Prayer (Salah)

(PRAYER (Salah

It is words and deeds which begin with (Takbeer) which means saying “Allah is the Greatest (Allaahu Akbar)”, and end with prayer-end greeting (Tasleem).

The five prayers have been made obligatory in Makkah in the Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Jerusalem and his Ascent to the Seventh Heaven, when he reached to the Lote Tree of the farthest limit (Sidrat AL-Muntaha). 

God says ﴾Certainly the believers have succeeded(1)They who are during their prayer humble﴿(2) And says ﴾And they who carefully maintain their prayers﴿ And says ﴾And enjoin prayer up on your family [and people] and be steadfast therein﴿.

●It was narrated from Anas ibn Malik that the Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said, “Allah enjoined fifty prayers upon my nation (Ummah), and I had been going back to Him and asking Him for reduction till He made them five prayers every day and night.” [The Two Scholars].

Upon Whom Prayer is Obligatory?

It is obligatory on the rational adult Muslim (male or female). However, the command of performing it begins at an early age, so that the Muslim accustoms to it from his childhood.

It is the responsibility of parents in this stage of their child’s life till he becomes an adult at the age of eleven or thirteen, then their charge will be providing advice, and applying “Carrot and Stick” approach.

●It was narrated from Amr ibn Shuᶦaib (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet said: “Command your children to perform prayer when they are seven years old, and beat them for (not performing) it when they are ten, and do not let (boys and girls) sleep together.” [Abu-Daoud].

Prayer is The Most Important Pillar of Islam:

Many Prophetic and Sacred traditions are provided in priority and importance of the five prayers, and in warning against leaving or neglecting them. They were one of the Prophet’s priorities. When it was time to pray, the Prophet used to say, “O Bilal, give us comfort by it.” He also said, “My comfort has been provided in prayer.” And if he had a distress, he used to pray and talk intimately to Allah. The Prophet’s last words (recommendation), before his death, were: “Prayer and those your right hands possess (slaves)... Prayer and those your right hands possess." 

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Why are the Five Prayers the Most Important Pillar of Islam

❶They are the only pillar that the Prophet has received from God directly from above seven heavens without inspiration: 
That occurred in the Night Journey of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Jerusalem and his Ascent to the Seventh Heaven, and Muslims committed to performing them in Makkah, in spite of severity of conditions. 
But, obligatory charity, fasting, and pilgrimage have been made obligatory after migration to AL-Madinah, by the trustworthy of inspiration “Gabriel”.

❷They are personal physical worship:
No one can deputize for a Muslim in performing them, and no ransom is accepted instead of them.

●It was narrated from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps and misses it, let him pray it when he remembers it. There is no expiation for it, except this.” [Muslim].

❸They make a Muslim meet his God five times daily, while fasting makes him meet  God for one month per year. 
Obligatory charity and pilgrimage are performed by the one who is capable of them.

❹A rational adult Muslim is not exempted from them at all, as long as he is alive.
They are lapsed only in the case of a menstruating woman and in confinement. 
In case of illness, a Muslim (a man or a woman) prays the patient’s prayer. 
In case of travel, a Muslim can shorten prayers and combine between them.
In case of war, he prays fear prayer.

●Imran ibn Husain reported: “I had piles, so I asked the Prophet about the prayer. He said, ‘Pray while standing and if you cannot, pray while sitting and if you cannot do even that, then pray lying on your side.’” [AL-Bukhari].

●Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: “Allah has enjoined the prayer on the tongue of your Prophet (P.P.B.U.H): two prayer units (rakᶦatain) for the traveller, four prayer units (rakᶦaat) for the resident, and one prayer unit (rakᶦah) in danger.” [Muslim].

❺They include the five Islam pillars:
 They involve testification, which includes the two testimonies. 
Their performance represents the charity of the day that human lives. 
Also, they include fasting; a Muslim refrains from eating and drinking during their performance. 
Finally, in prayer, a Muslim is heading to Kaᶦbah as other Muslims do when they perform pilgrimage.

❻They are the only pillar that has many forms and types.
 For example:

The five obligated prayers, Friday prayer which is performed in a particular way and under special conditions, regular Sunnah prayers which follow each obligatory prayer, occasions prayers as: the two festivals prayers, funeral prayer, or rain-invoking prayer……etc, and emphasized Sunnah practices (Sunan Muᶦakkadah) like optional   night prayer, forenoon prayer…..etc.

❼They are the only pillar that if a Muslim is lazy in performing it or he forgets it, he will be in the group of hypocrites.
God says ﴾Indeed, the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily﴿ Chapter of Women.
  
And He says ﴾They have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger and that they come not to prayer except while they are lazy and that they do not spend    except while they are unwilling﴿ Chapter of Repentance.

He also says ﴾So woe to those who pray(4)[But] who are heedless of their prayer﴿(5) Chapter of Neighborly Needs [Surat AL-Maaoon].

❽They are the pillar that if a Muslim leaves it, he will be an unbeliever:

●It was narrated from Buraidah (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (P.P.B.U.H) said, “The covenant that differentiates us from them (the unbelievers) is our performance of prayer. Whoever leaves it becomes an unbeliever.” [AL-Tirmidhi].

●Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (P.P.B.U.H) said: “Between a man and polytheism and disbelief is the abandonment of prayer.” [Muslim].

❾They are the first deed for which a servant of Allah is held accountable on the Day of Judgment.

●It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (P.P.B.U.H) said, “The first of man’s deeds for which he will be called to account on the Day of Judgment will be prayer. 
If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful; if it is incomplete, he will    be unfortunate and a loser. 
If any shortcoming is found in the obligatory prayer, the Lord (Almighty and Sublime) says: ‘Look and see if you can find any voluntary prayers with which to complete what is lacking from his obligatory prayers.’ Then, the rest of his actions will be treated in the same manner.”   [AL-Tirmidhi].

❿They are the key way leading to Paradise.

●It was narrated from Ibadah ibn AL-Samit that the Prophet said: “Allah (The Almighty and Sublime) has written five prayers for mankind and whoever does them and    does not neglect any of them out of disregard towards them, will have a promise   from Allah that He will admit him to Paradise.” [Abu-Daoud, AL-Nasaᶦi, and Ibn Majah].

●Uthman ibn Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (P.P.B.U.H) saying, “When the time for a prescribed prayer comes, if any  Muslim performs its ablution and its acts of humbleness and bowing well, it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin, and this applies for ever.” [Muslim].

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The Provision of The Abandonment of Prayer

a) If a Muslim abandons prayer denying its obligation and not confessing it, he will be an unbeliever. Prayer is one of the five Islam pillars, so the one who abandons it is      considered an apostate, i.e., he is killed, not washed, not shrouded, not prayed over him, and not buried in Muslim graveyards.

b) If he abandons it due to laziness, but he confesses its obligation, he will be invited to repentance. If he does not perform prayer again, he will be killed and considered a  hypocrite. But he will be dealt as a Muslim, i.e., he will be washed, shrouded, prayed over him and buried in Muslim graveyards.

Read also
Prayer times
Prayer validity conditions, pillars, and Sunan
Things in which a man differs from a woman in prayer
Prostration of forgetfulness
Some notes about prayer
Prayer shortening and combination
Group prayer
Friday prayer (Salat Al-Jumuaa)
Sunnah and Voluntary prayers

          

    

(Pillars of Islam (Arkaan AL-Islam

(Pillars of Islam (Arkaan AL-Islam

❶Testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

❷Establishment of prayer (Salah).         

❸Payment of obligatory charity (Zakah).

❹Fasting the month of Ramadan (Saum).

❺Performing pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House of Allah (Kaᶦbah) for whoever is able to bear the journey.

Pillars of Islam are of three types:

1) Physical worship, as prayer and fasting.   

2) Financial worship, as charity.

3) Both physical and financial, as pilgrimage.

Necessary Correction:

Some people incorrectly think that the five pillars of Islam are enough for a Muslim to be forgiven for his bad treatment of others. And this is a mistaken belief, as Islam and faith are the summation of success in life elements which are: religion and this world, or acts of worship and transactions.

Here is an example for clarification:

Suppose that Islam is a great palace. The five pillars of Islam would serve as the walls and columns, and dealing with people (i.e., purchase, marriage, education, neighborhood and social relationships) would serve as the doors and windows that make this palace livable. Success in performing acts of worship does not substitute for success in transactions.

God’s rights:

He may tolerate in them, if His servant’s repentance is sincere.

Servants’ rights: 

Are based on miserliness, so on Judgment Day, the servant needs critically to have merits to avoid going to hell. To be more precise, we will provide these two traditions:

●In Sahih Muslim, Abu-Hurairah reported that the Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said:“Do you know who is the bankrupt?” They said: “The bankrupt among us is the one who has neither money with him nor any property.” 
He said, “The real bankrupt of my nation (Ummah) is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment with prayers, fasts and obligatory charity, but he comes having abused this one, falsely accusing that one, unlawfully consuming the wealth of this one, spilling the blood of that one, and beating this one. 
So his merits are credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hands). And if his merits are exhausted before they clear the account, then their sins will be entered in his account and he will be thrown in the Hell.”

●In Sahih AL-Bukhari, Abu-Hurairah reported that the Prophet said, “Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Judgment when there will be no money (to compensate for wrong deeds), but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken from him according to his oppression which he has done, and if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him.”

So, a Muslim who wants to escape going to hell, should consider his situation from God’s rights and people’s rights daily before he meets God.

It remains for us to mention that, these five pillars are essential in a Muslim’s faith, so whoever denies one of them is an infidel according to scholars’ consensus.

 A delegation from Thaqif came to the Prophet offering to be Muslims without performing prayers, but the Prophet refused and said: “There is no good in a religion with no prayer.” And when some Muslims refused to pay obligatory charity (Zakah), Abu Bakr spoke loudly and said, “By Allah, I will kill those who differentiated between prayer and charity.”

Indeed, whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah, but refuses to testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, is NOT a Muslim according to scholars’ consensus.

Read also
Prayer (Salah)      
Obligatory Charity (Zakah)
Fasting (Saum)
Pilgrimage (Hajj) and (Umrah)

The tooth stick = Miswaak = Siwaak

(THE TOOTH STICK = (Miswaak) = (Siwaak

Using tooth stick for teeth cleaning is recommended in each time, except after sunset for the fasting person. The best tooth stick is that taken from Arak trees (Salvadora persica).

Tooth stick is recommended in three conditions:

1) Upon feeling of changed mouth smell.

2) After getting up.

3) Before rising to perform prayer.

It is a Sunnah to hold it with the right hand, and begin with the right side of the mouth.

● It was narrated from ᶦAᶦishah (May Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said: “The tooth stick purifies the mouth and pleases God.” [AL-Nasaᶦi].

● It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said, “If I had not found it difficult for my community, I would have commanded them to use the tooth stick before every prayer.”

And in another narration: I would have commanded them to use the tooth stick before every ablution. [Narrated by the Two Scholars].    

Sand ablution = earth purification = Tayammum

SAND ABLUTION = EARTH PURIFICATION = (Tayammum)

Definition: It is wiping face and hands along with elbows with pure sand instead of ablution or washing an organ.

It has been ordained in the fourth or the sixth year of Hijrah. 
God says ﴾And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving﴿ Chapter of Women. Verse NO 43

● It was narrated from ᶦAᶦishah (May Allah be pleased with her) that she borrowed a necklace from Asmaa and it was lost. So, Allah’s Apostle sent a man to search for it and he found it. Then, the time of the prayer became due and there was no water. They complained to Allah’s Apostle about it, so the verse of sand ablution was revealed. [AL-Bukhari].

Conditions of Performing Sand-Ablution:

1) Intention.                                                        

2) Wiping face after the first strike.                                        

3) Wiping hands along with elbows after the second strike.

4) Previous steps have to be performed in the same order in which they are mentioned (i.e., striking the earth, then wiping the face, and striking the earth again, then wiping the hands along with the elbows).

Invalidators of Sand Ablution:

 They are the same as invalidators of ablution, and in addition:              

1) Occurrence of water, before or after performing sand ablution, so that it is before prayer.               

2) The ability of using water for those who had been unable to use it before.

Note that:

❶ Imam Shafii has seen that a Muslim must perform sand ablution before each obligated prayer or before each Kaᶦbah’s circumambulation, but he can perform sand ablution, only once, before more than one optional prayer.

❷ It isn’t allowed to use the dust of gypsum or lime. Sand-ablution must be performed using normal earth, even if it is in a small amount.

❸ If a Muslim performed sand ablution, then water appeared before the prayer, his sand ablution became invalid and he would have to perform ablution (Wuduᶦ).                              

(Ablution (Wuduᶦ

Ablution (Wuduᶦ)

Its Legitimacy: 

It has been made obligatory in the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Jerusalem and his Ascent to the Seventh Heaven. It has been made obligatory together with prayer.

 It was an obligation to perform ablution before each prayer. But then, this provision has become abrogated in the Battle of the Trench, in the fifth year of Hijrah (5 A.H). It has become obligatory only to remove the minor ritual impurity.

Ablution Validity Conditions:

1) Water is pure, not mixed with other substances.

2) Water must be not previously used for purification.

3) There is not any barrier which prevents the reach of water to the skin. But if there are wounds dressed in bandages that can be endangered, sand ablution upon them is a must.

4) Perfect ablution, which means to be sure of washing an organ carefully, and beyond what is required.

● ᶦUthman ibn Affan (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (P.P.B.U.H) said, “He who performs ablution perfectly (i.e., according to Sunnah), his sins will come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails.” [Muslim]. 

● It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah, that the Messenger of Allah said: “Do you think that if there was a river by the door of any one of you, and he bathed in it five times each day, would there be any trace of dirt left on him?” They said: “No trace of dirt would be left on him.” He said, “That is the likeness of the five daily prayers. By means of them, Allah erases sins.” [The Two Scholars].

● It was narrated from Abi-Hurairah, that the Messenger of Allah said: “On the day of Judgment, my followers (Ummah) will come with bright faces, hands, and feet from the traces of ablution. Whoever can increase the area of his radiance, should do so.” [AL Bukhari]. 

● Ibn ᶦAmr ibn EL-ᶦAs (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: A group of people hurried and performed ablution hastily, so their heels appeared not touched with water. So, the Messenger of Allah said, “Woe to the heels because of the hell-fire… Make your ablution thorough.” [Muslim].

Ablution Obligations:

1) Intention.

2) Washing the whole face, lengthwise: from the hair root (the top of forehead) to the down of chin bone, and widthwise: in between the ears.

3) Washing the hands along with the elbows.   
4) Wiping some of the head or all of it.

5) Washing the legs along with the heels.

6) Previous steps have to be performed in the same order in which they are mentioned.

● The Prophet said: “Begin with what Allah had begun with.” [Reported by AL-Nasaᶦi].

God says ﴾O you who believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the heels﴿ Chapter of the Table (AL-Maᶦidah).

The Sunnah Practices of Ablution:

1) Mentioning the name of Allah.            

2) Washing the hands.

3) Wiping all of the two ears.                    

4) Rinsing the mouth and rinsing the nose.
5) Entering water through the thick beard, and in between fingers and toes.

● The Prophet said: “Perform ablution perfectly and let water run between your fingers.” [AL-Tirmidhi].

6) Beginning with the right organ, then followed by the left organ.
7) Succession of ablution acts.

Ablution Disliked Acts:

1) Wasting water. 
                                     
2) Washing the organ more or less than three times.

●Ibn ᶦUmar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) passed by Saᶦd when he was performing ablution, and he said: “What is this extravagance?” Saᶦd said, “Can there be any extravagance in ablution?” The Prophet said: “Yes, even if you are on the bank of a flowing river.”

3) If a person gets someone else for ablution, in spite of his ability to do it on his own.

4) Exaggeration in rinsing water in the mouth, and in rinsing water in the nose during fasting.

● Laqit ibn Sabra (May Allah be pleased with him) said, “I said to the Messenger of Allah: ‘Tell me about ablution.’ And he said: ‘Perform a perfect ablution, run water between the fingers and toes, and if not fasting, sniff water up well inside the nose.’” [Abu-Daoud and AL-Tirmidhi].

● It was narrated that Amr ibn Absah said: “The Messenger of Allah said, ‘When a person performs ablution and washes his face, as God commanded, his sins exit through his face with water. When he washes his hands along with his elbows, his sins exit through his fingertips with water. When he wipes his head, his sins exit through his hair ends with water. When he washes his feet along with his heels, his sins exit his toes with water.’” [Muslim]. 

Invalidators of ablution (things that cause the minor ritual impurity):

1) Sleeping.                         
2) What comes from the two natural orifices (front or back private parts).    
3) When there is no mind due to syncope, drunkenness, illness, or madness. A person, in one of these states, is to perform ablution after he becomes awake.                                4) When an adult male touches an adult female, who is not a Mahram to him, without a barrier, even if she is dead.

N.B Mahram means: Unmaritable relation – husband or any other relative to whom a woman is prohibited to marry (like her uncle, father, brother). Or, wife or any other relative to whom a man is prohibited to marry (like his aunt, mother, sister).

5) When a person touches his private part or the private part of someone else with his palm either the toucher or the touched one is young or old.

● The Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said, “Whoever touches his sexual organ, let him perform ablution.”   [AL-Tirmidhi].

                                                                                                                                                                 Read also
Sand Ablution (Tayyammum)