Q. What is meant by taahir
clothes?
A. Clothes on the body of the
person saying salaah, like shirt, pant, pajama, cap, coat, gown,
etc., must be clean. It is a condition for the prayer that these clothes should
not have more than one dirham (coin-size) of najaasat ghaleeza.
Also, najaasat khafeefah should not exceed the one-fourth portion
of the garment.
If najaasat ghaleeza is less than the size of one dirham
on the clothes, or najaasat khafeefah covers less than one-fourth
portion of the garment, prayers can be said.
Q. If a part of a long headdress
is nijs and a person leaves this part hanging and wears the half portion
from the other end, will salaah be acceptable?
A. It is necessary that the
clothing which a namaazi wears and which moves with his movement should
be taahir. When a namaazi moves, the headdress also moves,
hence the prayer in this case will not be allowed.
Q. What is meant by a taahir
place?
A. The places where the person
performing prayer puts his feet, where he puts down his knees and hands and
where he does sajdah must all be clean.
Q. What if the other side of a
thing on which salaah is being said is nijs?
A. If salaah is
being said on a wooden plank, stone slab or bricks or on any other thing as hard
and thick, then it does not matter if the under side of it is nijs
(dirty). But if prayer is said on a thin cloth having najaasat on the
other side, it will not be permissible.
Q. What if the cloth is
double-folded and the upper part is taahir and the lower part is nijs?
A. Prayer is allowed if the folds
are not sewn together and the upper part is so thick that the najaasat or
smell from the under part is not noticeable. If the folds are sewn together, as
a precaution it is better not to say prayer on it.
Q. What is the ruling if one
says salaah on a cloth spread on a ground or floor which is nijs?
A. The prayer is allowed if the
smell or color of the najaasat underneath does not come on the upper part
of the cloth.
Q. Will namaaz be all
right if the place where namaaz is said is clean but bad smell comes from
the dirt nearby?
A. Namaaz will be all
right. But it will be better not to say prayers in such a place.
Q. What is meant by satar?
A. Satar means the parts of
the body which a Muslim must keep covered and hidden. A man must hide his body
from the navel to the knees. This is fard during prayers and
outside of prayers also. A woman must hide all parts of her body except her
face, palms and feet. This is fard as well, though it is not
necessary for a woman to hide her face during prayers. Women are not allowed to
appear without veils in front of strangers, non-relatives, etc.
Q. What is the order if some
part of the satar is uncovered unintentionally?
A. If ¼ (one-quarter) of the part
is uncovered and remains uncovered as long as one can say subhaana
rabbiyal-‘azeem three times, then the prayer will break. If the
part is covered as soon as it is uncovered, prayer will be acceptable.
Q. What is the ruling if one is
naked and says prayer in the darkness?
A. Having clothes in possession,
if one says prayers without covering the satar, it will not be acceptable
whether it is said in the dark or the light.
Q. What if one uncovers ¼
(one-quarter) of his private parts knowlingly?
A. Prayer will break at once if it
is done intentionally.
Q. What about the one who has no
clothes at all?
A. If one has no clothes, he
should hide his body by any other thing, e.g. leaves, rags, etc. And if nothing
is at hand to hide the satar, then one can say namaaz in such
condition. But in such a case, it is better to say the prayer sitting down and
do rukuu’ and sajdah only by gestures.
Q. What is meant by the
condition of time for saying the prayer?
A. The condition is that a
particular prayer should be said at the time fixed for it. If it is said before,
the prayer will not be acceptable. If said after the time passes, the prayer
will not be called adaa (performed on time) but will be called qadaa
(missed).
Q. How many times during the day
does a Muslim have to say fard namaaz?
A. A Muslim is bound to observe
prayers five times during the day.
Q. Please tell us about the
timings of salaatul-Fajr.
A. About one and a half hours
before the sunrise there appears a kind of whiteness at the edge of the eastern
sky. This whiteness arises from the horizon towards the sky like a column. This
is called subh kaadhib (false dawn). This whiteness
fades after some time. Then comes another whiteness which rises from the east,
spreads towards the right and left through the edge of the eastern sky and not
in a column. This is called subh saadiq (true dawn).
With subh saadiq, the time for Fajr begins
and remains till just before the sunrise. Fajr time ends with the rise of
the sun.
Q. What is the mustahab
(preferred) time for Fajr?
A. When the light of the dawn
spreads and there is ample time to say the prayer twice, in case some mistake is
made in the first instance, according to sunnah, comfortably and without
haste: to say the prayer at such time is best.
Q. Explain the timings of namaaz-e-Zuhr.
A. The time for Zuhr
begins as the sun crosses the meridian or just after the noon-time. The time for
Zuhr passes when the shadows of objects become two times larger as
compared with their original size [excluding the length of the shadow at noon].
Q. What is the mustahab
time for Zuhr?
A. It is mustahab to
say Zuhr prayers a little delayed in the summer so that the heat
is lessened from the mid-day, and in the winter the beginning time is
preferable.
Q. Tell about the time for ‘Asr.
A. ‘Asr time
begins as the shadows become double the length of the objects (plus the size of
the shadow at noon-time) and the time for Zuhr ends. This lasts
until the sunset. But to say the ‘Asr prayer when the sun has
gone down much and the sunlight has become weak and pale is makrooh. ‘Asr
prayers should be observed before this happens.
Q. What is the time for Maghrib
prayers?
A. The time for Maghrib
prayers begins with sunset and lasts till the fading of twilight.
Q. What is twilight?
A. The redness which remains in
the west after sunset is called shafaq ahmar or red
twilight. Whiteness takes its place as the red light fades; this is called shafaq
abyad (white twilight). This also disappears and the sky darkens into
one color. The time for Maghrib prayers remains till the fading of
shafaq abyad.
Q. What is the mustahab
time for Maghrib?
A. The beginning time is
preferable. To delay the prayer with no excuse is makrooh.
Q. What is the timing for ‘Ishaa
prayers?
A. The time for ‘Ishaa
comes after the fading of shafaq abyad and lasts till just
before subh saadiq (true dawn).
Q. What is the mustahab
time for ‘Ishaa prayers?
A. Within the first third of the
night it is preferable. Then, till midnight it is mubaah and after
that it is makrooh.
Q. What is the time for witr
prayers?
A. The time of ‘Ishaa
prayers is also the time for Witr but it is not allowed before the ‘Ishaa
prayers. This means that the time for Witr comes after the ‘Ishaa
prayers.
Q. What is the mustahab
time for Witr?
A. If one is sure that he will be
able to get up in the last part of the night then it is preferable for him to
say Witr prayers then. If he is not sure of getting up, it is better to
say Witr prayers, after ‘Ishaa, before going to bed.
Q. What is Istiqbaal-e-Qiblah?
A. The act of facing towards the qiblah
is called Istiqbaal-e-Qiblah.
Q. What is meant by its being a
condition for the prayer?
A. It is necessary to face the Qiblah
when performing prayers.
Q. What is the Qiblah of
the Muslims?
A. The Muslims’ Qiblah is
the Ka’bah. It is a small, square, single-storeyed room situated in
Masjid-al-Haraam in the city of Makkah, Arabia. The Ka’bah is
also called Ka’batullaah (the Ka’bah of Allah), Baytullaah
(the House of Allah) or Baitul-haraam (the Sacred House).
Q. In which direction is the Qiblah?
A. This depends on which land you
are in. It is in the west of India, Burma and countries near them because they
lie in the east of Makkah. In other countries and places the Qiblah is
towards the east.
Q. What if a sick person is not
facing the Qiblah and has no strength to move?
A. Another person may help him
face the Qiblah only if it does not pain the sick person. If no one is
present to help, or if it causes great pain, then he can perform prayer facing
the direction in which he is lying.
Q. What is niyyah?
A. Niyyah is to intend
something heartily.
Q. What should be the will in niyyah
for the prayer?
A. It is necessary to name the namaaz
which one wants to say. For example, if one wants to say Fajr Fard
prayers, he should intend that he is performing Fajr Fard prayers
of today, (or if he is saying qadaa prayers of some previous day,
his intention will be that he is saying qadaa fajr fard
prayers of such and such day.) If one is saying prayers behind an imaam,
it is necessary to intend that he is saying prayers behind the imaam.
Most important thing is that one should have a clear idea of what he or she is
doing.
Q. What about expressing the niyyah
in words?
A. It is mustahab.
If one does not express his intention in words, there is no harm but it is
better to do it verbally.
Q. What is the niyyah for
nafl prayers?
A. To say “I am saying nafl salaah,”
is enough- just this type of intention to say sunnah or taraaweeh
prayers is also enough.
