) but he did not always perform prayers in combination.
If it had been more virtuous to perform prayers by combining them, he would have always combined his prayers when he was a musafir. However, he sometimes combined the noon and afternoon prayers, and the evening and night prayers in the form of both early and late combination. It is possible to show the following narrations as proof:
"The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) delayed the noon prayer and performed it during the time of the afternoon prayer by combining them if he had set out before the sun moved westwards. If the sun had moved westward and the time for the noon prayer was due, he performed both the noon and afternoon prayers and then set out." 2
The following was reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was a traveler, he combined the noon and afternoon prayers. He also combined the evening and night prayers." 3
The reasons for early and late combinations
It is permissible for travelers to combine the noon and afternoon prayers, and the evening and night prayers in the form of early or late combination if they have the necessary traveling conditions and the distance for traveling is more than 89 kilometers.
It is permissible for hajjis to perform the noon and afternoon prayers in Arafat during the time of noon prayer in the form of early combination, to perform the evening prayer and the night prayer in Muzdalifa during the time of the night prayer in the form of late combination. 4
If the noon and afternoon, and the evening and night prayers are desired to be combined, they can be combined only in the form of early combination.
According to Hanafi madhhab, it is not permissible to combine prayers when someone is musafir or when it rains. Only hajjis can combine their noon and afternoon prayers in the form of early combination in Arafat, and their evening and night prayers in the form of late combination in Muzdalifa because they are obligatory for the duty of hajj. 5
The conditions of early combination and late combination
The following six conditions need to occur for early combination:
1. Intention: it means to intend to perform two prayers by combining them For instance, if a person wants to perform the evening and night prayer together in the form of early combination, he must have, in his heart, the intention of performing the night prayer after the evening prayer. It is necessary to have the intention during the first prayer even if together with the salutation.
2. Order. First, the prayer whose time is due must be performed and then the prayer that is to be performed earlier must be performed because the time is the time of the first prayer; since the second prayer is performed depending on it, the priority must be given to the first prayer.
After performing the first and the second prayer, if it is understood that the first prayer has become invalid due to a missing condition or part, the second prayer will also be valid even if it has been performed correctly and fully because, in this case, the condition of the correct performance of the prayer of that time has not been realized. However, the second prayer is regarded to have been performed as nafilah (supererogatory).
3. Muwalat (Maintenance of Succession). It means performing the two prayers one after the other, without having a long interval between them because combining them makes them as a single prayer. Just as it is fard to perform the rakats of a single prayer without any intervals so too is it fard to perform those two prayers without any interval. If an interval occurs between those two prayers due to an excuse like fainting and forgetting, combination becomes invalid and it becomes necessary to perform the second prayer in its due time. However, if there is a short interval like adhan (call to prayer), iqamah and wudu (ablution), the prayer will not be invalidated. 6
As a matter of fact, Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) had iqamah between the two prayers when he combined prayers in Namira.
4. Continuation of Being a Musafir. The state of being a musafir must continue until the first takbir (iftitah) of the second prayer is uttered. Even if the state of being a musafir ends after the first takbir of the second prayer is uttered, the combination of the prayers will continue. However, if the state of being a musafir ends before the first takbir of the second prayer, it will not be valid to perform the two prayers by combining them because the reason validating combining (jam) has disappeared.
5. Continuation of the Time of the Fist Prayer. One must make sure that the time of the first prayer will not expire until the second prayer is started correctly.
6. Thinking that the First prayer has been performed correctly. It is compulsory for the combination to be valid. For instance, if the first prayer is the Friday (Jumua) prayer and if the Friday prayer is performed in more than one mosque without any necessity, and if there is a doubt about which one has been performed before, or whether they have been performed at the same time, it will not be valid to perform the afternoon prayer together with the Friday prayer before its due time.
Two conditions are necessary for the prayers to be performed in the form of late combination when one is musafir:
a) To have the intention for late combination during the time of the first prayer. When the intention is said during the time of the first prayer, there must be enough time left for the performance of a full or shortened prayer. If the person to perform the prayers in the form of late combination does not have the intention during the time of the first prayer or if there is not enough time left for the performance of a full or shortened prayer, he becomes a sinner. If he cannot perform even one rakat of that prayer in its due time, he will be regarded to have missed the prayer. If he can perform one rakat in its due time, he will be regarded to have performed that prayer although he will be regarded to have committed haram.
b) The state of being a musafir must continue until the prayers to be performed in the form of late combination are completed. If the state of being a musafir ends before those prayers are completed, the prayer to be performed late is regarded to have been missed. It is not fard but sunnah to follow the order and muwalat in the prayers to be performed in the form of late combination.
It is permissible for a muqim person (a person who is not musafir) to perform the afternoon prayer together with the Friday prayer in the form of early combination due to rain. It is permissible to perform those prayers in the form of early combination even if the rain wets only the outer parts of the clothes or under the shoes. Melting snow or hail is regarded like rain. There are certain conditions for a muqim person to perform prayers by combining them. They are as follows:
1. Rain, melting snow and hail must exist during the first takbirs of the both prayers and the salutations of the first prayer for the combination to be valid. If the rain stops during the first prayer or after both prayers, the early combination will not be invalidated.
2. The order regarding the two prayers must be followed.
3. Muwalat between the prayers must be observed; that is, they must be performed one after the other without any interval.
4. Intention must be said for the combination as it is said when one is musafir.
5. At least the first takbir of the afternoon prayer must be performed in congregation. It is not necessary for the congregation to continue until the end of the prayer. If a person leaves the congregation before the first rakat is completed and starts to pray alone, it will not do any harm according to the strong view.
6. The imam leading those two prayers must say the intention to be both as an imam and congregation.
7. Combination must be in a distant place of prayer; the congregation must have difficulty in reaching that place. The imam is not bound by that decree. He can lead both prayers by combining them even if he does not have any difficulty due to rain.
If one of those conditions does not occur, a muqim person cannot perform two prayers by combining them.
According to the well-known view, intense darkness, fear, mud and illness are not among the reasons that make it permissible for a muqim to perform two prayers by combining them. However, in case of an illness, the view that regards it permissible to perform prayers in the form of early or late combination is preferable. (See Mehmet Keskin, Büyük Şafi İlmihali: Big Shafii Catechism)
1 an-Nisa 4/103.
2 Bukhari, Taqsiru's-Salat, 15, 16; Muslim, Musafirin, 46; Abu Dawud, Salat, 274; Nasai, Mawaqit, 42.
3 Bukhari, Taqsiru's-Salat, 13.
4 Nawawi, al-Majmu', 4/249.
5 Ibn Abidin, Raddu'l-Mukhtar, 2/504, 509.
6 Nawawi, al-Majmu', 4/253; Zuhayli, al-Fiqhu'l-Islami, 2/1378.
Selling alcohol does not invalidate prayers. But whether someone prays or not, selling alcohol is prohibited in Islam.
The prohibition was not limited to drinking alcohol only; Buying and selling, that is, the trade of alcohol was also prohibited. Our Prophet (PBUH) stated that alcoholic drinks were damned in ten aspects and said the following in a hadith: «Alcoholic drinks were damned in ten aspects: the drink itself, the producer, he who wants to produce it, seller, customer, carrier, he who makes others carry it, he who makes a living by the money earned from alcohol, he who drinks it and he who makes others drink it. » Ibn Majah, Ashriba : 6.
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Is it permissible to work in a place where alcoholic drinks are served and sold?
Glorification uttered in the prayer (salah)
Subhanalah : Allah is free from all incomplete attributes; He is equipped with perfect attributes.
Alhamdulillah : Praise be to Allah.
Allahuakbar : Allah is the greatest.
Sami'allahu liman hamidah : Allah hears the one who praises Him.
Rabbana lakalhamd : O our Lord; praise be to you.
Subhanarabbiyalazim : My Lord, the Great, is free from all incomplete attributes.
Subhanarabbbiyal a'la : My Lord, the Highest, is free from all incomplete attributes.
Supplication uttered in the prayer
Subhanaka
Sabhanakallahumma wa bihamdik wa tabara kasmuk wa taala jaddak (wa jalla thanauk * ) wa lailaha ghayruk)
Glory be to you, O Allah, and all praises are due unto you, and blessed is your name and high is your majesty (glorified is your praise) and none is worthy of worship but you.
It is uttered while standing.
Where to utter it: In the first rak’ah of every prayer just after the takbir of iftitah (opening). In the third rak’ah of the sunnah of the afternoon prayer before al-Fatiha. In the third rak’ah of the sunnah of the night prayer before al-Fatiha. In the third rak’ah of the tarawih prayer before al-Fatiha if it is performed in groups of four rak’ahs. After the first takbir in the janazah prayer (prayer for a dead person).
* Wa jalla thanauk is uttered only in the janazah prayer.
Attahiyyatu
Attahiyyatu lillahi wassalawatu wattayibatu assalamualayka ayyuhannabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu assalamu alayna wa ala ibadillahis salihin Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh.
All kinds of Greetings, prayers and goodness belong to Allah. Peace, the mercy of Allah and His blessings be on you, O Prophet. Peace be on us and on the righteous servants of Allah! I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Where to utter it: It is uttered in the sitting state of every prayer.
Allahumma Salli
Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammadin kama sallayta ala ibrahima wa ala ali ibrahima innaka hamidun majid
O Allah, exalt Muhammad and the people of Muhammad, as You did exalt Abraham and the people Abraham, verily You are Praiseworthy, and Glorious.
Allahumma Barik
Allahumma barik ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammadin kama barakta ala ibrahima wa ala ali ibrahima innaka hamiydun majid
O Allah, bless Muhammad and the people of Muhammad, as You did bless Abraham and the people Abraham, verily You are Praiseworthy, and Glorious.
Where to utter them: In the last sitting state of every prayer after Attahiyyatu. In the first sitting state of the sunnah of the afternoon prayer and the first sunnah of the night prayer after Attahiyyatu. After the second takbir in the janazah prayer.
Rabbana Atina
Rabbana atina fiddunya hasanatan wa fil akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhabannar
Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the fire!
Rabbanaghfirli
Rabbanaghfirli wa liwa lidayya wa lil mu'minina yawma yaqumul hisab
O our Lord! cover (us) with Thy Forgiveness? me, my parents, and (all) Believers, on the Day that the Reckoning will be established!
Where to utter them: In the last sitting of every prayer after Allahumma Salli, and Allahumma Barik
Qunut Supplication
Allahumma inna nastainuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nastahdika wa nu’minu bika wa natubu ilayk. Wa natawakkalu alayka wa nuthni alaykal-khayra kullahu nashkuruka wa la nakfuruka wa nakhlau wa natruku man yafjuruk.
Oh Allah, we ask you for help and seek your forgiveness and guidance, and we believe in You and have trust in You, and we praise You in the best way and we thank You and we are not ungrateful to You, and we forsake and turn away from the one who disobeys You.
Allahumma iyyaka na’budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu wa ilayka nas’a wa nahfidu narju rahmataka wa nakhsha adhabaka inna adhabaka bilkuffari mulhiq.
O Allah, we worship You only and pray to You and prostrate ourselves before You, and we run towards You and serve You, and we hope to receive Your mercy, and we fear Your punishment. Surely, the disbelievers will receive Your punishment.
Where to utter them: In the third rak’ah of the prayer of witr after uttering al-Fatiha and some verses, the hands are raised uttering Allahu akbar and the supplication of qunut is uttered when the hands are held together.
Ayatal Kursi
Allahu la ilaha illa huwal hayyul qayyum. La ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm. Lahu ma fis-samawati wama fil ard. Mandhalladhi yashfau indahu illa biidhnihi. ya’lamu ma bayna aydihim wama khalfahum wala yuhituna bishay’in min ilmihi illa bima sha’a wasia kursiyyuhussamawati wal ard. Wala yauduhu hifzuhuma wa huwal aliyyul azim.
Allah! there is no Allah but He - the living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize him nor sleep. His are all things 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).
Where to recite it: It can be read in the prayer as a verse and it is read after the prayer before glorification.
Rewards given for the supplication and verses read in the prayer:
Each worship that is in compliance with the orders and consent of Allah and that is performed for the sake of Allah is given rewards.
However, the most rewards are given to fards. The most important fard is the five daily prayers.
The daily prayers, which are performed five times every day and which is a continual prayer, reminds man of Allah and takes him to the presence of Allah.
Allah states the following in the Quran; "Verily I am Allah: there is no god but I: so serve thou Me, (only) and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise!" Taha-14
Prayer, which is the pillar of the religion, reminds people of Allah. It reminds them of the orders and prohibitions of Allah, and protects them from haram.
Most of the daily life of those who perform the five daily prayers on time, properly, regularly and in a nice way is spent on worshipping.
Our Prophet said, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended." A person who goes to bed with the intention of getting up for the morning prayer and takes precautions such as setting the alarm clock has already started to obtain rewards for the prayer.
Those who interrupt their nice sleep and get out of their comfortable beds with the intention of performing prayers for the sake of Allah will obtain rewards for every step that they take for the preparation of the prayer and every act they do, including going to the toilet.
When they start to make wudu, their minor sins are forgiven as drops of water fall down from their organs they wash.
Our beloved Prophet says; "When a Muslim starts to make wudu, his sins are forgiven; when he washes his mouth, his sins regarding his mouth, when he washes his nose, his sins regarding his nose, when he washes his face, his sins regarding his face including his eyelids, when he washes his arms, his sins regarding his arms including his nails, when he wipes his heads, his sins regarding his head including his ears, when he washes his feet, his sins regarding his feet including his nails are forgiven."
There are many hadiths and glad tidings about wudu, which is the key to the prayer. Let us think about the treasure whose key is so valuable; and let us think about the rewards of the prayer from this point of view.
Allah’s believing, conscious and sincere slaves who perform the five daily prayers on time and regularly pray 40 rakat of prayers every day.
In those forty rakat of prayers, there are forty qiyams: standing on the feet in the presence of Allah,
Forty ruku’s: bowing down in the presence of Allah,
Eighty sajdahs: prostrating in the presence of Allah,
Twenty-one qa’das: sitting in the presence of Allah.
Those bodily acts (worshipping), which form the main structure and the general anatomy of the prayer, are the essentials and pillars of the prayer.
In a hadith reported by Tabarani and Hakim, the Prophet said, "Among the things that Allah created, He did not make anything more valuable than salah (prayer) except belief. If there were something more valuable than salah in the presence of Allah, the angels would worship performing it. Some angels always bow down, some always prostrate, some always stand and some always sit."
Salah is the origin of all kinds of worshipping except belief; qiyam, ruku’, sajdah and qa’dah are the essence of salah.
In the Quran, the orders, "stand for Allah, bow down and prostrate for Allah" are repeated many times; especially the order, “prostrate and be close” underlines a unique form of worshipping.
Things are known by their opposites. Those who stand still to show respect and who bow down and prostrate in front of the stones that are idolized no matter why are regarded to have committed the greatest sin and to have associated partners with Allah.
Those who stand, bow down, prostrate and sit in the presence of Allah with belief and consciousness obtain the greatest reward and reach the peak of belief.
In a hadith reported by Tirmidhi, our Prophet says, "There is one hasana for a person who reads one letter from the book of Allah. Ten rewards are given for one hasana."
Ten rewards are given to a person who reads a letter from the Quran apart from salah (prayer) unless that person is in the state of puerperum, menstruation or janabah.
Reading the Quran in the prayer is fard and it is a part of the prayer. Therefore, more rewards are given for the Quran read in the prayer.
In a hadith reported by Bayhaqi, the Prophet says, "If a clean (not in the state of puerperum, menstruation or janabah) person listens to a letter from the book of Allah, ten rewards are recorded for him, ten of his sins are deleted and his degree is increased ten times.
If a person reads a letter from the book of Allah (the Quran) while performing salah by sitting, fifty rewards are recorded for him, fifty of his sins are deleted and his degree is increased fifty times.
If a person reads a letter from the book of Allah while performing salah by standing, 100 rewards are recorded for him, 100 of his sins are deleted and his degree is increased 100 times."
In the five daily prayers (40 rak’at), 40 al-Fatiha and at least 33 verses are read every day.
According to the interpretation of Hazin, there are 140 letters in al-Fatiha including basmala. The total letters of reading al-Fatiha 40 times is 5.600.
In the 33 verses, there are at least 3.800 letters if very short chapters are read.
In the five daily prayers, the total letters of al-Fatiha and the verses are 9.400 a day and 282.000 in a month.
Since 100 rewards is recorded for each letter of the Quran read in the prayer, the total number of the rewards for al-Fatiha and the verses in a month is 28.200.000.
The reward Allah will give is not limited with that number. Allah, the Supreme, gives more rewards to any person He wishes.
Besides, ayat-al-kursi is read at the end of each prayer before starting glorification.
There are 170 letters in one ayat-al-kursi and 850 letters in five ‘ayat-al-kursi’s.
The total amount of the letters of ayat-al-kursi read in one month is 25.500.
Every day, after the supplication after the five daily prayers, al-Fatiha is read. The total number of the letters of five al-Fatihas is 700 a day; and in a month, it is 21.000.
In the prayers of one month, the number of the letters of al-Fatiha and verses is 282.000; ayat-al-kursi 25.500 and al-Fatiha after the prayer is 21.000; the total is 328.000 letters.
According to Abdullah Ibn Abbas, the sultan of the interpreters of the Quran, the total number of the letters in the Quran is 323.671.
Real Muslims who perform five daily prayers regularly is regarded to have read the whole Quran in a month, and they read extra 4.829 letters.
One of the first divine orders that our Prophet received was, "And thy Lord do thou magnify.." al-Muddaththir-3
In order to obey that divine order, which means mention your Lord with greatness and magnificence, the prayer is started with takbir. Allahu akbar is uttered totally 214 times in the five daily prayers: 13 of them are takbir al-iftitah, which are fard, and 201 of them are takbir al-intiqal, which are sunnah.
In a hadith in Tirmidhi, our Prophet states, "Tasbih (Subhanallah) fills half of the mizan (scale) and "Alhamdulillah" fills the other half. Takbir fills between the earth and the sky."
Since the reward of a takbir (Allahu akbar) uttered with belief and with the intention of magnifying Allah outside the prayer fills between the earth and the sky, let us think about the reward of the 214 takbirs uttered in the prayers.
On the other hand, each of the 13 takbirs al-iftitah, which are fard, has separate properties.
In a hadith in Ramuz, our Prophet says, "One takbir uttered together with the imam is better than one thousand camels."
Mines (ores) have different values in terms of their weight, financial worth, the places they are used and loveliness for human beings.
Spirituality is like that. Some words have different values and properties in terms of reward, weight, their places in worshipping and loveliness for Allah.
In a hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, our Prophet says, " 'There are two phrases which are beloved by the Most Merciful, light on the tongue, yet heavy on the scales: "Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi and Subhanallahil azim" (glory be to Allah and all praise be to Him, glory be to Allah, the Mighty).
In a hadith in Muslim, the Prophet says, " There are four phrases that are beloved by Allah: Subhanallahi walhamdu lillahi wala ilaha illallahu wallahuakbar" (Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest).
In the five daily prayers, Allah is glorified with his names al-Azim and al-A’la 375 five times: 15 times at the beginning of Subhanaka, 120 times while bowing down as, "Subhana Rabbiyal Azim", 240 times while prostrating as " Subhana Rabbiyal A’la".
In the five daily prayers, Allah is praised 135 times: 15 in Subhanaka as “bihamdik”, 40 times at the beginning of al-Fatiha as "Alhamdu Lillahi Rabbil Alamin" (Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Realms), 40 times while standing up from ruku’ as "Sami'allahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears the one who praises Him)A and 40 times after standing up from ruku’ as, "Rabbana lakal hamd" (O our Lord! Praise be to you).
Let us think of the reward of saying, "Subhanallah and Alhamdulillah" once outside the prayer and we should not forget that the reward is multiplied hundreds of times in the prayer.
Allah states the following in the Quran; " The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: there not a thing but celebrates His praise; and yet ye understand not how they declare His glory..." al-Isra-44
Thus, the real Muslims who perform the five daily prayers and who become the slaves of Allah join that circle of dhikr (mentioning the name of Allah) and glorify, praise and magnify Allah along with the other beings.
The real Muslims who believe in Allah and practice their belief salute Allah at the end of every two rak’ahs: 21 times a day by sitting at the door of grace and mercy of Allah saying, "Attahiyyatu lillahi wassalawatu wattayibat", that is, all kinds of greetings, prayers and goodness belong to Allah.
They salute the beloved Prophet and wish the peace and mercy of Allah and His blessings by saying, "Assalamualayka ayyuhannabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu”.
They wish peace for all of the righteous servants of Allah whether dead or alive and for themselves by saying, "Assalamu alayna wa ala ibadillahis salihin".
In the end, they utter the kalima ash-shahadah and declare to all beings that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
In the sittings that are called qa’dah al-akhirah, the most valuable salawat starting with Allahumma Salli, and Allahumma Barik are read after Attahiyyat.
Allah states the following in the Quran; " Allah and His angels, send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him and salute him, with all respect." al-Ahzab-56
In a hadith reported by Muslim, our Prophet says, "A person who sends salawat to me once is blessed ten times by Allah."
In a hadith reported by Imam Bayhaqi, the Prophet says, "A person who sends salawat to me once is blessed ten times by Allah; ten of his sins are deleted and his level is increased ten times."
In a hadith reported by Tirmidhi, our Prophet says, "The one to be the closest to me among you is the one who sends salawat to me most."
In a hadith reported by Abu Dawud, our Prophet says, "Do not make my grave a place for entertainment, but send salawat to me. No matter where you are, your salawat will reach me."
The reward of all of the worshipping related to salah is increased many times; similarly, the reward for salawat is increased many times.
In the five daily prayers, 30 salawat: 15 Allahumma Salli and 15 Allahumma Barik (the most valuable ones) a day and 900 salawat a month are read.
In the last sitting, the person who performs the prayer reads supplications like Rabbana atina and Rabbanaghfirli, which mean supplication and asking for forgiveness for himself, his parents and all of his brothers and sisters in religion.
All of the believers that have the same belief, that are on the same path and that will live in unity and harmony forever in Paradise are brothers.
Therefore, hundreds of millions of Muslims who perform five daily prayers pray for their brothers and sisters in religion and share the supplication of hundreds of millions of people.
Those who sleep or work after performing the prayer, those who lie in the graveyards benefit from the supplication of their brothers and sisters in religion that perform prayers.
We should not forget this: The adhans are continuously recited and prayers are performed 24 hours a day without any interruption.
We do not have anything to say to those who persist in denying, who have the same belief as the people of Stone Age, and who worship the same stones under the name of contemporaneity.
However, I want to warn, for the sake of Allah, those who believe but neglect to perform prayers due to laziness originating from their souls.
Come on. You should come, too. Join the hundreds of millions of people who believe in Allah, turn to the qiblah and prostrate.
There are so many saints, leaders of saints, seven saints, forty saints, three hundred saints, men of Allah and righteous people who are valuable in the eye of Allah in that community led by prophets.
If you join that community by turning to the qiblah and by prostrating, you will share the supplication of that community both when you live and after you die.
In a hadith reported by Nasai, Tabarani and Daraqutni, the Prophet says, "If a person reads ayat-al-kursi after a fard prayer, nothing but death prevents him entering Paradise then."
In a hadith reported by Muslim, the Prophet says," If a person glorifies Allah (says subhanallah) 33 times, praises Allah (says alhamdulillah) 33 times and magnifies Allah (says allahuakbar) 33 times and utters, "Lailaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah. Lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir" (There is none worthy worship but Allah alone, who has no partner. His is the dominion and to Him belongs all praise, and He is able to do all things) to make it one hundred, his sins will be erased even if they were like the foam on the surface of the sea. "If a person reads ayat-al-kursi, and says subhanallah 33 times, alhamdulillah 33 times and allahuakbar 33 times and, " Lailaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah. Lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir " to make it one hundred where he sits after performing the fard and sunnah of a prayer, his sins will fall off like the leaves fall from the trees and he will obtain rewards that will overweigh in mizan.
Good deeds bring about other good deeds and bad deeds bring about other bad deeds. The prayer, which is the pillar of the religion, will bring about good deeds like that.
Good deeds and great rewards like that are the fringe benefits of the prayer for real Muslims who perform the five daily prayers regularly.
I have tried to write something about the rewards of the prayer. As a matter of fact, what I have written is like a drop in the sea in comparison to the rewards of a prayer accepted by Allah.
The treasure of Allah, the Exalted, is so big that due to a wisdom of the short worldly life, he gives His slaves whom He does not like so much money and property that their grandchildren will not be able to finish them even if they spend them for centuries, and wealth that cannot be expressed with quadrillions.
Why should He not give His slaves who believe, obey His orders, stand in the presence of Him, bow down and prostrate much more bounties in Paradise, the land of eternity?
It is Allah who increases a single grain of wheat or corn hundreds of times and who gives them back to people and animals as sustenance with their stalk, hay and chippings.
It is Allah, the Exalted, who creates big trees from a single cherry and fig seed first, and who decorate them with green leaves and then gives thousands of fruit as sustenance to His slaves.
Why should He not increase every letter of the Quran that is recited in the prayer, of the takbir, tasbih, tawhid, hamd, tahiyyat and salawat hundreds, thousand, tens of thousand times and put them on our scale in gathering place (mahshar)?
Why should He not make His slaves who are trampled, humiliated and oppressed in this transient world happy eternally in Paradise?
Friday prayer is fard for every aqil (sane), baligh (having reached the age of puberty) Muslim man. It is haram to quit praying Friday prayer.
It is definite by the Book, Sunnah and ijma’ (consensus) of the umma (community) that Friday prayer is fard. Allah, the Exalted, stated the following in the ninth verse of the chapter al-Jumua:
" O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): that is best for you if ye but knew. "
The following hadith in Ibn Majah reported by Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) is the proof that Friday prayer is fard through the Sunnah:
"O people! Turn to Allah (repent) before you die. Try to do good deeds before you become occupied with other things. Strengthen the bond between you and your Lord by mentioning the name of Allah (dhikr) a lot, giving alms secretly and openly. If you do so, you will both be granted sustenance and be liked by Allah. Know it very well that Jumua has become fard for you in this place today, this month and this year. It will go on like this till the Day of Judgment.
If someone, while I am alive or after my death, has an imam (leader), whether he is just or cruel, but abandons him either by ignoring him or denying him, may Allah not let him make his ends meet and not make any of his deeds blessed. Know it very well that neither the prayers nor the alms, neither the hajj nor the fast not the deeds of that person are accepted by Allah unless he turns to Allah (repents). May Allah accept the repentance of the person who turns to Him. Know it very well that no woman should be an imam to a man. A Bedouin (who cannot recite the Quran well) should not become an imam to an Arab migrant. A sinner person should not be an imam to a believer unless he is forced by an oppressor whose sword or baton he is afraid of. " (Ibn Majah, Sunan, Istanbul 1401, I, 343, Hadith no: 1081).
Worships are separated into three as the ones which are performed only physically, the ones which are performed only materially and the ones which are performed both physically and materially. Whichever way you worship, you can always donate the sawab you have earned to someone else. The one to whom sawab has been donated can benefit from it, too.
As for whether one can worship on behalf of someone else, and if he can, whether that person will no longer be responsible for fard and wajib worships or not:
a) It is exactly not permissible to fast, perform prayers and itiqaf (spending at least one day in a mosque or masjid worshipping only) on behalf of someone else. Nobody can fast or perform prayers on behalf of someone else. If these kinds of worships are performed on behalf of someone else, that person is still responsible for performing them.
b) It is exactly permissible to fulfill worships such as alms-giving, adha (sacrificing an animal) and charity, which are performed only materially, on behalf of someone else. One can give alms in person or assign someone else to give alms on his/her behalf.
c) As for worships which are performed both physically and materially such as Hajj (pilgrimage), it is permissible to perform it on behalf of someone else on condition that the person is incapable of performing it himself; otherwise, it is not permissible. Hajj performed on behalf of people who cannot perform it themselves due to death, agedness, continuous disease, having no mahram person to travel to Hajj with (for women) is accepted. People in these situations, and if Hajj is fard upon them, must meet the expenses of Hajj to someone to perform it on their own behalf. When they have someone perform Hajj on their behalf, they are no longer responsible for Hajj.
Performing good deeds and charities on behalf of someone who died as indebted for prayers and donating sawabs of these worships to him/her is favorable.
PRAYER TO BE READ TO FIND SOMETHING LOST
Abdullah, Hazrat Umar’s son, said, “Somebody who loses or has something stolen should perform a two-rakah prayer and then pray as follows: "Allahumma rabba'd-dallati wa hadiya'd-dallati, rudda alayya dallati bi qudratika wa sultanika. Fa innaha min fadlika wa ataika." (O Allah! The Lord of those who are lost and the Guide who guides those who are lost and who lose their way! For the sake of your power and sultanate, return me the thing that I have lost. It is from your blessing and generosity." (Bostanu'l-Arifin; Bilal Eren, Açıklamalı Dua Hazinesi p. 304)
The following prayer can be said 25 times every day for something that has been lost or stolen: "Ya jami’annasi li-yawmin la rayba fihi innallaha la yukhlif-ul mi’ad ijma’ bayni wa bayna ……". (O the Gatherer of the mankind together against a day about which there is no doubt! For Allah never fails in His promise. Gather me and …… together.) He can read it until it is found. In the places of dots, the thing that is lost is mentioned. (Ibni Abidin)
Prayer to be recited for having a baby
One must ask from Allah what is best for him/her. We may not know what is good or bad for us. As it is stated in one verse of the Quran, sometimes it may be good for us what we assume to be bad and vice versa. Therefore, we must demand the best of everything from Allah, including a child. Of course, having a baby is everyone’s wish. And it is supported by the laws of creation. However, in some cases, it may be better for someone not to have a baby.
Families without kids may strive for removing the causes of failing to have kids and try to have a baby. However, if all the efforts for having a baby do not work, it is not good to make it a big problem or to insist that much. Perhaps it is better for them. Perhaps they would have faced unexpected troubles if they had had a kid, and thus Allah did not give them a child in order protect them. Yes, one may wish to have a baby, try to have one, but must not cross the line and turn it into an obsession. One must always ask for the best from Allah. May Allah give us the best of everything. Amen
1. "Inna rabbaka huwa al-khallaqu alAAaleemu" This verse:“Surely, your Lord knows all kinds of creation”, must be repeated 1267 times, day and night, for three months.
2. Or "Fa-llāhu huwa l-waliyyu wa-huwa yuhyi" This verse: “Surely, Allah is the friend and He is the Creator” verse must be repeated 289 times before intercourse.
3. Or the verse "Huwa Allahu al khaliqu albario" Or this verse: “He is the Creator from nothing” must be repeated 1054 times”
4. Or, with the condition that, the woman has no medical problems, the woman who does not have a baby, must write “Bismillahirrahmanirrahim - In the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most compassionate” on a clean piece of paper 110 times, then keep the paper on her, and have intercourse with her spouse, she will get pregnant by the leave of Allah. (She must keep the paper on her body till she gets pregnant)
Prayer for having a son
(Be it son or daughter, but let it have a smooth face and hands) is a true saying that expresses an important truth. Indeed, we may not know whether a son or a daughter is good for us. We must also ask from Allah a good child. We can wish a boy or a girl. However, we must not be insistent. One must pray like this:
“O my God, We want from you a boy (or a girl), But you know better than us. Give us whatever is the best for us.” Yes, one must pray like that; and, whether it is a boy or a girl, one must never object or show displeasure . Besides, that reaction will be in vain because, it is not something that we can influence. It is entirely the judgment of God. No one has the authority to object His deeds. Such behavior never complies with the meaning of servitude or the meaning of a true Muslim. We must surrender to the fate and feel contented by His deeds. Let us repeat the sentence at the very beginning: (Be it son or daughter, but let it have a smooth face and hands. Amen
For begetting a son, one must read the Chapter al-Ikhlas three times and then read the following prayer:
"Allahummaj alni min ladunka zurriyyatan tayyibatan mutiatan."
MEANING: “O my God, grant me a pure and respectful generation from your high presence”
(Bilal Eren, The Big Treasure of Prayers with explanations, p 165-166)
Accordding to Hanafi madhhab (sect), the funeral prayer is performed as follows:
Funeral prayer is performed with niyyah (intention) and four takbeers (saying Allahuakbar). If the prayer is performed without niyyah or less than four takbeers, it will not be valid. In fact, niyyah is made in the heart; it is sunnah to utter it. It is stated in the niyyah whether the dead person is a man, woman or child. The imam utters the niyyah as, "I intend to perform funeral prayer and utter prayers for the dead person for the sake of Allah” and starts the prayer. There is no need for uttering the niyyah for being an imam. The congregation utters the intention similarly and adds the words, “I will follow the imam”. It is necessary to say only, “I will follow the imam”. The arkan (pillars) of the funeral prayer are qiyam (standing) and takbeers. There is no reciting from the Quran, ruku (bending down) and sajdah (prostration). The prayer is performed as follows: The takbeer of iftitah (beginning) is uttered and the right hand is placed over the left hand and fastened. The prayer of subhanaka is recited. While reciting subhanaka, after saying وَتَعالى جَدُّكَ "wa taala jadduk" (Your majesty is exalted), وَجَلَّ ثَناؤُكَ "Wa jalla thanauk" (Thy praise is glorified) is added. Then, the second takbeer is uttered without making a sign with the head or eyes and the prayers of “Allahumma salli wa barik”. Then, the third takbeer is uttered and a prayer is recited for the dead person and all Muslims. There is not a definite prayer here. The following prayer: "Allahumma`ghfirli wa li`l-mayyiti wa li-sairi`l-mu`minina wa`l-mu`minat...(O Allah! Forgive me, this dead person, and other believing women and men, …" or: رَبَّنَا اتِنَا فِى الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى اْلاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمينَ "Rabbana atina fi`d-dunya hasanatan wa fi`l-akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhaba`n-nar birahmatika ya arhama`r-rahimin (Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the fire We seek Thy blessings, Thou art the most Merciful)" can be recited. Or, some other prayers can be recited. Those who do not know those prayers can recite the Chapter al-Fatiha with the intention of prayer. It is sunnah to recite the following prayer: اَللّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِحَيِّنَا وَمَيِّتِنَا وَشَاهِدِنَا وَغَائِبِنَا وَذَكَرِنَا وَاُنْثَانَا وَصَغِيرنَا وَكَبِيرنَا اَللَّهُمَّ مَنْ اَحْيَيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَاَحْيهِ عَلَى اْلاِسْلاَمِ وَمَنْ تَوَفَّيْتَهُ مِنَّا فَتَوَفَّهُ عَلَى اْلايمَانِ وَخُصَّ هذَا الْمَيَّتَ بِالرَّوْحِ وَالرَّاحَةِ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالرِّضْوَانِ اَللّهُمَّ اِنْ كَانَ مُحْسِنًا فَزِدْ فِى اِحْسَانِه وَاِنْ كَانَ مُسيئًا فَتَجاوَزْ عَنْهُ وَلَقِّهِ اْلاَمْنَ وَالْبُشْرى وَالْكَرَامَةَ وَالزُّلْفى بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمينَ "Allahumma`ghfir li-hayyina wa mayyitina wa shahidina wa ghaibina wa dhakarina wa unthana wa saghirina wa kabirina... Allahumma, man ahyaytahu minna fa-ahyihi ala`l-islam wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa-tawaffahu ala`l-iman ve khussa hadha`l-mayyita bir-rawhi wa`r-rahati wa`l-maghfirati ve`r-ridwan... Allahumma in kana muhsinan fa-zid fi ihsanihi wa in kana musian fa-tajawaz anhu wa laqqihi`l-amna wa`l-bushra wa`l-karamata wa`z-zulfa bi-rahmatika ya arhama`r-rahimin...(O Allah! grant forgiveness to our living and to our dead, and to those who are present and to those who are absent, and to our young and our old folk, and to our males and females. O Allah! whomsoever you grant to live, from among us, help him to live in Islam, and whom of us you cause to die, help him to die in faith. Grant especially this dead person your ease, rest, forgiveness and consent O Allah, if he acted well, then increase for him his good action, and if he acted wrongly, then overlook his wrong actions. Grant him security, glad tidings, generosity and closeness to you. We seek Thy blessings, Thou art the most Merciful " (*). " If the dead person is a male child the following prayer is uttered after the sentence “wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa-tawaffahu ala`l-iman”: اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ لَنَا فَرَطًا اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ لَنَا اَجْرًا وَذُخْرًا اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ لَنَا شَافِعًا وَمُشَفَّعًا
Allahumma`j`alhu lana faratan, Allahumma`j`alhu lana ajran wa zuhra... Allahumma`j`alhu lana shafian mushaffaa... (Oh Allah! Cause him to become a means of salvation for us, and cause his loss to become a means of reward and recompense for us (in the Hereafter), and make him for us an intercessor whose intercession be granted by Thee. (*). Then, the fourth takbeer is uttered, the Imam and then the congregation turn their faces to the right and then to the left, saying “as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah”. Since the prayer is completed after the fourth takbeer, the hands are released. The prayers other than the takbeers are read silently. It is not permissible to recite from the Quran in the funeral prayer. However, some verses can be read with the intention of prayer. A person who misses the takbeer of iftitah waits for the next takbeer and starts the prayer with it. He should complete the four takbeers before the janazah is removed from the musalla (prayer place). It is makrooh (abominable to perform the funeral prayer inside the mosque unless there is a necessity. If the weather is rainy and if there is not a suitable place, there is no drawback to performing the funeral prayer in the mosque. It is wajib to recite salam at the end of the funeral prayer. The prayers that are recited are sunnah. It is mandoob (recommended) to form three ranks during the funeral. The funeral prayer is performed only once before the dead body. It is makrooh to perform the funeral prayer again. It is better to perform one prayer each when there are several janazahs. It is permissible to perform one funeral prayer for all of them. It is said that it is hoped the dead person will attain the forgiveness of Allah if some holy words expressing that he was a believer when he died are written on the forehead, bandage or shroud of the dead person. However, it is possible that those words, for instance the word of tawheed, will stay in the grave and later be stepped on or they will get dirty due to the liquids that will flow from the dead body. Therefore, there are some drawbacks to writing them. It is deemed more suitable to write bismillah (in the name of Allah) on the forehead and la ilaha illallah (there is no god but Allah) on the chest of the dead body not in ink but with the index finger after the dead body is washed but before it is wrapped in shroud.
Mehmet Dikmen
Yes, it is permissible. It is religiously unobjectionable. It is permissible to take ablution/wudu in bathrooms and toilets/restrooms. However, one should be careful enough to avoid any dirtiness spattering on himself. Moreover, one should cite basmala and ablution prayers as silently as only he can hear.
Private parts are the organs which are fard (mandatory to be done) to be covered and haram to be shown to other people.
‘Private parts’ are the whole body of women except hands and face. For men, ‘private parts’ are the parts between the kneecap and the navel.
For this reason, according to some scholars, the praying of a woman barefoot is considered makrooh (abominable) but their prayers are still valid.
There is no drawback for a man’s performing a prayer and leading the prayers as an Imam barefoot.
Performing an obligatory prayer (salah) in time is called execution, performing it after its specified time has elapsed is called compensation (qada); performing a prayer again that has been spoiled is called repetition.
A binding prayer (salah) is either intentionally not performed in its specified time, or it isn’t performed in time because of an excuse. It is a great sin not to perform intentionally a daily prayer in time. Man must stay away from such an act. If such a mistake was made, the prayer must be compensated at once to be completed with the duty. Because, death can come at any moment. If death comes and catches man unprepared, man will go to the hereafter under obligation.
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What is the correct method of offering Qada Namaz? In what way is it beneficial?
Detailed explanation is given below. If you have any other questions you can ask us, we will try to answer your questions.
TAHARA (Cleanliness or Purification)
1. The Purity of Water
2. Types of Impurities
3. The Ways of Purification
4. Useful Points
5. Acts That Correspond to Human Nature
6. Menstruation and Post-childbirth Bleeding
7. Istihadha (Non-menstrual Vaginal Bleeding)
8. Ghusl (Major Ablution)
9. Tayammum (Ablution with Clean Soil)
10. Wudu' (Ablution)
Islam is based on five pillars: Bearing witness to God's Existence and Oneness and the Messengership of Muhammad, praying five times a day, fasting during the month of Ramadan, paying zakat (the prescribed purifying alms), and hajj or pilgrimage. The first pillar includes all essentials of belief, which were discussed in other parts of the site.
Tahara (Cleanliness or Purification)
Islam requires physical and spiritual cleanliness. On the physical side, Islam requires Muslims to clean their bodies, clothes, houses, and community, and they are rewarded by God for doing so. While people generally consider cleanliness desirable, Islam insists upon it and makes it an indispensable fundamental of religious life. In fact, books on Islamic jurisprudence often contain a whole chapter on this very requirement.
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be God’s blessings and peace, advised Muslims to appear neat and tidy in private and in public. Once when returning home from battle he advised his army: “Soon you will meet your brothers, so tidy your saddles and clothes” (Abu Dawud, “Libas,” 25). On another occasion he said: “If I had not been afraid of overburdening my community, I would have ordered them to use a miswaq (to brush and clean their teeth) for every prayer” (Bukhari, “Iman,” 26).
Moral hygiene also was emphasized, for the Prophet, upon him be God’s blessings and peace, encouraged Muslims to make a special prayer upon seeing themselves in the mirror: “God, You have endowed me with a good form; like-wise bless me with an immaculate character ” (Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 1:34, 6:155). He advised modest clothing, for men as well as for women, on the grounds that it helps one maintain purity of thought.
Being charitable is a way of purifying one’s wealth. A Muslim who does not give charity (sadaqa) and pay the required annual zakat (the prescribed purifying alms), contaminates his or her wealth by hoarding that which rightfully belongs to others: Of their wealth take alms so that you may purify them (9:103).
All the laws and injunctions given by God and His Prophet, upon him be God’s blessings and peace, are pure. Any law established by Divine guidance is just and pure.
The Purity of Water
Pure water is used essentially in matters of purification or wudu’ (minor ablution) and ghusl (major ablution). Hence the necessity to investigate water’s purity. Water has four essential attributes: smell, color, taste, and fluidity. Any pure and purifying water is judged according to whether it retains these attributes or not. As a result, water is classified into two categories: mutlaq and muqayyad water.
Mutlaq water is “natural” water, such as that which comes from rain water, snow, hail, sea water, and water from the Zamzam well.
It is subdivided as follows:
* Water that is both pure and purifying (e.g., rain water, snow, hail, sea water, and water from the Zamzam well).
* Water that drips from a person after he or she has performed the minor or major ablution, and therefore is considered “used.” It is considered pure, but cannot be used for another minor and major ablution.
* Water that is both pure and purifying, but whose usage is disliked (makruh) (e.g., water left in a container after a cat, bird, or another “allowed” animal has drunk from it).
* Water mixed with impure elements. Water whose taste, color, or smell has been altered by an impure substance cannot be used for purification. However, if the liquid is still considered water, meaning that the impure substance has not altered its taste, color, or smell, it can be used for purification.
* Water that is pure but may or may not be purifying. One example of this type of water is the water that remains in a pot after a donkey or a mule has drunk from it.
Muqayyad water includes naturally muqayyad water, such as fruit juices and water that has been mixed with various substances (e.g., soap, saffron, flowers) or objects that the Shari‘a considers pure. Such water is considered pure until, due to being mixed with other substances, one can no longer call it water. In this case, the water is still considered pure, but it cannot be used for purification (minor and major ablution).
Types of Impurities
Najasa refers to impure substances that Muslims must avoid and wash off after coming into contact with them. God says: Purify your raiment (74:4) and: God loves those who repent and who purify themselves (2:222).
* Animals that died naturally (e.g., not killed in the Islamic manner) are impure, as is anything cut off a live animal. However, dead sea animals and those that have no flowing blood (e.g., bees and ants) are not impure. The bones, horns, claws, fur, feathers, and skin of dead animals, except for pigs, are pure.
* Any blood that flows from a person’s or an animal’s body (e.g., blood from a killed animal or menstrual blood) is impure. However, blood that remains in the veins is permissible. Also, any blood that remains in edible meat, livers, hearts, and spleens is not impure, provided that the animal was sacrificed in the Islamic way.
* A person’s vomit, urine, excrement, wadi (a thick white secretion discharged after urination), mazi (a white sticky fluid that flows from the sexual organs when thinking about sexual intercourse, foreplay, and so on), prostatic fluid, and sperm is impure. However, according to some, sperm is not impure but should be washed off if it is still wet, and scratched off if it is dry. Any part of human flesh is impure.
* The urine, saliva, and blood of all animals whose meat is prohibited, and the excrement of all animals except birds whose meat is allowable, are impure.
* The excrement of poultry (i.e., geese, hens, ducks) is impure.
* Pig and alcohol are impure.
* Dogs are considered impure. Any container that a dog has licked must be completely washed and sterilized. If a dog licks a pot that has dry food in it, what it touched and what surrounds it must be thrown away. The remainder may be kept, as it is still pure. A dog’s hair is considered pure.
* The impurities mentioned are considered “gross impurity” (najasat al-ghaliza). Any amount of them contaminates whatever it touches. However, if it is on person’s body or clothes when he or she is praying, or on the ground or mat where he or she is praying, its amount is taken into consideration. Any solid filth weighing more than 3 grams, and any liquid more than the amount that spreads over a person’s palm, invalidates the prayer.
* The urine of horses and domestic or wild animals whose meat is allowed to eat is weak impurity (najasat al-khafifa). When more than one-fourth of a limb or one-fourth of one’s clothes are smeared with it, the prayer is in-validated.
The Ways of Purification
Purifying the body and clothes. If these are contaminated, they must be washed with water until no impurity remains. This is especially so if the impurity is visible, such as blood. If some stains remain after washing, such as those that would be extremely difficult to remove, they can be overlooked. If the impurity is not visible, such as urine, wash and wring whatever it has contaminated three times.
Purifying the ground. Purify the ground by pouring water over it. If the impurity is solid, the ground will become pure only by its removal or decay.
Purifying contaminated butter and similar substances. If a dead animal has fallen into a solid matter but has not swollen or disintegrated, whatever the corpse touches and what is around it must be thrown away, provided that one can make sure that it did not touch the rest of the matter. If it fell into a liquid substance, the majority say that the entire liquid becomes impure.
Purifying a dead animal’s skin. Tanning purifies a dead animal’s skin and fur. The Prophet said: “If the animal’s skin is tanned, it is purified” (Muslim, “Hayz,” 105).
Purifying mirrors and similar objects. Mirrors, knives, swords, nails, bones, glass, painted pots, and other smooth surfaces that have no pores are purified by removing the impurity.
Useful Points
* If an unknown liquid falls on a person, there is no need to ask about it or to wash one’s clothes.
* If a person finds something moist on his or her body or clothes at night and does not know what it is, he or she does not need to smell it in order to identify it.
* Clothes that have street mud on them do not have to be washed.
* If a person finishes praying and sees some previously unseen impurity on his or her clothes or body, or was aware of but forgot about them, his or her prayer does not have to be repeated.
* If a person cannot determine what part of his or her clothes contains the impurity, the whole garment should be washed, for “if an obligation can be fulfilled only by performing another related act, that act also becomes obligatory.”
* If a person mixes pure clothes with impure clothes (and cannot tell them apart), he or she should investigate the matter and pray once in one of the clothes.
* It is not proper to carry something that has God’s Name upon it while going to the bathroom, unless he or she is afraid of losing it or having it stolen.
* One should not talk in the bathroom, respond to a greeting, or repeat what the muezzin is saying. One may speak if there is some necessity. In the event of sneezing, one should praise God silently by moving his or her lips.
* One should neither face nor turn his or her back on the qibla while answering a call of nature, especially if in an open area.
* One should seek a soft and low piece of ground to protect against any impurity. The Prophet said: “When one of you urinates, he should choose the proper place to do so.”
* One should avoid shaded places and places where people walk and gather.
* One should not answer a call of nature in bathing places or in still or running water.
* One should not urinate while standing, though some allow it.
* One must remove any impurities from one’s clothes and body after relieving oneself.
* One should not clean himself or herself with the right hand.
* One should remove any bad smell from one’s hands after answering a call of nature.
* One should enter the bathroom with the left foot, saying: “I seek refuge in God from noxious male and female beings (devils),” and exit with one’s right foot, saying: “O God, I seek your forgiveness.”
* After a man has relieved himself, he should wait until the urine stops completely and make sure that none of it has fallen onto his clothes. This is called istibra (seeking full purification). Ibn ‘Abbas related that the Messenger of God, upon him be God’s blessings and peace, passed by two graves and said: “They are being punished, but not for a great matter (on their part). One of them did not clean himself from urine, and the other used to spread slander.” (Tirmidhi, “Tahara,” 53) To erase all doubt, the person should sprinkle his penis and underwear with water.
Acts That Correspond to Human Nature
God has chosen certain acts for all of His Prophets and their followers to perform. These acts, are known as sunan al-fitra (acts required by human nature), are as follows:
Circumcision. This prevents dirt from getting on one’s penis and also makes it easy to keep clean. The Shafi‘i scholars maintain that it should be done on the seventh day, although it is permissible to do it later.
Shaving pubic hairs and pulling out underarm hairs. Doing so is sunna. However, it is enough to trim or pull it out.
Clipping fingernails, trimming and shaving the moustache, and keeping the beard tidy.Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of God, upon whom be God’s blessings and peace, said, “Five things are part of one’s fitra: Shaving the pubic hair, circumcision, trimming the moustache, removing any underarm hair, and trimming the nails.” (Muslim, “Tahara,” 49) A moustache should not be so long that food particles, drink, and dirt accumulate in it. If one grows a beard, it should not be untidy.
Honoring and combing one’s hair.Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: “Whoever has hair should honor it” (Abu Dawud, “Tarajjul,” 3:4163). Cutting one’s hair off is permissible, and so is letting it grow if one honors it.
Leaving gray hairs in place.This applies to both men and women. ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb related, on the authority of his father from his grandfather, that the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, said: “Do not pluck the gray hairs, as they are a Muslim’s light. A Muslim never grows gray in Islam except that God writes for him, due to that, a good deed, raises him a degree, and erases for him, due to that, one of his sins” (Ibn Hanbal, 2:179; Tirmidhi, “Adab,” 56).
Dyeing one’s gray hair.According to the accepted opinion, dyeing one’s gray hair by using henna, red dye, yellow dye, and so on is permissible, provided that the dyes are religiously allowable.
Using perfume. Using musk and other perfumes that are free of alcohol and similar forbidden things is highly advisable, for they are pleasing to the soul and beautify the atmosphere.
Menstruation and Post-childbirth Bleeding
Menstruation is a natural type of blood that flows at regular intervals from a woman’s uterus after puberty. God has laid down certain rules in connection with this, as a concession to the woman, in consideration of her condition.
Menstruation usually lasts 3 to 10 days and nights, varying from woman to woman. Most women have a regular number of days for their monthly menstrual period. The number of days may fluctuate and the period might come a little early or a little late. So when a woman sees menstrual blood, she should consider herself to be menstruating. When it stops, she should consider herself clean. If more blood appears after her menstrual period has ended, but does not have the same color as menstrual blood, it should not be considered as menstruation
Post-childbirth bleeding is the blood that comes during and after childbirth. It may begin to come 2 or 3 days before delivery and be accompanied by labor pains. There is no minimum limit as to how long a woman will bleed, but generally the upper limit is within 40 days.
Women are prohibited from performing certain acts while they are in this condition, such as follows:
* She cannot pray (salat) after she begins to bleed and does not have to make up any missed prayers.
* She cannot observe any obligatory (Ramadan) or supererogatory fasts. She must make up the obligatory fasting days after regaining her ritual cleanliness. If bleeding begins during a supererogatory fasting day upon which she had intended to fast, she must make it up.
* She can do all pilgrimage rites except circumambulating the Ka‘ba (tawaf).
* She should avoid mosques or places of worship, and cannot touch the Qur’an, whether the original or in translation. She cannot recite it from memory, but can read the verses of prayer and supplication with the intention of praying. (She cannot perform salat but can supplicate and recite the prayers mentioned in the Qur’an with the intention of saying prayers or making supplications.)
* A man cannot have sexual intercourse with his wife while she has post-childbirth bleeding, for she is not allowed to make herself available to him. However, he can kiss, hug, or touch her anywhere besides the pubic region. It is better and highly advisable to avoid the area between the navel and the knees.
When a menstruating woman stops bleeding, she must perform a complete ghusl (major ablution). After this, she must resume praying and fasting, can enter the mosque, make tawaf, recite the Qur’an, and engage in allowable sexual intercourse. She must make up the fasting days that she missed during Ramadan, but not the prayers. The same rules apply to women in post-childbirth bleeding.
Istihadha (Non-menstrual Vaginal Bleeding)
In some women, bleeding never stops; in others, it continues for longer than normal. This blood is called istihadha. Likewise, any blood coming before puberty and after menopause is also considered istihadha.
A woman with this condition should calculate when her period would normally end, and then stop praying during the days of her calculated period and follow all of the other menstruation-related rules. For the rest of the days, her bleeding should be treated as istihadha. If she does not have a regular period or does not remember when it used to occur, but can distinguish between the two kinds of blood based on color, thickness, and smell (i.e., menstrual blood is dark, thick, and has a strong odor, while istihadha is bright red, thin, and less disagreeable in smell), she must act accordingly. If she does not have a regular period and cannot distinguish between the two types of blood, she must consider the blood coming for 3 to 10 days every month as menstruation and calculate it from the time she first noticed her vaginal bleeding.
There is no difference between a woman beset by istihadha and one who has a complete cessation of menstrual flow, except as follows:
* If the first woman wants to perform wudu’ (ritual ablution), she should wash the blood from her vaginal area and then apply a menstrual pad or wrap the area with a clean rag on top of a wad of cotton to catch the blood. Any blood coming out after that is of no account.
* She must perform wudu’ for every obligatory prayer.
Ghusl (Major Ablution)
Ghusl means major canonical ablution or a complete washing of the body. It becomes obligatory after sexual intercourse, even if only the head of the penis disappears into the vagina. Any discharge of semen, and the completion of menses and post-childbirth bleeding.
Taking ghusl every Friday before the congregational prayer is highly advisable, for the Prophet always did so. Before beginning ghusl, one should make the intention to perform it and, if one will pray after performing it, also the prayer.
Things Forbidden to a Ritually Impure Person
People who are in this state cannot pray, circumambulate the Ka'ba (tawaf), enter a mosque or place of worship unless necessary, or touch the Qur'an or any of its verses except with a clean cloth or something similar.
What Makes One's Ghusl Valid?
* Rinsing the mouth thoroughly so that all of its parts are cleaned properly.
* Rinsing the nose right up to the nasal bone.
* Washing all bodily parts thoroughly, including the hair.
The best way to perform ghusl is as follows:
* Having the intention (niyyat) to cleanse the body from (ritual) impurity while washing oneself.
* Washing the hands up to the wrists three times.
* Washing the private parts thoroughly.
* Removing all filth from all bodily parts.
* Performing ablution.
* Washing all bodily parts three times, including the hair thoroughly. No part, even the size of a pinpoint, is allowed to remain dry. Rubbing and pressing the body is not obligatory.
Tayammum (Ablution with Clean Soil)
When a person is too sick to use water or none is around when it is time to pray, he or she can perform tayammum in place of wudu’ and ghusl. The requirements are as follows:
* Intending to perform tayammum to remove any impurity.
* Striking the pure soil lightly with the palms of both hands and passing the palms over the face one time.
* Striking the pure soil again with one’s palms and rubbing the right and left arms alternately from the fingertips to the elbows.
Tayammum is nullified as soon as the cause for performing it is removed (i.e., the sick person recovers or pure water is found). If a person performs tayammum and then prays, he or she does not have to repeat the prayer if the conditions for it are removed before the time for that particular prayer ends.
Wudu’ (Ablution)
Wudu’ involves washing with water at least once the usually exposed bodily parts, namely, the face, hands and arms up to (and including) the elbows, and feet, and wiping one-quarter of the head. It is obligatory for any obligatory or supererogatory prayer, circumambulating the Ka‘ba, and touching the Qur’an with bare hands.
Wudu’ is performed in the following manner:
* Ensure that the water to be used is pure.
* Intend to perform wudu’ to offer prayer, if you plan to pray after taking it.
* Recite: “Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim” (i.e., in the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate).
* Wash the hands up to the wrists three times, and do not miss the parts between the fingers.
* Clean your mouth with a brush or a finger, and gargle with water three times.
* Rinse the nostrils with water three times.
* Wash the face from the forehead to the chin and from ear to ear three times.
* Wash the right arm followed by the left up to the elbows three times.
* Wipe at least a quarter of the head with wet hands, pass the wet tips of the little fingers inside and the wet tips of the thumbs outside the ears, and pass the palms over the nape and sides of the neck.
* Finally, wash the feet up to (and including) the ankles, the right foot first and then the left, taking care to wash in between the toes, each three times. The obligatory acts are as follows:
* Washing the face.
* Washing both arms up to and including the elbows.
* Wiping a quarter of the head with wet hands.
* Washing both feet up to and including the ankles. The following acts nullify wudu’:
* Whatever comes out from the two private parts (front and back): waste matter, urine, wind, wadi (a thick white secretion discharged after urination), mazi (a white sticky fluid that flows from the sexual organs when thinking about sexual intercourse or foreplay, and so on), and prostatic fluid. Semen, menstrual blood, and post-childbirth blood require ghusl.
* Emission of blood, pus, or yellow matter from a wound, boil, pimple, or something similar to such an extent that it flows beyond the wound’s mouth.
* Vomiting a mouthful of matter.
* Physical contact for pleasure between men and women without any obstacle (e.g., clothes). If the head of one’s penis disappears into a woman’s vagina, ghusl is required.
* Loss of consciousness through sleep, drowsiness, and so on.
* Temporary insanity, fainting, hysteria, or intoxication.
* Audible laughter during prayer.
Wiping over Clean, Indoor Boots (Khuffayn)
While performing wudu’, one can wipe over (the top of) their clean, indoor boots once with wet hands instead of washing the feet.
* Boots should be waterproof and cover the whole foot up to (and including) the ankles. They must have no holes wider than three fingers in width. It does not matter if their mouths are so wide that the feet can be seen when looking down at them.
* They must be fit, strong, and tough enough so that the feet would not come out of them, and they should not fall down when walked in for 3 miles.
* They cannot be made out of wood, glass, or metal.
* One must put on the boots after washing one’s feet while performing ablution. One can wear it for a whole day if one is resident. If traveling, one can wear it for 3 consecutive days.
SALAT (PRAYER) -I
1. The Prayer’s Meaning and Importance
2. Who Must Pray?
3. The Times of the Five Daily Prescribed Prayers
4. The Times When Prayers Cannot Be Performed
5. Adhan (Call to prayer)
6. The Obligatory Acts before the Prayer
7. The Obligatory Acts during the Prayer
8. Necessary (But Not Obligatory) Things To Complete the Prayer
9. Sunna Acts
10. Disliked and Discouraged Things
11. Things That Invalidate the Prayer
Prayer is the most important type of worship, for it displays a person's sincerity and loyalty to God. In the words of God's Messenger, it is the pillar or main support of religious life (Daylami, al-Firdaws, 2:404).
There are several kinds of prayers, as follows:
* Obligatory. The five daily prescribed prayers and the Jumu'a (Friday) prayer. The latter is not obligatory for women, but they can pray it if they wish. The funeral prayer is obligatory, but not upon every individual. If some people perform it, others do not have to.
* Necessary (wajib). The 'Iyd (religious festive days) prayers and the witr prayer (performed after the late evening or night prayer until dawn).
* Sunna (those performed or advised by the Prophet). Those performed before or after the daily prescribed prayers, tahajjud (performed after the late evening prayer and before the witr prayer), tarawih (performed after the late evening prayer during Ramadan), khusuf and kusuf (performed during solar and lunar eclipses), and the prayer for rain (salat al-istisqa).
* Supererogatory and rewarded. Salat al-ishraq (performed some three quarters after sunrise), salat al-duha (forenoon or broad daylight prayer, performed until some three quarters before the noon prayer), and salat al-awwabin (performed between the evening and late evening prayers). There are some other supererogatory prayers, such as salat al-tawba (performed before asking God to forgive us), salat al-istikhara (performed to ask God to make something good for us), salat al-tasbih (the prayer of glorifying God), the prayer performed when leaving on a journey, and the prayer per-formed when returning from a journey.
The Prayer’s Meaning and Importance
The prescribed prayers (salat) are Islam’s pillars. To fully understand their importance, consider this parable: A ruler gives each of his two servants 24 gold coins and sends them to a beautiful farm that is 2 months’ travel away. He tells them: “Use this money to buy your ticket, your supplies, and what you will need after you arrive. After traveling for a day, you will reach a transit station. Choose a method of transportation that you can afford.”
The servants leave. One spends only a little money before reaching the station. He uses his money so wisely that his master increases it a thousandfold. The other servant gambles away 23 of the 24 coins before reaching the station. The first servant advises the second one: “Use this coin to buy your ticket, or else you’ll have to walk and suffer hunger. Our master is generous. Maybe he’ll forgive you. Maybe you can take a plane, so we can reach the farm in a day. If not, you’ll have to go on foot and endure 2 months of hunger while crossing the desert.” If he ignores his friend’s advice, anyone can see what will happen.
Now listen to the explanation, those of you who do not pray, as well as you, my soul that is not inclined toward prayer. The ruler is our Creator. One servant represents religious people who pray with fervor; the other represents people who do not like to pray. The 24 coins are the 24 hours of a day. The farm is heaven, the transit station is the grave, and the journey is from the grave to eternal life. People cover that journey at different times according to their deeds and conduct. Some of the truly devout pass in a day 1,000 years like lightning, while others pass 50,000 years with the speed of imagination. The Qur’an alludes to this truth in 22:47 and 70:4.
The ticket is the prescribed prayers, all of which can be prayed in an hour. If you spend 23 hours a day in worldly affairs and do not reserve the remaining hour for the prescribed prayers, you are a foolish loser. You may be tempted to use half of your money for a lottery being played by 1,000 people. Your possibility of winning is 1:1,000, while those who pray have a 99 percent chance of winning. If you do not use at least one coin to gain an inexhaustible treasure, something is obviously wrong with you.
Prayer comforts the soul and the mind and is easy for the body. Furthermore, correct intention transforms our deeds and conduct into worship. Thus our short lifetime is spent for the sake of eternal life in the other world, and our transient life gains a kind of permanence.
The prescribed prayer is the pillar of religion and the best of good deeds. One who does not perform it cannot construct the building of religion on the foundation of faith. Any foundation on which a building was not built is liable to removal. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, taught that it is like a river running by one’s house. One who bathes in it five times a day is cleaned of all dirt (which may have smeared him or her during the periods between them). He also taught that the prescribed prayers can serve as an atonement for the minor sins committed between them (Muslim, “Tahara,” 16).
The Qur’an declares that the prescribed prayer prevents one from committing indecencies and other kinds of evil deeds (29:45). Also, it serves as repentance and asking God for forgiveness. Similarly, any good deed done just after an evil one may cause it to be forgiven. So it is highly advisable that one should do good immediately after doing an evil deed. Like the prescribed prayer, this manner of action may also restrain one from doing further evil.
Prayer seems to be a strenuous demand, but in reality gives indescribable peace and comfort. Those who pray recite ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah (I bear witness that there is no deity but God). Only He can give harm and benefit. He is the All-Wise, Who does nothing useless; the All-Compassionate, Whose mercy and bounty are abundant. Having faith, believers see in every event a door to the wealth of God’s Mercy, and knock on it via supplication. Realizing that their Lord and Sustainer controls everything, they take refuge in Him. Putting their trust in and fully submitting to God, they resist evil. Their faith gives them complete confidence.
As with every good action, courage arises from faith in and loyal devotion to God. As with every bad action, cowardice arises from misguidance. If Earth were to explode, those servants of God with truly illuminated hearts would not be frightened – they might even consider it a marvel of the Eternally-Besought’s Power. A rationalist but nonbelieving philosopher might tremble at the sight of a comet, lest it should strike Earth.
Our ability to meet our endless demands is negligible. We are threatened with afflictions that our own strength cannot withstand. Our strength is limited to what we can reach, yet our wishes and demands, suffering and sorrow, are as wide as our imagination.
Anyone not wholly blind to the truth understands that our best option is to submit to God, to worship, believe, and have confidence in Him. A safe road is preferable to a dangerous one, even one with a very low probability of safe passage. The way of belief leads one safely to endless bliss with near certainty; the way of unbelief and transgression, meanwhile, is not profitable and has a near certainty of endless loss. Even its travelers agree on this truth, as do countless experts and people of insight and observation.
In conclusion, just like the other world’s bliss, happiness in this world depends upon submitting to God and being His devoted servant. So always praise Him, saying: “Praise be to God for obedience and success in His way,” and thank Him that we are His believing and worshipping servants.
Who Must Pray?
Prayer is obligatory upon every sane Muslim who has reached the age of puberty. Only women having their menstrual period or post-childbirth bleeding do not perform it. Prepubescent children do not have to pray, but God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, advises us to tell them to pray when they reach the age of 7 in order to prepare their hearts for it.
The Times of the Five Daily Prescribed Prayers
Every sane, adult Muslim must perform the five daily prescribed prayers each within its own time. The Qur’an mentions these times. For example:
Establish the prayer at the beginning and the end of the day, and in the watches of night near to the day. Assuredly, good deeds wipe out evil deeds. This is advice and a reminder for the mindful who take heed. (11:114)
Establish the prayer from the declining of the sun to the darkness of the night, and (be ever mindful of) the Qur’an’s recitation at dawn. Assuredly, the Qur’an’s recitation at dawn is witnessed (by angels and the whole creation awakening to a new day). (17:78)
Bear patiently what they say, and glorify your Lord with His praise before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and during some of the hours of the night glorify Him, and at the sides of the day, that you may become pleased with the reward which God shall give you. (20:114)
Glory be to God whenever you reach evening and whenever you rise in the morning. All praise is for Him in the heavens and on Earth, in the late afternoon, and whenever you reach the noon. (30:17-18)
These verses circumscribe the five prescribed prayers. The prayers to be established at the sides of the day, at its beginning and end from the declining of the sun to the darkness of night, are the noon and afternoon prayers. The original word for “watches of night near to the day” is zulef, which is plural. In Arabic, plural includes at least three things, so it can be concluded that it refers to the three prayers to be established during night (e.g., the evening, late evening, and dawn [early morning] prayers). These five prayers were prescribed for the Muslims during the Messenger’s Ascension in the ninth year of his Messengership, 4 years before the Hijra.
Verse 17:78 also alludes to the daily five prescribed prayers and each one’s time. Declining of the sun means the sun’s passing its zenith, and therefore hints at the noon prayer. After the noon prayer comes the afternoon prayer. Immediately after sunset and after night has fallen, the evening and late evening prayers are performed, respectively. The verse specifically mentions the dawn prayer because of its importance, and draws attention to reciting the Qur’an during it, for the Messenger, under Divine Revelation, used to lengthen his recitation during that prayer.
Some of the hadiths (i.e., Tirmidhi, “Salat,” 1) narrate the Messenger’s statements about
the exact time of each prayer. According to these hadiths, as well as the practice of the Prophet and his Companions, the time of each prayer is as follows:
* The fajr (dawn or early morning) prayer is performed from the break of dawn until sunrise.
* The zuhr (noon) prayer is performed when the sun passes its zenith until a person’s shadow is the same length as his or her height.
* The ‘asr (afternoon) prayer is performed when a person’s shadow is the same length as his or her height and continues until the yellowing of the sun.
* The maghrib (evening) prayer is performed as long as twilight lasts until the sun’s complete disappearance.
* The ‘isha’ (night) prayer begins with the end of twilight and continues until a short while before the break of dawn.
* The Jumu‘a prayer is performed during the time of the noon prayer on Friday. The time of the ‘Iyd (religious festive days) prayers is some three quarters after sunrise on ‘Iyd days. Their time continues until the sun reaches its zenith.
The Times When Prayers Cannot Be Performed
* During sunrise and sunset.
* From sunrise until the sun has completely risen to the length of a spear above the horizon (approximately three quarters after sunrise).
* When the sun is at its zenith until it moves slightly to the west.
* After the afternoon prayer till the sun sets.
Prayers must not be offered during the approximately three quarters in the last three times in which praying is forbidden. However, if one has not been able to perform the afternoon prayer during its time, one can perform it until the sun begins to disappear in the west.
Adhan (Call to prayer)
The adhan calls Muslims to prayer. Although it consists of few words, it covers the essentials of faith, expresses Islamic practices, is a form of worship, and one of Islam’s collective symbols that shows that the place in which it is made is a Muslim land. It is made at the beginning of each prescribed prayer’s time, and should be made by the man who can perform it in the best way possible. Even if one is performing the prayer alone, he or she is strongly advised to make it before beginning to pray.
The words of adhan are as follows:
Allahu akbar (God is the Greatest): 4 times.
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa’llah (I bear witness that there is no deity but God): twice.
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasululu’llah (I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s Messenger); twice.
Hayya ‘ala’s-salah (Come on, to prayer): twice.
Hayya ‘ala’l-falah (Come on, to salvation): twice.
Allahu akbar (God is the Greatest): twice.
La ilaha illa’llah (I bear witness that there is no deity but God): once.
The adhan for the dawn (early morning) prayer includes as-salatu khayrun mina’n-nawm (Prayer is better than sleep [twice]) after hayya ‘ala’l-falah (Come on, to salvation). God’s Messenger highly recommends that we pray after making the adhan.
The Obligatory Acts before the Prayer
For the prayer to be complete and acceptable by God, one must perform the following acts:
* Purify oneself from all major and minor impurity by performing ghusl (the major ablution) and wudu’ (the minor ablution), respectively. If one has not broken wudu’ between two prayer times, it does not need to be renewed before the next prayer. The Prophet strongly recommended that one should clean his or her teeth with a miswak, or at least something clean, while making wudu’.
* Remove any impurity from one’s clothes, body, and place of prayer. The impurities that invalidate prayer were mentioned in the section on tahara. They are divided into two categories: gross impurity (najasat al-ghaliza) or weak impurity (najasat al-khafifa). Vomit, urine, excrement, wadi (a thick white secretion discharged after urination), mazi (a white sticky fluid that flows from the sexual organs when thinking about sexual intercourse or foreplay, and so on), prostatic fluid, are included in gross impurity. Also included in this category are the urine, saliva, and blood of all animals whose meat is forbidden, the excrement of all animals (except birds) whose meat is allowable, the excrement of poultry (geese, hens, and ducks), any part of pigs, and alcohol. Any such solid filth that weighs more than 3 grams, and any liquid more than the amount that spreads over one’s palm, invalidates the prayer.
* The urine of horses and domestic or wild animals whose meat is allowed is weak impurity (najasat al-khafifa). If such impurity is more than one-fourth of a limb or smears more than one-fourth of one’s clothes, the prayer is invalidated.
* Covering the area of the body that cannot be shown in public. For the men, this is from the knee to the navel; for women, the whole body except the face, hands, and feet.
* Facing the qibla (the direction of the Sacred Mosque in Makka) during the prayer. If one does not know its location, one must search for it. If one prays in another direction after searching, the prayer is valid. If the chest is turned from the qibla during prayer, the prayer is invalid. If the head is turned even for a moment, the person must immediately turn it back toward the qibla.
* Performing the prayer in its time.
The Obligatory Acts during the Prayer
* Make the intention to perform a specific prayer. Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud relate from ‘Umar that God’s Messenger said: “Actions are judged according to intentions. One is rewarded for whatever one intends to do. Whoever emigrates for God and His Messenger has emigrated for God and His Messenger; whoever emigrates to acquire something worldly or to marry has emigrated for what is intended.” (Bukhari, “Bed’ul-Wahy,” 1; Muslim, “Iman,” 155.) Thus the intention is the aim and purpose of something. It is a condition of the heart and does not have to be spoken out loud. This is why the Prophet and his Companions never spoke their intentions.
* Say the opening takbir and begin the prayer. When God’s Messenger stood for prayer, he would stand straight, raise his hands as high as his ears, and, with his palms facing the qibla, say: “Allahu akbar.”
* Stand while reciting Surat al-Fatiha (the Opening Chapter of the Qur’an) and a selection of verses. One must stand during the obligatory prayers, if at all possible. But if this is not possible, the prayer can be performed while sitting or, if even that is not possible, while lying on one’s right side. The feet should be kept about a span or a little more apart while standing in prayer. The voluntary (supererogatory) prayers can be offered while sitting, although standing will bring a greater reward.
* Recite Surat al-Fatiha and another portion from the Qur’an. This is obligatory in the first two rak‘ats (cycles) of the obligatory prayers and in every rak‘at of necessary (wajib), recommended (sunna), and supererogatory (nafila) prayers. In the last cycle (i.e., the third rak‘at of the evening prayer and the last two rak‘ats of the obligatory noon, afternoon, and late evening prayers), reciting al-Fatiha is preferable, but one can glorify (Subhana’llah), praise (al-hamdu li’llah), exalt (Allahu akbar) God, and declare His Unity (La ilaha illa’llah). The portion to be recited after Surat al-Fatiha should be as long as the shortest sura (Surat al-Kawthar).
No translation of the Qur’an can be recited during the prayer, for the Qur’an is composed of both its meaning and wording and is from God with both its meaning and wording.
* Bow down and remain in that position (ruku‘) for some time (long enough to say “Subhana’llah” three times). The position of ruku‘ consists of bending down and grasping the knees with the palms, and leaving the fingers partly spread apart. This position is maintained until one attains “calmness.” The back must be kept straight while bowing.
* Prostrate (sujud). God’s Messenger explains: “Prostrate until you are calm in your prostration, then rise (and sit) until you are calm in your sitting, and then prostrate until you are calm in your prostration.” The first prostration, sitting afterwards, the second prostration, and calmness during all of these acts are obligatory in every rak‘at of every type of prayer offered.
Bukhari relates (“Ezan,” 133, 134, 137) from God’s Messenger, concerning the parts of the body that must touch the ground during prostration, that he said: “I have been ordered to prostrate on seven bodily parts: the forehead (and he also pointed to his nose), the hands, the knees and the ends of the feet.”
* The final sitting and recital of the tashahhud. In the prayer’s last rak‘at, one must sit long enough to recite the tashahhud before ending the prayer with giving greetings by turning one’s head to the right and then to the left and saying: “As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatu’llah” (Upon you be peace and God’s mercy). During this sitting, one says the tashahhud or tahiyyat. Reciting words of salat wa salam (God’s peace and blessings) on Muhammad and his Family is necessary.
Necessary (But Not Obligatory) Things To Complete the Prayer
* To complete the prayer, one must recite correctly, understandably, and distinctly; carry out all of the obligatory acts correctly and in the proper order; attain calmness; straighten the body while standing, bowing down, and prostrating; bow, prostrate, and stand after bowing and before prostrating and sit between prostrations as long as it takes to say Subhana’llah at least.
* Unless there is an acceptable impediment, prayers should be performed in congregation.
* One who prays alone should recite al-Fatiha and a portion from the Qur’an inaudibly in both the prescribed or supererogatory prayers performed during the day. One can recite loudly or inaudibly during the night prayers. In congregation, the imam (the one leading the prayer) should recite audibly in all rak‘ats of the morning, jumu‘a, tarawih, and witr prayers, and the first two rak‘ats of the evening and late evening prayers. He should recite inaudibly in all rak‘ats of the noon and afternoon prayers, the last one rak‘at of the evening prayer, and the last two rak‘ats of the late evening prayer.
* Sitting between the second and third rak‘ats of those prayers having three or four rak‘ats.
* The obligatory acts during prayers should be done one after the other, without doing anything extra between them.
* Ending the prayer by giving greetings on both sides and saying as-salamu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatu’llah.
* Having sincerity, humility, and concentration. Prayer is the most important kind of worship, so it must be performed in the best way possible. In addition to fulfilling its obligatory and necessary acts, praying in humility, with utmost sincerity and self-concentration on God are essential.
Sunna Acts
Each prayer contains certain acts that are sunna, meaning that the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, performed them and advised Muslims to do likewise. They are highly important for completing the prayer and receiving a greater reward.
* While beginning the prayer and saying the opening takbir, one should raise one’s hands (according to the Hanafis) as high as the ears and the thumbs touch the earlobes.
* According to the Hanafis, the hands should be placed below the navel, (the Shafi‘is say below the chest), and the right hand should grasp the wrist of the left arm.
* The prayer should begin with a supplication used by the Prophet, upon whom be peace, to begin his prayers. This is said after the opening takbir and before reciting al-Fatiha. The Hanafis prefer: Subhanaka’llahumma wa bi-hamdik. Wa tebaraka’smuk. Wa ta‘ala jadduk. Wa la ilaha ghayruk. (Glory be to You, O God, and to You is the praise. Blessed is Your Name and most high is Your honor. There is no deity besides You). The Shafi‘is prefer: Inni wajjahtu wajhiya li’llezi fatara’s-samawati wa’l-ardi hanifan wa ma ana mine’l-mushrikin. Inna salati wa nusuki wa mahyaya wa mamati li’llahi Rabbi’l-alamin, la sharika lah; wa bi-dhalike umirtu; wa ana mina’l-muslimin (I have turned my face to the One Who has originated the heavens and Earth as a sincere submissive one, and I am not one of the polytheists. My prayers, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for God, the Lord of the Worlds. He has no partner. That is what I have been ordered and I am of those who submit.). Other supplications related from the Messenger also can be recited before al-Fatiha.
* Saying Amin after reciting al-Fatiha.
* Reciting considerably long passages from the Qur’an after al-Fatiha in the morning (about one page or more in each rak‘at, being longer in the first one), noon, and afternoon prayers (about one page), either a somewhat long or shorter passages in the evening prayers, and short passages in the late evening prayer.
* Saying the takbir upon every bowing down, sitting down, moving to and rising from prostration, and standing up after sitting. Upon rising from the bowing, all Muslims should say: “Sami’a’llahu li-man hamidah” (God hears him who praises Him), and after it, “Rabbana wa-laka’l-hamd” (Our Lord, and to You is all praise).
* Saying “Subhana Rabiyya’l-‘Azim” (Glory be to my Lord, the Mighty) three times while bowing, and “Subhana Rabbiya’l-A‘la” (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High) while prostrating.
* Supplicating after the final tashahhud and before giving the final salutations (that end the prayer). These may consist of any supplication mentioned in the Qur’an or reported from the Messenger.
* Saying words of remembrance, asking forgiveness, and supplicating after the prayer. The most famous and widespread one reported from the Messenger is: Astaghfiru’llaha’l-‘Azim (I ask God the Mighty for forgiveness: three times), and Allahumma anta’s-Salamu wa minka’s-salam. Tabarakta ya Dha’l-Jalali wa’l-Ikram (O God, You are the Peace, and from You is peace. All blessed and One bestowing blessings You are, O One of Majesty and Munificence). Afterwards, reciting Ayat al-Kursiy (2:255) and saying words of glorification (Subhana’llah), praise (al-hamdu li’llah), and exaltation (Allahu akbar) each 33 times.
Disliked and Discouraged Things
* Beginning the prayer while feeling the need to answer a call of nature.
* Omitting any sunna act.
* Thinking about worldly affairs while praying.
* Doing things that cannot be reconciled with being in God’s presence (e.g., cracking one’s knuckles, playing with any part of the body or clothes, smoothing the stones on the ground, putting the hands on the hips while bending down or standing up, yawning, blowing something, coughing, or cleaning the throat without a valid excuse).
* Leaning on a post, a wall, or something similar without a valid excuse.
* Praying while having something to eat or chew in the mouth, regardless of its size.
* Praying while angry or hungry, when food has been placed nearby, or wearing something that may distract one’s attention.
* Praying in the path of people who are passing in front of one.
Things That Invalidate the Prayer
Omitting any of the prayer’s obligatory acts, regardless if doing so is intentional or out of ignorance or forgetfulness.
* Uttering a word, even if only 2 letters long, that is not included in the recitations of the prayer.
* Weeping, sighing and complaining about worldly things, and making any noise (except clearing the throat, coughing, or yawning) or speaking. Only weeping unintentionally out of fear or love of God and similar things does not invalidate the prayer.
* Talking and answering any call or salutation.
* Reciting the Qur’an or supplications so incorrectly that it cannot be found in the Qur’an or among the reports from the Messenger and transforms the meaning so that it violates Islamic truths and principles.
* Saying prayers that are not found in the Qur’an or reported from the Messenger, and concerning worldly things, such as, “O Lord, enable me to pay my debts,” or “Lord, let me marry such-and-such a woman (or man).”
* Moving aside or changing places when asked or ordered to do so by one who is not praying.
* Doing something that makes someone else think that one is not praying.
* Doing something that invalidates ritual purity.
* Turning one’s chest from the qibla.
* Eating or swallowing anything bigger than a chickpea grain that has remained between the teeth.
SALAT (PRAYER) -II
1. How to pray
* The dawn (early morning [fajr]) prayer
* The noon, afternoon, and night (zuhr, ‘asr, and ‘isha’) prayers
* The evening (maghrib) prayer
2. Prostrations of Forgetfulness
3. Prostrating while Reciting
4. The Sunna Prayers
5. The Prayer of the Sick (Salat al-Marid)
6. The Prayer during Times of Fear or Danger (Salat al-Khawf)
7. The Prayer of a Traveler (Salat al-Musafir)
8. Specific Sunna Prayers
* Asking for What Is Good (Salat al-Istikhara)
* The Prayer of Glorification (Salat al-Tasbih)
* The Prayer for Need (Salat al-Haja)
* The Prayer of Repentance (Salat al-Tawba)
* The Prayer during a Solar or Lunar Eclipse (Salat al-Kusuf and al-Khusuf)
* The Prayer for Rain (Salat al-Istisqa’)
9. Supererogatory Prayers
* Offering Supererogatory Prayers at Home
* Reciting Long Passages
10. The Friday Congregational Prayer
* When and Who
* Preparations
* Conditions for Its Validity
* The Adhan
* The Sermon
* Prayers before and after the Friday Prayer
11. ‘Iyd (Religious Festive Days) Prayers (Salat al-‘Iydayn)
* The Religious Festive Days
* The Prayer
* Offering the ‘Iyd Prayer
* Sermon
12. The Funeral Prayer
* The Rights of a Dead Muslim upon Living Muslims
* Visiting a Sick Person
* Washing the Corpse
* Offering the Funeral Prayer
* Burying the Deceased
13. Congregational Prayer
* Women
* Conditions To Be Met by the Muezzin (the Caller to Prayer)
* Whoever Makes the Adhan Makes the Iqama
* The Adhan and Iqama for Women
* The Imam
* Where the Imam and the Congregation Stand
* Correcting the Imam’s Mistake
* Straightening the Rows and Filling the Gaps
* The Imam’s and Congregation’s Recitation
* Following the Imam
* Putting a Partition in front of Oneself While Praying
* Joining the Congregation
* Earth as a Mosque
14. Making Up Missed Prayers
How To Pray
The dawn (early morning [fajr]) prayer. Having done what is necessary to have the prayer accepted, one recites the iqama even if praying alone. Women are not required to recite the iqama. The iqama is as follows:
Allahu akbar (God is the Greatest): 4 times.
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa’llah (I bear witness that there is no deity but God): twice.
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasululu’llah (I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s Messenger); twice.
Hayya ‘ala’s-salah (Come on, to prayer): twice.
Hayya ‘ala’l-falah (Come on, to salvation): twice.
Qad qamatu’s-salah (Now the prayer is about to be performed): twice.
Allahu akbar (God is the Greatest): twice.
La ilaha illa’llah (I bear witness that there is no deity but God): once.
One should pause between each phrase of the adhan, but be quick when reciting the iqama.
After the iqama, one intends to perform the dawn (fajr) prayer, and, while reciting the opening takbir (Allahu akbar), raises the hands with the palms facing the qibla to one’s ears, with the thumbs touching the earlobes, and then puts them (according to the Hanafis) under the navel with the right hand grasping the left one at the wrist. Then, recite a supplication with which the Messenger, upon him be God’s peace and blessings, used to begin his prayers. The Hanafis prefer: Subhanaka’llahumma wa bi-hamdik. Wa tabaraka’smuk. Wa ta‘ala jadduk. Wa la ilaha ghayruk (Glory be to You, O God, and to You is the praise. Blessed is Your Name and most high is Your honor. There is no deity besides You.).
Then recite Surat al-Fatiha, say Amin at its end, and recite a portion from the Qur’an. Then bow down and say: Allahu akbar and, attaining calmness with one’s back straightened, say three times: Subhana Rabiyya’l-‘Azim (Glory be to my Lord, the Mighty). Afterwards, rise up and say: Sami‘a’llahu li-man hami-dah (God hears him who praises Him), and then: Rabbana wa-laka’l-hamd (Our Lord, and to You is all praise). After a short pause, prostrate and say: Allahu akbar with one’s palms, knees, toes, forehead, and nose touching the ground. While prostrating, recite three times: Subhana Rabbiya’l-A‘la (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High). Then, sit up and say: Allahu akbar, and, after a short pause while sitting, prostrate again and say: Allahu akbar. Recite the same things that were recited during the first prostration. This is the first rak‘at in all prayers except the ‘Iyd (religious festive day) prayers and salat al-tasbih (prayer of glorification), which will be described below.
Rise from prostration saying: Allahu akbar, and then perform the second rak‘at just as the first one was performed. After the second prostration, sit up and recite the tashahhud or tahiyyat, which is as follows: At-tahiyyatu li’llahi wa’s-salawatu wa’t-tayyibatu as-salamu ‘alayka ayyuha’n-nabiyyu wa-rahmatu’llahi wa-barakatuh. As-salamu ‘alayna wa ‘ala ‘ibadi’llahi’s-salihin. Ashhadu an la ilaha illa’llah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa-rasuluh (Eternity and all dominion is God’s, and from Him are all blessings and benedictions. Peace be upon you O the [greatest] Prophet, and God’s mercy and gifts. Peace be also upon us and God’s righteous servants. I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.).
Afterwards, one calls God’s blessings and peace upon His Messenger: Al-lahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala Al-i Muhammad, kama sallayta ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala Al-i Ibrahim. Innaka Hamidun Majid. Allahumma barik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala Al-i Muhammad, kama barakta ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala Al-i Ibrahim. Innaka Hamidun Majid (O God, bestow Your blessings upon our master Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad, as You bestowed Your blessings upon Abraham and the Family of Abraham. Assuredly, You are All-Praised, All-Illustrious. O God, send Your abundant gifts and favors unto our master Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad, as You sent them unto Abraham and the Family of Abraham. Assuredly, You are All-Praised, All-Illustrious.).
Then, pray to God. Choose prayers from the Qur’an and the prayers of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. Then, give greetings, turning your head to your right and left, saying: As-salamu ‘alaykum wa rah-matu’llah (Peace be upon you, and God’s Mercy.). While giving greetings on your right, direct them to those sitting on the right (if praying in congregation) and the noble angel who records our good deeds, and while giving greetings on your left, direct them to those sitting on the left (if praying in congregation) and the noble angel who records our evil deeds. However, according to Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, one may also intend, while giving greetings on the right, God’s Messenger, other Messengers, the believing members of their families, Companions, and all other saintly, pure, and scholarly people who have emigrated to the other world and, while giving greetings on the left, all believers to come until the Last Day.
The noon, afternoon, and night (zuhr, ‘asr, and ‘isha’) prayers. Having done what is necessary to have the prayer accepted, recite iqama even if praying alone. Women are not required to recite iqama.
Then, perform the first two rak‘ats just as in the dawn prayer, except that when sitting in the second rak‘at, recite the tashahhud, stand up, and say: Allahu akbar (God is the Greatest). Perform another two rak‘ats without reciting the opening takbir, and, while standing, recite only al-Fatiha preferably; although you can recite, instead of al-Fatiha, words of glorification (Sub-hana’llah), praise (al-hamdu li’llah), and exaltation (Allahu akbar); and declare God’s Oneness (La ilaha illa’llah). While sitting in the last (fourth) rak‘at, recite that which was recited in the dawn and all other prayers. End the prayer by giving salutations to the right and left.
The evening (maghrib) prayer. One begins the prayer and prays the first two rak‘ats as outlined above. After reciting the tashahhud while sitting in the second rak‘at, perform the third rak‘at in the same way as the third rak‘at of the noon, afternoon, and late evening prayers. (Recite only al-Fatiha without any portion from the Qur’an.) However, after the second prostration, sit again, as in the second (or last sitting) of the other prayers or in the second rak‘at of the dawn prayer. Do what is done in them.
Prostrations of Forgetfulness
If any of the necessary acts are omitted or delayed for some time due to forgetfulness (e.g., sitting between the second and third rak‘ats of those prayers having three or four rak‘ats, stopping between the obligatory acts more than a few seconds, or omitting the qunut in the witr prayer) after giving the first salutation to the right, make two prostrations just like the other prostrations and recite the tashahhud (tahiyyat) and calling of God’s peace and blessings on God’s Messenger. Then, give salutations and finish the prayer.
In the congregational prayer, the imam recites only the tahiyyat and the initial part of calling God’s blessings and peace upon the Messenger and his Family (i.e., Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala Al-i Muhammad) before making the prostrations of forgetfulness.
Prostrating while Reciting
Whoever recites a verse of prostration or hears it, whether during a prayer or outside it, should pronounce the takbir, prostrate, recite Subhana Rabbiya’l-A‘la three times, and rise from the prostration. There are 15 such verses in the Qur’an. If one of them is recited during a prayer, prostrate without interrupting the prayer and then continue it.
The Sunna Prayers
* Praying two rak‘ats before the dawn prayer was highly recommended and stressed by God’s Messenger. They are performed just as in the dawn prayer, except that one recites shorter Qur’anic passages after al-Fatiha.
* Praying four rak‘ats before the zuhr (noon) prayer was highly advised and stressed by God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. They are performed just as in the noon prayer, except that one recites Qur’anic passages after al-Fatiha in all rak‘ats. He also prayed another two or four rak‘ats after the prescribed prayer, and Muslims are urged to follow his example.
* Praying four rak‘ats before the afternoon prayer is also recommended. They are performed just as in the noon prayer, except that one recites the calls of God’s blessings, peace, and gifts upon our master Muhammad and his Family after the tashahhud during the first sitting, and the supplication before al-Fatiha in the third rak‘at, which one recites while beginning the prayer after the opening takbir.
* Praying two rak‘ats after the evening and late evening prayer is highly recommended, while praying four rak‘ats before the late evening prayer, just as in the afternoon prayer, is an unstressed sunna prayer.
Tahajjud and Witr
The tahajjud prayer has an extremely important place among the highly advisable, stressed sunna prayers. It was obligatory for the Messenger from the very beginning of his mission. Interrupting sleep for God’s sake and turning to Him with devotion and pure feelings during the night is a great support and source of feeding for human spirit. While ordering the Messenger to pray it, the Almighty declared:
O you, folded in garments! Rise to pray by night, but not all night – half of it, or a little less, or a little more, and recite the Qur’an in measured rhythmic tones and with great care and attention. We are about to cast upon you a weighty Word. Indeed, rising by night is most potent and good for governing the soul, and most suitable for reciting and understanding the Word. There is for you by day prolonged occupation with ordinary duties. So, keep in remembrance of God’s Name and mention It, dedicating yourself devoutly to Him. He is the Lord of the east and the west. There is no deity save Him. Take Him for your Guardian and Disposer of Affairs (73:1-9).
Since every Muslim is a devoted servant of God and dedicated to His cause, the tahajjud prayer’s importance is clear. According to most acceptable reports from the Messenger, together with the Witr prayer, it consists of eleven rak‘ats and is performed in cycles of two, just like the morning prayer (Bukhari, “Tahajjud,” 10). Although the witr prayer can be performed after the late evening prayer before going to bed, so that one will not miss it because of sleep, its preferable time is after tahajjud. It consists of three rak‘ats and is performed like the evening prayer, but with the following exceptions:
In the third rak‘at, a Qur’anic passage and the qunut prayers are recited after al-Fatiha. Before praying qunut, say takbir (Allahu akbar) by raising the hands as is done when beginning the prayer. The Messenger’s reported qunut prayers are: Allahumma inna nasta’inuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nastahdika wa nu’minu bika wa natubu ilayk; wa natawwakkalu ‘alayka wa nuthni ‘alayka’l-khayra kullahu nashkuruka wa la nakfuruk. Wa nakhla’u wa natruku man yaf-juruk. Allahumma iyyaka na‘budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu wa ilayka nas’a wa nahfidu; narju rahmataka wa nakhsa ‘adhabaka inna ‘adhabaka bi’l-kuffari mulhiq (O God! We ask You for help, forgiveness, and guidance. We believe in You and turn to You in repentance for our sins, and place our trust in You. We praise You by attributing all good to You, and thank You, and never feel ingratitude to You. We reject and cut our relations with those who are in constant rebellion against You. O God, You alone do we worship, and we pray and prostrate for You alone. We endeavor in Your way to obtain Your good pleasure and approval. We hope and expect Your Mercy and fear Your chastisement, for Your chastisement is to surround the unbelievers.).
Tarawih
The specific prayers during Ramadan, which are known as tarawih, are sunna for both men and women and are to be performed after the prescribed late evening prayer and before witr. As generally accepted, it consists of 20 rak‘ats and is performed preferably in cycles of two rak‘ats.
Tarawih prayers can be performed in congregation or alone. The majority of scholars, however, prefer to pray them in congregation. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, prayed it in congregation but then stopped doing so, fearing that it would be made obligatory. ‘Umar established the practice of praying tarawih behind one imam.
The Prayer of the Sick (Salat al-Marid)
Whoever cannot stand due to illness or another valid reason can pray sitting. If this is not possible, one can pray while lying on one’s right side by making gestures. In such a case, the gestures for sajda should be lower than those for ruku‘.
The Prayer during Times of Fear or Danger (Salat al-Khawf)
All scholars agree about the legality of such prayers:
(O Messenger!) When you are among the believers (who are on an expedition and fear that the unbelievers might harm them) and rise to lead the prayer for them, let a party of them stand in prayer with you and retain their arms (while letting the other party take their positions against the enemy). When the first party has prostrated (and finished the rak‘at), let them go behind you (to take their positions against the enemy), and let the other party, which has not prayed, come forward and pray with you, being fully prepared against danger and retaining their arms. Those who disbelieve wish that you should be heedless of your weapons and your equipment, so that they might swoop upon you in a surprise attack. But there shall be no blame on you if you lay aside your arms (during prayer) if you are troubled by rain (and the ground impedes your movement), or if you are ill. However, (always) be fully prepared against danger. Surely God has prepared for the unbelievers a shameful, humiliating chastisement. (4:102)
The Prayer of a Traveler (Salat al-Musafir)
If one begins a journey of at least 3 days, one shortens the prescribed prayers of four rak‘ats (the noon, afternoon, and night prayers) and offers them as two rak‘ats, just like the dawn prayer. Since at that time travel was generally by foot and a day’s travel was counted as 6 hours, the distance of 3 days on foot was regarded as 90 kilometers (54 miles). However, many contemporary scholars maintain that since many people now travel by bus or train, the above-mentioned prayers can be shortened only if the distance is around 1,200 kilometers (720 miles).
Travelers are defined as people who have left their home and their town. So long as they are traveling, the above-mentioned prayers can be shortened. If they reach a place and intend to stay there for less than 15 days, they are considered as travelers and are therefore allowed to shorten their prayers as outlined above. If they are still there on the fifteenth day for reasons beyond their control, although they originally intended to stay for less than 15 days, they are still considered travelers and can shorten the appropriate prayers. Most scholars opine that travelers may offer the sunna and supererogatory prayers without shortening them.
The main reason for shortening the above-mentioned prayers is traveling, not the hardships of travel. Thus, these prayers are shortened even if no difficulty is encountered while traveling. The cause for establishing a rule differs from its expected wisdom and benefit. Wisdom or benefit is the reason for its preference, while the cause requires its existence. So, traveling Muslims shorten their prayers. The cause for this Divine dispensation is traveling, and the underlying wisdom is the hardship of traveling. Thus prayers are shortened even if no hardship is encountered, for the cause exists. Muslims who encounter hardships while at home cannot shorten their prayers, for the wisdom or benefit cannot be the cause for this dispensation.
Those who are traveling must pray whether they are on a ship or a train or a plane, if the prayer will be missed before reaching a place where one can offer it.
Specific Sunna Prayers
Asking for What Is Good (Salat al-Istikhara). The Messenger advised all Muslims to follow his practice when confronted with having to make a choice between permissible alternatives: pray two non-obligatory rak‘ats and then ask God to enable one to choose what is good or better.
The Prayer of Glorification (Salat al-Tasbih). Ibn ‘Abbas reports that God’s Messenger said to ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib:
O ‘Abbas, O Uncle, shall I not give you, present to you, donate to you, tell you of ten things which, if you do them, God will forgive your first and last sins, past and present sins, intentional and unintentional sins, private and public sins? The ten actions are: pray four rak‘ats, reciting in every rak‘at al-Fatiha and a sura. When you finish the Qur’anic recitation of the first rak‘at, say, while standing: Subhana’llah, al-hamdu li’llah, wa la ilaha illa’llahu wa’llahu akbar (Glory be to God, all praise be to God, there is no deity save God, and God is the greatest) 15 times. Then make ruku‘, and while in ruku‘, say the same phrases 10 times. Then stand and say the same 10 times. Then go down and make sajda, and while you are in sajda, say the same phrases 10 times. Then sit after sajda and say the same phrases 10 times. Then make sajda and say the same phrases 10 times. Then sit after the second sajda, and say the same phrases another 10 times. That is 75 (repetitions of the phrases) in each rak‘at. Do that in each of the four rak‘ats. If you can pray it once a day, do so. If you cannot, then once every Friday. If you cannot do that, then once a year. And if you cannot do that, then once during your life. (Abu Dawud, “Salat,” 303; Tirmidhi, “Salat,” 350.)
After saying the phrases 10 times following the second sajda in the second rak‘at, recite the tashahhud and calls of God’s blessings and peace upon the Messenger and his Family, and then end the first two rak‘ats by giving salutation. Pray the second two rak‘ats in the same way.
The Prayer for Need (Salat al-Haja). Make the proper ablution, pray two rak‘ats, and say the prayer reported from the Messenger concerning it (Tirmidhi, “Witr,” 345). If God’s overall Wisdom requires it to be met, God will grant whatever is asked, either sooner or later.
The Prayer of Repentance (Salat al-Tawba). Make the appropriate minor or major ablution, offer a prayer of two rak‘ats, and ask for His forgiveness. Hopefully, God will grant it.
The Prayer during a Solar or Lunar Eclipse (Salat al-Kusuf and al-Khusuf). Scholars agree that this is a sunna mu’akkada, a stressed or confirmed one, which is to be performed by both men and women. It is best, but not absolutely necessary, to pray it in congregation. Its time is from the eclipse’s beginning until its end. It is preferred to say takbir, supplicate, give charity, and ask God for forgiveness during the eclipse. It should be noted that this has nothing to do with asking for the eclipse to end, for its beginning and end are clear. An eclipse is only an occasion for such a prayer.
The Prayer for Rain (Salat al-Istisqa’). This prayer is performed to entreat to God for rain during a drought.
Supererogatory Prayers
Supererogatory prayers are important in that they make up for any deficiencies in performing the prescribed prayers and to bring us closer to God, Who declares:
My servant cannot get near to Me through anything else more lovable to Me than doing the obligatory religious duties. However, by doing supererogatory duties he gets nearer to Me, and when he becomes near to Me, I shall be his eyes to see with, his ears to hear with, his hands to grasp with, and his legs to walk on. (Bukhari, “Riqaq,” 38)
Supererogatory prayers are offered in cycles of two rak‘ats. Praying two rak‘ats when around three quarters have passed after sunrise (ishraq), two to eight rak‘ats in broad daylight until the sun reaches its zenith (duha), and four rak‘ats between the evening and late evening prayers (awwabin).
Such supererogatory prayers are important, for as recorded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim, and Abu Dawud, the Messenger said the following about the duha (broad daylight) prayer:
Charity is required from every part of your body daily. Every saying of “Glory be to God” is charity. Every saying of “All praise be to God” is charity. Every saying of “There is no deity but God” is charity. Every saying of “God is the Greatest” is charity. Ordering good is charity. Eradicating evil is charity. And what suffices for that (as a charity) are the two rak‘ats of the duha (broad daylight prayer). (Muslim, “Musafirun,” 84)
Offering Supererogatory Prayers at Home. Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Muslim relate from Jabir that the Messenger of God said: “If one of you offers his prayers in the mosque, then he should offer a portion of his prayers at home, as God has made saying prayers in one’s home a means of betterment (for him).” Ahmad records from ‘Umar that the Messenger of God said: “The supererogatory prayers prayed by a person at home are a light. Whoever wishes should light up his house.”
Reciting Long Passages. It is preferred to prolong one’s recitation during supererogatory prayers. God’s Messenger would stand and pray until his feet or shanks swelled. When he was asked about it, he said: “Should I not be a thankful servant?” (Bukhari, “Tahajjud,” 16)
The Friday Congregational Prayer
The Friday congregational prayer is obligatory and a significant Islamic symbol. God’s Messenger declared that God seals the heart of one who misses it three consecutive times without a valid excuse (Abu Dawud, “Salat,” 215; Tirmidhi, “Salat,” 359). It also has aspects concerning the Muslim community’s political freedom and condition, and cannot be offered alone.
When and Who. It is offered during the noon prayer’s time, for the latter prayer is not performed on Friday. Every free, adult, sane, and resident Muslim who can attend must attend, unless he has a valid reason not to do so. It is not obligatory upon women, children, those with valid excuses (e.g., illness, lack of security, extreme cold), and travelers.
Preparations. Increase prayers, supplications, and calling God’s blessings and peace upon the Messenger and his Family on Friday, especially before the Friday prayer. Perform the major ablution (ghusl) and wear the best clothes and the best allowable perfume. It is recommended to follow the Messenger’s example of reciting 10 verses from the beginning and end of Surat al-Kahf. Also, go to the mosque early.
Conditions for Its Validity. The Friday congregational prayer has aspects.
* It is offered in a city (misr) that contains a government or a village having 30, 40, or more houses – which looks like a city in its outward form.
* It is preferably offered in a central, large mosque and led by the district or city governor or imam (prayer leader) who is able to lead it and has been appointed by the governor to do so. In the capital city, it is preferably offered by the president or a capable imam appointed by him.
* There must be at least three people to form a congregation after the imam.
The Adhan. The call to prayer (adhan) is made before the Friday sermon.
The Sermon. A sermon must be made before the Friday prayer. The imam gives it on a pulpit while standing. He begins it by praising God and calling God’s blessings and peace upon His Messenger and his Family. Next, he gives a sermon in which he exhorts Muslims to good deeds, discourages them from evil, advises them, and seeks to enlighten them mentally and spiritually and to guide them. He should not lengthen the sermon. After this part of the sermon, he sits for a short while and then, standing up, praises God, calls God’s blessings and peace upon God’s Messenger and his Family, and prays for all Muslims. The congregation must listen carefully and silently.
Prayers before and after the Friday Prayer. The Friday prayer consists of two rak‘ats. It is sunna to offer four rak‘ats before it, just like the four rak‘ats offered before the noon prayer. After the prayer, another supererogatory prayer of four rak‘ats is recommended.
Scholars have had some doubts about the Friday prayer’s validity for many centuries, due the Muslim community’s condition. Therefore, to be sure about performance of the prescribed noon prayer, they have ruled that another prayer of four rak‘ats, just like the noon prescribed prayer and with the intention of offering a later noon prayer, should be offered after the four-rak‘at supererogatory prayer. They also advise to follow this with another supererogatory prayer of two rak‘ats with the intention of offering the sunna prayer for that time.
‘Iyd (Religious Festive Days) Prayers (Salat al-‘Iydayn)
The two ‘Iyd prayers are considered necessary (wajib) and are to be offered on the two annual religious festive days: ‘Iyd al-Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan) and ‘Iyd al-Adha (on Dhu al-Hijja 10, the Day of Sacrifice). The former continues for 3 days, and the latter for 4 days.
The Religious Festive Days. On these days, Muslims visit, congratulate and offer gifts to one another, and display greater generosity by honoring the elders and pleasing the needy and children especially. They amuse themselves within religious and moral bounds, occupy themselves with reciting the Qur’an, mentioning God’s Names, and supplicating. It is advisable to perform ghusl (major ablution) and wear the best clothes and religiously allowed perfume. On the Day of Sacrifice, they offer cattle or sheep or goats to God as a sacrifice, as will be explained below.
The Prayer. The ‘Iyd prayers can be offered from when the sun is three spears above the horizon (approximately three quarters after sunrise) until it reaches its zenith. All men, women (regardless of marital status, age, or if they are menstruating), and children go to the place of prayer. Menstruating women do not attend the prayer. There is no adhan or iqama, unlike the Friday prayer.
Offering the ‘Iyd Prayer. The ‘Iyd prayer consists of two rak‘ats and is offered like the Friday prayer, except for extra takbirs (Allahu akbar [God is the Greatest]). Like other prayers, the imam and the congregation make the intention and the opening takbir, and then recite the supplication silently. After the supplication and before reciting al-Fatiha, the imam leads the congregation in three extra takbirs by raising his hands while saying the opening takbir. After the first two takbirs, they leave their arms down, and after the third, they hold their hands under the navel and begin to recite al-Fatiha. After completing the first rak‘at and reciting al-Fatiha and another Qur’anic passage in the second rak‘at, the imam leads the congregation in extra takbirs again. This time they say four takbirs and, leaving the arms down after the first three, bow after the fourth one. Then they complete the prayer.
Sermon. After the prayer, the imam gives a sermon just as he does during the Friday congregational prayer.
Takbirs during the ‘Iyds. Muslims must exalt God on the Festive Days of Sacrifice by pronouncing: Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar; la ilaha illa’llahu wa’llahu akbar; Allahu akbar wa li’llahi’l-hamd (God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest. There is no deity but God, and God is the Greatest. God is the Greatest and for His is all praise.). It is pronounced after every prescribed prayer after the dawn prayer on the day before the Festive Day, and ends after the afternoon prayer on the fourth day of ‘Iyd.
RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
Almost every nation has religious festivals to commemorate important events in its history or to celebrate special occasions. There are two religious festivals in Islam: ‘Iyd al-Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan’s month-long dawn-to-sunset fast) and ‘Iyd al-Adha (the festival of sacrifice), which falls on Dhu’l-Hijja 10, the last month of the Islamic year in which the pilgrimage is performed. Both festivals enjoy a special place in the life of Muslims, and leave indelible impressions upon their cultures.
Religious festivals are times of deepened Islamic thoughts and occasions of paradoxical feelings – pangs of separation and hopes of reunion, regrets and expectations, and joys and sorrows.
Muslims enjoy the pleasure of reunion and universal brotherhood and sisterhood on festive days. They smile at each other lovingly, greet each other respectfully, and visit each other. Members of families divided by modern, industrialized life and forced to live in different towns come together and enjoy the delight of eating and living together once again, if only for a few days.
Religious festivals are occasions for spiritual revival through seeking God’s forgiveness and through praising and glorifying Him. Muslims are enraptured by special supplications, odes, and eulogies for the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Especially in traditional circles where traces of the past are still alive, people experience the festival’s meaning in a more vivid, colorful fashion, on cushions or sofas, or around furnaces in their humble houses, or under the trees among their garden’s flowers, or in the spacious halls of their homes. They feel its meaning in each morsel they eat, in each sip they drink, and in each word they speak about their traditional and religious values.
Religious festivals have a much greater significance for children. They feel a different joy and pleasure in the warm, embracing climate of the festivals, which they have been preparing to welcome a few days before. Like nightingales singing on branches of trees, they cause us to experience the festivals more deeply through their play, songs, smiles, and cheerfulness.
Religious festivals provide the most practical means for improving human relationships. People experience a deep inward pleasure, and meet and exchange good wishes in a blessed atmosphere of spiritual harmony. When the festival permeates hearts with prayer and supplications performed consciously, souls are elevated to the realm of eternity. They then feel the urge to abandon the clutches of worldly attachments and live in the depths of their spiritual being. In the atmosphere overflowing with love and mercy, a new hope is injected with life.
Believing souls welcome the religious festivals with wonder and expectations of otherworldly pleasures. Indeed, it is difficult to understand fully what believing souls feel in their hearts during these religious festivals. To perceive the feelings thus aroused in pure souls who lead their life in ecstasies of other-worldly pleasures, we must experience such pleasures to the same degree. Having reached the day of the festival after fulfilling their prescribed duty of praying and responsibility, these souls display such a dignity and serenity, and such a grace and spiritual perfection, that those who see them think that they have all received a perfect religious and spiritual education. Some of them are so sincere and devoted to God that each seems to be the embodiment of centuries-old universal values. One may experience through their conduct and manners that taste of the fruits of Paradise, the peaceful atmosphere on its slopes, and the delight of being near to God.
The Funeral Prayer
The Rights of a Dead Muslim upon Living Muslims. A dead Muslim has four rights over living Muslims: The right to be washed, shrouded, prayed over, and buried. However, Muslims are not obliged to do so for those who die as apostates or while fighting against them.
Visiting a Sick Person. It is a highly recommended and meritorious act to visit a sick person. Muslims suggest to the dying that they should declare God’s Oneness: La ilaha illa’llah, Muhammadun Rasulu’llah (There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is His Messenger) or the profession of faith: Ashhadu an la ilaha illa’llah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluh (I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.).
Washing the Corpse. When a Muslim dies, the corpse should be washed by a knowledgeable Muslim three times. Before washing, he or she is given minor ablution. Women wash dead women, and men wash dead men. However, a woman can wash her dead husband. The deceased’s relatives and others should not see the corpse being washed, and the corpse should be scented with camphor, musk, and similar scents.
Offering the Funeral Prayer. After washing, a dead Muslim is wrapped in a shroud and put in a coffin. This holds true for everyone except martyrs, who are buried in the clothes in which they were martyred. The corpse is placed upon a raised platform or a smooth stone so that its right side faces the qibla. The congregation then stands to pray before corpse. While this prayer is obligatory upon all Muslims and must be prayed in congregation, when only some of them offer it, the others do not have to. Women also can attend.
The imam makes the intention to pray for the deceased (the deceased’s gender should be specified) for God’s sake and good pleasure. The congregation makes the same intention and then adds the intention to pray behind the imam. Then, following the imam, they begin the prayer with the opening takbir (as in all other prayers), supplicate, say takbir while keeping the hands under the navel, call God’s blessings and peace upon His Messenger and his Family (as in the final sittings of other prayers), repeat takbir while keeping the hands under the navel, pray for the deceased and all other Muslims (both alive or dead), say takbir for the third time, and give salutations to the right and left.
Burying the Deceased. Muslims place the deceased in the grave while saying: “Bi’smi’llahi ala millet-i Rasuli’llah” (In God’s Name and according to the religion and way of God’s Messenger.). The deceased is laid on the right side facing the qibla, and the shroud is then untied. A stone or something similar is placed in the grave diagonally and in a slanting position so that the corpse should not be covered with soil. Soil is placed on the stone and then is used to cover the grave. After reciting some Qur’anic passages and praying to God for the deceased one, the people leave.
Congregational Prayer
Performing the prayers in congregation is a sunna mu’akkada (a sunna emphasized by the Messenger). Many scholars consider it necessary (wajib).
Women. It is better for women to pray in their houses than to attend congregational prayers. However, they may go to the mosque and attend the congregational prayer if they do not wear any attractive clothing or use any tempting perfume.
Conditions To Be Met by the Muezzin (the Caller to Prayer). The Messenger praised muezzin and gave them good tidings of great reward (Bukhari, “Ezan,” 5). However, in order to deserve this praise and reward, they have to meet certain conditions, as follows:
* Make the call to prayer for God’s sake, not for wages.
* Be clean from major or minor impurities.
* Stand and face the qibla.
* Turn his head, neck, and chest to the right upon saying: “Hayya ‘ala’s-salah” and to the left upon saying: “Hayya ‘ala’l-falah.”
* Insert his index fingers into his ears so that his voice may be higher.
* Raise his voice for the call, even if he is alone in the desert.
* Pause between each phrase of the adhan.
* Adorn the adhan with his beautiful voice and tune.
The adhan is one of the important, collective symbols of Islam, for it shows that the place in which it is called is a Muslim land. In addition, it is a declaration of Islam’s basic principles.
Whoever Makes the Adhan Makes the Iqama. It is highly recommended and preferable that whoever makes the adhan makes the iqama. A man who prays alone is encouraged to make the adhan, if he did not listen to its public recitation, and should make the iqama.
The Adhan and Iqama for Women. Although some scholars state that there is no adhan or iqama for women, some maintain that women can form a congregation and pray, and that one of them can serve as the imam. However, she must stand in the middle of the first row.
The Imam. The imam must meet several conditions, as follows:
* If the congregation includes men and women, the imam must be a man.
* He must be well-versed in Qur’anic recitation and knowledgeable of the prayer’s obligatory, necessary, and sunna acts.
* He should be of good character and reputation.
* He should be the most knowledgeable (of those present) of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur’anic recitation, have excellent qualities and character, a good voice, and a sound body.
* He should not have a health problem that causes him to continually lose his ablution, unless all others in the congregation have the same or a similar problem.
* According to scholars, anyone whose prayer is valid for himself is valid for others if he serves as the imam. However, Muslims do not like to pray behind an evildoer or an innovator.
Where the Imam and the Congregation Stand. The imam stands before the congregation. Preferably, one person stands to the imam’s right. If there are two or more people, they stand behind the imam. The Messenger placed the men in front of the young boys and the women behind the young boys.
Correcting the Imam’s Mistake. If the imam forgets a verse, recites incorrectly, or makes a mistake in praying, someone in the congregation should correct him, and anyone who is known to be able to correct him is preferred to stand just after the imam.
Straightening the Rows and Filling the Gaps. The imam should tell the members of the congregation, or the congregation should do so even if the imam does so, to straighten the rows and fill in any gaps before starting the prayer.
The Imam’s and Congregation’s Recitation. It is enough for the imam to recite al-Fatiha and another Qur’anic passage, and for the congregation to keep silent. The congregation makes all other recitations, including takbirs, the supplication before al-Fatiha, the words of glorification in ruku‘ and sujud, and tashahhud and calls of God’s blessings and peace upon God’s Messenger and his Family.
Following the Imam. Every member of the congregation must follow the imam without delay, and must not to precede him in any action during the prayer.
Putting a Partition in front of Oneself While Praying. Anything that one sets in front of himself or herself while praying qualifies as a partition, even if it is only the bed’s end. The Messenger said: “When one of you prays, he should make a partition for his prayer, even if it is an arrow.” (Ibrahim Canan, Hadis Ansiklopedisi [An Encyclopedia of Hadiths], Ist., 8:179) This is done so that others cannot pass in front of one who is praying. It is forbidden to pass in front of one who is praying (i.e., between the person and his or her partition). If there is no such probability, making a partition is not necessary. The partition should be close enough that there is only room enough to prostrate.
One can make a gesture to stop someone from passing in front of him or her; however, this must not of the kind that will invalidate one’s prayer, like speaking. The prayer is not invalidated if a person or an animal passes in front of the one who is praying.
Joining the Congregation. Whoever joins a congregation must say the opening takbir while standing and then move directly to the act that the congregation is performing. For instance, if the congregation is prostrating one should perform the opening takbir and then prostrate. If one joins the congregation during the ruku‘ following any standing position (qiyam), one is considered to have performed that rak‘at. If it belongs to the first rak‘at, one who joins the congregation during it and completes the prayer after the imam is considered to have performed the whole prayer.
If one joins after the ruku‘, one is considered to have missed the rak‘at or rak‘ats preceding it. If one joins during the second rak‘at, no matter in which prayer it occurs, after the imam gives the first salutation (to his right), one stands up and performs the first missed rak‘at, reciting al-Fatiha and a Qur’anic passage, performs the ruku‘, sujud, and the final sitting, and ends the prayer with salutations.
If one joins after the ruku‘ of the second rak‘at in the dawn prayer, one stands up after the imam gives the first salutation and performs the prayer completely, without, however, saying the opening takbir. If one joins the evening prayer, one follows the imam until he gives the first salutation, and then stands up, recites al-Fatiha and a Qur’anic passage, performs the ruku‘ and sujud, and sits. This is one’s second rak‘at. After reciting the tashahhud, one stands up and recites al-Fatiha and a Qur’anic passage, does the ruku‘ and sujud, performs the final sitting, and ends the prayer with salutations. If one joins the noon, afternoon, or late evening prayers, one follows the imam until he gives the first salutation and then stands up. One completes the prayer by performing the two first rak‘ats missed as if performing a prayer of two rak‘ats.
If one joins the congregation in the fourth rak‘at or after the ruku‘ following the third rak‘at, one follows the imam until he gives the first salutation and then stands up. One performs the first rak‘at missed by reciting al-Fatiha and a Qur’anic passage, doing the ruku‘ and sujud and sits. After reciting the tashahhud, one stands up, recites al-Fatiha and a Qur’anic passage, does the ruku‘ and sujud, and stands up. Then one recites only al-Fatiha, does the ruku‘ and sujud, and sits to recite tashahhud, calls of God’s blessings and peace upon the Messenger and his Family, and end the prayer by giving salutations.
If one joins the congregation after the ruku‘ of the last rak‘at of any prayer, one has missed that prayer and, standing when the imam gives the salutation to the right, offers the prayer completely without, however, saying the opening takbir.
If one is offering the dawn (fajr) or evening (maghrib) prayer alone and people form a congregation behind an imam in the place where one is praying, and if one has not yet prostrated after the second rak‘at, one must join the congregation.
If one is offering a prayer of 4 rak‘ats and is offering the first rak‘at, one also joins the congregation. If one is offering the second rak‘at, one completes the first two rak‘ats, as if performing a prayer of 2 rak‘ats, and joins the congregation. If one is offering the third rak‘at, one joins the congregation. If one is offering the fourth rak‘at, one completes the prayer without joining the congregation.
Earth as a Mosque. A Muslim can pray anywhere, provided that the place does not have enough dirt to invalidate the prayer, has not been usurped, or belongs to one who will not allow prayer therein. This is a special blessing of God Almighty for the Muslim community. Given this, the whole Earth can serve as a mosque.
Three Most Excellent Mosques. One can pray in any mosque. However, three mosques have a particular sacredness and provide those praying within far more merit than praying in others. In order of merit and sacredness, they are the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) in Makka, the Prophet’s Mosque (al-Mascid al-Nabawi) in Madina, and the Masjid al-Aqsa in Quds (Jerusalem).
Making Up Missed Prayers
Prayer is the most important kind of worship. It is the support of religion, and therefore can never be omitted. However, scholars agree that any prescribed prayer that has been missed for whatever reason (e.g., forgetfulness, sleep, having an operation or a serious illness) must be made up. One can perform the missed prescribed prayer at any time, except when praying is prohibited. Missed prayer must be made up without delay.
Missed prayers should be performed in the proper order. For example, if one has missed less than six prayers, he or she should first perform that missed prayer before performing a new prayer whose time it is in. Doing so shows that one is a person of order, and making up missed prayers reinforces this. However, if one has missed more than six prayers, one can make up them in all times when praying is permissible.
One who missed a prayer during journeying, he/she makes it up as 2 rak‘ats except the evening prayer, no matter where he/she prays it.
The time for the Morning Prayer begins with the first light of the dawn and ends with the rising of the sun. However, according to Hanafis, it is recommended to pray after it becomes slightly light; as for Shafiis, it is recommended to perform the Morning Prayer while it is still dark. If the sun rises while praying, according to Hanafis, the prayer will be invalid. You should perform it again after the sun rises (after the rime of karahat ends).
A person who has not performed the Morning Prayer within its time should perform (make qada) both its Sunnah and fard after the sun rises (after the rime of karahat ends) and before the time for the noon prayer starts.
If the morning namaz is performed (made qada) before the time for the noon prayer, it is regarded to have been performed (made qada) within its time.
If the cloth covers all of her body parts except her hands and face then it is permissible for her to pray with pyjamas or morning robe.
Lexically, the adhan (call to prayer) means, “to know and announce something, to declare.” 1 In the following verse in the chapter at-Tawbah, “And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage …” the word adhan is used in this sense. 2 Religiously, it means a divine declaration that announces the times of fard prayers, consisting of some words determined by religious evidence.3
In terms of its meaning and content, the adhan is a call for both oneness, Islam and prayer. That is, through the adhan, on the one hand, people are called to the prayer; on the other hand, the fundamentals that form the basic principles of Islam are announced. The existence and oneness of Allah, the fact that there is no god but Him, that Muhammad is His messenger, that the real salvation is in worshipping Allah, and especially that the most comprehensive kind of worshipping is salah (prayer) are explained through the adhan. In other words, the fundamentals of Islam regarding its creed and applications are summarized in the adhan concisely. From this point of view, the adhan is the foundation of Islam. Acting upon that principle, Mehmet Akif, the Turkish poet, said, “Those adhans, whose declarations are the foundation of the religion, / must be called out on my country eternally.”
If it is taken into consideration that the times of fard prayers are determined based on the position of the Earth compared to the sun and the Earth’s rotation around its own axis, it will be seen and heard that the adhans, which are called five times a day in every country that Muslims live, go on uninterruptedly and that the divine message is heard all over the world at each moment of the day. In his poem, “The adhan of Muhammad” Yahya Kemal states that the world is too small for the adhan and that the sounds of the adhan rising from hundreds of thousands of minarets covers the sky with holy light:
You are a glorious command, o the adhan of Muhammad
The world is not large enough for your sound o the adhan of Muhammad
The sky becomes full of holy light when the soul of Muhammad,
Blossoms from hundreds of thousands of minarets
The death should not have made Sultan Selim I bow down
The fame of Muhammad should have conquered the world
All of the spirits see the Allahu Akbar
When the language of Muhammad is echoed in the heaven
Let this poem be a gift of the beautiful statement of Muhammad
For the grave of my mother in Skopje
This divine sound “on the one hand, hits our ears and calls us to celestiality and on the other hand, it echoes in the depths of the skies and exceeds the gates of the sky as it is stated in the verse, ‘To Him mount up (all) Words of Purity.’ (Fatir, 10) and reaches beyond and beyond it. Through the fascination of those sounds almost everybody assumes a different stance and starts to watch the sky and beyond it meaningfully with a new feeling and perception. Almost every place that those sounds reach becomes a circumambulation place for spiritual beings. A safety and tranquility comes down to the earth together with the spiritual beings; meanwhile, the evil spirits have their tails between their legs and try to find a place to hide. A great noise is heard in the world and in the sky; some run toward it; some run away from it. The bats become disturbed; the pigeons start to accompany it. Hearts become enthusiastic; souls gulp in despair. Probably, the inhabitants of the sky start to envy the inhabitants of the earth.”4 The Messenger of Allah expresses the reaction of the satans when the adhan is called as follows: “When the adhan is pronounced, Satan takes to his heels and passes wind with noise during his flight in order not to hear the adhan. When the adhan is completed, he comes back and again takes to his heels when the iqama is pronounced and after its completion, he returns again till he whispers into the heart of the person (to divert his attention from his prayer) and makes him remember things which he does not recall to his mind before the prayer and that causes him to forget how much he has prayed.”5
As a poet said,
The adhans! Dismiss all satans from our country!
Let the trace of prayerlessness be effaced from our tradition!..
After this general introduction about the adhan, we can explain the origin of the adhan and other issues that we should know about the adhan. How did the adhan start? How should we show respect to the adhan and how should we listen to the adhan? What should be done while the adhan is being called and after it?
Looking for methods of calling to prayer
Before the adhan was adopted as the method of announcing the time of prayers, Muslims gathered in the Mosque of the Prophet and waited for the time of the prayer. Sometimes, when they arrived, the prayer had already been performed. It was necessary to find a solution to it. One day, the Prophet called his Companions and consulted them about what to do in order to call Muslims to the prayer. Some people said, “Let us plant a flag when it is time for the prayer! Those who see it should inform the others.”6 However, the Messenger of Allah did not like the idea. Someone offered to blow a horn or to ring a gong. Our Prophet did not accept any of those offers. The Companions found it appropriate to ring a gong. Hazrat Umar undertook to buy two pieces of wood that was necessary for the gong. However, that method was not applied. Some people suggested lighting a fire on a high place; but the Messenger of Allah did not accept it because he said it was the application of the fireworshippers. It was impossible for the Islamic community to resemble fireworshippers or another community in terms of its internal or external structure. It was impossible for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), who said, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them”7, to accept those suggestions.
The quest went on. Everybody was searching. They could not find what they were looking for but they went on searching.8 They knew that each search was a practical prayer (dua). What they expected had not been notified to the Prophet yet. The offers that they made were imitations of others. An imitation reminds the imitated things. The rituals belonging to the original form of the imitation reminds the meaning and meaningless things. What is more, “It is necessary to oppose the nations that continue to be in the wrong way in terms of religious signs.”9 Therefore, the methods that were offered were not accepted. Besides, it was impossible to obtain something good with imitation. Imitation could not be the way leading to the truth. Therefore, it was necessary to find such a way to call to Muslims to prayer that it should surround the humankind with its beauty, impressiveness and universality. The believer should understand it and be filled with belief; the unbeliever should understand at least something from it. It should attribute the eyes and hearts to Allah. It should free the minds from everything except worshipping Allah. It should prepare the hearts for the prayer. It should address the conscience of people and make them stick to the mosque. People should weep while listening to it. They should gain consciousness while weeping. They should be filled with awe and enthusiasm while praying in the presence of Allah. Otherwise, people could have been called to prayer by any of the methods offered like, gongs, horns, etc.
“Divine wisdom necessitated that the adhan should not be only a means of announcement but also one of the signs of the religion, that it should have a reminding property for heedless people and that it should mean that those who accepted it surrendered to the religion of Allah. Therefore, it was obligatory for the adhan to contain the statements of mentioning Allah, kalima ash-shahadah and calling to prayer. Thus, the adhan had a content that made what was meant by it clear.” 10
Eventually, the quest, verbal and practical prayers were soon accepted by Allah. The adhan was taught to Abdullah b. Zayd through a true dream during the waiting and searching period. 11 Besides, Islamic scholars stated that the 58th verse of the chapter al-Maida indicated that the adhan became definite not only through a dream but also a verse of the Quran.12 The following is stated in that verse: “O ye who believe! Take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport,― whether among those who received the Scripture before you, or among those who reject Faith; but fear ye Allah if ye have Faith (indeed). When ye proclaim your call to prayer they take it (but) as mockery and sport.” That verse is a base for the adhan. It also shows that it is regarded unbelief to mock the adhan.13 Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had seen the same dream as Abdullah b. Zayd. The dreams of the Companions regarding the adhan was a divine grant and grace. It was a holy coincidence. The Messenger of Allah said, “This dream is true, inshaallah”, confirming the grant. This question may come to one’s mind: “What is the wisdom behind the legislation of the adhan like that?” We can answer it as follows: There may be many wisdoms that we may not know, but one of them may be this: Since the adhan also elevates the personality of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), the divine wisdom may have wanted it to be legitimate through the tongue of another Muslim. We cannot question the divine wisdom or His absolute will due to such a decision. Allah knows best how to inform His slaves about the truth. “...Allah carries out all that He wills.” (al-Hajj, 18)
The first adhan in Madinah
While the quest for the adhan continued, the Companions reminded one another when the time for the prayer approached by calling out, “as-salah, as-salah“ (the prayer, the prayer) in the streets. However, it was not a sufficient application. Therefore, it was obvious that there was a need for a permanent sign, statement and effective way of announcement. The suggestions like ringing a gong, blowing a horn, lighting a fire or planting a flag were not approved as we have mentioned above.
Meanwhile, Abdullah b. Zayd, from Ansar, came to the Prophet one morning and told him about a dream he saw: “O Messenger of Allah! Last night, in my dream, a man wearing green clothes of two parts came to me holding a gong in his hand. He took me around. I said to him, ‘O slave of Allah! Will you sell me this gong?’ He said,
— What will you do with it?
— I will call people to prayer.
— Shall I teach you something better than it?
— Yes, please! What is it?.
He taught me the following words.
Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)
Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)
Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah. (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.)
Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah. (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.)
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah. (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.)
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah. (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.)
Hayya ala’s-Salah. (Hasten to the prayer.)
Hayya ala’s-Salah. (Hasten to the prayer.)
Hayya ala’l -Falah. (Hasten to the salvation.)
Hayya ala’l -Falah. (Hasten to the salvation.)
Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)
Lailaha illallah. (There is no god but Allah.)”
After telling me them, he stepped back a little and told me to recite the following before the fard prayer:
”Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)
Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)
Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah. (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.)
Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah. (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.)
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah. (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.)
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah. (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.)
Hayya ala’s-Salah. (Hasten to the prayer.)
Hayya ala’s-Salah. (Hasten to the prayer.)
Hayya ala’l -Falah. (Hasten to the salvation.)
Hayya ala’l -Falah. (Hasten to the salvation.)
Qadqamati’s-Salah. (The prayer has begun.)
Qadqamati’s-Salah. (The prayer has begun.)
Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. (Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.)
Lailaha illallah. (There is no god but Allah.)”
Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Inshallah, it is a true dream. Stand up with Bilal and teach him what you saw. Let Bilal recite the adhan because his voice is more sonorous than yours.” We stood up with Bilal. I started to teach him and he started to recite it. Hearing Bilal’s voice in his house, Hazrat Umar came there at once and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah who sent you with the truth that I saw the same dream last night.” Upon hearing it, the Prophet praised Allah and said, ‘Now, it has become sounder.’”14 Thus, the adhan was legislated as the method of calling to prayer.
Since then, the adhan has been recited with those holy words. The adhan has not been changed after the Messenger of Allah and it will never be changed. Our Prophet was informed about the adhan in the first Hijri century as soon as the construction of the Mosque of the Prophet finished by important people from his Companions like Abdullah b. Zayd and Hazrat Umar based on their true dreams and approved. No one can dare to change the adhan, which reached today without undergoing any change and which is the best and perfect call, after the words of the Prophet, ‘Now, it has become sounder.’
Therefore, Badiuzzaman states that the adhan is a mark of Islam pertaining to worship, that it cannot be replaced by anything, and that no matter what is used instead of it, the same wisdoms and benefits cannot be realized as follows with universal principles concisely:
“Instances of wisdom or benefits cannot change those matters of ‘the marks of Islam’ which pertain to worship; their aspect of pertaining to worship preponderates and they may not be interfered with. They may not be changed, even for a hundred thousand benefits. Similarly, it may not be said that “the benefits of the Shari‘a are restricted to those that are known.” To suppose such a thing is wrong. Those benefits may rather be only one out of many instances of wisdom and purposes. For instance, someone may say: “The wisdom and purpose of the call to prayer is to summon Muslims to prayer; in which case, firing a rifle would be sufficient.” However, the foolish person does not know that it is only one benefit out of the thousands of the call to prayer. Even if the sound of a rifle shot provides that benefit, how, in the name of mankind, or in the name of the people of the town, can it take the place of the call to prayer, the means to proclaiming worship before Divine dominicality and the proclamation of Divine Unity, which is the greatest result of the creation of the universe and the result of mankind’s creation? ?”15 Badiuzzaman states that the words of the adhan cannot be changed as follows: “The words of the Qur’an and of the glorifications of the Prophet are not lifeless garments; they are like the living skin of the body; indeed with the passage of time, they have become the skin. Garments are changed, but it would be harmful to the body if the skin were to be changed. Blessed words like those of the five daily prayers and the call to prayer have become the mark and sign of their usual meanings. And marks and signs cannot be changed” Therefore, “Nothing at all can be established in place of the sacred Divine words which are the protective cases of the essentials of religion, and nothing can take their place, and nothing can perform their duties.”16
Muadhdhin and answering his call
Muadhdhin is the believer, witness and crier of the greatest truths of the universe that have not changed and will not change forever. What a muadhdhin does is great and its meaning is great. The greatness and loftiness of the cause dignifies the importance of its representatives. In our Prophet’s words, the muadhdhins, the translators of the truth, those who declare it to the universe in the best way will be revived as the tallest people on the Day of Judgment. In a sense, they have a height that cannot be reached today and tomorrow; they are lofty and superior people. Those who do not believe in Allah and those who believe in Allah but do not declare their belief and do not represent it through their words and actions cannot even be as tall as their heels.
Therefore, the secret of greatness is in the adhan, in understanding the meaning of it fully, in acting in accordance with the truths of the adhan. If the individual, the family and the community are not aware of the meaning of the adhan, that nation cannot know what greatness is. Their life is lost in the quest of greatness within smallness. They are destroyed by presuming smallness as greatness and ephemeral as eternal.
Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “The muadhdhin will receive forgiveness to the extent to which his voice reaches, and every moist and dry place will testify on his behalf; and he who attends (the congregation of) prayer will have twenty-five prayers recorded for him and will have expiation for sins committed between every two times of prayer.”17 That the muadhdhin will be forgiven to the extent to which his voice reaches shows the vastness and abundance of Allah’s mercy. Or, it gives the glad tiding that all of the people that hear the voice of the muadhdhin and join the prayer will be forgiven. That hadith encourages people to become muadhdhins and to make the truths that the adhan contains heard by as many people as possible. It indicates the reaching of the adhan to every place that the sun rises and sets and the representation of those elevated truths in the adhan fully.
Here, the adhan opens a new door for us, both to the muadhdhin and to the listener, the door of forgiveness for the sins. The door of twenty-five times of thawabs for those who join the congregation for the prayer and worship enthusiastically in the mosque is opened. Is there a better door than the door which the adhan makes it open, and a sounder building than the building that the adhan calls us into?
Everything in the places that the voice of muadhdhin reaches hears the muadhdhin. They answer and follow the takbirs. They understand what the muadhdhin says, recognize it and revive it with tahlils. They witness its truth through their tongues. They appreciate the caller that calls to the only truth and the greatest reality. They accept his virtue. They accept his virtue and recognize and respect the people that accept that call by repeating the adhan that is recited. Those who listen to the adhan in awe and tranquility and repeat it are as lofty as the muadhdhin. Amr b. al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “A man said: O Messenger of Allah ! Muadhdhins excel us. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: Say the same words as they say, and when you come to the end, make a petition and the same thawabs will be granted to you.’ dedi.”18 It is an easy worshipping with many thawabs, a very nice worshipping. It is a vast forgiveness and mercy that can be obtained easily.
Respect to the adhan
The adhan is one of the signs of Islam. It is a symbol. It is the witnessing of the towns, like the Quran, the Kaaba, salah and hajj. It is an order of the Quran to support and respect the symbols of Islam: “…whoever holds in honor the Symbols of Allah, such (honor) should come truly from piety of heart.” (al-Hajj, 32) Therefore, to show respect to the symbols of Allah shows the taqwa in the heart of a person. Besides, one of the lexical meanings of the adhan is to “listen to something that is heard”19, that is to listen carefully. The lexical meaning of the word calls us to show respect to and give importance to the symbols of Allah.
How should we listen to the adhan? How should we show respect to the adhan? We will learn it from our Prophet, the Perfect Guide, from whom we learn everything. There is nobody that will show a deeper respect to the truth than him. He is a perfect guide in this sense, too. Our Prophet says, “When you hear the adhan say what the muadhdhin says.”20 Umm Habiba narrates the application of the Messenger of Allah as follows: “When the Prophet (pbuh) was with me, I heard the muadhdhin recite the adahan. When the muadhdhin kept silent, he would repeat what the muadhdhin recited.
In a hadith reported from Hazrat Unar, Paradise is promised in return for it:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated: When the muadhdhin says, ‘Allahu akbar Allahu akbar’ whoever of you says, ‘Allahu akbar Allahu akbar’ sincerely, and when the muadhdhin says: ‘Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah’, he says, ‘Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah’ ; and when the muadhdhin says: ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah’, he says, ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah’; and when the muadhdhin says: ‘Hayya ala’s-salah’, he says, ‘La hawla wala quwwata illa billah’ (There is no power and no strength except with Allah); and when the muadhdhin says: ‘Hayya ala’l-falah’, he says, ‘La hawla wala quwwata illa billah’; and when the muadhdhin says: ‘Allahu akbar Allahu akbar’, he says, ‘Allahu akbar Allahu akbar’; and when the muadhdhin says: ‘La ilaha illallah’, he says, ‘La ilaha illallah’, he enters Paradise.”22
Our Prophet wanted us to remain at the disposal when we heard that lofty truth, those elevated voices and takbirs. In this sense, the adhan is like the command of “Attention!” As soon as the first word of the adhan, Allah, is heard, everyone should be alert and get ready. Everyone should avoid inappropriate attitudes and acts. The adhan should be listened to in tranquility and awe. The one that is speaking at that moment is Allah and the truth. Everybody should listen to Allah. Everybody should keep quiet, only the adhan should speak and people should speak with the adhan. We should be inside the adhan and the adhan should be inside us. In this sense, the adhan is a warning for us to keep away from useless things, and a lesson of dignity and continuous dhikr.
As soon as our Prophet heard the adhan, he would listen to it with his ears and heart, repeat what he heard and prayed. He would answer the call and fulfilled his duty of slavery. He would not only repeat those words; he would also go to the place where the adhan called. This is what the real respect to the adhan and answering the call is.
When the adhan is recited, when the greatest truth in the universe speaks, everybody should be silent, everything should stop, everything and everybody should be filled with takbirs and shahadahs. All of the praise and thanks belong to Him only. Everybody should be together with that One being. Even those who read the Quran should stop and listen to the adhan. People should not greet each other when the adhan is recited; those who want to perform prayers should not start the prayer. The adhan is greeting and prayer (dua). It is the moment of praying (dua). The believer should join it. The adhan is attention, the moment of attention. Everybody should follow it carefully because the adhan is the time when the prayers are definitely answered. It is an opportunity for being pardoned. If the believer pays attention, follows, keeps silent and begs with the tongue of his heart, he will gain.
He who misses that moment of attention and revival, may miss many things. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states: “The gates of the sky are opened for the following five things: when the Quran is recited, when the enemy is faced, when it rains, when an oppressed person prays Allah and when the adhan is recited.”23
The time when the iqama is recited is also a moment of grace like that. “When the adhan is recited, the gates of the sky are opened and the prayers are answered. When the iqama is recited, no prayer is refused.”24
The value of the time when the iqama is recited for the prayer is expressed as follows in a hadith: “The gates of the sky are opened and prayers are answered in the following four situations: when the enemy is faced in the way of Allah, when it rains, when the iqama is recited for the prayer and when the Kaaba is seen.”25
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) attracts our attention to the value of the time between the adhan and the iqama: “Be alert! The prayer between the adhan and the iqama is not rejected. Therefore pray at those times.”26 In another narration of the same hadiths, the following addition exists: “Thereupon, the Companions asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! What shall we ask from Allah when we pray at those times?” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) answered: “Ask for pardoning and health in the world and in the hereafter.”27 Its wisdom is, “the divine mercy comes down and surrounds everywhere; the person who prays is in a situation to present full surrendering to deserve the divine mercy.”28 Therefore, one must never speak between the adhan and the iqama. Do not greet anyone, then and do not say even “yarhamukallah” to someone who sneezes. Do not even say it silently. In some sources, it is stated that coughing is regarded like talking.29
When the adhan is recited, the muadhdhin is answered with takbirs and kalmia ash-shahadas as it is mentioned in the hadtih above.30 When “Hayya ala’s Salah” and “Hayya ala’l Falah” are recited, “La hawla wala quwwata illa billah” is uttered. That is, there is no power and no strength except with Allah. Otherwise, it would be meaningless and inappropriate to repeat those orders of the muadhdhin because to repeat an order exactly is regarded as mocking. Therefore, we are advised to utter that sentence when the muaddhin recites the orders “Hasten to the prayer and salvation”. Here, we can associate the meaning of that sentence with the order in the adhan as follows: “It is possible to be protected from rebelling Allah only by His help and power.”31 “It is the most superior goodness and greatest fortune to reach our goal with that great worshipping. However, the one who can eliminate the barriers and who can give us strength for worshipping is only our Lord. Therefore, we ask his help for it.”32
The iqama recited before the fard prayer is like that, too. Those who listened to the adhan and went to the mosque should accompany the iqama, too. It is very important to listen to those holy words and to meditate on the deep meaning in terms of getting ready for the fard and concentrating. A. Qadir explains how the adhan and the iqama prepare man for worshipping in his article named “Salah” as follows: “Walking toward the mosque, meditating on the way, the first tension and tuning realized by wudu (ablution) are all regarded as efforts for the concentration. The adhan is like a call for the admission to the private room, an internal voice from the depths of our spirit that prepares us for the concentration and plectrum that goes up and down on our feelings. Although our ears are accustomed to it because it is recited every day, and although our simple logic feels monotony, the adhan always appears like the moon behind the hills between us and the far away places; it roars like thunders and makes our eyes looking down on the ground look at the sky; a brand new divine melody that drizzles like fountains and exuberates like waterfalls starts. As soon as it starts, it pours the most beautiful, impressive and reviving music of the world into our spirits.” Therefore, “the living consciences that always renew themselves and remain fresh in terms of their heart and spiritual lives feel the sweetness and freshness that the adhan was first sent down to the earth from the sky at each adhan time and they listen to the call of the prophets in the sounds that rise from the minarets. They reach the takbir, tahlil and shahadah choir of the angels in their hearts and they virtually hear the reviving breaths of Jibril and the life-giving breaths of Israfil. When the tension and satisfaction outside the salah is completed through the adhan, before entering the real vastness of closeness with fard, with the first supererogatory that is regarded as the part in which the gentle divine mercy winds surround the spirits, and the iqama the concentration that is deepened step by step is checked again. The orientation and dignity belonging to the divine presence is checked again and the journey toward the prayer starts as if going to the Miraj. The voices, words and actions that hit our hearts, alarm our humane aspects and direct us toward our eternal mihrab (altar) are like an operation of tuning in order to find the real tunes of our hearts in the strings of the conscience.”33
Yes, the internal preparation of the believers while entering the presence of Allah is very important. The iqama that is recited is the last preparation. Therefore, when the muadhdhin recites “Qadqamati’s-Salah” that is, “the prayer is starting”, it is advised to say “aqamahallahu wa adamahâ”; that is, “May Allah enable us to perform our prayer in awe and properly and to maintain it like that.”
According to what is reported from Abu Umama or another Companion, “When Hazrat Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said ‘Qadqamati’s-Salah’, while reciting the iqama, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, ‘May Allah enable him to perform his prayer properly and maintain it!”34 It is advised to say “Sadaqta wa bararta” that is, “you told the truth and you said it well” when the muadhdhin says “as-salatu khayrun mina’n-nawm” that is, “the prayer is better than the sleep” in the adhan of the morning prayer.
Prayer (dua) after the adhan
When the adhan is recited, one should repeat what the muadhdhin says. The repetition should not be a dry and mechanical repetition. It should be in the form of a belief renewing operation that originates from the deep belief in the heart and that always feeds on consciousness. As the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) orders: “Renew your belief with kalima at-tawhid: ‘Lailaha illallah’ that is, ‘There is no god but Allah’.”35, man always needs to be renewed. Man suffers from forgetfulness; he always needs remembrance. He needs to hold His lofty name in high esteem. He needs to mention His name in his heart. He needs to make His book a guide for him. He always needs to mention His name. It is our Miraj to feel that hunger.
The repetition of the words in the adhan should be carried out in a spiritual enthusiasm and joy like that. It is the real expression of both respect and love to the adhan and the truth in it. The repetition of the sentences in the adhan paves the way for strengthening our belief and developing the truths related to belief in us. The prayer (dua) that is sunnah to read after the adhan is as follows: “I witness that there is no god but Allah that he has no partners and that Muhammad (pbuh) is His slave and messenger. I am content with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as my Messenger and with Islam as my religion.36 O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and of the established prayer, grant Muhammad the wasilah and superiority, and raise him up to a praiseworthy position which You have promised him.”
”It becomes incumbent upon me to intercede for the person who prays like that after the adhan on the Day of Resurrection.”
Abdullah b. Amr ibnu’l-As reports the following hadith from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about the importance of that prayer: “When you hear the muadhdhin, repeat what he says. Then pray for me because whoever says one salah for me, Allah shows him mercy him ten times. Then, ask from Allah wasilah for me because wasilah is a station in Paradise. Only one servant of Allah deserves it. I expect that I will be that person. It becomes incumbent upon me to intercede for the person who asks wasilah for me.”38
Yes, that luminous statement encourages us to pray when the gates of the sky are opened with mercy. It calls us to wash under the rain of mercy. There is a heavenly table; it invites us to eat at that table. Yes, “The praiseworthy position of the Prophet is like a divine table. The grants, abundance and bounties that are distributed come from that table. The salawat recited for the Prophet (pbuh) is like accepting the invitation to that table. When a person utters salawat and qualifies the Prophet with an attribute, he should think whit what that attribute is connected and should be encouraged to utter salawat again and again.” 39
The minutes that come several times every day and the seconds that we cannot catch are the times that do not belong to us. The moments that we cannot evaluate and the opportunities that we cannot make use of cannot be ours. The times that do not gain us anything regarding the truth are not ours. How can those valuable times at which we do not wash our spirits and hearts and do not wash away the evil belong to us? Can they gain us anything although they are valuable in nature?
FOOTNOTES
1- Firuzabadi, Qamus, II, p. 1545; Ibn Faris el-Maqayis fi’l-Lugha, p. 65
2- The word adhan is mentioned in four forms in the Quran. We have mentioned one above. For the others, see: Yusuf, 70; al-Araf, 70; al-Hajj, 27.
3- Jurjani, Ta’rifat, p. 16
4- See Abdullah Qadir, S. NUR, p. 205-207, İstanbul 2003
5- Bukhari, Adhan 4, Amal fi’s-Salat 18, Sahw 6, Bad’u’I-Khalq 11; Muslim, Salat 19, Masajid 83; Abu Dawud, Salat 31; Muwatta, Nida 6; Nasai, Adhan 30.
6- Abu Dawud, Salah, 27
7- Munawi, Fayzu’l-Qadîr, VI, p. 104
8- For narrations regarding the issue, see, Bukhari, Adhan, 1; Muslim, Salah,1; Tirmidhi, Salat,
139; Ibn Majah, Adhan, 1; Nasai, Bad’u’l-Adhan, 1; Abu Dawud, Salah, 27
9- Shah Waliyyullah Dahlawi, Hujjatullahi’l-Baligha, (İslâm Düşünce Rehberi, Trns.,
M. Erdoğan) I, p. 538.
10- Shah Veliyyullah Dahlawi, I, p. 538
11- It is stated that eight days before Abdullah b. Zayd saw that dream Jibril (pbuh) brought the adhan to the Messenger of Allah and that the adhan was revealed to our Prophet during the Miraj. Those narrations are weak. According to sound narrations, the adhan became legitimate with the dreams of the Companions, Abdullah b. Zayd and Hazrat Umar and the approval of the Messenger of Allah. (See İbrahim Canan, Hadis Ansiklopedisi, VII, p. 495) If revelation is in question here, “the revelation may have taken place at that time. Then, the adhan becomes definite through not only a true dream but also revelation.” (See Wahba Zuhayli, I, p. 534 )
12- See Fakhraddin ar-Razi, (al-Maida, 58)
13- Kur’ân-ı Hakîm ve Açıklamalı Meali, (al-Maida, 58)
14- Abu Dawud, Salat 28; Tirmidhi, Salat 139
15- Said Nursi, Mektûbat, (29.Mektup. 9.Nükte) p. 537-538.
16- For more explanation, see Mektûbat, (26. Mektup, 8. Mesele) p. 508.
17- Abu Dawud, Salat 31; Nasai, Adhan 14; Ibn Majah, Adhan 5.
18- Abu Davut, Salah 36.
19- Firuzabadi, Basair, II, p. 149
20- Bukhari, Adhan 7; Muslim, Salat 10; Tirmidhi, Salat 154; Ibn Majah, Adhan 4.
21- As-Saati, al-Fathu’r-Rabbani li tartibi Musnad-il-Imam Ahmad, III, p. 29, Daru
Ihyai’t-Turath, Beirut
22- Muslim, Salat 12; Abu Dawud, Salat 36.
23- At that moment, the prayer is accepted, however, it is necessary to pay attention to the conditions of the acceptance of prayer. For the issue and similar narrations, see M. Muhammad Khattab as-Subki,
al-Manhalu’l-adhbu’l-mawrud Sharhu Sunan-i Abi Dawud, IV, p. 187, Daru Ihyai’t-Turath, Beirut
24- Kanzu’l-Ummal, II, p. 108; The first part of this hadith is reported in Musnad from Jabir b. Abdullah and the second part from Anas b. Malik separately. See as-Saati, al-Fathu’r-Rabbani, III, p. 12-13
25- Kanzu’l-Ummal, II, p. 110
26- Kanzu’l-Ummal, II, p. 108
27- Kanz’l-Ummal, II, p. 108; This hadith is also reported in Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud Sunan with this part only: “The prayer between the adhan and the iqama is not rejected”. Tirmidhi, Salah, 158; Abu Dawud, Salah, 9; as-Saati, al-Fathu’r-Rabbani, III, p. 12; Tirmidhi regards the hadith as hasan.
28- Shah Veliyyullah Dahlawi, I,p. 540
29- Ibn Abidin, Raddu’l-Mukhtar Ala’d-Du’rri’l-Mukhtar (Trns. Ahmet Davudoğlu ) II, p, 77, Şamil Yay. İstanbul 1982
30- It is mustahab (recommended) to say “salla’llahu alayka Ya Rasulallah” that is, “May Allah forgive you and show you mercy o Messenger of Allah after the first “Ashhadu anna Muhammadan RasuIullah” and “Qarrat ayni bika ya Rasulallah” that is, “I became happy with you, my eyes rejoiced with you o Messenger of Allah” after the second one. If the person who says so puts his thumbs on his eyes and says, “Allahumma matti’ni bi’s-sam’i wa’l-basar” that is, “O Allah! Give me your bounties by making me see and hear”, our Prophet (pbuh) becomes his guide in Paradise. In Kitabu’l-Firdaws, the following is stated: “before the phrase ‘his thumbs’, “if a person who hears the sentence Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah says, ‘Allahumma matti’ni bi’s-sam’i wa’l-basar’, I will be his leader and put him in the ranks of Paradise”. See Ibn Abidin, ibid, 1/398
31- Wahba Zuhayli, al-Fiqhu’l-Islami, I, p. 553; For similar meanings, see Muhammad Khattab as-Subki, IV, p. 202
32- Hüseyin Cisrî Efendi, Risale-i Hamidiyye, p. 107
33- A. Qaidr S. NUR, p. 75-76
34- Abu Dawud, Salat 39
35- Munawi, Fayzu’l-Qadîr, III, p. 345
36- That part of the prayer is stated as follows in the hadith that Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “If a person who hears the muadhdhin says, ‘I witness that there is no god but Allah that he has no partners and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. I am content with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as my Messenger and with Islam as my religion”, his sins are forgiven.” (Muslim, Salat 13; Abu Dawud, Salat 36; Tirmidhi, Salat 156 ; Ibn Majah, Adhan 4; Nasai, Adhan 38)
37- Bukhari, Adhan 8; Abu Dawud, Salat 28; Tirmidhi, Salat 157; Nasai, Adhan 38; Ibn Majah, Adhan 4
38- Muslim, Salat 11; Abu Dawud, Salat 36; Nasai, Adhan 33; Tirmidhi, Salat 154; Ibn Majah, Adhan 4. The first sentence of the hadith is also reported in Bukhari. Bukhari, Adhan 7
39- Said Nursî, Mesnevi, p. 1313
Dr. Selman Kuzu
The fard, wajib and sunnah of the prayers are the same for men and women. There is no change in basic issues like that.
However, in fiqh books, some differences in the degree of mustahab (recommended) are recommended to women; and those differences are pointed out as issues regarding tasattur.
It is known by all of us that both the Quran and Sunnah give a special importance to the tasattur of women. It is the main reason why some actions of women are partially different from men in prayer. It is natural that the Muslim woman who is asked to be covered outside prayer sensitively should pay more attention to it when she is in the presence of Allah.
As it is known, there is no basic difference between the prayer of men and women in terms of the arkan (pillars) of the prayer. Takbir iftitah, qiyam (standing), reciting the Quran, ruku (bending), etc are fard for both men and women. The difference occurs in form in some points. Up to where should one raise his/her hands during takbir iftitah, how to hold hands together and where while standing, the form of ruku and sajdah, how to sit during tashahhud are examples of those differences.
As far as we know, it was not explained by our Prophet in detail what women should differently from men do during prayer. However, there are some signs that our scholars recommend women what to take care of and how to act differently from men. There are some hadiths, applications from sahaba and the following generations and fatwas regarding the issue.
For instance, takbir iftitah: Although there is a narration reported by Wail b Hujr going back to our Prophet (pbuh) that women raise their hands up to their shoulders or chest not up to their ears (Abdurrazzaq, al-Musannaf, III, 138; Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, I, 302.), al-Haysami says he has not been able to find any information about Umm Yahya bt Abdiljabbar, present in the document of the hadith. (Ibn Abi Shayba, ibid) Therefore, that narration is weak but practices and fatwas from Ummu’d-Darda from Sahaba and Ata, az-Zuhri, Hammad… from Tabi’in confirming that narration are reported. (Ibn Abi Shayba, I, 303) We can easily say that narration is confirmed by those practices and fatwas and the application of women regarding takbir iftitah has a reported ground.
For instance, sajdah: There are two narrations reported from our Prophet (pbuh) regarding how women should act during sajdah. Al-Bayhaqi says both of them are weak. (al-Bayhaqi, as-Sunanu’l-Kubra, II, 222-3.)
It is reported that Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said the following:
“When a woman prostrates, her organs should touch the ground and her thighs should touch her body.” ( Abdurrazzaq, al-Musannaf, III, 138; Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, I, 302.)
Ibrahim an-Nahai, Imam Abu Hanifa’a teacher (he is from Tabi’in), made a similar judgment and said,
“When a woman prostrates, she should bring her thighs together and put her abdomen on her thighs." (Ibn Abi Shayba, ibid)
Another report from him is as follows:
“When a woman prostrates, her thighs should touch her abdomen, and she should not raise her hips; she should not keep her arms open as a man does.” (Ibn Abi Shayba, I, 303)
Mujahid from Tabi’in is reported to have regarded it as makrooh (abominable) for a man to put his abdomen on her thighs as a woman does during prostration. (Ibn Abi Shayba, I, 302)
Al-Bayhaqi says the following:
“The difference of women from men during prayer is related to the issue of tasattur. The woman has to act in accordance with tasattur in every act of hers…” (al- Bayhaqi, as-Sunanu’l-Kubra, II, 222)
If it is considered that those differences are based on some narrations, practices of Sahaba and fatwas of scholars, it is better to say that it is mustahab for women to act accordingly.
THE DIFFERENT POSITION OF WOMEN DURING PRAYER
Since worshipping is a relation between the worshipper and the one who is worshipped mostly related to the hereafter, it is the exclusive right of the one who is worshipped to determine its place, time, conditions, compulsory parts and reasons. In other words, the creatures have no right to intervene in that aspect of worshipping. That is, one cannot make ijtihad in that aspect because ijtihad is an act of finding causes and effects through reasoning. However, the quality and the quantity of worshipping cannot be understood by reasoning. However, ijtihad can be done and must be done regarding the issues except conditions and causes, that is, regarding not the worshipping itself but the external details that are realized it in the perfect way or to put it better, the form of application of the determined causes, conditions and compulsory parts, that is, in understanding the decrees regarding it. The meaning of the sentence, "It is permissible to determine worshipping through qiyas (analogy)” (Abul-wafa Ali b. Aqil, Kitabul-jadal, 13.) of the fiqh scholars should mean so. It will be understood that a different application in those details originates from the different way that the sunnah reaches the mujtahids.
In addition, it is natural that there are changes to the extent that the gender difference necessitates. For instance, the woman cannot perform prayers or fasting during her menses. We will try to write again the situations that originate from the roles of the gender.
Let us deal with it chronologically; It is stated in “Tabyin”, one of the Hanafi sources, that the woman acts differently in ten places during the prayer and the following are mentioned:
"During takbir, she raises her hands as far as the shoulders; then she puts (does not hold or clutch) her right hand on her left hand under her breasts (the correct expression should be on her breasts); during prostration she makes her abdomen touch her thighs; she does not separate them. She puts her hands on her thighs so that her finger tips will reach her knees (she does not hold her knees) during ruku and she does not open between her fingers; she does not raise her elbows during prostration; during tahiyyat, she sits on her left hip and (puts her legs on the ground towards her right side); she cannot be an imam for men; it is makrooh for women to pray in congregation among themselves; if they do, the imam should stand in the middle not at the front." (Zayla'i, Tabyin I/l18.)
While mentioning the issues that make a woman different from a man in general, Ibn Nujaym (970/1562) mentions the issue of prayer too and he lists five more differences: ":
"... It is makrooh for a woman to call out adhan and iqama; she does not read aloud during the prayers; she keeps herself closed; if it is necessary to warn or remind the imam she does so by clapping her hands not by saying ‘subhanallah’; she keeps herself closed during ruku and sajdah; it is better for a woman to pray at home." (Ibn Nujaym, al-Asbah, 384.)
While saying that Haskafi mentions fifteen differences, Ibn Abidin (1252/1836) increases them to twenty-five in his marginal notes to its explanation but it is difficult to regard some of them directly connected to prayer. Therefore, the different items are only the following ones: "...she does not take her hands out of her sleeves; she bends down a little during ruku; she bends her knees during ruku..." (Ibn Abidin, I/504.)
In a report from "al-Bahr", he says that she does not keep her toes erect. (ibid) Thus, a woman does not keep her feet erect on her toes; she puts them on the ground or floor with the upper parts touching the ground or she turns her toe tips towards the right on their sides. There is no clear explanation regarding it. However, the usual practice is the first one. We did not see an expression stating that she should bring her feet together instead of leaving a distance of four fingers between them either. However, the expression of Ibn Nujaym "she keeps herself closed in ruku and sajdah and ‘shrinks’ and Ibn Abidin’s expression resembling it may have caused people to understand keeping close and shrinking as bringing the feet together. According to it, a woman brings her feet together during ruku and does not keep her feet erect during sajdah but leans them towards the right side.
In conclusion:
"There is no difference between men and women in prayer in terms of its fards, wajibs, sunahs and adabs. Therefore, the differences mentioned above are the differences that fiqh scholars find nice because they will make women more covered during prayer." (Hindiyya, I/73)
You can perform qada (missed) prayers after 12 at midnight. However, it is not appropriate to perform the prayers, which are supposed to be performed during daytime, as qada prayers, because of working conditions. You should find a better job which gives you the opportunity to perform your prayers. Additionally, prayers which are missed must be performed as qada prayers, regardless of the reasons to miss them.
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Can a Muslim postpone his/her prayers because of working?
What is the correct method of offering Qaza Namaaz? In what way is it beneficial?
Can one perform qada (missed) prayers in abominable (makrooh) periods of time?
It is not obligatory to perform prayers in congregation. However, Islam gives a lot of importance to perform prayers in congregation.
Islam gives a lot of importance to unity, solidarity and amity. Stimulating people to perform their daily prayers for five times a day in congregation; making it obligatory to perform Friday prayer once a weak and prayers of festival (eid) two times a year in congregation has a great deal of vital wisdom since it enables Muslims to meet and ask each other how they are doing and to help each other.
In this verse from the Qur’an : “When you (O Messenger) are among the believers (who are on an expedition and in fear that the unbelievers might harm them) and stand (to lead) the Prayer for them, let a party of them stand in Prayer with you and retain their arms with them (while the other party maintain their positions against the enemy).” (the Qur’an, an-Nisa, 4:102), performing the prayer in congregation even during jihad, in the most dangerous time and place. Stimulating to perform the prayer even while battling in the front is to emphasize the importance of the priority of performing the prayer in congregation at normal times.
To keep performing the prayer in congregation is sunnah muakkada (a strong sunnah that needs to be performed). It is at the same time the strongest sunnah of the Prophet. The Prophet always used to perform his prayers in congregation. Regarding the issue, the Prophet stated : to perform the prayer in congregation is twenty seven times more beneficial than to pray alone. (1). If believers knew the reward of performing the night and morning prayers in congregation, they would rush to the mosques crawling.(1,2).
Those who perform their night prayer in congregation are as if they have prayed for half of the night. And those who perform their morning prayer in congregation are as if they have prayed for all night long.(3).
One day, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who was leading the morning prayer, saw that a person was absent and asked the people why he had not come. They said “that respectable person never sleeps at night and prays all night. He might possibly have fallen asleep and that must be why he did not come. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said “if that person had joined the congregation to pray and had slept all night, it would have been better for him.” (4)
The Prophet said : “ If Muslims knew the greatness of performing the prayer in the first line, they would cast lots to find a place in the first line and if they knew the reward of coming to the mosque early, they would compete each other to come first.(5)”
“Those who wake up and go to mosque to pray in the darkness of the night will be in a total enlightenment.”(6)
“If you see people who always go to mosque to pray, then bear witness for them that they deserve Paradise”(7)
To continue to pray in congregation results in upgrading our levels and forgiveness of our sins. As a matter of fact, the Prophet stated the importance of praying in the community saying : “ One of the good deeds that upgrade our levels and make our sins be forgiven is the steps taken to the mosque to pray.” (8)
“On the Day of Judgment, one of those who will rest in the shade are Muslims who set their hearts on mosques and who pray in congregation.” (9). In the verse above, the following is stated “ perform your prayers properly and give your alms and bow down your heads with those who bow down.”
Muslims’ gathering together for five times a day, their praying in tranquility and in peace and their bowing down and prostration to God Almighty is the best attitude and the most perfect way of worshipping. Muslim’s being together and performing neat lines is a cause for the acceptance of their prayers and the perfection of the spirits. The characteristic of the congregation and the order of the lines is a means of attaining Allah’s content and pleasure. Those who benefit the most from continuing to perform the prayer in congregation are those who come to the mosque from the farthest destination. (10).
Making it obligatory to perform Friday prayers and the prayers of festival in congregation emphasizes the goodness and importance of praying in congregation. Only obligatory (fard) parts of the prayers and prayers of Witr and Tarawih are performed in congregation. Other prayers are not performed in congregation.
It is necessary to continue to pray in congregation and not to quit unless necessary. Unless there are legitimate excuses like old age, illness and unless weather conditions like severe cold, flood, storms, mud and rain prevents one, it is necessary to continue to pray in congregation. A dialog between the Prophet and a person who asked him what he should do to enter Paradise shows us the importance of this matter : The Prophet replied :Lead the prayer. The man said, I cannot manage to do it. Then be a muezzin. I cannot do it. Then continue to pray in congregation. Try to be in the first line. We should try to perform our each prayer in congregation and sustain our unity and solidarity and treat each other respectively and display our unity everywhere. Thus, we could benefit from Allah’s mercy and abundance of praying. We should follow the path of the Prophet and Honored Companions.
1) Riyadu’s Salihin V.2, H.1058
2) ibid V.2, H.1076
3) ibid V.2, H. 1075
4) Letters by Imam Rabbani
5) Riyadu’s Salihin, V.2, H. 1037
6) ibid V.2, H.1061
7) ibid V.2, H.1054
8) ibid V.2, H.1063
9) ibid V.1, H.377
10) ibid V.2, H.1061
We can want or prefer a son or girl baby, but we mustn't be persistent since we do not know what is favourable for us. We should pray for a favourable child and in the end we should consent to the consequence.
Ones who want a girl should recite surah Al-Ihlas (112th chapter of Hooly Quran) with bismillah three times and then recite the pray "Allahumma'c'alni min ladunka dhurriyatan tayyibetan mutiatan" (means: O my Lord! bestow upon me a clean and respectful descendant) before the relation.
At the end of the Salah, you must perform prostration for forgetfulnes (sajdah sahw).
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There is no excuse for quitting performing prayers in our religion. The legal excuses accepted by the religion are unconscious conditions like forgetting and being asleep, and impossibility of praying on time. For example, in Ramadan, one can break his fast when he is at war or travelling –even if he can fast- and he will not be sinner. However if there is a possibility to perform it, even if in an actual battle, he cannot delay his praying. Salah (prayer) reminds people that they are always under the divine control and forbids them from every kind of bad behavior and Salah is easy to perform. A person who cannot make wudu (ablution) can make tayammum (using earth for wudu instead of water); a person who cannot stand or sit down can pray while lying down by moving his head. It means that no Muslim who is sane and has the opportunity can find a legal excuse to delay Salah. Even if you are regarded to pay your debt by performing Salah later, you will be responsible for not praying on time. You must pray Salah in your workplace even if secretly.
The glorification prayer you mean is salat-i tafrijiyyah. The narrations about it are true.
Salat-i Tafrijiyyah – Salat-i Nariyyah
“Allaahumma shalli shalaatan kaamilataw wasallim salaaman taamman 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammadinilladzi tanhallu bihil 'uqadu watanfariju bihil kurabu watuqdhaa bihil hawaa-iju watunaalu bihir raghaa-ibu wahusnul khawaatimi wayustasqal ghamaamu biwajhihil kariimi wa'alaa aalihii washahbihii fii kulli lamhatiw wanafasim bi'adadi kulli ma'luumil lak”
Imam Qurdubi said:
“If one cites Salat-i Tafrijiyyah 4444 times in order for an important matter or a wish of his/hers to come true, or to get rid of an important trouble, and if he/she has the Supreme prophet as a cause for this wish with this prayer (dua), Allah will create good reasons for his/her will to come true and gives his/her wish.”
Translation: “Allah, may peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and his family and companions in every blink of eye, in every breathing and as many as the things known to You. Upon Mohammad because of whom the knots are untied, because of whom troubles disappear, the needs are met, wills are reached and for his sake people pray for rain."
Rising hands to the ears while callind athan is Sunnah and a recommended act. However, it is permissible to leave hands down as well. There is no drawback.
Prayer is a kind of worship that Muslims do, including some special moves. The Arabic word for it is Salah and its plural is Salawat.
Salah is a kind of worship including certain moves and words, and starting with a Takbir and ending with a Salam. It is an expression of gratitude, praise, and glorification to Allah. In the Qur'an, Salah is mentioned in more than ninety verses. In the previous sharia, there were not five daily prescribed prayers. However, there was general Salah whose time was unclear. Salah became fard (obligatory) on the day of Mir’aj a half and year ago before Hegira. Anas bin Malik reported that event as follows briefly:
"Allah enjoined fifty prayers on my followers on the night of Isra. Then, it was reduced to five prayers. Then, the Prophet was addressed as follows: O Muhammad! These are five prayers for you and they are all (equal to) fifty (in reward) for My Word does not change." (Bukhari, Sala, 76. Anbiya, 5; Muslim, Faith, 263; Ahmad bin Hanbal, V, 122, 143). That Verse tells us that it will be given tenfold reward for a good deed we do: "He who brings a good deed shall have tenfold of its like," al-Anam 6/160; see. an-Naml, 27/89; al-Qasas, 28/84).
Before the five daily prayers became fard, the worship of the Prophet was to think on Allah's Glory and what He created. It is also said that the Prophet performed two daily Salahs, one in the morning and one in the evening, each of which contained two rakats. The previous ummahs also performed Salah. We can give examples of it; for instance Luqman ordered his son to perform Salah (Luqman, 31/17); Abraham mentioned Salah while praying for the security of Hejaz (Abraham, 14/37), that Allah wanted Moses to perform Salah (Taha, 20/14) during the first revelation in the mount of Tur.
That Salah must be performed is based on the Qur'an, Sunnah, and Ijma (consensus).
The following is stated in many places in the Qur'an "Perform Salah and give zakah". "Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers Especially the middle prayer" al-Baqarah, 2/238). "Then, when you are secure, establish the prayer; surely, prayer is timely written upon the believer." (an-Nisa, 4/103).
"Yet they were ordered to worship Allah alone, making the Religion His sincerely, upright, and to establish their prayers and to pay the obligatory charity. That is indeed the Religion of Straightness." (Al-Bayyina, 98/5). "Establish the prayer and pay the obligatory charity and hold fast to Allah. He is your Guardian, the Excellent Guardian, and the Excellent Helper" (al-Hajj, 22/78).
Evidence from the Sunnah: there are many Hadiths reported about that issue. These are some of those Hadiths: Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Messenger said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is
Allah's Messenger, to offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly, to pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity), to perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Makkah), to observe fast during the month of Ramadan. (Bukhari, Faith,1; Muslim, Faith, 19-22).
When Allah's Messenger (p.b.u.h) sent Muadh to Yemen, he said (to him), "YOU are going to the people of a (Divine) Book. First of all, invite them to worship Allah (alone) and when they come to know Allah, inform them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers every day and night; and if they start offering these prayers, inform them that Allah has enjoined on them, the Zakat. And it is to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them; and if they obey you in that, take Zakat from them and avoid (don't take) the best property of the people as Zakat.
Avoid the curse of the oppressed, because it reaches Allah directly." (Bukhari, Zakat, 41, 63, Maghazi, 60, Tawhid, 1; Nasai, Zakat, 1; Darimi, Zakat, 1).
On the other hand, the people of Islam have consensus that the five daily prayers became fard on a night and day.
Salah is fard for every Muslim who reaches the age of puberty and who is sane. However, children who are seven years old are also ordered to perform Salah. When they reach the age of ten, if they do not perform Salah, they can be beaten softly by hand. The Prophet said : "Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately." (Abu Dawud, Salah, 26; Ahmad bin Hanbal, II, 180, 187).
The number of prayers which are fard on a day and night is five. Only Witr and the festival (Eid) prayers are Wajib. This Hadith reported about a Bedouin is the evidence of the five daily and fard prayers : "the number of prayers which are fard on a day and night is five." The Bedouin asked; "Do I have more debt than that?"; the Messenger of Allah said : "No, but you can perform Nafilah (supererogatory) prayers".
Upon that, the Bedouin said : "By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I would neither make any addition to them nor would I diminish anything out of them". And the Prophet said : "If he does what he says, he will enter Paradise" (Bukhari, Belief, 34, Shahadah, 26; Muslim, Belief, 8, 10, 15, 17, 18; Abu Dawud, Salah, 1).
Judgment of abandoning Salah:
There is consensus about the issue that Salah is fard for every Muslim who reaches the age of puberty and is clean from menstruation and puerperum. In bodily worships such as Salah and Sawm (fasting), regency and deputation are not valid. Those who claim that Salah is not fard are regarded to have rejected the Religion, because Salah is definite with the evidence from the Qur'an, Hadith, and Consensus (Ijma). Those who quit performing Salah because of laziness or indifference are regarded to rebels and sinners.
Those who do not perform Salah will be punished both in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah says about the punishment in the Hereafter: In Gardens they will question concerning the sinners, 'what caused you to be thrust into the Scorching (Fire)?' They will reply: 'We were not among those who prayed." (al- Muddaththir, 74/40-43). “But the generation that succeeded them wasted their prayers and followed their desires, so they shall encounter error except he who repents and believes and does good works; those shall be admitted to Paradise and shall not be wronged in any way." (Maryam, 19/59, 60). " Woe to those who pray, who are heedless of their prayers (delaying them from their prescribed times)" al-Maun, 107/4-5). The Prophet (pbuh) said : " Those who quit praying intentionally will not be under the protection of Allah and His Prophet" (Ahmad bin Hanbal, IV, 238, VI, 461). " The good deeds of a person who abandons the Afternoon Prayer will be wasted." (Bukhari, Mawaqit, 13, 34; Nasai, Salah, 15). Whoever left three Friday prayers (Jumuah), Allah will seal the heart of a person who quits three Friday prayers heedlessly" (Nasai, Jumuah, 2; Tirmizi, Jumuah7; Ibn Majah, Iqama, 93).
According to the sect Hanafi, those who left praying because of laziness are not supposed to have rejected the Religion unless they deny Salah, but they will be sinners. They are warned to repent; they are isolated from the society so that they will not serve as bad examples, and they can be beaten to discipline.
Those who abandon fasting in Ramadan is the same (Ibn Abidin, Raddul Mukhtar, Egypt, n.d., I, 326; ash-Shurunbulali, Maraqil-Falah, Egypt 1315, p. 60; az-Zuhayli, al-Fıqhul Islami wa Adillatuh, Damascus 1985, I, 503).
According to the Imams except Hanafi imams, those who abandon Salah without an excuse are regarded to have denied the Religion and have disobeyed Islam; if they do not repent, they are severely punished (Ibn Rushd, Bidayatul Mujtahid, Egypt, t.y., I 87; ash-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab, al-Nalabi tab'i, I, 51; Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, 3. edition, Cairo n.d., II,442-447; az-Zuhayli, ibid., I. 503, 504; cf at-Tawba, 9/5; Bukhari, Diyat, 6; Muslim, Qasama, 25, 26).
One who misses Salah by forgetting to perform it in or by not waking up or because of laziness must perform it when he is able to do it (Qada). In a Hadith, the following is said ; Anyone who oversleeps or forgets (prayer) should perform it when he remembers." (Abu Dawud, Salah, 11; Ibn Majah, Salah, 10; Nasai, Mawaqit, 53). According to the most of Faqihs (law experts) since it is mandatory for one who misses Salah due to an excuse such as forgetting or sleeping must perform it later, one who does not perform Salah without an excuse just because of laziness must perform it first.
Moreover he or she must repent for not performing Salah in time. Allah can forgive sins except Polytheism (Shirk). There are certain narrations about the scope of that forgiveness that can include Salah:
In the Qur'an, the following is stated : "Allah does not forgive (the sin of inventing an) association with Him, but He forgives other (sins) to whomsoever He will." (an-Nisa, 4/48).
Ubadah bin as-Samit reported that the Messenger of Allah said : "Allah, the Exalted, has made five prayers obligatory. If anyone performs ablution for them well, offers them at their (right) time, and observes perfectly their bowing and submissiveness in them, it is the guarantee of Allah that He will pardon him; if anyone does not do so, there is no guarantee for him on the part of Allah; He may pardon him if He wills, and punish him if He wills." (Abu Dawud, Witr, 2; Nasai, Salah, 6; Darimi, Salah, 208; Malik Muwatta, Salat-ul Layl, 14). In a Hadith reported by Abu Hurayra, the Prophet (pbuh) said: "The first thing about which the people will be called to account for their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels - though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect.
If it is defective, He will say: See if there are some optional prayers offered by my servant. If there are optional prayers to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly." (Tirmidhi, Salah, 188; Abu Dawud, Salah, 145; Nasai, Salah, 9, Tahrim, 2; Ibn Majah, Iqama, 202).
Accordingly,, fard prayers will be completed by Sunnah and Nafilah prayers. A Muslim must have an aim to perform all kinds of prayers regardless of whether they are Fard, Sunnah, or Wajib, because it is both the source of worldly peace and spiritual happiness and the biggest preparation for the Hereafter.
The time for the prayers: performing some prayers in time is mandatory. They are fard prayers, their Sunnah, Witr, Tarawih and Eid prayers. Fard prayers : they include Dawn, Midday, Afternoon, Sunset, and Night prayers. Jumuah prayer replaces Midday Salah. Every Muslim must know the time of Salaths. He or she is responsible for it. Those times have been determined according to the Qur'an and Sunnah:
1) The time for Dawn Salah :
Time from the second fajr (dawn) appearance to sunrise is the time for Dawn (morning) Salah.
The second fajr is the brightness starting to spread in the east horizon toward morning; with that, the time for the morning prayer starts, the time for the night prayer ends; and for those who will fast, the time will have begun. For that reason, it is called "Fajr sadiq" (True dawn). The opposite of it is the first fajr (dawn). It is brightness spreading from the middle of the east horizon upwards and sideways, in the form of two lengthwise lines dark in both sides. That brightness disappears after a while and is followed by darkness. After that, the second fajr will appear. That first fajr is called "fajr kadhib" (fake dawn) because it causes fake brightness and does not show whether it is really morning or not. That dawn is the same as night. It is still the time for the night prayer and it is not the time for the Morning Prayer. It is lawful to eat awhile more for those who will perform fasting.
The Prophet said: There are two dawns: the first is the one which makes eating Haram for those who fast and allows performing the morning prayer. The second is the fajr kadhib (fake dawn) which makes it unlawful to perform the Morning Prayer and allows eating for those who fast." (as-Sanani Subulus Salam, 2. edition, n.d., I, 115). "the time for the morning prayer is from the second dawn appearance to sunrise" (Bukhari, Mawaqit (times of the prayers), 27; Abu Dawud Salah, 2; Nasai, Mawaqit, 15; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, II, 210, 213, 223).
2) The time for the noon prayer: the time for the noon prayer begins with the sun's going toward the west from the highest point that it arises from and continues until the shadow of everything becomes equal to that thing. The shadow of the things when the sun is at the highest point (fay az-zawal) is excluded. That time of the noon is called "asr al-awwal". That opinion belongs to Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, Imam Shafi, Malik, and Ahmad bin Hanbal. According to Abu Hanifa, the time of the noon prayer continues until the shadow of the things will be will be twofold excluding "fay az zawal" (the shadow of the zenith). With that, the time for the noon prayer ends and the time for the afternoon prayer begins. It is called "asr ath-thaani".
Muslims who go to Makkah for pilgrimage from all around the world pay attention to performing their prayers in Haram ash-Sharif.
In calculating the folds of the shadow of the things the shadows of those things are added to the shadows that lengthen. The evidence of Imams (Mujtahids) is this Hadith: "When Hazrat Jibril (Gabriel) taught the Prophet the times for prayers, on the following day, he (Gabriel) prayed the noon prayer when the shadow of everything was as long as those things " ( Abu Dawud, Salah, 2; Tirmidhi, Mawaqit (Times for the prayers), 1; Nasai, Mawaqit, 6, 10, 15; Ibn Hanbal, I, 383, III, 330; Malik, Muwatta, Salah, 9).
Abu Hanifa's evidence is this Hadith: "If it is very hot, then pray the Zuhr (noon) prayer when it becomes (a bit) cooler, as the severity of the heat is from the raging of Hell-fire." (Bukhari, Mawaqit, 9, 10, Adhan, 18). The time when the heat is severe in Arabia is the time in which the shadow of everything is as long as itself. So, it is regarded Mustahab (recommended) to postpone the noon prayer to a cool time in summer. al-Mawsili, al-Ikhtiyar, I, 38, 39; Zuhayli, ibid, I, 508).The time for the Jumuah (Friday) prayer is like the noon prayer.
3) The time for the Afternoon Prayer: The time for the afternoon prayer begins when the time of the noon prayer ends and it ends with the sunset. The afternoon prayer time begins, according to most of Mujtahids, when the shadow of the things are as long as themselves and according to Abu Hanifa, when they are twice as long and continues till the sunset on consensus because the Prophet said : "one who performs just a rakat of the afternoon prayer before the sunset, he is regarded to have performed it in time." (Malik, Muwatta, Wuqut (times), 5; Abu Dawud Salah, 5; Ibn Majah, Salah, 2; Ibn Hanbal, II 236, 254).
According to the most of Mujtahids, it is Makrooh to postpone the afternoon prayer as late as the time when sun becomes yellow because the Messenger of Allah said: "The prayer performed in that time is the prayer of the munafiqs (hypocrites). They wait for the sunset. When the sun inclines to set, they perform the afternoon prayer quickly and they praise Allah very little." (Malik, Muwatta, the Qur'an, 46).
According to the most of Islam scholars, the middle prayer mentioned in the Qur'an is the afternoon prayer. The evidence is this Hadith reported by Aisha: "The Messenger of Allah read the verse
"And preserve the prayers and the middle prayer" (al-Baqarah 2/238) and said "the middle prayer is the afternoon prayer." (Abu Dawud, Salah, 5; Ibn Hanbal, V, 8; Ibn Kathir, Mukhtasaru Tafsir Ibn Kathir. thq. M. Ali as-Sabuni, Beirut 1981, I, 218). The reason why it is called the middle prayer is because it is between two night and two daytime prayers.
4) The time for the sunset prayer: the time for the sunset prayer begins with setting of the roundness of the sun completely and ends with the disappearance of the dawn. According to Abu Hanifa, the dawn is the brightness appearing in the evening after the redness in the west horizon. According to the other three sects and another narration from Abu Hanifa except Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad, and the sect Hanafi, the dawn consist of redness on the horizon. When that redness has disappeared, the time of the sunset prayer will have passed. The evidence is the word "the dawn is redness on the horizon" of Ibn Umar. (as-Sanani, Subulus Salam, I , 106). In the sect Hanafi, the accepted view is that of Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad.
5) The time for the night prayer: the time for the night prayer begins with the time when red sunset glow disappears and continues till the second dawn appears. When the second dawn appears, the time of the night prayer will have passed. The evidence is this Hadith reported by Ibn Umar: "the dawn is redness. When the dawn disappears, performing the prayer is fard." (as-Sanani, ibid, I, 114). Another Hadith reported by Abu Qatadah: "You will not be responsible for the prayers you missed when you are in sleep. But you are responsible for performing the prayers in time." (Muslim, Masajid, 311).
It is mustahab to postpone the night prayer until the one third of the night. It is Mubah to postpone it until the half of the night; but, without an excuse, it is makrooh to postpone it till the second fajr (dawn) because there is the possibility of missing the prayer at that point. The time for Witr is after the time for the night prayer. The last time for Witr is a little time before the second fajr appears.
It is better to postpone Witr prayer till the end of the night. However, for a person who is not sure whether he will be able to wake up, it is better to perform it before sleeping.
The time for Tarawih prayer is after the night prayer by the accepted opinion and it continues till the time of the Morning Prayer. Tarawih can be performed after or before Witr prayer. However, it is not valid to perform tarawih prayer before performing the night prayer. The time for Eid Salah begins after the time of Karahah passes and the sun arises, and it continues till the sun will be at the highest point in the sky. Ramadan festival prayer can be performed on the second day of Ramadan festival till the sun is at the highest point in the sky, if it has been missed on the first day of Ramadan festival. However, it cannot be performed on the third day. Eid al adha (the feast of sacrifice) prayer can be performed on the second day, if it has not been performed on the first day because of an excuse. If you have an excuse of not performing it on the second day of Eid al adha, then you can do it on the third day of the Eid al adha before the sun is at the highest point in the sky. It is a bad deed to postpone those prayers to the second and third days of Eid al adha without an excuse. Those Eid prayers cannot be performed after the sun is at the highest point in the sky or after the time of zawal. Their Qada are not lawful. (for times of the prayers, see. Ibnul Humam, Fathul Qadir, I, 151-160; Ibn Abidin, Raddul Mukhtar, I, 321- 342; al-Maydani, al-Lubab, I, 59-62; ash-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab, I, 51-54; Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, I, 370-395; az-Zuhayli, ibid, I, 506 ff.).
6) Times for the prayers in the Poles:
There are two different opinions regarding the issue. a. The time is both the reason and condition of Salah.
So, if times for the prayers do not occur in a place, the prayers which must be done at those times are not fard for people living in that place.
For example, in some places in a season of the year, before the time of the sunset prayer passes, the time for the Morning Prayer starts with the second fajr (dawn) arising. The night prayer is regarded to have been annulled in those places. Someone who lost one or two of his organs that are mandatory to be washed in the ablution does not have to wash those organs any more, by making analogy, it has been decreed that that prayer or those prayers are not performed there in those places.
b. According to some Islamic researcher-scholars, Muslims in such places are responsible for performing the five daily prayers. If any of the times of those prayers do not occur, they must perform that prayer as Qada or they must try to perform the prayers in accordance with the nearest place in which times of the prayers occur fully. Although the time is a condition and reason of the prayer, the main reason of the prayer is that it is Allah's command. So, all Muslims must perform the five daily prayers.
The view of Imam Shafi is the same and it seems much more appropriate and cautious.
In the polar regions and nearby places where the sun does not rise and set for a long time, it is necessary to act in compliance with the rules in the above-mentioned places It is better for Muslims to act similarly in terms of Zakat and sawm (fasting) in those kinds of regions. (for performing two prayers within the same time period, see "Jam at-taqdim and Jam at-Takhir").
The kinds of the prayers: Salahs are classified into four categories.
1. Fard Salahs: the five daily prayers and Jumuah prayer. Every Muslim must perform them without exception.
2. Fard kifayah Salahs: such as the funeral prayer (Salat al Janazah). It is a command which must be carried out by a congregation. When some people do that duty, the others will not be responsible for it. If nobody does it, all are regarded sinners. Jihad for Allah, commanding the good, forbidding the evil, and selecting a caliph among Muslims are those kinds of fard. (Shafi ar-Risala, Cairo 1960, p. 54, 55, 363; Abu Zahra, Usul al--Fiqh, Translation. Abdulkadir Şener, Ankara 1986i p. 37-39).
3. Wajib prayers: such as Witr and Eid prayers. The command that is definite but whose evidence is based on speculative evidence is regarded as wajib. It is a principle accepted by the sect Hanafi. In the other sects, fard and wajib are used as synonyms. According to them, if something is not fard, it is Sunnah. You will have thawab if you commit a Wajib deed, if you do not, then you will be punished. However, one who rejects wajib is not regarded to have abandoned Islam.
4. Nafilah prayers: the prayers other than fard and wajib are called nafilah. They are also called "tatawwu" since they are performed without an obligation and for the purpose of gaining Allah's consent. Sunnah prayers are among the nafilah prayers. Every Sunnah Salah is nafilah, but not every nafilah is Sunnah. The nafilah prayers performed by our Prophet are Sunnah.
Rakats of the prayers:
We can list the rakats of the prayers as follows: The Morning Prayer has two rakats of Sunnah and two rakats of fard. The noon prayer has four rakats of the first Sunnah, four rakats of fard, and two rakats of the last Sunnah. The afternoon prayer has four rakats of Sunnah and four rakats of fard. The sunset prayer has three rakats of fard and two rakats of Sunnah.
The night prayer has four rakats of the first Sunnah, four rakats of fard, and two rakats of the last Sunnah. Witr prayer is three rakats. Eid prayer consists of two rakats. Tarawih prayer is twenty rakats. The other nafilah prayers are at least two rakats.
The conditions of Salath:
Some rules (Rukuns) and conditions (Sharts) are mandatory for a valid prayer. Shart means symptom in the dictionary. Shart as a term is something whose existence is depended on itself, but a different thing from its real existence and content. Rukun (rule) means the strongest side in the dictionary. As a term, Rukun is something whose existence is dependent on itself and the rules which include the main elements and parts of that thing. In Sharia, Shart and Rukun are considered as fard. Both are fard, too. So, some scholars entitled it as "fards of Salah". In addition, there are conditions for the Salah to be fard. They are: to be Muslim, to reach puberty, and to be of a sound mind. (Shurunbulali, Maraqul Falah, p. 28; ash-Shirazi, al-Muhadhdhab, 1, 53; Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, I, 396-401; az-Zuhayli, al-Fiqhul Islam and Adillatuh, Damascus 1405/1985, I, 563 ff)
Requirements of Salah are twelve. Six of those are conditions which must be done before Salah:
1) Spiritual cleanliness 2) physical cleanliness, 3) Covering the parts that are necessary to cover 4) facing Qibla 5) time and 6) niyyah (intention). They are called the conditions of Salah.
The other six are fards (obligatory acts) which must be done after starting to perform the prayer: 1) Takbir al-Iftitah (starting takbir) 2) Qiyam (Standing) 3) Qiraah (Reciting the Quran) 4) Ruku (bowing) 5)Sajdah (prostration) 6 ) sitting for some time during the last sitting, as much as reciting at-tahiyyat. Theyare called rukuns of Salah. Apart from those, there are also other rukuns such as Tadili Arkan and quitting prayer of one’s own accord.
Here, first, we will pay attention to the conditions of Salah:
1) Spiritual Cleanliness (Hadath): Hadath means that someone needs ablution (wudu) or full ablution (ghusl), and is in menstruation period or puerperum. Not having ablution is the small hadath and the others are the big ones. In order to remove big and small hadath it is necessary to make ablution or full ablution, and tayammum. Allah stated the following in the Quran: “Believers, when you rise to pray wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbow, and wipe your heads and (wash) your feet to the ankle. If you are in a state of impurity, cleanse yourselves." (al-Maida -the table- 5/6)
Our Prophet stated the following: "The prayer of a person who needs ablution is not accepted till he makes ablution." (Bukhari, Wudu 2; Muslim, Tahara, 2; Ahmed b. Hanbal, II, 308). “Allah will not accept any prayer performed without having been cleaned” (Bukhari, Wudu 2; Muslim, Tahara, 1; Tirmidhi, Tahara, 1; Darimi, Wudu, 21; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, II, 39).
It is mandatory to remove Hadath for fard, Wajib, sunnah or nafilah prayers and tilavah or thank-giving sajdah. It is not valid to perform a prayer without ablution.
When you perform the prayer, if your ablution becomes invalid, Salah becomes invalid, too. The Prophet said : "If one of you lets out gas while performing Salah, he must make ablution and perform that Salah again." ( Abu Dawud, Tahara, 81, Salah, 187; Tirmidhi, Rada, 12).
Removing hadath is one of conditions necessary, like the other conditions of Salah, for Salath to be valid. (See. al-Kasani, Badayius Sanayi, I, 114 ff. ; Ibn ul Humam, Fathul Qadir, I 179 ff.).
2) Removing najasah : it is mandatory to remove najasah (impurity) on the body, clothes, or the place in which Salah will be performed. That is the precondition for the Salah to be accepted or valid. If it is on the person’s body or clothes when he or she is praying or on the ground or mat where he or she is praying, its amount is taken into consideration. Any solid filth weighing more than 4 grams (1 mithqal), and any liquid filth more than the amount that spreads over a person’s palm invalidates the prayer. The urine of horses and domestic or wild animals whose meat are allowed to eat is regarded as weak impurity; if their filth that spreads on the body or the clothes is less than one fourth of it, the prayer is not invalidated. When more than one-fourth of a limb or one-fourth of one’s clothes is smeared with it, the prayer is invalidated.
Allah said: "Keep your clothes clean" (al-Muddaththir, 74/4). Ibn Shirin said that that cleaning was about removing the impurity on the clothes with water. The Prophet said when Fatima bint Abi Hubaish asked what the condition of bleeding different from menstruation was: "O Allah's Messenger I do not become clean (from bleeding). Shall I give up my prayers?" Allah's Messenger replied, "No, because it is from a blood vessel and not the menses. So when your real menses begins give up your prayers and when it has finished wash off the blood (take a bath) and offer your prayers." (Bukhari, Wudu, 63; Hayz, 24; Muslim, Hayz, 62, 63;
Abu Dawud, Tahara, 107). The Prophet saw a Bedouin making water in the mosque and he said:
"Pour a bucket of water over the place that that Bedouin urinated." (Bukhari, Wudu, 58, Adab, 35, 80; Muslim, Tahara, 98-100). The verse above-mentioned shows that cleaning clothes is fard, the first Hadith indicates the body, and the second Hadith the place in which the Salah will be performed.
3) Covering private parts (Awrah):
Awrah means deficiency, mistake, the weak position feared of being captured by the enemies, a place which must be covered, and woman lexically. As a Sharia term, it means organs (Private parts) which are forbidden to look at and which are fard to be covered. According to the sect Hanafi, covering one's private parts before people is fard by consensus (Ijma). According to the accepted opinion, it is also fard to cover those parts even if one is alone. Even if one is in a dark house and if he performs the prayer naked although he has clean clothes, that Salah will not be valid. (Ibn Abidin, ibid, I, 375).
It is fard to cover one's private parts regardless of whether one performs Salah or not except such needs like bathing, going out for toilet, and cleaning. Its evidence is the Qur'an and Sunnah. Allah said: "O children of Adam, take your adornment at every place of prayer." (al-Araf, 7/31). According to Ibn Abbas, what is meant by it here is clean clothes worn in the Salah.
Hazrat Prophet said:
"Allah does not accept the Salah of a woman who reaches puberty without covering her head." (Ibn Majah, Tahara, 132; Tirmidhi, Salah, 160; Ahmad bin Hanbal, VI, 151, 218, 259). "O Asma! when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it is not legitimate and permissible for her to display her parts of body except this and this, and he pointed to her face and hands. " (Abu Dawud, Libas, 31).
A man's private parts are the parts between his navel and knees.
According to the accepted opinion, the kneecap is regarded to be included among the private parts. The evidence is this Hadith: "A man's private parts is the part between his navel and kneecaps", "It is the part from below his abdomen to below his kneecaps." (Ahmad bin Hanbal, II, 187). Another evidence is a Hadith, which is weak, reported by Daraqutni, "the kneecap is among the private parts". (Zaylai, Nasbur-Raya, I, 297).
All of the body of free women including their hair hanging down is Awrah except their hands and faces. Their hands and faces are not awrah (private parts) in Salah or out of Salah as long as there is no anxiety of mischief. As for her feet, there are different opinions. By the accepted or sound opinion, her feet are not awrah because she has to use them when she walks.
To cover them is difficult especially for the poor. According to another opinion, a woman's Salah will be invalid if one fourth of her foot is uncovered;, another opinion says that it is not awrah while praying but awrah outside Salah. It is regarded more suitable for her to cover her feet to eliminate the risk. According to the sound opinion, free women' arms, ears, and hairs hanging down are also awrah.
Allah said: "women do not reveal their adornment except that which is outward (face and hands)." (an-Nur, 24/31). What is meant here is the parts over which the adornment is worn. A woman's organs which are seen willy-nilly are her hands and face. Hazrat Prophet (pbuh) said: "woman is awrah.
When she goes outside, the devil tries to seduce her." (Tirmizi, Rada, 18). On the other hand, Allah's Messenger said to Asma that she must cover the parts of her body except hands, face, and palms. (Abu Dawud, Libas, 31). The Hadith reported from Hazrat Aisha "Allah does not accept the Salah of a woman who reaches the age of puberty , without covering her head " shows that the hair must also be covered.
If all or one part of an organ except the front and back private part is uncovered during prayer and if it remains uncovered for two rukuns unintentionally, the Salah is invalid because a quarter of something is regarded as the whole of it.
Transparent clothes that show the color of the skin are not regarded to cover those parts of the body. Therefore, one cannot perform Salah with such clothes because it does not provide covering. If the cloth exposes the body but if it is thick, the Salah will be valid because it is not possible to avoid it although that kind of covering is not considered good. (See. Ibn Abidin, ibd I, 375 ff. ; Zaylai, Tabyinul-Haqaiq, I , 95 ff.; Ibn Kudama, Al-Mughni, I, 599; Ibn Rushd Bidayatul Mujtahid I, 111; Bilmen, B. İslam İlmihali, 109).
4) Facing the Qibla: it is mandatory to perform the Salah by facing the Qibla. The Qibla of Muslims was Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem during the Makkan Period and in the first days of Madinah Period. With this Verse (Ayah) that was revealed in Madinah Period, the Qibla was changed to the Kaaba: "turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque (built by Abraham); wherever you are, turn your faces to it." (al-Baqarah 2/144).
The Kaaba is not just the building known in Makkah but it shows the place of that building. Whereas the above part of this Holy Place which go higher to the sky and the lower part of it which goes to the deepness of the ground is also the direction of the Qibla. So, those who are in the Kaaba can perform their prayers by turning to whatever side they want to turn. In congregation, Muslims perform their prayers along with the Imam by making a circle round Kaaba on the condition that they do not stand in front of the Imam.
The Prophet is narrated to have performed prayer in the Kaaba for once on the day when Makkah was conquered. "Ibn 'Umar said, "I went there but the Prophet had come out of the Kaaba and I found Bilal standing between its two doors. I asked Bilal, 'Did the Prophet pray in the Kaaba?' Bilal replied, 'Yes, he prayed two Rakats between the two pillars which are to your left on entering the Kaaba. Then Allah's Messenger came out and offered a two-Rakat prayer facing the Kaaba.' " (Bukhari, Salah, 30; Nasai, Manasik, 127; Darimi, Manasik, 43; Ahmad bin Hanbal, II, 75, 410, VI, 12, 13, 14).
It is not fard to turn to the Kaaba exactly for those who are far way from the Kaaba. It is fard and enough for them to turn to the direction of the Kaaba. (See Ibn Abidin, ibid, I, 397 ff; al-Maydani, al-Lubab , 67; Ash-Şurunbulali, ibid, p. 34; Zaylai Tabyinul-Haqaiq, I,100 ff.; Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, I, 431 ff.). Our Prophet (pbuh) said: “The middle of the east and the west is the Qibla" (Tirmizi, Salah; 139; Nasai, Siyam, 43; Ibn Majah, Iqama, 56). If it was fard to face the Kaaba exactly, the prayer of some of the people standing on a long saff (line) in a big mosque that faced the Kaaba exactly would be accepted and the prayer of the others would not be accepted.
This is a matter of Asr-i Awwal and Sani.
The time of noon is the time which lasts from the sun's reaching its peak until shadows of all things become as long as their original length. However, that is excluding shadow or fay-i zawal (the start of shadow's turning to east and becoming longer). That is the view of Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad, and the Imams of the three sects. According to Abu Hanife, though, the end of the Noon Prayer's time is when shadow becomes twice as long as the object's length. There is unanimity that this is the time of the Afternoon Prayer. The Noon Prayer should be performed before that time.
The inclining of the sun from its zenith in the sky to the west is called the time of zawal. The state of the sun when it reaches its zenith is called the time of istiwa. When the sun starts to descend from this point to the west, the time of zewal takes place.
According to the majority of fukuha (scholars of Islamic Jurisprudence), the time of the Noon Prayer ends when shadows of all things become as long as the objects' length. The fay-zawal of the time of istiwa is also added to that. In other words, the shadows of those things at the time of zawal is added to the increasing shadow which is taken as criterion in measuring the length. The proof of this is the following hadith: “Archangel Gabriel led the Noon Prayer of The Prophet when shadows became as long as the objects' length on the second day.” Abu Hanife, on the other hand, based his view that the time of the Noon Prayer continues until shadows become twice as long as the objects' length, on the following hadith: “Perform the Noon Prayer when it has become cool. For the intensity of heat at the time of noon reminds of the heat of Hell.” (Bukhari, Mawakit, 9, 10, Bad'u'l Khalk, 10; Abu Dawud Salat, 4; Tirmidhi, Salat, 5; Nasai, Mawakil, 5; Ibn Maja, Salat, 4). The time when the heat of the sun becomes the most intense in Arabia is the time when shadows become as long as the objects' length.
The evidence as regards the start of the time of the Noon Prayer is this verse: “Establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions, from the declining of the sun (the time of zawal) to the darkness of the night...” (Qur'an, Al-Isra', 17:78).
The Time of the Afternoon Prayer
The time of the afternoon starts with the instant the time of noon finishes, and ends with the completion of sunset. That's to say, according to the majority of scholars of Islamic jurisprudence, when shadows reach the objects' length excepting the fay-i zawal; and according to Abu Hanife when they reach twice the objects' length, the time of the Afternoon Prayer starts. In the hadith, it is stated: “The one who reaches one rak'a (part) of the Afternoon Prayer before the sun sets, has caught up with the Afternoon Prayer.” (Zaylai, Nasbu'r-Raya, I, 228). However, according to the majority, it is makruh (abhorred) to perform the Afternoon Prayer at the time of the sun's becoming pale. For The Prophet said that hypocrites delay the Afternoon Prayer and finally perform it hastily. (ash-Shawkani, Naylu'l-Awtar, I, 307).
Al-Baqara, verse 43- And be steadfast in prayer; give Zakat, and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).
Al-An'am, verse 72- Say: "To establish regular prayers and to fear Allah; for it is to him that we shall be gathered together."
Being steadfast in prayer, praying regularly and in a spiritually and materially clean state means the growing of the belief and bursting out of the body, arranging the course of life in a regular and straight form. The body is cleaned spiritually and materially with it and, the body and the heart become strong by getting used to each other. If you compare the state of a person when he prays to when he does not pray, you will definitely see that his manners when he prays are better than when he does not.
This verse: “Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds." (al-Ankabut, 29/45) indicates that truth. The mistakes in this kind of comparison originate from comparing different people. A person who does not perform prayers but who is regarded to have high ethics in terms of some issues becomes much better ethically and spiritually when he performs prayers. A person who performs prayers has benefits in terms of at least four ways: The first one is cleanliness; the second is the strength of heart; the third one is the order in terms of the times of the day; the fourth one is the social improvement. Those benefits are present even in the most formal prayer if one performs it regularly. It is impossible to calculate all of the benefits of performing prayers.
That issue is emphasized in many verses. Being steadfast in prayers essentially means performing prayers by paying attention to the pillars of prayers and with complete concentration.
"And they perform (yusalluna) prayers.” That is, they establish regular prayers. It is very interesting that the verbs “yusalluna” and “sallu” are used a lot in the Quran about prayers.
Doubtlessly, saying “they are steadfast in prayer” is more comprehensive than “they perform prayers”; it indicates performing prayers properly, that is, by paying attention to the pillars of prayers, surrendering to Allah and showing humbleness and even leading prayers. Therefore, it is wajib to perform prayers by paying attention to the pillars of prayers; it is also deemed necessary by the religion to command the good and forbid the evil especially for prayer and to make efforts to perform prayers properly.
The following are all related to commanding the good and forbid the evil regarding prayers: the training of the children by the parents about performing prayers, the advise and reminding by Muslim brothers of prayers to each other, the elimination of the barriers for prayer by the administrators and their encouragement for prayer by facilitating it, going to the mosque for the Friday prayer and performing prayers in congregation regularly. (see Elmalılı Hamdi, Hak Dini, the interpretation of the relevant verse)
Except the dirt which are impure (nacees) such as urine, blood etc.; it is permissible to perform prayer (salat) or dhikrullah.
thanks for the answer
Salatu-t Tasbih can be performed with jamaat. It ,s called nafeela namaz. Some kinds of nafeela namaz can also be performed wirh jamaat, like taravih and tasbih namaz. Detail explanation is given below;
Salat-u Tasbih (The Prayer of Glorification)
It is one of the additional prayers (a voluntary or supererogatory act of worship) which is performed for offering of glorification to Allah Almighty. Salat-u Tesbih is one of the prayers that is considered to be canonically laudable. Being an Arabic word, Tasbih means absolving Allah of defect attributes and offering glorification to Him. It takes this name because of reciting three hundred times “ Subhânallâhi wal hamdulillâhi walâ ilâha illallâhu wallâhu akbar” “Glorified is Allah, All the praises and thanks are to Allah, There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest.” in four-ra’kah- prayer. ( rakah means prescribed movements and words followed by Muslims during salah )
There is no certain time for the prayer of glorification. Out of the time that prayer is lawful but reprehensible ( The time of Karahat, these are sunrise, sunset and when the sun is at its zenith until it moves slightly to the west.), it can be performable any time it is wished. Like as it is possible to perform this prayer as four-ra’kah, so too, it is possible to perform it separately two-by-two-ra’kah by means of performing Salâm by saying “Assalâmu alikum wa rahmatullâh” “The Peace and Mercy of Allah be upon you” by turning the face both sides at the end of each two-ra’kah. ( Vehbe ez-Zuhavlî, el-Fıkhu’l-İslâmî and Edilletühü, Dımaşk, 1984, II, 49)
There is no certain verse in the Qur’an about the prayer of glorification. But one Hadith has been narrated concerning this prayer. Allah’s Noble Messenger (pbuh) advised this prayer his uncle Hazrath Abbas by saying this:
“O Abbas! My dear uncle! Would you mind if I gave you something? Would you mind if I made a contribution to you? Would you mind if I offered you a speciality? Would you mind if I gave you the criterion of ten habits? When you comply with these ten habits, Allah Almighty forgives your bygone and coming, old and new, advertently or inadvertantly, hidden or apparent committed sins. These ten habits are those:
Perform four-ra’kah prayer and in each ra’kah recite the Surah of Fâtîha and another surah. In the first ra’kah after finishing recitation (Subhanaka-Audhu Basmala-Fatiha-A Surah), while still standing, recite fifteen times “ Subhânallâhi wal hamdulillâhi walâ ilâha illallâhu wallâhu akbar” then bow down for the rukû (bowing position) and during this position recite once more the same glorification ten times. Then raise your head up and recite it ten times more while standing. After that, prostrate and once again recite it ten times in this position. While sitting between two prostrations recite it ten times more. When you reach second prostration again recite it ten times and finally, recite the same glorification ten more times when you leave your head up from prostration. In this way, in one ra’kah you will have completed seventy-five times glorification.
O my dear uncle! If you are able to cope with it perform this prayer once a day. If you are not, try to perform once every friday. Even if you cannot do this, try to perform it once a year. If you cannot, at least, perform it once in your life.( Tirmizi, Vitir, 19; İbn Mace, İkâme, 190; Ebû Dâvud, Tatavvuu, 14; et- Tergip ve’t-Terhib, I, 467, 469)
There are two views abaout the place of the glory recited in the prayer of glorification. According to the Hanafi sect ( pertaining to the school of canonical law of Abu Hanife ), when performing the prayer of glorification, firstly it is intended to perform the prayer of glorification or additional prayer for the pleasure of Allah and is said “Allâhu Akbar” “Allah is the greatest.” than is started to prayer. After Subhânaka supplication, it is recited “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” fifteen times. Then, Aûdhu Basmala, Fâtiha and a surah is recited and once again “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” is recited ten times. After that ,Rukû is performed. After reciting three times “Subhâna rabbiyel adhim” “Glory to my Lord the Great.”, once again “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” is recited ten times. Then “Samiallahu liman hamidah, Rabbana lakal hamd” “Allah hears whoever glorify him, O our Lord to you alone belong all the praises and thanks.” is recited when standing up. While standing once more “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” is recited ten times. After that, the prostration is performed. After reciting three times “Subhana Rabbiyal a’lâ” “Glory to my Lord, the Most High” in the prostration, once again “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...”is recited ten times. Then “Allâhu Akbar” “Allah is the Greatest.” is said while standing up. During the sitting between two prostration, once more “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” is recited ten times. And at the second prostration “Subhana Rabbiyal a’lâ” “Glory to my Lord, the Most High” is recited three times, after that once again “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” is recited ten times. By that way, totally you will have recited seventy-five glorification.
After first rakah, it is stood for the second rakah. Once again “Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi ...” is recited fifteen times. Then , likewise the first rakah, the second rakah and the prostration is performed. At-tahiyyatu, Allahumma Salli, Allahumma Barik is recited. By that way additional glorifications all togather reaches hundred and fifty. After that, befor performing Salam (Greeting) or after, it is stood up. he third and fourth rakahs are performed likewise the first and second rakah. By this way, totally, glory supplication is recited three hundred times.
This kind of glorification prayer is according to the narration of Abdullah b. Mübarek among Ebu Hanife’s students, written in Tirmizi’s el- Cami. According to the second view, it is performed as above mentioned Hadith.
According to one more narration, the glory supplication recited in the prayer of glorification is extended as “ Subhânallâhi wal hamdu lillâhi walâ ilâha illallâhu wallâhu akbar, wala hawla wala quwwata illa billahil aliyyil adhim.” “Glorified is Allah, All the praises and thanks are to Allah, There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. Thre is no omnipotence and power except by Allah, the most High, the most Great.”
If you make a mistake in the prayer, there is no need to make up for it with the Sahiw Sajdahs ( forgetfulness prostration). If you can keep this glorifications in your mind, there is no need for using fingers. But if it is performed in congregation, İmam read aloud the glorifications. (İbn Abidîn, Reddu'l-Muhtar, Egypt 1966,II, 27).
As all prayers, so in the glorification prayer, you can recite any part you like from the Qur’an. There is nothing as “This verse can not be recited or you are supposed to recite only this verse”. But when asked to İbn Abbas: “Do you know any certain Surah for this prayer?”: He answered:“Yes, at-Takathur, al- Kafirun, al-İkhlas”. (Fetavayi Hindiyye, Egypt 1323, I, 119)
Nureddin TURGAY
We do not know a hadith about this practice. However, according to the Shafii sect, supererogatory prayers may be performed in congregation. This has been permitted. There may be some scholars allowing this practice in other sects. They might have included Tahajjud prayer in this permission depending on the fact that some supererogatory prayers are being performed in congregation. Performing other supererogatory prayers in congregation is highly disapproved. There may be slight differences among the sects.
Yes, during the ghusul what is called full ablution, it is farz (obligatory) to wash or wet the whole of body including the pierced. Also, to wash with rubbing the bellybutton, the pierced, pubic etc., is Sunnah (acts and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)).
There is no need to wet earring and put inside the pierced to wet be wetted. With wearing earrings, one can take full ablution as well. Also it is easier to wet by that way by moving the earring up and down. But wearing earring is not compulsory of ghusul.
If the earrings are not worn, one can wet inside pierced by rubbing the pierced area with fingers.
If the pierced is much closed and if there is an obstacle to wet inside the pierced, in that case it is rubbed properly. If water goes in there is no need to wear the earring.
If the pierceds are closed by being filled up, there is no need to open it to wash inside again. If those pierceds become dirty, it may be cleaned if it is possible. For example, if an earring can be worn to those pierceds, by moving up and down it may be cleaned. There is no need to force if not possible; it is not an obstacle for ghusul.
Having so much knowledge about faith does not mean having faith. Prayer becomes habitual by performing it, not by reading many books about prayer. Our grandmothers who are illiterate do not miss even a single tahajjud prayer, but we, who have read all kinds of books about prayer, cannot perform tahajjud prayers anyhow. Practicing consistently is very important in this sense.
One must put religion in the first place his life. We must adapt the world to our religion, not the religion to the world. Everything is solved here.
One of the important issues that we must pay attention to in this sense is sins. The more a person commits sins, the more he gets bored of prayers and other kinds of worship. If a person cannot perform prayers properly, it means that there must be a sin which hinders him from worshipping. Sins cause weakness in faith. Faith is strengthened with taqwa. Above all, we must revise our lives and find out where we do wrong, what sins we have got to hinder us from worshipping and we must try to have them redeemed by repenting.
Another issue is the environment. One must form his environment in a way that will enable him to take his religious life under self-control. If there are people with high ethics around him, it will earn him moral power. If there are people who are away from ethics around him, it will cause him to grow away from worshipping. That issue is very important. While people of taqwa strengthen one’s faith, sinful people weaken his faith. It is like a veiled suggestion.
Another issue is the fact that one must not forget suggesting goodness besides worshipping. A person’s duty has got two sides. One is about saintliness and the other is about mission. Saintliness is one’s taqwa and prayers. Mission is suggesting goodness. If one of them is absent, the other one drops behind, too. One must both be a servant to Allah and invite people to conscious servitude to Allah. In this way, we can save ourselves while trying to save others as well.
The most important issue is the strengthening of faith. The reason for any weakness is the weakness in faith. The greatest illness of our century is the weakness in faith. Unfortunately, sins committed publicly around us affect us deeply. We are unconsciously imposed to suggestions of infidelity.
"In every sin committed, there is a way to infidelity." One who commits sins finds it unbearable that Allah and angels see him. He ignores the existence of Allah and angels temporarily. As he continues to do so, the seed of infidelity sprouts. It is a very dangerous state and if not wiped out through repentance right away, it continues to darken his heart until he becomes infidel.
A person who commits sins publicly both damages himself and others around him. Sins committed freely and shamelessly suggest infidelity to the environment. People become subject to this suggestion the whole day. In order to escape the damages of that suggestion, it must be responded with suggestion of faith. We can both protect ourselves from the dangerous suggestions around and suggest people faith by reading works which strengthens one’s faith very often and by inviting people to the religion.
May Allah bestow upon all of us endurance for taqwa.
There is a lot of virtue in performing the sunnah muakkadah. Even if there is not a torment of Hell when they are abandoned intentionally or out of laziness, a big loss such as being deprived from receiving Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) intercession (shafa’ah) is in question. Such people deserve being condemned by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Altering or denying sunnah muakkadah is bidah (invention in the religion) and going astray.
There is a lot of virtue in performing sunnah ghair muakkadah (acts and deeds Prophet Muhammad –pbuh- used to leave sometimes) too. We can turn our daily activities such as eating, dressing etc into worship if we do them in accordance with sunnah. This way, habits become an opportunity to receive Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) intercession. Even applying the smallest item of the sunnah makes us remember Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and gives peace and light to our heart. There is not any type of punishment or condemnation in abandoning the second type of sunnah. However, there is the situation of loosing big opportunities and not being able to make use of the light of sunnah and true high ethics.
He who abandons sunnah also abandons the true high ethics, and it brings about deprivation from our Creator’s favors.
You can start from whichever you want. You do not have to do it in order.
For more information about the Qada (Missed) Prayers, please click on the link given below.
What is the correct method of offering Qaza Namaaz? In what way is it beneficial?
Such a claim is valid in terms of neither religion nor reason. Though Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) loved his sons Hasan and Hussein (may God be pleased with them) most, they and their sons coming after them did not claim that their prayers were performed, on the contrary, they not only performed the obligatory prayers but also completely adhered to the sunnah, and nafilah (extra, voluntary) prayers.
To claim that all believers who love Hazrat Ali will be freed of their prayers thanks to his prayers is just like claiming that all sons and grandsons of a man will be full thanks to his eating and filling his stomach or all his descendents will be knowledgeable thanks to his knowledge. If the assumption that Hazrat Ali (may God be pleased with him) performed the prayers of all the believers who love him is imagined to be true for just a while, then the result would be:
As every believer, apart from the Kharijites, loves Hazrat Ali, then all the verses revealed about the prayers and all the hadiths of the Prophet about it would address only Hazrat Ali and Kharijites. However, those who are addressed by the verses and the hadiths are all the believers to come till Doomsday. On the other hand, according to such a view, after the death of Hazrat Ali, all the works published about the prayers and all mosques and places of prayers would have been meaningless and unnecessary. It is also clear that the life of Hazrat Ali was not long enough to perform the prayers of billions of Muslims to come till Doomsday.
After the short explanation about the illogic of the claim, let us emphasise this point: «God Almighty has prescribed the prayers as a duty/obligation on every believer in person, including prophets. Nobody can perform the prayers in somebody else's stead. This is also so at times of necessity. Even if somebody is too ill to perform the prayers, somebody else cannot perform it in his stead.»
God Almighty says in Surah Al-Baqarah, in verse 286: «It (a soul) gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. » and takes every Muslim in person accountable in reward and penalty for what they do.
There are more than a hundred verses about the prayers in the Qur'an. One of them is in Nisa Surah:
« Set up Regular Prayers: For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times. » (An-Nisa Surah, 4:103).
Also the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: « The prayer is the pillar of the religion. » and in many of his hadiths expained the importance of the prayer to his community. Even at the most intense times of battles, he not only did not postpone his prayer (to make up for it at a later time) but also stuck to the merit of congregation, and led the prayers in front of his companions in two groups, in turns. The Messenger of God also paid great importance to preferable prayers, and sometimes prayed the whole night.
Once he said to the Companions:
« Say to me, if one of you had a river in front of his house, if he got bath in this river five times a day, would he then have a spot of filth? » and when they said: « No, o Messenger of God, he wouldn't. » the Prophet continued: « The five daily prayers are just the same. God Almighty cleanses the faults of believers with their prayers. »
The Prophet said to his daughter Fatima: « O Fatima! Do not abandon the prayers by saying 'I am the daughter of the Chosen Muhammad.' I swear by God Who has sent me as a rightful Messenger that you cannot ever enter the paradise if you do not perform the five daily prayers in their due time. » (Abdullâtif, Meclisu’l-Anvâri’l-Muhammadiyya, p. 26)
This being the truth, now it should be seen how wrong it is that some abandon the prayers by relying on their love for the family and descendents of the Prophet.
One of the obligations of five daily prayers is to perform them on due time. Prayers cannot be performed by joining them together because of working. One must perform even only the obligatory part of the prayer on due time. If one did not perform it on due time, one should perform compensatory prayer as soon as possible and in addition, one should repent of the sin of postponing the prayer until compensation.
For more information please click on the link given below;
What is the correct method of offering Qada Namaz? In what way is it beneficial?
The most important reason of uneasiness, depression and stress is explained to us with the following beautiful expression: “if something is not employed in its ‘ma wudia lah’, it becomes subject to lethargy and does not show any activeness.” (Sünuhat)
“Ma wudia lah” means the reason of something’s creation. The reason of eye’s creation is seeing. If you used it to check tastes of things, you would harm it and become sick.
People who use their all senses and feelings within the permitted limits and on the straight way lead a kind of heavenly life on earth too.
The souls of people, who prepare themselves for the endless bliss of the eternal life and consider this worldly life a play and entertainment as they drew lessons from the Quran, are firm and safe against all kinds of troubles. If they are supposed to play the role of a poor person on the stage of the world, they do their best. They can writhe very well when they are sick. They shed tears in tragedy. However, since they do not forget that they are in a play, both their sadness and happiness are quite limited, as much as the play requires.
Attention of those who consider the world a play and an entertainment is towards the afterlife. Their efforts are for that place. Both punishment and happiness in that place are endless… One who is aware of it and says “We are His slaves, our life, death, body, soul, position, place, and in short our everything are for deserving His content” does not drown in the worldly life’s temporary hardships.
He knows that he is limited, like everything of his is and he does not take on limitless sorrows; he does not make them his burden. He entrusts his friends to Allah, who is the owner of endless mercy and kindness, and he submits his enemies again to the Owner of Infinite Just.
He regards both his soul and body as things entrusted to him; he neither oppresses them nor lets them be oppressed by others. Yet, he takes refuge in his Lord in situations which exceed his power and capability so that he can pass the test easily. Eventually, he becomes peaceful by consenting to His decision. Instead of fearing world, people in world and troubles of this world, he fears the Creator of them and seeks refuge in him. “Whoever fears Allah becomes freed from gloomy and troublesome fearing of others.” The Words
Just like all goodness, the peace of heart is also in His power. If we believe in it absolutely, we will be freed from knocking at others’ doors and find all goodness at our Lord’s door of mercy.
And a Quranic prescription by the Scholar Badiuzzaman:
“The Qur’an also says to the believer, “Since you have only partial and restricted choice, hand over your affairs to your Owner’s universal will. Since your power is slight, rely on that of the Possessor of Absolute Power. Since your life is brief, think of eternal life. Do not fret! There is an unending life. If your mind is dull, let the sun of the Qur’an shine on you. Look with the light of belief, and instead of the fire-fly of your own mind, each verse of the Qur’an will illumine you like a star. Since you have innumerable hopes and pains, know that infinite reward and limitless mercy await you. Since you have innumerable desires and aims, do not think of them and become disturbed. This world cannot contain them; the proper place for them is another realm, and the one who will grant them is one other than yourself.” (The Words)
There is no drawback in not counting the zikr (mentioning, in Islamic mysticism repeating, silently or aloud, the word Allah, the ninety-nine names of God, or formulas which praise God) recited. However, there is some information coming from Our Prophet (peace be upon him) concerning with counting zikr. It would be better to count in order to find their numbers. If we do not count, how will we find the number? However, it is all right if there is someone who finds the numbers without counting.
It is an instrument to count using fingers and prayer beads when reciting the determined zikr. It is not an innovation (bid’a) to use a prayer bead. It is useful to use a prayer bead in order not to mix the number of glorifications. Our Prophet (pbuh) advised to recite Subhanallah (Good Lord! /Good God!), Alhamdulillah (Thank God! /Glory be to God!/ Praise be to God!) and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest!) several times and especially after prayers (salath).
The Companions of Our Prophet used to recite those glorifications either by counting with their fingers or with small stones that they gathered. Therefore, it can be said that the prayer beads that are used today are similar to what they used to do and it is a good custom.
You must perform prayers fully if you intend to stay in a place more than fifteen days.
How many kilometers should a man go in order to be regarded a musafir (traveler)”? This question has two kinds of answers:
1 - Based on distance. According to this view, a person can perform prayers by shortening if he goes on journey of 90 kilometers or more.
2 – Based on time. According to this view, traveling three days is enough to be regarded as a musafir. Since the daily walk is accepted as 6 hours, 3*6 =18 hours of travel makes a person musafir. In that case, a person can perform prayers by shortening. Otherwise, they cannot shorten them.
Someone who has a certain house but spends most of the year by traveling accepts his/her house, or the district in which his or her house is situated, as the place of residence. In this district, he must perform prayers fully.
Since he will be regarded as a musafir while traveling, one can perform prayers of 4 rakats by shortening them to two rakats. If he stays more than 15 days in a place during the trip, he must perform prayers fully. In every place that he stays less than 15 days, he should perform prayers by shortening. That is, one can shorten prayers beginning from the moment he leaves his house till he comes back to his house. However, he should perform prayers fully in places that he intends to stay more than 15 days. (see Celal Y?ld?r?m, ?slam F?kh?, 1/463-464)
The religion of Islam does not command a worship to anybody which exceeds their capacity and which they cannot bear or perform. For example, a person who cannot stand performs his/her prayers in a sitting position. If an expert and religious doctor tells somebody that it would be harmful for him/her to fast, then s/he does not fast. S/he fasts when s/he is healthy or if s/he will never be able to fast, then s/he pays a ransom: (to feed a poor person). (Fasting) for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (with hardship) is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more of his own free-will―it is better for him, and it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew. (2:184) Therefore, although a Muslim is to perform his/her worships by all means, s/he is responsible for what s/he can perform from these worships. And you also perform your worships according to your state and to the advice of an expert doctor. However, Allah will question His slaves because of the obligatory worships which they did not perform without a valid excuse.
A person who follows the imam reads “subhanaka” and keeps silent. He does not read any other things. When he stands for the other rakahs, he does not read basmala. However, if he reads basmala, his prayer is not invalidated, but it is better not to read it. (Ömer Nasuhi BİLMEN, İslam İlmihali)
He should read the prayers and tasbihat while in ruku, prostration and while sitting and the takbirs while going to ruku and prostration. He should not read basmala, al-Fatiha and additional verses or a chapter while standing. When the imam says, ‘samiallahu liman hamidah’, he should not repeat it but say ‘rabbana lakal hamd’.
Performing it twenty-rakat is the better one. In the present time, some people insist that tarawih prayer is eight rakats basing their claim on a hadith reported by Hazrat Aisha. Nevertheless, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) related that our Prophet performed twenty rakats of tarawih prayer and witr prayer (a necessary prayer performed between night prayer and dawn prayer) in congregation during the month of Ramadan. Moreover, concerning the issue, the companions of our prophet had unity of action. After all, the tarawih prayer is twenty rakats according to the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali, madhhabs (schools of law). In the Maliki school, there are two opinions about it: one is twenty rakats and the other is thirty-six rakats. However, the twenty-rakat view is more common. For this reason, the ones who are too old and sick should at least perform eight rakats if they can afford it, and yet Muslim people who are robust enough must perform the twenty-rakat prayer.
In regard with Jum’a Prayer (Friday Prayer) which is a very important and an indispensable principle of Islam, the Islamic law scholars of Hanafi sect say: Jum’a Prayer depends on the permission of the admistrators of that place. According to them, permission is accounted as one of the conditions of performing Jum’a and if the permission for Jum’a is not given by the administrators, it is not mandatory to perform it. Other sects’ opinion concerning with performing Jum’a Prayer in a non-Muslim country is: “Jum’a is in no case given up.” Because it is clear with the Qur’an. However, Hanafi scholars say too that Jum’a Prayer, with appointing one person among themselves, can be performed when there is no permission. (Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır, Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, VII, 4983 vd.)
The following verses serve for demanding a child and wishing a good heir if recited as a prayer. Because Zacharias (PBUH) and other prophets prayed so. Thus, it is to our benefit to pray with these verses in case of such a problem.
It will be better to read them from the original Quran, but the ones who may not read it, can read the prayers from the translations too.
O our Lord, grant us generations that will be a happiness and pride for us and make us leaders to the pious people (Furqan 74)
O our Lord, give us good children. If you do that, surely we will be among the thankful. (al-Araf 189)
O our Lord, give us pious children (as-Saffat 100)
Honestly, I am anxious about my relatives which will substitute me. And my wife is infertile. Grant me an heir which will succeed me and the Jacob dynasty. Make him a man that will please you, my Lord (Maryam 5-6)
This information is not correct. Going out without covering the hair does not break someone's wudu.
Here is a commentary of the verses given below which explains why we pray five specified times in a day:
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
So glorify God when you reach evening and when you rise in the morning; for all praise is His in the heavens and on earth, and towards the end of the day and when you have reached noon.*Qur'an.30:17-18
Brother! You ask me concerning the wisdom in the specified times of the five daily prayers. I shall point out only one of the many instances of wisdom in the times.
Indeed, like each of the times of prayer marks the start of an important revolution, so also is each a mirror to Divine disposal of power and to the universal Divine bounties within that disposal. Thus, more glorification and extolling of the All-Powerful One of Glory have been ordered at those times, and more praise and thanks for all the innumerable bounties accumulated between each of the times, which is the meaning of the prescribed prayers. In order to understand a little this subtle and profound meaning, you should listen together with my own soul to the following 'Five Points'.
FIRST POINT
The meaning of the prayers is the offering of glorification, praise, and thanks to Almighty God. That is to say, uttering Glory be to God by word and action before God's glory and sublimity, it is to. hallow and worship Him. And declaring God is Most Great through word and act before His sheer perfection, it is to exalt and magnify Him. And saying All praise be to Cod with the heart, tongue, and body, it is to offer thanks before His utter beauty. That is to say, glorification, exaltation, and praise are like the seeds of the prayers. That is why these three things are present in every part of the prayers, in all the actions and words. And it is also why these blessed words are each repeated thirty-three times after the prayers, in order to strengthen and reiterate the prayers' meaning. The meaning of the prayers is confirmed through these concise summaries.
SECOND POINT
The meaning of worship is this, that the servant sees his own faults, impotence. and poverty, and in the Divine Court prostrates in love and wonderment before Dominicial perfection, Divine mercy, and the power of the Eternally Besought One. That is to say, just as the sovereignty of Dominicality demands worship and obedience, so also does the holiness of Dominicality require that the servant sees his faults through seeking forgiveness, and through his glorifications and declaring Glory be to God proclaims that his Sustainer is pure and free of all defects, and exalted above and far from the false ideas of the people of misguidance, and hallowed and exempt from all the faults in the universe.
And the perfect power of Dominicality requires that through understanding his own weakness and the impotence of other creatures, the servant proclaims God is Most Great in admiration and wonder before the majesty of the works of the Eternally Besought One's power, and bowing in deep humility seeks refuge in Him and places his trust in Him.
And the infinite treasury of Dominicality's mercy requires that the servant makes known his own need and the needs and poverty of all creatures through the tongue of questioning and supplication, and proclaims his Sustainer's bounties and gifts through thanks and laudation and uttering All praise be to God. That is to say, the words and actions of the prayers comprise these meanings, and have been laid down from the side of Divinity.
THIRD POINT
Just as man is an example in miniature of the greater world and Sura Al Fatiha a shining sample of the Qur'an of Mighty Stature, so too are the prescribed prayers a comprehensive and luminous index of all varieties of worship, and a sacred map pointing to all the shades of worship of all the classes of creatures.
FOURTH POINT
Just as the second-hand, minute-hand, hour-hand, and day-hand of a clock which tells the weeks look to one another, are examples of one another, and follow one another, so too the revolutions of day and night, which are like the seconds of this world - a vast clock of Almighty God - and the years which tell its minutes, and the stages of man's life-span which tell the hours, and the epochs of the world's life-span which tell the days look to one another, are examples of one another, are like one another, and recall one another. For example:
The time of Fajr, the early morning: This time until sunrise resembles and calls to mind the early spring, the moment of conception in the mother's womb, and the first of the six days of the creation of the heavens and earth; it recalls the Divine acts present in them.
The time of Zuhr, just past midday: This resembles and points to midsummer, and the prime of youth, and the period of man's creation in the lifetime of the world, and calls to mind the manifestations of mercy and the abundant bounties in them.
The time of Asr, afternoon: This is like autumn, and old age, and the time of the Final Prophet (PBUH), known as the Era of Bliss, and recalls the Divine acts and favors of the All-Merciful One in them.
The time of Maghrib, sunset: Through recalling the departure of many creatures at the end of autumn, and man's death, and the destruction of the world at the commencement of the Resurrection, this time puts in mind the manifestations of Divine Glory and Sublimity, and rouses man from his slumbers of heedlessness.
The time of 'Isha, nightfall. As for this time, by calling to mind the world of darkness veiling all the objects of the daytime world with a black shroud, and winter hiding the face of the dead earth with its white cerement, and even the remaining works of departed men dying and passing beneath the veil of oblivion, and this world, the arena of examination, being shut up and closed down for ever, it proclaims the awesome and mighty disposals of the All-Glorious and Compelling Subduer.
As for the nighttime, through putting in mind both the winter, and the grave, and the Intermediate Realm, it reminds man how needy is the human spirit for the Most Merciful One's Mercy. And the tahajjud prayer informs him what a necessary light it is for the night of the grave and darkness of the Intermediate Realm; it warns him of this, and through recalling the infinite bounties of the True Bestower, proclaims how deserving He is of praise and thanks.
And the second morning calls to mind the Morning of the Resurrection. For sure, however reasonable and necessary and certain the morning of this night is, the Morning of the Resurrection and the spring following the Intermediate Realm are that certain.
That is, just as each of these five times marks the start of an important revolution and recalls other great revolutions, so too through the awesome daily disposals of the Eternally Besought One's power, each calls to mind the miracles of Divine power and gifts of Divine mercy of both every year, and every age, and every epoch. That is to say, the prescribed prayers, which are an innate duty and the basis of worship and an incontestable debt, are most appropriate and fitting for these times.
FIFTH POINT
By nature man is extremely weak, yet everything touches him, and saddens and grieves him. Also he is utterly lacking in power, yet the calamities and enemies that afflict him are extremely numerous. Also he is extremely wanting, yet his needs are indeed many. Also he is lazy and incapable, yet life's responsibilities are most burdensome. Also his humanity has connected him to the rest of the universe, yet the decline and disappearance of the things he loves and with which he is familiar continually pains him. Also his reason shows him exalted aims and lasting fruits, yet his hand is short, his life brief, his power slight, and his patience little.
Thus, it can be clear]y understood how essential it is for a spirit in this state at the time of Fajr in the early morning to have recourse to and present a petition to the Court of an All-Powerful One of Glory, an All - Compassionate All-Beauteous One through prayer and supplication, to seek success and help from Him, and what a necessary point of support it is so that he can face the things that will happen to him in the coming day and bear the duties that will be loaded on him.
And the time of Zuhr just past midday Is the time of the day's zenith and the start of its decline the time when daily labors approach their achievement, the time of a short rest from the pressures of work, when the spirit needs a pause from the heedlessness and insensibility caused by toil, and a time Divine bounties are manifest. Anyone may understand then how fine and agreeable, how necessary and appropriate it is to perform the midday prayer for the human spirit, which means to be released from the pressure, shake off the heedlessness, and leave behind those meaningless, transient things, and clasping one hands at the Court of the True Bestower of Bounties, the Eternally Self-Subsistent One, to offer praise and thanks for all His gifts, and seek help from Him, and through bowing to display one's impotence before His Glory and Tremendousness, and to prostrate and proclaim one's wonder, love, and humility. He who does not understand this is not a true human being...
As for the time of Asr in the afternoon, it calls to mind the melancholy season of autumn and the mournful state of old age and the somber period at the end of time. Also it is when the matters of the day reach their conclusion, and the time the Divine bounties which have been received that day like health, well-being, and beneficial duties have accumulated to form a great total, and the time that proclaims through the mighty sun hinting by starting to sink that man is a guest-official and that everything is transient and inconstant. Now, the human spirit desires eternity and was created for it; it worships benevolence, and is pained by separation. Thus, anyone who is truly a human being may understand what an exalted duty, what an appropriate service, whit a fitting way to repay a debt of human nature, indeed, what an agreeable pleasure it is to perform the afternoon prayer, for by offering supplications at the Eternal Court of the Everlasting Pre-Eternal One, the Eternally Self-Subsistent One, it has the meaning of taking refuge in the grace of unending, infinite Mercy, and by offering thanks and praise in the face of innumerable bounties, of humbly bowing before the Mightiness of His Dominicality, and by prostrating in utter humility before the Everlastingness of His Godhead, of finding true consolation and ease of spirit, and being girded ready for worship in the presence of His Grandeur.
And the time of Maghrib at sunset recalls the disappearance amid sad farewells of the delicate and lovely creatures of the worlds of summer and autumn at the start of winter. And it calls to mind the time when through his death, man will leave all those he loves in sorrowful departure and enter the grave. And it brings to mind when at the death of this world amid the upheavals of its death-agonies, all its inhabitants will migrate to other worlds and the lamp of this place of examination will be extinguished. And it is a time which gives stern warning to those who worship transient, ephemeral beloveds.
Thus, at such a time, for the Maghrib prayer, man's spirit, which by its nature is a mirror desirous for an Eternal Beauty, turns its face towards the throne of mightiness of the Eternal Undying One, the Enduring Everlasting One, Who performs these mighty works and turns and transforms these huge worlds, and declaring Cod is Most Create over these transient beings, withdraws from them. Man clasps his hands in service of his Lord and rises in the presence of the Enduring Eternal One, and through saying: All praise be to God, he praises and extols His faultless perfection, His peerless beauty, His infinite mercy. And through declaring:You alone do we worship and from You alone we seek help, * he proclaims his worship for and seeks help from His unassisted Dominicality, His unpartnered Godhead, His unshared sovereignty. Then he bows, and through declaring together with all the universe his weakness and impotence, his poverty and baseness before the infinite majesty, the limitless power, and utter mightiness of the Enduring Eternal One, he says: All glory to My Mighty Sustainer, and glorifies his Sub- lime Sustainer. And prostrating before the undying Beauty of His Essence, His unchanging sacred attributes, His constant everlasting perfection, through abandoning all things other than Him, man proclaims his love and worship in wonder and self-abasement, he finds an All-Compassionate Eternal One, and through saying, All glory to my Exalted Sustainer, he declares his Most High Sustainer to be free of decline and exalted above any fault.
"Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek." *Qur'an, 1:5.
Then, he testifies to God's Unity and the Prophethood of Muhammed. He sits, and on his own account offers as a gift to the Undying All-Beauteous One, the Enduring All-Glorious One the blessed salutations and benedictions of all creatures. And through greeting the Most Noble Prophet, he renews his allegiance to him and proclaims his obedience to his commands. In order to renew and illuminate his faith, he observes the wise order in this palace of the universe and testifies to the Unity of the All-Glorious Maker. And he testifies to the Prophethood of Muhammed the Arabian (Upon whom be blessings and peace), who is the herald of the sovereignty of God's Dominicality, the proclaimer of those things pleasing to Him, and the interpreter of the signs and verses of the Book of the Universe. To perform the Maghrib prayer is this. Thus, how can someone be considered to be a human being who does not understand what a fine and pure duty is the prayer at sunset, what an exalted and pleasurable act of service, what an agreeable and pleasing act of worship, what a serious matter, and what an unending conversation and permanent happiness it is in this transient guest-house?
And at the time of 'Isha at nightfall, the last traces of the day remaining on the horizon disappear, and the world of night encloses the universe. As the All-Powerful and Glorious One, The Changer of Night and Day, turns the white page of day into the black one of night through the mighty disposals of His Dominicality, it recalls the Divine activities of that All-Wise One of Perfection, The Subduer of the Sun and the Moon, turning the green adorned page of summer into the frigid white page of winter. And with the remaining works of the departed being erased from this world with the passing of time, it recalls the Divine acts of The Creator and Life and Death in their passage to another, quite different world. It is a time that calls to mind the disposals of The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth's Awesomeness and the manifestations of His Beauty in the utter destruction of this narrow, fleeting, and lowly world, the terrible death-agonies of its decease, and in the unfolding of the broad, eternal, and majestic World of the Hereafter. And the universe's Owner, its True Disposer, its True Beloved and Object of Worship can only be the One Who with ease turns night into day, winter into spring, and this world into the Hereafter like the pages of a book; Who writes and erases them, and changes them.
Thus, at nightfall, man's spirit, which is infinitely impotent and weak, and infinitely poor and needy, and plunged into the infinite darkness of the future, and tossed around amid innumerable events, performs the 'Isha prayer, which has this meaning: Like Abraham man says: I do not love those that set, * and through the prayers seeks refuge at the Court of an Undying Object of Worship, an Eternal Beloved One, and in this transient world and fleeting life and dark world and black future he supplicates an Enduring, Everlasting One, and for a moment of unending conversation, a few seconds of immortal life, he asks to receive the favours of the All-Merciful and Compassionate One's Mercy and the light of His guidance, which will strew light on his world and illuminate his future and bind up the wounds resulting from the departure and decline of all creatures and friends.
"When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set.""*Qur'an, 6:76.
And temporarily man forgets the hidden world, which has forgotten him, and pours out his woes at the Court of Mercy with his weeping, and whatever happens, before sleeping - which resembles death - he performs his last duty of worship. And in order to close favourably the daily record of his actions, he rises to pray; that is to say, he rises to enter the presence of an Eternal Beloved and Worshipped One in place of all the mortal ones he loves, of an All-Powerful and Generous One in place of all the impotent creatures from which he begs, of an All-Compassionate Protector so as to be saved from the evil of the harmful beings before which he trembles.
And he starts with the Fatiha, that is, instead of praising and being obliged to defective, wanting creatures, for which they are not suited, he extols and offers praise to The Sustainer of All the Worlds, Who is Absolutely Perfect and Utterly Self-Sufficient and Most Compassionate and All Generous. Then he progresses to the address: You alone do we worship. That is, despite his smallness, insignificance, and aloneness, through man's connection with The Owner of the Day of Judgment, Who is the Sovereign of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, he attains to a rank whereat he is an indulged guest in the universe and an important official. Through declaring: You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help, he presents to Him in the name of all creatures the worship and calls for assistance of the mighty congregation and huge community of the universe. Then through saying: Guide us to the Straight Path, he asks to be guided to the Straight Path, which leads to eternal happiness and is the luminous way.
And now, he thinks of the mightiness of the All-Glorious One, of Whom, like the sleeping plants and animals, the hidden suns and sober stars are each as though a soldier subjugated to His command, and a lamp and servant in this guest-house of the world, and uttering: God is Most Great, he bows down. Then he thinks of the great prostration of all creatures. That is, when, at the command of Be! and it is, * all the varieties of creatures each year and each century - and even the Earth, and the universe - each like a well ordered army or an obedient soldier, is discharged from its duty, that is, when each is sent to the World of the Unseen, through the prostration of its decease and death with complete orderliness, it declares: God is Most Create, and bows down in prostration. And like they are raised to life, some in part and some the same, in the spring at an awakening and life-giving trumpet blast from the Command of Be! and it is, and they rise up and are girded ready to serve their Lord, insignificant man too, following them, declares: God is Most Great! in the presence of the All-Merciful One of Perfection, the All-Compassionate One of Beauty in wonder struck love and eternity tinged humility and dignified self-effacement, and bows down in prostration; that is to say, he makes a sort of Ascension And for sure you will have understood now how agreeable and fine and pleasant and elevated, how high and pleasurable, how reasonable and appropriate a duty, service, and act of worship, and what a serious matter it is to perform the 'Isha prayer.
"The Originator of the heavens and the earth: When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: "Be," and it is." *Qur'an, 2: 117, etc.
Thus, since each of these five times is an indication to a mighty revolution, a sign to the tremendous Dominicial activity, and a token of the universal Divine bounties, the prescribed prayers, which are a debt and an obligation, being specified at them is perfect wisdom...
Glory be unto You! We have no knowledge save that which You have taught us; indeed You are All - Knowing, All-Wise. *
O God! Grant blessings and peace to the one whom You sent as a teacher to Your servants to instruct them in knowledge of You and worship of You, and to make known the treasures of Your Names, and to translate the signs of the Book of the [Universe and as a mirror to its worship of the beauty of Your Dominicality,-and to all his Family and Companions, and have Mercy on us and on all believing men and women. Amen. Through Your Mercy, O Most Merciful of the Merciful!
"They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."" *Qur'an, 2:32
One should look at his toes in ruku’. Looking at qiblah instead of one’s toes in ruku’ does invalidate the prayer. Prostration of forgetfulness or performing the prayer again is not necessary in that case. Looking at qiblah or the place of prostration in ruku’ does not invalidate the prayer. You do not have to perform your prayers again.
Adab (manners) of the prayer:
a) Looking at the place of prostration while standing,
b) Looking at the toes while bowing down,
c) Looking at the knees while sitting and not looking at any other place,
d) Looking at the right shoulder while giving salutation to the right and at the left shoulder while giving salutation to the left; not looking around,
e) Trying to keep the mouth closed while yawning,
f) If a person has something like a jacket, topcoat, overall on him, he should put his arms in them. (Bahr ar-Raiq / Ibn Nujaym)
g) Concentrating on the prayer and trying not to make the heart busy with anything else.
(Celal Yildirim, Kaynaklariyla Islam Fikhi, Uysal Kitabevi: 1/253.)
Music which disturbs us while performing prayers does not annul the prayer. For the presence of such a noise as music is not a barrier against the prayer's validity. However, this decreases the reward of the prayer in accordance with to what extent it distracts attention off the prayer. For Allah says: “...establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions for remembrance of Me.” (Qur'an, Ta-Ha, 20:14). The Prophet also advised not to perform prayer while sleepy; as otherwise one cannot perform it thoughtfully. In other words, the prayer is a kind of contact with Allah and speaking with Him. One should perform worships as if seeing Allah and by avoiding anything which severs or loosens this contact.
However, if others make noise and prevent the praying person from paying attention to the prayer, then the responsibility is on those who make the noise, not on the praying one.
When a person prays, some scruples and dirty memoirs either by the devil or his own soul attack the heart and the mind like flies. In such a state one should not try to drive those ugly scruples away; because scruples are like bees. As you deal with them, they increase their attacks. If you do not deal with them, they go away. Scruples, too, leave man if man does not deal with them. Besides, those scruples do not harm worship or a man’s heart. It is harmful to think that scruples are harmful. Those words are not the words of the heart. Maybe they are the blowing of the devil which is near the heart. The heart is disturbed by it. The fact that the heart is disturbed by those words shows that those words do not belong to the heart; on the contrary they are the scruples of the devil. Man is not responsible for something that does not belong to his heart.
For instance, when man contemplates on the verses in the presence of Allah, opposite Kaaba, a scruple comes to his imagination. Thus it tries to distract him from prayer. The imagination of the man who is exposed to such a scruple resembles to a mirror. The image of a snake in the mirror does not bite, the fire does not burn and the dirty things do not contaminate the mirror; similarly the scruples and ugly memoirs that come to man’s mirror of imagination do not harm man’s belief and worship.
If the scruple is too disturbing, then man should take shelter in Allah, who is Wise and Merciful, and say, "I seek refuge in Allah from Satan".
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What is Delusion (waswasa)? Could You Inform Us of its Reasons?
It is necessary to state this firstly:
Praying is worship. And worship is performed in order just to gain Allah’s consent and because Allah ordered us to do so. We will see and take the rewards and results of it in the Hereafter. On the other hand, worldly benefits, offers and things given without being demanded do not harm this prayer on condition that they are not main purpose of praying and not demanded on purpose. This is because this results in encouraging the weak to perform these prayers. If one thinks of benefits and becomes eager to cite these prayers in order to gain Allah’s consent and to succeed in the Hereafter, this is not harmful. And this is acceptable.
As for your question:
Some of these expressions cited in hadith and prayer books may be weak in reliability. However, there are ones which are quite reliable. For this reason, we would like to point out to how these expressions should be understood:
1. There is a rule: when a word is spoken, the most perfect of it must be understood. For instance, when the word “human” is spoken, what must come into mind is our prophet who is the most perfect of humankind. When one says “physician” we remember the most famous one. Similarly, what comes into mind from the expression “whoever cites that prayer gets this reward” is the zenith of that prayer, the most perfectly cited of the prayer. That’s to say; this is the most perfect result of the prayer.
2. All promises have conditions. For example, let’s take that it is written in a catalogue that a car can speed up to 200 km/h. This does not mean that this car will speed up to this degree at all times and every driver can do that. It does not mean that this expression in the catalogue is wrong when an inexperienced driver cannot speed up to this extent on a stabilized road, with water mixed up into car’s fuel and with headlight not working properly. Contrarily, this expression is true but it does not work unless some necessary conditions are met. For this reason, the car will still be beneficial but not as much as we would like. Similarly, we are like a perfect car created by car. Eyes which are the headlights of this car should be as perfect as what they eat, drink, think so that one will have that reward when having cited that prayer. Therefore, the expression is true on condition that the necessary conditions are met.
3. The saying “Every seed is a tree.” is true. However, although every seed is programmed to grow into a tree, it will not grow if not planted under right conditions. Similarly, there is a secret in every prayer which leads us to Allah and which results in redeeming sins. However, some conditions are necessary to be met in order for this secret which is like a seed to reveal itself. One who fulfills the conditions such as belief, worship, determination and refraining from forbidden acts will unwind this secret. This will redeem his/her previous sins. Otherwise, the seed will always stay as a seed and it will never grow. Moreover, he/she will be responsible for wasting his/her life for wrong things.
4. A patient sees a doctor and he/she is given two medicines after being diagnosed. Doctor explains to the patient what the medicines are and how they should be used. The doctor emphasizes that he/she should take one from these medicines when hungry in the morning, at noon and in the evening and if he/she follows these rules strictly the patient will recover. Then, the patient follows these strictly; but he/she starves him/herself. He/she wanders out in cold weather and catches a cold. He/she drinks from unhealthy water, does not sleep at nights and gets him/herself busy with unnecessary things till morning. Malnutrition hinders him/her from recovering and he/she again goes to the doctor’s. He/she enters doctor’s room and says complainingly: “Doctor, you said I would recover in a month. I used all medicines as you told but nothing changed, even I got worse”. How reasonable and fair can this objection be? It cannot be so at all. In fact, these are the main issues that we must follow.
Similarly, narrations such as one will be rewarded or be saved from this or that when he/she cites this or that prayer are like medicine. The main issues of the religion such as prayer (salah), fast, zakat (alms) are like food, water and oxygen for our souls to stay alive. Forbidden things such as fornication, gambling are diseases which harm our spiritual life such as poison, high temperature and virus. Recommended prayers (dua) and nawafil prayers will be effective on condition that one avoids harams and performs fard prayers. Otherwise, the result may not be as expected. Though it will still be beneficial, it will not be as much as promised. In summary, every believer can benefit from recommended prayers as much as he/she deserves on condition that taking essential nutrition for soul and avoiding harmful acts.
Moreover, it is not necessary to cite these prayers all at once. They can be cited in different times and also by more than one person.
Firstly, we think it is more appropriate to attribute the increase in the number of people performing prayers by sitting on chairs today compared to the people in the past to the consciousness of the people about prayers.
Having good thoughts about others fits us and is enough for us. We should not think that anybody will prefer sitting on a chair in order to perform a prayer easily when he is healthy and when he can perform a prayer properly. It is necessary to write about the states of excuse making it permissible to perform prayers sitting on a chair.
There are six pillars in a prayer. That is, there are six main acts that form a prayer. There are rules of performing these six acts properly (ta'dil al-arkan). These acts become pillars through those rules. From this point of view, to obey those rules is fard according to Shafii and Maliki madhhabs and Imam Abu Yusuf, one of the imams of Hanafi madhhab; it is wajib according to Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad. These pillars and the acts in them (ta'dil al-arkan) cannot be ignored arbitrarily. If they are ignored, the prayer will be harmed. To put it more clearly, if even one of those six pillars is missing, or if it is not performed properly, it will not be called a prayer.
If there is a pillar or ta'dil al-arkan that one is too weak to do, the necessity to do it is exempted. In that case, that person needs to do the acts that he can and try to act in accordance with ta'dil al-arkan as much as he can. For, the following is a definite principle of the Quran: “On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear!” (al-Baqara, 2/286) Our religion does not order anything that cannot be done.
Imran Ibn Husayn, one of the Companions, narrates: "I was suffering from hemorrhoids. I asked the Prophet (pbuh) how I shall perform prayers. He said,
'Perform your prayers standing. If you cannot perform standing, sit. If you cannot perform sitting, lie down on your side.'" In the narration of the hadith in Nasai, the following addition exists: "If you cannot perform by lying down on your side, lie on your back. Allah does not place anybody a burden greater than he can bear." (Bukhari, Taqsir, 19; Tirmidhi, Mawaqit, 157; Abu Dawud, Salat, 175; Zaylai, Nasbu'r-Raya, II, 175)
As for the issue of how to sit in the prayer, according to Hanafis, a person needs to sit as in the sitting (tashahhud). If he cannot sit like that, he can sit as he wishes. According to Malikis, it is mandub for him to sit cross-legged except in prostration and tashahhud. According to Hanbalis, it is sunnah for him to sit cross-legged except in bowing down (ruku) and tashahhud. It is also permissible for him to sit as he wishes. According to Shafiis, it is sunnah for a person who performs prayers sitting to sit by spreading his feet under his body except in prostration and tashahhud. A person who cannot sit like that can sit as he wishes according to the four madhhabs.
If a person who performs prayers sitting can bow down and prostrate, he needs to do them but if he cannot do them, he performs them through gestures. If a person who performs prayers sitting can bow down and prostrate, he needs to bow down and prostrate; if not, he needs to use his gestures. In that case, the gesture for prostration needs to be more inclined than the gesture for bowing down; it is wajib to do so. A person who can stand but cannot bow down and prostrate needs to use his gestures while standing for bowing down and prostration. In that case, it is necessary to bow more for the sajda than ruku.
Standing is not obligatory in supererogatory prayers. However, it is necessary for a person who can do them to do them. For, there exists the principle of ease and tolerance in supererogatory prayers since they are abundant. The same ease is in question for the ill people who cannot stand in both fard and supererogatory prayers.
Islamic fiqh scholars unanimously agree that those who are too ill to stand in prayers do not have to stand. The evidence of it is the hadith reported by Imran b. Husayn we have mentioned above. If a person can perform qira'ah (reading the Quran) by standing even if it is one verse, he needs to stand long enough to read it.
Those who perform prayers sitting need to perform ruku and sajda to the extent that they can. If it is not possible for a person to bend or if it is harmful for him, he needs to gesture by his head. While gesturing, it is necessary to bend the head a bit more for prostration than bowing down. Thus, it becomes possible to differentiate between them.
It is not necessary for a person who cannot bend fully in ruku and sajda or a person who performs prayers by gestures with his head to place something high before him. In fact, it was forbidden by a hadith. According to a narration by Jabir b. Abdillah, Hz. Prophet (pbuh) went to see an ill person; when he saw him trying to prostrate on a pillow he placed before him, the Prophet removed the pillow and said, "If you can, perform prayers on the ground. If it is not possible, perform prayers by gestures. Bend a bit more in sajda than ruku." (Zaylai, ibid, 2/175 ff)
If an ill person cannot sit, he needs to lie on his back, make his feet face the qiblah and gesture for ruku and sajda. It is also permissible if he lies on his side by facing the qiblah and perform prayers by gesturing.
According to the majority of the Islamic fiqh scholars, a person who cannot gesture by his head needs to gesture by his eyes; if he cannot do it by his head and eyes, he needs to do it by his heart. He cannot abandon prayers if he is sane.
In conclusion, the limit for the ease for an ill person regarding prayers is gesturing by the head according to Hanafis, by the eye or intention according to Malikis, and following the parts of the prayer by the heart according to Shafiis and Hanbalis.
As for the use of a chair, the following options can be offered to the ill people:
1. If a person who cannot perform ta'dil al-arkan while standing and bowing down can perform ta'dil al-arkan in prostration and tashahhud, he is not allowed to sit for prostration and tashahhud. This person can use a chair as a support for standing and/or bowing down. However, it is fard for him to perform ta'dil al-arkan in prostration and tashahhud.
2. . If a person who can perform ta'dil al-arkan while standing and bowing down but cannot perform ta'dil al-arkan in prostration and tashahhud, he needs to prostrate if he can by stretching his legs or some other way. He can sit by turning toward the qiblah as he wishes. If he cannot touch the ground/floor with his forehead, he can perform prostration and tashahhud as he wishes (by sitting or lying).
3. A person can use a chair as a support for any of the six pillars of prayer that he cannot perform ta'dil al-arkan without a chair. He is not allowed to use a chair for the other pillars that he can perform ta'dil al-arkan without a chair.
4. If a person is too ill and old to perform prayers without leaning on somewhere, he can perform prayers by leaning. It is makruh for a person to lean if he can perform prayers without leaning.
5. Situations like the ground being muddy, the caravan not waiting for a person, the horse, camel, etc being grumpy and difficult to control when one dismounts can be used as an excuse to perform a prayer on horseback, camelback, etc. From this point of view, it can be said that a person who has difficulty in sitting or standing can perform his prayers by sitting on a chair.
6. To have peace of mind while praying is also important. If a person suffers when he performs a prayer sitting and if he feels all right on a chair, he can perform prayers by sitting on a chair.
Note: The decree of the Turkish Directorate of the Religious Affairs regarding the issue is as follows:
Prayer is a kind of worship in which a person approaches Allah the most. Due to this quality, the Prophet (pbuh) defines prayer as the best deed (Ibn Majah, Taharah, 4) and states that the first thing man will be questioned about on the Day of Judgment is prayer. (Tirmidhi, Salat, 188) Therefore, a person is not allowed to abandon prayers and he is demanded to perform prayers even if by gestures. Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said, "Allah's protection will be away from a person who abandons performing prayers deliberately." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, VI. 421)
The pillars of prayer are stated in the Quran and Sunnah; the Prophet (pbuh) himself explained orally and practically how to perform prayers. Those pillars are the takbir of iftitah (opening), standing, qira'ah (reading the Quran), bowing down (ruku), prostration (sajda) and the last sitting. Allah said, "Stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind)" (al-Baqara, 2/238) "O ye who believe! Bow down, prostrate yourselves, and adore your Lord; and do good; that ye may prosper." (al-Hajj, 22/77) Hz. Prophet (pbuh) taught a Companion how to pray and showed how to do tashahhud at the end; he said, "When you do this, your prayer will be complete." (Tirmidhi, Abwabu's-Salat, 226)
If one of those pillars is omitted without any excuse, the prayer will not be valid. However, in our religion, responsibilities are determined based on the power of a person (al-Baqara, 2/286); the principle of easiness is introduced for the situations that a person cannot cope with (al-Baqara, 2/185). The disorders that prevent a person from performing any of the pillars of the prayer are regarded as excuses.
Accordingly, a person who cannot perform prayers properly by standing can perform them by sitting. Such a person can perform prayers by kneeling down, sitting cross-legged or stretching his legs toward the qiblah based on his state. When a Companion who was ill asked the Prophet (pbuh) how to perform prayers, he said, "Perform prayers standing. If you cannot perform them standing, sit or lie down on your side." (Bukhari, Taqsiru's-Salat, 19)
A person who can stand and can sit but who cannot prostrate needs to start prayer standing, sit after ruku and prostrate by gestures.
A person who can stand but cannot stand up after sitting starts prayer standing and completes his prayer sitting after prostrating.
A person who can stand and can perform ruku but cannot sit starts prayer standing; after ruku, he performs prostration by gestures by sitting on a stool or something like that.
A person who cannot stand and cannot sit on the ground/floor sits on a stool, chair, etc and performs ruku and sajda by gestures.
When a person worships his Lord, he should be sincere and try to fulfill the formal conditions determined by the religion. He should be aware of the fact that he will be held responsible because of the lack of efforts and sensitiveness. Therefore, the excuses a believer makes in order to perform prayers on a chair, stool, etc should persuade his conscience. Slight bodily disorders that will not prevent performing prayers properly should not be put forward as acceptable excuses.
On the other hand, to perform prayers on chairs in mosques without any compulsory and religiously acceptable excuses causes an unpleasant appearance in mosques and leads to quarrels among the congregation. Placing fixed benches and chairs in mosques with the purpose of performing prayers does not comply with the ambiance and culture of mosques. Therefore, it is more appropriate for those who have some illnesses and excuses to perform their prayers by sitting on the ground/floor than on a chair, stool, etc.
There are four rightful sects. Muslims perform their (obligatory) prayers by following one of those sects. All of those sects are based on The Prophet's Sunnah (the practice of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him). You perform your worships and prayers in accordance with your sect, which you follow, by reading the book of that sect.
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Answer 1:
The right of life is general, universal. That is, there is no difference between a believer and an unbeliever, a human being and animal regarding the issue. A person who is given life is given sustenance, too. Sustenance is given as a right of life not as a right of belief or worshipping. Their right is the eternal bliss in the hereafter.
We can continue to consider the issue as follows:
There are different mirrors and grounds for the manifestation of each name of Allah. Most of them are not related to the belief of man. For instance, a farmer who wants to obtain a bigger share from the manifestation of the name ar-Razzaq (the Sustainer) will be given more yields if he fulfils necessary conditions. The belief of the farmer is not important. A person who wants the manifestation of the name ash-Shafi (the Healer) will use the medicine that will treat his illness. His belief is not important because that person has known how to ask for the manifestation of that name and he has been healed in return. A person who does not act accordingly might not be healed even if he is a perfect Muslim.
Accordingly, if a Muslim wants to benefit from the bounties of the divine names, he has to try to be a mirror deserving the manifestation of those names. If he does not do it, he will not get what he wants. However, the same believer will seek for the divine bounties in the hereafter if he fulfils the necessities of worshipping, good deeds and sincerity.
A person who does not fulfill those necessities will not get his share from Paradise no matter how successful he is in the world.
Allah has two separate sets of laws. The first one is the decrees of the Quran, which discipline the deeds of man based on his will. The second one is the laws that maintain the order in the universe and the things in it. The first one is the Shariah that we know. The second one is called the Shariah of creation. The laws of nature belong to the second Shariah.
Those who obey or disobey the decrees of the Quran are usually rewarded or punished in the hereafter; those who obey or disobey the Shariah of creation are usually rewarded or punished in this world. Accordingly, a believer who does not obey the Shariah of creation suffers failure, misery and wretchedness in this world in return for his disobedience. A non-Muslim who obeys those laws is rewarded in this world because he acts in accordance with the divine will though unwittingly.
Answer 2:
The prayers that are carried out in accordance with those laws of creation are regarded as actual prayers. A person who does it whether wittingly or unwittingly asks for it from Allah and Allah answers his prayer. For instance, plowing, taking medicine for an illness are actual prayers. He who creates the tree and heals is Allah.
There are many sources that show the existence of actual prayer:
a. Mental Source: Allah attributed certain causes to all happenings that take place in the world as a necessity of His name al-Hakim (the All-Wise). Everything in the world and the universe functions based on the laws and rules that Allah has imposed.
It is an obvious reality that it is necessary for an eye to see the sun, and the eye must have the ability to see. Getting married is an actual prayer for having a child. It is an actual prayer for a person to fill in a form in order to be able to take the university entrance exam, to attend to a cram school and to study. A person who is thirsty wants water but he does not wait for the water to come to him; he goes to the place where the water is, puts the water in a glass and drinks it. That is, if he wants what he asks from Allah to happen, he uses the means and obeys the rules and laws that Allah taught him and waits for the result from Allah.
b. Quranic Source: In many verses, the relation between man’s effort and the result he will obtain is underlined. That effort means actual prayer. In the following verse: “That man can have nothing but what he strives for” (an-Najm, 53/39), the importance of actual prayer is underlined.
“Do ye then see?? The (human seed) that ye throw out,? Is it ye who create it, or are We the Creator?” (al-Waqia, 56/58-59), in the verses above, it is emphasized that the sperm belongs to man and that it is an actual prayer for the creation of man.
In the following verses of the same chapter: “See ye the seed that ye sow in the ground? Is it ye that cause it to grow or are We the Cause?“ (al-Waqia, 96/63-64), the fact that “sowing the seed” is mentioned as something belonging to man shows that it is an actual prayer. More verses regarding the issue can be given as examples.
c. Prophetic Source: There is clear information about the issue in hadiths.
Amr b. Umayya ad-Damri narrates: when I said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), “O Messenger of Allah! I let my camel and entrusted it to Allah”, he said, “No, first fasten your camel and then entrust it to Allah”. (Majmau’z-Zawaid, 10/303) The hadith orders to fasten the animal first, that is, the actual prayer.
When a Companion said to our Prophet (pbuh) that his camel was ill and that he prayed for him, it is very well known that our Prophet said to him, “Add some bitumen to your prayer...” Here, it is pointed out that the actual prayer should be added to the verbal prayer.
That is, actual prayer is praying verbally first and then working hard and doing everything which is necessary to realize that thing. A person who really wants something should perform both the verbal and the actual prayer.
The inner-adhan was called during the time of the Prophet (PBUH)). Outer-adhan was put into practice in the period of Caliph Uthman.
The Prophet (PBUH) greeted people when he entered the mosque, and when he ascended the pulpit, he greeted them again. It is called “the sitting of rest” Bilal started announcing the adhan , and when he was done, the Prophet (PBUH) recited a sermon including advice, after glorification of Allah. After sitting a while, he stood up and gave the second sermon and then descended from the pulpit. He led the congregation in the two-rakat Friday prayer after the iqamah was recited. He usually recited loudly, the surah al-Jumua (Friday) in the first rakat and the surah al-Munafiqun (Hypocrites) in the second rakat. The reason why he recited the surah al-Jumua in the first rakat was because the Friday prayer was the time when the number of the congregation is the highest and he wanted to teach them about the customs of the holy day Friday, and the reason why he recited the surah al-Munafiqun was because he wanted to warn them against the perils of the hypocrites. However, it is narrated that, in later times, he recited the surah al-A’la in the first rakat and surah al-Jathiya in the second rakat.
Although the prayer was performed in this manner during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar,during the Caliphate of Uthman, they needed an outer adhan because of the increasing population of the city. There were many people dwelling far from the mosque. It was announced in Zawra. After the Caliph Uthman, this practice was also adopted by the other cities and mosques. 80 years after Uthman, during the Caliphate of Hisham b. Abdulmalik, Hisham ordered the adhan to be announced from the minaret of the mosque, which is in the middle of the city.
There are three periods of time in which the performance of all kinds of prayers whether fard or nafilah is makrooh (abominable):
1. The period of time from the sunrise until it starts to shine dazzlingly is a time of karahah. This period corresponds to a period of approximately 45-50 minutes after the sunrise.
2. The second time of karahah is from when the sun is at its zenith until it starts to move slightly towards west.
3. The third time of karahah is from the time when the sun is close to set and it does not shine dazzlingly any more until it sets completely. That is, we can say that the prayer of Asr (afternoon) must not be delayed until the sun starts to fade, i.e. until the time of karahah.
• If Asr is delayed until the time of karahah, it cannot be performed as qada prayer. It is necessary to perform its fard part, leaving sunnah. Besides, if one starts the fard of Asr just before the sunset and the sun sets during prayer, the prayer is considered to be accepted. Then, it is not necessary to perform it as qada later, as it is considered to be performed in time. This situation is exclusive to Asr.
• The reason behind the fact that those three periods of time are considered karahah is that they are the praying times of fire-worshippers.
• Reciting salawat (prayers in which one asks Allah to bless prophet Muhammad and his descendants.), praying orally and glorifying Allah is better than reading the Quran during these three periods of time.
It is permissible to pray or carry scripts of verses and hadiths in order to get rid of fear and illness. Abdullah bin Umar narrated the following from the Prophet (pbuh): “ If one of you fears while he is asleep, he should pray like this: I turn to Allah from His rage and punishment and the evilness of people and delusions of satan. Then nothing can hurt him. Abdullah bin Amr used to teach this to children who reached the age of responsibility and the children that had not reached that particular age, he used to write it and give them to carry it with them. (Abu Dawud, Nasai, Tirmidhi).
The Prophet (pbuh) used to supplicate and blow it on water and make ill people drink that water. For this reason, it is permissible to carry the script of the surah Ya-Sin on us or recite it to water and drink it.
What is meant by that expression in the hadiths is that the worshipping will not be expected in the perfect manner.
It will be wrong to say that the other worshipping of a person who does not perform five daily prayers is not accepted because Allah does not let any good deed disappear. However, since prayer (salah) is the essence of all kinds of worshipping and since a person who does not perform prayers is regarded to have committed sins, the reward he gets from other kinds of worshipping will decrease. That is, he cannot obtain the perfect rewards but his deeds are valid.
As it is known, a believer is going to enter Paradise. Those who will eternally remain in the hell are the people of unbelievers. According to the belief held by ahl al sunnah ( the people who follow the acts and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)), a person not performing the five daily compulsory prayers does not become an unbeliever but he commits a major sin. The second hadith does not mean that the people failing to perform the five daily obligatory prayers are going to be idol worshipers. Rather, it implies that, by doing so, the person not performing the prayers is not fulfilling one of the obligations of Islam. For example, telling lies is one of the sings of munafiqs (hypocrites). A Muslim does not become a munafiq if he tells lies. He just has one of the characteristics peculiar to munafiqs. The mushriks (a person who assigns partners to Allah) do not perform prayers. A Muslim bears resemblance to them by not fulfilling obligatory prayers. He does not become an unbeliever in terms of belief.
When we go over the hadiths relating to salah (prayers), we will find out that all the time the merits and benefits of prayers are mentioned. The scholars of Islam interpreted the following hadiths “between man and between polytheism and unbelief is the negligence of prayer, “The difference between us and munafiqs is the salah” as denying the obligation of prayer and considering not performing prayer as halal."
Ibn Abidin says at the beginning of the chapter salah in his work entitled Raddu’l-Mukhtar that those denying the obligation of salah become unbelievers. However, those giving it up just because of their ignorance and laziness turn out to be fasiq (a person who engages in evil talks and deeds) and sinful.
That is to say, failing to perform daily obligatory prayers is one of the major sins. The only group of people claming that those not performing prayers become unbelievers is the Mutazila school, which is a deviant madhhab. However, considering the truth that “within each sin, there is a path leading to unbelief” and behaving accordingly, we need to point out that the faith of a person not performing prayers constantly is certain to encounter dangers in the course of time.
It should be quiet enough not to harm your prayers and prevent you from praying calmly. However, if you have to pray in a noisy and disturbing place, prayers in such places are valid too.
God forbid, a thought like ‘Allah is in the sky’ is not permissible. However, if His elevation, magnitude and mercy coming down from great realms are meant, we hope it will not be objectionable. As a matter of fact, when we pray, we open our hands toward the sky.
Any prayer can be read for it. What matters is the prayer based on deeds in the first place. We should practice Islam and serve as good examples. Then, it is necessary to tell a person about Islam taking into consideration his state, environment and needs. It will be nice to pray for that person after that.
According to a narration, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “O Allah! Strengthen Islam with either of these two men – Abu Jahl and Umar b. Hattab – ” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) added the following : “The more beloved of them in the sight of Allah was Umar.” (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 18; see Musnad 2/25; Qadi Iyad, ash-Shifa, 1/327; Bayhaqi, Dalailu’n-Nubuwwa, 2/215)
We can say a prayer like this: “O Allah! Make this person a believer; make him embrace Islam.”
O man who is connected to the world as if worshipping it! Does your slackness in worship and deficiency in prayers arise from the multiplicity of your worldly occupations, or because you cannot find time due to the struggle for livelihood? Were you created only for this world that you spend ail your time on it?
Why do you not understand that your basic duty is not to labor like an animal, but to expend effort for a true, perpetual life, like a true human being.!
Besides, the worldly works are trivial matters that mostly do not concern you, and that you meddle in officiously and confuse. You leave aside the essential things and pass your time in acquiring inessential information as if you were going to live for thousands of years.
As a result: O man! Know that yesterday has left you, and as for tomorrow, you have nothing to prove that it will be yours. In which case, know that your true life is the present day. So throw at least one of its hours into a mosque or prayer-mat, a coffer for the hereafter like a reserve fund, set up for the true future.
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A person may not be always wistful. Soul that was given to us as for test does not want to worship. Our mission is to continue worshipping while struggling with soul and Satan. Sometimes eagerness for worshiping increases, sometimes it can decrease. Those are not important. You should not esteem towards Satan’s scruple. Unwillingness to worship does not emerge from unbelief. If you did not have a perfect faith, you would not occupy that problem to yourself. You should remain insensitive to the scruples about this subject. Also, it is necessary to keep away from sins. A person, who commits sins, begins to get bored of worships. In this case, you should repent as soon as possible and keep away from sins.
There are some causes for us about being unwilling while worshipping:
1- It can be because of the fact that we do not understand exactly the importance and the value of worshipping. In this case, it is necessary to benefit from the books telling us the essence of the worships.
2- The atmosphere we are in can be very unfavorable spiritually. Indeed, our noses feel indisposed somewhere where a carcass exists. Similarly, we may not get pleasure from the worships at a place where a lot of harams (acts or deeds which are prohibited by Allah) are being committed since our spirit will feel indisposed there.
3- A sick person can not take pleasure from the things he eats and drinks. For example, someone whose tongue is injured can not relish and enjoy the taste of the food he is eating. Then, he should be cured. We also injure our spirits and hearts and make them sick by committing sins. Because of that, we are unable to take exact pleasure from the worshipping which is the sustenance of the spirit. Therefore, we have to be cured. At first, the curing of the spirit is possible with repent and istighfar (asking forgiveness from Allah), then trying not to commit those sins again.
There is an important subject here. The sick person can not delight the food he is eating and drinking but he still continues to eat and drink. Because, he has to be nourished. We should also go on worshipping although we do not enjoy it. Because, our spirits need sustenance. If Allah wills (inshaallah), we will begin to take pleasure in the course of time and the worship we perform will save us from sins.
While praying, it is permissible to refer to some great people. Especially, referring to prophets and Muhammad (pbuh) contributes to the acceptance of this prayer. Likewise, this issue is pointed out in a verse from the Qur’an : “Surely God and His angels bless the Prophet (He always treats him with His special mercy, with the angels praying to Him to grant him the highest station of praise with Him, and for the decisive victory of his Religion). O you who believe, invoke the blessings of God on him, and pray to God to bestow His peace on him, greeting him with the best greeting. (Love and follow him with utmost sincerity and faithfulness, and give yourselves to his way with perfect submission).” (the Qur’an, al-Ahzab, 33:56). Furthermore, in an hadith narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), the importance of praying to Allah to bestow peace and blessings on the Prophet (pbuh) is pointed out: “Whoever prays to Allah to bestow peace and blessing on me will be bestowed with peace and blessing by God for ten times and ten of their sins will be forgiven and his level will be raised ten times higher.”(2)
For this reason, referring to the prophets, to Honored Companions and to saints in the prayer, anything can be asked from Allah for the sake of these great people. However, it is not permissible to visit the tombs of religiously honorable people in order to light candles or to tie wires, pieces of clothes, ropes etc to the tombs as people are doing today.
It is reported that due to a draught during the caliphate of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he took Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) with him to pray to Allah to send down some rain and holding his hands, he prayed : “ O Allah! This is the hand of the uncle of Your Prophet (pbuh). Please send us down some rain for the sake of this hand”. Also, the revered people has always been praying to Allah as follows: “ O Allah! For the sake of those who you love and who love you, please show us mercy and bestow on us your blessing or provide us with what we need…”
(1) The Qur’an, al-Ahzab, 33:56
(2) Nasai, Sahiw, 55 (3:50)
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Burayda (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
Hazrat Prophet taught the Companions to utter the following when they went to a graveyard:
"Assalamu alaykum ahlad diyari minal-muminin. Wa inna inshaallahu bikum lahiqun. As'alullaha lana wa lakumu'l afiyah."
"Peace be upon you, O the believing people of this land! God willing, we will join you soon. I ask Allah to forgive us and you." (1)
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said, “the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) visited some graves in Madinah. He turned toward them and said,
‘Peace be upon you, O those lying in the graves! May Allah forgive us and you. You left before us. We will follow you.’" (2)
After that, a person should read some of the chapters and verses of the Quran that he knows and send the rewards to the spirits of the dead people.
In the first years of Islam, visiting the graves was prohibited due to some customs belonging to the period of Jahiliyya. Then, it was made permissible. The aim of visiting graves is to remember death. Graves are visited so that our hearts that become stuck on the world and are hardened might soften; along with the visit, the dead are greeted and the recommended prayers are said.
It is deemed appropriate for a person who visits the graves to pray for the dead, to read the Quran and send the rewards to the spirits of the dead people lying there. It is not appropriate to cry loudly, to make noise, to kiss the bars and stones of the tomb, to hug them and cry.
1- Muslim, Janaiz 104. See also Nasai, Janaiz 103; Ibn Majah, Janaiz 36.
2- Tirmidhi, Janaiz 59.
First of all, we should state that shedding tears changes from person to person. Some people are more emotional and can cry due to a small cause.
Therefore, what matters is not tears but the grief of the heart and the crying of the heart. For this reason, it is better to think that we are in the presence of Allah and we are worshipping our Lord, who created us out of nothing, and to try to worship Allah with this consciousness while performing prayers instead of trying to force ourselves to shed tears and to cry.
The grief of the heart depends on the preference of the person. The preference of the heart appears based on the grievous views that it sees. If the heart comes across with a nice view, it uses its preference in favor of joy – without depending on the will of its owner. If the view it comes across is grievous and troubled, it uses its preference in favor of grief and trouble – automatically. This rule is always valid whether we understand it or not.
Therefore, if we do not want to grieve our heart, we should not make it come across with grievous views and imaginations.
What we should do regarding the issue is to try to remember our faults, sins and disrespect toward our Lord, who granted us thousands of bounties, even if a few minutes before performing prayers.
It is necessary to know Allah very well in order to understand what disrespect toward Allah means. The principle of wisdom that means, “The real wisdom is to know Allah” (Kanzu’l-Ummal, h. no: 5873) tells us many things. It is also possible to understand what a treasure of knowledge it is to know Allah from this verse: “Those truly fear Allah, among His Servants who have knowledge” (Fatir,35/28).
An important point is this: in the hadith that praises those “who shed tears due to fear of Allah...” (Kanzu’l-ummal, h. no:5874), the issue that is emphasized is the fear of Allah not tears. Tears are important because they are a sign of fear of Allah. The eyes that cry without fear of Allah have no value at all. What is the use of constrained crying without feeling respect and fear toward Allah, without feeling His magnificence, without assuming the state of humbleness, modesty and shivering originating from knowing Allah?
Fear of Allah becomes manifest by obeying His orders and prohibitions. Those who obey them will definitely have respect, love and fear toward Allah; and they will shed tears from their hearts.
Every sin forms a stain in the heart. Every stain closes some of the windows of the feelings that a person needs to show toward Allah. When those windows are closed, the feelings like respect, love, modesty and fear lie fallow.
Therefore, in order to make the heart and the eyes cry, it is necessary to avoid oral, actual, virtual, in short, all kinds of illegitimate imaginations and forbidden deeds in the first place.
Prophet Muhammad’s statement on this subject (PBUH) is as follows:
Hz. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates. The Prophet (PBUH) said, "None of you should wish for death because of a calamity befalling him; but if he has to wish for death, he should say: "O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and let me die if death is better for me.' " (Bukhari, marda, 19)
Explanation:
1- Although the first addressee of Prophet Muhammad (BPUH)’s hadith is Ashab Al-Kiram (the Companions), all Muslims who will continue to come till Doomsday will be the addressee of this hadith. That is to say, the validity of this prohibition is eternal.
2- Most of salaf scholars regarded the calamity mentioned in the hadith as a worldly one. According to this, if there is a possibility of a religious calamity, it is stated that this will be excluded from the prohibition mentioned in the hadith.
If a Muslim is exposed to a sin, repenting is the way of doing it. Man has been created in a disposition inclined to do both evil and good deeds. For this reason, he may commit sins intentionally or unintentionally. Regarding the matter, Allah lets us know He can grant pardon for any fault with this statement in the Qur’an: “Allah forgiveth not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth whom He pleaseth other sins than this” (Qur’an, Women (An-Nisa), 4: 116).
Our books also state that repenting from the bottom of one’s heart is going to be accepted. Thus, Allah Almighty decrees that all the repentances can be accepted by saying, “O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: in the hope that your Lord will remove from you your evil deeds and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow”. Qur’an, -Holding (Something) to be Forbidden (At-Tahrím), 66: 8)
We can hope that Allah will accept our repentance on condition that we act in accordance with those conditions.
However, man should always remain between hope and fear. We can neither be sure of ourselves and proud of our worshipping, nor can we fall in despair because of our sins. It is wrong to consider like this: “I am a very good slave of God and well accepted by Him; similarly, it is mistaken to think, “I am finished, I do not think Allah will accept me. Besides, realizing his own faults and then asking for God’s forgiveness and taking shelter in Allah is a very great worship.
İbrahim Canan, Kütüb-ü Sitte Muhtasarı tercüme ve şerhi Akçağ Yayınları, V 5, p: 6
A long time after the man said these words, I listened to my soul and I heard it say exactly the same things. And I looked at it and saw that with the ear of laziness, it was receiving the same lesson from Satan. Then I understood that those words were as though said in the name of all evil - commanding souls, or else they had been prompted. So I too said: " Since my soul commands to evil, one who does not reform his own soul cannot reform others. In which case, I shall begin with my own soul. "
I said: O soul! Listen to Five Warnings in response to those words which you uttered in compounded ignorance, on the couch of idleness, in the sleep of heedlessness.
· FIRST WARNING
O my wretched soul! Is your life eternal, I wonder? Have you any incontrovertible document showing that you will live to next year, or even to tomorrow? What causes you boredom is that you fancy you shall live for ever. You complain as though you will remain in the world for pleasure eternally. If you had understood that your life is brief, and that it is departing fruitlessly, to spend one hour out of the twenty-four on a fine, agreeable, easy, and merciful act of service which is the means to the true happiness of eternal life, surely does not cause boredom, but excites a real eagerness and agreeable pleasure.
· SECOND WARNING
O my stomach-worshipping soul! Every day you eat bread, drink water, do they cause you boredom? They do not, because since the need is repeated, it is not boredom, but pleasure, that they give. In which case, the five daily prayers should not cause you boredom, for they attract the sustenance, water of life, and air of your friends in the house of my body, my heart, spirit, and subtle faculties. Indeed, the sustenance and strength of a heart which is afflicted with infinite griefs and sorrows and captivated by infinite pleasures and hopes may be optained by knocking through supplication on the door of One All-Compassionate and Munificent. And the water of life of a spirit connected with most beings, which swiftly depart from this transitory world crying out a separation, may be imbibed by turning towards the spring of mercy and Eternal Beloved through the five daily prayers. And a conscious inner sense and luminous subtle faculty, which by its nature desires eternal life and was created for eternity and is a mirror of the Pre-Eternal and Post-Eternal One and is infinitely delicate and subtle, is surely most needy for air in the sorrowful, crushing, distressing, transient, dark, and suffocating, conditions of this world and can only breathe through the window of the prayers.
· THIRD WARNING
O my impatient soul! Is it at a11 sensible to think today of past hardships of worship, difficulties of the prayers, and troubles of calamities and be distressed, and to imagine the future duties of worship, service of the prayers, and sorrows of disaster and display impatience? In being thus impatient you resemble a foolish commander, who, although the enemy's right flank joined his right flank and became fresh forces for him, he sent a significant force to the right flank, and weakened the centre. Then, while there were no enemy soldiers on the left flank, he sent a large force there, and gave them the order to fire. The centre was then devoid of all forces. The enemy understood this and attacked the centre and routed it.
Yes, you resemble this, for the troubles of yesterday have today been transformed into mercy; the pain has gone while the pleasure remains. The difficulty has been turned into blessings, and the hardship into reward. In which case, you should not feel wearied at it, but make a serious effort to continue with a new eagerness and fresh enthusiasm. As for future days, have not yet arrived, and to think of them now and feel bored and wearied is a lunacy like thinking today of future hunger and thirst, and starting to shout and cry out. Since the truth is this, if you are reasonable you will think of only today in regard to worship, and say: "I am spending one hour of it on a agreeable, pleasant, and elevated act of service, the reward for which is high and whose trouble is little." Then your bitter dispiritedness will be transformed into sweet endeavor.
And so, my impatient soul! You are charged with being patient in three respects. One is patience in worship. Another is patience in refraining from sin. And a third is patience in the face of disaster. If you are intelligent, take as your guide the truth apparent in the comparison in this Third Warning. Say in manly fashion: "O Most Patient One!", and shoulder the three sorts of patience. If you do not squander on the wrong way the forces of patience Almighty God has given you, they should be enough for every difficulty and disaster. So hold out with those forces!
· FOURTH WARNING
O my foolish soul! is this duty of worship without result, and is its recompense little that it causes you weariness? Whereas if someone was to give you a little money, or to intimidate you, he could make you work till evening, and you would work without slacking. So is it that the prescribed prayers are without result, which in this guest-house of the world are sustenance and wealth for your impotent and weak heart, and in your grave, which will be a certain dwelling-place for you, sustenance and light, and at the Resurrection, when you will anyway be judged, a document and patent, and on the Bridge of Sirat, over which you are bound to pass, a light and a mount? And are their recompense little? Someone promises you a present worth a hundred liras, and makes you work for a hundred days. You trust the man who may go back on his word and work without slacking. So if One for Whom the breaking of a promise is impossible, promises you recompense like Paradise and a gift like eternal happiness, and employs you for a very short time in a very agreeable duty, if you do not perform that service, or you act accusingly towards His promise or slight His gift by performing it unwillingly like someone forced to work, or by being bored, or by working in halfhearted fashion, you will deserve a severe reprimand and awesome punishment. Have you not thought of this`? Although you serve without slacking in the heaviest work in this world out of fear of imprisonment, does the fear of an eternal incarceration like Hell not fill you with enthusiasm for a most light and agreeable act of service?
· FIFTH WARNING
O my world-worshipping soul! Does your slackness in worship and deficiency in the prescribed prayers arise from the multiplicity of your worldly occupations, or because you cannot find time due to the struggle for livelihood? Were you created only for this world that you spend ail your time on it? You know that in regard to your abilities you are superior to all the animals and that in regard to procuring the necessities of worldly life you cannot reach even a sparrow, so why can you not understand that your basic duty is not to labour like an animal, but to expend effort for a true, perpetual life, like a true human being. In addition, the things you call worldly occupations mostly do not concern you, and which you meddle in officiously, trivial matters which you confuse. You leave aside the essential things and pass your time in acquiring inessential information as though you were going to live for a thousand years. For example, you squander your precious time on worthless things like, what are the rings around Saturn like, and how many chickens are there in America? As though you were becoming an expert in astronomy or statistics...
I f y o u s a y : "What keeps me from the prayers and worship and causes me to be slack is not unnecessary things like that, but essential matters like earning a livelihood," then my answer is this: if you work for a daily wage of one hundred cents, and someone comes to you and says: "Come and dig here for ten minutes, and you will find a brilliant and an emerald worth a hundred dollars." If you reply: "No, I won't come, because ten cents will be cut from my wage and my subsistence will be less," of course you understand what a foolish pretext it would be. In just the same way, you work in this orchard for your Iivelihood. If you abandon the obligatory prayers, all the fruits of your effort will be restricted to only a worldly, unimportant, and unproductive livelihood. But if you spend the rest periods on the prayers, which are the means to the spirit's ease and heart's taking a breather, then you will discover two mines which are an important source, both for a productive worldly livelihood, and your livelihood and provisions for the hereafter.
First Mine: Through a sound intention, you will receive a share of the praises and glorifications offered by all the plants and trees, whether flowering or fruit-bearing, that you grow in the garden.
Second Mine: Whatever is eaten of the garden's produce, whether by animals or man, cattle or flies, buyers or thieves, it will become like almsgiving from you. But on condition you work in the name of the True Provider and within the sphere of His leave, and see yourself as a distribution official giving His property to His creatures.
So see what a great loss is made by one who abandons the prescribed prayers. What significant wealth he loses, and he remains deprived of those two results and mines which afford him great eagerness in his effort and ensure a strong morale in his actions; he becomes bankrupt. Even, as he grows old, he will grow weary of gardening and lose interest in it, saying, "What is it to me? I am anyway leaving this world, why should I endure this much difficulty?" He will cast himself into idleness. But the first man says: "I shall work even harder at both worship and licit endeavours in order to send even more abundant light to my grave, and procure more provisions for my life in the hereafter. "
I n S h o r t : O my soul! Know that yesterday has left you, and as for tomorrow, you have nothing to prove that it will be yours. In which case, know that your true life is the present day. So throw at least one of its hours into a mosque or prayer-mat, a coffer for the hereafter like a reserve fund, set up for the true future. And know that for you and for everyone each new day is the door to a new world. If you do not perform the prayers, your world that day will depart as dark and wretched, and will testify against you in the World of Similitudes. For everyone, each day, has a private world out of this world, and its nature is dependent on each person's heart and actions. Like a splendid palace reflected in a mirror takes on the colour of the mirror, if it is black, it appears as black, and if it is red, as red. Also it takes on the qualities of the mirror; if the mirror is smooth, it shows the palace to be beautiful, and if it is not, it shows it to be ugly. Like it shows the most delicate things to be coarse, you alter the shape of your own world with your heart, mind, actions, and wishes. You may make it testify either for you or against you. If you perform the five daily prayers, and through them you are turned towards that world's Glorious Maker, all of a sudden your world, which looks to you, is lit up. Quite simply as though the prayers are au electric lamp and your intention to perform them touches the switch, they disperse that world's darkness and show the changes and movements within the confused wretchedness of worldly chaos to be a wise and purposeful order and a meaningful writing of Divine power. They scatter one light of the light-filled verse,
Failing to pray is one of the major sins. Nevertheless, it does not make one, an infidel. It just makes him a sinner. Allah might forgive or punish him.
Praying is the utmost reality after the faith. Therefore, it has been mentioned in the Quran almost a hundred times. No other kind of worship is given so much importance because the prayer is the closest relationship of a believer with his/her Lord. A person who does not perform prayers will have weakened this lofty relationship and have submitted himself to his carnal self and the Satan, which is the real danger.
All of the verses regarding prayers in the Quran encourage people to pray (salat). Some verses about the topic are as follows: “Those believers believe in the unseen and perform the prayer” The prayer is not a big burden only to the ones who really fear Allah” “The believers maintain their prayers” “The prayer prevents man from evil acts and bad words” “Tell my believer servants to pray”
The famous scholar Ibn Abidin states in his book calles Raddu’l-Mukhtar “One becomes infidel if he denies the obligation of performing prayers. However, one becomes a sinner if he quits praying out of laziness or indifference. That is, failing to pray is a grave sin. Only the fallacious sect Mutazila claims that if one commits a grave sin, he will become an infidel. However, it is still necessary to state that one might put his/her faith into danger with a prayerless life depending on the fact that “through every sin, there is a path to faithlessness”
God Almighty does not need anything; He does not need our worship, either. It is we who need worship. Worship is a kind of remedy for our spiritual wounds. It is the food for our spirit and the remedy for the diseases in our heart. Therefore, the reason why God Almighty orders worship is our own benefit. When a doctor insistently advises some medicines to a patient, he does it for the benefit of the patient not for his own benefit. It is nonsense to say to the doctor, “Why do you insist on this medicine? Why do you need it?”; similarly, it is nonsense and illogical to think, “Why does God Almighty order us to worship? Why does He need it?”
The reason why Allah created the universe is to show the manifestations of his names and attributes and to present the wonderful reflections of those manifestations and these beautiful works of art to the witnessing of His own sacred being and to the comprehension of conscious beings like human beings.
Man is usually busy with worldly affairs; so, he does not look at those divine wonders and does take lessons from them related to the oneness of the Creator, His endless knowledge, power and wisdom. One can find the way going to the artist from the art, and to the giver of the bounties from bounties only by getting rid of worldly affairs. The only means of getting rid of those pursuits is prayer (salah).
Light, air, water, meals, which are the food for our worldly life and biological existence, are necessary; similarly, worship and especially prayer (salah), which is the light of the mind, the air of the heart and the food of the spirit, are necessary for a sane person.
Prayer (salah), which means to repent and to apologize, due to our mistakes, to Allah, who is the pre-eternal and post-eternal sultan of the whole universe, who created us out of nothing, who grants us thousands of bounties, promises the eternal life of Paradise to those who show respect to Him, whom we need at every breath and who is our benefactor, is the expression of respect by man toward his Lord. No mind, heart or conscience can put up with the disrespect toward Lord by not performing prayers.
Prayer is like an index of worship that contains all of the other pillars of Islam. For instance, a person who performs prayer also performs a kind of hajj by turning toward the qiblah; he performs a kind of fasting by not eating and drinking during the prayer; he gives a kind of zakah by allocating his time, which is his capital of life, to mention the names of Allah. In addition, during the prayer, he performs the worship of the beings in the universe by standing like trees and plants, by bowing down like the four legged creatures and by prostrating like reptiles.
Similarly, some angels worship Allah by standing all the time, some worship by bowing down and others by prostrating all the time. A person who performs prayers fulfills the worship of the angels by trying to do them at certain periods of time; in a sense, he becomes like an angel.
Prayer is an indicator of worship that is the primary fundamental of the religion of Islam. The following is stated in a hadith: “The most distinguishing property between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is prayer (salah).” (Muslim, Iman, 134; Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 15; Tirmidhi, Iman, 9)
Every person that enters the spiritual climate of Islam based on the contract of belief needs to breathe in this air of worship. It is a civic responsibility of citizenship for every person who accepts to be a spiritual citizen of Islam to perform prayers. The spirit, mind and conscience have the right to benefit from this spiritual atmosphere of worship. It is a great cruelty to deprive them of the interaction with their Lord just because the soul does not want it.
The call to prayer announced five times a day is a call to stand in the presence of Allah and it is like a command to invite the soldiers to muster in the military quarters of the world of the eternal Sultan. A person who does not appear five days on end in the military headquarters is regarded as a fugitive and his military service up to that time goes down the drain; he will have to start military service from scratch.
Think of the situation of a person who does not appear despite the call of Allah five times a day and runs away!
Prayer is real reunion. It means thanking the real friend who grants us abundant bounties.
Prayer is a stand in silence to the sublime Creator.
Prayer is a luminous bond that connects the earth with the sky. It is a necessity of the common sense for those who want to attain the brightness of divine peace to clutch at this bond.
Performing prayers in congregation is very important. Prayer in congregation is regarded as one of the magnificent worship ceremonies of Islam. The fact that prayer in congregation is given a lot of importance in Islam shows that this holy religion is a religion of unity and that a constant solidarity is aimed among Muslims.
Prayer in congregation eliminates the privileges originating from lineage and social classes. No matter what lineage, color and nationality they belong to, all Muslims stand in the same rank when they perform prayers and they turn to the same qiblah, worshipping Allah all together like a single body.
Prayer in congregation is the best means of integrating the community. It is a very good opportunity for believers to find out about one another’s situation.
If the stones of a building are strong, the building is also strong. Accordingly, if everybody, who is a stone of the building of the society, becomes spiritually and physically sound and strong through the worship of prayer, the building of the society will be sound and strong. The basic condition for this soundness after belief is prayer.
There are a lot of verses and hadiths stating the importance of prayer. A few of them are presented below to give an idea:
“O ye who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere.” (al-Baqara, 2/153)
In this verse, it is pointed out that it is necessary to learn to be patient and to benefit from the grace of prayer in order to pass the test in the world. In fact, prayer and patience are like the cogwheels of a machine that support each other. To perform prayers five times a day necessitates perseverance. However, a person who performs prayers learns to be patient because he disciplines his life. That is, prayer helps one be patient and patience helps one perform prayers.
“Prayer it is indeed hard, except to those who are humble.” (al-Baqara, 2/45)
In the verse above, it is emphasized that performing prayers is directly proportionate to knowing Allah. It is really difficult for those who are deprived of this knowledge to show long term patience related to performing prayers.
This old world has seen so many people who said, “I performed prayers for one year; I noticed that it would never end; so, I gave it up.”
“Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers Especially the middle prayer, and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind).” (al-Baqara, 2/238)
“Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds.” (al-Ankabut, 29/45)
“The Believers must (eventually) win through, those who humble themselves in their prayers.” (al-Muminun, 23/1-2)
In the meeting of “Alastu bi rabbikum”, which is beyond the boundaries of human mind and which is a secret meeting of the unseen world, everybody said “yes” with their spiritual structures and tongue of wisdom to Allah’s question, “(Am I not your Lord?) Prayer is a signature that reaffirms the promise given in the unseen world in this world. Prayer is the ascension of the believer.
Istikhara means, in the dictionary, asking good things from Allah. That is, to ask Allah whether something one wants to do is good or bad, whether to do it at once or later will be better and ask Allah to make his heart satisfied about it.
Istikhara is a sunnah of our Prophet. It is a form of praying and worshipping he advised his umma. Our Prophet (pbuh) taught how to make istikhara and what prayer to read in person. Jabir bin Abdullah says the following regarding the importance of istikhara:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) taught us to make istikhara for our tasks, business, etc whether small or big as if he taught us the Quran and said: ‘When one of you decides to do something in his heart, he should perform a prayer of two rakats.” Bukhari, Kusuf: 75.
Istikhara prayer has two rakats. Imam Ghazali recommends reading chapter al-Kafirun after al-Fatiha in the first rakat and chapter al-Ikhlas in the second rakat. Imam Ghazali. Ihya Ulumiddin. (Daru Ihyai’l-Kutubu’l-Arabi) 1:207.
Ibn Abidin writes the following regarding the sign whether the desire of the person who makes the istikhara is appropriate or not:
“Before going to bed, the person makes wudu, recites the prayer and lies down turning towards qiblah. If he sees white or green in his dream, it indicates that it is good for him; if he sees black or red, it indicates that it is bad for him. It is necessary to avoid bad things.” Ibn Abidin, 1:461.
The prayer that is performed in order to understand whether something to be done will be good or bad or whether that thing should be done immediately or should it be postponed is called salat istikhara. It consists of two rakats. A person who wants to make istikhara should perform that salat before going to bed; he should read chapter al-Kafirun after al-Fatiha in the first rakat and chapter al-Ikhlas in the second rakat. After the salat, he should recite the istikhara prayer. He should have wudu and lie down turning towards qiblah. If he sees white or green in his dream, it indicates that it is good for him; if he sees black or red, it indicates that it is bad for him. Salat istikhara is ordered to be performed 7 nights and then one should decide about the thing that comes to his heart. Istikhara is performed for the things that cannot be decided or that are hesitated. Istikhara is only performed when one thinks of doing something but cannot decide how to do it or hesitates. If something is definitely known to be correct, or if something is consulted and a decision is made about it, then istikhara is not performed about it. When what is right is found and decided, there is no need for istikhara. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) adviced his companions to make istikhara. Those who cannot perform salat istikhara due to an excuse can only recite the istikhara prayer. The following is stated in a hadith: "He who makes istikhara will not be harmed; he who consults will not regret;..."
Following the outcome of the istikhara is not an obligation. A person who doesn't follow the outcome of the istikhara, will not face any difficulty. So the istikhara is not binding.
The prayer that is performed in order to understand whether something to be done will be good or bad or whether that thing should be done immediately or should it be postponed is called salat istikhara. It consists of two rakats. A person who wants to make istikhara should perform that salat before going to bed; he should read chapter al-Kafirun after al-Fatiha in the first rakat and chapter al-Ikhlas in the second rakat. After the salat, he should recite the istikhara prayer. He should have wudu and lie down turning towards qiblah. If he sees white or green in his dream, it indicates that it is good for him; if he sees black or red, it indicates that it is bad for him. Salat istikhara is ordered to be performed 7 nights and then one should decide about the thing that comes to his heart. Istikhara is performed for the things that cannot be decided or that are hesitated. Istikhara is only performed when one thinks of doing something but cannot decide how to do it or hesitates. If something is definitely known to be correct, or if something is consulted and a decision is made about it, then istikhara is not performed about it. When what is right is found and decided, there is no need for istikhara. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) adviced his companions to make istikhara. Those who cannot perform salat istikhara due to an excuse can only recite the istikhara prayer. The following is stated in a hadith: "He who makes istikhara will not be harmed; he who consults will not regret;..." The prayer of istikhara that our Prophet recited is as follows:
اَللّهُمَّ إِنِّى أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بَقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ اَللّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هذَا اْلاَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لى فِى دينى وَمَعَاشِى وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِى فَاقْدُرْهُ لى وَيَسِّرْهُ لى ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لى فيهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هذَا اْلأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لى فِى دينى وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرى فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّى وَاصْرِفْنى عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِى الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنى بِه
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi-ilmika wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika wa as`aluka min fadlika`l-azim. Fa-innaka taqdiru wa la akdiru wa ta`lamu wa la a`lamu wa anta allamu`l-ghuyub. Allahumma in kunta ta`lamu anna haza`l-amra khayrun li fi dini wa maashi wa aqibati amri faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li. Summa barik li fih. Wa in kunta ta`lamu haza`l-amra sharrun li fi dini wa maashi wa aqibati amri, fasrifhu anni wasrifni anhu waqdur li`l-khayra haythu kana. Summa ardini bih...
Translation of the prayer: Oh Allah! I seek Your guidance by virtue of Your knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue of Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You have power; I have none. And You know; I know not. You are the Knower of hidden things Oh Allah! If in Your knowledge, this matter is good for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, immediate and in the future, then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge, this matter is bad for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, immediate and in the future, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it. And ordain for me the good wherever it may be, and make me content with it.
Mehmet Dikmen
If a person who attempts to do something like business, marriage, travel, etc and hesitates whether that attempt will be good for him or not, he tries to find solutions to eliminate his doubt and hesitation. The first thing to do about it is to search whether that attempt is legitimate and halal or not, whether it is in compliance with religious principles or not.
If a person cannot decide on his own, the best thing to do is to ask a person who is qualified in that topic, find out about his opinion and if necessary to discuss it with him in detail, that is to consult someone. The person to be consulted should be experienced, knowledgeable and reliable.
The Quran, which regards mutual consultation and talking as one of the characteristics of the believers, says, “they conduct their affairs by mutual consultation”1 warning that the people to be consulted should be qualified and they should not be outsiders in terms of ideas and beliefs:
“O ye who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks; they will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths; what their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made plain to you the Signs, if ye have wisdom.”2
As it is seen, a believer with foresight should not talk about his private issues to everybody or whoever he meets because he should estimate that while looking for someone to help him, he may make mistakes by making a wrong decision as a result of his talk to that person. Some decisions that a person makes may bind him to things and affect him lifelong. For instance, education, business, marriage… A person who sets up a business without calculating well may see one day that his business is going downwards and understands that he is going bankrupt; he may lose his capital, too. That state affects both his material and spiritual life greatly. A person who marries without searching well can suffer due to his haste and imprudence lifelong and it can transform his world to Hell. Therefore, we must always practice consultation; we must not do even the simplest thing without asking experienced and qualified people.
Our Prophet, who is an example for his umma in all phases of his life, consulted his relatives and companions about every issue, found out about their opinions and then decided. As a matter of fact, he received revelation; he was more intelligent, clever, sophisticated and considerate than everybody else. He asked his companions about almost everything that was not determined by revelation. He warned his umma not to do anything without consulting and said that he who consulted would never regret:
“He who makes istikhara will not be harmed; he who consults will not regret; he who acts in accordance with economy will not suffer financial difficulties in his family.”3
As it is seen, the hadith bases the social life of a Muslim on acting in accordance with three things: consultation, istikhara and economy.
Istikhara, which is recommended in the hadith, is a sunnah that a person who cannot feel comfortable in his heart and who is not satisfied emotionally though he has consulted can practice.
Istikhara means, in the dictionary, asking good things from Allah. That is, to ask Allah whether something one wants to do is good or bad, whether to do it at once or later will be better and ask Allah to make his heart satisfied about it.
Istikhara is a sunnah of our Prophet. It is a form of praying and worshipping he advised his umma. Our Prophet (pbuh) taught how to make istikhara and what prayer to read in person. Jabir bin Abdullah says the following regarding the importance of istikhara:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) taught us to make istikhara for our tasks, business, etc whether small or big as if he taught us the Quran and said:
‘When one of you decides to do something in his heart, he should perform a prayer of two rakats.”4
Istikhara prayer has two rakats. Imam Ghazali recommends reading chapter al-Kafirun after al-Fatiha in the first rakat and chapter al-Ikhlas in the second rakat.5
After performing the prayer, the following prayer reported from our Prophet (pbuh) is recited:
“Oh Allah! I seek Your guidance by virtue of Your knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue of Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You have power; I have none. And You know; I know not. You are the Knower of hidden things Oh Allah! If in Your knowledge, this matter is good for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, immediate and in the future, then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge, this matter is bad for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, immediate and in the future, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it. And ordain for me the good wherever it may be, and make me content with it. ”6
While reciting the prayer, the thing to be meant is used instead of the words “this matter”. Thus, the Turkish (English) translation of the prayer can be recited but it is more virtuous to recite the Arabic original. The original of the prayer is present in the resources we give and in books of ilm-al-hal.
After the person makes istkhara, he should do what his heart tends towards and he should leave his prejudice and conviction before the istikhara and act accordingly. If he does not feel content and satisfied despite the istikhara, he can make istikhara again. It is sunnah. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says the following in a hadith reported by Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him):
“O Anas, when you intend to do something important, then seek the good (istikhara) from your Lord seven times and then do that to which your heart (or mind) goes, because the good is in it.”7
If the matter is urgent and it is not possible to make istikhara again, the following prayer is recited:
“Oh Allah! Give me what is good for me. Do not leave me on my own.”
Ibn Abidin writes the following regarding the sign whether the desire of the person who makes the istikhara is appropriate or not:
“Before going to bed, the person makes wudu, recites the prayer and lies down turning towards qiblah. If he sees white or green in his dream, it indicates that it is good for him; if he sees black or red, it indicates that it is bad for him. It is necessary to avoid bad things.”8
However, istikhara is spiritual strength for believers who are in trouble. A believer who is hesitant about something performs two rakats of prayer and turns towards God Almighty. He asks Allah to create contentment in his heart towards the business he will attempt, the spouse he will choose, etc if it is good for his religion, world and the hereafter and to create strength in his body to do it; he asks God Almighty to eliminate the inclination in his heart towards it if it is not good for his religion, world and the hereafter. He feels relief in his heart. He becomes sure in his heart that the thing he made istikhara for will be good for him. He becomes content with the result.
1. ash-Shura, 38.
2. Aal-e Imran, 118.
3. Tajrid Translation, 4:135.
4. Bukhari, Kusuf: 75.
5. Imam Ghazali. Ihya Ulumiddin. (Daru Ihyai’l-Kutubu’l-Arabi) 1:207.
6. Ibn Majah, Iqamatu’s-Salat: 188; Bukhari, Kusuf: 75.
7. Tajrid Translation, 4:143.
8. Ibn Abidin, 1:461.
The narration about the issue is as follows:
“There is such a time period at night that if a person finds that time period and asks something good for the world and the hereafter at that time, Allah will give him what he asks. It is valid for all nights.” (Muslim, Musafirin 166, 167)
Allah wants His slaves to mention His name during both the day and night, to pray and beg Him for the world and the hereafter. He wants them to pray as follows: “O Lord! Make me happy both in this and in the other world. O Allah! Make me healthy. O Lord! Make me successful in the tasks that I do.”
Doubtlessly, both nights and days belong to Allah. He grants abundance and bounties as He wishes whenever He wants. He does not find it appropriate for His slaves, whom He created in the best way, to whom He granted the best bounties and for whom He prepared Paradise and His beauty, to spend a long night in deep heedlessness. He wanted them to know that Allah owns everything and to ask Him for their needs.
There are such slaves of Allah Almighty that they miss the night just like the birds that miss their nests. When it becomes dark at night, they perform prayers being aware of the fact that they are in the presence of Allah; they receive great pleasure from prostrating and putting their faces on the ground. They thank and praise the Lord of realms due to His endless grace and bounties. They enlighten their tongues and hearts through His word. They remember Him by mentioning His names and glorifying Him. Allah Almighty becomes pleased with their situation and grants them great bounties through His mercy.
The existence of this virtuous time in all nights is a separate grace and generosity. It is possible to find this valuable time on all nights. What fits a person is to try to seize this opportunity.
What is the wisdom behind the secrecy of this time?
No hour and time are inappropriate and closed for us, as the slaves of our Lord, to turn toward Him. Therefore, the times for the acceptance of prayers are kept as secret. Thus, people are asked to pray throughout their lives. As a matter of fact, the time of acceptance on Friday is hidden just like the saints among humans, the Night of Power (Laylatul-Qadr) in Ramadan, the greatest name of Allah among His other names, the time of death for a person and the time of the Doomsday. That is, the value and importance exist in the whole life, not in a single part. (Nursi, Mektubat, p. 460; Sunuhat, p. 19) Then, we are responsible for every detail of our life, even the ones that we regard to be unnecessary. Thus, we need to perceive every "moment" that we live as a unique opportunity to take refuge in our Lord.
Allah and His Messenger placed some uncertain parts in the good things so as to lead people to good deeds and to encourage them and to prevent them from doing bad deeds. The aim is to make people worship effectively and do other good deeds while looking for that good part. Therefore, an appropriate part is determined in all kinds of worship.
For instance, there is such a prayer among the prayers that a person who performs this prayer receives the reward of a hajj (pilgrimage). All prayers become valuable like hajj thanks to the reward placed among prayers. However, it is not known which prayer is worth a hajj since the quality of this reward is not obvious. Therefore, not all prayers are given the reward of a hajj. However, if that hidden prayer is found, a person receives the reward of a hajj. The uncertainness of that prayer, which is as valuable as hajj, makes it possible to include all of the prayers; it also prevents all of the prayers from having the reward of a hajj. The uncertainness excludes both wrong possibilities.
It is necessary to turn toward Allah, pray and beg Him at various times of the night with the hope of finding that time. It is necessary to understand this from the hadith first, to notice that the whole night is valuable and to act accordingly.
We can benefit from that time by reading the Quran, worshipping, etc; it is more important to make use of this time by performing prayers, which include all kinds of worshipping.
On the other hand, the hadith shows that nights are more valuable than days. For, the hour/time when prayers are accepted exists only on Friday during the daytime but it exists on all nights.
When is it?
Acting upon the fact that the Prophet always worshipped during the last one-third of the night in the last periods of his life, it can be considered that this holy time is during dawn.
The Quran attributes many meanings to the concept of "night" and encourages people to benefit from the night. The night is a period that the Quran vows about by saying "wa'l-layli". The night is a "sign" that is evidence for the existence and oneness of Allah. Day and night are a "mercy" under His command. It is He who changes the night to the day and the day to the night.
It is His power, which darkens the night and brightens the day. The night is a time of standing when it is necessary to wake up and worship. To worship at some part of the night, to worship, to prostrate, to glorify Allah for a long time, to say prayers, to wake up in the middle of the night, to pray and beg Allah, especially to perform tahajjud prayer is a determination of the Quran and a sign of being a believer. Night life includes vital opportunities for those who understand the meaning of life and means of enlightening the darkness of the grave.
The name of the night worship of the Prophet, who is the closest person to the Lord, is "ihyau'l-layl", that is, reviving the night. As the Quran puts it, those who did not appreciate the night, who did not recognize the being who created the night and who oppressed people by rebelling against Him, were destroyed and demolished at night; in a sense, the night took its revenge o them. From this point of view, it is necessary to "revive" the nights lest misfortunes should hit us.
According to Hanafis, it is sunnah to pray in the way that is reported from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) because it is more virtuous to read the prayers that exist in the Sunnah.
According to Hanafis, it is not permissible to say prayers using words that are similar to ordinary words of people while performing prayers. For instance, to say, "O Allah! Give me this or that." It is makruh tahrimi to ask things in prayer from Allah that are not possible to get from people like saying, "O Allah! Give me this or that woman."
Hanafis base their views about the issue on the following hadith:
"It is not permissible to say words like the words of the people in salah. Salah consists of glorification (tasbih), takbir and reading the Quran." (Musnad, 5/447-448; Nasai, Sahw, 20; see Muslim, Masajid, 35; Abu Dawud, Salat, 174)
Other madhhabs regard it permissible to say prayers by using words like the words of the people.
Hanafis say, "It is haram to say prayers in a language other than Arabic. However, according to Abu Hanifa, if dhikrs regarding prayer (salah) are uttered in a language other than Arabic, it is permissible though it is makruh tahrimi unlike the view of the two imams (Muhammad and Abu Yusuf).
According to Shafiis, those who do not know Arabic can translate the mandub (recommended) duas and dhikrs into their own languages due to their excuses. However, it is not permissible for those who can read because they have no excuse.
Hanafis read "subhana rabbiyal a'la" in prostration due to the following hadith reported from, Hz. Huzayfa:
"Hz. Prophet uttered 'subhana rabbiyal azim' while bowing down in prayer and 'subhana rabbiyal a'la' in prostration." (Abu Dawud, II, 30).
The hadith that is regarded as a criterion about how many times to say it is as follows: Abdullah b. Mas'ud narrates:
"When you bow down, say 'subhana rabbiyal azim' three times. Three times is the minimum amount. "When you prostrate, say 'subhana rabbiyal a'la' three times; it is the minimum amount." (Abu Dawud, II, 40).
However, it is known that the Prophet (pbuh) said different prayers in prostration. For instance:
"Sabbih isme rabbikal a'la";
"subhana rabbiyal a'la wa bihamdih";
"Subbuhun, quddusun, Rabbul malaikati wa'r-ruhi";
"Subhana dhil-jabarut wal-malakut, wal-kibriyai wal azamah";
"Allahumma Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahummaghfirli";
" Allahummaghfirli dhanbi kullahu diqqahu wa jillahu wa awwalahu wa akhirahu alaniyatahu wa sirrahu";
"Audhubi ridaka min sahatika wa audhu bimuafatika min uqubatika wa audhu bika minka la ahsi thanaan alayka, anta kama athnayta ala nafsik."
The Prophet (pbuh) read the duas above in prostration. (Abu Dawud, II, 28-35).
According to Hanafis, it is not appropriate to utter the duas other than the ones mentioned in the hadith in prostration.
It is sunnah to say, "Subhana rabbiyal ala" in prostration. Therefore,a person who abandons it abandons the sunnah. His prayer is valid but he will be deprived of the reward of the sunnah.
You can say prayers as much as you can in prostration, especially in sunnah and supererogatory prayers. However, in fard prayers, delaying other fards will be in question and you will be responsible because of delaying wajibs and you will have to perform prostration of forgetfulness.
The best one is to utter the prayer mentioned above three times. You can say prayers as much as you can in the prostration ofsupererogatory prayers.
The criterion for dua in fard prayers:
Is it permissible to say other prayers than "at tahiyyatu, allahumma salli, allahumma barik, Rabbana Atina and Rabbenaghfirli" in tashahhud (while sitting at the end of prayers)?
They are appropriate prayers. Therefore, it is not appropriate to say prayers in salah like the words of people or to ask things that can always be asked from people like the following requests:
«O Allah! Marry me such and such a girl…»,
«Send water to my field and garden».
It is not appropriate to say prayers like that. There are even scholars who say it is not permissible to say prayers like that, which is the right view. (al-Ayni Sharhul-Hidaya - Fatawa al-Hindiyya)
According to those who take this criterion into consideration, the prayer is invalidated if a dua like the following is uttered: «O Allah! Give me too many riches."» but it is not invalidated if a dua like the following is uttered: «O Allah! Give me knowledge and hajj.» For, the former is like the words of people.
Therefore, it is more appropriate to memorize and read the duas that are in compliance with the sunnah. It will prevent the tongue from stumbling. (al-Wawalijiyya / Abdurrashid - Tatarhaniyya)
However, it is necessary not to forget the general rule about the issue:
After tashahhud, that is, after reading «at-Tahiyyat» or sitting long enough to read at-Tahiyyat, duas with words like the words of people do not invalidate, but the prayer of the person who does so ends. Since the last tashahhud, which is the last fard of the prayer, is completed, the prayer is not invalidated. If a person says prayers like the ones mentioned above before sitting long enough to read at-Tahiyyat, his prayer is invalidated. (at-Tabyin / Zaylai - Fatawa al-Hindiyya)
One of the duas that are definite through hadith is the one reported from Abu Bakr as-Siddiq:
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) taught me the following prayer to read while performing prayers:
«Allahumma, inni zalamtu nafsi zulman kasiran wa innahu la yaghfiru'z-zunuba illa anta, faghfir li maghfiratan min indika warhamni innaka anta'l-ghafuru'r-rahim.»
Its Translation:
«O Allah, I have been very unjust to myself and no one grants pardon against sin but You; therefore, forgive me with Your forgiveness and have mercy on me. Surely, You are the forgiver, the Merciful.»
Ibn Mas'ud (R.A.), the great Companion, recommended the following dua:
«Allahumma inni asaluka mina'l-khayri kullihi, ma alimtu minhu wama la a'lamu wa audhu bika mina'sh-sharri kullihi ma alimtu minhu wama la a'lamu.»
Its Translation:
«O Allah! I ask You for all the good which is in the present or in the future, which I know and which I do not know. I take refuge in you from all of the evil and bad deeds which I know and which I do not know.»
It is mustahab (recommended) to read the following dua after at-Tahiyyat and some duas:
«Rabbi'j'alni muqima's-salati wa min zurriyyati Rabbana wa taqabbal duai. Rabbana, ighfir li wali walidayya wa lil mu'minina yawma yaqumu'l-hisab.»
Its Translation:
«O my Lord! Make me one who establishes regular Prayer, and also (raise such) among my offspring O our Lord! And accept Thou my Prayer. O our Lord! cover (us) with Thy Forgiveness― me, my parents, and (all) Believers, on the Day that the Reckoning will be established.»
(Celal Yıldırım, Kaynaklarıyla İslam Fıkhı, Uysal Kitabevi: 1/263-265. İslam Fıkhı Ansiklopedisi, Prof. Dr. Vehbe Zuhayli)
Peace in prayer means “to be conscious of prayer, not to think of something else and to make the mind and the heart be engaged with Allah only.”
Khushu (humbleness) means “the spiritual, respectful stance, pleasure, ecstasy and excitement given to man by this consciousness.”
It is doubtless that a person is regarded in prayer to the extent that he has peace and khushu – in terms of appearance and reality, form and content, and inside and outside.
Fiqh scholars explained even the tiniest details about prayer: what is fard, wajib, sunnah, makruh, haram and mufsid in prayer. Why did they not explain the decree on peace and khushu in prayer, which is the real purpose of prayer? Why did they not say, “If there is no peace and khushu, there is no prayer”?
In fact, there are some fiqh scholars who said so but the majority of the scholars knew the human nature and they were sure that Allah would not assign a duty that His slaves would not be able to fulfill; therefore, they explained the importance of peace and khushu, stating that it was makruh to perform prayers when a person needed to urinate, or when the meal was ready, when he was hungry and thirsty, etc,; thus, they tried to prepare the circumstances necessary for peace and khushu.
I will mention two hadiths regarding the issue.
A hadith reported by Abu Dawud is as follows:
“A man returns after performing his prayer while a tenth part of his prayer, or a ninth part, or an eighth part, or a seventh part, or a sixth part, or a fifth part, or a third part, or half of it, is recorded for him.” (Abu Dawud, Salah 124)
The parts that are not recorded are the ones that are left incomplete from the principles of prayer. The most important one among them is peace and khushu. However, this hadith gives hope to the believer and encourages him to increase his efforts. It gives hope and says ‘Keep on performing prayers even if you cannot have peace and khushu in the whole prayer; try to have as much peace and khushu as you can.’
A hadith included in Muslim is known as the hadith of Hanzala.
Hanzala, who was one of the scribes of the Prophet (pbuh), narrates:
Once, I met Abu Bakr. The following conversation took place between us:
-How are you? O Hanzala!
-Hanzala has become a munafiq (hypocrite).
-Subhanallah! How do you say such a thing?
-I say that because when we are in the company of the Prophet (pbuh), we ponder over Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we see them with our very eyes and when we are away from him, we attend to our wives, our children, our business; most of these things (pertaining to afterlife) slip out of our minds.
-By Allah, we also experience the same.
Thereupon, I and Abu Bakr went to the presence of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and told him about it. The Prophet (pbuh) said,
- By Allah, if your state of mind remained the same as it was in my presence and you were always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels would shake hands with you in your beds and in your paths but, Hanzala, some time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and some time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation). (The Prophet said it thrice). (Muslim, Tawba 12-13)
In sufism, some saints who are not prevented from peace and khushu by the worldly affairs are mentioned but they do not form the majority. It is necessary to work very hard and to be educated and trained in order to attain that level. Most of the people try to attain the state of peace and khushu in prayer and outside prayer, and train for that exceptional state; they have their share to the extent that they can attain.
There is a nice aphorism. Not everybody who goes hunting hunts. However, it is not possible for a person who does not go hunting to hunt. Prayer is like hunting. A person who performs prayers will sometimes hunt (attain peace and khushu).
“…Set up Regular Prayers: For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times..” (Nisa, 4/101-103).
A question like “How many times a day do Muslim perform prayers?” and debates on this question must be nonsensical in a country where more than ninety percent of the people are Muslims and where prayers have been performed “five times a day” for centuries; however, in this chaotic time, even this question is asked and discussed.
By abandoning the method that was applied by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), his Companions and the following mujtahid imams and that was recorded in books by some of those imams, and by trying to understand and convey the message of Islam anew by using their own minds, desires and wishes as a method, some new “so called theologians and debaters” mention “Quranic Islam” and say, “If a decree, information and explanation does not exist in the Quran, it does not exist in Islam either.”
As a matter of fact, if they take off the blinkers, abandon prejudice and imitating the contemporaries, and look at the Quran properly, they will see that Islam cannot be understood and practiced by leaving the Messenger of Allah out.
There are so many verses about the authority/duty of the Prophet to explain and practice the Quran, and to introduce additional information and decrees through a kind of revelation; one of them is as follows:
“…And We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them, and that they may give thought..” (an-Nahl, 16/44).
Allah rendered five daily prayers fard for the ummah of the last Prophet (pbuh). In a period of time when there were no clocks and similar instruments, he explained the times for those prayers based on the movements of the sun, which anybody could see and practice. (an-Nisa, 4/101-103; Hud, 11/114; al-Isra, 17/18; Taha, 20/130)
He did not find it enough and sent the archangel Jibril (Gabriel) to the Prophet; he led the ”five daily prayers” in front of the Prophet for two days, showing the beginning and ending times for the prayers.
Allah gave so much importance to time that He ordered Muslims to perform prayers in congregation when the time for a prayer came even if they were in the battlefield fighting the enemy by taking necessary precautions to dissuade the enemy from attacking them while praying and explained them how to do it.
The general principle settled like that; the prayers were performed “five times a day” when the Prophet was alive, in the periods after him when exemplary Muslims lived without any interruption.
Performing prayers by combining two prayers (generally noon-afternoon and evening-night prayers) was permitted only when there were some excuses for the residents and based on some conditions and limitations for travelers.
In that case, it is definite that “five daily prayers at five different times” is fard and exists in the Quran, Sunnah and Ijma (Consensus).
Besides, if it had not existed in the Quran and if the Prophet had performed prayers and had ordered his ummah, believers would have performed prayers without any doubt and hesitation. They would have said, "Yes!" and performed prayers as he would have shown.
Prayer is a great deed of worship that combines all of the worshipping of all beings performed by their own means and tongues for the Creator; it is also a means of peace, happiness and spiritual education (cleanliness).
O Lord! We thank You limitlessly because You gave Your Messenger Miraj (Ascension) and us prayers as a gift.
The prayer (salah) ends by saluting to the right and left. After that, you can say prayers (dua) in any language you want.
However, it is certain based the hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh) and is sunnah to say, “Allahumma antassalamu wa minkassalam, tabarakta ya dhal jalali wal ikram”, to read ayatul-kursiyy, and to say subhanallah 33 times, alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu akbar 33 times after the prayer is over.
Accordingly, it is permissible to say prayers in English or another language after the prayer, but it is more appropriate to do it after performing the sunnahs.
For more information, will you please click on the links given below;
Is it more appropriate to say prayers (dua) after the prayer (salah) or at the end of the prayer?
According to the schools that raise the hands during the qunūt supplication, it is performed in the manner of making duʿāʾ.
It is authentically established through sound hadiths that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed qunūt on various occasions. (Bukhārī, “Witr”, 7; Muslim, “Masājid”, 294–308)
For this reason, although the schools of law unanimously agree on the legitimacy of qunūt, they differ regarding its ruling and such matters as in which prayers it should be recited and at what point in the prayer it should be made.
While Abū Ḥanīfah held that qunūt is wājib (obligatory), the majority—including his two students, Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad—considered it to be sunnah.
According to the Ḥanafīs and Ḥanbalīs, the place of qunūt is in the final rakʿah of the witr prayer. According to the Shāfiʿīs, it is in the final rakʿah of the obligatory Fajr prayer and in the final rakʿah of the witr prayers during the second half of Ramaḍān. According to the Mālikīs, it is only in the final rakʿah of the obligatory Fajr prayer.
Furthermore, according to the Ḥanafīs, qunūt is performed before rukūʿ, whereas according to the Shāfiʿīs and Ḥanbalīs it is performed after rukūʿ. According to the Mālikīs, performing it before rukūʿ is more virtuous, although performing it afterward is also permissible.
The Shāfiʿīs and Ḥanbalīs also regard it as sunnah to raise the hands to chest level during qunūt. In addition, the Ḥanbalīs wipe their faces with their hands after the qunūt supplication.
According to the majority of jurists, reciting qunūt during times of widespread calamity—such as famine, epidemics, or enemy attacks—is also legislated. Some jurists even held that qunūt is specific to such circumstances, and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah preferred this view (Zād al-Maʿād, I, 273), as did Al-Shawkani (Nayl al-Awṭār, II, 384–391).
In such situations, scholars also differed regarding in which prayers and at what point qunūt should be recited. The Ḥanafīs and Ḥanbalīs ruled that it should be performed in the second rakʿah of the obligatory Fajr prayer, while the Shāfiʿīs held that it should be performed after rukūʿ in the final rakʿah of all obligatory prayers.
Although any supplication is considered sufficient as qunūt, the Ḥanafīs and Mālikīs preferred the supplications narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab (“Allāhumma innā nastaʿīnuka...” and “Allāhumma iyyāka naʿbudu...”; Ṭaḥāwī, I, 249), while the Shāfiʿīs and Ḥanbalīs preferred the supplication narrated from Hasan ibn Ali (“Allāhummahdinī fī man hadayta...” ; Abū Dāwūd, “Witr”, 5; Tirmidhī, “Witr”, 10).
What should the position of the hands be while reciting the Qunūt supplications in the Witr prayer?
According to the Ḥanafī school, the Qunūt supplication is recited in the third rakʿah of the Witr prayer, before rukūʿ, after raising the hands and saying the takbīr. (al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1/826)
This is because, according to a narration from Ali ibn Abi Talib, whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to recite Qunūt, he would first say the takbīr and then recite the Qunūt supplication. (See: ibid.)
According to a narration recorded by Al-Bayhaqi from Anas ibn Malik, during the tragedy of Biʾr Maʿūnah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) invoked supplications against the disbelievers who had martyred the well-known reciters of the Qur’an, doing so in the Fajr prayer while raising his hands. The basis for the ruling practiced in the Shāfiʿī school comes from this hadith. (See: Al-Nawawi, al-Majmūʿ, 3/500)
There are also reports that some Companions recited the Qunūt supplication in the second rakʿah of the Fajr prayer after rukūʿ while raising their hands. (See: ibid.)
Likewise, Abu Rafi reported that he performed the Fajr prayer behind Umar ibn al-Khattab and saw him reciting the Qunūt supplication while raising his hands. Al-Bayhaqī regarded this narration as authentic. (See: ibid.)
Based on this narration, which Al-Bayhaqī transmitted with a sound chain, Wahbah al-Zuhayli adopted the view that raising the hands during Qunūt—whether in the Fajr prayer according to the Shāfiʿīs or in the Witr prayer according to the Ḥanafīs—is sunnah, just as it is in other supplications. (See: al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1/814)
Let us also point out that those of us who do not possess the authority to derive rulings directly from the Qur’an and Sunnah should follow the position of the school of law to which we belong. For people like us, it is virtually impossible to examine issues such as differing interpretations of Qur’anic verses and the application of different criteria to hadiths—matters that gave rise to differences among the schools—and then determine which opinion is the strongest.
