صلاة

Question 1

Definition of salah

Answer 1

Linguistically = Ad dua
In Shari’ah (when used in Qur’an and sunnah generally) = Actions and words that open with takbeer and finish with tasleem.

Question 2

How does salah keep your deen up/intact?

Answer 2

1. Prevents you from evil acts

2. Keeps you in the fold of islam (according to some scholars)

Question 3

What are the 5 obligatory prayers

Answer 3

Duhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha & Fajr

Question 4

DUHR

[times for each salah]

Answer 4

Starts: when the time of zawal (when the sun leans to the western side of the sky from the middle) happens.

Finishes: when any objects’ shade becomes the length of object.

In the uk we always have a shade - called the shade of zawal. This is when the sun is in the middle of the sky and you’re in a place in the earth where there is always shade (1m).
So Duhr ends in the UK when an object of 2m has 3m of shade (+1 because added the shade of zawal)

Question 5

ASR

Answer 5

The time of asr starts when shadow/shade is the same length as object.
Asr has three times:
* The best time - as soon as Asr comes in until the objects’ shade becomes twice its length
* Disliked (but allowed) to delay till this time - when buildings becomes yellowish (isfi’rar)
* Not allowed to delay (unless you have a reason) - from isfir’rar until maghrib (15 minutes before maghrib) - this is the prayer of the hypocrite

Question 6

MAGHRIB

Answer 6

Starts: as soon as the sun sets
Finishes: 2 opinions
1. Shafi’i & Maliki - Take the opinion that the time of maghrib is very short so it is within the time is takes to do the athaan, iqaama, do wudu and pray 5 raka’at.
2. Stronger opinion - Maghrib finishes when the redness of the horizon disappears

Question 7

ISHA

Answer 7

Starts: When the redness in the horizon disappears
The times you can delay isha until:
* 1 third of the night
Correct opinion - half the night (middle time between maghrib and fajr)
Recommended for a women who is praying at home to delay till half the night unless she fear she may forget, but for a man it is better to pray in jama’a whatever time they are praying.

Question 8

It is always best to pray salah at the beginning of its time except for two situations…?

Answer 8

Duhr (in extreme heat) till it becomes cooler & Isha till half the night

Question 9

FAJR

Answer 9

Fake fajr - light that comes vertically in sky before fajr time (before the sun rises)
Truthful fajr (rulings are based on) - light that comes horizontally in the sky and increases in light after it until the sun fully rises 

Starts: When dawn breaks - meaning you see the first light of the sun
* Best time to pray until is is’far (where you can see this)
Aisha (RA) narrated; ‘we used to pray fajr in extreme darkness”
Finishes: as soon as sun fully rises

Question 10

Benefits of knowing when salah comes in

Answer 10

Might be lost in a dessert

Foundation of your knowledge

Question 11

Conditions for salah to be obligatory upon you

Answer 11

1. Al Islam - have to be muslim
2. Al bul’ugh - when they reach the age of puberty
3. Al Aqlu - have to be mentally sane

Question 12

When does it becomes obligatory on the parents to command their children to pray

Answer 12

Obligatory on parents to command their children to pray at the age of 7 (lunar years), even if they’re not at the age of puberty - by speech. When they’re 10 years old you have to tell them to pray and you hit them if they don’t.
Every hitting in the shari’ah (except for punishment) e.g, for discipling children, wife etc has conditions - it is not beating up but to show you’re in authority/control
* not allowed to bruise them, hit their face, not more then 10 times and cant leave a mark = MISWAAK

Question 13

5 Recommended prayers

Answer 13

• Eid prayer
• Eclipse
• Asking for rain (Salatul istisqa)
• Rawa’tib

Question 14

Emphasised prayers

Answer 14

1. Salatul Layl - anytime after maghrib
2. Salatul Duha - starts at (ishraq) after the sun has risen completely (10 - 15 minutes after fajr) and finishes at zawal time.
   Best time to pray is when it’s extremely hot
   * minimum is 2 raak’at best is 4 and above
3. Salatul Taraweeh - salah we pray at night after isha during ramadan - sunnah

Question 15

Difference between qiyaam al lay and tahajjud

Answer 15

Some scholars say it is the same but other scholars say no, qiyaam al layl is praying at night (at any time) and tahajjud is praying after you sleep.

Question 16

Difference between condition and pillar

Answer 16

Condition - something that has to be present before & throughout the act of worship - not part of the act of worship
Pillar - in the act of worship

Question 17

Conditions of the prayer [5]

Answer 17

1. Body must be clean from ha’dath & najis
2. That you must cover your awrah
3. Stand in a place that is pure
4. Time has to have entered - see it or a trustworthy person tells you
5. Facing the qibla

Question 18

Pillars of the prayer

Answer 18

There are 18 pillars of the salah:

1. Intention
2. Standing if you have the ability
3. First Takbeer
4. Reciting surah Fatiha
5. Ruk’u
6. Dumahnina in ruku
7. To stand up after ruk’u - ihtidaal
8. Have to be in the state of dumahneena
9. As sujood
10. Have to be in the state of dumahneena in sujood
11. Sitting between the two sujood - iftiraag
12. State of dumahneena
13. Sitting in the last tashahhud
14. To say the last tashahhud
15. Say salah on the prophet (saw)
16. First tasleem
17. Intention to leave the salah
18. Has to be in that order

Question 19

Is your salah accepted if you leave out a pillar

Answer 19

No - even if it by accident.

Question 20

What to do if you leave out a pillar

Answer 20

1. Go back make up the rak’ah
2. Then do sujood sahw
   This is if the time wasn’t long and you didn’t move from place of salah

Question 21

Ruling of Athan & iqaama and conditions for person doing it

Answer 21

Athaan - correct opinion is that is it obligatory upon the community (fard kifaya)
Person doing athan:
* must be muslim
* conscious
* male - females can do it amongst themselves

Question 22

Ab’a’dus salah[3]

Answer 22

Sunnan in the salah that if you leave on purpose then your salah is invalid:
If you forget them accidentally, then your salah is still valid and you make it up by doing sujood sahw.
1. First tashahhud
2. Making dua in fajr salah after ruku - sunnah according to shafi’a that if you leave your salah is invalid
correct opinion - not sunnah
3. To do qunoot in salatul witr in the second half of ramadan

Question 23

Hay’at us salah[14]

Answer 23

if you leave on purpose your salah is still valid:
Some of these are obligatory according to other scholars.
1. To raise the hands (when you do down into ruku, when you get up from ruk’u) when you get up from first tasahhud
2. To put your right hand over your left (above navel)
3. At tawagu - To say the opening dua
4. Wa isti’aada - to say authobillahi mina shaytaanirrajeem (after opening dua)
5. To read out loud - maghrib, isha & fajr & to read quietly for the quiet salahs
quiet (shafi’a) = you can hear yourself
other opinion (ibn taymiyyah) = moving your tongue
6. To say ‘ameen’ after fatiha (out loud)
7. To recite another surah after fatiha
8. To say the takbeeratul intiqaal
The takbeerat of moving - sunnah is to do it whilst moving
Some of the hanbali say that is you say Allahu Abkar before or after you move you can make your salah invalid - shows importance
9. To say Sami’allahu liman hamida… whilst moving up to itidaal from ruku
10. Tasbeeh in ruku and sujood
11. To put your hands on your thighs while sitting down
12. Iftir’aj
13. Tawar’uq in last tashahhud
14. Second tasleem
*Jalsatul isti’raha - resting after first tashahhud before getting up

Question 24

Differences between the salah of the man and woman

Answer 24

1. In Ruku and sujood - sunnah for men to widen their elbows, however, women shouldn’t widen herself
   Also man should move his thigh away from his stomach.
2. Man recites out loud in the times you’re supposed to recite out loud e.g, maghrib however a women shouldn’t if there are non mahram around her
3. If anything happens in salah that the imam needs to be notified of the men say subhanallah as for the women if she needs to notify someone then she claps (hits the back of her hand w/o speaking)
4. Awrah for the man and woman is different

Question 25

Things that break the salah[10]

Answer 25

*To speak on purpose - to speak any speech that is not part of the salah, if it is accidental it doesn’t break the salah if it is a short speech
If it is long in speech even if it is accidental it breaks the salah

• A lot of actions that are not part of the salah
• To break your wudhu
• Presence of najaasah on one’s body or clothes, or in the place where one is praying - If he notices it or remembers it during the prayer and removes it immediately, then his prayer is valid. Similarly, if he does not find out about it until after the prayer is over, his prayer is still valid.
• Uncovering the ‘awrah deliberately - or large part showing unintentionaly
• Changing your intention [three types]
  Intention to break your salah - breaks the salah
  intended to break salah in next ra’ah
  Intending to change salah from nafil to fard
• To turn away from the qibla - the abdomen
• Eating & drinking - principe that anything that breaks the fast breaks the salah
  Exception - small bits of food in mouth from eating before
• Laughing out loud - with a voice
• Leaving Islam

Question 26

What is sujood as-sahw & what are the reasons for it

Answer 26

the sujood that we do when you forget something in the salah

Reasons for it are leaving of one of these things:
1. Fard (pillar) - make up rak’ah + then do sujood sahw
This is if the time wasn’t long and you didn’t move from place of salah
2. Sunnah - Ab’a’dus salah also called waajibat (by hanabila) - sujood sahw

Question 27

How & when to pray sujood sahw

Answer 27

Two sajdah before tasleem - all scholars agree you can do before or after however they differ which one is better.

Question 28

Times you’re not allowed to pray (w/no specific reason) & bury the dead people:

Answer 28

[so we don’t imitate the people who worship the sun]
* After fajr salah (when you pray) until the sun fully rises & after fajr until the sun rises high - worse
* When the sun is in the middle of the sky - 2-5 mins before duhr time
* From asr (when you pray) until the sun sets
* When the sun is about to set before it sets
Exceptions:
* If you’re in makkah
* Day of jum’ah - stronger opinion is the one where the sky is in the middle of the sky.

Question 29

What is the ruling for congregational prayers

Answer 29

Two opinions:
2. Sunnah
3. Fard kifaya (communal obligation) - imam an nawaawi
Must be a masjid within that locality - if there is no masjid everyone is sunning and if there is those who pray get the reward and those who don’t aren’t sinning.

Third opinion - Fard Ayn - obligatory upon every man with the condition that they would able to hear the athan from were they are.

Question 30

Intentions behind person praying jama’ah and conditions

Answer 30

Intention behind person praying jama’ah:
* must have the intention to be led in the salah
* can be led by a slave man or a free man
* a person who is at the age of puberty or is close to that age
* it is not allowed for a man to be led by a women
* it is not allowed for a qari to be led by an illiterate (someone who can’t recite surah fatiha) - an illiterate cannot lead the salah except for someone who is like him
Conditions:
* Have to be inside the masjid unless it is full
* Have to know how the salah of the imam is going - either by hearing or seeing
* Can’t be in front of the imam

Question 31

General rule on where to pray congregational prayer + exceptions

Answer 31

General rule - pray jama’a in your local masjid
Exceptions:
* if you not going is going to make people stop going to that masjid
* if the person in that masjid is an innovator then its better to pray in the further masjid

Question 32

When is one considered to have reached the jama’ah?

Answer 32

if they reach one rakat of the prayer in any position except for salatul jummah - have to reach the jama’ah in ruku

Question 33

Conditions to shorten prayers

Answer 33

4 rakat prayers only - Duhr, Asr & Isha
A traveller with 4 conditions:
1. your travel is not for sinning
2. distance of your travel has to be 48 miles
3. has to be a prayer which is being prayed at its time - can’t be making it up
4. you must intend to shorten the prayer before you start the salah

Question 34

Who is considered a traveller

Answer 34

as soon as you leave the buildings of that city
travel is not for sinning
< 48 miles
Intending to stay for 3 days or less - if you’re not sure you can shorten

Question 35

Conditions for combining the prayers

Answer 35

• Can combine duhr with asr & maghrib with isha
• has to be in order
• have to have the intention of combining at the time of combining
• Has to be one after the other - straight after

Question 36

Conditions for jumu’ah salah to be obligatory upon you [7]

Answer 36

• Islam
• freedom - not a slave
• Al-Bulooq - have reached the age of puberty
• Al-aql
• Male - females don’t have to pray jummah
• Healthy - able to
• His family is a resident of the city

Question 37

Conditions of the actual jumu’ah prayer

Answer 37

• Has to be a city(a place that has buildings) - not a desert
• 40 people
• one time - between duhr and asr
• has to be in a masjid

Question 38

Obligatory acts in jumu’ah

Answer 38

• two separate khutbah’s

* 2 raka’at in jama’ah

Question 39

Pillars of the khutba

Answer 39

• Must say alhamdullilah
• Send salah on the prophet saw
• Tell people to have taqwa - to do good and stay away from evil
• Make dua for the believers (can be on first but must be in the second khutbah)
• must recite one ayah

Question 40

Voluntary acts of jumu’ah

Answer 40

1. ghusl before jumu’ah - best time is just before you leave
2. clean your body
3. to wear white clothes
4. put perfume on
5. To be quiet during the khutba - you shouldn’t talk neither should you tell anyone else to be quiet
6. Pray two rakat even if the imam is talking