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Part III: Second Condition of Salaah: Taahir Clothes

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.

 

 

Third Condition of Salaah: Taahir Place

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.

 

 

Fourth Condition of Salaah: Satar

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.

 

 

Fifth Condition of Salaah: Correct Time

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.

 

 

Sixth Condition of Salaah: Facing the Qiblah

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.

 

 

Seventh Condition of Salaah: Niyyah

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.

 

 

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Last modified 02/14/03 10:49 AM