1

[Class by Sister Eman al Obaid on Tuesday, 4th December 2012]

Sifat As-Salaat (The Description of the Prayer)

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fiqh3.pdf - Page 66

QIYAAM/STANDING

1- The one who wants to pray stands facing the Qiblah, with

the feeling of standing before Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala,

and (he stands) with humility in his prayer.

2

Takbeeratul Ihraam (The Opening Takbeer)

a) He raises both his hands to the level of his shoulders or his

ear lobes (with his palms facing the Qiblah) and says:

“Allaahu Akbar (Allah is the Most Great)”

Not allowed!

b) Then he puts his right hand over his left hand and places

on his chest. Or (he also) holds his left hand with his right

hand (when placed on his chest).

3

Not allowed!

One should place his right hand on his left, after the Takbeeratul Ihram.

This is the way of the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and this is

what he (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) enjoined upon his companions. It is

not allowed to place the hands on the waist or to let the arms hang at the

sides (as shown in the above pictures).

Invocation at the beginning of the prayer

c) Then he looks at the place of prostration and says:

There are also other invocations that may be said at the beginning of the

prayer and in all these (opening) supplications, the one who is praying

magnifies or glorifies Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. As the one who is

praying is having a meeting with Allah, he/she should say the best at the

beginning.

4

Isti’aadhah and Basmalah

d) Then after that he says (silently):

The one who is praying seeks refuge with Allah from the shaytan

(Isti’aadhah) because the shaytan can spoil his prayer. The Isti’aadhah

(A’oodhu billaahi min-ash-shaytaanir-Rajeem) and Basmalah

(Bismillahi-r-Rahmaani-r-Raheem) are said silently before reciting

Surat Al-Fatihah.

Surat Al-Fatihah

e) And after that he recites Surat Al-Fatihah, and there is no

prayer for one who doesn't recite it (ie; Al-Fatihah).

Surat Al-Fatihah should be recited in every Rak’ah of the prayer and each

verses of it should be recited separately. Reciting Surat Al-Fatihah is one of

the pillars of Salaah (prayer), without which the prayer is not valid.

5

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no

prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book [i.e., al-

Faatihah].” [Bukhari]

When a person is reciting Surat Al-Fatihah, he/she should remember that

Allah is responding to it as the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Allah, the Exalted, said, `I have divided the prayer (Al-Fatihah) into two

halves between Myself and My servant, and My servant shall have what

he asks for.'

If he says, All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existence.

Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.'

When the servant says, The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me.'

When he says, The Owner of the Day of Recompense.

Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me,' or `My servant has related all

matters to Me.'

When he says, You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help.)

Allah says, `This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall

acquire what he sought.

When he says, Guide us to the straight path. The way of those on whom

You have granted Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your

anger, nor of those who went astray),

Allah says, `This is for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he

asked for.').''

[Narrated by Abu Hurairah (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu); recorded by Muslim

and An-Nasa’i]

So when a person recites Surat Al-Fatihah he/she should pause after each

sentence and focus on it.

It is obligatory upon the imaam and the munfarid (i.e. the one who is

praying alone) to recite Surat al-Fatihah in the prayers but for the ma’mum

(i.e. the one who is praying behind the imaam in congregation), if the

6

imaam is reciting (Al-Fatihah) aloud, the recitation of the imaam will count

for him. If the imam is reciting Surat Al-Fatihah silenty in the congregation

or if it is not audible, then the ma’mum should recite it to himself. There

are differences of opinion among the scholars (Ikhtilaf) regarding this

matter. And Allah knows best.

f) Then after he recites Surat Al-Fatihah, he recites another

Surah (Chapter) from the Qur’an in the first two Rak’ahs

(units) of the prayer.

g) He recites aloud in the Fajr Prayer, and in the the first two

Rak'ahs of the Maghrib Prayer and the 'Isha' Prayer.

In the last two Rak’ahs (i.e. 3rd and 4th Rak’ahs) of Dhuhr, ‘Asr and

‘Isha’ and in the last Rak’ah (i.e. 3rd Rak’ah) of Maghrib, only Surat Al-

Fatihah is recited (means other Surah/chapter from the Qur’an is not

recited after Al-Fatihah in these Rak’ahs).

The imaam or the one who praying alone, recites silently in all the

Rak’ahs of the Dhuhr prayer and the ‘Asr prayer and he also recites

silently in the last (i.e. 3rd) Rak’ah of the Maghrib prayer and the last

two Rak’ahs (i.e. 3rd & 4th) of the ‘Isha prayer.

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fiqh3.pdf - Page 66 & 67

RUKOO’/BOWING

2- Then he raises his hands up (while saying the Takbeer)

and moves to bow down (for Rukoo’).

7

Whenever a person says Takbeer (‘Allaahu Akbar’) in his prayer, he should

remember that he is magnifying Allah by saying ‘Allah is the Most Great’.

a) And places his hands on his knees spreading his fingers

on it, as if grasping it and stretching his back and

making his head level with it.

One should spread his back and make it level so that if water is poured on

it, it would stay there (not run off). He should not lower or raise his head,

but make it level with his back. His legs should be straight and he should be

looking at the place of prostration (as seen in this picture below).

Not allowed!

It is not allowed to lower or raise his head in the Rukoo’, but make it

level with his back.

b) Then he says (3 times):

8

There are other kinds of dhikr/du’aa which may be said in the Rukoo’,

and in all these dhikr/du’aa, the one who is praying praises Allah

Subahanahu wa Ta’ala by glorifying or magnifying Him.

c) Then he (ie; imaam and the one who is praying alone)

rises up/straightens up (from the Ruku’, raising his

hands) saying:

And (when stands up erect/straight) they say:

Rabbana wa laka al-hamd mil'as-samaawaati wa mil'al-'ardhi wa mil’a maa baynahumaa wa mil'a maa shi'ta min shay 'in ba'd. Our Lord, All praise be to you, (A praise that) fills the heavens and the earth and what lies between them and whatever else You please .

They can also say other dhikr/supplications such as:

Not allowed!

Do not raise the hands when saying: “Rabbanaa wa-lakal hamd”

When a person is making Rukoo’ his body is bent and when he rises up

from Rukoo’ and straightens his body to stand, he says: “Sami’Allaahu

liman hamidah” (Allah hears whoever praises Him), as if he is thanking

Allah by praising Him and glorifying Him, knowing that Allah hears and

responds to whoever praises Him.

9

The one who is praying praises Allah by glorifying or magnifying Him in

every position in his prayer as he could move from one position to another

in his prayer only due to Allah’s mercy and help and he also praises for all

the blessings Allah has bestowed upon him.

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fiqh3.pdf - Page 67

SAJDAH/PROSTRATION

3- Then he falls down in prostration (Sujood) while saying

Takbeer, and he does not raise his hands.

a) And the first thing that touches the ground of him is his

knees, then his palms, then his forehead and nose.

There are different opinions among the scholars over the issue that whether

one should go down in sujood with hands first or knees first. According to

the consensus of the scholars both ways are permissible. The scholars have

preferred going down into sujood with the hands before the knees, based on

the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu), who said:

“The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘When any

one of you prostrates, let him not go down as the camel does; let him put

his hands down before his knees.” [Reported by Ahmad (2/381), Abu Dawood, al-

Tirmidhi, and al-Nisaa’i. Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo’ (3/421): it was reported by Abu

Dawood and al-Nisaa’i with a jayyid isnaad. It was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-

Albaani in al-Irwa’ (2/78)]. – And Allah knows best. For more details please refer: http://www.islamqa.info/en/ref/2108/hands%20or%20knees

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/salah-workbook-c-061720121.pdf

10

b) And he places his hands on the ground parallel to the ears or

shoulders, and keeps his fingers together, pointing to the

Qiblah.

c) And he raises his elbows from the ground, and separates his

arms from his flanks, and his stomach from his thighs and he

says (3 times):

He prostrates on seven parts of his body on which the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) commanded to prostrate. They are: the face (including the forehead and nose); the two hands; the two knees; and the edges of the two feet (i.e.the toes).

One should be at ease in sujood, distributing his weight equally on the

parts of the body which should be in contact with the ground during the

sujood. These parts are: the face (including the forehead and nose), the

two hands/palms, the two knees, and the toes of the two feet-

The forehead and the nose should be firmly placed on the ground

The elbows should be away from the ground and the arms should

be separated from the flanks and the stomach from the thighs.

Both the hands should point to the Qiblah with the fingers close to

one another.

And the knees should be firmly placed on the ground with the

feet/heels touching each other and the toes pointing towards the

Qiblah.

11

The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “If any of you

prostrates, then keep straight and not spread his arms along the

ground like the sitting of a dog.”

d) And he makes a lot of du’aa (supplications) in his sujood.

The closest that a person can be to his Lord is when he is prostrating (i.e. in

his Sujood), and while he is in this lowest position placing his face on the

floor, he says: “Subhaana Rabbiyal A’laa” (Glory is to my Lord, the Most

High -> 3 times) as Allah is the Most High in everything- His Names, His

Attributes, His actions and all). Also he makes a lot of du’aa in his Sajdah

because it is a time when du’aa’ is likely to be answered.

Reciting Qur’aan in Rukoo’ and Sujood is not allowed because of the

hadeeth narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu) in which the Prophet

(sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Indeed I have been told not to recite

Qur’an in rukoo’ and sujood.” (Reported by Muslim, 738).

4- Then, he raises his head (from the sajdah saying Takbeer/

Allahu Akbar) , and he does not raise his hands.

Sitting between the Two Prostrations/Sajdah

a) And sits in iftiraash (muftarishan), which is to lay his left

leg on its side and to sit (ie; to rest himself) on it while

keeping his right foot erect/upright with its toes facing the

Qiblah.

12

(At times, the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) sat between the

two sujoods on the heels of his two erect feet and this type of sitting is

known as iq'aa').

b) And places his hands extending on his thighs and his fingers

facing the Qiblah. And he says:

“Rabbi-ghfir-lee, warhamnee, wahdinee, wajburnee, wa’aafinee, warzuqnee, warfa’nee. My Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, support me, protect me, provide for me and elevate me.

[In the above du’aa one can also say: “Allahumma-ghfir-lee (O Allah,

forgive me)……..” instead of “Rabbi-ghfir-lee (My Lord, forgive me)………”]

5- Then he prostates (i.e. makes Sujood) a second time like

the first. Then he rises up (saying Takbeer without raising

hands and stands) for the Second Rak’ah (of his prayer),

and performs it like the first. But he does not recite the

opening du’aa/supplication (in his second Rak’ah).

When he raises his head from the second sujood to get up for his second

rak’ah, he sits for a while and uses his fists to support himself and gets

up while saying the Takbeer.

13

In the second rak’ah of the prayer one recites Surat Al-Fatihah, and after

that any other Surah/Chapter from the Qur’an and he makes the second

rak’ah shorter than the first one. Also in the 2nd rak’ah, he does not recite

the invocation which was recited at the beginning of the first rak’ah.

The Isti’aadhah (A’oodhu billahi min ash-shaytaanir-rajeem) is likely to

be recited only in the first rak’ah before the recitation of Surat Al-

Fatihah and not in every rak’ah of the prayer. And Allah knows best.

AT-TASHAHHUD AL-AWWAL /THE FIRST TASHAHHUD

6- When he is done with his first two Rak’ahs, he sits for At-

Tashahhud al-Awwal (The First Tashahhud).

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fiqh3.pdf - Page 67-68

Sitting for the First Tashahhud (Muftarishan)

After he is done with his Rukoo’ and Sujood of the Second Rak’ah, he sits

for the Tashahhud Al-Awwal/First Tashahhud.

a) He sits in Iftiraash (Muftarishan) which is to sit on his left

leg while keeping the right foot erect/upright.

14

He sits in iftiraash/Muftarishan for the First Tashahhud as described

above for the sitting between the two prostrations. (It is not allowed to

sit in iq’aa’ at this point).

b) And he puts his hands on his thighs, places his left hand on

his left thigh, and (with regards to his right hand which is

placed on his right thigh), he folds the little finger and the

ring finger of his right hand, makes a circle with his

middle finger and the thumb, and raises his index finger. c) And points with his index finger during the Tashahhud.

->Not Allowed!

During the Tashahhud he points the index finger of his right hand in the

direction of the Qiblah and moves it, while saying the supplications. He

looks at it instead of looking at the place of prostration.

15

Invocation for the First Tashahhud

d) And he says:

When a person is sending Salaams upon the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa

sallam) and upon himself and the righteous slaves of Allah in his

Tashahhud, he is actually making du’aa for everyone and he will get the

reward for it.

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fiqh3.pdf - Page 68

16

7- Then he rises up (to stand) if the prayer is more than 2

Rak’ahs, and raises his hands with the Takbeer. And he

does not recite anything except Surat Al-Fatihah in the

remaining Rak’ahs (of the prayer).

So when getting up for the third rak’ah after the First Tashahhud, one

should raise his hands, while saying the Takbeer.

In the last Rak’ah of the Maghrib prayer and the last two Rak’ahs of

Dhuhr, ‘Asr and ‘Ishaa’ prayers, one does not recite anything except

Surat Al-Fatihah.

AT-TASHAHHUD AL-AKHEER/THE FINAL TASHAHHUD

8- And he sits in Tawarruk/Mutawarrikan, for At-Tashahhud

Al-Akheer (Final Tashahhud) and he says more words than

what he said in Tashahhud Al-Awwal (First Tashahhud):

Sitting for the Final Tashahhud (Mutawarrikan)

SS

At the end of the Final Rak’ah of the prayers which are prayed in more

than 2 rak’ahs/units (e.g. Maghrib, ‘Isha, Dhuhr & ‘Asr that has 2

Tashahhuds), one sits for the Final Tashahhud in the position of

Tawarruk/ Mutawarrikan, resting on his left thigh with his left leg under

his right and keeping his right foot upright. He places his hands on his

thighs and he folds his right hand in the same way he did in his First

Tashahhud and points its index finger towards Qiblah. He looks at it and

moves it while saying the supplications. He begins with what he said in

his First Tashahhud (i.e. “At-Tahiyyatu lillaahi…..(till) ’abduhu wa

Rasooluhu) and then after that he says:

17

Sending Blessings to the Prophet (صلى هللا عليه وسلم‎)

9- Then he says:

Invocation before ending the prayer/Tasleem

18

Seeking refuge from four things

Before Tasleem we should seek refuge in Allah from four things: Punishment of the Hell-Fire Punishment of the grave Trials of life and death Evil of the trial of the False Messiah (Dajjal/Antichrist)

When one is pointing his index finger in the direction of the Qiblah in the

Tashahhud, he intends to affirm the Oneness of Allah and to affirm his

exclusive devotion to Him.

It is proven that the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to point

with his index finger and move it during the Tashahhud when praying.

Hadith: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “It is harder on the Shaytaan than iron,” meaning the index finger. [This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al Albaani in Sifat Salaat an-Nabi (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), p. 159. Reference: http://www.islamqa.info/en/ref/11527/moving%20the%20index%20finger

The scholars differed concerning the matter that whether one should move

his index finger or not while pointing it during the Tashahhud. However, if

one decides to move his index finger or not, based on his conviction of what

the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) may have done, then there is

nothing wrong in doing so as long as he thought to follow him (sallAllahu

‘alayhi wa sallam) and took the appropriate means to do so.

The Prophet (SallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Pray as you have seen me praying.” [Bukhaari]. (This is addressed to both men and woman.) -And Allah knows best

The one who is praying sits for the Final Tashahhud (Tashahhud Al-

Akheer) in the position of Tawarruk/Mutawarrikan only in those prayers

which are prayed in more than 2 rak’ahs/units (e.g. Maghrib, ‘Isha, Dhuhr

& ‘Asr that has 2 Tashahhuds). So for the Fajr prayer and the Sunnah

prayers which are prayed in 2 rak’ahs/units (and has only one Tashahhud),

19

he sits for the Tashahhud in the position of Iftiraash/Muftarishan as he did

in the First Tashahhud (Tashahhud Al-Awwal) mentioned above.

TASLEEM (SAYING SALAAM AT THE END OF THE PRAYER)

10- Then he makes Tasleem to his right side (saying):

“Assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullah" (Peace and the

Mercy of Allah be upon you) and then to his left as well.

After completing the prayer and making the Tasleem, one says:

And then he also says the other dhikr/supplications that are recommended

to recite after completing the prayer.

In the Salaah (prayer) one can make du’aa while he is in two positions- In Sajdah & In the Final Tashahhud before making the Tasleem (i.e. before ending the prayer)

Actually the whole Salaat (prayer) is a form of du’aa (invocations or

supplications).

When saying du‘aa’/supplications after the obligatory prayers, it is not

Sunnah to raise the hands, whether that is done by the imam, ma’moom or

munfarid. Rather that is bid’ah, because it was not narrated that the

Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) or any of his companions

(radhiyAllahu ‘anhum) did that.

20

The Committee was asked about raising the hands for du’aa’ after the five daily prayers – is it proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) raised his hands or not? If it is not proven is it permissible to raise the hands after the five daily prayers or not? They replied: It is not proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) raised his hands in du’aa’ after the obligatory prayers as far as we know so raising them after the salaam of an obligatory prayer is contrary to the Sunnah. Fataawa al-Lajnah 7/104 Reference: http://islamqa.info/en/ref/21976

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Let me mention here the Aayah from the Qur’an which our dearest teacher

reminds us every time while discussing the matters or issues during the class-

It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allah, etc.) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to the kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to Al-Masakin (the poor), and to the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to set slaves free, performs As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and gives the Zakat, and who fulfill their covenant when they make it, and who are As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.) in extreme poverty and ailment (disease) and at the time of fighting (during the battles). Such are the people of the truth and they are Al-Muttaqun (the pious). [Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:177]

May Allah grant us the beneficial knowledge and the best guidance and help us to

perform our Salaat (prayers) and all our acts of worship in the best manner and

may He make us among His righteous slaves. May Allah forgive our sins and

accept our righteous deeds (Aameen).

21

References and more recommended readings:

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/salah-workbook-c-061720121.pdf

http://www.islamqa.info/en

AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST