Sponsorlu Bağlantılar
Konunun ingilizce olma sebebleri bazı arkadaşlarımızın yabancı tanıdıklarına konuyu daha iyi anlatabilmeleri için...
sitede konuyla ilgili araştırma yapmak isteyipte bulamıyan ziyaretçiler içindir.
Konu Başlıkları
The importance of namâz
Namâz and kufr
The virtues in namâz
Those who steal from their own namâz
The five daily namâzes
The fards of the namâz
What amount of najâsat prevents the performance of namâz?
What is the meaning of awrat parts?
Istiqbâl-i qibla
Prayer (namâz) times
The times at which it is makrûh to perform namâz
Adhân and iqâmat
Making niyyat [intention] for the namâz
The fards that are inside the namâz (rukns)
How do we perform namâz?
The namâzes of women
Things that nullify namâz
The wâjibs of namâz
The sunnats of the namâz
The mustahabs of the namâz
sitede konuyla ilgili araştırma yapmak isteyipte bulamıyan ziyaretçiler içindir.
Konu Başlıkları
The importance of namâz
Namâz and kufr
The virtues in namâz
Those who steal from their own namâz
The five daily namâzes
The fards of the namâz
What amount of najâsat prevents the performance of namâz?
What is the meaning of awrat parts?
Istiqbâl-i qibla
Prayer (namâz) times
The times at which it is makrûh to perform namâz
Adhân and iqâmat
Making niyyat [intention] for the namâz
The fards that are inside the namâz (rukns)
How do we perform namâz?
The namâzes of women
Things that nullify namâz
The wâjibs of namâz
The sunnats of the namâz
The mustahabs of the namâz
The importance of namâz
Since Âdam (alaihissalâm), there was namâz [ritual prayer] once a day in every religion. All that had been performed were brought together and were made fard [commanded] for us. Although performing namâz is not a pillar of îmân [belief], it is a pillar of îmân to believe that namâz is fard. “Namâz” means “duâ.” The ‘ibâdat that is commanded by the Sharî’at and which we all know was named “namâ.” Performing the five daily prayers of namâz is fard-i ’ayn for every Muslim who has reached the age of puberty. That it is fard is openly stated in the Qur’ân and hadîths. Five daily prayers of namâz became a commandment on the Mi’râj night. The Mi’râj happened on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Rajab a year before the Hegira. Before the Mi’râj, only the morning and afternoon prayers were performed. A child must be ordered to perform namâz at the age of seven and should be beaten if it does not perform it at the age of ten. It is also necessary to teach other ibâdats to children at this age, to accustom them to doing them, and to prevent them from sins.
For the purpose of showing the importance of fard namâz, Muhammad Rabhâmî (rahmatullahi alaih) wrote the Persian book Riyâd-un-nâsihîn, a collection from four hundred and forty-four books, in India in 853 A.H., in the twelfth chapter of the first section of the second part of which he said:
“In the two fundamental books of Islam called Sahîhayn [Bukhârî and Muslim], Rasûlullah (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam) asked in a hadîth-i sherîf reported by Jâbir bin ‘Abdullah (radiy-Allahu ’anh): “If there were a river in front of one’s house and if he washed himself in this river five times every day, would there be any dirt left on him?” We [Jâbir ibn ‘Abdullah and other Sahâbîs present there] said, “No, O Rasûlallah.” The Prophet said, “Likewise, minor sins of those who perform the five daily prayers are forgiven.” [Some ignorant people, upon hearing this hadîth, say, “Then, I will both perform namâz and amuse myself as I wish. My sins will be forgiven anyhow.” This thought is not correct because a namâz that is performed observing its conditions and âdâb and is accepted will cancel sins. In fact, even if minor sins are forgiven, continuing to commit or insisting on minor sins will become grave sins. And insisting on committing grave sins will cause kufr (disbelief.)]
Ibn Jawzî wrote in Tafsîr-i-Mugnî: “Abû Bakr-i Siddîq (radiy-Allahu ’anh) said that, when the time of a daily prayer of namâz comes, angels say, ‘O the sons of Âdam, stand up! Extinguish the fire prepared to burn human beings by performing namâz.’” In a hadîth-i sherîf, it was said, “The difference between the Believer and the unbeliever is namâz,” that is, the Believer performs namâz, and the unbeliever does not. Munâfiqs, however, sometimes perform it and sometimes do not. Munâfiqs will undergo very bitter torment in Hell. ‘Abdullah ibn Abbâs (radiy-Allahu ’anh), the leader of mufassirs, said that he heard Rasûlullah say, “Those who do not perform namâz will find Allahu ta’âlâ angry on the Day of Resurrection.”
The imâms of hadîth unanimously said, “People who do not perform a namâz in its due time intentionally, that is, if they are not sorry for not performing a namâz while its due time is ending, will become kâfirs or will lose their îmân during their death. What will become of those who do not remember namâz or see namâz as a duty?” The Ahl as-Sunnat savants unanimously said, “Ibâdât are not a part of îmân.” But there was not a unanimity concerning namâz. The fiqh imâms, Imâm Ahmed Ibn Hanbel, Is’hâq ibn Rahawayh, ‘Abdullah ibn Mubârak, Ibrâhîm Nahâî, Hakem ibn Hutayba, Ayyûb Sahtiyânî, Dâwûd Tâî, Abû Bakr ibn Shayba and Zubeyr ibn Harb and many other great savants, said that one who does not perform a namâz intentionally becomes a kâfir. Then, O Muslim Brother, do not miss any namâz and do not be slack; perform it with love! If Allahu ta’âlâ punishes according to the ijtihâd of these savants on the Day of Judgement, what will you do?
Tafsîr-i Mugnî says, “One of the superiors asked the devil what he should do to become damned like him. The devil was pleased and said, ‘If you want to be like me, do not pay attention to namâz and take an oath on everything right or wrong, that is take an oath very much!’ That person said, ‘I will never neglect namâz and will not take any oath from now on. ’” In the Hanbalî Madhhab, a Muslim who does not perform a namâz without an excuse will be put to death like a murtad [renegade], and his corpse will not be washed or shrouded, nor will his janâza namâz be performed. He will not be buried in Muslims’ cemetery, and his grave will not be made distinguishable. He will be put in a hollow on the mountain. In the Shâfi’î Madhhab, one who persists in not performing namâz does not become a murtad, but the punishment will be death. That the Mâlikî Madhhab is the same as the Shâfi’î in this respect is written in Ibni ’Âbidîn and on the sixty-third page of the translation of Milal-nihâl. And in the Hanafî Madhhab, he is imprisoned until he begins namâz or beaten until bleeding. [However, he who attaches no importance to namâz or who does not know it as a duty will be a kâfir in all the four madhhabs. It is written in the subject of the afflictions incurred by the tongue in Al-hadîqa that he becomes a kâfir according to the Hanafî Madhhab, too, if he neglects namâz intentionally and does not think of performing its qadâ and does not fear that he will be tormented for this.] Allahu ta’âlâ did not order non-Muslims to perform namâz or to fast. They are not honored with the commandments of Allahu ta’âlâ. They are not punished for not performing namâz or for not fasting. They only deserve Hell, which is the punishment for kufr.
In the book Zâd-ul-muqwîn, it is said: “Early savants wrote that those who do not do five things are deprived of five things:
1- They who do not give the zakât of their property do not get any benefit from their property.
2- In the land and earning of people who do not give their ’ushr, there is no abundance left.
3- Health is absent in the body of a person who does not give alms.
4- People who do not pray will not attain to their wishes.
5- People who do not want to perform a namâz when its
time comes cannot say the Kalima-i shahâdat at their last breath. A person who does not perform namâz because of laziness although he believes that it is the first duty, is a fâsiq. He is not the peer of a sâliha [pious] girl, that is, he does not deserve and is not suitable for her.” As it is seen, not performing the fard namâz causes one to die without îmân. Continuing to perform namâz causes the enlightenment of the heart and the attainment of endless bliss. Our Prophet (sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam) declared, “Namâz is nûr,” that is, it brightens the heart in the world and illuminates the Sirât in the next world.” (Riyâd-un-nâsihîn)
A hadîth-i sherîf, quoted in the book Qurratul’uyûn,
declares, “If a person does not perform namâz though he has no good excuse, Allahu ta’âlâ will give him fifteen kinds of plague. Six of them will come in the world, three will come at the time of death, three will come in the grave, and three will come when rising from the grave. The six plagues in the world are:
1- A person who does not perform namâz will not have barakat in his lifetime.
2- He will not have the beauty, the lovableness peculiar to those who are loved by Allahu ta’âlâ.
3- He will not be given thawâb for any good he does.
4- His prayers (duâs) will not be accepted.
5- No one will like him.
6- Blessings that (other) Muslims invoked on him will do him no good.
Kinds of torment he will suffer when dying are:
1- He will expire in an abhorrent, unsightly, repugnant manner.
2- He will die hungry.
3- Much water as he may have, he will die with painful
thirst.
Kinds of torment he will suffer in the grave are:
1- The grave will squeeze him. His bones will intertwine.
2- His grave will be filled with fire, which will scorch him day and night.
3- Allahu ta’âlâ will send a huge serpent to his grave. It is not like terrestrial serpents. It will sting him at every prayer time each day. It will never leave him alone any moment.
Kinds of torment he will suffer after rising are:
1- Angels of torment that will drag him to Hell will never leave him alone.
2- Allahu ta’âlâ will meet him with wrath.
3- His account will be settled in a very vehement manner, and he will be flung into Hell.”
Namâz and kufr
Namâz is the most important of the arch-stones of Islam. Allahu ta’âlâ made namâz fard so that His slaves would worship Him only. The hundred and third âyat of Sûrat-un-Nisâ’ purports that namâz became fard, the times of which are definite, for the Believers. A hadîth-i sherîf declares, “Allahu ta’âlâ has made it fard to perform namâz five times every day. Allahu ta’âlâ has promised that He will send to Paradise a person who performs namâz five times every day esteeming it highly and observing its conditions.” Namâz is the most valuable of worships. A hadîth declares, “He who does not perform namâz has no share from Islam!” A hadîth-i sherîf quoted in Mishkât, and in Kunûz-ud-daqâiq, and in Sahîhayn, and in Halabî declares, “Difference between man and disbelief is to give up namâz!” It does not mean, “Men and disbelief are two separate beings. Between them lies not to perform namâz. When not to perform namâz goes away from between them, that is, when a person performs namâz, the connection between him and disbelief goes up, the two cannot be united, and man will not be a disbeliever.” But it means, “Disbelief is a property. It does not exist alone. It exists with some people. People who have disbelief have not performing namâz.But people who do not have disbelief do not have not performing namâz. Difference between a person who has disbelief and one who does not have disbelief is not performing or performing namâz.”
This hadîth-i sherîf is like the saying, “Difference between man and death is not to breathe.” That is, a person who has death does not breathe. But a person who does not have death does not have (the property) “not breathing.” When a person does not breathe, it will be understood that this one is dead. This hadîth vehemently threatens those who are lazy in performing namâz.
The virtues in namâz
Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî writes in the 20th Letter of the Second Volume of his Maktûbât:
“May hamd-u-thanâ be to Allahu ta’âlâ! Salâmat to the good people whom He loves! O My Dear Brother! This world is the place for work. The next world is the place for getting wages. Strive to do pious actions! The most useful of these actions, the most superior worship is to perform namâz. Namâz is the archstone of the dîn [religion]. It is the mi’râj for Believers. Then, one should do one’s best to perform it well. One should observe its precepts, its conditions, its sunnats and adabs in a manner liked and suitable. When performing namâz, one should be careful about its tumânînat [keeping all one’s limbs motionless in rukû (bowing during namâz), in sajda (prostration), in qawma (standing for a while after straightening up from the bowing position), in jalsa (sitting for a while between the two sajdas)] and about the ta’dîl-i-arkân [to remain motionless for a while after becoming calm at these four places]. Many people, paying no attention to these, have been ruining their namâzes. They have been neglecting the tumânînat and the ta’dîl-i-arkân. It was informed that they will be tormented. When namâz is performed correctly, the hope of salvation will increase. For the archstone of the dîn will then have been erected. The plane to fly to endless bliss will have been boarded.”
Those who steal from their own namâz
What a great blessing it is when the heart is with Allahu ta’âlâ and the body, together with all the limbs, is embellished with doing the rules of the Sharî’at [Islam]. Recently, most people have been slack in performing namâz. They have been slighting the tumânînat and the ta’dîl-i arkân. For this reason, I have to warn you, my beloved ones, about this matter. Listen well! Our Prophet “sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam” declared: “The worst thief is the person who steals from his own namâz.” When he was asked, “O Rasûlallah! How can a person steal from his own namâz?” he said, “By not doing the rukû and sajda of the namâz properly.”
At some other time he declared: “Allahu ta’âlâ does not accept the namâz of a person who does not bring his waist into its proper position and remain so for a while in rukû and sajda.” Once, upon seeing a person not doing the rukû and the sajda properly while performing namâz, our Prophet said, “Are you not afraid you may die in some other religion than Hadrat Muhammad’s dîn because you perform your prayers of namâz in this manner?” Once again, he said, “When performing namâz, if you do not straighten up your body completely after the rukû’, if your each limb does not rest at its position for a while when you are standing, your namâz will not be complete.” Once again, he said, “Unless you sit upright between the two sajdas your namâz will remain incomplete.”
One day, upon seeing someone not observing the rules and rukns [five of the fards of the namâz are inside the namâz. Each of these five fards is also called “a rukn”] of namâz, not standing upright after the ruku’ and not sitting between the sajdas, our Prophet said, “If you go on performing your namâzes in this manner, on the Day of Resurrection you will not be said to be of my Ummat.” At some other time he said, “If you go on in this manner and die, you shall not have died in the religion of Muhammad (alaihissalâm).”
Abû Hurayra (radiy-Allahu ’anh) says, “The person who has performed all namâzes for sixty years but whose namâz has never been accepted is the person who has not done the ruku’ and sajda properly.”
It is said in the book Awsât by Tabarânî that if a Believer performs his namâz beautifully and does its ruku’ and sajda properly, the namâz will become happy and will be full of nûr. Angels will take the namâz up to heavens. The namâz will pronounce a benediction on the person who has performed it and will say, “As you have protected me against being defective, may Allahu ta’âlâ protect you.” If the namâz is not performed well, it will become black. Angels will snub that namâz and will not take it up to the heavens. The namâz will curse the person who has performed it and will say, “As you have wasted me and put me into a bad position, may Allahu ta’âlâ waste you.” Then, we should try to perform our namâzes properly, observe the ta’dîl-i arkân, do the ruku’, the sajda, the qawma and the jalsa well. Also, we should warn others if we see them do these defectively. We should help our brothers-in-Islam perform namâz properly. We should be an example in observing the ta’dîl-i arkân and the tumânînat. Most Muslims have been depriving themselves of the honour of doing this. This blessing has already been lost. It is very important to revivify this good deed. Our Prophet declared: “He who resuscitates any one of my forgotten sunnats will be given the thawâb of a hundred martyrs.” (Maktûbât, Second Volume, 69th Letter)
The five daily namâzes
It is fard [obligatory] for every Muslim who is sane and has reached the age of puberty to perform the five daily namâzes (prayers). When a prayer time comes, it becomes fard for him/her the moment he/she begins performing the prayer. If he/she has not performed it and if there is time left enough to make an ablution and begin the namâz before the prayer time is over, it becomes fard for him/her to perform it. If the prayer time is over before he/she has performed it without an ‘udhr [good excuse] not to do so, he/she will have committed a grave sin. Whether he/she has had a good excuse or not, qadâ will be necessary.
[‘udhr [good excuse]: by a good excuse we mean a situation which Islam recognizes as an excuse that will absolve a Muslim from the responsibility of not performing an Islamic commandment. An excuse of this sort is termed ‘udhr.]
The same applies to situations such as when a child reaches puberty, when a disbeliever or a renegade becomes a Muslim, when a woman becomes canonically clean (i.e. immediately after the cessation of the menses at the end of a menstrual or lochial period), when an insane or unconscious person recovers, and when a sleeping person wakes up. It is fard for a new Muslim to learn the essentials (conditions) of namâz first. After learning them, it becomes fard to perform namâz.
Sleep is not a good excuse if it begins after the prayer time has begun. If you do so, it is fard for you to make sure that you will wake up before the prayer time is over, while it would be mustahab for you to make sure to wake up before the end of the prayer time if you were to go to sleep before the beginning of the prayer time.
These five daily prayers add up to forty rak’ats (units), out of which seventeen are fard [obligatory], three are wâjib [almost as compulsory as fard, so not to be omitted], and twenty are sunnat [act, thing, though not commanded by Allahu ta’âlâ, done and liked by the Prophet (‘alaihissalâm) as an act of worship]:
1- Morning prayer [Salât-ul-fajr] consists of four rak’ats. First, two rak’ats of the sunnat prayer are performed. Then the fard prayer, of two rak’ats, is performed. The sunnat (the first two rak’ats) is very important. Some scholars classify it as wâjib.
2- Early afternoon prayer [Salât-uz-zuhr] consists of ten rak’ats, the initial sunnat consisting of four rak’ats, the fard consisting of four rak’ats, and the final sunnat consisting of two rak’ats. The early afternoon prayer is performed in this order.
3- Late afternoon prayer [Salât-ul-’asr] consists of eight rak’ats. First the sunnat, which consists of four rak’ats, and then the fard, which consists of four rak’ats, are performed.
4- Evening prayer [Salât-ul-maghrib] contains five rak’ats. First the fard, which is composed of three rak’ats, then the sunnat, consisting of two rak’ats, are performed.
5- Night prayer [Salât-ul-’ishâ] consists of thirteen rak’ats. The initial sunnat contains four rak’ats. The fard also contains four rak’ats, and the final sunnat has two rak’ats. After performing these ten rak’ats, you perform the witr prayer which is wâjib.
The initial sunnats of the late afternoon prayer and night prayer are ghayr-i muakkada [unemphatic, omittied from time to time by our blessed Prophet]. When sitting during their second rak’at, after reciting the Attahiyyâtu … , the prayers of Allahumma salli ‘alâ ... and ... bârik ‘alâ ... are recited completely. After standing up for the third rak’at, the prayer Subhânaka ... is recited before saying the Basmala. But the first sunnat of the early afternoon prayer is muakkad [emphatic, practised regularly by our blessed Prophet. They are the shi’âr (symptoms) of the Islâmic religion]. That is, it has been commanded emphatically. There are more thawâbs (blessings) for it. During its second rak’at, as in the fard prayers, only the Attahiyyâtu is said and then we stand up for the third rak’at. After standing up, we first recite the Basmala and then the sûra of Fâtiha.
It is mustahab to perform four more rak’ats after the fard of early afternoon and night prayers and six more rak’ats after the fard of the evening prayer. In other words, it is very blessed. One can perform all of them with one salâm or by saying the salâm after every two rak’ats. In either case the first two rak’ats are deemed to be the final sunnat. These prayers, which are mustahab, can be performed separately after the final sunnats of the two namâzes as well.
The first rak’at commences with the beginning of the prayer and the other rak’ats begin right after standing up, and each rak’at continues until one stands up again. The final rak’at continues until the salâm. No prayers can be less than two rak’ats. All prayers contain an even number of rak’ats, except the fard of the evening prayer and the witr prayer. After the second sajda (prostration) of each second rak’at, we sit. Each rak’at of prayer contains its fards, wâjibs, sunnats, mufsids [things or acts which nullify a prayer], and makrûhs [acts that are improper, disliked, or abstained by the Prophet].
The fards of the namâz
Question: What are the fards [obligatory acts; if any of them is omitted, the namâz will be invalid] of the namâz?
ANSWER
Namâz has 12 fards. Six of them are inside and the other six are outside the namâz. The fards that are inside are termed rukns while those that are outside are termed sharts.
A- The fards that are outside the namâz:
1- Tahârat from hadas:
It means the performance of an ablution by a person who does not have it and performance of a ghusl by those who are junub and who has got out of the states of haid [menstruation] and nifâs [puerperium].
2- Tahârat from najâsat:
People who is to perform namâz must purify their bodies, clothes, the places to perform namâz from najâsat, that is, from the things that are declared to be religiously dirty.
3- Satr-i awrat:
It is to cover awrat parts. Those body parts of people which are harâm [prohibited] for them to open and show others and for others to look at during namâz, or any time, are termed awrat parts. A man’s awrat parts are between his navel and lower parts of his knees. As for a woman, all parts of her body, except her face and hands, are her awrat parts.
4- Istiqbâl-i-qibla:
It is to perform a namâz towards the qibla.
5- Waqt:
It is to perform namâzes in their due times.
6- Niyyat:
It is to make niyyat [intention] by passing through heart when one begins a namâz. It is not considered a niyyat to say orally only. To make niyyat for the namâz means passing through heart its name, time, qibla, and wishing to follow the imâm (if it is performed in jamâ’at). Niyyat is made while saying the takbîr of iftitâh [saying Allahu akbar while beginning namâz].
B- The fards that are inside the namâz:
1- Takbîr of iftitâh:
It means saying “Allahu akbar” when beginning namâz. No other word to replace it is acceptable.
2- Qiyâm:
It means standing when performing namâz. Those who are too ill to stand perform it sitting, and if too ill to sit, they lie down on their back and perform namâz with their head (by moving, nodding, etc.their head).
3- Qiraât:
It means reciting a sûra [a chapter of the Qur’ân al-karîm] or an âyat [a verse of the Qur’ân al-karîm] of the Qur’ân al-karîm.
4- Ruku’:
It means bending and putting the hands on the knees after finishing the qiraât.
5- Sajda:
It means prostrating on the ground after the ruku’.
6- Qa’da-i-âkhira [last sitting]:
It means sitting in the last rak’at as long as it would take to say the prayer “Attahiyyâtu.”
What amount of najâsat prevents the performance of namâz?
Question: What does tahârat from najâsat mean?
ANSWER
It means that there must be no najâsat [substances which Islam prescribes as dirty] or impurity on the body, on the clothes of people performing namâz [ritual prayer] or on the place where they perform namâz. A kerchief, a headgear, a skull-cap, a turban, masts [waterproof shoes covering the part of the foot which is fard to wash (in ablution)] and na’ls [clogs] are considered clothings. Since the hanging part of a scarf wrapped around one’s neck moves as one moves when performing the namâz, it is included with the clothes, and the namâz will not be accepted if the rest of the cloth is not clean. When those parts where one steps and puts one’s head on the cloth spread on the ground are clean, the namâz will be accepted even if there is najâsat on its other parts. For the cloth, unlike the scarf, is not united with the body. But the namâz of a person carrying urine in a closed bottle is not accepted. For the bottle is not the place where the urine is produced. [Hence it is not permissible to perform namâz while you have in your pocket a closed bottle of blood, tincture of iodine or spirit; or a closed box containing a bloody handkerchief or a piece of cloth smeared with najâsat.]
The places where your two feet step and where you put your head must be clean. The namâz performed on cloth, glassware or nylon spread or put on najâsat is accepted. There is no harm done if your skirt touches some dry najâsat when prostrating.
If the qaba [heavy] najâsat is not as much as one dirham [a unit of weight that is equal to 4.8 g] or more on one’s skin or clothes or on the place where one performs the namâz, the namâz will be accepted. But if there is as much as a dirham, it is makrûh tahrîmî [an improper, disliked act which is close to harâm], and it is wâjib [essential, almost obligatory, almost as compulsory as fard, so not to be omitted] to wash it. If it is more than a dirham, it is fard [obligatory] to wash it. If it is less than a dirham, it is sunnat [act, thing, though not commanded by Allâhu ta’âlâ, done and liked by the Prophet (‘alaihissalâm) as an act of worship] to wash it. Some scholars say that it is fard to wash away even a drop of wine. According to the Imâmayn [Imâm-i Abû Yûsuf and Imâm-i Muhammad, the two great scholars in the Hanafî Madhhab] and the other three madhhabs, it is fard to wash even a mote of any qaba najâsat completely. Najâsat is measured according to how much najâsat is on you when starting to perform the namâz, not when you are smeared with it.
A dirham is a weight of one mithqal, that is, four grams and eighty centigrams of solid najâsat. With fluid najâsat, it is an area as large as the surface of the water in the palm of one’s open hand. When solid najâsat less than one mithqal is spread over an area larger than the palm of a hand on one’s clothes, it does not nullify the namâz.
There are two kinds of najâsat:
1- Qaba [heavy, ghalîz] najâsat: All things that necessitate an ablution or a ghusl when they issue from the human body, flayed but not tanned skin, flesh, excrement and urine of those animals whose flesh cannot be eaten [except a bat] and of their young; blood of man and of all animals; wine, carrion, pork, excrement of domestic fowls, excrement of pack animals and sheep and goats are ghalîz, that is, qaba.
2- Khafîf [light] najâsat: When one-fourth of a limb or a fourth of one’s clothes is smeared with khafîf najâsat, it does not negatively affect the namâz. The urine of edible quadruped animals and the excrement of those birds whose flesh is not edible are khafîf. The excrement of such edible fowls as pigeons and sparrows is clean.
Raki and spirit obtained from distilled wine are qaba najâsat, and, like wine, it is harâm [prohibited] to drink them. Before beginning namâz, blood, spirit, or alcoholic drinks must be cleaned from one’s clothes and skin. When they evaporate, the place they exist does not become purified. If one has a bottle containing these substances or other such things in one’s pocket, one must take them out.
Najâsat can be cleaned with clean water, with water that has been used for an ablution or a ghusl, or with nonviscous liquids, such as vinegar and rose-water. Water that has been used for an ablution or a ghusl is called musta’mal water. This water is clean, but not a cleaner of hadas [the state of being without an ablution or a ghusl]. Najâsat can be cleaned with it; however, one cannot make another ablution or ghusl by using that water.
What is the meaning of awrat parts?
Question: What is the meaning of “awrat parts”? How to cover oneself in order to obey it during namâz?
ANSWER
Those parts of a discreet and pubescent person’s body that are harâm [prohibited] for him/her to leave uncovered during the performance of a namâz and/or whenever in company, and which are equally harâm for others to look at, are called awrat parts. Men and women were commanded to cover their awrat parts through the Sûras of Ahzâb and Nûr, which were revealed in the third year of the Hegira. In the Hanafî and Shâfi’î Madhhabs, a man’s awrat parts for namâz are between his navel and lower parts of his knees. The knees are awrat in the Hanafî and the navel is awrat in the Shâfi’î. The namâz performed with these parts open is not acceptable. When performing the namâz, it is sunnat for men to cover their other parts [arms, head, and feet]. It is makrûh for them to perform the namâz with these parts exposed.
As for women, their all parts, except their palms and faces, including their wrists, outer parts of their hands, their hair and feet are awrat for namâz in the four madhhabs. There are also valuable books saying that outer parts of hands are not awrat. According to them, it is permissible for women to perform namâz while outer parts of their hands up to wrists are bare. But, for having followed all the books, it is better for women to perform namâz wearing a gown with sleeves long enough, or a head cover large enough, to cover their hands. If one-fourth of a man’s or woman’s awrat part remains bare as long as one rukn, the namâz becomes annulled. If a smaller part remains exposed, the namâz does not become nullified. Thin tissue that lets the shape or colour of the thing under it be seen is equal to none.
When a sick person who lies naked under a blanket performs namâz by signs with his head inside the blanket, he has performed it naked. If he performs it keeping his head outside the blanket, he will have performed it by covering himself, which is acceptable.
When alone and not performing namâz, it is fard for women to cover between their knees and navels, wâjib to cover their backs and bellies, and adab to cover their other parts.
It is harâm for men to look at the awrat parts of other men and for women to look at those of other women. As it is harâm for men to look at women’s awrat parts and vice versa, so it is equally harâm for men and women to look at the awrat parts of their own sexes. A man’s part of awrat for other men are the same as those of a woman for other women: the area between the knees and navel. In the Hanafî Madhhab, the knees are awrat, but the navel is not awrat. Likewise, the awrat parts of a woman for other women are as such. A woman’s parts of awrat for men nâ-mahram to her, on the other hand, are all her body with the exception of the hands and face. It is harâm to look at the awrat parts of nâ-mahram women even without the feeling of lust.
[mahram: one of the eighteen women whom Islam has prescribed as a man’s close relatives, and vice versa; nâ-mahram: not one of the eighteen women whom Islam has prescribed as a man’s close relatives, and vice versa.] It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:
(O My Messenger, “sall-Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallam”! Tell the Believers not to look at harâms and to protect their awrat parts against harâms! Tell those women who have îmân not to look at harâms and to protect their awrat parts from committing harâms.) [Sûrat-un-Nûr 30]
It is stated in hadîth-i sharîfs:
(The eyes of a person who looks at a nâ-mahram woman lustfully will be filled with fire and he will be flung down into Hell. The arms of a person who shakes hands with a nâ-mahram woman will be tied around his neck and then he will be sent down to Hell. Those who talk with a nâ-mahram woman lustfully without any necessity will remain in Hell a thousand years for each word.) [Riyâd-un-nâsihîn]
(Looking at one’s neighbour’s wife or at one’s friends’ wives is ten times as sinful as looking at nâ-mahram women. Looking at married women is one thousand times as sinful as looking at girls. So are the sins of fornication.) [Riyâd-un-nâsihîn]
(On the Day of Judgment, melted hot lead will be poured into the eyes of those who look lustfully at the faces of women who are nâ-mahram to them.) [Majma’ul-anhur]
(If a person, upon seeing a nâ-mahram girl, fears Allah’s torment and turns his face away from her, Allahu ta’âlâ will make him enjoy the taste of worships.) [Hâkim, Bayhaqî, Abû Dâwud]
A man, if he feels secure of lust, can look at the heads, faces, necks, arms, legs below the knees of the eighteen women who are harâm for him to marry by nikâh [Islamic marriage contract]. He cannot look at their breasts, at spaces under their arms, at their flanks, thighs, knees, or upper parts of their back.
Paternal and maternal uncles’ or paternal or maternal aunts’ sons are not mahram to a woman. The situation is the same with brothers-in-law of a woman. It is harâm for her to talk to them, joke with one another, or to stay alone [halwat] with them in the same room. It is, in turn, harâm for a man to talk to his sisters-in-law and paternal or maternal uncles’ and paternal or maternal aunts’ daughters.
It is etarnally harâm for a man to marry eighteen mahram women. He can talk to and stay alone with them in the same room. A woman, in the same way, cannot marry eighteen mahram men.
It is gravely sinful for women to go out with bare head, hair, arms and legs, to let their voice be heard by nâ-mahram men without necessity, to sing to them, to let them hear their voices through films or records or by reading the Qurân-al karîm or by reciting the mawlid or the adhân.
Seven or ten year old attractive girls as well as all girls who have reached the age of fifteen or the age of puberty are equivalents to women. It is harâm for such girls to show themselves with bare head, hair, arms and legs to nâ-mahram men, or to sing to them, or to talk to them softly and gracefully. Women are permitted to talk to nâ-mahram men seriously in a manner that will not cause fitna when there is necessity such as buying and selling.
It is harâm for women and girls to go out with dresses that are thin or tight or of fur, wearing their ornaments such as ear-rings and bracelets without covering them, wearing like men, cutting their hair short like men. Therefore, it is not permissible for them to wear trousers, not even ample ones. Trousers are men’s clothing.
It is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(Those women who dress themselves like men and those men who ornament themselves like women are accursed.) [Targhîb-us-salât]
Istiqbâl-i qibla
Question: What does the term “istikbâl-i qibla”, which is one of the conditions of namâz, mean?
ANSWER
It means performing namâz towards the Qibla; it does not mean performing it for the Qibla. Qibla is the direction of the building of Ka’ba located in Mecca. Formerly the Qibla used to be Quds (Jerusalem). Seventeen months after the Hegira, at the third rak’at of the early afternoon or late afternoon prayer of a Tuesday in the middle of Sha’bân, Muslims were çöcommanded to turn towards Ka’ba. According to Hanafî and Mâlikî Madhhabs, namâz will be accepted if the opening between the crosswise directions of the optic nerves includes Ka’ba. This angle is approximately 45°.
The Qibla is not the building of Ka’ba; it is its building plot. That is, that space from the Earth to ’Arsh is the Qibla. For this reason, a person who is down in a well, [under the sea], on top of a high mountain [or on a plane] can perform namâz in that direction.
It is permissible, even when performing the namâz that is fard, to deviate from the direction of Qibla when there is the fear of illness, enemy or thief, or by mistake, but it is a must to turn towards the Qibla when performing it on a ship or train.
At places where there is no mihrâb [it is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla] and where the Qibla cannot be found by calculation or with the help of the Pole-Star [a compass], true Muslims who know which direction the Qibla is must be consulted. We should not ask disbelievers, fâsiqs [people who sin frankly], or children. Disbelievers and sinners can be believed in mu’amalât (business transactions and social dealings), but not in diyânât [worships]. When you have no one with you who knows about the Qibla, you need not look for one. You must search for it yourself and then perform namâz towards the direction you have decided to be the Qibla. If later you find out that it was the wrong direction, you do not have to perform the namâz again.
If people who do not know the direction of Qibla perform namâz without looking at the mihrâb or asking someone who knows or trying to find out, their namâz will not be accepted even if they have found the Qibla by chance. But if they find out after the namâz that they have found the right direction, it will be accepted. If they find it out during the namâz, it will not be accepted. If they have inquired for the Qibla but have not performed the namâz in the direction which they have decided to be right, they have to perform it again even if they understand that they have found the right direction by chance.
Likewise, people who perform namâz though they think that they do not have an ablution, that their clothes are najs, or that it is not prayer time yet, and who find out later that their thought has not been correct, perform the namâz again.
[To determine the direction of Qibla, a rod is erected at a place taking sunrise. Or a key or a piece of stone tied to the end of a piece of string and let to hang loosely. At (the time of Qibla) read on the daily calendar, the shadow of the rod or the string shows the direction of qibla, as the Sun is overhead the direction of qibla. The Sun is on the Qibla side of the shadow.]
Prayer (namâz) times
It is fard [obligatory duty] for all Muslims, male or female alike, who are ’âqil and bâligh, that is, who are sane and have reached the age of puberty or, in other words, the age for marriage, to perform the five daily prayers termed namâz within their correct times. If a namâz is performed before the beginning of the time prescribed by Islam, it will not be sahîh [acceptable]. In fact, it will be a grave sin to do so. As it is fard to perform a namâz in its correct time for it to be acceptable, it is also fard to know without any feeling of doubt that you have performed it in its correct time.
[When a girl first begins menstruating, she becomes a bâligha (adolescent). A boy whose genitalia has started producing spermatozoa becomes a bâligh. From that day forth, they are responsible for the commands and prohibitions of Islam.The age limit for them to be considered as such is 9 for girls and 12 for boys. A boy who has not had sperm yet and a girl who has not experienced the menses are counted bâligh and bâligha once they are beyond the age of 15.]
It is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(There is a beginning and an end of the time of each salât.) [Targhîb-us-salât]
Prayer times
A hadîth-i sharîf quoted in the books Muqaddimat-us-salât, Tafsîr-i Mazharî, Halabî states:
“Jabrâîl alaihissalâm (and I performed namâz together, and Jabrâîl ‘alaihissalâm) conducted the namâz as the imâm for two of us, by the side of the door of Ka’ba, for two days running. We two performed the morning prayer as the fajr (morning twilight) dawned; the early afternoon prayer as the Sun departed from meridian; the late afternoon prayer when the shadows of things became as long as their lengths; the evening prayer as the Sun set [its upper edge disappeared]; and the night prayer when the evening twilight darkened. The second day, we performed the morning prayer when the morning twilight matured; the early afternoon prayer when the lengths of the shadows of things increased by twice as much as their lengths, the late afternoon prayer immediately thereafter; the evening prayer at the prescribed time of breaking fast; and the night prayer at the first one-third of the night. Then he said ‘Oh Muhammad, these are the times of prayers for you and the prophets before you. Let your Ummat perform each of these five prayers between the two times at which we performed each.’”
1- The time for morning prayer at a certain location begins, an all four madhhabs, at the end of shar’î night [canonical night], which in turn is when the whiteness called fajr sâdiq [true dawn] is seen at one of the points on the line of apparent horizon [ufq-i zâhirî] in the east. This time is also the beginning of fast.
Chief of Astronomy Department Ârif Bey reports: “Because there are weak reports saying that fajr sâdiq [true dawn] begins when the whiteness spreads over the horizon and the altitude of the Sun is -18° or even -16°, it is judicious and safe to perform the morning prayer 20 minutes later than the time shown on calendars.”
The time of morning prayer ends at the end of solar night, which is when the preceding [upper] edge of the Sun is observed to rise from the line of apparent horizon.
2- The time for early afternoon prayer starts after the shadows of the things begin gaining length when they are short. This prayer time lasts until the shadows of the things become as long as or twice as long as their lengths. The former is according to the Imâmayn [Imâm-i Abû Yûsuf and Imâm-i Muhammad] while the latter is according to Imâm-i A’zam.
3- The time of late afternoon prayer begins at the end of the time of early afternoon prayer, and this happens in the following manner:
a- According to the Imâmayn, it begins when the shadow of an object becomes as long as its length and continues until the Sun disappears.
b- According to Imâm-i A’zam, it begins when the shadow of an object becomes twice as long as its length and continues until the Sun disappears.
However, it is harâm [prohibited] to postpone the prayer until the Sun turns yellow, an event that takes place when the distance between the Sun’s lower edge and the line of apparent horizon is a spear’s length, which is five angular degrees. The only prayer that Muslims are allowed to perform during the period of sunset is the day’s late afternoon prayer, which they have somehow failed to perform till then.
4- The time of evening prayer begins when the Sun apparently sets; that is, when its upper edge is seen to disappear below the line of apparent horizon of the observer’s location. The canonical and solar nights also begin at this time.
The time of evening prayer continues until the time of
night prayer. It is sunnat to perform the evening prayer within its early time. It is harâm to perform it in the time of ishtibâk-i nujûm, that is, when the number of visible stars increases, that is, after the rear edge of the Sun has sunk down to an altitude of 10° below the line of apparent horizon. For reasons such as illness, traveling, or in order to eat food that is ready, it might be postponed until that time.
5- The time of night prayer begins according to the Imâmayn, with ’ishâ-i-awwal, that is, when the redness on the line of apparent horizon in the west disappears. The same rule applies in the other three madhhabs. According to Imâm-i A’zam it begins with ’ishâ-i-thânî, that is, after the whiteness disappears. When the time of night prayer begins according to the Imâmayn, if people wait for half an hour and then performs this namâz, they will have performed it by obeying all imâms.
It ends at the end of canonical night, that is, with the whiteness of fajri-sâdiq (true dawn) according to Hanafî Madhhab.
It is mustahab to perform the morning prayer when it gets rather light everywhere in every season; this is called “isfâr.” It is mustahab to perform the early afternoon prayer in jamâ’at late on hot days in summer and early on winter days. Performing the evening prayer early is mustahab always. And it is mustahab to perform the night prayer as late as one-third of the canonical night, i.e., by the end of the first one-third of the time between ghurûb (sunset) and fajr (dawn). It is makrûh tahrîmî to postpone it beyond the time of midnight. These postponements apply only to those who perform namâz in jamâ’at. One who performs alone at home should perform every prayer as soon as its time begins.
(The most valuable ’ibâda is the salât performed in its early time.) [Hâkim, Tirmudhî]
(Such a time will come when directors and imâms will kill the salât; [that is,], they will postpone it till the expiration of its [prescribed] time. You should perform your salât within its time! If they perform in jamâ’at after you [have performed it], perform it again together with them! The one you perform the second time will become nâfila [supererogatory].) [Muslim]
It will be precautionary to perform the late afternoon and night prayers according to Imâm-i A’zam’s report. Those who will not be able to wake up later should perform the witr prayer right after the night prayer. Those who perform it before night prayer should reperform it. And those who can wake up should perform it towards the end of the night.
The times at which it is makrûh to perform namâz
Question: At which times is it harâm [prohibited] to perform namâz [ritual prayer]? When do these time periods end?
ANSWER
There are three times at which it is makrûh tahrîmî to perform namâz. A namâz is not valid if it is fard [obligatory] and is started at one of these times. If it is supererogatory, it will be valid but will be makrûh tahrîmî. Supererogatory prayers begun at these times must be stopped and performed later (must be made qadâ later). These three times are the period of sunrise, that of sunset and the period when the sun is at zawâl [midday, the time at which the Sun leaves its highest point from the horizon and after which the time of early afternoon prayer begins].
Here, the period of sunrise is until the time of ishrâq [the time when the lower edge of the Sun is as high as the length of a spear from the line of the apparent horizon]. The time of zawâl begins when there are only twenty minutes left for the early afternoon prayer. The period of sunset begins when the Sun, or the places where its light emanates, become yellow enough to be looked at as it sinks. The duration of this period varies between 40 and 45 minutes. While the sun is setting, only the late afternoon prayer of that day can be performed. However, it is makrûh tahrîmî to delay the late afternoon prayer until this time. (Ethics of Islâm)
Question: How long, in minutes, are the time periods in which performing supererogatory prayers is makrûh tahrîmî?
ANSWER
It cannot be said precisely. One is 45-50 minutes till the time for the evening namâz. This time period never goes below 40 minutes in length. Another period of time in which it is makrûh to perform supererogatory prayers is the time for the morning prayer. It is from imsâk [fajr, the time when fasting begins] till sunrise. The third time is the 50-minute period after sunrise. One other is about 20 minutes before the time for the early afternoon prayer. These figures are not 100% accurate, they fluctuate within a range of a few minutes.
Question: Is it an inconvenience to recite the Qur’ân al-karîm, to pray or to perform other acts of worship during the times at which it is makrûh to perform namâz?
ANSWER
It is only namâz which one should not perform. It is not an inconvenience to recite the Qur’ân al-karîm, to pray, or to perform other acts of worship. (Durar)
Question: At the karâhat time [the time wherein it is not permissible to perform namâz] before the evening prayer, if, say, there are only 10-15 minutes left for the evening adhân [calling for prayer], which one of the following is more appropriate: to perform the late afternoon prayer, or to leave it to qadâ [to postpone the namâz till after its prescribed time is over]?
ANSWER
It is fard to perform the late afternoon prayer even if there are three seconds left for the evening prayer time to begin. In other words, if there is enough time to say “Allahu akbar”, it is fard to perform the namâz, it would be harâm not to perform. In the case that one has 10-15 minutes before the prescribed time is over, it is a grave sin, harâm not to perform it. It is as such for all other daily prayers except the morning prayer. If there is enough time to say “Allahu akbar”, one must perform the namâz and it will have been performed in its prescribed time. If the namâz is postponed till that time with an excuse, it would not even be makrûh. It is certainly makrûh tahrîmî if it is postponed with a minor excuse. However, it is a graver sin to leave it to qadâ.
Adhân and iqâmat
Question: What do the words in the adhân [call to prayer] mean?
ANSWER
There are seven words in the adhân.
1- Allahu akbar:
Allahu ta’âlâ is great. He needs nothing. He is so great that He does not need the worships of His slaves. Worships are of no benefit to Him.
In order to settle this well in minds, this word is repeated four times.
2- Ash'hadu an lâ ilâha ill-Allah:
Though on account of His greatness, He does not need anyone's worship. I bear witness and certainly believe that none besides Him is worthy of being worshipped. Nothing is like Him.
3- Ash'hadu anna Muhammadan rasûlullah:
I bear witness and believe that Hadrat Muhammad “alaihi wa alâ âlihissalâtu wa sallam” is the Prophet sent by Him, that he is the communicant of the way of the worships liked by Him, that only those worships communicated and shown by him are worthy of Allahu ta’âlâ.
4- and 5- Hayya‘alassalâh-hayya‘alalfalâh:
These are the two words inviting Believers to the namâz which brings happiness and salvation.
6- Allahu akbar:
No one could manage the worship worthy of Him. He is so great, so far from anybody's worship being worthy of Him or suitable for Him.
7- Lâ ilâha ill-Allah:
He, alone, has the right to be worshipped, for us to humiliate ourselves before. Along with the fact that no one can do the worship worthy of Him, no one besides Him is worthy of being worshipped.
Question: What does the term adhân mean?
ANSWER
Adhân is to recite certain Arabic phrases in prescribed order. It is not adhân to say its translation.
Question: Is it necessary to say the adhân at a high place?
ANSWER
Yes, it is sunnat [act, thing, though not commanded by Allahu ta’âlâ, done and liked by the Prophet as an act of worship] to call it at a district mosque and at a high place.
Question: What do lines below mean?
The line added to the adhân of the morning prayer:
“As-salâtu khayrun minan-nawm”
ANSWER
It means that the namâz [ritual prayer] is better than sleep.
Question: The line added when saying the iqâmat [the words recited while standing before beginning one of the five daily fard prayers]:
“Qad qâmatis-salâh”
ANSWER
It means that the namâz has begun.
Question: Is it fard [obligatory] for men to call the adhân for the five daily prayers, for performing the omitted [qadâ] prayers, and towards the khatîb at Friday prayers?
ANSWER
It is not fard but sunnat, yet it is termed sunnat-i hudâ. That is, it is sunnat-i muakkada which does not exist in any other religion.
Question: Is it necessary for women to call the adhân and the iqâmat?
ANSWER
No. If they call, it is makrûh because it is harâm [prohibited] for women to raise their voices. (This is [that is, not say the adhân for women] also one of the proofs that it is harâm for women to let their voices be heard by nâ-mahram men.)
Question: If the adhân is called before its prescribed time, will it be valid?
ANSWER
It will not be valid. It must be called again.
Question: Is it permissible to call the adhân by making taghanni [to recite with a melodious voice] to the extent that one adds vowel points or letters or prolongs them?
ANSWER
No, it is not permissible.
[Taghannî [reciting melodiously] divides into two categories as sunnat and harâm. The taghannî which is sunnat is to recite it compatibly with tajwîd. The latter, which is harâm, is to resonate your voice in your larynx so as to produce various sounds, and it causes words to defile. It is not permissible to recite by making taghannî, that is by defiling the words. As is seen, if saying the words melodiously does not defile their meaning, if the letters are not prolonged by a length of two letters, and if it is intended to beautify the voice and to embellish the recitation, it is permissible. In fact, it is mustahab to do so when performing namâz as well as when not performing namâz.]
Question: Is it necessary to call the adhân and the iqâmat for the namâzes of witr, 'Iyd [Eid], tarâwîh, and janâza [funeral]?
ANSWER
They are not called.
Question: Which one is more meritorious between the adhân and iqâmat?
ANSWER
Saying the iqâmat is better than (saying) the adhân.
Question: The adhân is sometimes called by turning to the right or to the left on a minaret. Is it not necessary to say the adhân towards the qibla?
ANSWER
Yes, the adhân and iqâmat are said towards the qibla.
Question: For whom is it makrûh to call the adhân?
ANSWER
It is makrûh tahrîmî for a junub, a woman, a sinner, a drunk, and a small child to call the adhân.
Question: Is it permissible to say the adhân by sitting?
ANSWER
It is makrûh tahrîmî [makrûh with much stress, it is close to harâm].
Question: When performing a couple of qadâ [make up] namâzes, does it suffice to say one adhân for all?
ANSWER
Yes, it does. One who performs a couple of qadâ prayers one after another should say the adhân and the iqâmat first. Then, before performing each of the following qadâ prayers, one should say the iqâmat. It will be all right if one does not say the adhân for the following prayers of qadâ.
Question: Is it necessary for a person performing the time's namâz individually at home or in jamâ’at to say the adhân and iqâmat?
ANSWER
It is not necessary. For the adhân and iqâmat said in mosques are considered to be said at homes, too. But it is better to say them. If the adhân is not called in accordance with the sunnat, one should say the adhân.
Question: Is it necessary for a safarî [traveler] person to say the adhân and iqâmat?
ANSWER
A traveler says the adhân and iqâmat even when performing namâz individually in a house. For the adhân called at a mosque does not include his namâz. If some of the safarî people say the adhân in a house, those who perform the (same) namâz later on at the same place do not say it.
Question: What is the reverence for the adhân?
ANSWER
Reverence for the adhân is to call it without changing its letters, without making taghanni and to say it on the minaret as prescribed by the sunnat.
It is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(A muadhdhin [a person who calls adhân] attains the thawâb equalling that of the people performing the namâz with him. However, there is not any decrease in the thawâb of those people.) [Nasâî]
Question: Is it necessary for a person hearing the adhân to repeat it?
ANSWER
Yes, it is sunnat for a person hearing the adhân to repeat it silently. Upon hearing the parts of “Hayya ‘ala...", one does not repeat them, but says, “Lâ hawla wa lâ quwwata illâ billah.”
It is declared in hadîth-i sharîfs:
(If a person repeats what the muadhdhin is saying, he gets as much thawâb as that the muadhdhin gets.) [Nasâî]
(My shafâ’at [intercession] becomes wâjib for a person repeating the adhân.) [Nasâî]
([You, too] Repeat the adhân and say the salawat! A person who says one salawat earns ten thawâbs.) [Muslim]
The adhân is not repeated while eating, studying a lesson on dîn [religion], or while reading the Qur’ân al-karîm inside the mosque.
Question: Is it necessary to rub the nails of both thumbs on the eyes while saying “Muhammadun Rasûlullah”?
ANSWER
When the adhân is being called, it is recommendable for people hearing the name of Rasûlullah to put the nails of both thumbs on their eyes and to say, “You are the light of my two eyes, oh Rasûl-Allah.”
It is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(Rahmat (Allah's Mercy) descends where the pious persons are mentioned.) [Jâmi’us saghîr]
Muhammad “alaihissalâm” is the highest of all the pious and prophets. When his name is mentioned, Allahu ta’âlâ shows Mercy and Grace. Prayers said when Allahu ta’âlâ shows Mercy will be accepted. When the adhân is being called, it is a nice supplication to say: “My eyes gain light and my heart is joyful with you, oh Rasûl-Allah.”
Hadrat Abu Bakr as-Siddîq kissed the nails of his two thumbs and then touched his eyes with them when he heard Rasûlullah's name in the adhân, and when our Master, the Prophet asked why he did so, he said, “To attain blessings through your blessed name.” Rasûlullah then declared, “You did well. He who does so never suffers from eye-disease.” When the nails are touched on the eyes, one should say, “Allahum-mahfuz 'aynayya wa nawwirhumâ.” (Shaikh-zâda)
This is not done while saying the iqâmat. The nails are not kissed and rubbed on the eyes.
Question: Is it necessary to stop working while the adhân is called?
ANSWER
It is better to stop working when the adhân is called because it is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf, “To continue working on a task while the adhân is being called is a religious defect.” [‘Ilm-i hâl Ayyuhal Walad]
Hadrat Abû Hafs al-Haddad, a blacksmith, did not put down his hammer if he lifted up and vice versa whenever he heard the adhân. If he was talking, he would stop it and listen to the adhân. When he died, the adhân was being called as people were carrying his coffin. However hard the carriers tried, they could not move his coffin one step ahead. Only after the adhân were they able to carry the coffin away.
Question: When calling the adhân, is it necessary to turn one’s body to the right and to the left?
ANSWER
While saying "Hayya’alassalâh" and "Hayya’alalfalâh," turning only one’s face to the right and to the left respectively is sunnat. The body is not turned. While calling the adhân on a minaret by turning, it is called towards the qibla, too. (Hindiyya)
Question: Is it an inconvenience to say the iqâmat by prolonging like the adhân?
ANSWER
The iqâmat is not prolonged like the adhân.
It is declared in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(Call the adhân by prolonging, say the iqâmat quickly.) [Tirmudhî]
Question: I served as a muadhdhîn between the years 1940 and 1950. I said “God is Great” instead of “Allahu akbar.” I always called the adhân and iqâmat in Turkish and performed my namâzes by reciting translated âyats. There is no hardship in our religion; Allah never holds people responsible for more than they can bear. Let the people worship in their own languages. We cannot Arabify any one by force. Pillars of Islam are to be clean and to have good moral values, not to have a common language. In whatever language you perform your acts of worship, it is not an inconvenience, is it?
ANSWER
No, it is not so. It is written in all fiqh books that if one says all the sûras and prayers in Arabic in the namâz but only says “God is Great” instead of “Allahu akbar” when saying the takbîr of iftitâh, the namâz still is not valid and acceptable. For example, this fact is clearly written in Radd-ul-mukhtâr. Morover, it is a condition that the prayers recited before giving the salâm be in Arabic, too. Even reciting prayers not existing in the Qur’ân al-karîm or hadîth-i sharîfs nullifies the namâz. It is declared unanimously by savants that a namâz performed in any language other than Arabic will not be accepted. (Hindiyya)
It would not be appropriate for us to sing other countries' national anthems by translating them into our own language and for them to do the same, either. Just as it is necessary to obey the law of each country, it is also necessary for us to perform our namâzes as Allahu ta’âlâ has commanded. Ours is the religion of ease but not the religion to be changed for the sake of anybody’s convenience.
For instance, let us say your name is “Ismat” which means being sinless and clean. If somebody called you “Clean,” which is the translation of Arabic word “Ismat,” what would you say? If it is so weird to call a name in its translated version, how can it be permissible to recite the sûras of namâz in Turkish?
In religion, neither your personal thought nor ours is esteemed worthy. What is credited is what valuable books write. The language of worship is Arabic as it is Allahu ta’âlâ’s order. It has to be done in accordance with the Wish of the Owner of the religion. Harboring any other wish will be contrary to the religion. It is in no way permissible to consider the translation of the Qur’ân al-karîm as its original form and to recite it when performing the namâz. Allahu ta’âlâ communicates in the Qur’ân al-karîm, “My book is in Arabic. I sent the Qur’ân down in the Arabic language.” Then, the total of the words, letters, and meanings which Allahu ta’âlâ has sent down through an angel is the Qur’ân. If it is translated even into Arabic, it will not be Qur’ân, but will be the explanation of it. Also, if one of its letter is changed even without the meaning being defiled, it is not the Qur’ân anymore.
It is harâm [prohibited] to translate Qur’ân al-karîm into any other language and to read it instead of the Qur’ân, and even to change the Qur’ân by writing in Arabic letters as it is read. When the Qur’ân al-karîm is transliterated so or translated into other languages, the i’jaz [Divine Conciseness] of Allah’s Word is defiled, and the Divine Poem changes. Due to mentioned reasons, the translation of the Qur’ân al-karîm cannot be recited in the namâz. (Fatâwâ-i Fiqhiyya)
Outside the namâz, it is permissible for all nations to supplicate and necessary to give advice on morals or religion in their own languages.
Question: When calling the adhân, should we say “Muhammadan” or “Muhammadar”?
ANSWER
Both are possible, but to recite in conformity with tajwîd [the branch of knowledge teaching how to read the Qur’ân correctly],
it is necessary to say “Muhammadar.”
Question: Is it permissible to call the adhân by several muadhdhins together?
ANSWER
The adhân called by several muadhdhins together is termed t adhân-i jawq. It is permissible, not sinful.
Question: A person hearing the adhân being called repeats it. Is it permissible to repeat the iqâmat, too?
ANSWER
It is sunnat to repeat the adhân, but to repeat the iqâmat is mustahab [an act for which there is thawâb (blessing) and if omitted there is no sin]. It is not an inconvenience to do so.
Question: Should the imâm or the muadhdhin say the after-adhân supplication aloud?
ANSWER
It is not said aloud.
Question: Is it permissible to say the iqâmat by walking?
ANSWER
It is makrûh.
Question: While the adhân is being called, does a dog’s howling augur well?
ANSWER
It is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf that the devils run away while the adhân is being called. Cocks crow when they see the angels. Animals can see the things that we cannot. A dog’s howling during the adhân is a good augury. They may see the devils running.
Question: Is it permissible to enter the rest-room while the adhân is being called?
ANSWER
If there is necessity, one can enter.
Question: In a house where travelers and settled people are mixed, if a settled one calls the adhân and iqâmat, is it necessary for travelers to say it again?
ANSWER
No.
Question: While saying the adhân silently at home, should people turn their faces to the right and to the left?
ANSWER
Yes.
Question: At home or in a mosque, is it necessary for a man to raise his fingers to his ears when saying the adhân loudly or as loudly as he himself can hear?
ANSWER
Yes.
Question: Is it necessary for a person in a mosque to stand up when the adhân is called?
ANSWER
No, it is not necessary.
Question: It is well-known that the adhâns are called earlier than their prescribed times. Is it permissible to rely on them to determine the time if we don't have a watch, for example, to assume that there are three minutes yet to pass for the early afternoon namâz when its adhân is called?
ANSWER
Yes.
Question: When saying the adhân, does one put the hands on the ears in a flat manner?
ANSWER
They are put in a flat manner.
Question: When saying the iqâmat, should a man let his hands hang down on both sides or fold them on his navel?
ANSWER
They are let down, not folded.
Question: Now that it is makrûh to call the adhân inside a masjid [a small mosque], if a person calls the adhân silently on the stairs of the office’s masjid, will the sunnat be carried out?
ANSWER
Yes.
Question: In the city of Siirt, the word "sayyidinâ" is being added to the adhân. Is it a bid'at [a heretical conduct]?
ANSWER
Yes.
Question: Is the letter “r” in the adhân and iqâmat said by making jazm or wasl?
ANSWER
It is not said as “Allahu akbarullahu”, but said “Allahu akbar Allahu akbar.”
[jazm: it means not to add a vowel to a final consonant; wasl: it is to combine a final consonant with the vowel sound of the following word.]
Question: When saying the iqâmat, if a person talks, is it necessary to say it again?
ANSWER
Yes.
Question: If one talks after calling the adhân, and likewise, if another one talks after calling the iqâmat, is it necessary for them to re-say the adhân and iqâmat?
ANSWER
No.
Question: When a baby is born, is it necessary to say the adhân in its ear when naming it?
ANSWER
It is good to say the adhân because it is written in hadîth books that our Master, the Prophet said the adhân in Hadrat Hasan’s ear when he was born. (Tirmudhî)
[The one who will call the adhân in baby's ear takes the baby in one’s arms by placing a soft pillow under it and calls the adhân and the iqâmat in the baby's right and left ears respectively. Then the name is said in its ear. It is also possible that one person holds the child in the arms and another person calls the adhân.]
It is stated in a hadîth-i sharîf:
(If the adhân and iqâmat are said in a newborn baby’s right and left ears respectively, it will have been protected against the disease called “ummu sibyan.”) [Bayhaqî]
Question: Which supplication should be said after the adhân which has been called compatibly with the sunnat?
ANSWER
The following supplication should be said:
Allahumma rabba hâdhihi-d-da’wati-t-tâmmati wa-s-salâti-l-qâimati âti Muhammadan-il-wasîlata wa-l-fadîlata wa-d-darajata-r-rafî‘ati wab‘athhu maqâman mahmûdan- illadhî wa‘adtahû innaka lâ tukhliful mî‘âd.
Making niyyat [intention] for the namâz
Question: What is niyyat for the namâz? How should we make it?
ANSWER
To make niyyat for the namâz means passing through the heart its name, time, qibla, to wish to follow the imâm (when performing namâz in jamâ’at), to mean to perform namâz. Knowledge only, that is, knowing what is to be done will not be niyyat. In Shâfi’î Madhhab it is necessary to remember the rukns [fards that are inside the namâz] of namâz.
Niyyat [intention] is made while saying the takbîr of iftitâh [saying Allahu akbar when beginning namâz]. It is permissible to make niyyat before that, too. In fact, it is permissible if a person who has left his home in order to perform namâz in jamâ’at follows the imâm without niyyat. But on the way he must not do one of the things that would nullify namâz. Walking or making ablution does not give harm.
The niyyat made after the takbîr of iftitâh is not valid and that namâz is not acceptable.
Some rules concerning niyyat for namâz:
1- When making niyyat for namâzes that are fard or wâjib, it is necessary to know which fard or wâjib they are. For example, it is necessary to know the name of the fard and to say, for instance, “To perform today’s early afternoon prayer” or “ the present time’s fard.”
2- When performing the namâz of ’Iyd, witr, or nazr [a namâz you perform because you have made your vow to perform it], it is necessary to think of its being wâjib and its name.
3- It is not necessary to make niyyat for the number of rak’ats.
4- When performing a sunnat namâz, the niyyat “To perform namâz” will suffice.
5- The niyyat for the namâz of janâza [funeral] is made as “To perform namâz for Allah’s sake and to pray for the deceased.”
6- The imâm does not have to make niyyat to be the imâm for men. But (if he does not) he will not attain the thawâb of namâz in jamâ’at. If he makes niyyat to be the imâm, he will attain this thawâb, too. The imâm has to make the niyyat as “To become the imâm for women” (when he is to conduct the jamâ’at of women).
7- The jamâ’at must also make the niyyat as “I follow the present imâm.” It is not necessary for the jamâ’at to know the imâm. As the imâm says the takbîr, they must make the niyyat to follow him and begin the namâz immediately. It is good as well to make niyyat to follow the imâm when he takes his place and to begin the namâz together.
8- If a person makes his niyyat to follow the imâm and thinks that the imâm is, let us say, Zayd, whereas the imâm is not Zayd but someone else, his namâz will be accepted. But if he makes his niyyat to follow Zayd and if the imâm is someone else, his namâz which he performs by following him will not be accepted.
9- If a person makes niyyat for the fard of early afternoon prayer when performing the first sunnat of early afternoon prayer, (s)he will have performed the fard of early afternoon prayer. The namâz that (s)he performs after that becomes nâfila [supererogatory].
10- As you perform a namâz which you have started considering that it is the present time’s namâz and with the intention to perform the fard of the present time’s namâz, if the time becomes over without you knowing (that it is over), the namâz will not be sahîh [valid]. If you intended to perform “today’s fard,” it would be sahîh and you would have made qadâ. Namâz performed before its time comes is supererogatory. If it is performed after its time has been over, it becomes qadâ. That is, those who make their niyyat as “To perform today’s early afternoon prayer” will have made qadâ of the early afternoon prayer if its time has been over. Likewise, if they think that the time is over and make their niyyat as “To make qadâ of today’s early afternoon prayer,” they will have made adâ of the early afternoon prayer when they find out (later) that its time was not over. In both cases they have made their niyyat for the same prayer but have been wrong in the time’s being over. But the prayer which they perform with the intention of making qadâ of their last early afternoon prayer does not stand for the present day’s early afternoon prayer. For they have not made their niyyat “for today’s prayer.” By the same token, (today’s) early afternoon prayer performed with the intention of adâ does not stand for any past early afternoon prayer that was omitted.
Question: When performing namâz, should we make niyyat verbally or through the heart?
ANSWER
Niyyat is not something to be confined to certain words uttered in the name of intention. All four madhhabs are unanimous in that acts of worship performed without the niyyat made by heart are not valid. No one heard Rasûlullah (‘alaihissalâm), the Sahaba, the Tâbi’în, or even the four imâms, make niyyat verbally.
Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî “quddisa sirruh” declares in the hundred and eighty-six letter of the first volume of Maktûbât:
“Niyyat is made by heart. It is bid’at to make niyyat verbally. This bid’at has been called hasana (good, useful). But this bid’at annihilates not only the sunnat but also the fard. For, many people have been making niyyat only by tongue, without passing the niyyat through their heart. Thus niyyat through heart, one of the fards [conditions] of namâz, has been neglected, and namâz has been nullified. This faqîr (Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî means himself) do not recognize any bid’at as Hasana. I see no beauty in any bid’at.”
It is stated in Ibni ‘Âbidîn:
“That it is fard to make niyyat when beginning namâz has been stated unanimously. Niyyat is made only with the heart. It is bid’at to make it only in words. It is permissible for people who make niyyat with their heart to make niyyat verbally also in order to be safe against doubts.”