It is a special cleaning performed by washing the face, arms, and feet, and by wiping the head.
Wudu has several material and spiritual benefits. A Muslim who makes wudu at least 5 times a day forms a habit of cleaning, which protects him from causes of illnesses and purifies him of microbes. They are material benefits of wudu. Wudu has several spiritual benefits, too.
The Prophet (pbuh) addressed Anas bin Malik as follows: "Make your wudu properly and fully so that the guardian (hafaza) angels will love you and your life will be lengthened."
Wudu gives light to the face and joy to the heart. It is a means of forgiveness for minor sins. The Messenger of Allah expresses it as follows:
"If a person makes wudu as it is ordered and performs prayers as they are ordered, his minor sins are forgiven."
Wudu is a spiritual weapon of a believer. He protects himself from bad feelings and desires. He gets rid of the effect of the delusions and negative feelings that attack his mind as long as he has wudu.
People who have wudu are often protected and kept away from the evil of dirty and evil beings thanks to wudu.
It is stated in a hadith that it is possible for a person who dies when he has wudu to attain the rank of martyrdom.
It is certain as it is expressed by some hadiths that the wudu organs of believers will be bright, beautiful and luminous. It is a property that was not given to other ummahs.
Wudu was rendered fard by verse 6 of the chapter of al-Maida.
What are the Conditions for a Valid Wudu?
The following three conditions are necessary for a valid wudu:
1. Clean water must penetrate and cover the skin. That is, all of the surfaces of the organs necessary to be washed must be wetted. Otherwise, wudu will not be valid. The Prophet stated the following about the people who do not wet their heels while making wudu. "Woe on those heels in Hell!"
2. The elimination of that states that invalidate wudu; that is, the end of menstruation and puerperum. Leakage of urine and blood is also a state that invalidates wudu. A person must not make wudu before the leakage of urine or blood ends. If they leak continuously, it is regarded as an excuse. What is mentioned above is for those who do not have any excuses. Therefore, one must not make wudu immediately after urinating before the leakage stops.
Even very little leakage after making wudu invalidates wudu.
3. Scraping off the things like wax, oil, dough, glue, etc that prevent water from penetrating the skin.
What are the Fards of Wudu?
There are four principles (fards) of wudu:
1 – Washing the face once.
2 – Washing the hands and the arms including the elbows once.
3 –Washing the feet including the heels once.
4 – To wipe one-fourth of the head.
It is fard to wash the arms, face and feet, the organs stated above, at least once.
It is sunnah to wash them three times.
What Part of the Face Needs to be Washed?
The part of the face to be washed in wudu is the part from the top part of the head where hair grows to the bottom of the chin vertically and the part between the two earlobes horizontally. The hairless area between the starting place of beard and the ears is regarded as part of the face, hence it needs to be washed.
How do People with Beards Need to Wash their Chins?
It is necessary to wash the skin at the bottom of the beard for the people with hirtellous beard. Those with bushy beard do not have to wash the skin at the bottom of their beard. It is enough for them to wet their beard.
Is it necessary to wash the inside of the eyes and the skin under the eyebrows and mustache?
No, it is not. It is not necessary to wash the inside of the eyes. Therefore, those who wear lenses do not have to remove their lenses when they make wudu. It is enough to wet the eyebrows and the mustache hairs. The skin under them does not have to be wetted.
However, it is necessary to wet the skin under the eyebrows and the mustache to wet while making ghusl.
What does to Wipe the Head Mean?
Mash (wipe) lexically means to move the hand on something. It also means to wipe.
In religious terminology, it means to touch a place with wetness that has not been used anywhere else. The place that is touched can be the head, the khuffs worn on the feet or a wrapping on a wound. What matters is that the wetness should not be used anywhere else before. For instance, the wetness remaining after washing the arms cannot be used in order to wipe the head. For, this wetness was used on the arm. It is necessary to wet the hand again before the head is wiped. (However, it is permissible to wipe the arms with the wetness remaining from the head.)
What Amount of the Head is Fard to Wipe?
The amount of the head that is fard to be wiped is one-fourth of it. The Messenger of Allah wiped the upper part of his forehead, that is, the front part of his head. Therefore, it is sunnah to wipe the front part of the face. However, any part of the head can be wiped as long as one-fourth of the head is wiped and the part below the ears is not wiped. For, the part of the head that can be wiped is the part over the two ears. If any one-fourth of that part is wiped, mash is all right.
States that do not Prevent Wudu:
* If a person lacks one or more wudu organs, he is exempted from washing it/them. However, if an organ is cut off but some part of it exists, the existing part needs to washed. For instance, a person whose hand is cut off needs to wash his hand up to his elbows. If his arm is cut off completely, he is exempted from washing it.
* If a person definitely knows that he has made wudu but doubts whether he has broken it, he is regarded to have wudu. For, certain knowledge is not removed by doubt. If the opposite is in question, that is, if a person knows that he has broken his wudu but doubts whether he has made wudu after it, he is regarded not to have wudu.
* If a person doubts during wudu or after it whether he has washed some organs, he needs to was those organs unless he is a person with delusions. If he is a person with delusions, his doubt is not taken into consideration. His wudu is regarded to be complete.
The paint left on the nails of a painter does not invalidate his wudu due to necessity. However, paints that form a layer on the nails and that prevent water from penetrating but that are not used due to a necessity prevent the validity of wudu.
* The inside of a boil which has improved but whose skin has not come off yet is not washed.
* If fingers have stuck to one another due to a temporary reason, or if a long nail has been curved inwards and covered the finger tip, or if one or some of the wudu organs have been covered with something that prevents water from penetrating the skin like, wax, dough, glue, oil paint, etc, they have to be removed.
* The dirt in the nail and on the body, the dirt caused by fleas and houseflies do not prevent wudu.
* If there is a tight ring on the finger, it is necessary to move it and allow water to pass under it.
* If hairy places are shaved after making wudu or ghusl, those places do not have to be washed or wiped again.
* If nails are clipped, mustache is trimmed and skin is raised after wudu, wudu is not invalidated.
What are the Sunnahs of Wudu?
Primary sunnahs of wudu are as follows:
1 - To wash the hands up to the wrists first if they are clean while starting wudu. If they are not clean, it is fard to wash them because they are the organs of cleaning. They need to be washed first lest they should make other organs dirty.
2 - To start wudu by uttering audhu- basmala... It is necessary to utter basmala at the beginning of wudu while washing the hands. If one forgets it and utters it later when he remembers, this sunnah is not regarded to have fulfilled. For, wudu is not like eating. Wudu is a single deed as a whole but in eating, every morsel is a separate deed. Even if basmala is forgotten at the beginning of a meal and it is remembered later, this sunnah is regarded to have been fulfilled.
It is stated in a hadith that if basmala is not uttered at the beginning of wudu, it is not regarded as complete wudu.
The following is stated in another hadith: "All parts of the body of a person become pure and clean if he makes wudu with basmala. If he does not utter basmala, only the wudu organs become clean."
* According to Hanbalis, it is wajib to utter basmala at the beginning of wudu. If it is abandoned deliberately, wudu is invalidated. If a person forgets to utter basmala, wudu is not invalidated but its reward decreases.
In fact, basmala, "is the beginning of all good deeds". It is necessary to utter this holy word not only at the beginning of worship like wudu and prayer but also every good and legitimate deed. As a matter of fact, it is stated in a hadith that all of the deeds that start with the name of Allah will be away from and lack goodness and bless.
3 - To have niyyah (intention).
Niyyah is necessary before or while washing the hands and the face. What is meant by niyyah is to know by heart and be aware that one is making wudu. Even if niyyah is not uttered by the tongue, the existence of the wish of niyyah in the heart is enough.
* According to Malikis and Shafiis, it is fard to have niyyah at the beginning of wudu. According to Shafiis, it is necessary to do it while washing the face. According to Hanbalis, niyyah is a condition for the validity of wudu. Wudu without niyyah is not valid.
4 - To use misvak, that is, to clean the teeth at the beginning of wudu.
If a person does not have any teeth or cannot use a miswak or a brush due to an illness in his gum, if a person does not have a brush or miswak, he needs to wash his gum by rubbing it with his thumb and index finger.
According to the statement of the Messenger of Allah, a prayer performed with wudu made by using a miswak is 70 times more virtuous than a prayer performed with wudu made without using a miswak.
Chewing gum for women when they are not fasting is regarded like miswak.
5 - To make Madmadah three times and istinshaq three times.
Madmadah means to fill the mouth with water, move this water in the mouth, wet the mouth and spit the water out of the mouth.
Istinshaq means to sniff water into the nose and make it reach soft parts.
It is not necessary to take water into the nose by breathing in. Making water flow into the nose is enough. Madmadah and istinshaq are sunnah al-muakkadah. Madmadah is performed before istinshaq. Both of them need to be performed three times. New water needs to be put into the mouth and the nose each time. If one of those issues is abandoned, this sunnah is not regarded to have been fulfilled.
Madmadah and istinshaq, which are sunnah in wudu, are fard in ghusl.
6 - To exaggerate madmadah and istinshaq...
That is, to send water up to the throat in Madmadah and up to the hard part of the nose. A person who is fasting should not exaggerate because water may go down the throat and invalidate the fast.
7 - To make wudu in a regular order.
That is to wash the face first, the arms after that, to wipe the head and then to wash the feet. Wudu becomes valid even if this order is not observed but a sunnah is abandoned.
According to Shafiis and Hanbalis, it is fard to observe the order.
8 - To start from the right.
That is to wash the right arm and foot first, and the left arm and foot after that. This sunnah is valid for the double organs.
9 - To wash three times.
That is, to wash each organ of wudu three times with three separate handful of water. The first washing is fard and the others are sunnah.
10 - To start washing the hands from the fingertips and the feet from the toes.
11 - To rub between the fingers and toes while washing the hands.
The places between the fingers of the unwashed hand are rubbed by the fingers of the washed hands.
The fingers of the hands are used in order to rub between the toes of the feet. The best way to rub between the toes is to start rubbing the little toe of the right foot and ending with the little toe of the left foot. Even if the feet are dipped in running water, it is mustahsan to rub between the toes.
12 - After the face is washed three times, it is necessary to put fingers among the beard under the chin with a handful of water.
The fingers are put in the bottom among the hairs of the beard and drawn upwards.
13 - To wipe the whole head by wetting the hand once. It is performed as follows:
Both hands are wetted completely. Then, the little and ring fingers of these hands are combined and placed on the front part of the head by making the finger tips touch one another. These fingers are drawn from the front part of the head to the nape. Then, the palms of both hands are placed on the sides of the head and they are drawn from the nape to the front part of the head.
14 - To wipe the ears.
There is no need to use new water to wipe the ears. The ears are wiped by the same wetness. The outside and back of the ears are wiped by the thumbs and the inside of the ears are wiped by the index finger. The little fingers are put in the hollow and moved a bit.
* According to Hanbalis, it is fard to wipe the inside of the ears because they regard the ears as part of the head.
* According to Shafiis, it is sunnah to wipe the head three times.
15 - To wipe the nape by the back sides of the hands.
The throat is not wiped. The neck is wiped with the wetness at the back of the hands without wetting it again.
16 - To rub the wudu organs as water falls on them.
17 - To wash the wudu organs without any interruptions.
That is, an organ needs to be washed before another organ dries. (It is called "wila" or "muwalat".) However, if an organ that is washed dries immediately due to hot weather, this sunnah is regarded to have fulfilled.
* According to Malikis, muwalat is fard.
What are the Adabs (Mustahabs) of Wudu?
The mustahabs (adabs) of wudu are as follows: If they are done, rewards are received. If they are not done, no blaming or punishment is in question.
1 - To stand in a high place in order to protect oneself from the splashing of water while making wudu.
2 - To turn toward the qiblah while making wudu .
3 - Not to ask help from anybody while making wudu. That is, to try to make wudu on one's own without the help of anybody unless one is ill or needs the help of others due to an excuse. If somebody helps a person voluntarily without being asked, there is no drawback to it. It does not violate adabs. As a matter of fact, it is written in hadith books that some Companions poured water out of a pitcher for the Messenger of Allah and received his dua though the Messenger of Allah did not ask help from them. This shows that there is no drawback to accepting the voluntary help of others like preparing water for wudu and pouring it.
4 - Not to talk while making wudu unless it is necessary. For, worldly talk prevents a person from reading wudu supplications.
5 - To intend to make wudu by the tongue along with the heart and to remember this intention (niyyah) throughout wudu.
6 - To utter basmala separately for each organ that is washed and to read wudu supplications reported from salaf. If a person does not know these supplications, he can utter salawat for the Messenger of Allah.
7 - To move the ring which is not tight and which allows the water under. If the ring is tight, it must be moved.
8 - To put water in the mouth and the nose through the right hand.
9 - To throw the water out of the nose using the left hand.
10 - Not to use water extravagantly or too thriftily while making wudu. That is, not to waste and not to act stingily.
Once the Messenger of Allah saw Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, one of the Companions, making wudu by using a lot of water. He said to him,
- What is this extravagance? Thereupon, Sa'd asked in astonishment: "Is there extravagance in wudu?"
Thereupon, the Prophet answered him as follows:
- Yes. Even if you make wudu near a river, it will regarded as israf (waste) if you spend too much water."
11 - To make wudu before the time for a prayer starts or to try to have wudu all the time except for an excused person.
It is very virtuous to make wudu before the time for a prayer starts because this prepares a person spiritually for worship and makes him turn to worship with his heart.
To have wudu all the time is a means of attaining great rewards and spiritual benefits. For, such a person can do any righteous deeds that need to be done by having wudu anywhere and anytime. He can perform prayers in congregation, perform supererogatory prayers and janazah prayers and can hold the Quran (mushaf) anytime. In short, it becomes possible to do all kinds of righteous deeds thanks to having wudu. Besides, if he dies when he has wudu, it is hoped that he will attain the rank of martyrdom.
It is stated in a hadith that angels always ask forgiveness for a person who has wudu all the time and goes to bed having wudu.
It is narrated that seven good qualities are granted to a person who has wudu all the time:
* Angels like his talk and visit him.
* The pen always writes rewards for him.
* All of the organs of that person glorify Allah.
* He always goes to the mosque and does not miss the congregation.
* Angels protect him from the harmful things that can hit him in the dark.
* During the time of death, he dies easily.
* He is protected by Allah Almighty.
12 - To make wudu though one has wudu. It is stated in a hadith that if a person makes wudu though he has wudu, he will be given ten rewards.
13 - To turn toward the qibla at the end of wudu and utter kalima ash-shahadah, and to pray as follows:
"Allahumma'j'alni minattawwabina wa'j'alni mina'l-mutatahhirin (O Allah! Make me among those who repent and purify themselves." (*)
14 - Not to make wudu with water heated under the sun. It is said that invisible harmful rays in the sun will penetrate into water and that it will harm the health of the person who makes wudu with it.
15 - (For those who make wudu with a pitcher) not to leave the pitcher empty and to fill it for the next wudu. It is said that this will enable a person to make Satan give up hope of delaying his prayer.
16 - To read the chapter of al-Qadr after uttering kalima ash-shahada at the end of wudu.
17 - To exaggerate while washing the arms, face and feet. That is, to wash the arms up to the shoulders, to wash the feet up to the knees and to wash the face down to the neck. The reason for this exaggeration is that the faces and wudu organs of the ummah of Muhammad will be bright and luminous on the Day of Judgment. This is something given to the Islamic ummah only.
It is recommended in a hadith to exaggerate while washing the organs of wudu in order to increase this brightness, luminosity and whiteness:
"Doubtlessly, my ummah will turn up with luminous faces and white wudu organs on the Day of Judgment due to the traces of wudu. Increase this luminosity and whiteness if you can."
18 - To perform a two-rak'ah prayer after wudu if it is not time of karahah.
What are the Makruhs of Wudu?
Everything that is contrary to the sunnahs and adabs of wudu is regarded as makruh. Primary makruhs of wudu are as follows:
1 - To waste water; to use more than necessary water.
2 - To decrease the amount of water; that is, to wash an organ with very little water as if wiping it.
3 - To wash the organs by splashing water against them.
4 - To talk unnecessarily while making wudu.
5 - To ask for help while making wudu though there is no necessity.
Once the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was drawing water from a well. When Hz. Umar saw it, he ran toward him to help him. However, the Messenger of Allah stopped him and said.
"O Umar! Stop! I do not want help from anybody for prayer."
However, it is permissible to accept help if there is a necessity or if somebody offers help voluntarily.
What are the Things that Invalidate Wudu?
1 – Any dirty things, liquid or substance like urine, feces, sperm, madi, blood, etc coming out of urinary tract and anus.
2 – Wind coming out of anus (farting).
3 – Apart from the urinary tract and anus, liquid like blood, pus, yellow water coming from any part of the body. The blood that comes out of the body does not invalidate wudu unless it flows or it diffuses on its own around the place where it comes out of. The pus and yellow water coming out of a wound. If this liquid, which does not diffuse on its own, is wiped, wudu is not invalidated. Blood extracted through cupping and leeches.
As for the liquids other than blood, pus and yellow water, they invalidate wudu if they flow due to an illness. For instance, if a person's eyes water due to an eye illness, his wudu is invalidated. The liquids that come out due to causes other than illnesses do not invalidate wudu. For instance, tears shed due to crying and laughing a lot or liquid coming out of the nose due to cold weather do not invalidate wudu.
Pure water coming out of blisters on the body is like blood and invalidates wudu according to a view. According to another view, it does not invalidate wudu. In the second view, there is great ease for the people who have scabies and smallpox. It is reported from Imam Hulwani that there is no drawback to acting in accordance with this view when there is a necessity. The wetness caused by eczema and the rash between fingers do not invalidate wudu.
*According to Shafiis, liquids like blood, pus, yellow water, etc coming from any organs except the urinary tract and anus do not invalidate wudu
4 – To vomit a mouthful. The thing vomited may be food, water or bile. If a person vomits in small amounts, his wudu is invalidated if it amounts to a mouthful all together.
5 – If a person spits saliva in which blood is more than or equal to water. Which one is more is understood from the color. If it is yellow, water is more; if it is reddish, it is equal; if it is red, blood is more. If water in the saliva is more than blood, wudu is not invalidated. If traces of blood are seen when a person bites a quince, apple, etc, his wudu is not invalidated.
6 – Sleep that makes a person lose his control invalidates wudu whether he sleeps on his sides, on his back, face down or leaning on his elbow. A short nap in which a person can hear the talks around him does not invalidate wudu.
When a person sleeps by leaning on something, his wudu is invalidated if he falls when that thing is removed.
7 – To faint and be unconscious for a short or long time.
8 – To laugh in prayer. To smile and to laugh are different. To laugh is aloud and it is heard. Therefore, it invalidates wudu if one laughs while performing a prayer. When wudu is invalidated, the prayer is also invalidated. To smile is silent; therefore, it does not invalidate prayer or wudu. However, if a person laughs slightly so that only he himself hears it, his prayer is invalidated but his wudu is valid.
* According to Shafiis, wudu is not invalidated even if a person laughs loudly while performing a prayer.
9 – Sexual intercourse or extreme touching and contact. According to Hanafis, if the skins of a woman and man touch each other, their wudu is not invalidated but if they contact each other extremely while they are naked or without any garment that will prevent them from feeling the heat of their bodies, caress, hug each other lustfully, their wudu is invalidated. According to the most of the Hanafi scholars, the criterion for the extreme contact is the hardening of the penis; According to Imam Muhammad, wudu is not invalidated unless some wetness like madi comes out. According to Malikis and Hanbalis, wudu is invalidated if sexual pleasure is felt.
10 – If a person who has made tayammum sees water, his wudu is invalidated.
11 – Wudu of an excused person is invalidated if the time for a prayer ends.
12 – If a person gets drunk by drinking alcohol or taking drug, his wudu is invalidated. It is haram to take intoxicants but the amount that is not enough to make a person drunk does not invalidate wudu.
What are the Things that do not Invalidate Wudu?
1 – If blood comes out from anywhere in the body but remains where it is and does not diffuse, it does not invalidate wudu. Wiping this blood with the hand or a piece of cotton does not invalidate wudu.
2 – Blood clot, flesh or skin falling off from a wound.
3 – To touch private parts. There is no difference whether one touches the private parts of a woman or man. Wudu is not invalidated only by touching with the hand.
* According to Shafiis, if a man or woman holds his/her own or others' private parts with the inner part of his /her hand, his/her private parts, his/her wudu is invalidated.
4 – If a man touches any part of a woman other than her private parts, his wudu is not invalidated. However, if he is aroused and wetness called madi occurs, his wudu is invalidated.
* According to Shafiis, if a man touches a non-mahram woman, his wudu is invalidated. If he touches a mahram woman, his wudu is not invalidated.
5 – Vomiting less than a mouthful.
6 – To spit out phlegm. According to Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad, the amount of phlegm is not important.
7 – To sleep by sitting without losing his control, like sleeping cross-legged.
8 – To cry does not invalidate wudu. To laugh does not invalidate wudu except in prayer.
9 – The blood sucked by a flea, mosquito and housefly until they are full.
10 – To smile in prayer.
11 – To clip one's mustache, to have a haircut, to trim one's nails when one has wudu do not invalidate wudu.
12– According to Malikis, if a person definitely knows that he has made wudu but hesitates whether he has broken his wudu or not, his wudu is invalidated but according to the other three madhhabs, his wudu is not invalidated.
It is more appropriate to act cautiously regarding issues whether wudu is invalidated or not. It is not necessary but it is more appropriate for an imam to make sure that he has wudu according to the other madhhabs, too.
How Many Kinds of Wudus are there?
There are three kinds of wudus in terms of religious properties:
1 - Wudus that are fard,
2 - Wudus that are wajib,
3 - Wudus that are mandub.
Wudus that are Fard:
It is fard to make wudu for a person who has no wudu if he wants to perform a prayer, whether it is a supererogatory prayer or a janazah prayer.
It is also necessary to have wudu to perform a tilawah sajdah and to touch the Quran.
Wudus that are Wajib:
It is wajib to have wudu to circumambulate the Kaaba. If Kaaba is circumambulated without wudu, the circumambulation is valid but it becomes necessary to sacrifice an animal or to give sadaqah based the kind of circumambulation since a wajib is abandoned.
It is wajib to make wudu to touch tafsir books in order to show respect to the Quran.
Wudus that are Mandub:
It is mandub (mustahab) to make wudu regarding several other issues not mentioned above. Some of them are as follows:
* It is mandub to make wudu to hold religious books like fiqh, hadith, aqaid. Wudu is made to read these books in order to show respect to religious sciences.
Salaf scholars were very careful about this issue. Imam Hulwani said, "We attained this level in science due to the respect we showed to science. I never held any paper without wudu."
Imam Sarakhsi suffered from an intestine illness one night. He said, "I made wudu seventeen times that night in order to continue my scholarly study."
* It is mandub to make wudu before going to bed.
* To make wudu after getting up.
* To make wudu in order to have wudu all the time.
* To make wudu though one has wudu.
* To make wudu after accidental backbiting, lies, gossip and cursing.
* To make wudu after laughing aloud.
* To make wudu in order to eliminate one's fury.
The Prophet stated the following regarding the issue:
"Fury is of Satan. Satan was created out of fire. Only water can extinguish a fire. Thus, if any of you gets furious, he should make wudu."
* To make wudu in order to read the Quran out of memory.
* To make wudu in order to read and narrate hadiths.
* To make wudu in order to read or teach a religious subject.
* To make wudu in order to stand in Arafat and make sa'y between Safa and Marwa.
* To make wudu in order to get rid of the controversial issues like whether touching a woman invalidates wudu or not.
* To make wudu in order to wash a dead body and take part in funeral.
How is Wudu Made?
After covering the fards, sunnahs and adabs of wudu, let us see how to make a proper wudu:
* After intending to make wudu, audhu basmala is uttered and the hands are washed up to the wrists. If there is a ring/rings on a finger/fingers, it is/they are moved in order to ensure that water goes under the ring/rings.
* The right hand is filled water three times and the mouth is rinsed with that water. If the mouth has not been cleaned with miswak before wudu, the teeth can be rubbed with the fingers while the water is put in the mouth.
* Then, water is sniffed into the nose with the right hand three times; the water is ejected from the nose with the left hand.
* All parts of the face are washed by filling both hands with water.
* First the right arm, then the left arm including the elbows are washed three times.
* The hands are wetted and the front part of the head is wiped with the palm of the right hand.
* After the head is wiped, the ears and the neck are wiped with the same wetness remaining from the head or by wetting the hand again.
* First, the right foot, then the left foot including the heels are washed. Water is flown between the toes.
A person can obtain many rewards by reading wudu supplications (duas) during and after wudu.
Wudu Supplications (Duas)
After intending to make wudu, audhu basmala is uttered. Then, the following supplications are uttered while washing each organ:
Alhamdu lillahi'lladhi ja'ala'l-maa tahuran va'l-Islama nuran.
(Praise be to Allah, who made water a cleaner and Islam a luminous light.)
* While rinsing the mouth:
Allahumma ainni ala tilawati'l-Qur'an wa dhikrika va shukrika va husni ibadatik.
(O Allah! Help me with reading the Quran, mentioning your name, thanking you and beautifying my worshipping you.)
* While sniffing water into the nose:
Allahumma arihni raihata'l-jannati wa la turihni raihata'n-nar.
(O Allah! Make me feel the smell of Paradise; do not make me feel the smell of Hell.)
* While washing the face:
Allahumma bayyid wajhi yawma tabyaddu vujuhun wa taswaddu vujuh.
(O Allah! Make my face white not black on the day when some faces turn out tobe white and others black.)!
* While washing the right arm:
Allahumma a'tini kitabi biyamini wa hasibni hisaban yasira.
(O Allah! Give my book from my right side and make my reckoning easy.)
* While washing the left arm:
Allahumma la tu'tini kitabi biyasari wa la min warai zahri.
(O Allah! Do not give my book from my left side and from my back.)
* While wiping the head:
Allahumma azillani tahta zilli arshika yawma la zilla illa zillu arshik.
(O Allah! Shade me under your arsh (throne) on the day when there is no shade except the shade of your arsh.)
* While wiping the ears:
Allahuma'j'alni mina'lladhina yastamiuna'l-qawla fayattabiuna ahsanah.
(O Allah! Make me one of those who listen to the word and act in accordance with it in the best way.)
* While wiping the neck:
Allahumma a'tiq raqabati mina'n-nar.
(O Allah! Free my neck from Hellfire)
* While washing the feet:
Allahumma thabbit qadamayya ala's-sirati yawma tazillu fihi'l-aqdam.
(O Allah! Establish our feet firmly on the Sirat Bridge on the day when feet will shake.)
What does Excuse Mean?
A state that continues all the time and that breaks wudu is called an excuse. For instance, being unable to hold one's urine, passing wind all the time, frequent nose bleeding, water coming out of a wound all the time are states of excuse.
A person who has an excuse that invalidates wudu is called an excused person.
What are the Conditions for being Regarded as Excused?
The state that invalidates wudu must continue as long as a time period for a prayer for a person to be regarded as excused; that is, it is necessary for this state not to cease long enough to make wudu and perform a prayer. (This is the condition for an excuse to start.) It must appear at least once in every period of time for a prayer. (This is the condition for an excuse to continue.)
We will explain it by giving an example:
If the nose of a person starts to bleed at the beginning of the time for the noon prayer and continues until the time period for the noon prayer ends, the condition for the beginning the state of excuse occurs. If this bleeding occurs at least once in every period of time for a prayer, that person is regarded as excused.
For, it becomes certain that the excuse continues since it occurs in every period of time for a prayer; thus, the second condition of being regarded as excused occurs.
If that excuse does not occur during a period of time for a prayer, the state of excuse ends. Such a person is no longer regarded as excused.
What are the Decrees about Excused People?
Our religion makes things easier for excused people. The wudu of excused people continues as long as the excuses invalidating wudu continue. They perform their prayers in that state. They are not obliged to clean the place polluted by blood, pus, urine, etc again. For, as soon as they are cleaned, the pollution occurs again. For instance, the wudu of a person who cannot hold his urine is not invalidated by the leakage of the urine and it is not necessary to wash the place polluted by urine. Such a person can perform his prayer though his garment or the place he prays is polluted.
In return for this ease supplied by our religion, there is something that needs to be taken into account by the excused people.
A person who determines that he is excused needs to make a separate wudu for each time period for a prayer; he can perform as many supererogatory or missed prayers as he wishes during this time period. He can also perform witr and janazah prayers.
The wudu made by an excused person is valid only for the time period he is in. When it ends and the time period for the next prayer starts, his wudu is invalidated. He needs to make a new wudu for the new time period. For instance, if an excused person makes wudu during the time period of the morning prayer, this wudu is valid up to the time when the time period for the morning prayer ends. When it ends, that is, when the sun rises, his wudu is invalidated. He cannot perform any other prayers with this wudu.
Another issue that needs to be taken into consideration is that they cannot lead a prayer in front of the people who are not excused. Therefore, it is not appropriate to force excused people to lead prayers.
The wudu made by an excused person for the morning prayer is invalidated when the sun rises; therefore, they need to make wudu again for eid and duha prayers.
The urine, blood, etc that contaminate the clothes of an excused person due to his excuse does not harm his prayer as long as his excuse continues. The menstruation and puerperal periods of women are subject to different fiqh decrees; other bleedings and leakages are regarded as excuses.
According to Imam Shafii, an excused person needs to make a separate wudu for each prayer.
"Islam was built on the foundation of cleanliness." (Hadith)
What is Taharah?
Lexically, taharah means cleanliness and purification.
In religious terminology, it means to be purified of material impurities called najasah and virtual impurities called hadath preventing worshipping.
The Importance of Cleanliness in Islam
Islam gives great importance to cleanliness and renders it as an indispensable condition, preliminary and key to certain kinds of worshipping.
The Prophet states the following in a hadith:
"The key to prayer is taharah, that is, cleanliness, the opening of it is takbir and the complement of it is salutation."
Cleanliness is a preliminary condition for some kinds of worshipping and an indispensable element of health and hygiene. It is also a means of increase of sustenance. The following is stated in a hadith:
"Keep cleaning yourself and your environment so that your sustenance will be increased."
It will be wrong to regard cleanliness as the cleanliness of the body only. The cleanliness of the heart, good intentions and high ethics are as important as, and even more important than the cleanliness of the body. As a matter of fact, the worship of a person whose intention is not good will not be sincere; therefore, it will not be accepted in the eye of Allah.
Therefore, the cleanliness of the heart and the body must be combined in a Muslim; it should be known that if both of them are kept clean, a person will be a perfect Muslim.
The cleanliness of the body and the heart is the foundation and a basic principle of Islam. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah pointed to these two issues in the following hadith:
"Islam was built on the foundation of cleanliness."
Another hadith reminding us Islam's principle of cleanliness is as follows: "Allah is clean and He likes clean people."
Some hadiths and verses showing the how much importance Islam gives to cleanliness are as follows:
"Islam is clean. Then, you need to clean yourselves because only the clean ones will enter Paradise." (Hadith)
"Cleanliness is half of belief."(Hadith)
"Cleanliness is of (the perfection and light of) belief."(Hadith)
"Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean." (al-Baqara, 222)
"Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete His favour to you, that ye may be grateful..."(al-Maida, 6)
"He caused rain to descend on you from heaven, to clean you therewith..." (al-Anfal, 11)
Why is Cleanliness Regarded as a Necessity of Belief?
Allah Almighty imposed a great law of cleanliness on the universe and ordered all creatures to obey this law. When we have a look at the things around us, we see that this law of cleanliness is dominant on everything, from atoms to the sun, from particles to stars.
The red blood cells eliminate the harmful microbes and other things that enter the body, obeying that order; the breath that we always inhale and exhale cleans the blood, showing that it surrenders to the same law. The eyelids wipe the eyes. The flies clean their wings, showing that they obey that order; the big clouds in the sky and the air obey it, too. The air blows the rubbish consisting of dust and dirt that land on the earth and cleans it. The cloud sprinkles water like a wet sponge on the ground and makes the dust settle. Then, it moves away by collecting the rubbish so as not to make the sky dirty. It leaves the beautiful face of the sky in a clean, wiped and shiny state.
They are all examples showing how regularly the law of cleanliness that Allah has imposed on the universe works.
This general cleanliness in the universe is the manifestation of the name al-QUDDUS (the Pure One) of Allah Almighty.
All beings, from atoms to stars, obey this law of cleanliness in the universe, which is based on al-Quddus, one of the names of Allah, and pay great attention to their cleanliness; so, it cannot be thought that human beings are exempt from this universal and divine law.
As a matter of fact, Allah Almighty also addresses man, who is the most honorable and superior creature, regarding the order of the cleanliness that He imposed on the universe and orders him to pay attention to for material and immaterial cleanliness.
It is definitely big heedlessness and rebellion that man does not heed this law, which all of the living and non-living beings obey, and opposes the order of the Lord of the earth and the skies. It is great oppression inflicted on the rights of Allah and His creatures.
The reality of cleanliness is based on the name al-Quddus, one of the greatest names of Allah; therefore, cleanliness is regarded as a part of the light and perfection of belief in the hadith. The material and spiritual cleanliness is indicated as a means of attaining the love and consent of Allah in the verses.
How Many Types of Cleanliness are there?
Taharah, that is cleanliness, is mainly divided into two:
1 - Taharah (Cleanliness) from Najasah.
2 - Taharah (Cleanliness) from Hadath.
What does Cleanliness from Najasah Mean?
Material dirt and impurities are called "najasah". The substance that is not clean and is dirty is called "najis". Cleanliness from najasah means cleaning the najis substance on the body or clothes.
Some dirty substances are dirty essentially. Others are actually clean but become dirty due to being polluted by some dirt. We can give urine and clothes polluted by urine as examples. Urine is dirty essentially; a garment is essentially clean but it becomes dirty due to the urine that smears on it.
What does Cleanliness from Hadath Mean?
Hadath is a state of virtual impurity that prevents a person from performing certain kinds of worship. Lack of wudu, janabah, menstruation and puerperium are examples of hadath. Cleanliness from hadath is possible through making ghusl or wudu.
How Many Types of Hadaths are there?
There are two types of hadaths:
(a) Minor hadath: It is the state of hadath that is eliminated by making wudu. Wudu is invalidated when blood flows from an organ like the mouth and nose, etc; and the state of minor hadath occurs. Wudu is enough to end the state of minor hadath.
(b) Major hadath: It is the state of hadath that occurs due to janabah, menstruation and puerperium
Impurities and Decrees about them
It is seen in fiqh books that the things that are not regarded as clean but regarded as najis (dirty) are examined in two parts:
1 – Heavy Najasah (Najasah Ghalizah),
2 – Light Najasah (Najasah Khafifah).
This differentiation does not depend on whether the dirt is little or much but whether it invalidates the prayer or not.
Whether the dirt is little or much does not matter; they both pollute things. For instance, if a small amount of najasah, whether ghalizah or khafifah, falls into the water, it makes the water dirty. From then on, making wudu with that water will not be valid.
What is the Amount of Najasah Ghalizah that Prevents the Validity of a Prayer?
The amount of najasah that invalidates prayer depends on whether the najasah is something wet or dry as follows:
If the najasah ghalizah is a dry, it should be lighter than one dirham, that is, three grams. If it is more than three grams, it invalidates the prayer.
If it is wet, it should not cover an area greater than the palm of a hand. The najasah that has wetted an area greater than the palm of a hand invalidates the prayer. It is fard to clean that najasah in order to be able to perform a prayer.
Najasah ghalizah less than the amount mentioned above does not invalidate the prayer. However, it is sunnah to clean that najasah – if possible.
What Things are Regarded as Najasah Ghalizah?
We can list the items that are regarded as najasah ghalizah as follows:
1 – Anything that comes out of a human’s body and that necessitates wudu or ghusl: urine, feces, sperm, madi, wadi, blood, purulence, mouthful puke, menstrual blood, puerperal blood and istihadha blood...
According to Shafii and Hanbali madhhabs, the sperm is clean and it does not make the place that it smears dirty.
2 – The urine, saliva and feces of the animals whose flesh are not eaten… However, the feces of the animals like kite, eagle and sparrow hawk although their flesh is not eaten are regarded as najasah khafifah.
Only the saliva of the cat among the animals whose flesh are not eaten and its leftover are regarded as clean. Since the cat is usually together with human beings, and it always touches the things in the house and it licks man’s hand, etc, Allah has not regarded its saliva and mouth as dirty so as not to make life difficult for man. Thus, He made it easy for us. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah said: “The cat is not dirty. It walks around you a lot.”
3 – The flowing blood of all animals...
4 – The feces of animal fowls like the chicken, goose, duck and turkey, whose flesh is eaten...
The feces of birds like the sparrow and pigeon that drop feces while they are in the air are regarded clean.
5 – The carcass or carrion called “mayta”, that is, the dead bodies of animals that live on land and that were not slaughtered by the name of Allah and their raw hide...
If an animal has been slaughtered in a way that is not in accordance with the Shariah, it is also regarded as mayta and dirty; its flesh cannot be eaten; for instance, when a person does not utter basmala deliberately while slaughtering the animal. However, if he forgets to utter basmala, there is no problem.
6 – Wine is also regarded as najasah ghalizah. All fiqh scholars agree on it. There are three different views about the alcoholic drinks other than wine regarding their state of najasah. Some scholars regard them as najasah ghalizah and some as najasah khafifah; yet, according to some others, they are clean due to the matter they contain.
It should be paid attention that the disagreement about the alcoholic drinks other than wine is about whether their matter is clean or not. All of the scholars agree on the fact that they are haram (forbidden) to drink.
Is it permissible to use alcoholic substances like tincture of iodine, eau de cologne and spirit?
According to those scholars who regard alcoholic drinks other than wine as clean, alcoholic substances like eau de cologne, spirit, and tincture of iodine are clean. It is permissible to use them, that is, to spread them on your body or clothes, to pour them on you, to have them in small bottles on you are permissible. They do not invalidate the prayer.
According to the two decisions made by the Consultation Board of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (of Turkey) in 1943 and in 1948, although it is haram to drink things like spirit and eau de cologne, it is not haram to use them. They do not make the place where they are poured dirty.
Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır states the following on page 762 of the first volume of his interpretation:
“Spirit, beer and similar alcoholic drinks that are not produced from wine cannot be drunk, but, it cannot be claimed that they will invalidate the prayer when they are spread on the body or the clothes. Abu Hanifa holds the view that the substance and drops of alcoholic drinks other than wine are not najis.”
According to those who regard alcoholic drinks other than wine as najis (dirty), eau de cologne and spirit are najis, too. Therefore, the places that are wetted by eau de cologne and spirit are regarded as najis. If a place as large as the palm of a hand is wetted by them, one cannot perform a prayer unless those parts are washed. It is not enough for a place wetted by eau de cologne to be clean when the eau de cologne is volatilized by the wind or heat. That part must be washed, just like the place wetted by urine. Even if the place wetted by urine dries, that place is not regarded as clean unless it is washed.
In conclusion, we can say that it is the best way to avoid things like eau de cologne, which are disputable in terms of cleanliness. However, when it is difficult to avoid them, it will be appropriate to think that there are some scholars who say to use spirit and eau de cologne is not haram but permissible and to act accordingly.
What is the Amount of Najasah Khafifah that Prevents Prayer?
The criterion for najasah khafifah is covering one-fourth of the garment or the organ. If the amount of dirt is less than one-fourth, it does not invalidate prayer. If it is more than one-fourth, it invalidates prayer; it becomes fard to wash it.
However, even if it is less than the amount that invalidates prayer, it is better for taqwa to clean all kinds of najasah whether ghalizah or khafifah.
When our Prophet said, “cleanliness is of belief”, he indicated that those who give importance to cleanliness have a strong belief.
Therefore, we should try to clean the dirty places as much as possible whether the najasah is ghalizah or khafifah; the amount does not invalidate the prayer but we still want to worship with a clean body and clean clothes. Besides, it is written in some fiqh books that it is wajib to clean the najasah although its amount is not so much as to invalidate the prayer.
What Things are Regarded as Najasah Khafifah?
1 - The urine and feces of horses and domestic or wild animals like sheep and deer whose flesh can be eaten... The feces of mule and donkey are controversial. There are some scholars who regard them as najasah ghalizah and others who regard them as najasah khafifah.
2 - The feces of the wild birds like hawks, kites and eagles that shit while flying... We had mentioned that the feces of the animals like pigeons and sparrows whose flesh can be eaten were clean.
Is it permissible to eat and drink water from the plates or cups of polytheists and People of the Book, who are regarded as najis by the Shari'ah? For it is possible that they cooked pork and boiled wine in them.
It is regarded permissible to eat and drink water from the plates or cups of polytheists and People of the Book if it is not obvious that or if we do not know that there was something that Islam prohibited in those plates or cups. It is not permissible to eat from them if it is known that they were dirtied with najasah.
The Messenger of Allah drank water from the water-skin of a polytheistic woman. He also ate food from the plates of the People of the Book.
However, it is necessary not to eat and drink from the plates and cups like those unless one has to; for, it is not completely away from karahah.
Is it Permissible to Eat, Drink and Make Wudu from Silver and Gold Receptacles?
It is definitely not permissible to use golden and silver receptacles in order to eat, drink or make wudu. However, women can use them as ornaments. Men are allowed to wear only silver rings. There is no objection to using things made of materials other than gold and silver.
If the thing is not pure gold or silver and if it consists of some other materials, the material which is in majority is taken into consideration. If gold or silver is in majority, that plate or receptacle cannot be used. Accordingly, it is obvious that it is permissible to use plates or receptacles that were dipped in aqua regia because the amount of gold or silver in those plates is less than the other materials.
Ways of Cleaning Dirt
Various ways and methods are used to clean dirty things based on their nature. The main ways of cleaning are as follows:
1 - Cleaning Through Washing with Water:
* Material dirt can be cleaned with absolute (mutlaq) water like rain, stream and sea water; it can also be cleaned with some kinds of qualified (muqayyad) water like sap, rose water, vegetable and fruit juice. If there is no other water, used water can be used for making wudu and ghusl.
* Visible dirt is cleaned by washing the traces of the dirt; that is, it is washed until it, its smell and color disappear. It does not matter how many times it is washed.
* If the dirt is something that is not visible and that does not leave any trace when it dries like urine, the part of the garment that is smeared by urine is washed in a container 3 times with different water separately and the garment is wrung in order to get the water out of it.
However, if the dirty thing is something that cannot be wrung (like a mat, carpet, felt, etc) it is washed three times in a container 3 times and it is dried after each washing. They are hung until the falling drops end; thus, they are regarded to have dried. If something like that is not washed in a container but in a stream or by pouring water on it, it is regarded to have been cleaned if no trace of dirt remains. It does not have to be wrung and dried.
2 - Cleaning Through Boiling in Water:
* Liquids like milk, treacle, honey, jam, etc which have been smeared by something dirty become clean when they are boiled with clean water 3 times separately.
* If tripe is put into boiling water before it is washed, it does not become clean again. However, if it is put into water that has not boiled yet, it is cleaned by being washed afterwards. If it is taken out of the boiling water before boiling water penetrates into it, the same decree is valid. That is, it does not become irrevocably unclean. It becomes clean when it is washed.
* Chickens and similar animals that have been slaughtered in accordance with religious rules but that are put into boiling water in order to remove their feathers without removing their intestines become dirty if the dirt inside comes out and smears the flesh. Therefore, after slaughtering such an animal, the flowing blood on it and the inner parts should be removed and washed; and then it should be put into hot water. However, if the animal is put in water that is not hot enough for the dirt in it to penetrate into the flesh, it is not regarded as dirty.
* The way of cleaning an animal which becomes dirty by being kept in hot water is to clean the inside of the animal and to boil it in hot water three times separately and to pour the water away each time after it is washed. Thus, the dirt in the flesh of the animal is removed with the boiled water and it becomes clean.
3 - Cleaning by Fire:
* Things made of dirty mud like pitchers, glasses, bowls are cleaned by burning them on fire.
* Cow dung and similar impurities become clean when they are burnt in fire and turn into ash.
4 - Cleaning by Wiping:
* If things like a knife, glass, polished wood, marble and tray are dirtied by wet or dry impurities, they can be cleaned by wiping with a wet cloth, sponge or soil. However, one should feel sure that the impurity has been removed.
* Engraved and embroidered things cannot be cleaned by wiping; they can be cleaned by washing.
5 - Cleaning by Scraping or Rubbing:
* If the sperm that has smeared the underwear or garment is dry, it can be cleaned by only rubbing without washing. The trace left on the garment after rubbing does not invalidate worshipping. If the sperm that has smeared the garment is wet, it will be regarded clean only after it is washed.
The sperm that has stuck on the body is not cleaned by rubbing; the body will be regarded clean only after it is washed.
* If some dirt falls onto frozen fat, the fat is regarded clean after the part on which the dirt fell is scraped and removed.
6 - Cleaning by Drying and Disappearance of the Trace of the Dirt:
* When the ground and things that are fixed on the ground like trees, grass, etc are dirtied, they are regarded clean when the dirt on them dries. That drying can be through the sun, fire or wind. Praying can be performed on such a place but tayammum cannot be carried out by them because they are clean but they cannot be used to clean things.
* Dirty soil is regarded clean after sufficient water is poured onto it to remove the dirt or by laying enough clean soil on it to eliminate the smell of the dirt.
7 - Cleaning Through the Flowing of the water or Disappearance of the Water:
* A small puddle (for instance the basin of a bath) into which some dirt has fallen is regarded clean when clean water is poured into it and the dirty water overflows; in this case, the puddle is regarded like running water.
* A polluted well becomes clean if its water disappears spontaneously or if the well is emptied by drawing its water with buckets.
8 - Cleaning Through Changing State:
* A dirty substance becomes clean if its nature changes. For instance, if wine is transformed into vinegar through a chemical added into it, it becomes clean because its nature changes.
* Dirty olive oil becomes clean when it is transformed into soap. However, dirty milk does not become clean when it is transformed into cheese or yogurt because its nature has not changed.
9 - Cleaning Through Cutting and Tanning:
* The skins of the animals that can or cannot be eaten except the pig are regarded clean unless some dirt like blood, etc smears on them. Prayers can be performed on such a skin.
* The skins of all of the animals except the pig are regarded clean when they are slaughtered or when they are tanned. The skin of an animal that died spontaneously without being slaughtered can be used after it is cleaned through tanning.
According to what is reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the goats of Sawda bint Zama, one of the wives of the Messenger of Allah, died spontaneously. She said to the Messenger of Allah:
“O Messenger of Allah! My goat died”. The Messenger of Allah said to her:
“Why did you not take its skin?”
Sawda said:
“What shall I do with the skin of a dead animal?” Thereupon, the Prophet said:
“Allah states: ‘If you tan the skin of a dead animal, it becomes halal for you and you can use it.”
Hazrat Sawda sent someone to flay the animal and then she tanned it on her own.
She used that skin as a lyster bag until it was torn.
* Tanning can be applied in two ways:
1. Real Tanning:
Tanning through chemicals and medicine like alum, salt, etc.
2. Virtual Tanning:
Tanning the skins and hides by sprinkling soil onto them or drying them by laying them under the sun air or wind.
The skin is regarded clean after tanned by either method. Prayers can be performed on it.
* The skins that are known to be tanned by some dirty substance in foreign countries can be cleaned by being washed 3 times.
If it is not definite whether a skin was tanned by some dirty substance or not, it is regarded as clean. However, it is better to wash it in order to get rid of doubts and delusions. In fact, if there is no clear sign or state causing doubt, there is no need to search more. The skin is regarded as clean.
What is Istinja?
Lexically, istinja means desiring to be cleaned from dirt. As a religious term, it means to clean the private parts after having a bowel movement or urinating. This cleaning is sunnah al-muakkada.
The following narration from Ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra is remarkable in that it shows the importance and value of cleanliness in the presence of Allah:
“When the verse, “In it are men who love to be purified” (at-Tawbah, 108) was sent about the people of Quba, the Messenger of Allah asked them:
– Why does Allah praise you?
They answered:
– When we finish having a bowel movement or urinating, we clean ourselves with water; we make istinja.”
What is Istinja Made with?
Cleaning after having a bowel movement or urinating (istinja) can be made with water or with small stones when there is no water. However, it is makruh to make istinja with bones, pieces of glass, written pieces of paper, expensive pieces of fabric like silk and zamzam water. It is necessary to show respect to clean unwritten paper.
When there is no water, istinja can be made with worthless pieces of cloth and cotton, paper that is not water absorbing and not used for writing (toilet paper).
In fact, it is better to make istinja with water and then to dry using something that is water absorbing.
What is Istibra?
To wait for the leakage of urine to stop completely after urinating for men is called istibra. It is wajib to do it.
The leakage of urine happens in every person. However, it stops more quickly in some people; in others, it goes on a bit longer. Everybody must try to stop that leakage before they make wudu by taking his own situation into consideration.
What can be done to stop the traces of urine from coming out?
There are various ways of stopping the traces of urine from coming out: To walk for a while, to cough or to move the feet, etc after urinating and then to make wudu can make the last traces of urine come out. Everybody can apply one of those methods by taking his own situation into consideration. What is important is to stop the traces of urine.
What happens if one makes wudu without making istibra?
Istibra is applied after urinating in order to stop the traces of urine that invalidates wudu. If a person makes wudu without istibra immediately after urinating and if traces of urine come out after he makes wudu, his wudu becomes invalidated without his noticing; and the prayer performed in that situation will not be valid. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to istibra.
The following is stated in a hadith:
"Beware of urine because most of the punishment in the grave is due to it”; thus, Muslims are asked to pay attention to making istibra after urinating.
Istibra is not necessary for women. It is sufficient for them to wait for a while after urinating before they make wudu.
Istinja and istibra have medical benefits, too.
Manners of Istinja and Istibra:
It is necessary to know the rules of going to toilet and having a bowel movement or urinating.
* When entering the toilet, it is necessary to leave the pages containing some parts or verses of the Quran outside or to have them in the pocket as wrapped in cloth or nylon. If a person is wearing a ring with the name of Allah written on it, it is enough to turn the ring so that the name will face the palm.
* It is recommended (mustahab) to say bismillah and read the following prayer before entering the toilet:
“Allahumma inni audhu bika mina’l-khubthi wa’l-khabaith.” (O Allah! I seek Your protection against filth and impurities.).
* It is necessary to enter the toilet with the left foot and exit with the right foot.
* One should not face the qiblah in the toilet and should not turn his back directly to the qiblah. It is makruh (abominable) to do it. However, if the toilets in the homes were built as facing the qiblah, there is no objection to it because it is an obligation.
According to Shafiis and Malikis, there is no drawback to turning to the qiblah in the toilets in the closed buildings. Turning or not turning to the qiblah is in question in the open areas in the countryside.
* One must not talk in the toilet unless it is obligatory. One must not answer the greeting of another person while he is in the toilet.
* It is one of the manners of the toilet not to spit or not to blow your nose, causing an unpleasant view in the toilet.
* It is one of the manners of the toilet not to urinate while standing unless there is an obligation. According to what Hazrat Umar narrates, once the Messenger of Allah saw him urinating while standing and said to him, “O Umar! Do not urinate while standing.” Hazrat Umar never urinated while standing after that. However, when there is an obligation and when it is possible to be protected from being soiled, it is permissible to urinate while standing. Some of the Companions saw the Messenger of Allah urinating while standing. This situation was interpreted as obligation and protection from being soiled.
Urinating while sitting is better in terms of cleanliness, too. The urinary bladder is emptied better this way, and the leakage lessens.
One should not look at his private parts and the dirt that comes out of the body when he is in the toilet.
* It is one of the manners of toilet to say the following when you come out of the toilet:
“Alhamdu lillahi’lladhi adhhaba anni’l-aza wa afani. (Praise be to Allah, who relieved me from the suffering and gave me health.)"
What are the Makruhs of Istinja?
* It is makruh (abominable) to urinate against the wind and into the lakes or rivers. It is also regarded makruh to have a bowel movement or urinate under the fruit trees, in shady places where people sit to have a rest, crop fields, into the ant and insect nests and on the roads. To pollute the roads where people walk, shady places where people sit to have a rest, picnic areas were severely prohibited by a hadith and it was stated that it would cause people to damn and curse due to the troubles that they suffered.
* Another thing to avoid is leaving the toilet without cleaning it after having a bowel movement. It will also cause people trouble and hatred. It is included in the scope of the prohibition in the hadith.
* The left hand is used for the cleaning after urinating or having a bowel movement. The following is stated in a hadith: "Do not hold your organ with your right hand while urinating. Do not wipe your private parts with your right hand." Acting upon this hadith, Islamic scholars regard cleaning with the right hand in the toilet as makruh.
* The water must not be splashed severely and one must try not to soil his clothes with urine.
* Istinja is abandoned if there is a risk of one's private parts being seen by others.
* It is not appropriate to urinate in the same place where one has a bath or a shower. It may cause delusion. However, if the urine flows away and does not remain in the place where one has a bath, it is regarded permissible by some scholars. However, it is better to avoid it.
* A person who is too old to make istinja can abandon istinja if his wife or her husband cannot help. It is not permissible for non-mahram people to help one make istinja.
Body Cleaning That is Sunnah
It is mustahab (recommended) for Muslims to have a bath for material cleaning at least once a week apart from wudu and ghusl, which are fard. The following is stated in a hadith:
“It is the right of Allah on each Muslim to have a bath once in seven days.”
This cleaning is recommended to be done on Friday; thus, a Muslim will join the congregation for the Friday prayer spotlessly clean, freed from dirt and bad smell.
There are many hadiths reported from the Messenger of Allah about the body cleaning on Friday.
Apart from washing the whole body, cleaning the visible dirt and impurities and eliminating the smell of sweat, there are some organs and sensitive parts in the human body that need special care in terms of cleanliness. They are as follows:
a. Hair: The hair is one of the most important places to be paid attention in the body cleaning. The hair must be washed frequently. The Messenger of Allah took care of his hair and cleaned them thoroughly. He sometimes put oil in his hair and combed it. He did not like unkempt dirty hair. One day, a scruffy man with unkempt hair came to the presence of him. When he saw the man like that, he said,
“Did this man not have enough water to wash his hair and enough oil to straighten it? What a mess it is!”
b. Mustache: The Messenger of Allah advised his Companions to trim their mustache, especially the parts that hung down on the lips.
Trimming the mustache will prevent the food from touching the mustache while eating and prevent the unpleasant view.
Traditionally, it is not appropriate to cut the mustache too much and to make it very thin.
It is better to trim the ends of the mustache extending on both sides. That trimming should not be too much and should not pass the end of the mouth.
It is not a sunnah to have a shaggy mustache. What is sunnah is to trim the mustache in a way that will not be rough. It is more appropriate to the sunnah to trim the mustache so that the skin under it will be seen. Large and shaggy mustache is only allowed during wars in order to seem dreadful and to intimidate the enemy.
c. Cleaning the Armpits and the Groins: It is mustahab to pluck or shave the hair in the armpits and in the groin once in 10-15 days, if not possible, at least once in 40 days. This cleaning existed in the sunnah of all of the prophets. It is makruh to do it when one is in the state of janabah. It is appropriate to do it before ghusl is fard for a person. Every part that leaves the body should leave when the body is clean.
It is necessary to keep the materials and equipment used for cleaning the body in a separate place, in special containers so that they will not be infected. During the cleaning, there may be cuts and bleedings. Microbes in the unclean materials and equipment may infect the body through the blood; a major disorder may take place due to a minor neglect.
d. Cleaning the Nails: It is recommended to trim the nails before they become long so that the ugly appearance and the accumulation of dirt under the nails will be prevented. If possible, nails should be trimmed once a week. One should trim his nails when he is clean; one should avoid trimming nails when he is in the state of janabah.
The nails that have been trimmed and the hair that has been shaved should not be thrown away haphazardly; they should be buried in the ground if it is possible. If not, they should be wrapped in something and thrown into the bin.
e. Cleaning the Mouth: The cleaning of the mouth has a separate and important place in the body cleaning. The mouth and the organs in it like the tongue and the teeth should be spotlessly clean. In terms of health, it is important that we do not put everything into our mouth and we often rinse our mouth to keep it clean.
The first thing that comes to mind in the cleaning of the mouth is the cleaning of the teeth because teeth have an important role in both eating and speaking.
The most important issue regarding the health of the teeth is to keep the teeth clean and to avoid very hot, very cold and very hard food and drinks because they damage and scratch the teeth and cause decays by cracking the dentine. It has been proved by medicine that a tooth may cause important disorders in many parts of the body, primarily in the liver, heart, stomach, digestive system, urinary bladder and joints.
The Messenger of Allah acted very sensitively and cautiously about the cleaning and care of the teeth. He often warned his ummah about the cleaning of the teeth. Some of those warnings are as follows:
“If it were not difficult for my ummah, I would order them to clean their mouths and teeth whenever they made wudu.”
“Miswak (organic toothbrush from a tree) cleans the mouth and makes one attain the consent of Allah.”
"Clean your teeth because it is sheer cleanliness. Cleanliness is of belief. A person with belief is in Paradise."
“Four things are among the sunnahs of prophets: to be circumcised, to use miswak, to wear nice scents and to marry...”
“Do not come to my presence with yellow teeth. Use miswak.” (Bazzar)
The Messenger of Allah cleaned his teeth using miswak. Miswak is a kind of toothbrush produced from the branches of a tree called arak (salvadora persica) in Saudi Arabia. It has been understood as a result of the medical analyses that it has many benefits and that it is the best material for the health of the teeth.
The toothbrushes used today can be used instead of miswak. However, the nylon brushes should be preferred not the bristle ones produced from animals. Animal bristles have tiny channels in them and it has been determined that microbes settle in those channels. Besides, it should not be forgotten that some bristles are produced from pigs. Nylon toothbrushes do not have the risk of being produced from pigs and they are more appropriate for health.
One of the issues that put a person in difficult situations in the society is the bad breath. The role of uncared and decayed tooth in bad breath is great. If the cleaning and the health of the teeth are given enough care, the problem of bad breath will be eliminated.
* The cleaning of the mouth should not be considered in the form of material cleaning only. A believer should give importance to the spiritual cleaning of his mouth, tongue and teeth along with their material cleaning. Instead of the words that cause sins like telling lies, cursing, uttering bad language, gossiping, slandering, sacred words dhikr, tasbih (glorifying Allah), takbir and nice words, avoiding putting haram food into the mouth are more important issues than the material cleaning of the mouth.
f. Cleaning the nose: The nose has important effects on our life and health in that it is the organ of both smelling and breathing. The harmful particles and microbes in the air are filtrated through the tiny channels, hairs and mucus in the nose and the clean air is sent to the lungs. Therefore, our nose gets dirty frequently. For this reason, it must be cleaned very often. If the matter in the nose does not flow out, it causes sinusitis.
The orders of the Messenger of Allah about cleaning the nose are as follows:
“When one of you starts to make wudu, he should take water into his nose and blow his nose.”
“When one of you wakes up, he should take water into his nose and blow his nose three times...”
It should not be forgotten that one should try to clean his nose quietly, without making much noise and producing disgusting sounds. It is not appropriate to throw up mucus or phlegm on the roads and places where people can see. Islam is a religion of cleanliness but also a religion of kindness.
It is violation of etiquette and an ugly bad habit to pick one’s nose or to pluck the hair in your nose in the presence of other people. It is also harmful in terms of medicine. The inside of the nose is covered with delicate membranes and capillaries. It is dangerous to pick your nose unnecessarily and to pluck hair.
Sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) is the sajdah performed at the end of a prayer if a mistake is made while performing a prayer in order to correct that mistake. The mistake includes delaying a fard, abandoning a wajib by forgetting it or delaying it or performing it earlier than its determined time.
If such mistakes are noticed while performing a prayer, sajdah as-sahw is performed at the end of prayer. Sajdah as-sahw is wajib.
How is Sajdah as-Sahw Performed?
After at-Tahiyyat is read in the last sitting, the imam salutes to the right (if a person is praying alone, he salutes to the right and left), utters takbir and prostrates twice. He sits after the second prostration, reads at-Tahiyyat again, salawat and supplications, and then salutes. Thus, sajdah as-sahw is fulfilled.
If a person remembers that he has made a mistake after he salutes, he can perform sajdah as-sahw if he has not turned his direction from the qiblah and if he has not spoken. However, if has got up, turned his direction from the qiblah or has spoken, he cannot perform sajdah as-sahw. His prayer is valid but he receives fewer thawabs since he has not performed sajdah as-sahw.
If one of the wajibs is abandoned deliberately, it is necessary to perform the prayer again. Performing sajdah as-sahw is not enough.
* It is valid to follow the imam who performs sajdah as-sahw.
The States that Necessitate Sajdah as-Sahw
Some of the states that necessitate sajdah as-sahw are as follows:
1 - To bow down without reading an additional chapter or verses after the chapter of al-Fatiha.
If a person remembers at ruku that he has not read an additional chapter or verses, he stands up, reads it and goes back to ruku. He performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer.
2 - To read the chapter of al-Fatiha twice by mistake.
3 - To forget to utter the takbir and to read the supplications of qunut in the witr prayer.
If a person remembers at ruku that he has not read the supplications of qunut, he does not stand up to read them. It is enough to perform sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer.
4 - To stand up for the third rak'ah after the second rak'ah without performing the first sitting.
If such a person has stood up fully or mostly, he does not sit; he completes the prayer and performs sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer. If he has started to stand up but is closer to sitting, he sits down and does not perform sajdah as-sahw at the end of the prayer. If a person sits down after he has stood up completely, his prayer is invalidated.
5 - To read salawat and supplications after reading at-Tahiyyat in the first sitting and to stand up after that or to delay standing up long enough to perform a rukn.
In that case, if the part of the salawat that is read forms a sentence (like Allahumma salli ala Muhammad), sajdah as-sahw is performed at the end of the prayer. If the part that is read does not form a sentence, there is no need for sajdah as-sahw.
6 - If a person stands up for the fifth rak'ah without sitting after the fourth rak'ah in a four rak'ah fard prayer, he needs to sit again if he has not completed the fifth rak'ah by qiyam, qira'ah, ruku and has not started sajdahs. He needs to salute after reading at-Tahiyyat and to perform sajdah as-sahw because he has delayed the last sitting, which is fard.
However, if he has prostrated for the fifth rak'ah, this prayer becomes a nafilah (supererogatory) prayer. One more rak'ah is added and it becomes a six-rak'ah nafilah prayer. Therefore, sajdah as-sahw is not necessary.
7 - A person who stands up after sitting as long as tashahhud in the last sitting of a four-rak'ah prayer sits down immediately and salutes. He does not have to read at-Tahiyyat again. He can even salute while standing, without sitting. For, he has completed the fard sitting. If he salutes while standing, he abandons a sunnah. Sajdah as-sahw is necessary at the end of the prayer because salutation has been delayed.
8 - If a person who has caught up with the imam after the first rak'ah makes a mistake in the part of the prayer that he has performed alone, he needs to perform sajdah as-sahw for his mistake.
9 - If the imam reads silently where it is wajib to read aloud or vice versa, he needs to perform sajdah as-sahw; for instance if he reads the chapter of al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or verses aloud in the noon prayer and silently in the evening prayer.
Reading tasbihat and takbirs aloud in a prayer does necessitate sajdah as-sahw.
10 - If a person thinks for a while after reading the chapter of al-Fatiha about what verse or chapter to read, sajdah as-sahw becomes necessary because a wajib is delayed.
12 - If a person makes more than one mistake that necessitates sajdah as-sahw, one sajdah as-sahw is enough.
It is wajib to read at-Tahiyyat after two sajdahs and salute while performing sajda as-sahw. The supplications and salawat after at-Tahiyyat and the takbirs and tasbihat in sajdahs are sunnah.
* If a person doubts about what rak'ah he is performing in a prayer, his prayer is invalidated if he is not a person with delusions. He has to perform it again. As a matter of fact, a person who doubts whether he has performed a prayer or not when there is still time to perform that prayer needs to perform that prayer. If a person doubts about the number of rak'ahs he has performed after finishing the prayer, he does not perform it again. However, if he definitely understands that he has skipped one or more rak'ahs, he has to perform it again.
Sajdah of Thanking
A person can perform a sajdah of thanking due to attaining a bounty, disappearance of a trouble, etc like sajdah of tilawah. It is called sajdah of thanking.
Sajdah of thanking is mustahab. The Messenger of Allah and his Companions sometimes performed sajdah of thanking.
For instance, when the Messenger of Allah saw Abu Jahl's cut-off head, he performed sajdah of thanking 5 times.
Sajdah at-Tilawah
In the Quran, there are some sajdah verses. It is wajib for a person to prostrate when he reads or listens to one of those verses. There are 14 verses of sajdah in the Quran.
How is it Performed?
A person utters Allahu Akbar without raising his hands and prostrates with the intention of sajdah at-tilawah (reading). He utters Subhana rabbiya'l-a'la (Glory be to my Great Sustainer, Most High) three times or Subhana rabbina in kana wa'du rabbina la-maf'ula (Glory to our Lord! Verily the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled). Then, he says Allahu Akbar and gets up from sajdah.
Sajdah at-tilawah has only one rukn (condition): to prostrate in order to glorify Allah and to oppose those who avoid humbleness and prostrating before Him.
It is mustahab to stand up first and then to prostrate, to get up from sajdah after prostration and say "Ghufranaka rabbana wa ilaykalmasir (We seek) Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys)" while getting up. The takbirs uttered while going to sajdah and getting up from sajdah are mustahab. It is wajib to place the forehead on the ground and prostrate.
For Whom is Sajdah at-Tilawah Wajib?
Sajdah at-tilawah becomes wajib even if a person does not understand the meaning of the sajdah verse and even if a person hears it without the intention of listening.
Reading the meaning of the sajdah verse in another language makes it wajib for the reader to prostrate.
Sajdah at-tilawah is not necessary for a woman who is in the period of menstruation or pueperum.
The verses listened from a tape or recording does not necessitate sajdah at-tilawah since they are like echoes. However, it is better to prostrate. If a person recites the Quran live on the radio or television, it becomes fard for the listener to prostrate if a sajdah verse is recited because it is not an echo but online broadcast.
How is Sajdah at-Tilawah Performed in Prayer?
It is necessary to go to sajdah immediately after a verse of sajdah is read in a prayer (salah) and then it is necessary to stand up and go on reading. However, if ruku is performed before three more verses are read after a verse of sajdah and intention is made for sajdah at-tilawah, ruku is also regarded as sajdah at-tilawah. The sajdah performed at the end of the rak'ah is also regarded as sajdah at-tilawah whether or not intention is made. Therefore, it is better for an imam to go to ruku and sajdah immediately after reading a verse of sajdah or after reading at most two more verses so as not to cause confusion in the congregation. If the imam intends to read three or more verses after a verse of sajdah, it is wajib for him to perform sajdah at-tilawah as soon as he reads the verse of sajdah and to stand up and to continue reading after that. In that case, sajdah at-tilawah is not replaced by the ruku and sajdahs of that rak'ah.
If a person reads a verse of sajdah by dividing it into syllables or writes it, or looks at the written form of it but does not read it, sajdah does not become wajib. Sajdah is not necessary if the most part of a sajdah verse is not read.
If the same sajdah verse is repeated a few times in a place, one sajdah at-tilawah is enough for it. However, if different verses are read or if the same verse is read in different places, a separate sajdah for each one becomes wajib.
What are the Chapters that Include Sajdah Verses?
1 - The chapter of al-Araf - 206
2 - The chapter of ar-Ra'd - 15
3 - The chapter of an-Nahl - 49
4 - The chapter of al-Isra - 107
5 - The chapter of Meryem - 58
6 - The chapter of al-Hajj - 18
7 - The chapter of al-Furqan - 60
8 - The chapter of an-Naml - 25
9 - The chapter of as-Sajdah - 15
10 - The chapter of Sad - 24
11 - The chapter of Fussilat - 38
12 - The chapter of an-Najm - 62
13 - The chapter of al-Inshiqaq - 21
14 - The chapter of al-Alaq - 19
Can Sajdah at-Tilawah be Performed Later?
It is not necessary to prostrate as soon as a sajdah verse is read. It can be performed later. However, it is makruh tanzihi to delay it if there is no necessity.
If it is not possible to prostrate for the reader and the listener to prostrate as soon as a sajdah verse is read, it is mustahab for them to say,
"Sami'na wa ata'na ghufranaka rabbana wa ilaykalmasir. (We hear and we obey We hear and we obey; (We seek) Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys.)
How is Sajdah of Thanking Performed?
A person can perform a sajdah of thanking due to attaining a bounty, disappearance of a trouble, etc like sajdah of tilawah. It is called sajdah of thanking. Sajdah of thanking is mustahab. The Messenger of Allah and his Companions sometimes performed sajdah of thanking.
For instance, when the Messenger of Allah saw Abu Jahl's cut-off head, he performed sajdah of thanking 5 times.
4-)
Things that invalidate prayer
Things that invalidate prayer
Primary things that invalidate prayer are as follows:
1 - To speak while performing a prayer.
To speak in prayer whether by mistake, deliberately or sleepily, whether a little or much, invalidates prayer.
2 - To eat or drink something while performing a prayer.
The prayer is invalidated if a person puts something even as small as a sesame into his mouth and swallows it. If something as big as a chickpea that has remained between teeth before the prayer is eaten while performing a prayer, the prayer is invalidated. To put something like a chewing gum into the mouth and to chew it without swallowing it also invalidates wudu. There is no drawback to feeling the taste of the sweet in the throat eaten before the prayer.
3 - To laugh loudly enough to hear oneself.
If a person laughs loudly enough for the people next to him to hear him, both his prayer and wudu are invalidated. Smiling does not invalidate prayer or wudu.
4 - To turn one's chest from the direction of the qiblah.
5 - To greet someone or to reply the greeting of someone while performing a prayer whether deliberately or by mistake.
6 - To be busy with something that causes the onlookers to think definitely that he is not performing a prayer; for instance, combing his hair. In fiqh, it is called amal kathir, which means a major deed, a deed that prevents prayer. The deeds that cause the onlookers to think that he might not be performing a prayer do not invalidate prayer. Such a deed is called amal qalil, that is, a minor deed, a deed that does not invalidate wudu.
7 - To weep loudly by remembering a worldly affair or to moan or groan due to some pain or trouble. However, if a person weeps due to remembering Paradise and Hell, it does not invalidate prayer since it occurs due to awe. The following is stated in a hadith: "A person who obeys God Almighty by crying enters Paradise by laughing; a person who commits a sin by laughing enters Paradise by crying."
8 - To try to cough though one does not feel like coughing and to growl.
9 - To blow a candle, lamp, etc.
10 - To say, "yarhamukallah" (bless you) to a person who sneezes.
11 - To read a verse of the Quran in order to reply somebody.
12 - To say, "inna lillah" when one hears some bad news and "alhamdulillah" when he hears some good news.
They are things that are contrary to breaking off the relationships with the outer world in prayer.
13 - If a person who has made tayammum sees water while performing a prayer, his prayer is invalidated.
14 - If the sun rises while a person is performing a prayer, his prayer is invalidated.
According to some scholars, the prayer performed while the sun is rising is not invalidated but becomes a supererogatory prayer. If it is the fard of the morning prayer, it is regarded to have been missed and it needs to be performed again.
* According to Imam Shafii, the morning prayer performed while the sun is rising is valid; it is not invalidated.
15 - If the valid period of mash performed on khuffs ends while performing a prayer, that prayer is invalidated.
16 - To change the meaning of a verse by reading it wrongly.
17 - Women and men performing a prayer side by side.
Such a prayer is invalidated only if the woman and the man are following the same imam or the woman is following the man she is standing next to.
Therefore, women perform prayers in the back lines in the mosque; they do not stand in the same line or in front of men.
If a woman stands in front of or next to a man in a prayer, only the prayer of the man is invalidated. If the woman follows the man she stands next to in prayer, the prayers of both of them are invalidated.
If a woman and man are performing different prayers, their prayers are not invalidated if they pray in the same line or if the woman prays in front of the man.
18 - To read the additional chapters or the verses by looking at mushaf (the Quran).
19 - If a person following the imam does one rukn of the prayer before the imam, for instance, if he goes to ruku' before the imam or stands up from the ruku' before the imam, his prayer is invalidated.
20 - If an illiterate or excused person leads the prayer.
21 - If the wudu of a person is invalidated while performing a prayer.
22 - To faint while performing a prayer.
23 - The prayer of a man is not invalidated if his wife kisses or caresses him in prayer unless he feels horny. However, the prayer of a woman is invalidated if her husband caresses her lustfully or kisses her lustfully or without lust.
24 - The delusions and bad imaginations that come to one's heart involuntarily do not invalidate his prayer.
25 - If a person scratches his body once or twice or in the same or different rak'ahs, his prayer is not invalidated. However, if he scratches himself three times on end in the same rak'ah, his prayer is invalidated.
26 - The prayer of a person is not invalidated if somebody passes in front of him while he is praying. However, the person who passes in front of him commits a sin. The place where it is a sin to pass is between the feet of the person who is praying and the place of prostration in big mosques and open areas. It is makruh to pass in front of a person in small mosques if there is not a barrier like a column, man, etc in front of the person who is praying. In fact, it is sunnah for a person to put something (a sutrah) in front of him if there is a possibility of people passing in front of him.
* If the imam recites a verse wrongly or if he forgets the verse, it is permissible to remind him. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) skipped a word while reciting the chapter of al-Muminun in a prayer. After the prayer, he asked, "Was Ubayy not among you?" Ubayy bin Ka'b was the best one among the Companions in terms of memorizing and reciting the Quran. When Ubayy said he was there, the Messenger of Allah said, "You should have reminded me."
The sunnah prayers performed together with fard prayers before and after them are called rawatib prayers.
They are totally twenty rak'ahs a day: Two rak'ahs before the morning (fajr) prayer, four rak'ahs before and two rak'ahs after the noon (zuhr) prayer, four rak'ahs before the afternoon (asr) prayer, two rak'ahs after the evening (maghrib) prayer, and four rak'ahs before and two rak'ahs after the night (isha) prayer. Rawatib prayers are divided into two as sunnah al-muakkadah and sunnah ghayr muakkadah.
What Prayers are Sunnah al-Muakkadah?
The sunnah prayers performed as two rak'ahs before the morning prayer, four rak'ahs before and two rak'ahs after the noon prayer, four rak'ahs before the afternoon prayer, two rak'ahs after the evening prayer, two rak'ahs after the night prayer, and four rak'ahs before and after the Friday prayer are sunnah al-muakkadah.
What Prayers are Sunnah Ghayr Muakkadah?
The sunnah prayers performed as four rak'ahs before the afternoon and night prayers are sunnah ghayr muakkadah.
It is mandub to add two more rak'ahs to the last sunnah prayers of the noon and night prayers by performing them as 4 rak'ahs.
It is mandub to perform six more rak'ahs after the two rak'ah sunnah al-muakkadah of the evening prayer; it is called awwabin prayer.
The strongest and most virtuous sunnah among sunnah al-muakkadah prayers is the sunnah of the morning prayer.
The Messenger of Allah states the following in a hadith regarding the issue:
"The two-rak'ah sunah of the morning prayer is better than the world and everything that is in the world."
The order of strength after the sunnah of the morning prayer is as follows: The sunnah of the evening prayer, the last sunnah of the noon prayer, the last sunnah of the night prayer, the first sunnah of the noon prayer...
Among sunnahs of ghar muakkadah, the sunnah of the afternoon prayer is more virtuous than the first sunnah of the night prayer. The following is stated in a hadith:
"May Allah not deprive a person who performs 4 rak'ahs before the fard of the afternoon prayer of His mercy!"
If there is enough time, sunnah al-muakadah prayers should not be abandoned. If there is enough time only for the fard prayer, the sunnah is abandoned.
The sunnahs of the morning and afternoon prayers cannot be performed after their fard prayers.
It is more virtuous to perform sunnah prayers at home. Thus, a person protects himself from show off and hypocrisy; in addition, he will prevent his home from being like a graveyard where prayers and worships are not performed. This what is meant by the following hadith: "Do not make your homes resemble graves."
Only at-Tahiyyat is read in the first sitting of four rak'ah sunnah al-muakkadah prayers. Subhanaka is not read at the beginning of the third rak'ah.
Salawat are read after at-Tahiyyat in the first sitting of sunnah ghayr muakkadah and mandub sunnah; and Subhanaka is read at the beginning of the third rak'ah.
Talking about worldly issues between the fard and sunnah prayers decreases the rewards of the prayer but it does not invalidate the sunnah prayer.
- It is reported from Ibn Abbas that performing the night and morning prayers in congregation is regarded as worshipping throughout the night in a sense.
Then, if those who cannot wake up in the middle of the night in order to worship try to perform the night and morning prayers in congregation, they may obtain rewards as if they way wake up in the middle of the night and worship.
Duha Prayer:
Its time starts when the sun rises and it continues until the time of istiwa (twenty or thirty minutes before the sun reaches its zenith). It is a mandub prayer. It is performed as 2, 4, 8 or 12 rak'ahs. It is a prayer that the Messenger of Allah liked performing.
Tahajjud Prayer:
It is the nafilah prayer that is performed after the night prayer after a short sleep. The Messenger of Allah stated the following in order to encourage his ummah to perform it:
"Perform tahajjud prayer regularly because tahajjud prayer is the practice of the righteous people who lived before you. It makes you approach your Lord; it covers the evil deeds and prevents one from committing sins."
The following is stated in another hadith:
"If a person wakes up in the middle of the night and wakes his/her spouse up and both of them perform a prayer of two rak'ahs, Allah includes them in the group of those who mention His name a lot."
Its time: Aswad Ibn Alqama, one of the notables of Tabiun, said, "Tahajjud is after slepp." Therefore, it is necessary to sleep first for the tahajjud prayer. For, it is regarded makruh to worship throughout the night without sleeping in Islam. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) prohibited Abdullah bin Amr, one of the Companions, from worshipping throughout the night; he ordered him to sleep for a while and to worship for a while.
What Time is the Most Virtuous Time for Tahajjud Prayer?
The most virtuous and prosperous time for tahajjud prayer is stated as follows in a hadith reported from Abu Hurayra in Muslim:
"The most virtuous prayer after fard prayers is tahajjud prayer. If you divide the night into two, the second part is the most virtous time. If you divide the night into three, the middle part is the most blessed and virtuous time."
Dawud (pbuh) divided the night into 6 and worshipped in the 4th and 5th parts. The Messenger of Allah praised worshipping like that in a hadith.
Its decree: The Prophet was ordered to perform tahajjud prayers by verse 79 of the chapter of al-Isra. As Mujahid, one of the tafsir scholars of Tabiun says, tahajjud prayer is nafilah for the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), a means of increasing rewards and virtue. Tahajjud is mandub for the ummah and is a means of forgiveness of sins.
There are some salaf scholars who say tahajjud is fard, not nafilah, for the Messenger of Allah.
How is it performed? There are various narrations about the number of rak'ahs of the tahajjud prayer performed by the Messenger of Allah.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari says it is four rak'ahs, with salutations after each two rak'ahs.
According to a narration from Hz. Aisha, "The Messenger of Allah performed 9 rak'ahs. However, when he got older, he started to perform 7 rak'ahs." That is the most famous narration.
Tahiyyatu'l-Masjid Prayer:
It is a mustahab prayer. A Muslim who enters a mosque with an intention outside performing prayers like visiting, teaching or learning the Quran performs a nafilah prayer of two rak'ahs.
A person should perform Tahiyyatu'l-Masjid prayer before he sits down, which is better. He can perform it after sitting, too.
It is mustahab for a person who cannot perform Tahiyyatu'l-Masjid prayer when he enters a mosque due to lack of time or karahah to say:
"Subhanallah wal-hamdulillah wa la ilaha illallahu wallahu akbar. (Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah; Allah is the greatest.)"
If a person enters a mosque with the intention of performing a fard prayer or joining the congregation, it is regarded as Tahiyyatu'l-Masjid prayer.
Prayer Performed After Wudu or Ghusl:
It is mandub to perform a prayer of two rak'ahs after wudu or ghusl before the wetness dries if there is enough time. This is regarded as thanks for attaining the bounty of wudu or ghusl. However, this thanks is regarded to be performed if a person performs a fard or sunnah prayer after wudu or ghusl.
Laylatur-Raghaib Prayer:
The first night of the month of Rajab is called Laylatur-Raghaib. It is a blessed night. There are a lot of rewards for spending this night worshipping. According to narrations, the Messenger of Allah performed 12 rak'ahs of nafilah prayers on that night.
It is bid'ah to perform Laylatur-Raghaib prayer in congregation. For, no nafilah prayer except tarawih prayer is performed in congregation.
Laylatul-Mi'raj Prayer:
Laylatul-Mi'raj (Night of the Ascension) is the 27th night of the month of Rajab. It is the holy night when the Messenger of Allah ascended to the sky and when 5 daily prayers were rendered fard. It is regarded mustahab to perform 12 rak'ahs of nafilah prayers on that night.
One should read al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or verses in each rak'ah and salute after every two rak'ahs. Then he should say, "Subhanallah wal-hamdulillah wa la ilaha illallahu wallahu akbar (Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah; Allah is the greatest)" 100 times. Then, he should say "Astaghfirullah" 100 times and read salawat 100 times.
It is mustahab to perform fasting on that day.
Laylatul-Barat Prayer:
Laylatul-Barat is the 15th night of the month of Shaban. There are a lot of rewards for those who worship on that night.
The prayer to be performed on the night of Barat is called salat al-khayr (good prayer); this prayer consists of 100 rak'ahs; the chapter of al-Ikhlas is read 10 times after the chapter of al-Fatiha in each rak'ah.
Laylatul-Qadr Prayer:
Laylatul-Qadr is the 27th night of the month of Ramadan. The Quran was started to be sent down to the Prophet that night. There are a lot of rewards for those who worship on that night. As the Quran puts it, that night is better than one thousand months. That night is the night when divine mercy pours. Therefore, it is necessary to worship that night.
There is not a prayer peculiar to that night but it is said that at least two rak'ahs, at most one thousand rak'ahs and normally 100 rak'ahs can be performed. If a person performs two rak'ahs, he should read 200 verses in each rak'ah. If he performs 100 rak'ahs, he should read the chapter of al-Qadr and the chapter of al-Ikhlas 3 times after al-Fatiha in each rak'ah and salute after every two rak'ahs.
The supplication, "Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbul-'afwa, fa'fu 'anni (O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love forgiveness; so forgive me) should be read a lot.
Journey Prayer:
It is mandub to perform a two rak'ah prayer when a person starts a journey or returns from a journey.
Tasbih Prayer:
Tasbih (glorification) prayer is a four-rak'ah prayer. It is reported that Hazrat Prophet advised Abbas, his uncle, to perform it. The following tasbih is read 75 times in each rak'ah: "Subhanallahi wal-hamdulillahi wa la ilaha illallahu wallahu akbar."
The places where this sentence is read are as follows:
*It is read 15 times after Subhanaka in the first rak'ah and 15 times before al-Fatiha in the second rak'ah.
*It is read 10 times each after al-Fatiha and an additional chapter are read.
* It is read 10 times after Subhana rabbiyal azim is read 3 times in ruku and 10 times again after standing up from ruku.
* It is read 10 times after Subhana rabbiyal ala is read 3 times in sajdah.
* It is read 10 times after getting up from sajdah.
* It is read 10 times after Subhana rabbiyal ala is read 3 times in the second sajdah.
Thus, the sentence beginning with Subhanaka is read 75 times in each rak'ah.
It is possible to salute at the end of the second rak'ah and perform the 3rd and 4th rak'ahs separately, or to stand up after the second rak'ah without saluting. The third and four rak'ahs are performed like the first and second rak'ahs. Thus, 300 tasbihat are read in 4 rak'ahs totally.
This prayer is advised to be performed at least once in one's life.
Tawbah Prayer:
A person who commits a sin as a natural result of being a human must repent at once. It is mandub for a person who wants to repent of the sin he has committed to make wudu, go to an open area like the countryside, perform a two-rak'ah prayer and take refuge in Allah sincerely by asking forgiveness from Him.
Hajah Prayer:
A person who has a worldly or otherworldly wish makes wudu and performs two or four rak'ahs, or according to another view, twelve rak'ahs after the night prayer. Then, he praises Allah and sends salawat to Hazrat Prophet. After that, he says the prayer of need and asks Allah to realize his wish.
In the first rak'ah of hajah prayer, Ayat al-Kursiyy is read 3 times after al-Fatiha; in the remaining three rak'ahs, the chapter of al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas are read once after al-Fatiha according to a hadith.
Hajah Supplication:
Hajah supplication is as follows:
Allahumma inni as'aluka tawfiqa ahlil-huda wa a'mala ahlil-yaqini wa munasahata ahlit tawbati wa azma ahlis-sabr wa jidda ahlil khashyati wa talaba ahlir-raghbati, wa taabbuda ahlil-warai, wa irfana ahlil-ilmi hatta akhafuk.
Allahumma inni as'aluka makhafatan tahjizuni an ma'siyatika hatta a'amala bitaatika amalan astahiqqu bihi ridaka wa hatta unasihaka bit-tawbati khawfan minka wa hatta ukhlisa lakan-nasihata hubban laka wa hatta atawakkala alayka fil umuri wa husna zannin bik. Subhana khaliqin-nur.
O Allah, I beseech You for the inspiration of the guided, the deeds of the firm believers, the sincerity of the repenter, the determination of the patient, the effort of the God-fearing, the aspirations of the enthusiasts, the devoutness of the pious, the cognition of the knowledgeable - so that I fear You.
O Allah, I beg You for such fear that will restrain me from Your disobedience so that I may act in obedience to You earning Your consent. And so that I may repent sincerely out of Your fear. And so that I may achieve sincerity to You, so that I preach sincerely to attain Your love. And so that I may put my trust totally in You. (And I beg You for having) the best expectations from You.
O the Glorified, the Creator of light.
Istikharah Prayer:
The prayer that is performed in order to understand whether something to be done will turn out to be good or bad, whether it will be better to do something immediately or to delay it is called istikhara prayer. It is a prayer of two rak'ahs.
A person who wants to make istikhara performs this prayer of two rak'ahs before he goes to bed and reads the chapter of al-Kafirun after al-Fatiha in the first rak'ah and the chapter of al-Ikhlas in the second rak'ah. Then, he reads the supplication of istikhara. After that, he lies down by turning to the qiblah (having wudu).
Seeing something white or green in the dream indicates something good; seeing something black or red indicates something bad.
It is ordered that istikhara prayer be performed 7 nights like that and what comes to the heart be accepted.
Istikhara is made related to the issues that cannot be decided and that are hesitated. Istikhara is made when a person cannot decide what is better to do and hesitates. Istikhara is not made related to the issues that are definite, the issues that are known to be true or wrong and the issues that were consulted and decided. In those cases, the true way and what to do are known. There is no need for istikhara.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advised his Companions to make istikhara. Those who cannot perform istikhara prayer can read istikhara supplication only.
The following is stated in a hadith:
"A person who makes istikhara will not be disappointed; a person who makes istikhara will not regret."
The istikhara supplication made by the Messenger of Allah is as follows:
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi-ilmika wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika wa as'aluka min fadlika'l-azim. Fa-innaka taqdiru wa la aqdiru wa ta'lamu wa la a'lamu wa anta allamu'l-ghuyub.
Allahumma in kunta ta'lamu anna hadha'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 hadha'l-amra sharrun li fi dini wa maashi wa aqibati amri, fasrifhu anni wasrifni anhu waqdur li'l-khayra haythu kana. Summa ardini bih...
Its translation is as follows:
O Allah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and by Your power I seek strength and I ask You from Your immense favor. For, verily You are able while I am not and verily You know while I do not and You are the Knower of the unseen.
O Allah, if You know this affair to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life, and end, then decree and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it. And if You know this affair to be ill for me towards my religion, my life, and end, then remove it from me and remove me from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it be and make me satisfied with such.
Istithqa (Asking for Rain) Prayer:
When it does not rain, Muslims go out and pray Allah for rain. They take refuge in His mercy and grace and beg Him to send rain. It is called istithqa in religious terminology. It lexically means to ask for rain.
According to Abu Hanifa, what is meant by istithqa is to say prayers and ask for forgiveness. It is not sunnah but it may be permissible to perform prayers in congregation. If people want, they can perform prayers individually.
According to Imam Muhammad and Abu Yusuf, it is mandub to perform the istithqa prayer in congregation for Muslims like the Friday prayer. The preacher recites a sermon without ascending to the pulpit by leaning on a stick.
It is regarded as mustahsan (good) to pray for rain three days on end. If it does not rain at the end of the three days, it is necessary to keep praying. The following is stated in a hadith: "Allah likes those who insist on praying and begging." It is mandub to perform fasting on the day of istithqa and three days before it. For, the prayer of a fasting person is accepted. Those who are cross with each other should reconcile within these three days; people should give sadaqah; the things that have been taken inequitably should be returned to their owners.
While going out for istithqa prayer, it is necessary to go to an open area like the countryside or desert by lowering heads and on foot. It is necessary to repent for sins first, ask forgiveness for all believers and try to attract divine mercy.
Muslims take their children, domestic animals and their young ones to the prayer. The children and young animals are kept away from their mothers for a while; the weak and the old pray during these sad moments and the others say "amin".
To sum up, it is necessary to ask mercy and help from Allah in a sad, humble and respectful state. If rain starts before going out to the open area, it is necessary to go there as an indication of thanking Allah.
When it rains, it is necessary to say, "Allahumma sayyiban nafian", that is, "O Allah! Make this rain beneficial for us." If it rains more than necessary, it is necessary to say, "Allahumma hawalayna wa la alayna", "O Allah! Make it rain on places that will not cause any harm; do not make it rain on us."
The people who pray can open their hands, their palms facing the sky or facing the ground if they wish. For, it is reported that the Prophet prayed like that (his palms facing the ground). Shafii scholars say praying like this is not limited to istithqa prayer. In general, they regard it permissible to hold the hands with the palms facing the sky when they ask something from Allah and with the palms facing the ground when they want to take refuge in Allah from troubles and misfortunes.
The supplication of istithqa reported from the Messenger of Allah is as follows:
Allahumma ala'z-zirabi wa manabiti'sh-shajari wa butuni'l-awdiyati.
Allahumma inna nastaghfiruka innaka kunta ghaffaran fa-arsili's-samaa midraran.
Allahumma asqina'l-ghaytha wa la taj'alna mina'l-qanitin.
Allahumma anbit lana'z-zar'a wa adirra lana'd-dar'a wa asqina min barakati's-samai wa anbit lana min barakati'l-ard.
Allahumma'r-fa' anna'l-jahda wa'l-jua wa'l-urya wa'kshif anna mina'l-balai ma la yakshifuhu ghayruka.
Oh Allah! Pour down upon us abundant healthy beneficial rain that covers all places and flows everywhere.
O Allah! Send the rain to the mountains, tree roots and valleys.
O Allah! We ask your mercy. There is no doubt that you are the most merciful. Send us plenty of rain from the sky.
O Allah! Water us with rain; do not make us among those who lose their hope.
O Sublime Creator! Make the plants grow, let the udders be refilled with abundant milk; water us with the bounties of the sky and bloom crops for us.
O Lord! Remove poverty, nakedness and hunger from us. Make us get rid of this misfortune, which can be eliminated by nobody except you.
Why is Istithqa Prayer and supplication performed?
There is a great lesson of warning in istithqa prayer and supplication. It is a duty of servitude for us to remember all the time our Merciful and Generous Lord, whose endless mercy and help we constantly receive, to turn to His great house in gratitude understanding that we are in need of Him through all occasions, and to pray and beg Him.
Let us think: if the beneficial rain that occasionally comes down onto the earth from clouds stopped, and rivers, streams and brooks dried consequently, who would send us water? If God Almighty stopped and dried the resources of fresh water that gush forth all the time and that serve us, who could give it to us?
Man sometimes needs to think of these facts and thank and praise Allah endlessly but he often acts heedlessly and shows ingratitude toward the bounties.
God Almighty sometimes sends misfortunes like drought as a punishment for man's heedlessness and ingratitude. Thus, He makes man feel his weakness and awakens him from the sleep of heedlessness; He wants to make man beg and pray Him, and open his hands modestly in His presence.
If people pray and worship a lot but if the misfortune does not end and it does not rain, we should not say that our prayers are not accepted. On the contrary, it is necessary to say, "the time for prayer has not passed yet; the time for worshipping has not ended yet" and we should keep worshipping and praying.
Kusuf (Solar Eclipse) Prayer:
When there is a solar eclipse, a prayer of two rak'ahs is performed in congregation without calling adhan and iqamah. The imam recites a lot. According to Abu Hanifa, in this prayer, the qiraah (reading the Quran) is silent but according to Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad, the qiraah is loud. After the prayer, the imam stands facing the qiblah, and turning to people and prays Allah until the sun appears. The congregation says amin.
Khutba is not recited after the kusuf prayer. If there is nobody to lead the prayer, people can perform it individually.
Khusuf (Lunar Eclipse) Prayer:
When there is a lunar eclipse, Muslims perform this prayer in their houses individually. It is performed as two or four rak'ahs reading silently or aloud like the kusuf prayer. According to Abu Hanifa, performing this prayer in the mosque is not sunnah. However, if it is performed in congregation, it is permissible.
* Solar eclipses and lunar eclipses are the times for these prayers. That is, when the sun and the moon, which are the source of light for the day and night, are shadowed for a temporary period by God Almighty, they show the magnificence of God; thus, God Almighty calls His slaves to worship Him through these eclipses. The prayer is not performed in order to end the lunar and solar eclipses, which last for a certain time that can be calculated by astronomers.
* It is known based on what magnificent laws solar and lunar eclipses take place. Therefore, it is a very important duty for a person who is a thinker to think about the power and magnificence of the Creator, who imposed these laws so regularly and perfectly, and to prostrate humbly before His power and magnificence.
To revive the last ten days of Ramadan by performing prayers.
It is mandub. The Messenger of Allah always revived the last ten days of Ramadan and worshipped. What is meant by it is to revive the Night of Power (Laylatul-Qadr). For, Muslims are encouraged to seek Laylatul-Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan in a hadith. When the last ten days are revived, Laylatul-Qadr is also revived.
To Revive Eid Nights by Prayers:
It is also mandub.
To Revive the First Ten Nights of Dhul-Hijjah
It is also mandub.
The Messenger of Allah said,
"There is nothing that Allah finds lovelier than worshipping in the first ten nights of Dhul-hijjah. Fasting one day in Dhul-hijjah is equal to fasting the whole year; worshipping one night in Dhul-hijjah is equal to worshipping on Laylatul-Qadr."
Lexically, ghusl (or ghasl) means "to wash something with water"; as a fiqh term, it means "to wash the whole body with clean water". In fiqh, wudu (ablution) is called minor cleaning, the states that necessitate wudu are called hadath al-asghar (minor impurity); ghusl is called major cleaning, and the states that necessitate ghusl are called hadath al-akbar (major impurity). Ghusl is also called full ablution.
The following is stated in the Quran: "If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body" (al-Maida 5/6), informing us that ghusl is necessary in order to be freed from the state of janabah; besides, it is stated that menstruation is a period of excuse for women and men are forbidden to have sexual intercourse with their wives until they are clean (al-Baqara 2/22). The words and practices of the Prophet explain that it is necessary to make ghusl when a person is in the state of janabah and when the period of menstruation and puerperium end for women.
Ghusl is a means of virtual and religious cleanliness like wudu. It both ensures material cleanliness and definitely contains many medical advantages. The importance of ghusl in terms of human health has been stated by both Eastern and Western scientists; ghusl has been the distinctive feature the Islamic nations and the symbol of the importance Islamic civilization gives to bodily cleanliness and health. Through ghusl, the material dirt and smears that can be left on the body by the state of janabah, menstruation and puerperium are cleaned thoroughly. Besides, ghusl contains many benefits in terms of bodily and spiritual health like eliminating the fatigue and languor in the body caused by the state of janabah, establishing a new balance in the body, regulating the blood circulation, and preparing a person for worshipping by eliminating him from dirtiness. In addition, a believer who fulfills this order of Allah with the belief that it has many known and unknown wisdoms and benefits obtains the joy and rewards of obeying Allah unquestioningly.
When is Ghusl Necessary?
The reason for ghusl which is essentially a means of virtual and religious cleanliness is virtual impurity. Therefore, the states of janabah, menstruation and puerperium, which are regarded as virtual impurities, are three main reasons that necessitate ghusl. However, that these states are called major hadath (impurity) in religious terminology does not mean that these people are religiously najis (dirty). A believer is not najis. Furthermore, the verse meaning that polytheists are najis (at-Tawba, 9/28) is interpreted as indicating their virtual impurities. Thus, it means they do not have the necessary spiritual readiness to do certain kinds of worship or the deeds related to worship. Therefore, it is not regarded as a sin for a junub person to continue fasting or to delay making ghusl to the time of the prayer; it is regarded fard for him to make ghusl before the last time of the prayer time when the prayer is performed. In other words, ghusl is a method of cleaning that ends virtual impurity and enables a person to perform certain kinds of worship.
There are three states that necessitate ghusl.
1 – The state of janabah. It is caused by two things:
a. Semen coming through the penis lustfully whether a person is awake or asleep, whether sexual arousal or intercourse is present or not.
Most of the fiqh scholars except Shafiis regard lust as a condition for janabah; therefore, they do not regard it as janabah when semen comes through the penis as a result of lifting something heavy, falling down, illness, etc.
A person who wakes up and sees semen on his underwear has to make ghusl even though he does not remember having a wet dream. However, if a person remembers that he had a wet dream but does not see any traces of semen on his underwear and clothes, he does not have to make ghusl.
b. Having a sexual intercourse. In that case, semen does not have to come; orgasm is not necessary. Sexual intercourse necessitates ghusl.
2 – The second state that necessitates ghusl is menstruation for women. When the menstruation period f a woman ends, she has to make ghusl.
3 – The third state necessitating ghusl is puerperium for women. When the puerperium period of a woman ends, she has to make ghusl.
Wisdoms Behind Ghusl and its Benefits:
It is fard for every sane person who has reached the age of puberty to make ghusl when a state that necessitates ghusl takes place. Along with spiritual and otherworldly benefits, there are many material advantages and good sides of ghusl. Therefore, Islam gives great importance to ghusl. When man fulfills this religious duty, he both attracts the love and consent of Allah and gains health and welfare materially. Ghusl is also penance for minor sins. The Prophet said to Anas bin Malik, "O Anas! Exaggerate when you make ghusl. Thus, you will leave the bathroom in a state of having been purified form your sins and faults." Hazrat Anas said, "O Messenger of Allah! How shall I exaggerate?" The Prophet replied, "Wet the hair roots and eliminate the dirt from the skin."
Since the state of janabah prevents a person from worshipping and it is a state of spiritual impurity, it makes a believer uneasy, restless and depressed. It is reported in some narrations that the earth feels disgusted by the people who walk on it while they are junub and complains to Allah about them. There are also narrations stating that angels of mercy will not go near junub people. Therefore, the righteous people and the people who have taqwa have always hurried to get rid of the state of janabah and avoided spending the whole night in the state of janabah. The following is stated in a hadith: “If a person goes to bed in a state of purity (without needing ghusl and on wudu) and his hands, feet and mouth free of dirt, give him glad tidings that he will gain the degree of martyrdom if he dies that night.” It is the taqwa aspect of the issue.
It does not mean that a person who is junub brings bad luck and he is dirty and impure materially. It cannot be said that one must not meet and speak to a junub person. What matters is to make ghusl before the time of prayer ends if that person has not performed that prayer. A person who needs ghusl can delay making ghusl if he does not miss the prayer and can do anything except the things that are haram for a junub person. That is the fatwa aspect of the issue.
Once Abu Hurayra met the Messenger of Allah when he was junub, but he immediately went away because he felt embarrassed to be near the Prophet like that and returned after making ghusl. When the Messenger of Allah asked him where he had gone, he explained the situation. Then, the Messenger of Allah said to Abu Hurayra, "Subhanallah, can a believer be najis (impure)?"As it can be understood from this hadith, a junub person is not in a state that nobody can meet and talk to or who is in impurity and inauspiciousness. What matters is to make ghusl before the time of prayer ends if that person has not performed that prayer. A person can delay making ghusl if he does not miss the prayer and can do anything except the things that are haram for a junub person. That is the fatwa aspect of the issue.
Then, the people that the earth feels disgusted by and the angels of mercy do not approach are the people who ignore the state of janabah and who always walk around while they are junub.
The positive effect making ghusl has on the health of man is explained as follows:
Ejaculation (orgasm) is a physiological event that mobilizes the whole nervous system and that shakes the whole organism. During sexual intercourse, a great amount of cell destruction takes place. The number of breaths increases since all of the respiratory and circulatory organs are involved. Blood circulation accelerates. The effort exerted during it is equal to the one exerted while running one thousand and five hundred meters. Or, in other words, it is as tiring as running up to the seventh floor of a building.
After the sexual intercourse, the body feels terribly tired and exhausted. It feels as if it has carried a heavy load. The body, which undergoes great cell destruction and a shock, feels relaxed and easy after making ghusl. The body feels robust and energetic again. Therefore, ghusl is a perfect cleaning that gives man material and spiritual ease and calm.
What are the Things that are Haram for those who Need to Make Ghusl?
The religious duties that are haram for junub men and women, and for women who are in menstruation and puerperium are as follows:
1 – To perform prayers.
A junub person can perform fasting but a woman who is in menstruation or puerperium cannot.
2 – To read the Quran.
It is haram to read even one verse from the Quran whether by heart or by looking at it. However, it is regarded permissible to read the verses of prayer (dua) and verses that praise Allah with the intention of dua and praise and but not with the intention of reading the Quran. For instance, it is haram for a junub person to read the chapter al-Fatiha that contains dua and praising Allah with the intention of reading the Quran; however, it is permissible to read it with the intention of dua and praising. It is permissible to utter kalima ash-shahadah, subhanallah and Allahuakbar.
3 – It is not permissible even to touch the Quran let alone reading the Quran. Even if what is touched is only one verse or half a verse. However, if the Quran is covered in something, it is permissible to touch it like that.
4 – To circumambulate the Kaaba.
5 – To enter a mosque or to pass through a mosque unless there is an obligation.
6 – It is haram to hold a gold or silver coin, a necklace or plate on which verses of the Quran are inscribed or written.
According to Imam Malik, a junub person cannot read the Quran but a woman who is in menstruation period can because a junub person can make ghusl at once. However, if she is in menstruation, she is regarded as excused since she cannot make ghusl before the menstruation period ends.
The Things that are Makruh for those who Need to Make Ghusl:
1 - To read a religious book by holding it.
2 - To eat and drink without washing the hand and mouth.
Some Issues Related to Things that Necessitate Ghusl:
* Ghusl is necessary for the ejaculation when sperm comes out suddenly and with lust. The sperm that leaves its place with lust but comes out after lust has soothed necessitates ghusl according to Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad but it does not necessitate ghusl according to Abu Yusuf.
* For ghusl, full intercourse is not necessary; if the tip of the penis enters the vagina, ghusl becomes obligatory no matter if sperm comes out or not.
* To put the finger into the front or back private part does not necessitate ghusl.
* If sperm comes out when a person holds someone, pats or looks at her, ghusl becomes necessary. It is valid for both men and women.
* If a person who wakes up sees wetness on the sheet, his underwear or his thighs, he has to make ghusl if he remembers ejaculating in dream. If he does not remember ejaculating, he does not have to make ghusl according to Abu Yusuf because that wetness can be madi (the prostate secretion that comes out without lust). Besides, even if it is sperm, it is not known whether it has come out with lust or not. Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad do not think that ghusl is necessary if it is known for sure that the wetness is madi. However, if one hesitates whether it is sperm or madi or if it is more likely that it is sperm, then, they say, ghusl is necessary in case it is sperm as a guarantee.
* If a person has a wet dream but if sperm has not come out, he does not have to make ghusl.
* If the sperm of the husband of a woman comes out of her after she makes ghusl, she does not have to make ghusl again.
* If sperm comes out without lust due to reasons like being beaten or lifting heavy things, ghusl is not necessary. However, Imam Shafii holds the view that ghusl is necessary.
* If a non-Muslim becomes a Muslim when he/she is junub or in the period of menstruation or puerperium, it is necessary for him/her to make ghusl. However, if he/she becomes a Muslim when he/she is not in one of those states, it becomes mandub (recommended) not fard for him/her to make ghusl.
What are the Conditions for the Validity of Ghusl?
It is necessary for women to wait for the menstrual and puerperal bleeding to stop completely and for men to wait for the sperm to stop completely.
It is necessary for a man to sleep for a while or to walk a few steps or urinate even if a little amount in order to make the sperm flow stop fully. If a man makes ghusl without doing any of them and sperm comes out after making ghusl, his ghusl is not regarded valid. He has to make ghusl again.
The second condition for ghusl to be valid is to wash the whole body. The recommendation mentioned in some books that not even a place as little as pinhead can be left dry should not be understood literally but as washing the whole body thoroughly with water.
Dental filling and plating, and materials like paint and similar things on the skin that prevent water from touching the skin and that are hard to remove do not prevent ghusl. Therefore, if the material dirt on the body is cleaned by using soap, the remaining materials like paint, dough, etc that prevent water from touching the skin and that are hard to remove do not invalidate ghusl. The dental filling and plating are regarded like that, too.
What are the Rukns (Fards) of Ghusl?
There are three fards of ghusl:
1 – To rinse the mouth with water,
2 – To sniff water into the nose and blow it out,
3 – To wash the whole body.
It is fard to wash the mouth, the nose and the whole body at least once. A person who washes them three times is regarded to have fulfilled the fard and gains the reward of fulfilling the sunnah.
* The dirt under the nail, the dirt of fleas and flies, paints like henna and ink that do not prevent water from touching the skin do not prevent ghusl.
* It is necessary to wash inside the earring holes if they are not closed. If the earrings are on the ear, it is enough to move them forward and backward.
* The inside of the navel has to be washed, too.
* It is not obligatory to wet the whole hair if it is long or in plaits. The woman does not have to unplait her hair. It is enough to wet the hair roots. If the hair roots are wetted, ghusl becomes valid even if the whole hair is not wetted.
The same thing is not valid for men. Men have to wash the whole hair even if it is very long or in plaits because hair is not regarded as ornament for men. Men do not have to lengthen their hair.
* Even if the beard is bushy, the water has to reach the skin. However, while making wudu, it is not necessary to wash the roots of the beard hairs if it is bushy; it is enough to wet the beard only.
* The same thing is valid for the eyebrows and mustache. It is necessary to wash the hairs together with the skin.
Malikis and Shafiis do not regard the inside of the mouth and the nose as the outer part of the body; they regard them as internal organs. Therefore, it is not fard but sunnah to wash them during wudu and ghusl.
Hanbalis regard the inside of the mouth and the nose as part of the face. It is fard for them to wash them both during wudu and ghusl.
Does Dental Filling and Plating Prevent the Validity of Ghusl?
We know that it is fard to wash inside the mouth and the nose for Hanafis. Accordingly, is it obligatory for a Hanafi person to remove the filling or the plate he has in his mouth and let water go underneath while making wudu, or is his ghusl valid when the water touches the plate or the filling?
The following fatwa regarding the issue is present in the fatwa book called “İlâveli Mecmua-i Cedîde” (New Periodical with Supplements), prepared by a committee of scholars headed by Nuri Efendi, head of Fatwa Committee published by Ali Murtaza, an editor of the Fatwa House:
“Zayd has to make ghusl but his teeth have cavities, which are filled with gold or silver; it is difficult to remove them; is his ghusl valid if he makes ghusl but if water does not enter the cavities of his teeth due to a necessity but touches the top part of the filling and is he regarded to have been cleaned?
The answer: Yes, it is valid.”
According to this fatwa, it is permissible to fill and cover the teeth if there is a necessity. Only the outer parts of those teeth are washed while making ghusl. It is not necessary to remove the filling and the plate and wash the inside of the tooth.
Uryanizade, one of the Sheikh-al-Islams of the last period, gave fatwa that it was permissible to fill in the teeth.
In conclusion, we can say that when it becomes impossible for water to penetrate into the dental plating and filling in the mouth, it is not obligatory to wash inside them. For, they are not things made with the purpose of ornamentation; they are applied as treatment. Likewise, it is not obligatory to make water go under the bandage wrapped around or placed on a wound.
Dental health has an important place in the life of man. It has been discovered by medicine that dental illnesses bring about many other diseases.
If dental filling and plating that are applied due to a necessity of the treatment are regarded as something that invalidates ghusl, many dental illness and disorders will be common in the Islamic world. The health of Muslims will be risked. Since dental filling and plating have become indispensable in dental treatment, it also has become a general problem, making an objectionable issue permissible. Therefore, filled and plated teeth do not prevent ghusl.
However, those who are overwhelmed by delusions and those who want to act in accordance with taqwa can make intention as Shafiis. As it is known, it is not fard but sunnah to wash the inside of the mouth and the nose for Shafiis.
What is the Decree about Having Golden Teeth and Having Teeth Plated by Gold?
It is stated in Mabsut that Imam Muhammad regards it permissible to have a golden tooth implanted or to have a tooth plated by gold.
Abu Hanifa regards golden teeth as makruh but he regards it permissible to have a silver tooth implanted or to have teeth plated by silver. The reason why Abu Hanifa regards golden teeth makruh is the fact that gold is regarded as ornament and it is not permissible for a man to wear gold. Then, if gold is used due to a medical necessity, not as an ornament, it is permissible for men. As a matter of fact, it is known today that golden teeth are healthier than silver teeth and that it does not cause bad smell.
The teeth and prostheses that can be removed have to be removed while making ghusl. It is better for cleanliness.
What are the Sunnahs of Ghusl?
Main sunnahs of ghusl are as follows:
1 – To start ghusl with basmala.
2 – To intend for ghusl by the heart and uttering the intention by the tongue.
* Intention is fard according to Malikis and Shafiis. According to Hanbalis, intention is a condition for validity of ghusl.
3 – To start ghusl by using a miswak, that is, by cleaning the teeth as in wudu.
4 – To utter basmala and the intention before starting ghusl.
5 – To wash the hands first and the private parts after that. If there is any sperm or similar impurity on the body or the private parts, to eliminate them at first.
6 – To make wudu in accordance with its order and rules. If the used water accumulates under the feet, to delay washing the feet to the end of ghusl.
7 – After making wudu, to pour water on the head three times; after that, to pour water on the right shoulder three times and then on the left shoulder three times. When the water is poured for the first time, to rub that organ thoroughly.
* According to Imam Malik and Abu Yusuf, it is fard to rub the body while making ghusl.
If a person washes his mouth and nose and then jumps into a river, big pool or sea with all of his body, he is regarded to have made ghusl.
What are the Mustahabs (Manners) of Ghusl?
The most important mustahab of ghusl is to cover one’s private parts.
All of the prophets agree that modesty is the greatest virtue of man. A person who is modest does not let others look at his/her private parts. His/her good manners and modesty will prevent it. A companion, who serves a good example to people said, “I will consent to falling down from the sky and breaking into pieces but I will definitely not consent to opening my private parts and showing them to others.”
Therefore, Muslims should always try to cover their private parts while making ghusl whether in a private place or in a public place.
However, in the private bathrooms in homes or in the private room of public baths, a person can leave the whole body open in order to shave the pubic hair and to clean his/her private parts for a short time. It is not objectionable since nobody can see him/her there. However, it should not be a habit and the private parts should be covered after the private parts are cleaned; one should not let his/her feeling of modesty be harmed.
It is mustahab to perform a two-rak’ah prayer after ghusl just like wudu. Previous religious people never neglected this prayer. That prayer can be a supererogatory prayer to praise and thank Allah or a fard prayer that was missed.
Since all kinds of worshipping are done in order to gain the consent of Allah and to show our servitude and loyalty to Him in the best way, it is better to fulfill the sunnahs and mustahabs as much as possible just as we fulfill the fards.
What are the Makruhs of Ghusl?
Whatever is makruh in wudu is also makruh in ghusl.
It is permissible to wet one organ with water in another organ in ghusl because the whole body is regarded as one organ in ghusl. It is not permissible in wudu.
How is Ghusl Made?
It is possible to make ghusl in two ways depending on having little time or enough time:
1 - When there is little water, when it is cold, when there is little time and when it is necessary to make ghusl fast, the private parts at the front and at the back are cleaned first. The mouth is rinsed with water three times; then, water is sniffed into the nose and blown out three times. After that, the whole body is washed and wetted with water poured down the head, right shoulder and left shoulder. When there is no part of the body is left dry, ghusl is completed.
This is the ghusl made when there is very little time by performing only the fards of wudu.
2 - When there is enough time and place, ghusl is made as follows: To start ghusl with basmala and intention, to wash the hand and the private parts, to eliminate any impurity that may be on any part of the body, then to make wudu but to delay washing the feet to the end of the ghusl if the water accumulates under the feet; after wudu, to pour water onto the head three times, then onto the right shoulder three times and onto the left shoulder three times; to rub the body thoroughly each time; to wash each organ three times; not to waste water; to make ghusl by covering the private parts; not to speak while making ghusl; to get dressed immediately after making ghusl are among the main sunnahs and mustahabs of ghusl. The nice acts that are regarded as mustahab acts of wudu are valid for ghusl, too.
What is necessary and fard in both types of ghusl is not to leave any dry places in the mouth, in the nose and on the body. After it is done, ghusl is completed, and spiritual and material cleaning is attained.
Issues Related to Ghusl:
Can Worship be Performed with the Ghusl that has been Made?
All kinds of worship is performed with ghusl, which is also called full ablution. For, only certain organs are washed in wudu; however, the whole body is washed in ghusl. Thus, extra cleaning is performed in ghusl. All kinds of prayers and worship are performed with ghusl until something that invalidates wudu occurs. When something that invalidates wudu occurs, the validity of ghusl for wudu ends and it becomes necessary to make wudu again for worshipping.
* If some liquid that invalidates wudu like urine, blood, etc comes out of a person who needs to make wudu while making ghusl, is his ghusl invalidated?
The flow of liquid during ghusl does not invalidate ghusl but it invalidates the quality of ghusl for wudu. That is, it is valid and it ends the state of janabah but one cannot perform prayers with it. It becomes necessary to make wudu in order to perform prayers with it. Ghusl is valid.
To express it academically, everything that invalidates ghusl invalidates wudu, too. However, not everything that invalidates wudu invalidates ghusl. Therefore, any flow of liquid coming from the urinary tract, a wound, etc or blood coming from the teeth, etc while making ghusl do not invalidate ghusl. The ghusl made together with that kind of flow is valid but it is not valid as wudu for performing prayers.
* Does a person who realizes after he makes ghusl that he has forgotten to wash his mouth, nose or any other organ have to make ghusl again?
No. He has to wash only the place that he has not washed.
* In some houses, the toilet and the bathroom are in the same place. Is it permissible to make ghusl in such bathrooms?
It is permissible to make ghusl in places where there is a toilet or closet.
* What should a person who has to make ghusl do if he wants to eat or drink something before ghusl?
A person who has to make ghusl should delay eating or drinking after ghusl if possible. However, if he needs to eat, he should wash parts of his body that will touch the food, that is, his hands and mouth, and then he should eat and drink.
Accordingly, a person who cannot find enough time to make ghusl before eating sahur (meal eaten before dawn on the day of fasting) should wash his hands and mouth before eating. Then, he can make ghusl. He does not have to do without eating sahur because he has to make ghusl.
* Is it appropriate to remove the hair on the body when one is junub? Or is it necessary to remove the pubic hair and armpit hair after ghusl?
The hair on the body should be removed or shaved when one is clean. That is the appropriate way.
However, if a person removes the hair on his body when he is junub and makes ghusl after that, his ghusl will be valid.
How many kinds of ghusl are there?
There are 3 kinds of ghusl.
I. Ghusls that are Fard:
It is fard to make ghusl after the state of janabah, menstruation and puerperium.
II. Ghusls that are Sunnah:
1 – It is sunnah to make ghusl for the Friday prayer.
As it is stated by the Prophet, Friday is the Master of Days (Sayyid al-Ayyam), that is, the most honorable and virtuous day. It is also a feast day for Muslims. The Messenger of Allah advised his ummah insistently to make ghusl on Friday to apply perfume and then to go to mosque.
Making ghusl on Thursday or Friday morning will be regarded as fulfilling the sunnah. The scholars regarded the ghusl for Friday prayer as sunnah al-muakkadah taking into consideration the plenitude of the hadiths regarding the issue and the insistent advice of the Prophet on it. The bodily cleaning like having a haircut, removing the hair on the body, trimming the nails is advised to be done on Friday.
2 – It is also sunnah to make ghusl for eid prayers.
3 – It is sunnah to make ghusl while entering ihram for hajj and umrah. This ghusl is for spiritual cleaning rather than material cleaning; therefore, women who are in menstruation or puerperium can make this ghusl. If there is no water, tayammum is not made instead of this ghusl.
4 – It is sunnah for hajjis to make ghusl for wuquf (standing) in Arafat on the day of Arafa.
III. Ghusls that are Mandub or Mustahab:
1 – It is mandub for a person who becomes a Muslim but who is not in the state of janabah, menstruation or puerperium to make ghusl.
2 – It is mandub for a girl or boy who has reached the age of 15 but has not physically reached puberty to make ghusl.
3 – To make ghusl for a person who faints after recovering… This ghusl is made to thank Allah for recovery.
4 – To make ghusl after donating blood or being cupped.
5 – To make ghusl before washing a dead person.
6 – To make ghusl in order to worship on holy nights like Laylat al-Barat and Laylat al-Qadr.
7 – To make ghusl for wuquf at Muzdalifa and staying in Mina for hajjis.
8 – To make ghusl in order to enter Makkah or Madinah to show respect to those holy places.
9 – To make ghusl during the solar and lunar eclipse for the prayers of kusuf and khusuf.
10 – To make ghusl for the rain prayer.
11 – It is mandub for a person who has returned from a journey or a person who has changed his underwear.
12 – To make ghusl for the prayer of khawf (fear) performed during disasters and misfortunes.
13 – It is mandub for a person who wants to repent from his sins to make ghusl.
14 – A woman who starts to have menstruation just after being junub can make ghusl if she wishes. She can delay making ghusl to the end of the period of menstruation if she wishes.
15 – It is mandub for a man who has a sexual intercourse with his wife to make wudu or ghusl when he wants to have a second sexual intercourse.
16 – It is mandub for a junub person to hurry in order to make ghusl without delaying. A junub person can delay making ghusl just before the end of the time limit for a prayer but he is recommended to make ghusl without delaying much.
The righteous salaf paid great attention to this issue; when they became junub, they would make ghusl immediately even if there was plenty of time.
Sunnah and mustahab ghusls are made only for body cleaning or showing respect; therefore, it is not fard to wash the mouth and the nose.
* According to Shafiis, all of the ghusls other than fard ghusls are sunnah.
Janazah prayer is fard al-kifayah. This fard is fulfilled when one person or a congregation performs it. It is enough even if the imam performs it alone. However, it is stated in hadiths that the more people perform the janazah prayer of a person, the more forgiveness and mercy that person receives.
"If a congregation of about 100 believers performs the janazah prayer of a person and all of them pray for his forgiveness, their dua is accepted."
In another narration, the number is 40.
If it is understood that a person was buried before his janazah prayer was performed, his janazah prayer is performed in front of his grave.
Janazah prayers of those who kill their parents, highwaymen, the rebels who revolt against the Islamic state are not performed.
The conditions that are necessary for the other prayers, namely,taharah from hadath (removing ritual impurity), taharah from najasah (Removing physical impurity), turning toward the qiblah, covering the awrah and niyyah (intention) are also necessary for janazah prayer. There are also the following conditions:
1 - The dead person must be a Muslim.
2 - The dead body has to be put on the ground, not on a vehicle.
3 - The dead body has to be present. According to Hanafis, it is not permissible to perform the janazah prayer in the absence of the dead body.
4 - The dead body must be at the front not at the back.
Whatever invalidates a prayer also invalidates janazah prayer. Janazah prayer is not invalidated when a woman and a man perform the prayer in the same line.
The imam that leads janazah prayer stands just behind the dead body. The dead body is placed so that its right side faces the qiblah.
How is Janazah Prayer Performed?
Janazah prayer is performed with niyyah and 4 takbirs. Janazah prayer is not valid without intention or if one of the takbirs is missing. Intention through the heart is valid but it is sunnah to utter it by the tongue.
It is stated in the niyyah whether the dead person is a man, woman or child. The imam starts the prayer by uttering as follows: "I intend to perform janazah prayer for Allah's sake and to pray for the dead person." He does not have to utter niyyah for being an imam. The congregation utters niyyah in the same way but they also add the phrase "I follow the imam". It is enough to say, "I follow the imam" only.
The rukns (parts) of janazah prayer are qiyam (standing) and takbir. There is no qira'ah, ruku and sajdah in janazah prayer.
The prayer is performed as follows:
After the opening takbir, the hands are tied and Subhanaka is read. While reading Subhanaka, the phrase "wa jalla thanauk" is added after the phrase "wa taala jadduk". Then, another takbir is uttered without raising hands and without any signs of the head and the eyes. Allahumma salli and barik supplications are read after the second takbir. After the third takbir, a supplication is read for both the dead person and all Muslims. There is not a certain supplication to read. The following supplications can be read:
"Allahumma'ghfirli wa li'l-mayyiti wa li-sairi'l-mu'minina wa'l-mu'minat... (O Allah! Grant forgiveness to me, to the dead person and to all believing men and women" or:
"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 firewith Your mercy, O Most Merciful)." It is possible to read other supplications, too. Those who do not know the supplications above can read the chapter of al-Fatiha with the intention of supplication.
It is sunnah to read the following supplication:
"Allahumma'ghfir li-hayyina wa mayyitina wa shahidina wa ghaibina wa dhakarina wa unthana wa saghirina wa kabirina... (O Allah! Grant forgiveness to our living and dead people, and to those who are present and who are absent, and to our males and females, to our young people and old people…)
Allahumma, man ahyaytahu minna fa-ahyihi ala'l-islam wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa-tawaffahu ala'l-iman wa khussa hadha'l-mayyita bir-rawhi wa'r-rahati wa'l-maghfirati wa'r-ridwan... (O Allah! Whomsoever you grant to live, from among us, help him to live in Islam, and whomever of us you cause to die, help him to die in faith. Grant especially this dead person your ease, rest, forgiveness and consent)…
Allahumma in kana muhsinan fa-zid fi ihsanihi wa in kana musian fa-tajawaz anhu wa laqqihi'l-amma wa'l-bushra wa'l-karamata wa'z-zulfa bi-rahmatika ya arhama'r-rahimin... (O Allah! If he acted well, increase for him his good action, and if he acted wrongly, overlook his wrong actions. Grant him security, glad tidings, generosity and closeness to you with Your mercy, O Most Merciful." (*).
If the dead body belongs to a boy, the following is read after "wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa-tawaffahu ala'l-iman":
Allahumma'j'alhu lana faratan, Allahumma'j'alhu lana ajran wa zukhra... Allahumma'j'alhu lana shafian mushaffa...
"(O 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 You)..." (*).
Then, the fourth takbir is uttered and salutations are given (first to the right then to the left). The hands are dropped aside. All of the supplications except takbirs are read silently.
It is not permissible to read the Quran in janazah prayer. However, some verses can be read with the intention of supplication.
A person who cannot catch up with the imam when the opening takbir is uttered needs to wait for the next takbir and start the prayer with it. He completes the remaining takbir(s) before the dead body is taken away.
It is makruh to perform janazah prayer in the mosque unless it is necessary. It is permissible to perform it in the mosque due to rain or lack of suitable space.
It is wajib to salute at the end of janazah prayer. The supplications that are read are sunnah.
It is mandub for those who perform janazah prayer to form three lines.
Only one janazah prayer is performed in the presence of a dead body. It is makruh to repeat the prayer.
It is better to perform a janazah prayer for each dead body when there is more than one janazah. However, it is permissible to perform one janazah prayer for all dead bodies.
Are There Any People Whose Janazah Prayers are not Performed?
The dead bodies of some people who committed certain major sins are not washed; their janazah prayers are not performed, either. The reason why their dead bodies are not washed and their janazah prayers are not performed is not because they exited belief or were deprived of Islam. It aims to show people that they committed such a big sin that would make them suffer such big deprivation and warn people against such sins. Another reason is to inflict the worldly punishment of that major sin.
The dead bodies of the people whose janazah prayers are not performed are as follows:
1 - Highwaymen: That is, the bandits who attack travelers and rob them; the armed robbers who attack houses, shops, etc and rob people.
They are the people who commit the crime of seizure by violence, which is not permitted and tolerated by Islam, and grab people's right of living in peace. If they do not give up being bandits, highwaymen and robbers and do not repent, they are buried without their janazah prayers being performed.
2 - Ungrateful people who kill their parents: The dead body of an ungrateful person who kills his parents deliberately and cruelly despite their sacrifices for and services to him is buried without his janazah prayer being performed; in addition, he is deprived of the inheritance of his mother or father he killed.
3 - To kill more than one person by suffocating. The janazah prayers of those who commit such a crime are not performed because killing a person unjustly by suffocating him is the most violent form of savagery.
4 - Those who revolt against the legitimate Islamic state unjustly. They are the rebels that start uprising in order to end the public order and Islamic administration by eliminating the authority of the state.
If such rebels, highwaymen and bandits are killed during clashes, their dead bodies are not even washed. Their dead bodies are pushed into the graves as a warning to others and they are not washed.
However, if those people mentioned above repent and apologize for what they did, their repentance is regarded as sincere and their janazah prayers are performed when they die; their punishment is up to Allah.
Can Janazah Prayer of a Person Who Has Committed Suicide be Performed?
Committing suicide is one of the biggest sins rendered haram by Islam. If a Muslim kills himself, it is a bigger murder and sin than killing another person. Therefore, scholars hold different views whether janazah prayer of a person who commits suicide can be performed or not. This disagreement does not exist about a person who kills another person. Janazah prayer of a murderer is performed.
A person who has very little belief in his heart does not attempt such a big sin and bad ending; he does not try to kill himself.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated in several hadiths that committing suicide is a major sin. The following is stated in a hadith:
"A person who kills himself by choking chokes himself for Hell. A person who kills himself by shooting shoots himself for Hell."
That is, a believer must not try to commit such a big sin by being unable to stand the pressure of a worldly incident that affects him. For, in the eye of a Muslim, the biggest and worst incident of the world is not regarded as big or frightening compared to the issues related to the hereafter. The world is ephemeral and transient.
The incidents that force man to commit suicide by making him think that they are unbearable today may turn out to be not so unbearable in the future; they are forgotten in time and new issues occur.
The wisdom behind the necessity of showing patience the moment a misfortune hits lies here. Believing people are not crushed by such ephemeral and temporary things by regarding them as permanent pains and sorrow.
They show patience by saying all things will pass and trying to gain the rewards of patience. Thus, they transform the troubled state into mercy for them.
Janazah prayer of a person who commits suicide is performed because he does not exit Islam.
He cannot bear the pressure of incidents due to his weakness of belief. Therefore, janazah prayer of a person who commits suicide is performed. However, that person will deserve to enter Paradise after he bears the penalty of committing suicide.
One of the reasons why committing suicide is regarded as a major sin is the fact that man has no right to kill himself. The human body is a construction built by Allah. Only the builder of that construction can demolish it. Man cannot own his own body and soul.
Lexically, adhan means to declare, to announce, to inform. As a religious term, adhan means holy words uttered in order to inform Muslims about the times of prayers. A person who calls adhan is called a muezzin.
What is the Decree about Adhan?
To call adhan for five daily fard prayers is definite based on the Quran (al-Maida, 58; al-Jumu'a, 9) and the Sunnah. The decree about it is sunnah al-muakkadah and kifayah. That is, if a person living in a place fulfills this duty, the other people living there will be relieved of the responsibility. However, if calling adhan is abandoned completely, all of the people living there will be held responsible.
Adhan is one of the greatest signs of Islam; so, it is a sunnah at the level of wajib.
Adhan was rendered legitimate in the 1st year the Migration in Madinah.
The Importance and Virtues of Adhan:
Muslims are informed about the times for prayers through adhan; they are also reminded that prayer leads man to salvation; thus, they are encouraged to perform prayers. More importantly, the holiest principles of the religion of Islam like oneness and prophethood are declared to the whole world through adhan.
Therefore, to call adhan gives man a lot of virtues and thawabs.
Some of the hadiths regarding the issue are as follows:
"If people knew about the virtue of adhan and performing prayers in the first line in the mosque, they would draw lots for them."
"On the Day of Judgment, muezzins are the tallest people (in terms of thawabs)."
"Everybody, whether a human or a jinn, hearing the voice of adhan will witness in favor of that muezzin on the Day of Judgment."
Hz. Umar stated the following expressing the virtue of calling adhan: "If I did not have the duty of the caliphate, I would like to be a muezzin." (*) Adhan and iqamah are among the properties of this ummah. It is narrated that Hz. Jibril called adhan when Hz. Adam was sent down to the earth and in order to soothe him when he witnessed the savagery on the earth; however, it does not change the fact that adhan is a property peculiar to this ummah.
What are the Words of Adhan?
The words of adhan and their meanings are as follows:
اللّهُاَكْبَرُاللّهُاَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar.
اللّهُاَكْبَرُاللّهُاَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar.
اَشْهَدُاَنْلااِلَهَاِلاَّاللّهُ
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
اَشْهَدُاَنْلااِلَهَاِلاَّاللّهُ
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
اَشْهَدُاَنَّمُحَمَّدَاًرَسُولُاللّه
Ashhadu anna Muhammad ar-Rasulullah
اَشْهَدُاَنَّمُحَمَّدَاًرَسُولُاللّه
Ashhadu anna Muhammad ar-Rasulullah
حَىَّعَلَىالصَّلاةِ
Hayya ala's-Salah
حَىَّعَلَىالصَّلاةِ
Hayya ala's-Salah
حَىَّعَلَىالْفَلاحِ
Hayya ala'l-Falah
حَىَّعَلَىالْفَلاحِ
Hayya ala'l-Falah
اَللّهُاَكْبَرُاللّهُاَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar
لااِلَهَاِلاَّاللّهُ
La ilaha illallah.
"Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
I witness that there is no god but Allah. I witness that there is no god but Allah.
I witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger. I witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger.
Come to the prayer! Come to the prayer!
Come to the salvation! Come to the salvation!
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
There is no god but Allah."
Adhan is called like that at the times of noon, afternoon, evening and night. For the morning prayer, "as-salatu khayrun mina'n-nawm (prayer is better than sleep)" is uttered twice after "hayya ala'l-falah". Sleep brings comfort in the world and prayer brings comfort in the hereafter; the phrase above is uttered in adhan because the comfort in the hereafter is better than the comfort in the world. It is disputable whether this phrase needs to be added for the adhan of a missed morning prayer.
What is Iqamah?
Iqamah consists of the words of adhan uttered just before starting a fard prayer.
Adhan is called when the time period of a prayer starts; iqamah is uttered when the fard is about to start.
What are the Words of Iqamah?
The words of iqamah are the same as the words of adhan but the phrase "qad qamatis-salah" is uttered twice afterhayya ala'l-falah ". It means "prayer has started".
What are the Properties that a Muezzin Needs to Have?
The properties that a muezzin needs to have can be listed as follows:
1- The muezzin must be male. It is makruh for a woman to call adhan.
2- The muezzin needs to be sane, to have knowledge and taqwa. It is makruh for fasiqs (sinners) and ignorant people to call adhan. If an insane person calls adhan, it needs to be called again. It is permissible for a child who is sane and mumayyiz (able to discriminate/discern) to call adhan.
3- The muezzin needs to have wudu when he calls adhan and he needs to call it by standing. There is no drawback to calling adhan without wudu. It is makruh to call iqamah without wudu. However, it does not have to be called again.
It is makruh for a junub person to call iqamah. If he does, it needs to be called again.
There is no drawback to calling adhan by sitting for a person who calls adhan for himself. It is necessary to call iqamah by standing.
4- The muezzin needs to call adhan in a high place by turning toward the qiblah. He needs to turn to the right while uttering "Hayya ala's-Salah" and to the left while uttering "Hayya ala'l-Falah". If he calls it from a minaret, he needs to turn to the qiblah and then move from right to the left around the minaret balcony.
5- When the muezzin calls adhan and iqamah, he must not talk. Even if he is greeted while calling adhan, he cannot reply at that time or later. It is makruh to speak a little and it is necessary to call it again if he speaks a lot.
What are the Properties that Adhan and Iqamah Need to Have?
1- Adhan needs to be called aloud. For, what is meant by adhan is to inform people about the time of prayer. However, it is not necessary to force oneself in order to increase one's voice.
2- It is necessary to pause between sentences while calling adhan. It is called tarassul. After uttering Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, it is necessary to pause a bit and keep silent. Tarassul is not done in iqamah. The words are uttered one after another with a medium voice.
3- It is necessary to utter the words of adhan in order. The place of the words must not be changed. Adhan needs to be called before iqamah.
4- One must not do anything else while calling adhan and iqamah.
5- Iqamah must not be uttered immediately after adhan. It is necessary to wait a bit between adhan and iqamah. One can utter dua, read the Quran or perform a sunnah prayer between adhan and iqamah. However, a time period long enough to read three verses is enough between adhan and iqamah for the evening prayer.
What are the Good Manners about Adhan?
The main good manners about adhan are as follows:
1- To show respect to adhan, to listen to it until it ends and to stop doing anything one is busy with.
2- To accept the invitation made by adhan and go to the mosque; to repeat the words of the muezzin while listening to adhan.
The Prophet stated the following in a hadith:
"When you hear adhan, repeat what the muezzin says."
Therefore, when one hears,
"Ashadu an la ilaha illallah (I witness that there is no god but Allah )",
he needs to say, "Wa anna ashhadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, wa anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu. Radiytu billahi Rabban wa bi-Muhammedin Rasulan wa bi'l-Islami dinan... (I witness that there is no god but Allah,alone, without partner and Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. I have accepted Allah as my Lord, and Islam as my religion…) (*)
When Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah (I witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger) is uttered for the first time, one should say, "Sallallahu Alayka ya Rasulallah (Peace be upon you, O, Messenger of Allah)."
When it is uttered for the second time, one should say, "Qarrat bika ayni ya Rasulallah (May my eyes rejoice with you, O Messenger of Allah)" and kiss the nails of his thumbs or the tips of his index fingers and wipe his eyes with them. It is mustahab and a nice act for adhan. It is not done in iqamah.
When the muezzin says, "Hayya ala's-Salah and Hayya ala'l-Falah (Come to the prayer! Come to the salvation!)", it is necessary to say, "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi'l-aliyyi'l-azim (There is no power and strength except with Allah, who is the highest, the most magnificent)." (**)
When the muezzin utters, "As-Salatu khayrun mina'n-nawm (prayer is better than sleep)", it is necessary to say, "Sadaqta wa barirta wa bi'l-haqqi nataqta (You have confirmed the truth and you did well - and you have spoken a fact)."
* Even if the Quran is recited, it is mandub to listen to adhan and to go to the mosque. If it is recited in the mosque, the recital needs to be continued.
* In the places where more than one adhan is called, the first one is taken into consideration.
* A junub person needs to repeat the words of the muezzin. A woman who is in the menstruation period or puerperum does not have to repeat the words of the muezzin. One needs to repeat the words of the muezzin after each phrase and should not say the phrases before the muezzin.
When adhan ends, the following dua needs to be read:
Allahumma rabba hadhihi'd-da'wati't-tammati wa's-salati'l-qaimati ati Muhammadani'l-wasilata wa'l-fadilata wab'athu maqaman Mahmudanilladhi waadtahu. (O Allah! Owner of this perfect call and owner of this prayer to be performed. Bestow upon Muhammad a station in Paradise and a rank above the rest of creation, and raise him to the rank you have promised him.(*)
It is reported through a sound hadith that those who read the dua above will attain the intercession (shafa'ah) of the Prophet.
3- To ask for forgiveness and utter duas between adhan and iqamah.
It is stated in a hadith that duas uttered between adhan and iqamah will not be rejected.
4- To know that adhan is invitation to Allah's forgiveness and to benefit from it.
Issues about Adhan:
* Can more than one adhan and iqamah be recited for one prayer?
More than one adhan and iqamah can be recited for no prayers except the Friday prayer.
Therefore, after a prayer is performed with adhan and iqamah in a mosque, the people who perform the same prayer there in congregation or individually do not recite either adhan or iqamah. In Friday prayer, two adhans are called. One of them is the outer adhan and the other is the inner adhan. The inner adhan is taken into consideration. For, during the time of the Prophet, only the inner adhan existed. When the number of the people started to increase, the second adhan started to be called.
* Are there any prayers that are performed without adhans and iqamahs?
There is no adhan and iqamah for wajib and sunnah prayers like the witr, eid and tarawih prayers. It is sunnah to call adhan and iqamah for missed fard prayers. For, adhan and iqamah are among the sunnahs prayers. They are not sunnahs of time. (*) There is no adhan and iqamah for janazah prayer.
* Can a prayer be performed if either iqamah or adhan is abandoned?
It is better to call adhan and iqamah for fard prayers to be performed at home or in the countryside individually. (**) However, adhan can be abandoned; only iqamah is enough. Yet, it is makruh to abandon iqamah and to call adhan only.
* Is it necessary to call as many iqamahs and adhans while performing more than one missed fard prayer?
If more than one missed fard prayer is performed in different places, adhan and iqamah are necessary for each of them. If they are performed in the same place, it is better to call adhan and iqamah for each of them but adhan and iqamah are called for the first missed prayer but only iqamah is enough for the others.
* Is it permissible to call adhan for a prayer before its time is due?
It is not permissible to call adhan for a prayer before its time is due. It is necessary to call such an adhan again. For, what is expected from adhan is to inform people about the time. When adhan is called before the due time, this expectation is not met. However, according to Abu Yusuf and the imams of three madhabs, it is permissible to call the morning (fajr) prayer before its time is due.
* The term "time for the prayer" used after adhan aims to tell people that the time for that prayer started. The scholars of later periods regard reminding people about the prayer as nice when people act lazily.
* A person who has not performed the Friday prayer needs to perform the noon prayer in return for it, without adhan and iqamah. For, adhan and iqamah are for fard prayers that are mustahab to perform in congregation. It is makruh for the noon prayer to be performed in congregation on Friday. Therefore, adhan and iqamah are not performed for the noon prayer on Friday.
Can Adhan be Called in Another Language?
"Another name for adhan is Adhan Muhammadi. If a person says that he belongs to the ummah of Muhammad and he does not call adhan in the same way as the Prophet wants, it means he wants to offend the Prophet and to side against him. There is no need to call it in another language. Including the converts in Europe and America, there are more than 700 million (now1.5 billion) Muslims of 18 different races speaking different languages.
Adhan Muhammadi is called five times a day in its original form in the Islamic world. Our ancestors, who made us dominant over three continents and gave us this exceptional country, called adhan in its original form for more than one thousand years after they became Muslims.
The words expressing adhan mention so many holy reminiscences. The ears and hearts of all Muslims, from the baby in the cradle to the warrior at the battlefront, are familiar with these lofty words. It is the meanest way of expressing the efforts aiming to dare to divide our national unity to try to deprive our noble nation of this historical and divine sound and memory, to destroy our religion and to offend our Prophet under the pretext of calling adhan in Turkish." (Ali Kemal Belviranlı, İslam Prensipleri).
Prof. Ali Fuad Başgil explains the legal aspect of forcing people to call adhan in another language as follows:
"Religions have creeds and ways of worship peculiar to them and appropriate for the logic of their structures; similarly, they have a language of worshipping and praying. This language settles in a way peculiar to that religion with the dogmas of that religion and the applications throughout centuries. For instance, the language of worship in the Catholic Church of Christianity is Latin. The language of Islam is Arabic because the language of the holy book of Muslims is Arabic. The worship right of a Muslim individual enables him to perform worship through the methods, manners and language that have settled in the religion of Islam. It is brutal infringement on both the religion and the right of Muslims' worship and praying to try to change the worship, methods, manners and language peculiar to the religion of Islam, for instance, to force people to call adhan in a different language than it has been called five times a day for centuries all over the world." (Din ve Laiklik).
What is the decree about performing prayers in congregation?
Prayers can be performed individually and in congregation. To perform five daily fard prayers in congregation is sunnah al-muakkadah (sunnah as strong as wajib) for men. There are some scholars who say it is fard. It is fard to perform the Friday prayer in congregation.
Two people are enough to perform a prayer in congregation. Therefore, when two people come together, they should perform their prayers in congregation. One sane child or a woman is enough along with the imam to form a congregation.
The virtue of performing prayers in congregation:
Great importance is given to performing prayers in congregation in Islam. The Messenger of Allah stated in a hadith that performing prayers in congregation is 25 (in another narration 27) times more virtuous than performing prayers individually.
The Prophet stated the following in another hadith:
"It is better to perform prayers in congregation than individually even if there are two people. The more people in congregation, the more Allah likes that prayer."
Keeping on performing prayers in congregation is a principle of Islam and an indication of belief. The unity of Muslims and their commitment to one another will be renewed and strengthened through prayers in congregation. A feeling of love and solidarity occurs among Muslims. Everybody meets and gets to know one another. They find out about the states of one another better. They help those who are in need among them. The spirit of congregation and consciousness of solidarity forms. The number of altruistic and philanthropic people instead of selfish and egoistic people will increase in the community.
It is hoped that prayers performed in congregation that includes righteous people are more likely to be accepted by God and to attain more divine mercy and bounties.
To sum up, performing prayers in congregation has many wisdoms and benefits in terms of otherworldly rewards and individual perfection as well as many social benefits.
The properties that an imam needs to have:
A person who leads prayers and is followed by the congregation is called an imam. The duty of leading the prayer for the congregation is called imamah.
Following the imam is called iqtida; a person who follows the imam is called a muqtadi, muttabi or ma'mum.
The virtue of being an imam is more than being a muezzin. The responsibility of a person who becomes an imam though he is not competent is similarly more. For, the imam is muqtada bih religiously; that is, the person that the congregation follows. He obtains as many rewards as the number of people who follow him. However, if the prayer he leads is missing or wrong, the responsibility of the entire congregation lies in him. Therefore, some religious notables avoided being imams taking into consideration this responsibility.
It is narrated that someone showed Hz. Ali an ambling nice horse:
- O Ali! What can you do with this horse, which can fly like a horse?
Hz. Ali, who had a great sense of responsibility, answered:
- You can ride it and escape from being an imam.
What are the conditions of being an imam?
1. The person to lead the prayer must be a Muslim.
2. The imam has to be sane and to have reached the age of puberty. It is not permissible for a mad person, a drunken person and a child who has not reached the age of puberty to become an imam.
3. The imam must be male. A woman cannot lead men in prayer.
4. The imam must know enough verses of the Quran for the prayer to be valid.
5. The imam must not be an excused person. The prayer of an excused person has special rules. A person who is not excused cannot follow an excused person. A blind person can be an imam but if there is a person more capable than him, it is makruh tanzihi for the blind person to lead the prayer.
The conditions we have mentioned above are the basic conditions of being an imam. After these conditions, the following qualities are given priority for being an imam respectively: It is necessary for the imam to have a sound creed, a good knowledge of fiqh and sufficient knowledge about issues related to prayer. If there are some people who are equal in terms of the issues mentioned above, the one who reads the Quran the best or the one who knows more verses of the Quran by heart is preferred. If they are still equal, the one who avoids harams and has more taqwa (who fears Allah more) is preferred. If they are still equal, the following order is taken into consideration: the oldest one, the one whose ethics is the highest, the one who is liked by people and increases the number of the congregation, the one who comes from a more honorable and nobler family, and the one with the best voice. However, if the host (landlord) is among the congregation, he is given priority; if the appointed imam of that district is present, he is given priority even if he does not have all of the qualities mentioned above.
* The person to lead the prayer has to be very careful about material and spiritual cleaning and be superior to the congregation in all aspects. It is necessary for the imam to pay attention especially to wearing clean clothes and socks, to wear nice smells, and to avoid eating things that emit disturbing smells like onion and garlic.
* It is makruh tahrimi for fasiq people and people of bid'ah to become imam. For, they act heedlessly regarding religious deeds. The prayer performed behind these kinds of people will not have any rewards and virtues but a person is relieved of the responsibility of prayer. According to Imam Muhammad and Imam Malik, it is not permissible to follow such people in prayer.
* It is makruh for a woman to lead prayers to other women but it is permissible.If a woman leads a prayer to other women, she needs to stand among them in the middle of the first line, not in front of them.
* The imam needs to avoid the things that will make the congregation hate him. For instance, it is not appropriate for an imam to lengthen qira'ah or tasbihat. It is regarded makruh to make the congregation hate. The Messenger of Allah stated the following regarding the issue:
"When one of you becomes the imam, he should not lengthen the prayer because there may be old people and children in the congregation. There may be ill and weak people. There may be some people who have important things to do. A person who performs a prayer individually can lengthen it as much as he wishes."
"There are three people whose prayers are not accepted by Allah:
1. An imam who leads prayers to the people who hate him.
2. A woman who spends the night heedlessly while her husband is angry.
3. Two brothers who nurture enmity against each other."
* It is makruh for the imam to hurry up so much as not to allow the congregation to complete ruku' and sajdahs in accordance with the sunnah. It is also makruh to lengthen ruku so that someone or some people will catch up.
* It is wajib for the imam to read the verses that are easy for him. He should not read the verses that he has not memorized well.
How should the lines (rows) of the congregation be arranged?
It is necessary to pay great importance to the order of the lines while performing prayers in congregation. Men need to stand in the first lines, boys behind them and women behind boys.
If there is only one person following the imam, that person needs to stand on the right side of the imam and a few inches behind. It is makruh for him to stand on the left or behind the imam. If there are two people following the imam, they need to stand behind the imam. If one of them is a man and the other is a woman, the man needs to stand on the right side of the imam and a few inches behind, and the woman behind the man.
The most virtuous lines are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd lines respectively. It is necessary to ensure that the lines are straight and people stand close to one another's shoulders. It is not appropriate to stand in another line when there is enough space in the front line. The Messenger of Allah said,
"Arrange your rows (lines) properly, for the proper arrangement of rows is part of the keeping up of prayer."
According to the narration of Bara, when the Messenger of Allah stood up for prayer, he touched the chests and backs of his Companions, arranged the lines and said,
"Keep straight and do not be uneven, for in that case your hearts would disagree."
The following is stated in another hadith:
"Make your rows straight; stand shoulder to shoulder and close the gaps. When you see a gap, sidle slowly next to your brother. Do not leave any gaps for the Satan. Whoever completes a row, Allah will reward him, and whoever breaks a row, Allah will forsake him."
Therefore, it is necessary for the imam to remind the congregation about these issues and to tell them to straighten the lines.
It is necessary to stand closer and to allow some space to a brother who cannot find a place to pray. Moving a bit to the right or the left in order to allow some space for a person while performing a prayer does not invalidate prayer. Furthermore, a person who cannot find a place in the second line but sees a gap in the first line can go to the first line without disturbing the people in the second line. It is not a sin to do so.
What are the things that those who perform a prayer behind the imam need to care about?
Following the imam is called iqtida and the person who follows the imam is called a muqtadi.
The following conditions are necessary for the validity of iqtida:
1 - A muqtadi has to intend to perform the prayer and follow the imam at the beginning of the prayer.
2 -The imam has to intend to lead the prayer also for women to enable the women to follow him.
3 - The imam has to be in front of the congregation.
4 - A person who performs prayers by sitting can lead a prayer to a person who performs prayers by standing; a person who has tayammum can lead a prayer to a person who has wudu according to Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf. However, according to Imam Muhammad it is not valid because the imam has to be higher than the congregation. A person who sits is lower than a person who stands and a person who has tayammum is lower than a person who has wudu.
5 - The prayer that the imam and the congregation pray has to be the same prayer. For instance, a person who wants to perform the afternoon prayer cannot follow the imam who is leading the noon prayer. A person who is performing a prayer on time cannot follow an imam who is performing a missed (qada) prayer. Both the imam and the congregation have to perform the same prayer whether it is a prayer performed on time or a missed prayer.
A musafir (traveler) can follow a muqim (resident) in a prayer and vice versa. However, when a musafir is the imam, he shortens a four-rak'ah prayer as two rak'ahs. The muqims among the congregation stand up after the imam salutes and complete their prayers as four rak'ahs. When a musafir follows a muqim, he performs his prayer fully.
It is permissible for a person who wants to perform a supererogatory (nafilah) prayer to follow an imam who leads a fard prayer. For instance, if a person who has performed the noon prayer follows an imam who is leading the noon prayer, his prayer becomes permissible as a supererogatory prayer.
6 - When a prayer is performed in the open area, there must not be a gap wide enough for a stream where a small boat can sail, a road where a car can pass or a space where two rows of people can stand between lines. If the road is not covered by rows of people, the prayer is not permissible. If they are in a mosque, it is permissible because the inside of the mosque is regarded as the same place.
7 - Having different madhhabs does not prevent following an imam. It is better for a Muslim to follow an imam who follows the same madhhab as him but if it is not possible, it is better to follow an imam belonging to a different madhhab than performing a prayer alone. However, it is necessary for the imam no to have undergone something that invalidates wudu in the madhhab of muqtadi. For instance, if a Hanafi person knows that a Shafii imam has undergone some bleeding, he cannot follow that imam. For, bleeding does not invalidate wudu according to Shafiis but it does according to Hanafis. In that case, a Hanafi cannot follow a Shafii imam.
Therefore, those who lead prayers need to act cautiously regarding the issues that are controversial among madhhabs considering that there may be people belonging to other madhhabs among the congregation.
8 - The place where the imam and the congregation perform a prayer must be regarded as the same place. Therefore, if there is a high wall between the imam and the congregation and if the imam cannot be seen and heard by the congregation, it is not permissible to follow the imam.
9 - It is makruh to run in order to catch up with the imam.
10 - The prayers performed in congregation in the mosque are more virtuous than the prayers performed in congregation with the family members at home. For, every step take in order to go to the mosque has a separate reward and virtue.
Nevertheless, it is not appropriate to perform all prayers in the mosque and not to perform any prayers at home. For, children imitate their parents and are affected by them. The daughter of a mother who is interested in adorning herself spends most of her time adorning herself. The son of a father who is interested in films and entertainment behaves in the same way when he grows up. Therefore, parents have to set good examples for their children; they also have to guide their children related to worship like performing prayers and fasting. Otherwise, they will be held responsible. The Prophet objects to homes being places where no prayers and worship are performed through the following hadiths: "Do not make your homes graveyards!"; "Allocate a share from your prayers to your home." This is probably one of the reasons why it is more virtuous and better to perform sunnah and supererogatory prayers at home rather than in the mosque.
11 - If the sound of the imam is not loud enough for all of the congregation to hear, one person among the congregation or muezzins repeat the takbirs and salams of the imam loudly.
12 - The imam utters the first salutation more loudly than the second one because what announces that the prayer is over is the first salutation.
13 - When the imam salutes, a muqtadi also salutes even if he has not finished reading salawat and supplications. However, if he has not finished at-Tahiyyat, he does not salute. He completes at-Tahiyyat and salutes.
14 - A person who catches up with the imam in tashahhud and starts reading at-Tahiyyat, does not stand up if he has not finished reading at-Tahiyyat when the imam stands up. He stands up after he finishes at-Tahiyyat. However, it is permissible for him to stand up without finishing at-Tahiyyat.
15 - If the imam gets up from ruku and sajdah before the muqtadi reads tasbihat three times, the muqtadi needs to get up with the imam.
16 - A person who follows the imam needs to perform the rukns after the imam. It is not permissible to bow down for ruku and sajdah, and to get up from ruku and sajdah before the imam.
17 - When the imam skips the following, the congregation does not follow him; they need to do them:
* takbirs or ruku and sajdah,
* raising the hand up when uttering the opening takbir,
* tasbihat in ruku and sajdahs,
* reading at-Tahiyyat in tashahhud,
* salutations,
* takbirs of tashrik.
If the imam sits but stands up by mistake, the congregation does not follow him. They warn him by uttering Subhanallah or Allahu Akbar.
19 - If the imam forgets some words while reciting a verse, one of the people behind him needs to remind him.
If the imam has read long enough for qira'ah (the amount that is wajb), he needs to bow down for ruku at once. If he has not read long enough of qira'ah (the amount that is wajb), he can move to the next verse or a verse that he knows by heart. He should not cause the congregation to remind him.
20 - It is sunnah for the imam to turn toward the congregation after the prayer.
21 - If a muqtadi catches up with the imam in the first rak'ah, he salutes with the imam.
A person who follows the imam fully, that is, from the beginning of a prayer to the end without any interruption is called a mudrik.
A person who catches up with the imam when the imam is at ruku utters takbir while standing and bows down; if he stays at ruku with the imam long enough to say Subhanallah once, he is regarded to have joined that rak'ah.
22 - A person who cannot catch up with the imam in the first rak'ah is called a masbuq. A masbuq follows the imam but in the last sitting, he reads only at-Tahiyyat and keeps silent; he does not read salawat and supplications. He can read at-Tahiyyat slowly till the imam ends the prayer. When the imam salutes to the right side, he does not salute and waits for the imam to salute to the left. After the imam salutes to the left, he stands up and completes the rak'ah(s) he has missed.
A person who catches up with the imam in the second rak'ah stands up by saying Allahu Akbar after the salutations of the imam. He reads Subhanaka, al-Fatiha, and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran; then, he sits after performing the ruku and sajdahs. He reads tahiyyat, salawat and other supplications and salutes.
A person who catches up with the imam in the 3rd rak'ah performs two more rak'ahs when he stands up by reading al-Fatiha, and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran.
If a person catches up with the imam in the 4th rak'ah, he stands up after the salutation of the imam and reads al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran performing one rak'ah and sits. After reading at-Tahiyyat, he stands up and performs two more rak'ahs. In the first rak'ah, he reads al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses. In the second rak'ah, he reads only al-Fatiha. What one should note here is to perform the first and second rak'ahs in which al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran are read first while praying alone because he has caught up with the imam in the 4th rak'ah in which only al-Fatiha is read. Two rak'ahs with al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran and one rak'ah with only al-Fatiha remain. Therefore, after the salutation of the imam, he needs to read al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran in the first two of the remaining three rak'ahs and only al-Fatiha in the last rak'ah.
If a masbuq catches up with the imam in the 3rd rak'ah of the 3-rak'ah prayers like the evening and witr prayers, he stands up after the imam salutes and performs one rak'ah by reading al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran. Then, he sits down. After reading at-Tahiyyat, he stands up and performs one rak'ah by reading al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses from the Quran. Then he sits down and salutes.
23 - If a masbuq, that is, a person who has not caught up with the imam in the first rak'ah, forgets and salutes with the imam does not have to perform sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). However, if he salutes after the imam salutes, sajdah as-sahw becomes wajib for him. If he salutes with the imam deliberately, his prayer is invalidated.
24 - After the salutation, the congregation remains where they are until the following sentence is recited:
Allahumma anta's-salamu wa minka's-salam, tabarakta ya dha'l-jalali wa'l-ikram. (O Allah, You are the source of peace and from You comes peace, exalted You are, O Lord of Majesty and Honor.) Then, they stand up and perform the sunnah prayer and supplication in an appropriate place. It is mustahab to break the row after the fard prayer so that those who come to the mosque late will not think that the fard prayer is going on.
A person who performs alone can perform fard and sunnah prayers in the same place.
How are prayers performed in congregation?
A person who follows the imam, that is, a muqtadi, utters takbir and starts the prayer after the imam utters takbir. He reads Subhanaka and keeps silent. He does not read al-Fatiha and other verses. When the imam bows down, he bows down, too. At ruku, he utters tasbihat. When the imam stands up from ruku by saying "Samiallahu liman hamidah (Allah hears him who praises Him), he says, "Rabbana lakal-hamd (Our Lord, to You is all praise)". When they prostrate, he reads the tasbihat of sajdah.
Only at-Tahiyyat is read in the first sitting of 3 or 4 rak'ah prayers. In the last sitting, at-Tahiyyat, salawat and supplications are read; then, he salutes with the imam.
It is makruh tahrimi for a person who follows the imam to read al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses because the imam reads on behalf of the congregation. As a matter of fact, this issue is stated in a hadith.
However, Imam Muhammad regards it makruh for the congregation to read when the imam reads al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or some verses aloud but he regards it permissible for the congregation to read when the imam reads silently.
When can prayers in congregation be abandoned?
It is contrary to the sunnah to abandon praying in congregation without an excuse. It causes a person to be deprived of a big reward and virtue.
However, the following states are regarded as excuses; a person is not regarded to have acted contrarily to the sunnah:
1 - Being very ill or paralyzed.
2 - Being blind, lame or crippled.
3 - Extremely hot or cold weather; extreme snow, rain, mud, etc.
4 - Fear of being robbed and attacked.
5 - Utter darkness.
6 - Being too old.
7 - Looking after a patient.
8 - Being busy with the preparations for a journey.
9 - When the meal is ready.
10 - When one is about to break his wudu.
11 - When one is busy with studying religious subjects. For instance, learning and teaching fiqh can sometimes be an excuse for abandoning praying in congregation but it is not permissible to abandon it all the time.
It is permissible to abandon the congregation due to one of the excuses mentioned above. A person who abandons the congregation due to laziness and slackness deserves to be punished by tazir. His witnessing is not accepted.
A person who wants to perform prayers in congregation but cannot do so regularly due to the excuses mentioned above is not deprived of the rewards of the congregation depending on the sincerity of his intention.
To catch up with the imam by breaking one's prayer
It is not permissible to break performing a prayer deliberately and without an excuse. However, it is permissible to break a prayer in order to catch up with the imam and perform a prayer in congregation.
* If some people start to perform a fard prayer in congregation near a person who has started to perform the fard prayer alone, what should that person do?
If he has not performed the sajdahs of the first rak'ah, he breaks his prayer and follows the imam. If he has performed the sajdahs of the first rak'ah and if it is a four-rak'ah fard prayer, he completes the second rak'ah salutes and follows the imam. Thus, he performs the prayer in congregation and receives the reward of congregation. The two-rak'ah prayer he has performed alone is regarded as a nafilah prayer.
If the person praying alone is in the third rak'ah of the fard prayer when the congregation starts and has not performed sajdahs yet, he can salute while standing and follow the imam. If he has finished the third rak'ah, he completes the prayer. After that, he can follow the imam to receive the reward of the congregation. However, this time the prayer he has performed alone is regarded as the fard prayer and the one he performs in congregation is regarded as a nafilah prayer for him. Besides, this prayer must not be the afternoon prayer because it is not permissible to perform a nafilah prayer after the fard of the afternoon prayer is performed.
If the prayer that is performed is not a four rak'ah prayer (if it is the fard of the morning prayer or the evening prayer), a person can break the prayer at once and follow the imam unless he has finished the second rak'ah. However, if he has completed the second rak'ah when the congregation starts, he cannot break the prayer in order to join the congregation; he cannot join the congregation after finishing his prayer, either. For, nafilah prayers are not performed after performing the fard of the morning prayer. It is not permissible to perform a three-rak'ah nafilah prayer by following the imam after the evening prayer.
* What is it necessary to do if congregation starts while one is performing a sunnah prayer?
In that case, two rak'ahs are completed and the imam is followed. One cannot follow the imam before completing two rak'ahs. If the prayer that is abandoned after completing two rak'ahs is the sunnah of the noon prayer, it is performed again as four rak'ahs after the fard of the noon prayer. The last sunnah of the noon prayer is also performed. The first prayer performed as two rak'ahs is regarded as a nafilah prayer. If the prayer that is abandoned after completing two rak'ahs is the sunnah of the afternoon or night prayers, they are not performed again after the fard.
* What does a person who comes to the mosque and sees that the congregation has started the fard prayer do?
He follows the imam immediately without performing a sunnah prayer. It is makruh to start performing a sunnah prayer when the muezzin starts to call iqamah. However, if it is the morning prayer and if it is possible to catch up with the imam in tashahhud, first the sunnah of the morning prayer is performed, then the imam is followed for the fard prayer.
The manners of the mosque and congregation
Mosques are buildings where Muslims perform prayers in congregation. These buildings are also called Allah's houses since people prostrate to Allah, worship and perform prayers there.
The following is stated in a sacred hadith:
"My houses on the earth are mosques. Those who visit me there maintain and revive those mosques."
"Believers need to take care of the building, furnishing, repairing, needs and cleaning of the mosques; they should revive the mosques through prayers, supplications, reading the Quran, tasbihat, etc."
"The mosques of Allah shall be visited and maintained by such as believe in Allah and the Last Day" (at-Tawba, 18) One of the meanings of the word maintain in the verse is to revive them through worshipping. In that case, it is an important duty of believers to be interested in the mosques, to repair them and to revive them through worshipping.
There are some manners stated for the mosque and the congregation:
1 - To accept that mosques are like Allah's houses and to behave very carefully and respectfully in mosques.
2 - To show great care to keep mosques clean and to try not to dirty them.
3 - To form the habit of going to the mosque and to believe in the virtue of the congregation.
The virtue of mosques is stated as follows: in a hadith:
"If a person cleans himself at home and goes to a mosque in order to perform a fard prayer, one of his steps eliminates his sin and another step elevates his rank."
4 - One should wear new and clean clothes and nice scents when he goes to the mosque. The following is stated in the Quran regarding the issue:
"O children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: but waste not by excess for Allah loveth not the wasters." (al-A'raf, 31)
5 - To make wudu at home and leave home by the right foot; to walk to the mosque with slow but steady steps, calmly and solemnly. Not to run and hurry.
Once the Prophet heard some heavy footsteps while performing a prayer. When the prayer ended, he asked,
- What was the reason for the noise?
- We hurried to catch up with the congregation.
Thereupon, the Prophet said,
"Do not act like that again. Come to the mosque slowly and solemnly. You can perform as many rak'ahs as you can with the congregation and complete the rak'ahs you have missed alone."
6 - To go to the mosque early if it is possible.
A person who goes to the mosque early and waits for the prayer receives rewards as if he is performing prayers. The Prophet stated the following regarding the issue:
"When a person with wudu waits for the prayer in the mosque, he is regarded to be performing prayers."
"O my Companions! When you wait for the prayer, it is as if you are performing prayers. When a tribe waits for a good thing, they are regarded to be doing good deeds."
7 - To enter the mosque by the right foot and to read the following supplication:
Allahumma'ftah alayna abwaba rahmatika wa'ghfir dhunubana bifadlika wa karamika ya akrama'l-akramina wa ya arhama'r-rahimin (O Allah! Open to us the gates of Your mercy and forgive our sins with your grace and generosity. O the most kind and the most merciful.)
8 - To perform two rak'ahs of tahiyyat al-masjid when one enters the mosque if adhan has not been called and if it is not time of karahah.
9 - To read the Quran, utter tasbihat, dhikr and salawat, etc until adhan is called and prayer starts.
10 - To pray for himself, his family, children, parents, relatives and all believers between adhan and prayer.
11 - Not to abandon solemnity, dignity, tranquility and awe that are necessitated by being in the presence of Allah before the prayer starts, after it starts and when it ends.
12 - To hurry to fill in the gaps in the front rows and to try to make the rows (lines) straight and without any gaps.
13 - Those who have eaten things with unpleasant smells that disturb people like onion and garlic and those whose socks and clothes smell badly should not go to the mosque before eliminating those bad smells.
14 - To go out of the mosque by the left foot.
Tasbihat to be read after prayers
It is sunnah for the imam and the congregation to say "Astaghfirullahalladhi la ilaha illa huwa'l-hayyu'l-qayyumu wa atubu ilayh (I ask forgiveness from Allah the One whom there is no deity worthy of worship except He, the Ever-Living and Sustainer and I repent to Him) three times.
After that, the following is read alone or in congregation:
Subhanallahi wa'l-ham-du lillahi wa la ilaha illallahu wallahu akbar wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi'l-aliyyi'l-azim (Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah; Allah is the greatest. There is no power other than Allah, who is lofty and great.) (**)
Then, everybody reads ayat al-kursiyy beginning with audhu basmala. The following is stated in a hadith: "Only death prevents a person from entering Paradise if he reads ayat al-kursiyy at the end of five daily prayers."
After ayat al-kursiyy, the chapters of al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas can also be read.
After that, Subhanallah is read 33 times, Alhamdu lillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 33 times.
It is sunnah to count tasbihat by the hands. The Prophet counted his tasbihat with his fingers. However, it is permissible to use prayer beads. Some Companions used stones to count tasbihat. (Abu Hurayra had a thread with knots; he used it to count tasbihat.) It is better to count tasbihat by the hands than prayer beads.
After that, the following is read:
La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah. Lahu'l-mulku wa lahu'l-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).
After that, "Subhana rabbiya'l-aliyyi'l-a'la'l-wahhab" is uttered and the hands are raised to the level of the chest. Prayers are said the palms facing the face. After the prayers are read, the face is wiped with the hands.
* Wiping the face is a sunnah of raising the hands in prayer. If a person says prayers without raising his hands, he does not have to wipe his face. The wisdom behind wiping the face is receiving abundance and its penetration into the body, and expecting the expulsion of troubles and attainment of grants. The face is not wiped with one hand.
The following hadiths are reported from the Prophet about the importance of prayer tasbihat:
1."If a person says Subhanallah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahuakbar 33 times and says "La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la-sharika lah, lahu'l mulku wa lahu'l-hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir (There is no god but Allah alone, there is no Associate with Him, to Him alone all dominion to Him alone all praises, and He is able to do all things)" once after the prayer, his sins are forgiven even if they are as abundant as the foam of the sea." (Muslim)
2. "The poor amongst the emigrants (Muhajirs) came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and said:
The possessors of great wealth have obtained the highest ranks and the lasting bliss. They pray as we pray, and they observe fast as we observe fast; they have money and property with which they perform hajj, umrah, make jihad and give charity.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
Shall I teach you something by which you will catch upon those who have preceded you, and get ahead of those who come after you, only those who do as you do being more excellent than you?
They said: Yes, Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
Extol Allah, declare His Greatness, and Praise Him thirty-three times after every prayer."
3. "A person who says Subhanallah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahuakbar 33 times at the end of each fard prayer will not suffer any losses.
4. Abu Said al-Khudri narrates:
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
- Do the deeds that are the means of attaining Allah's consent.
The Companions asked: What are these deeds?
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
- To say Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, Subhanallah, Alhamdu lillah, La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. (Hakim, Mustadrak)
5. Abu Hurayra narrates:
"Once the Messenger of Allah said, 'Put on your armors!' The Companions asked, 'O Messenger of Allah! Have enemies come?' He said, 'No. Put on the armor of protection from Hell. Say, Subhanallah, Alhamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar. They protect you from the front and the back on the Day of Judgment. (Hakim, Mustadrak)
What does ada and qada mean?
To perform a prayer in its prescribed time means ada and to perform a prayer after its prescribed time is called qada.
What prayers are performed as qada?
It is fard to perform the qada of the prayers that are (missed) not prayed in their prescribed times. The qada of the witr prayer is wajib. As for the sunnah prayers, only the sunnah of the morning prayer can be performed as qada after its prescribed time. The other sunnah prayers are not performed after their prescribed times.
The sunnah of the morning prayer can be performed later only if it is missed together with the fard of the morning prayer and only on that day after the karahah time ends and before the noon time starts. If the fard of the morning prayer is performed but the sunnah is missed, the sunnah of the morning prayer is not performed as qada later. If the the qada of the morning prayer is delayed after the time for the noon prayer starts, only the fard is performed as qada; the sunnah is not performed.
The first sunnah of the noon prayer can be abandoned in order to catch up with the imam for the congregation. In that case, it is performed after the fard and before the last sunnah. It is not permissible to perform it after the last sunnah. This qada is qada in its prescribed time, or rather delayed ada.
What is the decree about missing a prayer?
It is a big sin not to perform a prayer in its prescribed time and to miss it without any excuse. When this prayer is performed later as qada, the responsibility to perform it is relieved but the sin caused by not performing it in time still exists. It is necessary to repent and ask for forgiveness in order to get rid of that sin. Therefore, conscious, religious people avoid delaying prayers due to baseless excuses and laziness and missing them. They know that the sin of missing a prayer is not eliminated even if it is performed as qada later.
If a person cannot wake up in time despite taking measures to wake up or forgetting that one has not performed a prayer, he is not held responsible for delaying or missing the prayer.
When are qada (missed) prayers performed?
According to Hanafis, there is no certain time to perform missed prayers but it is necessary to perform prayers in sequence. That is, when a person misses a prayer, he needs to perform it before he performs the prayer of the time he is in. This is valid when a person has missed fewer than 6 prayers. A person who has fewer than 6 six fard prayers to perform is called sahib at-tartib; such a person has to observe the sequence between the missed prayers and daily fard prayers as well as the sequence among the missed prayers. For instance, a person who is sahib at-tartib with 4 missed prayers (the morning, noon, afternoon and evening prayers) cannot perform the night prayer without performing these prayers in order. If he does, the night prayer is regarded to be invalid. However, if the number of the prayers that a person who is sahib at-tartib has missed amounts to six or more, he is no longer a sahib at-tartib. In that case, the prayers that have become invalid due to not observing the order become valid again.
A person who loses the property of being sahib at-tartib does not have to observe the sequence when he performs his missed prayers. He can perform the prayers he has missed whenever he wants except the times of karahah.
The condition of the sequence is invalidated if the number of the missed prayer amounts to 6; it is also invalidated when a person performs a daily prayer by forgetting that he has missed some prayers. Therefore, when a person who performs a daily prayer by forgetting that he has missed some prayers remembers that he has some missed prayers to perform, the fard prayer he has performed is not invalidated because he is no longer a sahib at-tartib.
It is sunnah to call adhan and iqamah when a missed fard prayer is performed. If more than one missed prayer is performed, one adhan is enough but an iqamah for each prayer is necessary.
The necessity of performing missed prayers as soon as possible
No matter how and why a prayer is missed, it is necessary to perform it as soon as the excuse that has prevented it disappears. According to Malikis, it is haram for a person who has to perform missed prayers to perform nafilah prayers. He can perform only the sunnah of the morning prayer, witr prayer and eid prayers. He has to perform missed prayers instead of the other sunnah and nafilah (supererogatory) prayers. If he does not perform missed prayers and performs sunnah and nafilah prayers, he receives rewards for those prayers but also commits sins for delaying missed fard prayers.
According to Shafiis, it is haram for a person who has to perform missed prayers that are wajib to be performed urgently to perform sunnah and nafilah prayers until he finishes performing his missed fard prayers.
According to Hanbalis, it is haram for a person who has to perform missed prayers to perform nafilah and sunnah ghayr muakkadah prayers. He performs the witr prayer and sunnah al-muakkadah prayers. However, if he has a lot of missed prayers to perform, he needs to perform his missed prayers instead of them. However, the sunnah of the morning prayer is excluded; it has to be performed in any case; it cannot be abandoned.
According to Hanafis, it is not permissible to abandon the sunnah prayers in order to perform missed prayers. A person who has missed prayers to perform needs to perform both the sunnah prayers and missed prayers.
As it is seen, according to the other three madhhabs, it is not permissible to delay missed prayers. Therefore, those who have missed prayers to perform need to try to perform them as soon as possible and to get rid of their responsibility and sins.
How is it necessary to intend (make niyyah) for missed prayers?
A person who has a lot of missed prayers to perform and does not know which missed prayer to perform can intend as follows: "I intend to perform the first (noon) prayer or the last (noon) prayer I missed." If a person intends like this, the first or the last prayer he missed will be performed and the times of the prayers will be determined.
To break or delay a prayer that has been started
It is haram to break or delay a prayer that has been started but in some cases, it becomes permissible and even wajib. These cases are as follows:
1 - It is wajib to break a prayer in order to help someone whose life is in danger like being about to drown in water, being attacked by an animal, etc.
2 - It is wajib for a midwife to break her prayer or to delay it if she has not started if there is a risk for the mother or the baby to be born.
3 - It is permissible for a person who is in the countryside to delay his prayer if he is afraid of robbers, highwaymen and the attack of wild animals. Prayer can also be delayed during a battle.
4 - If a person is performing a nafilah prayer and if his mother or father calls him, it is wajib for him to break his prayer and go to him or her so that she/he will not be harmed. It is not permissible to break the prayer if it is a fard prayer.
5 - It is permissible for a person to break his prayer if he fears that his money or property will be stolen.
6 - It is permissible for a woman to break her prayer if she fears that the saucepan will boil over or that her baby will be harmed.
How many kinds of prayers are there?
Prayers are mainly divided into three: Fard prayers, wajib prayers and nafilah prayers. Let us deal with them one by one:
1 - Fard prayers:
There five daily fard prayers of 17 rak'ahs: two rak'ahs of the morning (fajr) prayer, four rak'ahs of the noon (zuhr) prayer, four rak'ahs of the afternoon (asr) prayer, three rak'ahs of the evening (maghrib) prayer and four rak'ahs of the night (isha) prayer. They are fard al-ayn. That is, everybody has to perform them.
Two rak'ahs of Friday prayer is also fard on Friday.
Janazah prayer is fard al-kifayah. That is, when some Muslims perform it, the others are not held responsible.
2 - Wajib prayers:
The three-rak'ah witr prayer performed after the night prayer is wajib.
Eid prayers performed twice a year are also wajib.
3 - Nafilah (supererogatory) prayers:
In addition to fard and wajib prayers, the prayers that are performed only for virtues and thawabs (rewards) though there is no religious obligation are generally called nafilah prayers. They are also called tatawwu (voluntary) because a person performs those prayers only to worship Allah though they are not obligatory.
Sunnah prayers are also included in the term nafilah. However, every sunnah prayer is also a nafilah prayer but not all nafilah prayers are sunnah prayers.
As a religious term, it means to wipe the arms and face with clean earth in a special way.
Tayammum is a convenience peculiar to this ummah only. In case of lack of water or the impossibility of using water due to an illness, etc despite its existence, believers get rid of hadath (the state of having no wudu or being junub) thanks to tayammum. Thus, they do not miss worshipping Allah due to something beyond their power.
The Messenger of Allah states that tayammum is a special grace and grant of Allah to this ummah as follows:
"I was given five things that had not been given to anybody before me. One of them is that the earth was rendered a mosque and a cleaning substance. Therefore, when it is time for a prayer, perform it wherever you are."
(The previous ummahs were able to worship only in certain places like churches.)
As it is understood from the hadith above, the earth was rendered a clean substance (unless it has some impurity to prevent praying) to perform prayers on for Muslims and a cleaning agent to replace water in case of lack of water through tayammum.
Tayammum was made legitimate during the expedition of Banu Mustaliq in the 5th or 6th year of the Migration by verse 6 of the chapter of al-Maida.
The following is stated at the end of the verse declaring the decree about tayammum:
"Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete His favor to you, that ye may be grateful."
It is understood from the statement above that tayammum is ease and a favor for believers and that it is a means of ensuring their spiritual cleaning.
What are the Reasons that Make Tayammum Legitimate?
Like wudu, tayammum is wajib for sane Muslims who have reached the age of puberty.
Tayammum becomes legitimate due to mainly two reasons:
1 - Lack of water actually.
2 - Lack of water virtually.
What does Lack of Water Actually Mean?
It means not having any or enough water with or around somebody who will worship. Such a person has to look for water around in order to make tayammum:
* If the person who lacks water is in a city or a place like a city, he has to look for water because he is likely to find water if he looks for it in such a place.
* Having no water for wudu and ghusl, the existence of water in a very distant place that cannot be reached easily either on foot or by a vehicle, the existence of a danger on the way to the water, lack of security of life and property on the way to the water, lack of tools to draw water are examples of lack of water actually. The person is to decide himself; if he thinks that he has a legitimate and justifiable excuse, he can benefit from this permission of the religion.
What does Lack of Water Virtually Mean?
In the following cases, although water exists, it is regarded as if there is no water:
1 - If there is enough water for cleaning but if it is medically harmful to use it due to an excuse or illness, or cold weather or cold water, it becomes wajib to make tayammum.
2 - If the water that is available is to be used for a more urgent need like drinking or cooking other than cleaning, tayammum is made instead of wudu or ghusl.
3 - If a person cannot afford to buy water or if the price of water is much more expensive than its usual price, tayammum can be made. The person is to decide himself; if he thinks that he has a legitimate and justifiable excuse, he can benefit from this permission of the religion.
What are the Conditions for Tayammum to be Sound?
The following conditions are necessary for tayammum to be sound and valid in the eye of Allah:
1 - To make niyyah.
Tayammum cannot be without niyyah. Tayammum made without intending to be purified of hadath and janabah is not valid. On the other hand, niyyah is not necessary for ghusl and wudu; it is sunnah.
2 - Lack of water or the occurrence of states that prevent water from being used.
3 - Non-existence of thick substances like wax, oil paint, nail polish, etc that cover the skin.
Tayammum made without cleaning these substances is not valid.
4 - While making tayammum, there must not be any states that invalidate wudu.
For instance, it is not valid to make tayammum or wudu while one's nose is bleeding.
5 - The earth to be used for tayammum must be clean.
The thing to be used for tayammum does not have to be made of pure earth. Tayammum can be made with substances that are extracted from the ground like sand, gypsum, marble, brick, mineral salts, emerald and ruby, or substances that are regarded to be the same type as earth.
6 - Tayammum is made by touching the earth twice with the palms of the hands. After the first touching, the face is wiped; after the second touching, the arms are wiped.
7 - In tayammum, wiping is carried out by using the whole hands or at least three fingers of each hand. Tayammum is not valid if wiping is made by two fingers.
8 - It is necessary to wipe the whole face and arms.
For instance, the hairless part between the beginning place of the beard and the ear, the part between the eyebrows and the eyes, the whole nose have to be wiped; the rings on the fingers have to be moved; the parts between fingers have to be wiped with the fingers of the other hand.
According to another view, it is enough if three-fourths of the tayammum organs are wiped.
What are the Fards of Tayammum?
There are two fards of tayammum.
1 - Niyyah
2 - To touch the clean earth with the hands twice and wipe the whole face and the arms.
The face is wiped after the first touching and the arms after the second one.
What are the Sunnahs of Tayammum?
The main sunnahs of tayammum are as follows:
1 - To start with basmala.
2 - To put the hands with fingers wide open on the soil or a material made of soil, and to move the hands forward.
3 - To move the hands backwards after moving them forward.
4 - To shake off the dust after removing the hands from the soil.
5 - To do the acts in order: that is, to wipe the face first and to wipe the arms after it.
6 - Not to do anything else between the two wiping; not interrupting the wiping.
How is Tayammum Made in Accordance with the Sunnah?
A person who wants to make tayammum makes niyyah through his heart and tongue first. He opens his hands and keeps his fingers separate from one another; he places his hands on clean earth and wipes them forward and then backward. Then, he claps his hands to shake off the extra dust. Then, he wipes his face with both hands covering the whole face. Thus, the first touching and wiping is fulfilled.
He touches the clean earth again with both hands, moves his hands forward and backwards and shakes off the extra dust. Then, he separates the index finger of his left hand from his right thumb; he wipes the back of his right hand up to his elbow with the inside of the remaining three fingers . He wipes the inside of the arm with the thumb and index finger. Thus, the wiping of the right arm is completed.
When the left hand is wiped like that, tayammum is completed.
As it is seen, first, intention is made for tayammum; then, the hands touch the clean earth twice; after the first touching, the face is wiped; after the second touching, the right and left arms are wiped.
Things that Invalidate Tayammum:
1 - Whatever invalidates wudu and necessitates ghusl invalidates tayammum; for instance, if the nose of a person who has made tayammum bleeds, his tayammum is invalidated.
2 - If the excuse that makes tayammum legitimate disappears, tayammum is invalidated. For instance, if water is found, or the excuse or necessity preventing the usage of water disappears.
There are three cases of finding water or the disappearance of the states preventing using water:
a) If water is found before a person starts to perform a prayer or if the state of excuse disappears, tayammum is invalidated at once. It becomes necessary to make wudu to perform prayers.
b) If water is seen or the state of excuse disappears while performing a prayer, both tayammum and the prayer are invalidated. It becomes necessary to make wudu and to perform that prayer again.
c) If water is found or the state of excuse disappears after a prayer is performed, tayammum is invalidated but it is not necessary to perform that prayer again.
Some Issues Related to Tayammum:
Many people can make tayammum from the same clean soil. When a person touches the soil, it is not regarded to have been used; soil is not like water.
* More than one fard and supererogatory prayer can be performed with one tayammum.
According to Imam Shafii, only one fard but more than one supererogatory prayer can be performed with one tayammum. It is recommended to make a new tayammum for each fard prayer to be free from controversy.
* If a person has wounds on half or more of his wudu organs, he makes tayammum.
* If a person is imprisoned or put into a cell where there is no water or clean soil, he delays his prayer and performs it later according to Imam Azam and Imam Muhammad. According to Abu Yusuf, he performs the prayer without reading anything. In other words, he imitates the prayer. He performs it again when he leaves the prison.
* If hajjis cannot find any water and if they have zamzam water that they are carrying with them, they can make ghusl with zamzam. They cannot make tayammum.
* If a person has to make ghusl but finds water that is enough only for wudu, he makes tayammum. He does not have to use that water.
* Tayammum can be made before the time for a prayer starts but it is more appropriate to delay tayammum if the person hopes to find water before the recommended time for the prayer passes.
According to the other three madhhabs other than Hanafis, tayammum cannot be made before the time for a prayer starts.
The prayer has sunnahs like the other kinds of worship. They complete the wajibs and increase the rewards.
Obedience to the sunnahs is a sign of loving the Messenger of Allah. To abandon the sunnahs does not invalidate prayer and does not necessitate performing a prayer again. However, to get into the habit of abandoning the sunnahs due to laziness and wantonness can result in the deprivation of the intercession of the Messenger of Allah.
What are the sunnahs of prayer?
Primary sunnahs of prayer are as follows:
1 - To call adhan and iqamah for five daily fard prayers and the Friday prayer.
It is also sunnah to call adhan and iqamah for the missed prayers that will be performed in congregation.
It is mustahab to call adhan and iqamah for a man who performs a prayer alone at home. It is not necessary for women to call adhan and iqamah.
2 - To raise the hands while uttering the opening takbir.
Men raise their hands up to the level of the ears, and the thumbs touch the earlobes; women raise their hands up to their shoulders and utter Allahu Akbar. The hands need to be open and the palms need to face toward the Kaaba while uttering the opening takbir.
* Some scholars say raising the hands indicates oneness. Others say it means to throw all the worldly things back and turn toward the qiblah and the prayer with his being.
The following is reported from Ibn Umar: "It is the jewel of prayer to raise the hands while starting the prayer. There are 10 rewards for each raising, one reward for each finger."
3 - To combine the hands as soon as the opening takbir is performed.
Men combine their hands under the navel and women on their chests.
Men form a half ring with the thumb and the little finger of the right hand and hold the left wrist with it; they place the other three fingers on the left arm. Women do not form a ring; they place their right hands on their left hands.
4 - To read Subhanaka first after the hands are held like that, and then audhu basmala before reading the chapter of al-Fatiha. To utter basmala at the beginning of other rak'ahs is sunnah.
5 - To read Subhanaka and audhu basmala silently.
Basmala is not uttered before the additional chapter or verses. However, Imam Muhammad regards it permissible to utter basmala before the additional chapter or verses after al-Fatiha in the prayers where qira'ah is performed silently.
* It is sunnah to read long mufassal in the morning and noon prayers, medium mufassal in the afternoon and night prayers and short mufassal in the evening prayer. Mufassal is the last one-seventh of the Quran. Long mufassal is the part between the chapters of al-Hujurat and al-Buruj. Medium mufassal is the part between the chapters of al-Buruj and al-Bayyina. The short mufassal is the part from the chapter of al-Bayyina to the last chapter. This is in question when a person is a resident and when there is plenty of time. If a person is a traveler, if there is not enough time or if there is an excuse, any chapter or verses can be read. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah once read the chapters of al-Falaq and an-Nas when he lead the morning prayer. When the Companions said, "You shortened the prayer", he answered: "I heard a baby crying. I feared that the mother would panic." It is also reported that the Prophet (pbuh) read the chapters of al-Kafirun and al-Ikhlas in the morning prayer when he was a traveler.
* It is sunnah to read twice as much in the first rak'ah of the morning prayer compared to the second rak'ah.
6 - To say Amin silently at the end of the chapter of al-Fatiha (both for the reader and the listener)
Amin means "accept our prayers".
7 - To utter Allahu Akbar while bowing down.
8 - To say "Subhana Rabbiya'l-Azim (My Lord, the Supreme, is free from all imperfection)" three times in ruku'. It can be said five or seven times, too. It is makruh tanzihi not to say anything or say fewer than three times.
9 - To say, "Samiallahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears those who praise Him) while standing up from ruku.
10 - To say "Rabbana laka'l-hamd" (Our Lord, praise be to You) after that.
11 - To keep the feet about four fingers away from each other while standing if there is no excuse. If a person is fat, has hernia, etc, he can keep the distance wider.
12 - To hold the knees with the hands with openings between fingers.
Women do not hold their knees with their hands; they only place their hands on their knees.
13 - To keep the knees straight in ruku, not to bend them.
14 - To keep the back straight in ruku'. To keep the head and the back at the same level.
Women bend their knees a bit in ruku and keep their back a bit upwards.
15 - To put the knees first on the ground/floor, then the hands and then the face while performing sajdah.
16 - To raise the face first while getting up from sajdah, then the hands and then the knees.
17 - To say Allahu Akbar while performing sajdah and getting up from sajdah.
The takbirs uttered while bowing down and straightening up from ruku' and prostrating and getting up from sajdah are called takbirs of intiqal (transition). It is necessary to be careful to utter them appropriately.
For instance, it is necessary to start saying Allahu Akbar while bowing down for ruku' and finish saying it in the ruku' position. It is not appropriate to utter takbir after bowing down. The same thing is valid for the other takbirs of intiqal.
18 - To place the face between two hands in sajdah and to keep the hands a bit behind and away from the face. The palms need to touch the ground/floor and the fingers need to be adjacent.
19 - To say "Subhana Rabbiya'l-A'la (My Lord, the Highest, is free from all imperfection)" three times in sajdah.
20 - To keep the abdomen away from the thighs, the elbows away from the sides and the arms away from the ground/floor.
Women put their arms and elbows on the ground/floor and keep them near their sides. They also make their abdomen touch their thighs.
* To keep the arms away from the sides is not performed so as not to disturb the people in the congregation.
21 - To put the hands on the thighs facing the qiblah in the first and last sitting and between two sajdahs.
22 - To put the left foot on the ground horizontally and sit on it and to place the right foot upright, bending the toes so that they will face the Kaaba.
Women need to place their feet on the ground horizontally and sit on them.
23 - To read at-Tahiyyat silently.
24 - To read salawat and other supplications after at-Tahiyyat.
25 - To read salawat after at-Tahiyyat in the first sittings of sunnah al-muakkadah prayers (the first sunnah of the afternoon and night) prayers). In tarawih prayers, it is necessary to read at-Tahiyyat and salawat in all sittings.
26 - To turn the face first to the right and then to the left while during salutation.
To think of the Honorary Scribes (Kiraman Katibin) if one is performing the prayer alone, and to think of the angels, the congregation and the imam if one is performing the prayer in congregation when he salutes.
27 - To wait for the imam to salute for the second time (to the left) if a person has not caught up with the imam in the first rak'ah before he stands up to complete his prayer.
28 - It is sunnah for a person who performs a prayer in a place where people can pass in front of him to put a sutrah in front of him.
29 - To raise the index finger of the right hand when la ilaha is uttered and to lower it when illallah is uttered while reading at-Tahiyyat in the first and last sittings.
The thumb and the middle finger need to form a circle and the other two fingers need to be bent inwards while doing it. Many people cannot do it. Therefore, it is more appropriate to abandon it.
30 - It is sunnah to utter dua after salawat and before salutation in the last sitting. This dua needs to be one of the dua verses of the Quran or a similar dua. It is not permissible to ask for something that can be asked from people in prayer (for instance, saying, "O Lord! Give me such and such amount of money!)
It is customary to read the following verses after salawat at the end of prayers.
"Rabbana atina fi'd-dunya hasanatan wa fi'l-akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhaba'n-nar. (Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the fire.)
Rabbanaghfirli wa li-walidayya wa li'l-mu'minina yawma yaqumu'l-hisab. (O our Lord! Cover (us) with Thy Forgiveness― me, my parents, and (all) Believers, on the Day that the Reckoning will be established.)"
31 - To salute by turning the head to the right and left by saying, "Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah" when the prayer ends. The imam intends the salutation for the congregation and the Honorary Scribes when he salutes. When a person who follows the imam salutes, he intends for the congregation and the imam. When a person who performs a prayer alone salutes, he intends for the angels.
* Subhanaka:
Subhanakallahumma wa bihamdik wa tabarakasmuk wa taala jadduk (wa jalla thanauk) wa la ilaha 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),
* Salawat:
Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad. Kama sallayta ala Ibrahiyma wa ala ali Ibrahim. 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 ala Muhammadi wa ala ali Muhammad. Kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahim. Innaka hamidun 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.)
To place a sutrah while performing a prayer
A sutrah is something that a person who performs a prayer in a place where people can pass in front of him puts in front of him as a barrier to prevent people from passing in front of him.
The sutrah must be at least 70 cm high. It is sunnah for a person who prays in such a place to put a sutrah in front of him. A sutrah can be something high like a column, a tree, a stick placed into the ground, a chair, etc. It is ordered in a hadith to use a sutrah even if it is an arrow.
If the ground/floor is too hard to place the stick into, it is placed horizontally. If there is nothing to place as a sutrah, a horizontal line is drawn. It is possible to draw a crescent, too. What matters is to prevent one's heart from being busy by looking at the things at the front.
A prayer rug put on the ground/floor prevents others from passing in front of a person more than a line; so, it is regarded as a sutrah. Ibn Abidin regards it enough to put a garment or a book in front of a person as a sutrah. Placing a sutrah upright is better than putting it on the ground/floor horizontally and putting something on the ground/floor horizontally is better than drawing a line.
A man can warn a person passing in front of him by raising his voice. He can also say Subhanallah.
The prayer of the person is not invalidated if someone passes in front of him but the person who passes is regarded to have committed a sin.
To place a sutrah in front of the imam only is enough for the prayers performed in congregation.
12-)
What is the importance of time for prayer (salah)?
What is the importance of time for prayer (salah)?
"Prayers were placed at the best times. Therefore, perform dua (supplication) after prayers."
(Hadith )
There are five fard prayers: morning (fajr), noon (zuhr), afternoon (asr), evening (maghrib) and night (isha).
Time is the primary condition for the validity of a prayer.
A prescribed prayer can be performed from the starting time of that prayer to the ending time. A person gets great rewards when he performs a prayer on time.
Ibn Mas'ud asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) what the deed that pleased Allah most was. The Messenger of Allah said, "It is the prescribed prayer performed on time."
The most virtuous and rewardful prescribed prayer is the one that is performed as soon as its time starts. The following is stated in a hadith:
"Perform the prescribed prayer when its time starts. For, the virtue is in the first part of the time."
The following is stated in another hadith:
"The first time period of a prescribed prayer is a means of attaining the consent of Allah, the middle time period for the mercy of Allah and the last time period for the forgiveness of Allah."
A prescribed prayer that is not performed on time becomes a missed (qada) prayer; it is a responsibility for a person.
Performing missed prayers relieves a person of the responsibility but it does not give him the grace, perfection and otherworldly benefit given by a prayer performed on time.
In fact, skipping a prayer without a valid excuse makes a person responsible. Performing it later relieves a person of the responsibility but it does not eliminate the sin of ignoring his duty of worship and procrastinating his duty.
1- The time for the morning (fajr) prayer:
The time for the morning prayer starts with imsak (pre-dawn) and ends when the sun rises. However, according to Hanafis, it is more virtuous to delay it until it starts to gleam slightly; according to Shafiis, it is more virtuous to perform it earlier, when it is still dark.
It is more virtuous to perform the morning prayer late; therefore, it is not performed just after imsak.
Besides, the adhan is called when it is time to start the prayer, not at the time of imsak; the adhan is called before the prayer so that people will know the time and come to the mosque.
It is permissible to perform the morning prayer as soon as the time for imsak starts. It is not necessary to wait for the adhan.
If the sun rises while performing the morning prayer and before the prayer ends, the prayer is invalidated according to Hanafis. It is necessary to perform it again after the time of karahah ends.
If a person who cannot perform the morning prayer on time performs it as qada after the sun rises and after the time of karahah ends, he needs to perform both the sunnah and fard of the morning prayer.
2- The time for the noon (zuhr) prayer:
The time for the noon prayer starts with zawal (when the sun moves away from its peak). That is, when the shadow of an object on earth starts to lengthen toward the east on a sunny day, it is the starting time of the noon prayer.
The sun that rises forms a shadow toward the west on a stick placed upright on the ground. As the time passes and the sun moves, this shadow starts to get shorter. Finally, the shortening of the shadow stops for a while. This time is called the time of istiwa. At that time, the sun is in the middle of the sky. After that, the shadow starts to get longer toward the east. The time when the shadow starts to get longer toward the east is called the time of zawal. At that time, the time for the noon prayer starts.
We said that the shortening of the shadows of things stopped during the time of istiwa and that they started to move toward the east with the time of zawal. This stable shadow of things before the time of zawal is called fay az-zawal.
There are two narrations about the end of the time of the zuhr (noon) prayer:
According to Abu Hanifa, the time of the noon prayer starts from the time of zawal and ends when the shadows of things become twice their length plus fay az-zawal. This time is called asr ath-thani.
According to Imam Muhammad, Imam Abu Yusuf and the imams of the other three madhhabs, the time of the noon prayer ends when the shadows of things become as long as their length plus fay az-zawal. This time is called asr al-awwal.
As a precaution, it is necessary not to delay the noon prayer to the time of asr ath-thaani and to perform the afternoon (asr) prayer before the time of asr ath-thani.
The time for the Friday prayer is the same as the time of the noon prayer.
3- The time for the afternoon (asr) prayer:
According to the two views mentioned above, the time for the afternoon prayer is from the end of the noon prayer time to the time when the sun sets.
4- The time for the evening (maghrib) prayer:
It is the time from the sunset to the time when the redness seen in the horizon disappears. (This is the view of Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad.)
According to another view, it goes on until the redness appearing after the sunset disappears after the whiteness following it disappears. (Abu Hanifa's view)
5- The time for the night (isha) prayer:
The time for the night prayer starts when the time for the evening prayer ends and goes on up to the time of the real dawn.
6- The time for the witr prayer:
According to the following hadith, the time for the witr prayer is the same as the time for the night prayer: "Allah Almighty added a prayer to you; it is witr. Perform it after the night prayer up to the time of dawn."
The witr prayer is wajib according to Abu Hanifa and sunnah dependent on the night prayer according to Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad.
Both views regard it necessary to be performed after the night prayer; it is not permissible to pray it before the night prayer.
7- The time for the tarawih prayer:
Its time starts after performing the night prayer and goes on up to the time of real dawn. It can be performed before or after the witr prayer. It is not appropriate to perform it before the night prayer.
A person who arrives at the mosque while the tarawih prayer is being performed in congregation needs to perform the fard of the night prayer first; he can follow the imam for the tarawih prayer after that.
8- The time for the eid prayer:
Its time starts about 45-50 minutes after the sunrise, that is, after the time of karahah ends and goes on up to the time of istiwa.
The tarawih and eid prayers that are missed are not performed later.
What are the wisdoms behind performing 5 prayers every day?
In the morning, man virtually finds a new life and has the bodily strength necessary to perform the activities to earn his living. The one that gives him this livelihood and bodily strength and that will make him successful in his efforts to earn his living is Allah Almighty. Therefore, man is obliged to perform the morning prayer in order to thank Him for the bounty of health He has given him and to ask His help in his worldly efforts.
Man benefits from the bounties of life, health and intellect, given to him by Allah, from dawn to dusk. Thanks to these bounties, he becomes successful in his worldly affairs. The noon and afternoon prayers are fard for him so that he will thank Him for his achievements and he will prevent these activities from making his spirit in heedlessness and grief.
The evening prayer is rendered fard so that the daily activities and efforts that are about to end as the evening approaches will be ended with a spiritual worship as an expression of thanks for the benefits and profits obtained that day.
Then, man will go to the realm of sleep. Before entering this realm, which is a sample of death and is regarded as a period of peace and resting, to end the daily life with a holy worship, to enter that realm with divine pleasure and spiritual awareness, to take refuge in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah will be a sign of a nice ending; that is why the night prayer is performed.
On the other hand, in the life of man and the beings around him, there are five different phases: birth, growing up, stagnation, growing old and death.
Our Creator orders us to perform five prayers a day in return for these phases so that we will establish a nice balance between our material and spiritual beings and our work. We cannot thank Him enough for being obliged to perform such a worship that includes such holy and material benefits.
The wisdoms behind the division of prayers into five times are not only the ones that we have mentioned above.
The following explanations of Badiuzzaman Said Nursi clarify the issue:
"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 Allah - 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.
What is the time of karahah?
The times in which it is makruh to perform prayers are called the times of karahah.
There are two types of karahah times:
1 - Times during which it is makruh to perform all kinds of prayers whether fard or supererogatory (nafilah).
2 - Times during which it is makruh to perform supererogatory prayers but permissible to pray other prayers.
What are the times during which it is makruh to perform all kinds of prayers?
There are three times like that:
1 - The time period starting with the sunrise to the time when the rays of the sun starts to dazzle the eyes in the morning. This time period is from the sunrise to about 45-50 minutes after the sunrise.
2 - The second karahah time is between the time of istiwa and zawal. That is, from the time when the sun is in the middle of the sky to the time when it starts to move to the west.
3 - From the time in the afternoon when the sun starts to turn yellow and does not dazzle the eyes to the time when the sun sets is also karahah time.
That is, it is necessary not to delay the afternoon prayer to the time when the rays of the sun start to turn yellow, the time of karahah.
* If the afternoon (asr) prayer is delayed to the time of karahah, it is not skipped; only the fard of it is performed. Even if a person manages to start the afternoon prayer with the takbir of iftitah before the sun sets and the sun sets while he is praying, his prayer will be valid. The prayer is regarded to have been performed. This is peculiar to the afternoon prayer only.
* The reason behind the karahah of these times is the fact that fireworshippers worship at these times.
* It is better to utter salawat, to supplicate and to glorify Allah at these times than to read the Quran.
What are the times during which it is makruh to perform supererogatory prayers only?
Along with the three time periods mentioned above, there are nine more time periods when it is makruh to perform supererogatory prayers:
1 - It is makruh to perform supererogatory prayers after the time of imsak and before performing the morning (fajr) prayer. Only the two-rak'ah sunnah of the morning prayer is performed in this period; no other supererogatory prayers are performed.
2 - Supererogatory prayers are not performed after performing the fard of the morning prayer. Even the sunnah of the morning prayer cannot be performed after the fard of the morning prayer is performed.
3 - After performing the fard of the afternoon prayer.
4 - Before performing the fard of the evening prayer.
5 - While the sermons of the Friday and eid prayers are recited.
6 - Supererogatory prayers are not performed when iqamah is recited for the Friday prayer.
7 - It is makruh to perform supererogatory prayers before the eid prayer whether at home or in the mosque.
8 - Supererogatory prayers are not performed after the eid prayer is performed in the mosque. However, they can be performed at home.
9 - It is makruh to perform a supererogatory prayers when a fard prayer starts. However, the sunnah of the morning prayer can be performed if there is no risk of missing the congregation.
Mustahab Times
We have mentioned that it is more rewarding and virtuous to perform the five daily prayers as soon as their times start.
However, in the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, it is regarded more virtuous to perform some prayers a bit later than the starting time considering various states like the season, climate, etc.
These times, during which it is regarded more virtuous to perform daily prayers, are called mustahabtimes in fiqh.
To perform prayers at mustahab times is a virtue that needs to be observed by men like praying in congregation. What is mustahab for women is to perform prayers at home after men finish performing prayers in congregation in the mosque. However, they can perform the morning prayer early without waiting for men to finish performing it in congregation in the mosque.
Let us see the mustahab times for each prayer:
Mustahab Time for the Morning (fajr) Prayer:
It is mustahab for men to wait for the dawn to become a bit bright for the morning prayer. It is called isfar.
The criterion for the morning prayer to be delayed is as follows: If the wudu of a person is broken while performing the morning prayer, there should be enough time for him to make wudu again and perform the morning prayer easily before the sun rises. Accordingly, the morning prayer should be performed 15-20 minutes before the sun rises.
The Prophet encouraged people to wait for isfar by saying, "Wait for it to get a bit bright for the morning prayer."
It is useful to wait for it to get a bit bright; it will enable more people to come to the mosque and perform the morning prayer in congregation. Besides, it becomes easier to obtain more rewards and virtues thanks to isfar.
The following is stated in a hadith: "A person who waits in the mosque until the sun sets after performing the morning prayer receives rewards as if he has freed four slaves."
It is useful to delay the morning prayer a bit so that more rewards and virtues will be obtained and more people will come to the mosque.
According to Hanafis, it is mustahab to delay the morning prayer whether a person is a traveler or a resident, in summer or in winter, whether he performs the prayer individually or in congregation.
* According to Shafiis, it is more virtuous to perform the morning prayer a little before the daybreak, when it is dark. Performing the morning prayer in the dark before it starts to get bright is called taghlis.
Hanafis regard taghlis as mustahab only for the morning prayer of the first day of eid al-adha for the hajjis in Muzdalifa.
Mustahab Time for the Noon (zuhr) Prayer:
It is mustahab to delay the noon prayer a bit to a cooler time in summer whether one is in a cold or hot country. The following is stated in a hadith: "Cool the noon a bit because the heat of the noon is a flame from Hell."
It is mustahab to perform the noon prayer as soon as its time period starts in winter, spring and fall. For, the Prophet always performed the noon prayer early in cool and cold seasons.
Mustahab Time for the Afternoon (asr) Prayer:
It is mustahab to delay the afternoon prayer to the time just before the color of the sun starts to change in both winter and summer. The Messenger of Allah delayed the afternoon prayer when the sun was white and clear.
Mustahab Time for the Evening (maghrib) Prayer:
It is mustahab to perform the evening prayer as soon as its time period starts in all seasons whether in summer or winter.
It is permissible to delay it a bit owing to reasons like illness, traveling or meal being ready. However, it is not permissible to delay it much.
Mustahab Time for the Night (isha) Prayer:
It is mustahab to delay the night prayer to the first one-third of the night or the middle of the night. There are several hadiths about performing the night prayer late.
The following is stated in a hadith: "If it did not cause trouble to my ummah, I would delay the night prayer to the first one-third of the night or the middle of the night."
It is mustahab to delay the night prayer to the last half of the night but it is makruh to delay it more.
The Messenger of Allah liked delaying the night prayer. He regarded it makruh to go to bed before performing the night prayer because of the risk of being unable to wake up. After performing the night prayer, he did not like talking about worldly matters. He said, "There is no use in staying up and talking unnecessarily after the night prayer."
The reason why the Messenger of Allah prohibits his ummah from talking unnecessarily after the night prayer is to enable the believers to close their book of deeds with worshipping and to have a nice ending for the day.
However, if they mention Allah, utter tasbihat and talk about religion and belief after the night prayer, they are not included in the prohibition of the Prophet. They do not prevent the book of deed from being closed with a good deed.
It is mustahab to delay the night prayer in winter because nights are long in winter.
In summer, it is mustahab to perform the night prayer as soon as its time period starts so as not to decrease the number of the people joining the congregation.
It is mustahab for those who can wake easily to delay the witr prayer after sleeping, toward the end of night.
The following is stated in a hadith: "Those who can wake up should sleep after the night prayer and then wake up to perform the witr prayer. For, the angels are present in the prayers that are performed in the middle of the night. Those who cannot wake up for the witr prayer after sleeping should perform it immediately after the night prayer."
Those who regularly wake up in the middle of the night to perform supererogatory prayers should delay the witr prayer. Thus, they attain more thawabs.
Combining Two Prayers
As the following verse indicates, it is fard al-ayn to perform each prayer in its stated time: "For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times." Therefore, it is not permissible to perform two daily fard prayers in the time period stated for one fard prayer together according to Hanafis.
For, combining two daily fard prayers in the same time period can be possible by performing one prayer before its time (taqdim) or after its time ends (ta'khir). None of them is permissible. It is not permissible to perform a prayer before its stated time starts. It is not permissible to delay a prayer to a time after its stated time ends, either. It is not regarded as performing it on time.
This rule has two exceptions only peculiar to hajjis:
One of them is jam at-taqdim (early combination) in Arafat.
The other is jam at-ta'khir (late combination) in Muzdalifa.
For, the Prophet combined the fard prayers in those places.
On the day of Arafa (one day before the eid al-adha), the fard of the afternoon prayer is performed after the fard of the noon prayer before the time period for the afternoon prayer starts. For this prayer, which is performed behind an imam with a big congregation, one adhan and two iqamahs (one for the noon the other for the afternoon prayer) are called. Thus, the two prayers are separated from each other. Supererogatory and sunnah prayers are not performed between them.
The necessity of performing this prayer behind an imam with a big congregation is the view of Abu Hanifa.
Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad hold the view that it is permissible for a hajji to combine these two prayers individually.
In Muzdalifa, the fards of the evening and night prayers of that day are performed together with one adhan and one iqamah at the time of the night prayer. There is no need for the second iqamah since the time for both prayers has started.
According to Imam Shafii, it is permissible to combine the noon and afternoon prayers and the evening and night prayers in the form of both taqdim and ta'khir while traveling.
Prayer in the Poles and Places Where the Time for a Prayer does not Start
In the world, the time for a day including the night is 24 hours. There are some areas in the world where nights and days last for months and weeks like the Polar Regions and places where the sun sets and then rises immediately after it sets, that is, where the night does not exist. How will people who live there perform five daily prayers? How will they perform fasting?
There are two views regarding how to perform prayers in those places: one is the view of fatwa and the other is the view of taqwa.
According to the first view, time is necessary for the validity of a prayer. The obligation to perform a prayer does not occur. For, according to a general rule of fiqh, "The reason for a daily prayer is the start of its time. If the time does not come, there is no reason to perform it. So, that prayer is not performed."
Owing to this decree, those who live in the Poles and places with extreme times perform the prayers whose time periods they meet. They do not have to perform the prayers of the times that do not occur. They will not be held responsible for them. It is like the lack of responsibility of a person with no feet for not washing his feet in wudu. The responsibility of a prayer whose time does not occur is removed.
Second view: Regarding places like the Poles where days and nights are much longer than usual places, some Islamic scholars adopt the way of caution and taqwa so as not to deprive Muslims of the abundance and rewards of worshipping.
Accordingly, those living in places with extreme times like the Poles perform their prayers in the same time periods as the people living in the closest place to them on the same meridian. They perform their fasting similarly.
The scholars who hold this view base their views on the hadith stating that during the days of Dajjal (Antichrist), the times of prayers are calculated. (see Maraq al-Falah, p. 53, İst. 1327)
As it is seen, it is implied in the hadith that if a day lengthened to one year, 5 daily prayers should be performed by calculating based on 24 hours. That is, it is possible to perform prayers by calculating in the Poles instead of abandoning them saying that the time for the prayer does not occur. This is more appropriate in terms of being cautious. Thus, Muslims will not be deprived of the abundance and light of worshipping.
Those who say that five daily prayers can be performed through the way of calculation in the Poles also say that in the places where the times for the morning, night and witr prayers do not occur since the sun rises immediately after it sets, the responsibility of performing those prayers is not removed; they have to be performed afterwards. The reason for a prayer is time but the real reason is the order of Allah. Allah says, "Perform prayers."
Therefore, every Muslim is obliged to perform prayers five times a day. The prayers whose times do not occur have to be performed afterwards.
The ijtihad of Imam Shafii is like that.
The same thing is valid for fasting, too. Although it is possible to see the moon in some places, the times of imsak and iftar do not occur. While some scholars say the responsibility of a person to fast is removed in such places, others say it is necessary to fast through calculation as it is the case with prayers.
If the Friday prayer is wajib for a person, eid al-adha and eid al-fitr prayers are also wajib for him. All of the conditions that are necessary for the Friday prayer are also necessary for eid al-adha and eid al-fitr prayers. However, khutbah (sermon) is sunnah for eid prayer and it is recited after the prayer. Eid prayer is valid even if a sermon is not recited but a sunnah is regarded to have abandoned.
According to Shafiis, eid prayers are sunnah al-muakkadah. According to another view, it is fard al-kifayah. It is one of the signs of Islam. It is better to perform it in congregation. It can be performed alone without a sermon.
Eid prayers are performed as two rak'ahs. They are performed in congregation and loud qira'ah. There is no adhan and iqamah for eid prayers.
How are Eid Prayers Performed?
The time period for eid prayer starts about 50 minutes after the sun rises. When its time is due, the congregation forms lines and intends as follows: "I intend to perform the eid prayer which is wajib and to follow the imam." The imam intends to lead the prayer. He utters takbir (says Allahu Akbar) and starts the prayer. The congregation also utters takbir and starts prayer. It is the opening takbir. It exists in every prayer. After the iftitah takbir is uttered, everybody reads Subhanaka silently. After a very short interval, the imam utters three takbirs on end by raising his hands. The congregation does the same. After the first and second takbirs, the hands are lowered and held on the sides. After the third takbir, the hands are tied on the navel.
These takbirs are called zawaid takbirs. Zawaid takbirs are wajib.
Then, the imam reads audhu basmala silently. After that, he reads the chapter of al-Fatiha and an additional chapter aloud. Then, they perform ruku' and sajdahs. They stand up for the second rak'ah. In the second rak'ah, the imam reads basmala silently. Then, he he reads the chapter of al-Fatiha and an additional chapter aloud. When the additional chapter ends, the hands are raised and three takbirs are uttered as in the first rak'ah. They are also called zawaid takbirs. After the third takbir, they utter Allahu Akbar without tying their hands and go to ruku'. This fourth takbir is the takbir that is uttered while going to ruku'. After ruku', sajdahs are performed. They salute after reading tahiyyat, salawat and duas. Thus, eid prayer is finished.
After the prayer, the imam ascends to the pulpit and starts the eid sermon without sitting. He reads two sermons just like the Friday sermon. However, the eid sermons start with takbirs. The congregation joins the takbirs with a low voice.
It is mustahab to perform the eid al-adha prayer quickly and to delay the eid al-fitr prayer a bit.
In the sermon, the importance of the eid is mentioned. In the sermon of eid al-fitr, it is better to mention the decrees about sacrificing animals and to remind the congregation about tashrik takbirs.
After the sermon, dua is performed. Then, the congregation leaves the mosque.
What are Tashrik Takbirs? When are they Uttered?
The first day of the eid al-adha is called yawm an-nahr (day of sacrificing); the other two days are called ayyam at-tashrik (days of drying flesh). The day before the eid al-adha is called yawm al-arafa, which is the ninth day of Dhul-hijjah. There is no arafa in the eid al-fitr.
Beginning from the morning prayer of the day of arafa, to the afternoon prayer of the fourth day of the eid al-adha, the following takbir is uttered after 23 fard prayers: Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar La ilaha Illallahu Wallahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa Lillahi'l-Hamd.
They are called tashrik takbirs. According to the majority of the fiqh scholars, tashrik takbirs are wajib for everybody who performs prayers. Some scholars say, they are sunnah.
A person who misses a prayer on the day of tashrik takbirs utters tashrik takbirs if he performs that prayer on tashrik days. If he performs it on another day, he does not utter tashrik takbirs after the prayer. Women read tashrik takbirs silently.
Prayers of Ill People
Ill people are obliged to fulfill their religious worship as long as they are sane. However, our religion makes things easy for them. The following are the things that are made easy regarding prayer (salah):
* An ill person is obliged to perform prayers based on his strength. For instance, a person who cannot stand or a person whose illness can get worse if he stands can perform his prayers by sitting; if he cannot sit, he can lie on his side or back and perform prayers by gesture.
* If those who cannot stand alone can stand by leaning on something, they need to perform prayers like that.
* Those who can stand for a short time can sit after uttering the opening takbir by standing and complete their prayers by sitting.
* A person who performs prayers by sitting must not lean on anything. However, if an ill person cannot perform prayers without leaning on anything, it is permissible for him to lean.
* Those who cannot perform prayers even by sitting can perform their prayers in a way that is easy for them like lying on their sides or backs. They need to hold their knees upright if they can. If not, they can extend their legs toward the qiblah. Ruku and sajdahs are performed through gestures.
Gesture means to bow the head as an indication of ruku' and sajdah. It can be done by standing or sitting.
Those who cannot perform prayers even by gestures do not perform their prayers by the signs of eyebrows and eyes. They postpone their prayers. The ill people who miss more than five prayers like that do not have to perform them afterwards. If they miss fewer than five prayers, they have to perform them later.
Things like a cushion, stool and chair are not put in front of a person so that he will prostrate on.
Prayer on a Ship, Vehicle and Animal
Supererogatory prayers can be performed on animals even if there is no necessity. A prayer performed on an animal is performed through gestures. It is necessary to turn toward the direction the animal is walking to. It is necessary to bow a bit more in sajdah than ruku'.
Fard and wajib prayers are not performed on an animal unless it is necessary.
To perform a prayer on an animal is permissible only outside cities, that is, in residential areas. No prayer, whether supererogatory, fard or wajib, is permissible on an animal in a town or city.
The decree about a prayer performed in or on vehicles like a car, bus, train, plane, etc is like a prayer on an animal. After a city is left, it is permissible to perform a supererogatory prayer on a vehicle by sitting and gestures.
Fard and wajib prayers are performed on vehicles only if there is a necessity. No fard and wajib prayer can be performed on vehicles unless there is a necessity and excuse.
The excuses that make it permissible to perform a prayer on an animal or vehicle are as follows:
1 - If it is feared that the security of life and property will be lost.
2 - If one fears from highwaymen, wild animals and enemies.
3 - If one fears that he will not be able to catch the vehicle again if he gets off for prayer.
4 - If the land is muddy and there is no suitable place to perform prayers on.
It is permissible to perform prayers on a vehicle through gestures if one of the states mentioned above exists. A prayer performed like that is not performed again afterwards.
If it is possible to perform prayers by standing on vehicles like a plane, train, etc and if it is not possible to go out, it is necessary to perform prayers by standing if the vehicle is not moving.
If the driver has an excuse that makes it impossible for him to go out and perform prayers outside the vehicle, he needs to stop the vehicle and perform prayers. It is not permissible for him to move the vehicle if he can stop it and make it wait.
The dirt on the animal or vehicle does not prevent prayers.
It is not necessary to turn toward the qiblah on moving vehicles. It is permissible to perform prayers through gestures by sitting and turning to the direction the vehicle is moving.
Prayers on Ships:
If the ship is moving, fard and supererogatory prayers are performed on the ship. However, it is makruh to to perform fard prayers by sitting if it is possible to perform them by standing. It is necessary to turn toward the qiblah at the beginning of the prayer. If the ship starts to move away from the direction of the qiblah, the person who is praying needs to turn toward the direction of the qiblah if he can.
If the ship is tied to the dock or pier, it is permissible to perform prayers on the ship. However, it is mustahab to perform prayers outside the ship if possible. It is not permissible to perform fard prayers by sitting on such a ship.
If a person becomes sea-sick while performing prayers on a moving ship when he stands, he can perform prayers by sitting. It is not makruh to sit in that case.
If a ship at anchor shakes forward and backward due to a strong storm, it is regarded as a moving ship. If the sea is calm and the ship is not shaking, it is regarded as a ship at anchor. Fard prayers need to be performed by standing; they cannot be performed by sitting.
If two ships lay alongside each other and if there is an imam on one of the ships, the people on the other ship can follow the imam. However, if the ships are away from each other, it is not permissible to follow the imam on the other ship.
Ta'dil al-Arkan means to perform the principles (rukns) properly. Ta'dil al-Arkan in prayers means to perform each rukn (principle) of the prayer like qiyam, ruku', sajdah, etc calmly, solemnly and properly, and not to hurry. For instance, after straightening up from ruku', the body has to be straight and it is necessary to stand still long enough to say "subhana rabbiya'l-azim" before prostrating. One should also sit still like that between two prostrations. It is contrary to ta'dil al-arkan to prostrate immediately after ruku without straightening up properly and to prostrate after the first sajdah without sitting still.
What is the decree about ta'dil al-arkan?
According to Abu Yusuf, it is a rukn of prayer to pay attention to ta'dil al-arkan in prayer. Therefore, it is fard. If it is not fulfilled, the prayer is invalidated and it is necessary to perform it again.
According to Abu Hanifa and Imam Muhammad, it is wajib. Therefore, it is necessary to perform sajdah as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness) if ta'dil al-arkan is not observed. It is better to perform such a prayer again. Thus, one gets rid of doubt.
* As a matter of fact, it is always better to perform a prayer again if a person fulfills a makruh deed while performing it. There are some scholars who hold the view that it is wajib to perform a prayer again if a person commits more than one makruh deed in a rukn of the prayer.
The necessity of ta'dil al-arkan
It is necessary to perform a prayer slowly and properly; it is necessary to avoid hurrying. For, to perform rukns incompletely by hurrying is contrary to respect to Allah and good manners.
The prayer is the ascension of a believer, the light of his eye and the joy of his spirit. If a person regards prayer, in which a person is closest to Allah, as a burden and tries to finish it as soon as possible without paying attention to its manners and rukns, it means he does not understand the meaning of prayer and does not attain its spiritual pleasure.
The following is stated in a hadith:
"If a person performs his prayer in a nice way, performs ruku' and sajdah fully, his prayer addresses him as follows: 'May Allah protect you as you have protected me!' If he performs his prayer in badly, performs ruku' and sajdah incompletely his prayer addresses him as follows: 'May Allah lose you as you have lost me!'"
Attention is drawn to the following criterion about tranquility, awe and observing ta'dil al-arkan in prayer:
"When one of you performs a prayer, let him perform it as if it is his last prayer by observing ta'dil al-arkan."
If a Muslim performs his prayer with this feeling, he can fulfill ta'dil al-arkan easily. He will feel peaceful and receives spiritual abundance from it.
The people who perform prayers incompletely and do not observe ta'dil al-arkan are called thieves of prayers. They are regarded to have stolen some parts of the prayer when they hurry and do not observe its fards and wajibs. As a matter of fact, Abu Hurayra reports the following hadith from the Messenger of Allah:
"Shall I inform you about the thief of prayer?"
"Yes, O Messenger of Allah!"
"The thief of a prayer is a person who performs ruku' and sajdahs incompletely and improperly."
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Adab (Manners of prayer)
Adab (Manners of prayer)
Along with the sunnahs, it is necessary to pay attention to the adabs of the prayer. Abandoning adabs does not invalidate the prayer but it decreases the rewards and virtues of the prayer.
Primary adabs of prayer are as follows:
1 - To be in a state of peace, calm and awe bodily and spiritually in prayer.
A conscious Muslim knows what great worship prayer is and understands thanks to prayer that he is in the presence of his Majestic Creator; he assumes a modest state thinking that Allah always sees and knows about him. He does his best to protect his heart from wrong and bad thoughts, anything other than Allah and worldly interests. Therefore, the following is stated: "Prayer becomes perfect only with a peaceful and tranquil heart."
It is stated in the Quran that a believer who is in a state of peace and awe in prayer will attain endless bliss and salvation:
"The Believers must (eventually) win through - Those who humble themselves in their prayers." (al-Mu'minun, 1,2)
The house of Zayna'l-Abidin was in fire. The screams of the people covered the whole area. However, Zayna'l-Abidin did not do anything. After the fire was extinguished, some people entered his house. They saw that he was praying. When he ended the prayer by saluting, they asked him in astonishment:
- Your house was in fire. Did you not hear our screams?
He said,
- Yes, I did. However, the fire of the other world outweighed the excitement of this fire. Therefore, I did not heed it.
Somebody was stealing the horse of Said bin Haythama, one of the Companions. Those who saw the thief shouted to warn him. However, Said bin Haythama did not move. They asked him:
- Why did you not run after your horse?
He answered as follows:
- The pleasure I received from my prayer was more valuable than my horse.
Yes, the prayers of the saints and conscious religious people are like that.
We want to mention an important point here:
One should not say, "My prayers are at a much lower degree than the prayer of those saints. My prayers have no blessings and goodness." For, the prayers of ordinary people like us have some shares of the high abundance and luminous reality of prayer like the prayer of a saint even if we are not conscious about it. However, the development of that abundance and luminosity differs based on the spiritual evolution and the purity of the hearts of people. There are several phases and evolutions from the seed to the tree; similarly, there can be more levels and phases in the prayers that are performed. However, the luminous reality and high perfection of the prayer is present in all phases of the prayer from the lowest to the highest one; similarly, the essence of the tree is present in the seed. Therefore, there is no need to be sad and hopeless. However, it is necessary to try to spiritually develop more and to get more blessing and peace from prayers.
Along with awe and peace, it is necessary to be conscious in prayers. Therefore, the Prophet did not regard it nice to perform prayers in a sleepy state. The following is stated regarding the issue by the Prophet:
"If a person feels sleepy in prayer, he should sleep till he becomes sober. For, a sleepy person may curse instead of repenting in prayer."
"If one of you starts to drop off in prayer, he should sleep until he exactly knows what to say."
The Messenger of Allah did not regard performing prayers in a sleepy and very tired state appropriate.
2 - Not to leave a garment one is wearing open; to button it up if it has buttons.
One should perform prayers with clothes that he would not wear in the presence of other people. It is necessary to make sure that the clothes one wears while performing prayers are not dirty.
Workers can perform prayers with overalls if they are not dirty.
3 - One should look at the place of sajdah while standing, on his feet in ruku', the tip of the nose in sajdah, the lap while sitting and the shoulders while saluting.
4 - It is necessary to try not to cough, belch, etc while performing a prayer.
5 - It is necessary to try not to yawn while performing a prayer by clenching one's teeth. If it is not possible to prevent yawning, he needs to close his mouth with the back of his right hand in qiyam and the left hand in other rukns. He needs to try to hide his yawning. The following is stated in a hadith: "Allah Almighty regards sneezing all right but does not like yawning. He who yawns should try to prevent it and should not yawn loudly." In another narration, the following is stated: "He should put his hand on his mouth.
6 - To utter tasbihat more than 3 times if a person is performing a prayer alone.
7 - To stand up together with the imam when the muezzin utters "hayya alal-falah"; according to Imam Zufar it is necessary to stand up when the muezzin utters "hayya alas-salah".
8 - The imam should start the prayer when the muezzin says, "qad qamatis-salah". The imam confirms the muezzin by doing so. However, there is no drawback to starting the prayer after the iqamah ends. This is better according to Imam Abu Yusuf and the imams of the other three madhhabs.
9 - To be alert about the next prayer after performing a prayer.
10 - To keep performing the tasbihat and duas in congregation after prayers; not to abandon them.
11 - To read the Quran after every prayer.
12 - To take necessary measures to perform prayers at home and at work.
It is necessary to start a prayer with takbir, that is, by saying Allahu Akbar. Therefore, this takbir is called iftitah (that is, starting the prayer). It is also called Tahrima.
* Tahrima means to render something haram. The opening takbir is also called tahrima because the prayer is started with the phrase Allahu Akbar and it is haram to eat, drink, talk and work after that until the prayer ends.
* According to the majority of Hanafis, the opening takbir is not a principle of the prayer; it is a condition and is regarded to be outside the prayer. However, since it is very close to the principles of prayer, it is more appropriate to regard it as a principle.
The imams of the other three madhhabs accept the opening takbir as a principle of prayer.
* The phrase for takbir is Allahu Akbar. However, it is also possible to start prayer with the following phrases glorifying Allah:
Allahu'l-azim Tabarakallah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah, Allahumma, Allah...
However, the following phrases are not used to start a prayer because they do not express glorification: Bismillah, Astaghfirullah, Audhu billah, Inna lillah, etc. They are phrases of dua.
* It is necessary for the takbir of iftitah to be uttered while standing, without bowing down.
* A person who will follow the imam should not utter takbir before the imam. It is necessary to utter takbir close to the takbir of the imam or immediately after it. One cannot follow the imam with the takbir he utters before the imam.
* It is not permissible to eat, drink, speak and do other deeds that are not related to the prayer between niyyah and the opening takbir. It is necessary to start the prayer by saying Allahu Akbar just after the niyyah.
What is Qiyam?
Qiyam means to stand while performing a prayer. It is fard to stand in fard and wajib prayers.
* It is makruh to stand on one foot without any excuse. However, it is not necessary to perform such a prayer again.
* It is not permissible to perform a fard prayer on an animal unless there is an excuse. A moving vehicle is like a walking animal. Therefore, fard and wajib prayers cannot be performed in vehicles that are moving unless there is a necessity.
* Prayers can be performed by sitting in a moving ship but it is better to perform by standing.
* A flying plane is like a moving ship.
* A person who cannot stand due to a serious illness or an excuse can perform prayers by sitting. A person who can stand only for a while needs to stand first and can sit later. If a person can utter the opening takbir by standing needs to do it by standing and sit after that.
* It is permissible to perform sunnah and mustahab prayers by sitting whether a person has an excuse or not. (It is better to perform them by standing.) However, the sunnah of the morning prayer is an exception. Tarawih prayer cannot be performed by sitting just like the sunnah of the morning prayer without an excuse.
* A person who starts a supererogatory prayer by standing can finish it by sitting; similarly, he can start a supererogatory prayer by sitting and finish it by standing.
What is Qira'ah?
It means to read one or more verses of the Quran while standing in a prayer.
* It is fard to read at least one verse from the Quran in prayer. However, the verse has to contain two or more words. The prayer becomes invalid if a person reads a verse containing only one verse. (It is wajib to read the chapter of al-Fatiha and at least 3 verses.)
* A person who can read only one verse needs to read it only once according to Abu Hanifa. He does not repeat it three times in one rak'ah. According to Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yusuf, he needs to repeat it three times. However, according to them, it is not permissible for a person who knows 3 verses to repeat the same verse 3 times.
According to the sound view, it is permissible to read one part of a long verse like ayat al-kursiyy in a rak'ah and the remaining part in another rak'ah. However, it is better not to do so.
How is Qira'ah performed?
The Quran read in the prayer should be pronounced silently but loud enough for the person reading it to hear himself. It is called silent reading. Reading through one's heart is not regarded as qira'ah. A prayer with such reading is not regarded as valid.
A person who follows the imam does not read the Quran in the prayer. He listens to the imam without reading anything; if the imam reads silently, the congregation waits without reading anything.
* According to Shafiis, a person who follows the imam has to read the Quran. They read the chapter of al-Fatiha whether the imam reads silently or aloud unless there is a risk of missing the rak'ah. According to Malikis and Hanbalis, the congregation needs to read the Quran only when the imam reads silently.
* It is fard al-ayn for every Muslim to memorize some verses of the Quran that will be enough to perform a prayer. It is wajib to memorize the chapter of al-Fatiha and an additional chapter. It is fard al-kifayah to memorize the whole Quran.
* Qira'ah is fard only in the first two rak'ahs of fard prayers. Qira'ah is not fard in the third and fourth rak'ahs. Qira'ah is performed in all rak'ahs of the witr and supererogatory prayers.
What does Ruku' Mean?
It means to bow down and by placing your palms on your knees.
* How is it Performed?
The minimum amount of ruku' is to bow down so that your hands touch your knees. Ruku' in accordance with sunnah is performed as follows:
The upper part of the body is bowed down parallel to the earth and the head is held straight. The legs are held straight without being bent; the hands are placed on the knees and the knees are held tightly. Meanwhile, the head and the back are held straight.
Women do not have to bow down fully. Bowing down about halfway will do.
A person who performs prayers by sitting needs to bend his back so that his forehead will be parallel to his knees in ruku'.
It is enough for humpbacked people whose backs are parallel to the ground to bow only their heads.
* A person who catches up with the imam in ruku' and bows down by uttering takbir is regarded to have performed that rak'ah.
However, a person who utters takbir when the imam is in ruku' and bows down while the imam is straightening up is not regarded to have performed that rak'ah. He needs to perform that rak'ah alone after the prayer ends.
* A person who catches up with the imam in ruku' does not have to utter two takbirs. He can say Allahu akbar and bow down for ruku'. With this takbir, he is regarded to have performed both the opening takbir and the takbir for ruku'.
What does sujud (prostrations) mean?
It means to prostrate by placing the nose, forehead, hands, knees and feet on the ground/floor. Sajdah lexically means to bow the head, to act modestly. It is fard to prostrate twice in each rak'ah.
* The least amount of remaining in sajdah and ruku' is waiting long enough to utter tasbihat three times. The middle amount is five times and the best amount is seven times.
* A person who performs a prayer alone can utter more tasbihat. However, the imam cannot utter more than three tasbihat without the consent of the congregation. It is not permissible to bore the congregation.
The tasbih in ruku' is
Subhana Rabbiya'l-Azim (My Lord, the Supreme, is free from all imperfection).
The tasbih in sajdah is
Subhana Rabbiya'l-A'la (My Lord, the Highest, is free from all imperfection).
* How is it performed?
After straightening up from ruku', a person prostrates by putting his forehead and nose on the ground/floor. It is not permissible to put only the forehead on the ground/floor unless a person has an excuse. Such a sajdah is not valid. Sajdah is not performed by putting the cheek and the chin on the ground/floor.
In sajdah, the hands and knees are also put on the ground/floor. It is sunnah. According to Imam Shafii, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Imam Zufar, it is fard.
Sajdah is not valid if the toes of one foot or both feet are not put on the ground/floor.
The Prophet stated the following:
"I was ordered to prostrate on seven bones: The forehead, two hands, two knees and the toes of both feet."
It is permissible but makruh to put one hand and one knee on the ground/floor and to make some of the toes touch the ground/floor. It is not permissible to raise both feet from the ground/floor while placing the forehead on the ground/floor.
On what is it necessary to prostrate?
Sajdah is performed on the ground/floor or something adjacent to the ground/floor. The forehead needs to feel the stiffness of the ground/floor or the thing on it. Therefore, if a person who prostrates on soft things like grass, hay, wool, cotton, snow, etc does not feel the stiffness of the ground and his face is lost in those soft things, his sajdah is not valid.
It is permissible to prostrate on the palms or on one's own clothes if the ground is very hot or not clean.
The place to prostrate on must not be more than one hand span higher than the place where the feet stand.
However, one can prostrate on his own knees or on the back of the person in front of him if the mosque is too crowded or because of another excuse.
What is the meaning and importance of prostration?
Sajdah is the most important principle of the prayer.
Sajdah is the peak of the respect shown to Allah. The respect and modesty that increase gradually in the phases of standing and bowing down reach their peak in prostration.
Sajdah is the expression of absolute surrendering and pure servitude away from all kinds of exterior feelings.
The fact that the temples of Islam are given the name masjid (mosque), which means place of prostration, shows the importance of prostration.
Prostration is a moment when the slave feels his slavery fully and reveals this feeling. Therefore, the following is stated in a hadith:
"A person is closest to Allah when he is in sajdah."
Sajdah is the best form of taking refuge in Allah by a Muslim. It is the secret of getting rid of his egoism, putting everything except Allah aside and attaining the real eternal being.
Some hadiths showing the importance of prostration:
Once Thawban, the freed slave of the Prophet (pbuh), asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) the following question:
- O Messenger of Allah! Tell me a deed through which Allah will put me into Paradise when I do it.
The Messenger of Allah answered his question as follows:
"Prostrate a lot. Allah elevates your rank and forgives one of your mistakes thanks to every prostration."
Hz. Rabia bin Ka'b confirms it as follows:
"I sometimes stayed with the Prophet at night. I would prepare water for wudu and bring him what he needed. He was pleased with what I did and said to me.
- Ask something from me.
- I want to be with you in Paradise.
- Ask something else.
- That is my only wish.
- Then, help me by prostrating a lot."
What is the last sitting?
It means to sit after the prostrations in the last rak'ah of the prayer.
Sitting after the second and third rak'ah in prayer is called qa'da (sitting). In the prayers with three rak'ahs (the evening and witr prayers), it is necessary to sit after the second and third rak'ahs. The sitting after the second rak'ah is called qa'da al-ula (first sitting) and the sitting after the third or fourth rak'ahs is called qa'da al-akhira (last sitting).
The first sitting is wajib and the last sitting is fard. In two-rak'ah prayers, the sitting after the second rak'ah is the last sitting; they do not have the first sitting.
How long is it necessary to sit?
The amount that is fard to sit is to sit as long as tashahhud. What is meant by tashahhud is the time period long enough to read at-tahiyyat.
How is it necessary to sit?
In the first or last sitting, it is necessary to place the left foot on the ground/floor sideward and sit on it. The right foot is held upright on the toes, the toes facing the qiblah. The fingers are put on the thighs normally. The knees are not grabbed. The body is held straight. It is necessary to look at one's lap.
Women place both feet on the ground/floor sideward and sit on them.
What is tahiyyat?
Tahiyyat is a sentence that expresses the conversation between God Almighty and His beloved Prophet (pbuh) that took place on the night of Miraj (Ascension). It is as follows:
Attahiyyatu lillahi wa's-salawatu wa't-tayyibat. Assalamu alayka ayyuha'n-nabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Assalamu alayna wa ala ibadillahi's-salihiyn. Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh.
"Words of Praise and Salutations are for Allah, and Prayers and pure words. Peace and salutations upon you O Prophet and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings! And peace be upon us and upon all of Allah's righteous servants! I testify that none has the right o be worshiped except Allah, and testify that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger."
In Arabic, Jumua (Friday) means to come together, to gather.
Friday is a very important day for Muslims. Muslims come together in the mosque on Friday and perform Friday prayer in congregation. This worship performed in congregation elevates this day to the value of the day of eid.
Therefore, Friday is also called Sayyidu'l-ayyam, that is, the Lord of the days.
It is reported that good incidents took place on Friday and that many holy events happened on Friday throughout history.
The following is stated in a hadith:
"The best day on which the sun has ever risen is Friday. Adam was created on Friday, was sent to Paradise on that day and was sent out of Paradise on that day. Doomsday will strike on Friday..."
Contrary to what many people think, it is not haram to work and to be busy with good and useful things on Friday. The prohibition of working is valid at the time of Friday prayer. It is permissible to work and to buy and sell outside the time of Friday prayer. Besides, Muslims are ordered in the verse to disperse through the earth to seek sustenance.
Friday Sermon
What is the Decree about the Sermon (Khutbah)?
Friday sermon is fard. Friday prayer is not valid without a sermon.
How Many Sermons are Recited in Friday Prayer?
Two sermons are recited. In the first sermon, believers are preached and given advice; in the second sermon, dua (supplication/prayer) is uttered for all Muslims. Allah is praised and His Messenger is greeted in both sermons.
What are the Fards of Friday Sermon?
There are two fards of Friday sermon:
1 - The time for the prayer has to start. The sermon is recited after the time for the noon prayer starts. It is not permissible to recite it before its time or after the prayer.
2 - It is necessary to mention or to praise and glorify Allah in the sermon. They have to be done with intention of sermon.
It is necessary not to intervene between the sermon and the prayer through anything.
What are the Sunnahs of Friday Sermon?
The Sunnahs of Friday Sermon are as follows:
1 - The sermon should be recited standing. It is permissible to recite the sermon by sitting or leaning on something but it is contrary to the sunnah.
2 - The preacher (khatib) should face the congregation when he ascends to the pulpit.
3 - The adhan should be called in the presence of the preacher.
4 - To start the first sermon by praising Allah.
5 - To recite the sermon aloud.
6 - To utter kalima ash-shahada and salawat for the Prophet.
7 - To give useful advice to Muslims about their world and the hereafter.
8 - To utter audhu basmala and recite a verse. To recite one long verse or three short verses.
9 - To divide the sermon into two and sit for a while between the two sermons. To sit long enough to read three verses.
10 - To start the second sermon by praising Allah and uttering salawat like the first sermon.
11 - To pray for believers in the second sermon.
12 - To recite short sermons. It is makruh to recite long sermons. The following is stated in a hadith:
"Lengthen the prayer and shorten the sermon. Doubtlessly, some words fascinate hearts like magic." Thus, the sermon needs to be concise and eloquent. When we examine the sermons of the Prophet, we can see these properties easily.
We must not talk to anybody when the sermon is uttered. We must not say anything; we must not even gesture for a person who is speaking to keep quiet. It is necessary to keep silent as if one is performing a prayer and to listen to the preacher.
The Messenger of Allah stated the following regarding the issue:
"If a person says, "keep quiet" to his friend while the sermon is being recited, he is regarded to have spoken and to have broken the silence. The Friday prayer of a person who breaks the silence while the sermon is being recited has no virtue."
It is necessary to turn one's face to the preacher while listening to the sermon; one should not turn his face to the right and left, and look around.
Issues Related to Friday Prayer:
* A person who enters the mosque while the imam is about to ascend to the pulpit on Friday sits down and waits. He performs the first sunnah of the prayer after performing the fard of Friday prayer.
If a person starts to perform the sunnah prayer before the imam stands up to ascend to the pulpit and the imam starts the sermon while he is performing the sunnah of Friday prayer, he needs to perform only two rak'ahs and listen to the sermon. If the sermon starts after he has performed the second rak'ah, he needs to hurry and perform four rak'ahs.
* Friday prayer is not fard for women and travelers but if they perform Friday prayer, it is regarded as their noon (zuhr) prayer. They do not have to perform the noon prayer. As a matter of fact, the same thing is valid for the Muslims who live in dar al-harb. Friday prayer is not fard for them but if they come together and perform Friday prayer, it is regarded as their noon prayer.
* It is makruh for those who do not perform Friday prayer to perform the noon prayer in congregation.
Those who do not perform Friday prayer should perform the noon prayer after the Muslims perform Friday prayer. It is sunnah. It is makruh for those who do not perform Friday prayer to perform the noon prayer before Friday prayer is performed in a town.
* Those who catch up with the imam in the tashahhud or sajda as-sahw need to complete the prayer after the imam utters salutation.
* The qira'ah of Friday prayer has to be aloud. It is performed like the fard of the morning (fajr) prayer.
* A person who does not have enough time to make wudu in order to catch up with the imam for Friday prayer cannot make tayammum to perform it because if he misses Friday prayer, he can perform the noon prayer instead of it. However, he can make tayammum for eid and janazah prayers because there are no prayers to replace them if they are missed.
* Whatever invalidates a prayer also invalidates Friday prayer. If the time for the noon prayer ends while performing Friday prayer, it is invalidated.
What are the Good Manners (Adab) of Friday?
On Friday, Muslims come together and perform Friday prayer in congregation; they meet and see one another. It is necessary to pay attention to the following adab regarding the issue:
1 - Those who can should prepare for Friday prayer in the morning. This preparation includes cleaning, making wudu, wearing new and clean clothes, wearing perfume, going to the mosque early and solemnly.
The following is stated in hadiths regarding the issue:
"If a person who cleans his clothes, makes ghusl, goes to the mosque early, sits near the imam and listens to the imam, his sins between two Fridays, and three more days, are forgiven."
"On Friday, angels sit at the gate of the mosque and record those who come to the mosque early."
"There are three things that people would compete to obtain if they knew how virtuous they were: calling the adhan, performing fard prayers in the first line and going to the mosque early for Friday prayer."
2 - To make ghusl on Friday. It is all right if one makes ghusl in order to be purified of janabah. The following is stated in a hadith:
"It is nice to make wudu on Friday but it is nicer and more virtuous to make ghusl."
3 - To read the chapter of al-Kahf, ad-Duhan or Yasin or some other chapter before Friday prayer or Thursday night; if it is not possible, one can read any verses of the Quran.
It is a nice deed and virtuous act to adorn this holy day with the light of divine word (the Quran).
4 - When a person enters the mosque for Friday prayer, he should sit in a free place near the qiblah if the sermon has not started yet and to listen to the preacher very carefully when he starts to recite the sermon.
5 - When the preacher descends from the pulpit, those sitting between the pulpit and the mihrab should stand up to allow the preacher to proceed to the mihrab.
6 - To take lessons from the sermon recited by the preacher.
7 - It is mustahab to utter salawat a lot for the Prophet.
It is stated in hadith that salawat will be a means of forgiveness.
8 - It is mustahab to give sadaqah to the poor on Friday. The reward is doubled on Friday.
To abandon one of the wajibs of prayer deliberately is makruh tahrimi. To abandon one of the sunnahs or adabs of prayer is makruh but not tahrimi.
After this general rule, let us list the primary makruhs of prayer:
1 - To play with one's body and clothes. To fan oneself with the hand in order to cool down.
The prayer becomes perfect when a person attains awe and tranquility spiritually and bodily, and breaks off his relationship with the worldly affairs; therefore, such deeds are regarded as makruh. The following is stated in a hadith: "Allah does not regard it nice playing with something in prayer."
2 - To start a prayer when one's wudu is about to break or when delicious and attractive food is ready at the table. They are regarded as makruh because they prevent tranquility in prayer by keeping the heart and the mind busy.
3 - To crack one's knuckles or to intertwine fingers.
According to Ibn Abidin, to crack one's knuckles is makruh outside prayer too. Intertwining is not makruh if it is done in order to massage.
4 - To yawn, stretch one's body and to put one's hand on his sides in prayer are makruh.
5 - To turn one's head and look at something without turning his chest from the direction of the qiblah. To turn the chest from the direction of the qiblah invalidates prayer.
6 - To place the arms on the ground/floor in prayer. It is not makruh for women.
7 - To answer one's greeting by gesture.
8 - To hold and raise one's garment by the hand while going to sajdah from the front or behind.
9 - To put the jacket or coat on his shoulder or head without wearing it. If it is done due to conceitedness or ignoring the prayer, it is makruh. If it is done due to an excuse, it is not makruh.
10 - To perform a prayer in bad clothes, dirty overalls or clothes that one will not wear in the presence of others. When Hz. Umar saw somebody praying in dirty overalls, he asked the person, "If I sent you to some people with these clothes, would you go?" When the man said no, he said, "God Almighty is the one who deserves the best clothes to be worn in His presence."
What is mustahab in prayer is to wear casual, normal clothes. Nightgowns and pajamas are usual clothes that are worn at home, so, it is permissible to perform prayers wearing them. However, it is better not to perform prayers with them because they might not be clean.
11 - To perform prayers with short-sleeved garments. It is also makruh to perform prayers with garments by rolling up their sleeves up to the elbows.
12 - To bow down before completing qira'ah.
13 - In the second rak'ah, to read a chapter or verses located before the ones read in the first chapter in the Quran.
14 - To read a chapter in the first rak'ah and to read a chapter two chapters after the first one in the second rak'ah; that is to skip only one chapter. For instance to read the chapter of al-Fil in the first rak'ah and the chapter of al-Maun in the second rak'ah by skipping the chapter of Quraysh.
It is necessary to skip at least two chapters in order to get rid of karahah.
15 - The second rak'ah of a prayer should not be longer than the first one, and the fourth one should not be longer than the third one.
16 - To read the same chapter in both rak'ahs. If a person does not know any other chapters to read, it is not makruh.
It is not makruh to read the same chapters in supererogatory prayers.
17 - To skip one or more verses of the same chapter deliberately.
18 - To close one's eyes or to stare at the sky. It is among the adabs of prayer to look at the place of sajdah in prayer. To close the eyes means to abandon this adab. However, it is better to close the eyes if there exists a risk of seeing something that will eliminate the awe or distract one's attention.
19 - To do a minor deed (amal qalil) that is not appropriate for prayer like plucking a hair from one's own body.
20 - To scratch oneself, to wipe one's sweat in prayer. If the itching and the sweat disturb him a lot and keep his mind busy, it is permissible to scratch and to wipe the sweat. If a person scratches himself three times in a rak'ah, it is regarded as a major deed (amal kathir) and invalidates wudu.
21 - To prostrate on the picture of a living being.
22 - To wear clothes that have pictures of living beings; to have pictures of living beings over one's head, behind, in front of, next to and opposite him.
If the picture is too small to see when the person is standing, or if it is big but the head is cut so that it cannot live or if organs are incomplete, it is permissible. However, it is necessary to ensure that they are not hung on the direction of the qiblah.
23 - To put only the forehead but not the nose on the ground/floor in sajdah despite having no excuse.
24 - To perform a prayer on a busy road, on a grave, in a public bath, on animal dung, and near dirty places.
25 - To perform a prayer behind despite the existence of a gap in the front line.
26 - To perform a prayer facing hot cinder. It is permissible to perform a prayer facing a candle, lamp, etc.
27 - Regarding having a cap with one as a burden due to laziness or regarding covering the head with a cap as unimportant and perform prayers without covering his head. However, it is sunnah to cover the head while praying for men. Some scholars regard it better to pick up the cap that falls off the head in sajdah and put it on the head without committing amal kathir (for instance using only one hand). If a person has an excuse, it is permissible for him to perform prayers without covering his head.
Some scholars say there is no drawback to leaving the head uncovered with the intention of modesty and awe.
* It is sunnah to wrap a turban around the cap. The Messenger of Allah said, "A prayer performed with a turban is 70 times better than a prayer performed without a turban." (Taj) According to some scholars, covering the head with a cap can be equal to covering it with a turban.
28 - To count the verses that one reads and the tasbihat in ruku' and sajdahs with fingers.
29 - It is makruh to perform a prayer facing a person who is sleeping or a person or facing the face of a person. There is no drawback to performing a prayer facing a person's back.
30 - It is makruh for a person not to put a sutrah in front of him while performing a prayer in a place where people can pass in front of him.
31 - It is makruh to lean on something without any excuse and to swing to the right and left while performing a fard prayer.
32 - It is makruh to put the hands on the ground/floor before the knees without any excuse while going to sajdah; it is also makruh to raise the knees before the hands or by pushing against his hands.
33 - Not to keep the head and the back straight in ruku' and raise up or bend down.
34 - To utter basmala and amin loudly.
35 - To utter tasbihat in ruku and sajdah fewer than 3 times.
36 - To perform a prayer by placing a child on his back or lap if he has no excuse.
37 - To perform a prayer by wearing silk clothes (for men). It is permissible to pray on a silk prayer rug because it is haram to wear silk clothes for men, It is permissible to use silk.
Things that are not makruh in prayer
1 - It is not makruh to perform a prayer facing a mushaf (Quran) burning candle, lamp, lantern, etc.
2 - It is not makruh to perform prayers on a cloth having photos of living beings if those photos are under the feet of the praying person.
3 - It is not makruh to kill a snake, a scorpion. However, if this killing necessitates amal kathir or turning the chest from the direction of the qiblah, the prayer is invalidated.
4 - It is not makruh if there is a man in front of a praying person if that man's back faces the praying person.
5 - There is no drawback to looking at something without turning the face but it is better not to do so.
6 - If the floor/ground is impossible to prostrate on, one can perform the prayer on the bed.
7 - If the dust, sticks, etc on the ground stick to the forehead in sajdah and keep a person busy, it is not makruh to wipe them as if wiping the sweat.
Tarawih is a prayer performed every night during the month of Ramadan. It is sunnah al-muakkadah for every Muslim, whether male or female, and it is one of the signs of Islam.
Tarawih is the sunnah of Ramadan, not fasting. Therefore, it is sunnah to perform the tarawih prayer for ill people and travelers who cannot fast.
What is the Decree about Performing the Tarawih Prayer in Congregation?
It is sunnah al-kifayah to perform the tarawih prayer in congregation. If some of the people living in a country or district perform the tarawih prayer in mosques in congregation, the sunnah of performing the tarawih prayer in congregation is fulfilled. In that case, it becomes permissible for others to perform the tarawih prayer individually at home. However, a person may make mistakes while performing it or ignore it since it is a long prayer. If it is performed in congregation with the family members at home, this risk will be eliminated.
It is definite by the deed of the Prophet that to perform the tarawih prayer in congregation is sunnah. The Messenger of Allah led the tarawih prayer to the Companions on the 23rd, 25th and 27th nights of Ramadan in the mosque. The reason why he did not pray it in congregation every night in Ramadan is to prevent people from thinking that it is a wajib prayer.
How Many Rak'ahs is the Tarawih Prayer?
It is definite by the consensus of the Companions that the tarawih prayer is 20 rak'ahs. When the Prophet led the tarawih prayer in the mosque, he performed 8 rak'ahs. The Companions completed it to 20 rak'ahs in their homes.
The practice of performing all of the 20 rak'ahs in the mosque started during the caliphate of Hz. Umar. Nobody among the Companions opposed to it; a kind of consensus occurred. It has been performed like that since then.
Its Time:
The time of the tarawih prayer starts after the time of the night (isha) prayer and ends when the time of the morning (fajr) prayer starts. The tarawih prayer is a sunnah connected with the night prayer; so, the witr prayer can be performed before or after the tarawih prayer. What is customary is to perform the tarawih prayer first and to perform the witr prayer then.
Therefore, a person who catches up with the imam in the middle of the tarawih prayer can perform the witr prayer with the imam and complete the remaining part of the tarawih prayer after the witr prayer.
If the tarawih prayer is not performed in its determined time, it is not performed afterwards as qada either in congregation or individually.
How is it Performed?
* The most virtuous way of performing the tarawih prayer is performing it in two rak'ahs with 10 salutations. A common way of performing it is saluting after every four rak'ah. It can also be performed by saluting after every 6 rak'ahs.
It is also possible to perform it by sitting after every two rak'ahs but saluting only after the 20th rak'ah. However, it is makruh to perform prayers longer than 8 rak'ahs with one salutation at night; therefore, the tarawih prayer should not be performed like that.
No matter how many salutations are uttered, it is necessary to sit after every two rak'ahs in the tarawih prayer.
If a person does not sit after the second rak'ah but sits after the fourth rak'ah, four rak'ahs are regarded as two rak'ahs. It is necessary to sit after every two rak'ahs even if one does not salute after sitting.
* The tarawih contains the meaning of resting and relaxing. Therefore, it is necessary to sit a bit after four rak'ahs and rest. During this resting period, one can read something or meditate. Or, he can utter tasbihat. In our country, muezzins generally recite salawat aloud together with the congregation.
* If the tarawih prayer is performed in the form of four rak'ahs, salawat are read after at-tahiyyat in the first sitting. It is sunnah al-muakkadah. According to some mujtahids, it is fard. Even if the congregation gets bored, the imam cannot abandon them. Subhanaka is read before al-Fatiha at the beginning of the third rak'ah.
* It is sunnah to perform the tarawih prayer by reading a khatm (reading the whole Quran).
The sunnah of performing the tarawih prayer by khatm cannot be abandoned because it is difficult for the congregation. This sunnah must be fulfilled in one of the mosques in a town.
* A person who has performed the fard of the night prayer alone can perform the tarawih prayer in congregation. However, it is not permissible to perform the tarawih prayer in congregation before the night (isha) prayer is performed in congregation.
* It is makruh for the imam to perform qira'ah and other rukns of prayer fast in order to please the congregation. An imam who has the feeling of responsibility avoids making qira'ah ununderstandable and abandoning tadil al-arkan and uttering tasbihat fewer than three times by hurrying up.
* It is necessary for an imam who leads the tarawih prayer with a khatm to finish the khatm on the 27th ninth of the month of Ramadan. If the imam does not lead the tarawih prayer with a khatm, it is more virtuous to read the chapter of al-Fil and the chapters after it than to read one chapter and mixed verses. Thus, the number of rak'ahs is remembered better.
* It is permissible to perform the tarawih prayer by sitting without any excuse, but doing so decreases the virtues and rewards of the prayer.
The imam can lead the tarawih prayer by sitting whether he has an excuse or not. The congregation can perform the tarawih prayer by standing. However, it is mustahab for the congregation to perform the tarawih prayer by sitting when the imam performs it by sitting so that they will perform in the same way.
* It is permissible to follow one imam in the tarawih and another imam in the witr prayer.
* It is makruh to perform the tarawih prayer when one feels very sleepy.
* It is mustahab to sit a bit between the witr and the tarawih prayer.
* A person who performs the tarawih prayer in congregation can perform the witr prayer in congregation or individually.
* It is not necessary to utter niyyah (intention) before each two rak'ahs of the tarawih prayer.
For, the tarawih prayer, which consists of 20 rak'ahs, is regarded as a single prayer. Therefore, the intention (niyyah) uttered at the beginning of the tarawih prayer is enough.
The morning prayer (fajr) consists of four rak'ahs:two sunnah and two fard. First the sunnah of the morning prayer is performed.
After fulfilling all of the necessary conditions for the prayer, it is necessary to turn toward the qiblah and to intend to perform the sunnah prayer through the heart. Then, the intention is uttered in a low voice as follows: "I intend to perform the sunnah of the morning prayer for Allah."
Then, the hands are raised up to the level of the ears and the thumbs touch the earlobes. The palms face toward the Kaaba with the fingers not touching one another and takbir is performed by saying Allahu Akbar.
After takbir, the hands are placed on the navel, right hand holding the left wrist. (Women raise their hands up to the level of their shoulders and put their hands on their breasts.)
After the hands are held like that, Subhanaka is read first. Then, audhu basmala is read. After that, the chapter of al-Fatiha is read and "Amin" is uttered at the end. An additional chapter or verses from the Quran are read. Thus, the qiyam (standing) and qira'ah (reading) parts of the prayer are completed.
After reading is completed, the hands are left free on the sides and Allahu Akbar is uttered. Then, it is necessary to bow down (ruku). While bowing down, the hands are placed on the knees; the hands hold the knees with the fingers not touching one another. The back and the waist are held straight and parallel to the ground. The feet are held straight, too. Subhana rabbiya'l-azim (Glory be to my Lord Almighty) is said three times in ruku. (In ruku, women held their fingers adjacent and do not hold their knees; they just put their hands on their knees. Besides, they do not hold their knees straight. They do not have to bow down so much as to make their backs parallel to the ground.)
Then, it is necessary to stand up from ruku by saying, "Samiallahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears those who praise Him). "Rabbana laka'l-hamd" (Our Lord, praise be to You) is uttered while standing.
Then, Allahu Akbar is uttered and prostration (sajdah) is performed. First, the knees then the hands are put on the ground/floor in prostration. The head is put on the ground between the hands and the nose touches the ground, too. In prostration, the fingers and toes face the qiblah. (Women hold their arms adjacent to their sides and their thighs to their abdomen in prostration; they approach and touch the ground.) Subhana rabbiya'l-a'la (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High) is uttered three times in prostration. After Allahu Akbar is uttered, it is necessary to sit up. It is necessary to sit long enough to say Subhanallah after sitting up. Then, Allahu Akbar is uttered and the second prostration is performed.
After the supplication of the second prostration is uttered, it is necessary to stand up by saying Allahu Akbar. Thus, the first rak'ah ends and the second rak'ah starts.
In the second rak'ah, only basmala is uttered before reading the chapter of al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or verses from the Quran is read. Ruku and prostrations are performed as they are described above. After the second prostration, the left foot is placed on the ground horizontally and we sit on it. The right foot is placed on the ground and the toes are bent facing the qiblah. The hands are placed on the thighs. The sitting position between two prostrations is also like that. (Women sit by leaning their feet to the right.) First, at-Tahiyyat is read while sitting. Then salawat and duas are uttered. When they end, it is necessary to turn the head to the right and say, "As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah". Then, it is necessary to turn the head to the left and salute in the same way. Thus the two-rak'ah sunnah of the morning prayer ends. The qira'ah, glorification and takbirs of the sunnah of the morning prayer are said silently.
The fard of the morning (fajr) prayer is performed just like the sunnah of the morning prayer. Only the intention is changed a bit as follows: "I intend to perform the fard of the morning prayer..." Iqamah is uttered before the fard of the morning prayer. (Women do not utter iqamah.) The qira'ah of the fard of the morning prayer can be read aloud if it is performed individually. If it is performed in congregation, it is necessary for the imam to utter qira'ah aloud.
How to perform the noon (zuhr) prayer:
The noon (zuhr) prayer consists of ten rak'ahs: four rak'ahs of sunnah, four rak'ahs of fard and two rak'ahs of the last sunnah prayers. The four-rak'ah sunnah is performed first.
The intention is uttered as follows for the sunnah prayer: "O Lord! I intend to perform the sunnah of the noon prayer."
Then, the first two rak'ahs of the sunnah of the noon prayer is performed just like the sunnah of the morning prayer. However, after sitting at the end of the second rak'ah, only at-Tahiyyat is read. It is necessary to stand up by saying Allahu Akbar without reading salawat and other duas. The third and fourth rak'ahs are performed like the first two rak'ahs and it is necessary to sit after the fourth rak'ah. At-Tahiyyat, salawat and other duas are read while sitting. Then, salutations are performed. Thus, the sunnah of the noon prayer is completed. Only basmala is uttered before reading the chapter of al-Fatiha at the beginning of the first rak'ah; Subhanaka and audhu… are not uttered.
The fard of the noon (zuhr) prayer is performed like the sunnah of the noon prayer. However, while uttering the intention, it is necessary to say the fard of the noon prayer. Besides, in the third and fourth rak'ahs, only the chapter of al-Fatiha is read. No additional chapters or verses are read. It is valid for all of the fard prayers, not for the fard of the noon prayer only. The additional chapter or verses are read in the first two rak'ahs but not in the third and fourth rak'ahs.
The last sunnah of the noon (zuhr) prayer is performed just like the sunnah of the morning prayer. However, the intention is changed as the last sunnah of the noon prayer.
Qiraah is read silently in both sunnah and fard of the noon prayer.
How to perform the afternoon (asr) prayer:
The afternoon (asr) prayer consists of eight rak'ahs: four rak'ahs of sunnah and four rak'ahs of fard. The sunnah is performed first.
First the intention is uttered as follows: "I intend to perform the sunnah of the afternoon prayer." Then, the sunnah of the afternoon prayer is performed like the sunnah of the noon prayer. However, while sitting after the second rak'ah, salawat are uttered after at-Tahiyyat. After salawat are uttered, it is necessary to stand up by saying Allahu Akbar. At the beginning of the third rak'ah, Subhanaka and audhu basmala are read before the chapter of al-Fatiha and additional chapter or verses from the Quran. The fourth rak'ah is performed like the fourth rak'ah of the sunnah of the noon prayer.
The fard of the afternoon (asr) prayer is performed just like the noon prayer. Only the intention is different. Qira'ah is also read silently in the afternoon prayer.
How to perform the evening (maghrib) prayer:
The evening (maghrib) prayer consists of five rak'ahs: two rak'ahs of sunnah and three rak'ahs of fard. The fard is performed first.
First, the intention is uttered and the prayer starts. The first two rak'ahs are performed just like the other fard prayers. It is necessary to sit after the second rak'ah. Only at-Tahiyyat is read while sitting. After that, it is necessary to stand up for the third rak'ah. Only the chapter of al-Fatiha is read in the third rak'ah and ruku is performed. After the prostration, it is necessary to sit for the last sitting. At-Tahiyyat, salawat and duas are uttered, and the prayer ends with salutations.
After the fard prayer, the two-rak'ah sunnah is performed just like the sunnah of the morning prayer.
Qira'ah can be read aloud if the fard of the morning prayer is performed individually. If it is performed in congregation, it is necessary for the imam to utter qira'ah aloud.
How to perform the night (isha) prayer:
The night (isha) prayer consists of thirteen rak'ahs: four rak'ahs of sunnah, four rak'ahs of fard, two rak'ahs of the last sunnah and three rak'ahs of witr.
The sunnah of the night (isha) prayer is performed first just like the sunnah of the afternoon prayer except for the intention. That is, salawat are uttered after at-Tahiyyat in the first sitting.
The performance of the fard prayer is just like the fard of the noon and afternoon prayers except for the intention.
The last sunnah is performed just like the sunnah of the evening prayer.
Only the intention is different.
How to perform the witr prayer:
The witr prayer consists of three rak'ahs. It is performed as follows:
First, the intention is uttered and the prayer starts. The first and the second rak'ahs are performed just like the sunnah of the morning prayer. Only at-Tahiyyat is read in the first sitting. Then, it is necessary to stand up for the third rak'ah. In the third rak'ah, after basmala, the chapter of al-Fatiha and an additional chapter or verses from the Quran are read. After that, Allahuakbar is uttered and the hands are raised up to the level of ears. Then, the hands are held on the navel and the supplications of qunut are read. After the supplications of qunut are read, ruku and prostrations are performed. After the prostrations, at-Tahiyyat, salawat and duas are read. Then, salutations are uttered.
* A person who does not know the supplications of qunut can read the following verse: Rabbana atina fi'd-dunya hasanatan wa fi'l-akhirati hasanatan wa qina adhaba'n-nar. (Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the fire!) He can also say Allahumma'ghfirli (O my Lord! Forgive me!) three times. It is also permissible to say, "O Lord" three times.
* The witr prayer is performed in congregation only in Ramadan. The imam reads qira'ah loudly but qunut supplications are read silently. It is makruh to perform the witr prayer in congregation outside Ramadan.
Qunut Supplications
Allahumma inna nasta'inuka wa nastaghfiruka wa nastahdika wa nu'minu bika wa natubu ilayka wa natawakkalu alayka wa nuthni alayka'l-khayra kullahu nashkuruka wa la nakfuruka wa nakhla'u wa natruku man yafjuruk.
(O my Allah! We pray to You for assistance, for guidance and for forgiveness. O my Allah! We believe in You and we turn to You in repentance and we rely on You in all our deeds and we trust in You. We praise You and say that all kinds of goodness have been bestowed upon us by You. We thank You for the abundant bounties You have granted us and we are not ungrateful to You. We turn away from and leave such people that are ungrateful to You.)
Allahumma iyyaka na'budu wa laka nusalli wa nasjudu wa ilayka nas'a wa nakhfidu narju rahmataka wa nakhsha adhabaka inna adhabaka bilkuffari mulhiq.
(O my Allah! To You alone we pray and to You alone we worship. For You alone we perform ritual prayers and for You alone we make prostrations. To You alone we run. We worship You with love and we hope for Your mercy and we fear Your chastisement, for Your chastisement catches the unbelievers.)
The religion of Islam regards performing prayers one of the basic duties but it also gives great importance to eliminating the difficulties in all kinds of duties.
One of the examples of it is the permission of wiping on khuffs (waterproof footwear) and bandages while making wudu; thus it makes worshipping easy.
Mas-h means to move the hand on something, to wipe it. In fiqh, mas-h is a kind of cleaning; it means symbolic cleaning by wiping over an organ, khuffs or bandage with the wetness in the hand in wudu and wiping the face and hands with clean earth in tayammum. Wiping over the head, neck and ears while making wudu is an essential deed of wudu but wiping over khuffs and bandages is a deed replacing washing.
The period of mas-h starts after the first state that invalidates wudu after the khuffs are put on following wudu. After that period ends, wudu is made by washing the feet; the khuffs need be put on again if it is necessary. On the other hand, if a person who has made wudu by washing his feet puts on and takes off the khuffs as long as his wudu continues, his wudu is not invalidated. If a person who has made wudu by wiping over his khuffs takes off his khuffs, he can complete his wudu by washing his feet only.
What does to wipe over khuffs mean?
To wet the khuffs in accordance with certain rules worn on the feet instead of washing the feet while making wudu is called mas-h.
Wiping over khuffs is ease and permission granted by our religion to all Muslims, men and women.
Wiping over khuffs is in question only in wudu. It is not permissible to wipe over khuffs instead of washing the feet.
Wiping over khuffs is sunnah al-muakkadah. It is definite through several hadiths close to the degree of tawatur that the Messenger of Allah sometimes put on khuffs and wiped over them.
What are the conditions that make wiping over khuffs permissible?
The following conditions are necessary for mas-h over khuffs to be permissible:
1 - Khuffs must be waterproof.
2 - Khuffs must be thick and sound enough to stand on their own without laces. They must be durable enough for a journey of 12 thousand steps (8-9 km).
Boots that cover the feet including the heels, half boots, aba shoes are also regarded as khuffs. They can be wiped over in wudu.
3 - Khuffs must cover the whole feet including the heels.
Mas-h is not permissible on khuffs below the heels.
It is permissible for khuffs to be buttoned or fastened after being put on the feet if they cover the heels. Khuffs with zippers are also permissible. It is necessary for khuffs to cover the whole feet including the heels when the buttons are done up or the zippers are zipped up. There must not be any holes or gaps in khuffs.
4 - There must not be any holes, gaps, rips and tears so big as to allow three fingers to enter in the part under the heel.
If the holes and rips are in different places on khuff, the total area of the holes is taken into account. If all of them amount to three fingers, it is not permissible to wipe over that khuff.
The rips and tears on one khuff are calculated; those on two khuffs are not added together; they are calculated separately. Therefore, if there are two holes in one khuff and another hole or two holes in the other khuff, it is permissible to wipe over those khuffs.
According to Malikis, mas-h is not invalidated unless there is a tear in a khuff that shows at least one third of the foot. According to Shafiis and Hanbalis, if the amount of the foot that is fard to wash is seen through a rip on a khuff, mas-h is invalidated. Even if the amount that is fard to wash is covered by a sock or something else, the decree does not change.
5 - For mas-h, it is necessary for a foot to have a part as big as two fingers in the front part. If the front part of a foot is cut off or broken off, it is not permissible to wear a khuff on that foot and wipe over it.
6 - Khuffs have to be worn when one has wudu. For mas-h, it is necessary to make wudu first and to wear khuffss after that without breaking wudu.
According to Malikis, it is necessary to wipe over the whole khuff. Otherwise, mas-h is not valid. According to Hanbalis, to wipe over most of the top part of khuffs is enough. According to Shafiis, it is enough to wipe over an area as big as a finger.
What are the sunnahs of mas-h (wiping)?
There are two important sunnahs of mas-h:
1 - The amount of wiping by the hand should be at least three fingers.
The area to wipe is the top of the khuff and the front part of the foot. To wipe an area as big as three fingers on that part is enough for mas-h.
2 - Mas-h should be done by at least three fingers.
It is not permissible to wipe by one finger three times. However, if the hand is wetted separately three times and different parts of the khuffs are wiped, mas-h by one finger is permissible.
The two issues mentioned above are sunnah. It is possible to perform mas-h by pouring water on khuffs or by wetting khuffs by something like a sponge. However, in that case, a sunnah is abandoned and a makruh deed is committed.
Along with the two issues mentioned above, the following are also sunnah:
* The fingers should not be adjacent to one another while wiping.
* The fingers should be used while wiping.
* Wiping should be started from the tips of the toes and pulled upwards.
How is wiping over khuffs performed?
After wudu is made, khuffs are worn without breaking wudu. If the khuffs have buttons or zippers, the buttons are done up or the zipper is zipped up so that the heels are covered.
When wudu is broken after a while, wudu is made again; when it is time to wash the feet, water is poured on both hands and the wet fingers (at least three fingers) are put on the tips of the toes and pulled upwards.
The right hand is put on the khuff on the right foot and the left hand is put on the khuff on the left foot. The fingers are placed on the toes and are pulled upwards.
It is not appropriate to wash the khuffs instead of wiping over them. It is makruh.
How long is mas-h valid?
Mas-h over khuffs worn on the feet is valid for a certain period of time.
The valid period of mas-h for a resident is one day and night, that is, 24 hours. For a traveller (musafir) it is three days and nights, that is 72 hours.
According to Malikis, there is no time limit for mas-h. Mas-h is valid until ghusl becomes necessary. However, it is mandub for a person to take off his khuffs and wash his feet every Friday for the Friday prayer. According to Shafiis and Hanbalis, the time limit for mas-h for a traveler who is on a legitimate journey is three days and nights (seventy-two hours). If a person is on a journey in order to commit a sin, it is twenty-four hours.
When does the period of mas-h start?
The time period of mas-h starts when wudu is broken for the first time after putting on khuffs.
For instance, if a person who makes wudu at 1 pm and puts on his khuffs and breaks his wudu at 5 pm, his mas-h period starts at 5 pm. This period ends 24 hours later if he is a resident and 72 hours later if he is a traveler. Mas-h period does not start when a person puts on his khuffs.
What are the things that invalidate mas-h?
Anything that invalidates wudu also invalidates mas-h. However, if the period of mas-h has not ended, the khuffs are wiped over instead of being washed while making wudu.
Mas-h is invalidated completely in the following three situations. After them, washing the feet becomes necessary instead of wiping the khuffs:
1 - When the period of mas-h ends.
We have mentioned that the period of mas-h is 24 hours for a resident and 72 hours for a traveler. When this period ends, it is not permissible to wipe over the khuffs while making wudu. If this period ends when one has wudu, it is enough to take of the khuffs and wash the feet only for the validity of wudu. A person who does so can put on his khuffs again and wipe over them if he wishes.
2 - When the khuffs come off or when a person takes off his khuffs.
Mas-h is invalidated if khuffs come off on their own or if a person takes off his khuffs. If a person has wudu, it is enough to wash the feet only in that case.
3 - When something that necessitates wudu like sexual intercourse, menstruation and puerperum occurs.
In such cases, mas-h becomes invalid.
A person who fears that his feet will freeze if he takes off his khuffs, he can keep his khuffs even if its time period ends. The time period is not taken into consideration in such a case. The end of excuse is taken into consideration.
Mas-h over bandages
* The cloth wrapped around a wound or an aching organ is called a bandage. If there is a bandage on a wudu organ and if it is harmful to remove it and to wash under it, it is permissible to wipe over the bandage instead of washing that organ or part; thus, it is regarded to have been washed.
The plaster, brace or splint one a broken leg, arm, etc is regarded as the same.
A wound covered by ointment is also regarded as the same.
* It is not necessary to wipe over the whole bandage. It is enough to wipe most of the bandage.
* There is no time limit for the bandage that is wiped over. Mas-h is done as long as the excuse goes on. The sound area around the bandage is washed.
* It is not compulsory for the bandage to have been wrapped while one has wudu.
* If the bandage on a wound comes off or is changed, mas-h is not invalidated. Mas-h does not have to be renewed when a new bandage is placed. The state of wudu continues.
* Mas-h over a bandage is invalidated when the wound heals completely.
Filled or plated teeth are like bandaged wounds or wounds covered with ointment - or an organ stained with paint that prevents water from touching the skin but that is very difficult to remove. It is enough if the water touches the plate or filling.
There are some wajibs of prayer just like its fards. When those wajibs are fulfilled, the incomplete parts of the prayer are regarded to have been completed.
If one or more wajibs are abandoned by mistake, the prayer is valid but its reward decreases. Sajdah as-sahw is performed at the end of the prayer in order to complete the deficiency. Thus, the prayer is completed and the reward does not decrease. If wajibs are abandoned deliberately, that prayer needs to be performed again; sajdah as-sahw is not enough to complete that prayer.
What are the wajibs of the prayer?
Primary wajibs of prayer are as follows:
1 - To read the chapter of al-Fatiha in prayers. It is fard to read the chapter of al-Fatiha according to the other three madhhabs.
2 - To utter the opening takbir fully by saying Allahu Akbar, not by saying Allah only.
3 - To read a short additional chapter, three short verses or one long verse after the chapter of al-Fatiha. An additional chapter or verses are read in the first two rak'ahs of fard prayers.
In supererogatory prayers, an additional chapter or verses are read after the chapter of al-Fatiha in all rak'ahs.
It is sunnah to read an additional chapter or verses in the other madhhabs.
4 - To read the chapter of al-Fatiha before an additional chapter or verses.
5 - Not to perform a rukn more than its legitimate amount; for instance, not to perform 3 sajdahs instead of 2 sajdahs. If something like that is done, a wajib is regarded to have been abandoned.
6 - To put the nose on the ground/floor along with the forehead in sajdah.
7 - To perform the first sitting in three or four-rak'ah prayers after the second rak'ah.
8 - To stand up for the third rak'ah in three or four rak'ah prayers, witr prayers and the sunnah of the noon prayer as soon as reading at-Tahiyyat without losing any time.
If a person does not stand up after at-Tahiyyat and reads salawat and other duas, a wajib is regarded to have been abandoned; so, sajdah as-sahw becomes necessary.
9 - To read at-Tahiyyat in the first and second sittings of prayers.
10 - To perform each wajib in its proper place; not to abandon or delay them. Not to delay the fards. For instance, to bow down without losing any time after finishing qira'ah.
Sajdah as-sahw becomes necessary if a fard is delayed and if a wajib is abandoned and delayed. If a fard is abandoned, the prayer is invalidated.
11 - It is wajib for a person who performs the noon and afternoon prayers alone to read silently (in a way that he will hear it only himself). It is necessary to read like that in the supererogatory prayers that are performed during the day. It is permissible to read silently or aloud in the morning, evening and night prayers.
12 - In the prayers that are performed in congregation, it is wajib for the imam to read aloud in all rak'ahs of the morning, eid, Friday, tarawih and witr prayers, to read silently in all rak'ahs of the noon and afternoon prayers, in the third rak'ah of the evening prayer and the third and four rak'ahs of the night prayer. He needs to read aloud in the first two rak'ahs of the evening and night prayers.
13 - To read the qunut supplications and to utter the qunut takbir in the witr prayer.
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How Many Pillars (Essential Parts) are there in a Prayer?
How Many Pillars (Essential Parts) are there in a Prayer?
There are 12 pillars. 6 of them have to be fulfilled before starting a prayer; they are called the conditions of prayer. The other 6 are the fards that need to be fulfilled after starting a prayer; they are called the pillars of prayers.
The Conditions of Prayer
The conditions of prayers, that is, the pillars of prayer that need to be fulfilled before starting a prayer are as follows:
1 - Taharah from hadath (Removing ritual impurity),
2 - Taharah from Najasah (Removing physical impurity),
3 - Covering the awrah,
4 - Turning toward the qiblah,
5 - Time,
6 - Niyyah (intention).
What is Taharah from Hadath?
It means to be cleaned from hadath; if a person has no wudu (ablution), he needs to make wudu; if he is junub, he needs to make ghusl (bath).
What is Taharah from Najasah?
It means to clean the dirt, if there is any, from one's body, clothes or on the place where he will perform the prayer.
What is Covering the Awrah?
It means to cover the parts that are haram to look at during prayer.
What are the Awrah Parts?
The awrah parts are the parts that have to be covered and that are haram to show to others. The awrah parts of a man are the area between his navel and knees. The awrah parts of a woman are her whole body except her face, hands and feet.
* It is stated that there is no awrah four children up to the age of 4. Awrah is in question for older children.
Awrah is divided into two as ghalizah and khafifah. Awrah ghalizah is the genital organs and the anus. The other parts are awrah khafifah. This difference is about looking, not about prayer.
* Covering the awrah is the right of both the Creator and the creature. Therefore, a person needs to cover his body even when he is alone.
* If a person cannot remove the impurity on his body without opening his awrah parts in the presence of others, he can perform the prayer with the impurity on his body. For, opening the awrah is forbidden. The removal of impurity is ordered. When a prohibition and order are in question, the prohibition is given priority because eliminating the evil is preferred to obtaining a benefit.
* To perform a prayer with dirty clothes is better than performing a prayer naked. When a person faces two troubles, he can choose either of them if they are equal. If one of them is the lesser evil, he has to choose the lesser evil. Dirt is better than nakedness. That is, performing prayers with dirty clothes is preferred to performing prayers naked.
* It is not permissible for a person who has clean clothes to perform a prayer naked in a dark room.
* Awrah places are not regarded to have been covered with thin, transparent clothes like nylon.
* If less than one-fourth of an organ that needs to be covered is opened while performing a prayer, the prayer is not invalidated. If more than one fourth is opened, the prayer is invalidated.
* If a person whose awrah place is opened while performing a prayer covers that part immediately, his prayer is not invalidated. If he covers it after waiting long enough to say subhanallah three times, his prayer is invalidated. This covering should be done using one hand only. The acts done with two hands are regarded as amal kathir and invalidate prayer.
* A person who cannot find any clothes to cover his body needs to turn toward the qiblah, straighten his legs and perform the prayer with gesture. He can also stand and perform the prayer with gesture. However, it is better to perform the prayer by sitting.
* It is not permissible for men to perform prayers wearing silk clothes. However, a person who cannot find anything except silk to wear can perform his prayer by wearing it. He is not allowed to perform the prayer naked.
* It is mustahab for men to put on their clothes and caps while performing prayers. It is permissible to perform prayers by covering only the awrah parts but it is makruh. When there is a necessity, it is not makruh.
* Whether the state of an organ is regarded as awrah or not is based on others not the person himself. It is enough to cover the awrah organs so that others will not see it. Therefore, if a person sees his own awrah parts through his wide collared garment, his prayer is not invalidated. If others see his awrah parts, his prayer is invalidated.
What does Turning toward the Qiblah Mean?
It means to perform the prayer by turning toward the Kaaba, which is in Makkah.
* Qiblah does not consist of the stone building in Makkah. According to the shari'ah, the qiblah is a luminous column extending to the sky and to the middle of the earth. Therefore, a person performs his prayer by turning toward the Kaaba whether he is on a plane or under the ground. Thus, the condition of turning toward the qiblah is fulfilled.
How should a person who does not know the direction of the qiblah perform his prayers?
A person who does not know the direction of the qiblah needs to search where the qiblah is. If he cannot learn it from others, he searches and turns toward the direction he thinks to be the qiblah. If he finds out after performing the prayer that the direction he turned toward was wrong, he does not have to perform that prayer again. However, if he performs the prayer without searching where the qiblah is though it is possible to find out and he turns out to be wrong, he has to perform that prayer again.
* If a person who doubts the direction of the qiblah starts to perform a prayer without searching understands while performing the prayer that he has turned toward the qiblah, he needs to perform that prayer again. For, the prayers he will perform based on full opinion cannot be built upon the rak'ahs he has performed with doubt. The rule "something strong cannot be built upon something weak" necessitates it. However, if he understands after performing the prayer that he has turned toward the qiblah , his prayer is valid. He does not have to perform it again. According to Abu Yusuf, it is not necessary to perform the prayer again in both cases.
* Those who disagree about the direction of the qiblah need to perform their prayers alone. If they perform it in congregation, the prayers of those who do not think that the direction the imam turns toward is not the qiblah are not valid.
* It is valid to perform fard and supererogatory prayers within the Kaaba. One can turn toward any direction there.
If the imam is inside the Kaaba and if the congregation follows him from outside, the prayer becomes valid if the gate of the Kaaba is open.
* When the mihrab is present, it is not permissible to search the qiblah. It is written in Qadihan that it is permissible to search the qiblah even if there is a mihrab.
Why do All Muslims Turn toward the Kaaba?
The reasons why Muslims turn toward the Kaaba, which is the oldest and holiest temple in the world, are to keep the spirit of unity among Muslims active, to illuminate the hearts with the divine joy and luminosity of a common worship, etc. Turning toward the same qiblah is a means of establishing full love and universal fraternity by eliminating the difference of language, color and race.
What is Time?
It means to perform the five daily prayers in the time periods determined for them. It is not permissible to perform a prayer before its time starts. A prayer after the time prescribed for it becomes a missed (qada) prayer.
What does Niyyah (Intention) mean?
Intention means the heart deciding something and knowing why something is done without thinking about it.
Intention about prayer means to want to perform a prayer only for the sake of Allah and to know by heart which prayer to perform.
Intention is something related to the heart. However, it is regarded better if it is also expressed by the tongue.
Is it Necessary to Determine the Time in the Intention for Prayer?
It is not necessary to determine the time for supererogatory prayers. It is enough to say or think through the heart, "I intend to perform a prayer for the sake of Allah."
It is necessary to determine which daily prayer it is for fard prayers. For instance, "I intend to perform today's zuhr prayer."
It is necessary to determine time in eid, janazah and witr prayers like fard prayers.
For qada (missed) prayers, it is necessary to say what prayer will be performed. If it is not known, it is possible to utter the niyyah as follows: "I intend to perform the last noon, afternoon, etc prayer I missed."
When to Utter Niyyah?
It is better to utter niyyah just before the opening takbir. It is permissible to utter niyyah beforehand. However, it is necessary to avoid things that are not related to prayer like eating, drinking and talking. The prayer is not valid if niyyah is uttered after takbir. That is the preferred view. According to another view, the prayer is valid if the niyyah is uttered after Suhanaka and before audhubillahi…
According to Imam Shafii, it is necessary for the niyyah to be close to the opening takbir.
* It is permissible to perform a missed (qada) prayer with the niyyah of a prayer in time and to perform a prayer in time with the niyyah of qada. For instance, if a person performs the noon prayer thinking that it is still the time for the noon prayer and if it is understood later that the time has lapsed, the prayer he has performed is regarded as qada.
* If a person utters niyyah for two fard prayers at a time period, for instance, if he utters niyyah for the noon and afternoon prayer during the time period for the noon prayer, the prayer is regarded as valid for the prayer of that time.
* If a person starts a prayer by uttering niyyah for a fard prayer and then finishes that prayer thinking that he is performing a supererogatory prayer, this prayer is accepted as the fard prayer. For, it is not necessary for the niyyah to be remembered throughout the prayer.
* It is necessary for a person who follows the imam in congregation to utter the niyyah of the prayer and the niyyah for following the imam. For instance, he says, "I intend to perform the fard of the noon prayer and to follow the imam."
* The niyyah for following the imam by the congregation needs to be uttered after the imam starts the prayer by uttering Allahu Akbar according to Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad. However, according to Abu Hanifa, the takbir of the congregation needs to be close to the takbir of the imam. Then, the niyyah needs to be uttered before the opening takbir of the imam.
However, a person who utters takbir and starts to follow the imam before the imam finishes reading the chapter of al-Fatiha receives the reward of starting with the opening takbir of the imam.
* The imam does not have to utter niyyah for leading the prayer. However, if women also follow him in the congregation, he needs to utter niyyah for them. It is enough for such an imam to say, "I intend to be the imam for those who follow me."
