The takbeer tahreemah is actually a condition of beginning the
prayer, not a rukn.
Q. If takbeer tahreemah
is a condition of the prayer, why was it not dealt with when the previous seven
conditions were being discussed?
A. As there is no interval between
takbeer tahreemah and the other arkaan of the prayer, and
the prayer begins with it, it is more appropriate to discuss takbeer tahreemah
with the arkaan of salaah.
Takbeer Tahreemah
Q. What is meant by takbeer
tahreemah?
A. To begin the prayer, after
making the niyyah, one says “Allaahu akbar”. After saying this
takbeer, the prayer begins and all those actions which do not pertain to
the namaaz become haraam. This is why it is called takbeer
tahreemah.
Q. Can one say the takbeer tahreemah
of a fard prayer while bowing?
A. This is not allowed because
standing upright while saying takbeer tahreemah, in fard
or waajib prayer, is compulsory unless there is an excuse not to do so.
First Rukn of Prayer: Qiyaam
Q. What is meant by Qiyaam?
A. Qiyaam means standing up
and standing so that the hands do not reach down to the knees.
Q. For which namaaz and
for how long is the Qiyaam a fard?
A. In fard and waajib
prayers, it is necessary to stand up long enough to read the Qur’aanic verses
necessary for the prayer.
Q. What if one has no strength
to do Qiyaam?
A. One can say fard
or waajib prayers sitting if there is some strong excuse. For example,
one has disease, injury or fear of an enemy.
Q. What is the ruling for Qiyaam
in nafl prayer?
A. Qiyaam is not fard
in nafl. One is allowed to say nafl while sitting even without an
excuse. But one gets only half blessings if one says nafl while sitting
without an excuse.
Second Rukn of Prayer: Qiraa’ah
Q. What is meant by Qiraa’ah?
A. Qiraa’ah means
recitation. Here it means recitation of the Qur’aan.
Q. How much Qiraa’ah of
the Qur’aan is necessary in prayer?
A. Reciting at least one aayah
is fard, saying Surah Faatihah is waajib and
reciting a surah or one long aayah or three shorter aayaat
in addition to Surah Faatihah in the first two rak’aat of fard
and in all rak’aat of witr, sunnah and nafl is waajib
also.
Q. Is Surah Faatihah waajib
in all rak’aat of every namaaz?
A. With the exception of the third
and fourth rak’aat of fard namaaz, reading Surah
Faatihah is waajib in all rak’aat of every prayer whether it
be fard, waajib, sunnah or nafl.
Q. What if one does not remember
even one aayah (verse of Qur’aan)?
A. Then one may read “Subhaanallaah”
or “Al-hamdu lillaah” in place of Qira’ah. It is fard
to learn by heart some aayaat of the Qur’aan as soon as possible. To
learn by heart as much of the Qur’aan as is necessary for fard
namaaz is fard; and for waajib, to its extent, it is waajib
and if one does not learn it, he will be most sinful.
Q. In which salaah
should the Qira’ah be read aloud?
A. It is waajib for the imaam
to say it aloud in the first two rak’aat of Maghrib, ‘Ishaa
and Fajr prayers, the Friday prayer and the two ‘Eid prayers. In
the month of Ramadaan, the Qira’ah should be read aloud
in the witr and taraaweeh prayers by the imaam also.
Q. In which prayers should the
recitation be done in a low voice?
A. The imaam and munfarid
should recite it in a low voice for the Zuhr and ‘Asr
prayers and the munfarid should recite so in witr prayers.
Q. How loud the recitation
should be recited?
A. The lowest degree of “reading
aloud” is that the voice reaches the ear of the person standing next to him
and the lowest degree of “reading low” is that in which the voice of the
person is audible to himself.
Q. What do we call the namaaz
in which recitation is done loudly?
A. These are called Jahri
Namaaz. Jahr means “reading aloud.”
Q. What do we call the prayers
in which Qira’ah is done in a low voice?
A. These are called Sirri
Namaaz. Sirr means “secret” (not open), hence to say in a low
voice.
Q. If one does not say the words
by tongue but only thinks of them in mind, will it be proper?
A. Merely thinking of the
recitation in the mind does not complete the salaah. The words
should be said with the lips.
Third and Fourth Rukn of Prayer: Rukuu’ and Sajdah
Q. What is the least extent of Rukuu’?
A. The least extent is bowing so
much that the hands touch the knees.
Q. What is the sunnat
method of rukuu’?
A. Bowing so much that the head
and the waist come to the same level. The hands be away from the ribs and knees
held firmly by the hands.
Q. How to perform rukuu’
if a person is already bent down by age or is a hunchback?
A. He should perform the rukuu’
by the motion of his head. That is, such a person’s rukuu’ will be
complete if he only bends his head a little.
Q. What is meant by sajdah
or sujood?
A. To rest one’s forehead on the
ground to express humility and respect is called sajdah.
Q. Will sajdah be
complete if one rests only the nose or forehead?
A. It is allowed if there is an
excuse. If one does sajdah by touching only the forehead to the ground
without any excuse, such sajdah will be makrooh. If one does sajdah
by resting his nose only, such sajdah will not be complete.
Q. What to do if there are
wounds both over the forehead and nose?
A. For such a person, it is enough
to do sajdah by the motion of the head only.
Q. In every rak’ah is
one sajdah fard or two?
A. Both of the sajdahs are fard.
Q. How long to wait after the
first sajdah to perform the second sajdah?
A. Just gain the posture of
sitting after the first sajdah and then perform the second one.
Q. Will sajdah be allowed
if a person does sajdah on the back of a person in front of him, due to
lack of space in ‘Eid, Friday, or any other such big prayer gatherings?
A. It is allowed.
Fifth Rukn of Prayer: Qa’dah al-Aakhirah
Q. Sitting how long in Qa’dah-e-Aakhirah
(final sitting) is fard?
A. Sitting up to the last words of
at-Tahiyyahaat: that is, up to “…’abduhu wa rasooluh”, is fard.
Q. In which prayers is Qa’dah-e-Aakhirah
a fard?
A. In all types of prayers- fard,
waajib, sunnat and nafl.
