Praise be to Allaah.

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or Witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

No!! They say that there is only one God and they do not know how he looks like and that Gods messenger is Muhammed. Most of the world is muslim. If you study Islam you might want to be its follower.

Unfortunately, some non-Muslims believe that Muslims worship different god than god of Christians or Jews. Those non Muslims are either:

• having no understanding of Islam religion, or

• influenced by non Muslims who intentionally propagate wrong information about Islam.

Those non Muslims, mistakenly, believe that Allah is an "Arab god" or a "moon god," or some sort of idol.

It is important to clarify that Muslims worship the same God, the Creator, worshiped by other Heaven religions; Judaism and Christianity. This same God is named in Arabic as Allah. Allah is the proper name of the One True God, in the Arabic language.

Even the Arabic speaking Christians and Jews use the name Allah in their Arabic holy books and worship Allah.

Accordingly, it is a matter of different languages that cause different names for the same God; the Creator, the All-Mighty, and the All-Merciful ;and not a matter of different God worship.

When is it prescribed for a worshipper to do the prostration of forgetfulness?.

Praise be to Allaah.

By the mercy of Allaah to His slaves, as one of the beauties of this perfect religion, Allaah has prescribed that His slaves may make up for shortcomings and mistakes that they make in their worship and cannot avoid completely, by performing supererogatory (naafil) acts of worship, praying for forgiveness and so on.

One of the things that Allaah has prescribed for His slaves to make up for shortcomings that may occur in their prayer is the prostration of forgetfulness, but it is only prescribed to make up for certain things; it does not make up for everything nor is it prescribed for everything.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about the reasons for doing the prostration of forgetfulness, and he replied as follows:

The prostration of forgetfulness in prayer is generally prescribed for three reasons:

1- Doing something extra

2- Omitting something

3- Being uncertain

Doing something extra: for example, doing an extra bow (rukoo'), prostration (sujood), standing or sitting.

Omitting something: such as omitting an essential part of the prayer, or omitting one of the obligatory parts of the prayer.

Being uncertain: such as when a person is not sure how many rak'ahs he has prayed, whether it was three or four, for example.

In the case of doing something extra, if a person adds something to his prayer - bowing, prostrating, standing or sitting - deliberately, then his prayer becomes invalid, because when he added it, that means that he did not do the prayer in the manner ordained by Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever does an action that is not part of this matter of ours (i.e., Islam), will have it rejected." Narrated by Muslim, 1718.

But if he did that extra thing by mistake, then his prayer is not invalidated, but he should do the prostration of forgetfulness after saying the salaam. The evidence for that is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said the salaam after two rak'ahs in one of the two afternoon prayers, either Zuhr or 'Asr, and they told him about that, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did the rest of the prayer, then he said the salaam, then he prostrated twice (the prostration of forgetfulness) after saying the salaam. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 482; Muslim, 573.

And Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led them in praying Zuhr and he prayed five rak'ahs. When he had finished it was said to him: "Has something been added to the prayer?"

He said: "Why are you asking that?"

They said: "You prayed five (rak'ahs)."

So he turned towards the qiblah and prostrated twice. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4040; Muslim, 572.

In the case of omitting something, if a person omits one of the essential parts of the prayer, one of the following two scenarios must apply:

Either he remembers it before he reaches the same point in the following rak'ah, so he has to go back and do that essential part of the prayer and whatever came after it,

Or he does not remember it until he reaches the same point in the following rak'ah, in which case the following rak'ah takes the place of the one in which he omitted that essential part, and he should make up the invalid rak'ah.

In either of these two cases, he should do the prostration of forgetfulness after saying the salaam.

For example: a man stood up after doing the first prostration of the first rak'ah and did not sit or do the second prostration. When he started to recite Qur'aan he remembers that he had not done the second prostration or sat between the two prostrations. In that case he should go back and sit as between the two prostrations, then prostrate, then stand up and do whatever is left of his prayer, and do the prostration of forgetfulness after saying the salaam.

An example of one who did not remember until after he reached the same point in the following rak'ah is a man who stood up following the first prostration in the first rak'ah and did not do the second prostration or sit between the two prostrations, but he did not remember that until he sat between the two prostrations in the second rak'ah. In this case he should make the second rak'ah the first rak'ah, and add another rak'ah to his prayer, then say the salaam then do the prostration of forgetfulness.

Omitting an obligatory part of the prayer - such as if he omits an obligatory part and moves on to the next part of the prayer. For example, he forgets to say Subhaan Rabbiy al-A'la (Glory be to my Lord Most High) and he does not remember until he has got up from prostrating. In this case he has omitted an obligatory part of the prayer by mistake, so he should carry on with his prayer then do the prostration of forgetfulness before saying the salaam, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) omitted the first tashahhud he carried on with his prayer and did not go back and repeat anything, then he did the prostration of forgetfulness before saying the salaam.

In the case of being uncertain, such as if a person is not sure if he has done something extra or omitted something, e.g., he is not sure whether he has prayed three rak'ahs or four, one of the following two scenarios must apply:

Either he thinks that one or the other is more likely to be case, whether it is doing more or omitting something, in which case he should proceed on the basis of what he thinks is more likely to be the case, complete his prayer accordingly, then do the prostration of forgetfulness after saying the salaam;

Or neither appears more likely to be the case, so he should proceed on the basis of what is certain, namely the lesser amount, and complete his prayer accordingly, then do the prostration of forgetfulness before saying the salaam.

For example: a man prays Zuhr then he is not sure whether he is praying the third or fourth rak'ah, but he thinks it more likely that it is the third. So he should pray another rak'ah, then say the salaam, then do the prostration of forgetfulness.

An example of when neither seems to him more likely to be the case is when a man is praying Zuhr and is not sure whether he is in the third rak'ah or the fourth, and neither seems to him more likely to be the case. In that case he should proceed on the basis of what is certain, which is the lesser amount. So he should regard it as the third rak'ah, then do another rak'ah and do the prostration of forgetfulness before saying the salaam. Thus it becomes clear that this should be done before the salaam if you have omitted one of the obligatory parts of the prayer or if you are not sure how many rak'ahs you have done, and neither of the two choices seems more likely to be the case. And it should be done after the salaam if you have added something extra to the prayer or you are not certain but one of the two choices seems more likely to be the case.

See Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh, 14/14-16

And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Muhammad ibn Idris ibn al-`Abbas, al-Imam al-Shafi`i, Abu `Abd Allah al-Shafi`i al-Hijazi al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Muttalibi (d. 204), the offspring of the House of the Prophet, the peerless one of the great mujtahid imams and jurisprudent par excellence, the scrupulously pious ascetic and Friend of Allah, he laid down the foundations of fiqh in his Risala, which he said he revised and re-read four hundred times, then said: "Only Allah's Book is perfect and free from error."

He is the cousin of the Prophet û Allah's blessings and peace upon him û descending from al-Muttalib who is the brother of Hashim, `Abd al-Muttalib's father. Someone praised the Banu Hashim in front of the Prophet, whereby he interlaced the fingers of his two hands and said: "We and they are but one and the same thing." Al-Nawawi listed three peculiar merits of al-Shafi`i: his sharing the Prophet's lineage at the level of their common ancestor `Abd Manaf; his birth in the Holy Land of Palestine and upbringing in Mecca; and his education at the hands of superlative scholars together with his own superlative intelligence and knowledge of the Arabic language. To this Ibn Hajar added two more: the hadith of the Prophet, "O Allah! Guide Quraysh, for the science of the scholar that comes from them will encompass the earth. O Allah! You have let the first of them taste bitterness, so let the latter of them taste reward." Another hadith of the Prophet says: "Truly, Allah shall send forth for this Community, at the onset of every hundred years, someone who will renew their Religion for them." The scholars agreed, among them Abu Qilaba (d. 276) and Imam Ahmad, that the first narration signified al-Shafi`i, and the second signified `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz and then al-Shafi`i.

He was born in Ghazza or `Asqalan in 150, the year of Abu Hanifa's death, and moved to Mecca at the age of two, following his father's death, where he grew up. He was early a skillful archer, then he took to learning language and poetry until he gave himself to fiqh, beginning with hadith. He memorized the Qur'an at age seven, then Malik's Muwatta' at age ten, at which time his teacher would deputize him to teach in his absence. At age thirteen he went to see Malik, who was impressed by his memory and intelligence.

Malik ibn Anas and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani were among his most prominent teachers and he took position against both of them in fiqh. Al-Shafi`i said: "From Muhammad ibn al-Hasan I wrote a camel-load." Al-Hakim narrated from `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Hakam: "Al-Shafi`i never ceased to speak according to Malik's position and he would say: 'We do not differ from him other than in the way of his companions,' until some young men spoke unbecomingly at length behind his back, whereupon al-Shafi`i resolved to put his differences with Malik in writing. Otherwise, his whole life he would say, whenever asked something: 'This is what the Teacher said' û hâdha qawl al-ustadh û meaning Malik."

Like Abu Hanifa and al-Bukhari, he recited the entire Qur'an each day at prayer, and twice a day in the month of Ramadan.

Al-Muzani said: "I never saw one more handsome of face than al-Shafi`i. If he grasped his beard it would not exceed his fist." Ibn Rahuyah described him in Mecca as wearing bright white clothes with an intensely black beard. Al-Za`farani said that when he was in Baghdad in the year 195 he dyed his beard with henna.

Abu `Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam said: "If the intelligence of an entire nation was brought together he would have encompassed it." Similarly, al-Muzani said: "I have been looking into al-Shafi`i's Risala for fifty years, and I do not recall a single time I looked at it without learning some new benefit."

Al-Sakhawi in the introduction to his al-Jawahir WA al-Durar and others narrate that someone criticized Ahmad ibn Hanbal for attending the fiqh sessions of al-Shafi`i and leaving the hadith sessions of Sufyan ibn `Uyayna. Ahmad replied: "Keep quiet! If you miss a hadith with a shorter chain you can find it elsewhere with a longer chain and it will not harm you. But if you do not have the reasoning of this man [al-Shafi`i], I fear you will never be able to find it elsewhere." Ahmad is also related by his students Abu Talib and Humayd ibn Zanjuyah to say: "I never saw anyone adhere more to hadith than al-Shafi`i. No-one preceded him in writing down the hadith in a book." The meaning of this is that al-Shafi`i possessed the understanding of hadith after which Ahmad sought, as evidenced by the latter's statement: "How rare is fiqh among the scholars of hadith!" This is a reference to the hadith: "It may be one carries understanding (fiqh)without being a person of understanding (faqîh)." Sufyan himself would defer to al-Shafi`i in matters of tafsîr and fatwa. Yunus ibn Abi Ya`la said: "Whenever al-Shafi`i went into tafsîr, it was as if he had witnessed the revelation." Ahmad ibn Hanbal also said: "Not one of the scholars of hadith touched an inkwell nor a pen except he owed a huge debt to al-Shafi`i."

Al-Shafi`i was known for his peculiar strength in Arabic language, poetry, and philology. Bayhaqi narrated:

[From Ibn Hisham:] I was al-Shafi`i's sitting-companion for a long time, and I never heard him use except a word which, carefully considered, one would not find (in its context) a better word in the entire Arabic language. . . . Al-Shafi`i's discourse, in relation to language, is a proof in itself.

[From al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Za`farani:] A group of bedouins used to frequent al-Shafi`i's gathering with us and sit in a corner. One day I asked their leader: "You are not interested in scholarship; why do you keep coming to sit with us?" They said: "We come to hear al-Shafi`i's language."

Al-Shafi`i trod the path of the Salaf in avoiding any interpretation of the verses and narrations pertaining to the divine attributes. He practiced "relegation of the meaning" (tafwîd al-mi`na) to a higher source, as established in his saying: "I leave the meaning of the verses of the Attributes to Allah, and I leave the meaning of the hadiths of the attributes to Allah's Messenger." At the same time, rare instances of interpretation are recorded from him. Thus al-Bayhaqi relates that al-Muzani reported from al-Shafi`i the following commentary on the verse: "To Allah belong the East and the West, and wheresoever you turn, there is Allah's face (wajh)" (2:115): "It means - and Allah knows best - thither is the bearing (wajh) towards which Allah has directed you." Al-Hakkari (d. 486) related in his book `Aqida al-Shafi`i that the latter said: "We affirm those attributes, and we negate from them likeness between them and creation (al-tashbîh), just as He negated it from Himself when He said: 'There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him'(42:11)."

Al-Shafi`i's hatred of dialectic theology (kalâm) was based on his extreme caution against errors which bear heavy consequences as they induce one into false beliefs. Among his sayings concerning this: "It is better for a scholar of knowledge to give a fatwa after which he is said to be wrong than to theologize and then be said to be a heretic (zindîq). I hate nothing more than theology and theologians." Dhahabi comments: "This indicates that Abu `Abd Allah's position concerning error in the principles of the Religion (al-usûl) is that it is not the same as error in the course of scholarly exertion in the branches." The reason is that in belief and doctrine neither ijtihâd nor divergences are permitted. In this respect al-Shafi`i said: "It cannot be asked 'Why?' concerning the principles, nor 'How?'" Yet al-Shafi`i did not completely close the door to the use of kalâm in defense of the Sunna, as shown below and in the notice on Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

Yunus ibn Abi Ya`la narrated that al-Shafi`i defined the "principles" as: "The Qur'an, the Sunna, analogy (al-qiyâs), and consensus (al-ijmâ`)"; he defined the latter to mean: "The adherence of the Congregation (jamâ`a) of the Muslims to the conclusions of a given ruling pertaining to what is permitted and what is forbidden after the passing of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him."

Al-Shafi`i did not close the door on the right use of kalâm as is clear from Ibn Abi Hatim's narration from al-Rabi` of his words: "If I wished, I could produce a book against each one of those who deviated, but dialectic theology is none of my business, and I would not like to be attributed any part in it." Similar to it is his advice to his student al-Muzani: "Take proofs from creation about the Creator, and do not burden yourself with the knowledge of what your mind did not reach." Ibn Abi Hatim himself spoke similarly when he was told of Ibn Khuzayma's unsuccessful attempt at kalâm: "It is preferable not to meddle with what we did not learn." Note that al-Shafi`i also spoke of his wish not to have a single letter out of all his works attributed to him, regardless of topic.

Al-Shafi`i's attitude towards tasawwuf was as strict as with kalâm, and he both praised it and denigrated its abuse at the hands of its corrupters. In criticism of the latter he said: "No-one becomes a Sufi in the morning except he ends up a dolt by noon" while on the other hand he declared in his Diwan: "Be at the same time a faqîh and a Sufi." In Mecca al-Shafi`i was the student of Fudayl ibn `Iyad. Imam al-Nawawi in his Bustan al-`Arifin fi al-Zuhd WA al-Tasawwuf ("The Garden of the Gnostics in Asceticism and Tasawwuf") narrated from al-Shafi`i the saying: "Only the sincere one (al-mukhlis)can recognize self-display (al-riyâ')." Al-Nawawi comments: "This means that it is impossible to know the reality of self-display and see its hidden shades except for one who resolutely seeks (arâda) sincerity. Such a one strives for a long time, searching, meditating, examining at length within himself until he knows, or knows something of what self-display is. This does not happen for everyone. Indeed, this happens only with special ones (al-khawâss). But for a given individual to claim that he knows what self-diplay is, this is real ignorance on his part."

Al-Shafi`i deferred primacy in the foundations of fiqh to Imam Abu Hanifa with his famous statement: "People are all the children of Abu Hanifa in fiqh." Ibn Hajar al-Haytami mentioned in the thirty-fifth chapter of his book on Imam Abu Hanifa entitled al-Khayrat al-Hisan: "When Imam al-Shafi`i was in Baghdad, he would visit the grave of Imam Abu Hanifa, greet him, and then ask Allah for the fulfillment of his need through his means."

Two schools of legal thought or madhahib are actually attributed to al-Shafi`i, englobing his writings and legal opinions (fatâwa). These two schools are known in the terminology of jurists as "The Old" (al-qadîm) and "The New" (al-jadîd), corresponding respectively to his stays in Iraq and Egypt. The most prominent transmitters of the New among al-Shafi`i's students are al-Buwayti, al-Muzani, al-Rabi` al-Muradi, and al-Bulqini, in Kitab al-Umm ("The Motherbook"). The most prominent transmitters of the Old are Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Karabisi, al-Za`farani, and Abu Thawr, in Kitab al-Hujja ("Book of the Proof"). What is presently known as the Shafi`i position refers to the New except in approximately twenty-two questions, in which Shafi`i scholars and muftis have retained the positions of the Old.

Al-Subki related that the Shafi`i scholars considered al-Rabi`s narration from al-Shafi`i sounder from the viewpoint of transmission, while they considered al-Muzani's sounder from the viewpoint of fiqh, although both were established hadith masters. Al-Shafi`i said to al-Rabi`: "How I love you!" and another time: "O Rabi`! If I could feed you the Science I would feed it to you." Al-Qaffal al-Shashi in his Fatawa relates that al-Rabi` was slow in his understanding, and that al-Shafi`i once repeated an explanation forty times for him in a gathering, yet he did not understand it then got up and left in embarrassment. Later, al-Shafi`i called him in private and resumed explaining it to him until he understood. This shows the accuracy of Ibn Rahuyah's statement: "I consider the best part of me the time when I fully understand al-Shafi`i's discourse."

Al-Shafi`i took the verse "Or if you have touched women"(4:43) literally, and considered that contact between the sexes, even accidental, nullified ablution. This is also the position of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Umar, al-Sha`bi, al-Nakha`i, al-Zuhri, and al-Awza`i, which is confirmed by Ibn `Umar's report: "Whoever kisses or touches his wife with his hand must renew his wudû'." It is authentic and related in numerous places including Malik's Muwatta'. Al-Shafi`i said: "Something similar has reached us from Ibn Mas`ud." They all read the above verse literally, without interpreting "touch" to mean "sexual intercourse" as do the Hanafis, or "touch with pleasure" as do the Malikis.

A major contribution of al-Shafi`i in the foundations of the Law was his division of innovation (al-bid`a) into good and bad on the basis of `Umar's words about the tarâwih or congregational supererogatory night prayers in the month of Ramadan: "What a fine innovation this is!" Harmala narrated that al-Shafi`i concluded: "Therefore, whatever innovation conforms to the Sunna is approved (mahmûd), and whatever opposes it is abominable (madhmûm)." Agreement formed in the Four Schools around his division, as illustrated by the endorsement of some major later authorities in each school. Among the Hanafis: Ibn `Abidin, al-Turkumani, and al-Tahanawi; among the Malikis: al-Turtushi, Ibn al-Hajj, and al-Shatibi; consensus among the Shafi`is; and reluctant acceptance among later Hanbalis, who altered al-Shafi`i's terminology to read "lexical innovation" (bid`a lughawiyya) and "legal innovation" (bid`a shar`iyya), respectively û although inaccurately û matching Shafi`i's "approved" and "abominable".

Among al-Shafi`i's other notable positions: Al-Muzani said: "I never saw any of the scholars make something obligatory on behalf of the Prophet as much as al-Shafi`i in his books, and this was due to his high remembrance of the Prophet. He said in the Old School: 'Supplication ends with the invocation of blessings on the Prophet, and its end is but by means of it.'" Al-Karabisi said: "I heard al-Shafi`i say that he disliked for someone to say 'the Messenger' (al-Rasûl), but that he should say 'Allah's Messenger' (Rasûl Allah) out of veneration (ta`zîm) for him."

Among al-Shafi`i's other sayings:

"The study of hadith is better than supererogatory prayer, and the pursuit of knowledge is better than supererogatory prayer." Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Kitab al-`Ilm listed the many hadiths of the Prophet on the superior merit of knowledge. However, al-Shafi`i by this saying meant the essence and purpose of knowledge, not knowledge for its own sake which leads to Satanic pride. The latter is widely available while true knowledge is the knowledge that leads to godwariness (taqwa). This is confirmed by al-Shafi`i's saying: "Knowledge is what benefits. Knowledge is not what one has memorized." This is a corrective for those content to define knowledge as "the knowledge of the proof" (ma`rifa al-dalîl). "He gives wisdom to whomever He will, and whoever receives wisdom receives immense good." (2:269)

"You [the scholars of hadith] are the pharmacists but we [the jurists] are the physicians." This was explained by `Ali al-Qari in his book Mu`taqad Abi Hanifa al-Imam (p. 42): "The early scholars said: The hadith scholar without knowledge of fiqhis like a seller of drugs who is no physician: he has them but he does not know what to do with them; and the fiqh scholar without knowledge of hadith is like a physician without drugs: he knows what constitutes a remedy, but does not dispose of it."

"Malik was asked about kalâm and [the Science of] Oneness (tawhîd) and he said: 'It is inconceivable that the Prophet should teach his Community hygiene and not teach them about Oneness! And Oneness is exactly what the Prophet said: 'I was ordered to fight people until they say 'There is no God but Allah.' So, whatever makes blood and property untouchable û that is the reality of Oneness (haqîqa al-tawhîd).'" This is a proof from the Salaf against those who, in later times, innovated sub-divisions for tawhîd or legislated that their own understanding of Allah's Attributes was a precondition for the declaration of Oneness. Al-Halimi said: "In this hadith there is explicit proof that that declaration (lâ ilâha illallâh)suffices to extirpate oneself from all the different kinds of disbelief in Allah Almighty."

"Satiation weighs down the body, hardens the heart, does away with sagacity, brings on sleep, and weakens one from worship." This is similar to the definition of tasawwuf as "hunger" (al-jû`) given by some of the early masters, who acquired hunger as a permanent attribute and were called "hungerers" (jû`iyyûn). A notable example is al-Qasim ibn `Uthman al-`Abdi al-Dimashqi al-Ju`i (d. 248), whom al-Dhahabi describes as "the Imam, the exemplar, the wali, the muhaddith, the shaykh of the Sufis and the friend of Ahmad ibn al-Hawari."

"I never swore by Allah û neither truthfully nor deceptively." This is similar to the saying of the Sufi master Sahl ibn `Abd Allah al-Tustari narrated by al-Dhahabi: "Among the manners of the truthful saints (al-siddîqîn) is that they never swear by Allah, nor commit backbiting, nor does backbiting take place around them, nor do they eat to satiation, if they promise they are true to their word, and they never speak in jest."

Al-Buwayti asked: "Should I pray behind the Rafidi?" Al-Shafi`i said: "Do not pray behind the Rafidi, nor behind the Qadari, nor behind the Murji'." Al-Buwayti said: "Define them for us." He replied: "Whoever says 'Belief consists only in speech' is a Murji', and whoever says 'Abu Bakr and `Umar are not Imams' is a Rafidi, and whoever attributes destiny to himself is a Qadari."

Abu Hatim narrated from Harmala that al-Shafi`i said: "The Caliphs (al-khulafâ') are five: Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, `Ali, and `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz." In his Diwan he named them "leaders of their people, by whose guidance one obtains guidance," and declaimed of the Family of the Prophet:

The Family of the Prophet are my intermediary to him! (wasîlatî)

Through them I hope to be given my record with the right hand.

and:

O Family of Allah's Messenger! To love you is an obligation

Which Allah ordained and revealed in the Qur'an.

It is enough proof of your immense glory that

Whoever invokes not blessings upon you, his prayer is invalid.

Ibn Hajar said that the first to write a biography of al-Shafi`i was Dawud al-Zahiri (d. 275). Al-Nawawi in Tahdhib al-Asma' WA al-Lughat (1:44) mentioned that the best biography of al-Shafi`i was al-Bayhaqi's for its sound chains of transmission. Ibn Hajar summarized it and added to it al-Shafi`i's Musnadin his Tawali al-Ta'sis fi Ma`ali Ibn Idris.

In the introduction of his compendium of Shafi`i fiqhentitled al-Majmu` al-Nawawi mentions that al-Shafi`i used a walking stick for which he was asked: "Why do you carry a stick when you are neither old nor ailing?" He replied: "To remember I am only a traveller in this world."

Superior

superhero

superficial

5-letter words

super

6-letter words

superb, supers

7-letter words

supered

8-letter words

superadd, superbad, superber, superbly, supercar, supercop, superego, superfan, superfix, superhit, supering, superior, superjet, superlay, superlie, superman, supermen, supermom, supernal, superpro, supersex, superspy, supertax

9-letter words

superable, superably, superadds, superbank, superbest, superbomb, supercars, supercede, superchic, supercity, superclub, supercoil, supercool, supercops, supercute, superegos, superfans, superfarm, superfast, superfine, superfirm, superfund, supergene, superglue, supergood, superheat, superhero, superhits, superhype, superiors, superjets, superjock, superlain, superlies, supermale, supermind, supermini, supermoms, supernova, superpimp, superport, superpose, superpros, superrace, superreal, superrich, superroad, supersafe, supersale, supersede, supersell, supershow, supersize, supersoft, superstar, superstud, superthin, supervene, supervise, superwave, superwide, superwife

10-letter words

superadded, superagent, superalloy, superbanks, superbitch, superblock, superbness, superboard, superbombs, supercargo, superceded, supercedes, superclass, superclean, superclubs, supercoils, supercools, superelite, superfarms, superfirms, superfixes, superflack, superfluid, superfunds, supergenes, supergiant, superglues, supergroup, superheats, superheavy, superhelix, superhuman, superhyped, superhypes, superiorly, superjocks, superjumbo, superlarge, superlight, superliner, superlunar, superlying, supermacho, supermales, supermicro, superminds, superminis, supermodel, supernally, supernovae, supernovas, superorder, superoxide, superpimps, superplane, superports, superposed, superposes, superpower, superraces, superroads, supersales, superscale, superscout, superseded, superseder, supersedes, supersells, supersexes, supersharp, supershows, supersized, superslick, supersmart, supersonic, superspies, superstars, superstate, superstock, superstore, superstuds, supersweet, supertaxes, superthick, supertight, supertonic, supervened, supervenes, supervised, supervises, supervisor, superwaves, superwives, superwoman, superwomen

11-letter words

superabound, superadding, superagency, superagents, superalloys, superaltern, superblocks, superboards, superbomber, superbright, supercargos, superceding, supercenter, supercharge, superchurch, supercities, supercoiled, supercooled, superdeluxe, superegoist, superelites, superfamily, superfatted, superficial, superficies, superflacks, superfluids, superfluity, superfluous, supergiants, supergroups, supergrowth, superharden, superheated, superheater, superheroes, superhyping, superimpose, superinduce, superinfect, superintend, superiority, superjacent, superjumbos, superlative, superlawyer, superliners, superlunary, superluxury, supermachos, supermarket, supermicros, supermodels, supermodern, supernatant, supernation, supernature, supernormal, superorders, superorgasm, superoxides, superperson, superplanes, superplayer, superpolite, superposing, superpowers, superprofit, superscales, superschool, superscouts, superscribe, superscript, supersecret, supersedeas, superseders, superseding, supersedure, superseller, supersinger, supersleuth, supersmooth, supersonics, superstates, superstocks, superstores, superstrata, superstrike, superstring, superstrong, supersubtle, supersystem, supertanker, supertonics, supervening, supervirile, supervising, supervision, supervisors, supervisory, superweapon

12-letter words

superabounds, superalterns, superannuate, superathlete, superbitches, superbnesses, superbombers, supercabinet, supercargoes, supercarrier, supercenters, supercharged, supercharger, supercharges, superciliary, supercilious, superclasses, supercluster, supercoiling, superconduct, supercooling, supercurrent, superegoists, superelevate, supereminent, superexpress, supergravity, supergrowths, superhardens, superheaters, superheating, superheavies, superhelical, superhelices, superhelixes, superheroine, superhighway, superhumanly, superimposed, superimposes, superinduced, superinduces, superinfects, superintends, superlatives, superlawyers, supermarkets, supermassive, supernatants, supernations, supernatural, supernatures, superorganic, superorgasms, superovulate, superpatriot, superpersons, superplastic, superplayers, superposable, superpowered, superpremium, superprofits, superquality, superrealism, superschools, superscribed, superscribes, superscripts, supersecrecy, supersecrets, supersedures, supersellers, supersensory, supersession, supersingers, supersleuths, superspecial, superstardom, superstation, superstition, superstratum, superstrikes, superstrings, supersurgeon, supersystems, supertankers, supervenient, supervention, supervisions, superweapons

13-letter words

superableness, superabounded, superabundant, superachiever, superactivity, superaddition, superagencies, superannuated, superannuates, superathletes, supercabinets, supercalender, supercarriers, supercautious, superchargers, supercharging, superchurches, superclusters, supercollider, supercolossal, supercomputer, superconducts, supercriminal, supercritical, supercurrents, superdiplomat, superelevated, superelevates, supereminence, superfamilies, superfetation, superficially, superfluidity, superfluities, superfluously, supergraphics, superhardened, superheroines, superhighways, superhumanity, superimposing, superinducing, superinfected, superintended, superiorities, superlatively, superlobbyist, superloyalist, superluxuries, supermajority, supermilitant, superminister, supernational, supernaturals, supernormally, supernumerary, superordinate, superorganism, superovulated, superovulates, superpatriots, superpersonal, superphysical, superposition, superpowerful, superpremiums, superrealisms, superregional, superromantic, supersalesman, supersalesmen, supersaturate, superscribing, supersensible, supersessions, superspecials, superstardoms, superstations, superstitions, superstitious, superstrength, supersubtlety, supersurgeons, supersymmetry, superterrific, superthriller, superventions, supervirtuosi, supervirtuoso

14-letter words

superabounding, superabsorbent, superabundance, superachievers, superadditions, superambitious, superannuating, superannuation, supercalenders, superciliously, supercivilized, supercolliders, supercomputers, superconducted, superconductor, superconfident, supercontinent, supercriminals, superdiplomats, supereffective, superefficient, superelevating, superelevation, supereminences, supereminently, supererogation, supererogatory, superexpensive, superexpresses, superfetations, superficiality, supergravities, superhardening, superhumanness, superimposable, superincumbent, superinduction, superinfecting, superinfection, superinsulated, superintendent, superintending, superintensity, superlobbyists, superloyalists, superluxurious, supermasculine, superministers, supernaturally, supernormality, supernutrition, superorganisms, superovulating, superovulation, superpatriotic, superphenomena, superphosphate, superpositions, superqualities, supersaturated, supersaturates, superscription, supersecrecies, supersensitive, supersexuality, supersonically, superspectacle, superstimulate, superstrengths, superstructure, supersymmetric, superthrillers, supervirtuosos

15-letter words

superablenesses, superabsorbents, superabundances, superabundantly, superactivities, superannuations, superbureaucrat, supercalendered, superconducting, superconductive, superconductors, supercontinents, superconvenient, superefficiency, superelevations, supererogations, superfluidities, superfluousness, supergovernment, superheterodyne, superhumanities, superimposition, superindividual, superinductions, superinfections, superintendence, superintendency, superintendents, superlativeness, supermajorities, supernaturalism, supernaturalist, supernumeraries, supernutritions, superovulations, superparasitism, superpatriotism, superphenomenon, superphosphates, superplasticity, supersaturating, supersaturation, superscriptions, superspecialist, superspectacles, superstimulated, superstimulates, superstitiously, superstructural, superstructures, supersubtleties, supersymmetries

16-letter words

superbillionaire, superbureaucrats, supercalendering, superciliousness, supercomfortable, supercompetitive, supercorporation, superfecundation, superficialities, supergovernments, superheavyweight, superheterodynes, superhumannesses, superimpositions, superincumbently, superintelligent, superintendences, superintensities, supermillionaire, supernaturalisms, supernaturalists, supernaturalness, supernormalities, superparasitisms, superpatriotisms, superphenomenons, superromanticism, supersaturations, supersensitively, supersensitivity, superserviceable, supersexualities, superspecialists, superspecialized, superspectacular, superspeculation, superstimulating, supersubstantial

17-letter words

superbillionaires, supercivilization, superconductivity, superconglomerate, superconservative, supercorporations, superefficiencies, superfecundations, superfluousnesses, superheavyweights, superintellectual, superintelligence, superintendencies, superlativenesses, supermillionaires, superminicomputer, supernaturalistic, superplasticities, superromanticisms, superspectaculars, superspeculations

18-letter words

superadministrator, superciliousnesses, supercivilizations, superconglomerates, superintellectuals, superintelligences, superminicomputers, supernaturalnesses, supersensitivities, supersophisticated

19-letter words

superadministrators, superconductivities, superspecialization

20-letter words

superspecializations

Praise be to Allah.

This is a reasonable enough question for one who has not entered Islam, but one who believes in and practices this religion already knows the blessings which are his because of this religion. There are many reasons for this, which include the following:

(1) The Muslim worships One God, Who has no partner, and Who has the most beautiful names and the highest attributes. Thus the Muslim's focus and aim is concentrated, focused on His Lord and Creator; he puts his trust in Him and asks Him for help, patience and support; he believes that Allaah is able to do all things, and has no need of a wife or son. Allaah created the heavens and earth; He is the One Who gives life and death; He is the Creator and Sustainer from Whom the slave seeks provision. He is the All-Hearing Who responds to the supplication of His slave, and from Whom the slave hopes for a response. He is the All-Merciful and All-Forgiving, to Whom the slave turns in repentance when he has committed a sin or fallen short in his worship of Allaah. He is the Omniscient and All-Seeing, who knows all intentions and what is hidden in people's hearts. The slave feels ashamed to commit a sin by doing wrong to himself or to others, because his Lord is watching over him and sees all that he does. He knows that Allaah is All-Wise, the Seer of the Unseen, so he trusts that what Allaah decrees for him is good; he knows that Allaah will never be unjust to him, and that everything that Allaah decrees for him is good, even if he does not understand the wisdom behind it.

(2) The effects of Islaamic worship on the soul of the Muslim include the following:

Prayer keeps the slave in contact with his Lord; if he enters it in a spirit of humiliation and concentration, he will feel tranquil and secure, because he is seeking a "powerful support," which is Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. For this reason, the Prophet of Islaam, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say: "Let us find relaxation and joy in prayer." If something distressed him, he would hasten to pray. Everyone who finds himself faced with disaster and tries prayer finds strength, patience and consolation, because he is reciting the words of his Lord, which cannot be compared to the effect of the words of a created being. If the words of some psychologists can offer a little comfort, what do you think of the words of the One Who created the psychologist?

Now let us look at zakaat, which is one of the pillars of Islaam. Zakaat purifies the soul from stinginess and miserliness, and accustoms people to being generous and helping the poor and needy. It will bring a great reward on the Day of Resurrection, just like other forms of worship. It is not burdensome, like man-made taxes; it is only 25 in every thousand, which the sincere Muslim pays willingly and does not try to evade or wait until someone chases him for it.

Fasting involves refraining from food and sex. It is a form of worship, and a way in which one can feel the hunger of those who are deprived. It is also a reminder of the blessings of the Creator, and it brings rewards beyond measure.

Hajj is the Pilgrimage to the sacred House of Allaah, which was built by Ibraaheem (Abraham, upon whom be peace). By performing Hajj one is obeying the command of Allaah and the call to come and meet Muslims from all over the world.

(3) Islaam commands all kinds of good and forbids all kinds of evil. It encourages good manners and proper treatment of others. It enjoins good characteristics such as truthfulness, patience, deliberation, kindness, humility, modesty, keeping promises, dignity, mercy, justice, courage, patience, friendliness, contentment, chastity, good treatment, tolerance, trustworthiness, gratitude for favours, and self-control in times of anger. Islaam commands the Muslim to fulfil his duty towards his parents and to uphold family ties, to help the needy, to treat neighbours well, to protect and safeguard the wealth of the orphan, to be gentle with the young and show respect to the old, to be kind to servants and animals, to remove harmful things from the road, to speak kind words, to forgive at the time when one has the opportunity to take revenge, to be sincere towards one's fellow-Muslims, to meet the needs of the Muslims, to give the debtor time to repay his debt, to prefer others over oneself, to console others, to greet people with a smiling face, to visit the sick, to support the one who is oppressed, to give gifts to friends, to honour his guest, to treat his wife kindly and spend on her and her children, to spread the greeting of peace (salaam) and to seek permission before entering another person's house, lest one see something private that the other person does not want one to see.

Some non-Muslims may do these things out of politeness or good manners, but they are not seeking reward from Allaah or salvation of the Day of Judgement.

If we look at what Islam has prohibited, we will find that it is in the interests of both the individual and society as a whole. All these prohibitions serve to safeguard the relationship between the slave and his Lord, and the relationship of the individual with himself and with his fellow-man. The following examples demonstrate this:

Islam forbids the association of anything in worship with Allaah and the worship of anything other than Allaah, because this spells doom and misery. Islaam also forbids visiting or believing soothsayers and fortune-tellers; magic or witchcraft that may cause a rift between two people or bring them together; belief in the influence of the stars on events and people's lives; cursing time, because Allaah is directing its affairs; and superstition, because this is pessimism.

Islam forbids cancelling out good deeds by showing off, boasting or reminding others of one's favours; bowing or prostrating to anything other than Allaah; sitting with hypocrites or immoral people for the purposes of enjoying their company or keeping them company; and invoking the curse or wrath of Allaah on one another or damning one another to Hell.

Islaam forbids urinating into stagnant water; defecating on the side of the road or in places where people seek shade or where they draw water; from facing the qiblah (direction of prayer) or turning one's back towards it when passing water or stools; holding one's penis in one's right hand when passing water; giving the greeting of salaam (peace) to one who is answering the call of nature; and putting one's hand into any vessel before washing it, when one has just woken up.

Islaam forbids the offering of any nafl (supererogatory) prayers when the sun is rising, when it is at its zenith, and when it is setting, because it rises and sets between the horns of Shaytaan (Satan); praying when there is food prepared that a person desires; praying when one urgently needs to pass water, stools or wind, because that will distract a person from concentrating properly on his prayer.

Islam forbids the Muslim to raise his voice in prayer, lest it disturb other believers; to continue offering supererogatory prayers at night when one feels drowsy - such a person should sleep then get up; to stay up all night in prayer, especially one night after another; and to stop praying when there is doubt as to the validity of one's wudoo' - unless one hears a sound or smells an odour.

Islaam forbids buying, selling and making "lost and found" announcements in the mosque - because it is the place of worship and remembrance of Allaah, where worldly affairs have no place.

Islam forbids haste in walking when the iqaamah (call immediately preceding congregational prayer) is given, and prescribes walking in a calm and dignified manner. It is also forbidden to boast about the cost of building a mosque; to decorate a mosque with red or yellow paint or adornments which will distract the worshippers; to fast day after day without a break; and for a woman to observe a supererogatory fast when her husband is present without his permission.

Islaam forbids building over graves, making them high, sitting on them, walking between them wearing shoes, putting lights over them or writing on them. It is forbidden to disinter the dead or to take graves as places of worship. Islam forbids wailing, tearing one's clothes or leaving one's hair unkempt when a person dies. Eulogizing the dead in the manner of the times of Ignorance (Jaahiliyyah) is also forbidden, although there is nothing wrong with informing others that a person has died.

Islaam forbids the consumption of riba (interest); all kinds of selling which involve ignorance (of the product), misleading and cheating; selling blood, wine, pork, idols and everything that Allaah has forbidden - their price, whether bought or sold - is haraam; najash, which is offering a price for something one has no intention of buying, as happens in many auctions; concealing a product's faults at the time of selling; selling something which one does not own or before it comes into one's possession; undercutting, outbidding or out bargaining another; selling produce before it is clear that it is in good condition and free of blemish; cheating in weights and measures; and hoarding. A partner who has shares in a plot of land or a date palm tree is forbidden to sell his share without consulting his partners. It is forbidden to consume the wealth of orphans unjustly; to bet or gamble; to take anything by force; to accept or offer bribes; to steal people's wealth or to consume it unjustly; to take something for the purpose of destroying it; to undermine the value of people's possessions; to keep lost property which one has found, or to keep quiet about it and not announce it, for it belongs to the one who recognizes it; to cheat in any way; to ask for a loan with no intention of repaying it; to take anything of the wealth of a fellow-Muslim, unless it is given freely, because what is taken because of another person's shyness is haraam; and to accept a gift because of intercession.

Celibacy and castration are forbidden, as is marrying two sisters, or a woman and her aunt (paternal or maternal), whether he marries the aunt after marrying her niece or vice versa, for fear of breaking the ties of kinship. It is forbidden to make deals in marriage, such as saying "Let me marry your daughter and I will give you my daughter or sister in marriage." Such reciprocal deals are a form of oppression and injustice, and haraam. Islaam forbids mut'ah (temporary marriage), which is a marriage contract for a period of time agreed by the two parties, at the end of which the marriage expires. Islaam forbids intercourse with a menstruating woman, until she has purified herself (by taking a bath after her period ends), and also forbids anal intercourse. A man is forbidden to propose marriage to a woman when another man has already proposed to her, unless the other man withdraws his proposal or gives him permission. It is forbidden to marry a previously-married woman without consulting her, or a virgin without seeking her permission. It is forbidden to wish (a newly married couple) "Bi'l-rafaa' WA'l-baneen (a joyful life and many sons)," because this is the greeting of the people of Jaahiliyyah, who hated daughters. The divorced woman is forbidden to conceal what Allaah has created in her womb (if she is pregnant). A husband and wife are forbidden to speak (to others) about the intimacies of married life. It is forbidden to turn a woman against her husband or to take divorce lightly. It is forbidden for a woman to ask for another's divorce, such as asking a man to divorce a woman so that she can marry him. A wife is forbidden to spend her husband's money without his permission, or to keep away from his bed without good reason, because the angels will curse her if she does that. A man is forbidden to marry his father's wife, or to have intercourse with a woman who is pregnant from another man. It is forbidden for a man to practise 'azl (coitus interruptus) with his free wife without her permission. It is forbidden for a man to return home from a journey late at night and startle his family, unless he has previously notified them when he will arrive home. A man is forbidden to take anything of his wife's mahr (dowry) without her consent, or to keep annoying his wife so that she will give up her wealth.

Islaam forbids women to make a wanton display of themselves (tabarruj). It also forbids extreme forms of female circumcision. Women are forbidden to admit anyone into their husband's home without his permission; his general permission is acceptable so long as they stay within the limits of sharee'ah. It is forbidden to separate a mother and child (in case of divorce); to let one's womenfolk behave foolishly (in an immoral fashion) and not say anything; to let one's gaze wander everywhere; and to follow an accidental glance with an intentional glance.

Islaam forbids the eating of dead meat, regardless of whether it died by drowning, strangulation, shock or falling from a high place; eating blood, pork and anything slaughtered in a name other than that of Allaah or for idols; eating the flesh or drinking the milk of beasts that feed on filth and waste matter; eating the flesh of every carnivorous beast that has fangs and every bird that has talons; eating the meat of domesticated donkeys; killing animals by keeping them and throwing stones at them until they die, or detaining them without food until they die; slaughtering with teeth or nails; slaughtering one animal (for food) in front of another; or sharpening the knife in front of the animal to be slaughtered.

In the area of clothing and adornment, men are forbidden the extravagance of wearing gold. Muslim are forbidden to be naked or to expose their thighs; to leave their clothes long (below the ankles) and trail them on the ground for the purpose of showing off; and to wear clothes that will attract attention.

It is forbidden to bear false witness; to make false accusations against a chaste believing woman; to accuse someone who is innocent; to utter lies; to slander and backbite; to call people by offensive nicknames; to spread gossip and malicious slander; to make fun of the Muslims; to boast about one's status; to shed doubts on a person's lineage; to utter slander, insults and obscenities; to speak in an indecent or rude manner; or to utter evil in public, except by one who has been wronged.

Islaam forbids telling lies; one of the worst kinds of lie is to lie about dreams, like fabricating dreams and visions in order to prove one's virtue, or make some material gains, or to frighten an enemy.

Muslims are forbidden to praise themselves, or to talk in a secret way: two may not converse secretly to the exclusion of a third, because this is offensive. It is forbidden to curse a believer or someone who does not deserve to be cursed.

Islaam forbids speaking ill of the dead; praying for death; wishing for death because of some suffering that one is passing through; praying against one's self, one's children, one's servants or one's wealth.

Muslims are told not to eat the food that is directly in front of others or to eat from the centre of the dish or platter; rather they should eat from what is directly in front of them or thereabouts, because the barakah (blessing) comes in the middle of the food. It is forbidden to drink from a broken edge of a vessel, because this could cause harm; or to drink from the mouth of a vessel; or to breathe into it. It is forbidden to eat while lying on one's stomach; to sit at a table where wine is being drunk; to leave a fire burning in one's house when one sleeps; to sleep with Ghamr in one's hand, like an offensive smell or the remainder of food (grease); to sleep on one's stomach; or to talk about or try to interpret bad dreams, because these are tricks of the Shaytaan.

It is forbidden to kill another person except in cases where it is right to do so; to kill one's children for fear of poverty; to commit suicide; to commit fornication, adultery or sodomy (homosexuality); to drink wine, or even to prepare it, carry it from one place to another, or sell it. Muslims are forbidden to please people by angering Allaah; to offend their parents or even to say "Uff" (the slightest word of contempt) to them; to claim that a child belongs to anyone but his real father; to torture by means of fire; to burn anyone, alive or dead, with fire; to mutilate the bodies of the slain; to help anyone commit falsehood; or to cooperate in wrongdoing and sin.

It is forbidden to obey any person by disobeying Allaah; to swear falsely; to swear a disastrous oath; to eavesdrop on people without their permission; to invade people's privacy or look at their private parts; to claim something that does not belong to one or that one did not do, for the purpose of showing off; to look into someone's else's house without permission; to be extravagant; to swear an oath to do something wrong; to spy on others or be suspicious about righteous men and women; to envy, hate or shun one another; to persist in falsehood; to be arrogant or feel superior; to be filled with self-admiration; to be pleased with one's arrogance. Islam forbids taking back one's charity, even if one pays to get it back; employing someone to do a job without paying him his wages; being unfair in giving gifts to one's children; bequeathing everything in one's will and leaving one's heirs poor - in such a case the will should not be executed; writing a will that concerns more than one third of one's legacy; being a bad neighbour; or changing a will to the detriment of one or some of one's heirs. A Muslim is forbidden to forsake or shun his brother for more than three days, except for a reason sanctioned by sharee'ah; to hold small stones between two fingers and throw them because this could cause injury to eyes or teeth; to include his heirs in a will, because Allaah has already given heirs their rights of inheritance; to disturb his neighbour; to point a weapon at his Muslim brother; to hand someone an unsheathed sword, lest it harm him; to come (walk) between two people except with their permission; to return a gift, unless there is some shar'i objection to it; to be extravagant; to give money to foolish people; to wish to be like someone to whom Allaah has given more of something; to cancel out his charity by giving offensive reminders of his giving; to wilfully conceal testimony; or to oppress orphans or scold one who asks for help or money. It is forbidden to treat with evil medicines, because Allaah would not create a cure for this ummah which includes something that He has forbidden. It is forbidden to kill women and children in warfare; to boast to one another; or to break promises.

Islaam forbids betraying a trust; asking for charity that one does not need; alarming a Muslim brother or taking away his possessions, whether jokingly or seriously; changing one's mind after giving a gift, except in the case of a gift from a father to his child; practising medicine without experience; or killing ants, bees and hoopoe birds. A man is forbidden to look at the 'awrah (private parts) of another man, and a woman is forbidden to look at the 'awrah of another woman. It is forbidden to sit between two people without their permission; or to greet only those whom one knows, because the greeting is to be given to those whom you know and those whom you do not know. A Muslim is forbidden to let an oath come between him and good deeds; he should do what is good and make expiation for the oath. It is forbidden to judge between two disputing parties when one is angry, or to judge in favour of one party without hearing what the other has to say. It is forbidden for a man to walk through the market-place carrying something - like a sharp weapon - that could harm the Muslims, unless it is properly covered. A Muslim is forbidden to make another person get up, so that he can take his place.

There are more commands and prohibitions which came for the benefit and happiness of individuals and mankind as a whole. Have you ever seen any other religion that can compare to this religion?

Read this response again, then ask yourself: is it not a great pity that I am not one of them? Allaah says in the Qur'aan (interpretation of the meaning): "And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers." [Aal 'Imraan 3:85]

Finally, I hope that everyone who reads this will be guided to the correct way and to follow the truth. May Allaah protect you and us from all evil.

Islam Q&A

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/219/

The Islamic Ruling Concerning the Criminal Act of Zina[Adultery & Fornication]

All praise is due to Allah, the One who said: " And do not come near to the unlawful sexual intercourse…"(1) And peace and blessings of Allah be upon His slave and Messenger Muhammad, who said: "When a person commits zina, Imaan (faith) leaves him, until it is like a cloud over his head…"(2) Undoubtedly, all Muslims have some knowledge of the prohibition of Adultery and fornication, however we are living in a western society whereby this crime has become widespread and commonly accepted. This acceptable crime has even crept into some of the Muslim homes, to the extent we find those who are proud to see their son entering the house with a girl accompanying them. This article will define what is considered as adultery and fornication in Islam, its punishment, marriage to one who commits it, repentance, and how to protect yourself from it.

In today's English, the word used for a married person who engages in unlawful sexual intercourse is adultery; the single person who engages in sexual intercourse is fornication. Unlike English, Arabic has only one word for both cases - zina. Throughout the history of the religions, zina has been prohibited, however its prohibition is more emphatic and forceful, and is regarded as one of the gravest sins of all the major sins in Islam. Over fourteen hundred years ago, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) prophesied that from amongst the signs of the Day of Judgement is the prevalence of illegal sexual intercourse.(3) Imaam Adh-Dhahabi in his book 'The Major Sins', placed zina as the tenth major sin out of the seventy mentioned by him. However, we see in the following hadiths that zina is more likely ranked as the second major sin in Islam. The Prophet (s.a.w) said: "There is no sin after shirk (polytheism) greater in the eyes of Allah than a drop of semen which a man places in the womb which is not lawful for him."(4) Thus we find that zina was mentioned after the two grave sins of shirk and murder. A person has committed zina if they voluntarily and deliberately perform sexual intercourse with other than one's spouse. The act of zina has taken place when the full insertion of a male's sexual organ has been inserted inside a female's vagina, regardless of the number of times or whether contraception was used, such as a condom or separator between the couples organs.

Proving zina

A person is convicted of zina by any one or more of the following ways: The first one is that the zaani (fornicator or adulterer) makes a confession, without going back on their word until they are awarded the punishment. If at some stage they retract their confession, they must not be subjected to any penal punishment. The second way a person can be convicted of zinais by four reliable and pious men testifying that they witnessed the sexual act. Each man must testify that he actually saw the male sexual organ inserted into the female's vagina. This stringent condition is to protect innocent Muslims and to block the road for those who want evil to spread amongst the Muslim society. As for the third way a person may be convicted of adultery, this is when a woman who has neither husband nor master is found pregnant.

Punishment for zina in this life

There are definite penal punishments known as hadd or hudood (plural) which have been mentioned in the Qur'an and the Sunnah concerning those who engage in the criminal act. The following conditions must be fulfilled before the hadd is applied: 1. The offender must be sane; 2. They must be Muslim; 3. They have reached the age of puberty; 4. They must be free and not a slave. The Qur'anic injunctions with regards to those commit zina were revealed gradually, that is, bit by bit. The wisdom behind this was to make these injunctions easily acceptable to the new converts of Islam who were deeply engaged in zinaduring the days of Jaahiliyah (ignorance). The first revelation concerning the punishment of zina was that a woman guilty of zina was to be confined to their home until she died(5). The second revelation covered both men and women and was a little specific regarding punishment(6). Allah (s.w.t) then revealed: "The woman and the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day…"(7) The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) clarified this injunction by saying: "Take from me; Allah has made a decree for them. A virgin (committing zina) with a virgin: one hundred lashes (for each) and exiling for year (for the man). And a married (committing zina) with a married: one hundred lashes and stoning."(8)

Difference of opinion exists among Muslim jurists concerning the combining of both stoning and lashing. The correct opinion (and Allah knows best) is that which the majority of the scholars have agreed to, and that is, the one who is to be punished by stoning should not be lashed. This is what has been mentioned by the two caliphs 'Umar and 'Uthman; Ibn Mas 'ud also holds the same view. Hence an unmarried person guilty of fornication is to be lashed one hundred times according to the above verse in addition to banishment for one year in the case of a man. There are also different opinions regarding the exiling of women. Those who hold the opinion that a woman should not be exiled argue that a woman is weaker than a man, and that she needs protection that may not be available for her if she is banished. Those who favor banishment base their opinion on the Prophet's general wording of the hadith, which does not exclude women from being exiled.

The penal punishment of a married adulterer under Islamic jurisdiction is by stoning to death, as per the preceding hadith and other hadiths. Ibn Mus 'ud (r.a) reported that Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: "The blood of a Muslim, who testifies that there is no (true) god except Allah and that I am Allah's Messenger, does not become permissible except for one of three acts: a married person who commits zina, one soul for another (killed) soul, and a man who abandons his deen(religion) and departs from the Jamaa 'ah (of Muslims)."(9) The Prophet (s.a.w) applied stoning to a number of people during his time. Maa 'iz bin Maalik is one of them as per the hadith collected by Bukhari, Muslim and others; another person stoned to death was the woman from the Ghamid tribe who came to the Prophet (s.a.w) demanding him to purify her from her sin.(10)

Know that punishment for the crime of zina acts an atonement of this sin. The Prophet (s.a.w) said regarding the woman from Ghamid who was stoned to death: "She has repented such a repentance that, were it to be divided among seventy of Madina's residents it would cover them. Have you seen a better repentance than her giving away herself for Allah."(11) The idea behind the harsh and severe punishment does not contradict with the spirit of Islam, actually it serves as a deterrent to the society. It protects a person's family, lineage, and spread of moral decadence and diseases in society. When people realise the graveness of the sin, and that its punishment is most humiliating and painful, very few of them would dare to approach it.

Punishment of zina in the hereafter

The punishment of those who die without repenting from zina begins in their grave. In a long hadith, Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) related a dream in which he saw two men accompanying him (Jibreel and Maalik), showing him how a number of sinners were being punished in al-Barzakh (life between death and Judgement day). The Prophet (s.a.w) said: "…We proceeded until we came across a hole in the ground that resembled a baking pit, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Babbling and voices were issuing from it. We looked in and saw naked men and women. Underneath the pit was a raging fire; whenever it flared up, the men and women screamed and rose with it until they almost fell out of the pit. As it subsided, they returned (to the bottom). I said: 'Who are these?' They said: '…As for the naked men and women who were in the pit, they are men and women who indulge in zina…"(12) In a similar narration Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: "We moved on until I saw people who were awfully swollen, and had the most foul stench, their stench was like that of the sewers. I asked: 'Who are these?' They replied: 'Those are the male and female adulterers.'"(13) As for punishment in the hereafter, Allah Most High says: "And they (i.e. the servants of Allah) do not commit zina - And whoever does this shall meet a full penalty. The torment will be doubled to him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in disgrace."(14)

Marriage to a person guilty of zina

As for marriage between two who are guilty of zina, then this is permissible as per what Allah (s.w.t) has said: "The adulterer marries not but an adulteress or a Mushrikah, and the adulteress, none marries her except an adulterer or a Mushrik."(15) There is difference of opinion amongst the scholars with regards to a chaste man marrying an adulteress who has not repented or vice versa. Some of them said that is not lawful; this is the opinion of Ali, Al-Baraa', 'Aisha, and ibn Mas 'ud, (may Allah (s.w.t) be pleased with them all). The majority of the scholars including Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and ibn 'Abbaas, (may Allah (s.w.t) be pleased with them all) on the other hand permitted the marriage, adding however, that marriage to a chaste and pure person was more virtuous.

Repentance

There are many ways a Muslim can protect them self from zina. From amongst the most important of means is remembering Allah. Know that the one who is away from the remembrance of Allah will be weak and is susceptible to the attacks of Satan. The one who does not speak from his own desire (s.a.w) said: "And I command you to remember Allah. The parable of this is like a man whose enemies were running after him and about to catch him. He then entered a well-fortified fortress and saved himself from them. This is the like of a servant (of Allah), he cannot save himself from Satan except by remembering Allah."(17)

There are many actions a Muslim can do to protect themselves from zina. Salaat, both obligatory and supererogatory is one of the strongest fortresses against zina. Allah (s.w.t) said: "…and establish prayer, indeed prayer prevents from depravity and wrongdoing…."(18) Regular fasting is another way of suppressing the sexual desire, as Allah's Apostle (s.a.w) prescribed it for the young people who cannot afford marriage. Another way to keep away from zina is by reminding yourself of how you would abhor and dislike it for your mother, daughter, sister, and aunt; this was how the Prophet (s.a.w) put it to a man who came seeking permission for zina. Remember that Satan watches and waits for you to be distanced from your Muslim brethren, then he makes his attack. And so from amongst the things that will deter you from zina, is to always be in the company of the righteous, those people that will remind you of Allah (s.w.t). The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said in the hadith collected by Abu Dawud in his Sunan, "…indeed the wolf devours the lone sheep." Also, remember that when a believer refrains from committing a sin, his reward increases in proportion with the temptation that he faces. Remember that saying "No" to someone who invites you to commit zina will secure you a place of shelter under the shade of Allah's throne on the Day when their will be no shelter except His.(19) Abu Hurayrah (r.a) reported that Allah's Messenger (s.a.w) said: "Whoever Allah protects from the evil of what is between his jaws (i.e. his tongue) and the evil of what is between his legs (i.e. his private parts), he will enter Jannah (Paradise).(20)

We ask Allah Most High to protect us from the evil of zina, accept our righteous actions, and shower us from His bounties in this life and in the Hereafter.

And Allah knows best.

Bilal Dannoun

1- Al-Israa, 17: 32

2- Abu Dawud - authentic according to Albaani

3- see hadith Anas in Saheeh Bukhari

4- Saheeh Bukhari

5- An-Nisaa, 4: 15

6- An-Nisaa, 4: 16

7- An-Noor, 24: 2

8- Saheeh Bukhari

9- Saheeh Bukhari & Saheeh Muslim

10- Saheeh Muslim, Abu Dawud & others

11- See Sahih Muslim & Abu Dawud

12- Saheeh Bukhari

13- Ibn Khuzaymah & Ibn Hibbaan - authentic according to Albaani

14- Al-Furqaan, 25: 68-69

15- An-Noor, 24: 3

16- An-Nisaa, 4: 18

17- Tirmidhi & An-Nasai - authentic according to Albaani

18- Al-'Ankaboot, 29: 45

19- see Bukhari & Muslim

20- Tirmidhi - authentic according to Albaani

Source: http://www.trosch.org/moh/sharia-law.HTML

http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/ruling%20zina.htm

The Muslims pray 5 times a day in the direction of the Kaaba.

They perform the small pilgrimage or Umrah (7 times around Kaaba and 7 rounds between Mounts Safa & Marwah)

They perform the Hajj (Umrah plus more rituals) during the time of Hajj.

It iforbidden to do any evil in makkah, since it is a holy land. Every good deed (or prayer) is worth 100,000 rewards in Makkah.

Also people walk around it 7 times to show respect to Allah.

4-letter words

cere, dere, fere, here, mere, sere, were

5-letter words

beret, cered, ceres, erect, feres, frere, heres, merer, meres, perea, sered, serer, seres, stere, there, where

6-letter words

adhere, ampere, bereft, berets, cereal, cereus, cohere, erects, erenow, freres, galere, gerent, haeres, hereat, hereby, herein, hereof, hereon, heresy, hereto, inhere, jeered, jeerer, jereed, leered, merely, merest, nereid, nereis, overed, peered, pereia, pereon, quaere, reread, revere, serein, serene, serest, severe, sphere, stereo, steres, teredo, terete, theres, tiered, tuyere, veered, wheres

7-letter words

adhered, adherer, adheres, altered, alterer, amperes, angered, austere, bereave, beretta, bergere, bowered, capered, caperer, catered, caterer, cereals, cerebra, cheered, cheerer, chimere, coerect, cohered, coherer, coheres, compere, covered, coverer, cowered, dowered, eagerer, entered, enterer, epimere, erected, erecter, erectly, erector, erelong, eremite, eremuri, erepsin, erethic, etagere, fevered, fibered, fleered, galeres, gerents, gerenuk, gomerel, gruyere, haltere, havered, haverel, heredes, heretic, hexerei, homered, hovered, hoverer, inhered, inheres, jeerers, jereeds, lagered, layered, levered, leveret, lowered, metered, mitered, miterer, nereids, nowhere, ochered, offered, offerer, ordered, orderer, overeat, papered, paperer, peeress, pereion, petered, powered, prisere, quaeres, queered, queerer, reerect, referee, rereads, reredos, revered, reverer, reveres, riviere, sabered, seeress, sereins, serener, serenes, severed, severer, sewered, sheered, sheerer, shereef, sincere, sneered, sneerer, sobered, soberer, soleret, speered, sphered, spheres, spiered, steered, steerer, stereos, subsere, supered, tabered, tapered, taperer, terebic, teredos, terefah, thereat, thereby, therein, thereof, thereon, thereto, towered, tuyeres, ulcered, umbered, ushered, uttered, utterer, wafered, wagered, wagerer, watered, waterer, wavered, waverer, whereas, whereat, whereby, wherein, whereof, whereon, whereto

8-letter words

abampere, adherend, adherent, adherers, afferent, alterers, answered, answerer, antimere, antlered, anywhere, ashlered, austerer, badgered, banneret, bantered, banterer, barbered, bartered, barterer, battered, bayadere, beavered, bereaved, bereaver, bereaves, berettas, bergeres, bettered, bickered, bickerer, bistered, bittered, bitterer, bordered, borderer, bothered, brokered, buffered, buggered, bumpered, bunkered, buttered, cambered, cankered, cantered, caperers, careered, careerer, cashmere, casimere, caterers, cateress, centered, cerebral, cerebric, cerebrum, cerement, ceremony, cereuses, cheerers, chimeres, cindered, ciphered, clavered, cleverer, cockered, cockerel, coerects, coffered, coherent, coherers, coinhere, compered, comperes, conferee, confrere, coopered, coppered, cornered, coshered, coverers, cratered, cumbered, cumberer, cyphered, dackered, daggered, daikered, dandered, dangered, dapperer, deferent, derelict, derriere, diapered, dickered, diereses, dieresis, dieretic, differed, dithered, ditherer, doddered, dodderer, doggerel, donnered, dosseret, dotterel, eagerest, ectomere, efferent, eglatere, ensphere, enterers, epimeres, erecters, erectile, erecting, erection, erective, erectors, eremites, eremitic, eremurus, erepsins, erethism, erewhile, etageres, ethereal, faltered, falterer, fathered, fendered, feretory, festered, fettered, fetterer, filtered, filterer, fingered, fingerer, flowered, flowerer, floweret, foddered, fostered, fosterer, fullered, funereal, gandered, garnered, gartered, gathered, gatherer, gendered, gerenuks, gettered, gibbered, gingered, glowered, goffered, gomerels, gruyeres, guttered, haeredes, haltered, halteres, hammered, hammerer, hampered, hamperer, hankered, hankerer, haverels, hereaway, heredity, hereinto, heresies, heretics, heretrix, hereunto, hereupon, herewith, hexereis, hindered, hinderer, hollered, hoverers, hungered, hunkered, inherent, insphere, interest, isothere, jabbered, jabberer, jeremiad, jiggered, jittered, juddered, kashered, kedgeree, kippered, kipperer, koshered, laagered, lackered, laddered, lanneret, lappered, lathered, latherer, laveered, lawyered, lechered, lettered, letterer, leverets, limbered, limberer, lingered, lingerer, lippered, littered, litterer, loitered, loiterer, loppered, louvered, lumbered, lumberer, lustered, mackerel, mammered, mannered, mastered, mattered, membered, merengue, mesomere, metamere, meuniere, mezereon, mezereum, miserere, miterers, moldered, mongered, mothered, murdered, murderee, murderer, mustered, muttered, mutterer, nattered, nereides, neutered, nickered, niffered, nowheres, numbered, numberer, offerers, oosphere, operetta, orderers, overeasy, overeats, overedit, oystered, oysterer, paltered, palterer, pampered, pamperer, pandered, panderer, paperers, pattered, patterer, paupered, peltered, peppered, pepperer, peregrin, pereopod, pestered, pesterer, pewterer, pickerel, pilfered, pilferer, podomere, pondered, ponderer, portiere, pothered, pottered, potterer, powdered, powderer, preerect, premiere, prerenal, priseres, properer, puckered, puckerer, puttered, putterer, quavered, quaverer, queerest, quivered, quiverer, raftered, rapiered, reerects, refereed, referees, referent, rendered, renderer, rerecord, reremice, reremind, rerepeat, rereview, rereward, reverend, reverent, reverers, rivieres, rubbered, saggered, schliere, sclereid, serenade, serenata, serenate, serenely, serenest, serenity, severely, severest, sheerest, shereefs, shivered, shiverer, showered, sidereal, silvered, silverer, simmered, simpered, simperer, sincerer, sintered, sistered, skewered, slavered, slaverer, slivered, sliverer, sneerers, soberest, soldered, solderer, solerets, solleret, sorcerer, steerers, stereoed, suberect, subseres, suckered, suffered, sufferer, summered, sundered, sunderer, superego, syphered, tafferel, tampered, tamperer, taperers, tattered, teetered, telfered, telomere, tempered, temperer, tendered, tenderer, tentered, terebene, tethered, therefor, theremin, tigereye, tillered, timbered, tinkered, tinkerer, tittered, titterer, tochered, torchere, tottered, totterer, trouvere, tuckered, undereat, unsphere, utterers, velveret, veneered, veneerer, venereal, verderer, verecund, wagerers, wandered, wanderer, waterers, waverers, weltered, weregild, werewolf, westered, wherever, wildered, wintered, winterer, withered, witherer, wondered, wonderer, xerosere, yabbered, yammered, yammerer, yattered, zippered

9-letter words

abamperes, adherence, adherends, adherents, adulterer, afferents, answerers, antimeres, anywheres, aphereses, apheresis, austerely, austerest, bannerets, banterers, barterers, bayaderes, belvedere, bereavers, bereaving, bickerers, biosphere, bitterest, blabbered, blathered, blatherer, blattered, blethered, blinkered, blistered, blithered, blubbered, blundered, blunderer, blustered, blusterer, bolstered, bolsterer, bordereau, borderers, bouldered, brassiere, broidered, brothered, bucklered, butchered, calipered, careerers, cashiered, cashmeres, casimeres, cassimere, cerebella, cerebrals, cerebrate, cerebrums, cerecloth, cerements, chaffered, chafferer, chambered, chamfered, chaptered, chartered, charterer, chattered, chatterer, checkered, chequered, chippered, chittered, choppered, chowdered, chuntered, cinereous, clabbered, clambered, clamberer, clattered, clatterer, cleverest, clinkered, clobbered, clustered, cluttered, cockerels, coerected, coherence, coherency, coinhered, coinheres, compeered, conferees, confreres, conquered, countered, cumberers, dapperest, daundered, deference, deferents, delivered, deliverer, derelicts, derepress, derrieres, dewatered, dewaterer, diaereses, diaeresis, diaeretic, different, ditherers, dodderers, doggerels, dosserets, dotterels, ecosphere, ectomeres, efferents, eglateres, elsewhere, embowered, empowered, enfevered, ensphered, enspheres, erectable, erections, erectness, eremitism, erethisms, erewhiles, exosphere, falterers, feathered, fetterers, filterers, fingerers, flattered, flatterer, flickered, flittered, flowerers, flowerets, flustered, fluttered, flutterer, forereach, fosterers, foundered, frittered, fritterer, fruiterer, fullerene, furthered, furtherer, gatherers, gauffered, glandered, glimmered, glistered, glittered, hammerers, hamperers, hankerers, hereabout, hereafter, hereaways, heretical, hereunder, hinderers, hydrosere, hyperemia, hyperemic, imbowered, impowered, inference, inherence, insincere, insphered, inspheres, interests, interfere, isotheres, jabberers, jeremiads, kedgerees, kipperers, knackered, lacquered, lacquerer, lannerets, latherers, laundered, launderer, lavaliere, leaguered, leathered, leistered, letterers, lightered, limberest, lingerers, litterers, lobstered, loiterers, lumberers, mackerels, macromere, makeready, maundered, maunderer, meandered, merengues, mesomeres, metameres, mezereons, mezereums, micromere, misereres, mouldered, mufflered, murderees, murderers, murderess, murthered, mutterers, noosphere, numberers, officered, oospheres, operettas, overeager, overeaten, overeater, overedits, overemote, overexert, oysterers, palavered, palterers, pamperers, panderers, partnered, patterers, peeresses, pepperers, peregrine, peregrins, pereiopod, perennate, perennial, pereopods, persevere, pesterers, pewterers, philtered, pickeered, pickerels, pilferers, pioneered, plastered, plasterer, plundered, plunderer, podomeres, ponderers, portieres, potterers, poulterer, powderers, preerects, premiered, premieres, prereturn, prereview, proffered, properest, prospered, puckerers, putterers, quartered, quaverers, quiverers, realtered, recovered, recoverer, reentered, reerected, reference, referenda, referents, renderers, reoffered, reordered, repapered, repowered, rereading, rerecords, reredoses, rerelease, rereminds, reremouse, rerepeats, rereviews, rerewards, reuttered, reverence, reverends, roistered, roisterer, roystered, sarcomere, sauntered, saunterer, scampered, scarpered, scattered, scatterer, sceptered, schlieren, schmeered, sclereids, scowdered, scunnered, scuppered, scuttered, seeresses, semierect, serenaded, serenader, serenades, serenatas, shattered, sheltered, shelterer, shimmered, shiverers, showerers, shuddered, shuttered, silverers, simperers, sincerely, sincerest, skeltered, skippered, skittered, slabbered, slandered, slanderer, slathered, slaverers, slenderer, slippered, slithered, sliverers, slobbered, slobberer, slubbered, slumbered, slumberer, smattered, smatterer, smoldered, smothered, sneakered, snickered, snickerer, sniggered, sniggerer, snookered, solderers, soldiered, sollerets, somewhere, sorcerers, sorceress, sovereign, spattered, spinneret, sputtered, sputterer, staggered, staggerer, stammered, stammerer, steamered, stereoing, stoppered, stuttered, stutterer, sufferers, sunderers, superegos, swaggered, swaggerer, sweltered, swimmeret, swithered, synereses, syneresis, tafferels, tamperers, telomeres, telphered, temperers, tenderers, tenderest, terebenes, terebinth, teredines, therefore, therefrom, thereinto, theremins, thereunto, thereupon, therewith, thundered, thunderer, tigereyes, tinkerers, titterers, torcheres, totterers, trailered, triggered, trouveres, tutoyered, twittered, unaltered, uncovered, undereats, unmitered, unordered, unsphered, unspheres, usherette, velverets, veneerers, verderers, viceregal, vicereine, vouchered, wanderers, weathered, weregilds, whereases, wherefore, wherefrom, whereinto, whereunto, whereupon, wherewith, whickered, whimpered, whiskered, whispered, whisperer, winterers, witherers, wonderers, xeroseres, yammerers

10-letter words

accoutered, adherences, adherently, adulterers, adulteress, aerenchyma, afferently, aphaereses, aphaeresis, aphaeretic, atmosphere, attempered, bacteremia, bacteremic, banistered, bannerette, bediapered, befingered, beflowered, belvederes, beshivered, betattered, bewildered, biospheres, blastomere, blatherers, blunderers, blusterers, bolsterers, bordereaux, brassieres, calendered, calenderer, callipered, cassimeres, cateresses, cavaliered, centromere, cerebellar, cerebellum, cerebrally, cerebrated, cerebrates, cerecloths, ceremonial, ceremonies, chafferers, charterers, chatterers, chromomere, clamberers, clatterers, clerestory, cloistered, coerecting, coherences, coherently, conference, considered, corsetiere, couturiere, cylindered, decentered, deciphered, decipherer, deferences, deflowered, deflowerer, deliverers, delustered, demergered, deregulate, desilvered, dewaterers, difference, discovered, discoverer, disordered, dissevered, domineered, ecospheres, efferently, embittered, embordered, enciphered, encipherer, encumbered, endangered, enfettered, engendered, engineered, erectility, eremitical, eremitisms, espaliered, ethereally, everywhere, exospheres, farmerette, feretories, flatterers, flichtered, floundered, flowerette, flutterers, fourragere, fritterers, fruiterers, fullerenes, funereally, furtherers, hemisphere, hereabouts, hereafters, hereditary, heredities, heresiarch, heretofore, heretrices, heretrixes, huckstered, hydroseres, hyperemias, hystereses, hysteresis, hysteretic, imbittered, incoherent, incumbered, inferences, ingathered, inherences, inherently, interested, interfered, interferer, interferes, ionosphere, irreverent, jardiniere, kerseymere, lacquerers, launderers, lavalieres, lavalliere, lavendered, macromeres, malingered, malingerer, manageress, maneuvered, maneuverer, maunderers, mesosphere, micromeres, minaudiere, ministered, misaltered, misentered, misnomered, misordered, missteered, mutineered, noospheres, operettist, otherwhere, outcapered, outhomered, outpowered, outsteered, outtowered, overeaters, overeating, overedited, overemoted, overemotes, overexcite, overexerts, overexpand, overexpose, overextend, peregrines, pereiopods, peremptory, perennated, perennates, perennials, persevered, perseveres, plaistered, plasterers, plunderers, poulterers, preerected, preference, preordered, prerelease, prerequire, recoverers, reerecting, refereeing, referenced, references, referendum, refiltered, reflowered, regathered, registered, rehammered, rejiggered, relettered, remastered, remembered, rememberer, renumbered, rereadings, rerecorded, reregister, reregulate, rereleased, rereleases, rereminded, rerepeated, rereviewed, resilvered, resoldered, retempered, reverenced, reverencer, reverences, reverently, rhabdomere, roisterers, sarcomeres, saunterers, scatterers, scouthered, serenaders, serenading, sereneness, serenities, severeness, shelterers, shouldered, slanderers, slenderest, slobberers, slumberers, smatterers, smouldered, snickerers, sniggerers, somewheres, sovereigns, spinnerets, splattered, splintered, spluttered, splutterer, sputterers, squandered, squanderer, squattered, staggerers, stammerers, stereogram, stereology, stereopses, stereopsis, stereotype, stereotypy, strangered, stutterers, superelite, swaggerers, swimmerets, synaereses, synaeresis, terebinths, thereabout, thereafter, thereunder, thunderers, transferee, turnverein, unanswered, unbarbered, unbuffered, unbuttered, undereaten, unfathered, unfettered, unfiltered, unhampered, unhindered, uninterest, unlettered, unlimbered, unmannered, unnumbered, unpuckered, unsoldered, untempered, untethered, upgathered, usherettes, vicegerent, vicereines, vivandiere, werewolves, whereabout, wherefores, whisperers

11-letter words

aerenchymas, aftereffect, atmosphered, atmospheres, austereness, bacteremias, bannerettes, bathysphere, beleaguered, belligerent, bereavement, bespattered, bewhiskered, blastomeres, boutonniere, buccaneered, calenderers, carabiniere, carpentered, centromeres, cerebellums, cerebrating, cerebration, cerebroside, ceremonials, ceremonious, chanterelle, charactered, chromomeres, coherencies, computerese, concentered, condottiere, conferences, consigliere, copartnered, corsetieres, couturieres, decerebrate, decipherers, deferential, deflowerers, deregulated, deregulates, dereliction, derepressed, derepresses, differenced, differences, differentia, differently, discoverers, disinterest, dismembered, distempered, embroidered, embroiderer, encipherers, encountered, erectnesses, ethereality, etherealize, farmerettes, featheredge, flowerettes, flusteredly, forereached, forereaches, forgathered, fourrageres, gibberellin, godfathered, harbingered, hemispheres, hereinabove, hereinafter, hereinbelow, heresiarchs, heretically, hydrosphere, hyperextend, incoherence, indifferent, inferential, insincerely, interesting, interethnic, interferers, ionospheres, irreverence, jardinieres, kerseymeres, launderette, lavallieres, leatherette, lithosphere, makereadies, malingerers, maneuverers, mesospheres, microampere, microsphere, milliampere, minaudieres, misrendered, multitiered, murderesses, newspapered, noncoherent, noninterest, operettists, outnumbered, overearnest, overediting, overeducate, overemoting, overexcited, overexcites, overexerted, overexpands, overexplain, overexploit, overexposed, overexposes, overextends, overpowered, overwatered, ozonosphere, peregrinate, perennating, perennation, perennially, perestroika, philandered, philanderer, photosphere, planisphere, plateresque, preerecting, preferences, prenumbered, prerecorded, preregister, prereleases, prerequired, prerequires, privateered, profiteered, racketeered, rechartered, reconquered, redelivered, referencing, referendums, referential, relacquered, remaindered, rememberers, replastered, rerecording, reregisters, reregulated, reregulates, rereleasing, rereminding, rerepeating, rereviewing, reverencers, reverencing, reverential, rhabdomeres, rhizosphere, sandpapered, schwarmerei, sepulchered, sequestered, serendipity, sincereness, slaughtered, slaughterer, sloganeered, smithereens, sorceresses, sovereignly, sovereignty, spinnerette, splutterers, sprinklered, squanderers, stereograms, stereograph, stereophony, stereoscope, stereoscopy, stereotaxic, stereotyped, stereotyper, stereotypes, stereotypic, superegoist, superelites, surrendered, suspendered, telemetered, thereabouts, theretofore, therewithal, transferees, tricornered, troposphere, turnvereins, unchartered, uncluttered, unconquered, undelivered, undereating, underexpose, uninterests, unlaundered, unrecovered, unstoppered, unweathered, upholstered, upholsterer, vicegerency, vicegerents, viceregally, vivandieres, volunteered, wallpapered, whereabouts, wheresoever, wherewithal

12-letter words

administered, adulteresses, aerenchymata, aftereffects, bathyspheres, belligerence, belligerency, belligerents, bereavements, bewilderedly, boutonnieres, cantilevered, centeredness, cerebrations, cerebrosides, ceremonially, chandeliered, chanterelles, chromosphere, clerestories, codiscovered, codiscoverer, commandeered, computereses, conferencing, conferential, decerebrated, decerebrates, deregulating, deregulation, derelictions, derepressing, derepression, diastereomer, differencing, differentiae, differential, disinterests, disorderedly, embroiderers, enregistered, erectilities, etherealized, etherealizes, etherealness, featheredged, featheredges, fellmongered, filibustered, filibusterer, foregathered, forereaching, gibberellins, glasspapered, helicoptered, hereditament, hereditarian, hereditarily, hereinbefore, hydrospheres, hyperendemic, hyperexcited, hyperextends, hysterectomy, incoherences, incoherently, indifference, indifferency, interestedly, interference, interlayered, irreverences, irreverently, jackhammered, launderettes, leatherettes, lithospheres, manageresses, meretricious, microamperes, microspheres, milliamperes, misreference, multilayered, multitowered, noninterests, outdelivered, outglittered, overeducated, overeducates, overemphases, overemphasis, overemphatic, overenamored, overengineer, overenrolled, overequipped, overestimate, overexciting, overexercise, overexerting, overexertion, overexpanded, overexplains, overexplicit, overexploits, overexposing, overexposure, overextended, overmannered, overmastered, overwintered, ozonospheres, peregrinated, peregrinates, peremptorily, perennations, perestroikas, philanderers, photospheres, pickerelweed, planispheres, preferential, prerecession, preregisters, prerehearsal, prerequiring, prerequisite, reconsidered, rediscovered, reengineered, rencountered, reregistered, reregulating, reregulation, rhizospheres, schwarmereis, sclerenchyma, serenenesses, severenesses, slaughterers, spinnerettes, stereographs, stereography, stereoisomer, stereologies, stereophonic, stereopsides, stereopticon, stereoscopes, stereoscopic, stereotactic, stereotypers, stereotypies, stereotyping, stratosphere, superegoists, superelevate, supereminent, superexpress, superpowered, thereinafter, thermosphere, transference, tropospheres, unconsidered, undeciphered, underexposed, underexposes, underpowered, understeered, undiscovered, unembittered, unencumbered, uninterested, unmanneredly, unregistered, unremembered, upholsterers, wherethrough, wherewithals, woolgatherer

13-letter words

asthenosphere, austerenesses, backscattered, belligerences, belligerently, bioengineered, catercornered, caulifloweret, cerebrospinal, ceremonialism, ceremonialist, ceremoniously, chromospheres, circumference, cobelligerent, codiscoverers, conferencings, countereffort, decerebrating, decerebration, deferentially, derealization, deregulations, derepressions, diastereomers, differentials, differentiate, differentness, disencumbered, disinterested, disremembered, dumbfoundered, electioneered, electioneerer, etherealities, etherealizing, featheredging, filibusterers, gerrymandered, grandfathered, headquartered, hereditaments, hereditarians, hyperesthesia, hyperesthetic, hypereutectic, hyperextended, indifferences, indifferently, inferentially, interelectron, interepidemic, interestingly, interferences, intracerebral, isoproterenol, magnetosphere, misreferences, misregistered, misremembered, nonconference, nonhereditary, outmaneuvered, overeagerness, overeducating, overeducation, overelaborate, overembellish, overemotional, overemphasize, overencourage, overenergetic, overengineers, overestimated, overestimates, overexercised, overexercises, overexertions, overexpanding, overexpansion, overexplained, overexploited, overexposures, overextending, overextension, overexuberant, pamphleteered, peregrinating, peregrination, pickerelweeds, preregistered, prerequisites, preretirement, prerevolution, reconnoitered, reembroidered, reencountered, referentially, reregistering, reregulations, reupholstered, reverentially, sclerenchymas, serendipities, serendipitous, sincerenesses, sovereignties, steamrollered, stereographed, stereographic, stereoisomers, stereological, stereophonies, stereopticons, stereoregular, stereoscopies, stereotypical, stratospheres, superelevated, superelevates, supereminence, terephthalate, thermospheres, transferences, unbelligerent, unceremonious, undereducated, underemphases, underemphasis, underemployed, underestimate, underexposing, underexposure, uninteresting, vicegerencies, woolgatherers

14-letter words

asthenospheres, belligerencies, bewilderedness, butterfingered, cauliflowerets, centerednesses, ceremonialisms, ceremonialists, circumferences, cobelligerents, counterefforts, counterexample, counterordered, craniocerebral, decerebrations, derealizations, diastereomeric, differentiable, differentially, differentiated, differentiates, disinteresting, disorderedness, electioneerers, endarterectomy, etherealnesses, hyperefficient, hyperemotional, hyperenergetic, hyperesthesias, hypereutectoid, hyperexcitable, hyperexcretion, hyperextending, hyperextension, hysterectomies, indifferencies, indifferentism, indifferentist, interelectrode, interferential, isoproterenols, magnetospheres, meretriciously, multichambered, nonbelligerent, nonconferences, overeducations, overelaborated, overelaborates, overemphasized, overemphasizes, overencouraged, overencourages, overengineered, overenthusiasm, overestimating, overestimation, overevaluation, overexaggerate, overexercising, overexpansions, overexplaining, overexploiting, overextensions, overextraction, peregrinations, peremptoriness, plasmaphereses, plasmapheresis, preferentially, preregistering, preretirements, prerevisionist, referentiality, reregistration, sclerenchymata, sledgehammered, stereochemical, stereographies, stereographing, stereoisomeric, stereospecific, supereffective, superefficient, superelevating, superelevation, supereminences, supereminently, supererogation, supererogatory, superexpensive, superexpresses, teleconference, terephthalates, transferential, underemphasize, underestimated, underestimates, underexposures

15-letter words

cerebrovascular, ceremoniousness, churrigueresque, circumferential, counterevidence, counterexamples, dedifferentiate, diastereoisomer, differentiating, differentiation, differentnesses, disinterestedly, etherealization, hyperexcitement, hyperexcretions, hyperextensions, hysterectomized, indifferentisms, indifferentists, interelectrodes, interelectronic, interestingness, intracerebrally, maladministered, nonbelligerency, nonbelligerents, noninterference, overeagernesses, overelaborating, overelaboration, overembellished, overembellishes, overemphasizing, overencouraging, overengineering, overentertained, overenthusiasms, overestimations, overevaluations, overexaggerated, overexaggerates, overexpectation, overextractions, overextravagant, preregistration, prerevisionists, reregistrations, serendipitously, stereochemistry, stereoisomerism, stereologically, stereotaxically, stereotypically, supercalendered, superefficiency, superelevations, supererogations, teleconferences, unceremoniously, underemphasized, underemphasizes, underemployment, underestimating, underestimation, videoconference

16-letter words

bewilderednesses, counterespionage, counterevidences, dedifferentiated, dedifferentiates, diastereoisomers, differentiations, disorderednesses, endarterectomies, etherealizations, hyperexcitements, meretriciousness, noninterferences, overelaborations, overembellishing, overenthusiastic, overexaggerating, overexaggeration, overexpectations, overexploitation, peremptorinesses, preregistrations, prerevolutionary, referentialities, sclerenchymatous, stereoisomerisms, stereomicroscope, stereophonically, stereoregularity, stereoscopically, teleconferencing, underemphasizing, underemployments, underestimations, undifferentiated, videoconferences

17-letter words

ceremoniousnesses, counterespionages, dedifferentiating, dedifferentiation, diastereoisomeric, differentiability, disinterestedness, hyperemotionality, hyperexcitability, interestingnesses, nonbelligerencies, overexaggerations, overexploitations, overextrapolation, stereochemistries, stereomicroscopes, stereomicroscopic, stereophotography, stereospecificity, superefficiencies, teleconferencings, unceremoniousness, videoconferencing

18-letter words

countereducational, dedifferentiations, diastereoisomerism, meretriciousnesses, overextrapolations, stereophotographic, stereoregularities, stereospecifically, videoconferencings

19-letter words

countertransference, cytodifferentiation, diastereoisomerisms, differentiabilities, disinterestednesses, hyperemotionalities, hyperexcitabilities, overdifferentiation, stereophotographies, stereospecificities, unceremoniousnesses

20-letter words

buckminsterfullerene, countertransferences, cytodifferentiations, overdifferentiations

21-letter words

buckminsterfullerenes, stereomicroscopically

The daily prayer description for Muslim is followed by our prophet Muhammad prayer which is described below for your reference.

The below details is a translation from one of our scholar books. However, if you need some specific questions or discussions about prayer importance or time to Muslim you can contact me at my Email: truthful Muslim@yahoo.com.

Description of the Prophet's prayer:

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

2 - Qiyaam (standing in prayer)

6- It is obligatory to pray standing. This is a pillar (essential part of prayer), except for the one who is praying the fear prayer or at times of intense fighting, when it is permitted to pray whilst riding; for the one who is sick and unable to stand, who should pray sitting if he is able, otherwise lying on his side; and the one who is praying a naafil prayer, who may pray whilst riding or sitting if he wishes, and he indicates the rukoo' and sujood with his head. The one who is sick may also do this, and he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo'.

7- It is not permissible for one who is praying sitting down to put something raised up on the ground in order to prostrate on it. Rather he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo' - as we have mentioned - if he is unable to touch the ground directly with his forehead.

Prayer on board a ship or airplane

8- It is permissible to pray fard prayers on board a ship or airplane.

9- It is permissible to pray them sitting down if one fears that one may fall.

10- It is permissible to lean on a pillar or stick when standing, if one is old or weak in body.

Combining standing and sitting in prayer

11- It is permissible to pray qiyaam al-layl standing or sitting with no excuse, or to do both. So a person may pray and reciting sitting down, and just before doing rukoo' he may stand up and recite the rest of the aayahs standing up, then do rukoo' and sujood, then he can do likewise in the second rak'ah.

12- If he prays sitting down, he should pray sitting cross-legged or in whatever position he finds comfortable.

Praying wearing shoes

13- It is permissible to pray barefoot, or to pray wearing shoes.

14- It is better to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing shoes, according to what is easy; one should not make it difficult to put shoes on or to take them off in order to pray If a person is barefoot, he should pray barefoot and if he is wearing shoes then he should pray wearing shoes, except when there is a reason not to do so.

15- If he takes them off, then he should not place them to his right; rather he should place them to his left, if there is no one on his left, otherwise he should put them between his feet. There is a subtle hint that he should not place them in front of himself. This is the etiquette which most worshippers ignore, so you see them praying facing their shoes! This is what was narrated in the saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Praying on the minbar

16- It is permissible for the imaam to pray on an elevated place such as the minbar, in order to teach the people. So he should stand up on it to pray, then say takbeer, recite Qur'aan and do rukoo' whilst he is on that place, then he should come down backwards so that he can prostrate on the ground at the base of the minbar, then he may go back to it and do the same in the second rak'ah as he did in the first.

It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah and be close to it

17- It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah (screen or cover), there is no difference whether that is in the mosque or elsewhere, whether the mosque is big or small, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not pray except facing a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, and if he insists then fight him, for he has a companion (qareen) with him" - meaning the Shaytaan.

18- It is obligatory to be close to the sutrah, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded.

19- Between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prostrated and the wall there would be a space nearly big enough for a sheep to pass through. Whoever does that is close enough [to the sutrah] as is required. I say: from this we known that what people do in all the mosques that I have seen in Syria and elsewhere, by praying in the middle of the mosque far away from the wall or pillars is but negligence towards the command and action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How high should the sutrah be?

20- The sutrah should be approximately a handspan or two above the ground, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you places in front of him something such as the stick on the end of a saddle, he should pray and not worry about anyone who passes in front of that." This hadeeth indicates that a line on the ground is not sufficient, and the hadeeth narrated concerning that is da'eef (weak).

21- He should face the sutrah directly, because this is apparent meaning of the command to pray towards the sutrah. Stepping slightly to the right or left so that one is not facing it directly, is not correct.

22- It is permissible to pray facing a stick planted in the ground and the like, or a tree, or a pillar, or one's wife lying down in bed underneath her blanket, or an animal, even if it is a camel.

Prohibition of praying towards graves

23- It is not permitted to pray facing graves at all, whether they are the grave of Prophets or of others.

Prohibition of walking in front of one who is praying even in al-Masjid al-Haraam

24- It is not permitted to walk in front of one who is praying if there is a sutrah in front of him [i.e., it is not permissible to come between him and his sutrah]. There is no difference in this regard between al-Masjid al-Haraam and other mosques, all of them are the same in that this [walking in front of one who is praying] is not permitted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "If the person who passes in front of one who is praying knew how great a burden of sin resulted from that, standing for forty [years] would be better for him than passing in front of one who is praying." This refers to passing between him and the place of his prostration. The hadeeth which speaks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) praying in Haashiyat al-Mataaf without a sutrah and with people passing in front of him is not saheeh, even though it does not say that they were passing between him and his place of prostration. It is obligatory for the one who is prostrating to prevent the one who wants to pass in front of him, even in Masjid al-Haraam.

25- It is not permissible for the one who is praying towards a sutrah to let anyone pass in front of him, because of the hadeeth quoted above, "Do not let anyone pass in front of you…" And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you is praying towards something which is a sutrah between him and the people, and someone wants to pass in front of him, then he should push him in the upper chest and repel him as much as he can." According to another report: "… he should stop him twice, but if he insists then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

Stepping forward to prevent someone passing in front of him

26- It is permissible for a person to take one or two steps to the front, in order to prevent one who is not responsible from passing in front of him, such as an animal or a small child, and to make them pass behind him.

What breaks prayer

27- The sutrah is so important to prayer that it prevents a person's prayer from being invalidated, if someone passes in front of him. This is in contrast to the one who does not use a sutrah, whose prayer is broken if an adult woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him.

3 - Niyyah (intention)

28- The worshipper must have the intention of praying the prayer for which he is standing. He must have the intention in his heart of performing a specific prayer, such as the fard (obligatory prayer) of Zuhr or of 'Asr, or the Sunnah of those prayers. This is a condition or pillar (essential part) of the prayer, but uttering the intention verbally is a bid'ah which goes against the Sunnah, which was not suggested by any of the imams who are followed.

4 - Takbeer

29- Then he should start the prayer by saying "Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)." This is an essential part of the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The key to prayer is purifying oneself (wudoo'), it is entered by takbeer (saying 'Allaahu akbar') and exited by tasleem (saying 'al-salaamu 'alaykum')" i.e, once you say takbeer, certain things are prohibited and this prohibition ends when you say tasleem.

30- He should not raise his voice when saying takbeer in all the prayers, unless he is acting as an imaam.

31- It is permissible for the muezzin to convey the takbeer of the imaam to the people, if there is a need to do so, such as if the imaam is sick and his voice is weak, or because there are many worshippers praying behind him.

32- The one who is following the imaam should not say takbeer until the imaam has finished saying takbeer.

Raising the hands - how it is to be done

33- He should raise his hands when saying the takbeer, or before or after doing so. All of these are proven in the Sunnah.

34- He should raise them with the fingers stretched out.

35- He should raise them level with his shoulders, or sometimes until they are level with his earlobes. I say: with regard to touching the earlobes with the thumbs, there is no basis for this in the Sunnah, rather in my view this has to do with waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan).

Placing the hands - how it is to be done

36- Then he should place his right hand on his left, immediately after the takbeer. This is the way of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions. It is not permissible to let the arms hang at the sides.

37- The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, wrist and forearm.

38- Sometimes the left hand may be grasped with the right. The combination of placing and grasping, which was favoured by some later scholars, has no basis.

Where they should be placed

39- The hands should be placed on the chest only; there is no difference between men and women in this regard. I say: placing them anywhere other than on the chest is da'eef (weak) or has no basis.

40- It is not permissible to put the right hand on the waist.

Humility and looking at the place of prostration

41- The worshipper must be humble in his prayer, and should avoid everything that may distract him from it, such as adornments and decorations. He should not pray where there is food that he wants to eat, or when he needs to urinate or defecate.

42- Whilst he is standing, he should look towards the place where he will prostrate.

43- He should not look to the right or the left, because looking here and there is a snatching away which the Shaytaan steals from the prayer of the slave.

44- It is not permissible for him to look up at the sky.

Du'AA' al-Istiftaah (du'AA' at the start of prayer)

45- Then he should start the prayer with some of the du'AA's which are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There are many of these, the most famous of which is "Subhaanaka Allaahumma WA bihamdika, WA tabaaraka ismuka WA ta'aala jadduka, WA laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You)." The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du'AA's may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see "The Prophet's Prayer described" by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Haneef Publications, p. 14-19]

Recitation of Qur'aan

46- Then he should seek refuge with Allaah - this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so.

47- The Sunnah is sometimes to say "A'oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi WA nafkhihi WA nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry)," - poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry.

48- And sometimes he may say, "A'oodhu Billaah il-Samee' il-A'leem min al-Shaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…)."

49- Then he should say silently - whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently - "Bismillah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)."

Reciting al-Faatihah

50- Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first soorah of the Qur'aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi il-Rahmaan il-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this soorah.

51- Those who cannot remember it should say: "Subhaan Allaah, WA'l-hamdu-Lillaah, WA laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, WA Allaahu akbar, WA laa hawla WA laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah)."

52- The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: "Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)," then pause. Then say, "Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-'Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: 'al-Rahmaan il-Raheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah.

This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole soorah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning.

53- It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawm id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen.

How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it

54- The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur'aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam's recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma'aarif edition.

Recitation after al-Faatihah

55- It is Sunnah to recite - after al-Faatihah - another soorah, even in Salaat al-Janaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak'ahs.

56- The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant.

57- The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then 'Asr, then 'Isha', then Maghrib, usually.

58- The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these.

59- The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak'ah than in the second.

60- He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak'ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original).

Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak'ah

61- It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak'ah.

62- It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak'ahs as well.

63- It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do.

Reciting aloud and reciting quietly

64- Qur'aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu'ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa'), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak'ahs of Maghrib and 'Isha'.

He should recite silently in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, in the third rak'ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak'ahs of 'Ishaa'.

65- It is permissible for the imaam occasionally to make an aayah audible in the prayers where recitation is to be done silently.

66- In Witr and Qiyaam al-Layl, he should recite silently sometimes and aloud sometimes, and he should be moderate in raising his voice.

Tarteel - reciting at a measured pace

67- The Sunnah is to recite the Qur'aan at a measured pace, not quickly or hastily. It should be read in a manner that clearly distinguishes each letter, beautifying the Qur'aan with one's voice. He should observe the well known rulings of the scholars of Tajweed and he should not recite it in the innovated manner of singers or according to the rules of music.

Prompting the imaam

68- It is prescribed for the one who is praying behind the imaam to prompt the imaam if he hesistates in his recitation.

6 - Rukoo' (bowing)

69- When he has completed the recitation, he should pause briefly, to catch his breath.

70- Then he should raise his hands in the manner described for takbeerat al-ihraam (the takbeer at the beginning of prayer).

71- And he should say takbeer ("Allahu akbar"). This is obligatory.

72- Then he should do rukoo', bowing as deeply as his joints will let him, until his joints take the new position and are relaxed in it. This is an essential part of prayer.

How to do rukoo'

73- He should put his hands on his knees, firmly, spacing the fingers out, as if he is grasping his knees. All of this is obligatory.

74- He should spread his back and make it level so that if water were poured on it, it would stay there (not run off). This is obligatory.

75- He should not lower or raise his head, but make it level with his back.

76- He should keep his elbows away from his sides.

77- In rukoo', he should say "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem (Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty) three times or more. There are others kinds of dhikr which may be said in rukoo', some of which are long, some of medium length and some short. See Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 132, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif edition [The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 44].

Making the essential parts of prayer equal in length

78- It is Sunnah to make the essential parts of prayer equal in length, so the rukoo', the standing after rukoo', the prostration and the sitting between the two prostrations should be make approximately the same in length.

79- It is not permissible to recite Qur'aan in rukoo' or in sujood.

Straightening up from rukoo'

80- Then he should straighten up from rukoo'. This is an essential part of the prayer.

81- Whilst straightening up, he should say, "Sami'a Allaahu liman hamidah (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him)." This is obligatory.

82- He should raise his hands when straightening up, in the manner described above.

83- Then he should stand straight until every vertebra has returned to its place. This is an essential part of the prayer.

84- Whilst standing thus, he should say, "Rabbanaa WA laka al-hamd (our Lord, to You be all praise)." (There are other kinds of dhikr which may be said at this point. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 135/The Prophet's prayer described, p. 47). This is obligatory for every person who is praying, even if he is following an imaam, because this is the dhikr of standing after rukoo', and saying "Sami'a Allaahu liman hamidah" is the dhikr of straightening up from rukoo'. It is not prescribed to put the hands one over the other during this standing, because this was not narrated (from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). For more details, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, 1 - Istiqbaal al-Qiblah (The Prophet's Prayer Described - Facing the Ka'bah).

85- He should make this standing equal in length to the rukoo', as stated above.

7 - Sujood (prostration)

86- Then he should say "Allaahu akbar" - this is obligatory.

87- He should raise his hands sometimes.

Going down on the hands

88- Then he should go down into sujood on his hands, putting them down before the knees. This is what was commanded by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is proven that he did this, and he forbade imitating the manner in which a camel sits down, which camel is by kneeling with its forelegs first.

89- When he prostrates - which is an essential part of the prayer - he should put his weight on his palms and spread them out.

90- He should keep the fingers together.

91- And point the fingers towards the qiblah.

92- He should put his palms level with his shoulders.

93- Sometimes he should make them level with his ears.

94- He should keep his forearms off the ground. This is obligatory. He should not spread them along the ground like a dog.

95- He should place his nose and forehead firmly on the ground. This is an essential part of the prayer.

96- He should also place his knees firmly on the ground.

97- The same applies to his toes.

98- He should hold his feet upright with his toes touching the ground. All of this is obligatory.

99- He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah.

100- He should put his heels together.

Being at ease in sujood

101- He 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 sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes.

102- Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer.

103- In sujood, he should say, "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'A'laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)" three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet's Prayer described, p. 55).

104- It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du'AA' during sujood, because it is a time when du'AA' is likely to be answered.

105- He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo', as described above.

106- It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc.

107- It is not permitted to recite Qur'aan whilst prostrating.

Iftiraash and Iq'AA' between the two sajdahs

[Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; IQ'AA' means resting on both heels and feet]

108- Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory.

109- He should raise his hands sometimes.

110- Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory.

111- He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory.

112- He should put his right foot upright.

113- And make its toes point towards the qiblah.

114- It is permissible to sit in IQ'AA' sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet.

115- Whilst sitting thus, he should say, "Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa'ni, WA'aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision)."

116- If he wishes, he may say, "Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me)."

117- He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood.

The second sajdah

118- Then he should say takbeer - this is obligatory,

119- He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer.

120- He should do the second prostration - this is also an essential part of the prayer.

121- He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first.

The sitting of rest

122- When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak'ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory.

123- He should raise his hands sometimes.

124- He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place.

The second rak'ah

125- Then he should get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer.

126- He should do in the second rak'ah what he did in the first.

127- Except that he should not recite the du'AA' for starting the prayer.

128- He should make it shorter than the first rak'ah.

Sitting for the Tashahhud

129- When he completes the second rak'ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory.

130- He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations.

131- But it is not permitted to sit in IQ'AA' at this point.

132- He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it.

133- He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee.

134- It is not permissible to sit resting on one's arms, especially the left arm.

Moving the finger and looking at it

135- He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes.

136- Sometimes he should make a circle with them.

137- He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah.

138- He should look towards it.

139- He should move it, making du'AA' with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end.

140- He should not point with the finger of his left hand.

141- He should do all of this in every Tashahhud.

How to say Tashahhud and the du'AA' following it

142- The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw).

143- He should recite it silently.

144- The wording of the Tashahhud is: "Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi WA'l-salaawaatu WA'l-tayyibaat. Al-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu WA rahmat-Allaahi WA barakaatuhu. Al-salaamu 'alayna WA 'ala 'ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah WA ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan 'abduhu WA rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allaah)." [Other versions are mentioned in Sifat Salaat al-Nabi/The Prophet's Prayer Described, but what is mentioned here is the most sound].

Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): this is what was prescribed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and is narrated in the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, 'Aa'ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them). For more details see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, p. 161, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition/ The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 67).

145- After that, he should send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by saying: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innak hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem); You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)."

146- If you wish you may shorten it and say: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, WA baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, kama salayta WA baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka haamedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers and blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem; You are

Talkhees Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) min al-Takbeer ila al-Tasleem ka annaka turaahaa by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him).

Praise be to Allaah.

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or Witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

2 - Qiyaam (standing in prayer)

6- It is obligatory to pray standing. This is a pillar (essential part of prayer), except for the one who is praying the fear prayer or at times of intense fighting, when it is permitted to pray whilst riding; for the one who is sick and unable to stand, who should pray sitting if he is able, otherwise lying on his side; and the one who is praying a naafil prayer, who may pray whilst riding or sitting if he wishes, and he indicates the rukoo' and sujood with his head. The one who is sick may also do this, and he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo'.

7- It is not permissible for one who is praying sitting down to put something raised up on the ground in order to prostrate on it. Rather he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo' - as we have mentioned - if he is unable to touch the ground directly with his forehead.

Prayer on board a ship or airplane

8- It is permissible to pray fard prayers on board a ship or airplane.

9- It is permissible to pray them sitting down if one fears that one may fall.

10- It is permissible to lean on a pillar or stick when standing, if one is old or weak in body.

Combining standing and sitting in prayer

11- It is permissible to pray qiyaam al-laylstanding or sitting with no excuse, or to do both. So a person may pray and reciting sitting down, and just before doing rukoo'he may stand up and recite the rest of the aayahs standing up, then do rukoo' and sujood, then he can do likewise in the second rak'ah.

12- If he prays sitting down, he should pray sitting cross-legged or in whatever position he finds comfortable.

Praying wearing shoes

13- It is permissible to pray barefoot, or to pray wearing shoes.

14- It is better to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing shoes, according to what is easy; one should not make it difficult to put shoes on or to take them off in order to pray If a person is barefoot, he should pray barefoot and if he is wearing shoes then he should pray wearing shoes, except when there is a reason not to do so.

15- If he takes them off, then he should not place them to his right; rather he should place them to his left, if there is no one on his left, otherwise he should put them between his feet. There is a subtle hint that he should not place them in front of himself. This is the etiquette which most worshippers ignore, so you see them praying facing their shoes! This is what was narrated in the saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Praying on the minbar

16- It is permissible for the imaam to pray on an elevated place such as the minbar, in order to teach the people. So he should stand up on it to pray, then say takbeer, recite Qur'aan and do rukoo' whilst he is on that place, then he should come down backwards so that he can prostrate on the ground at the base of the minbar, then he may go back to it and do the same in the second rak'ah as he did in the first.

It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah and be close to it

17- It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah (screen or cover), there is no difference whether that is in the mosque or elsewhere, whether the mosque is big or small, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not pray except facing a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, and if he insists then fight him, for he has a companion (qareen) with him" - meaning the Shaytaan.

18- It is obligatory to be close to the sutrah, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded.

19- Between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prostrated and the wall there would be a space nearly big enough for a sheep to pass through. Whoever does that is close enough [to the sutrah] as is required. I say: from this we known that what people do in all the mosques that I have seen in Syria and elsewhere, by praying in the middle of the mosque far away from the wall or pillars is but negligence towards the command and action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How high should the sutrah be?

20- The sutrah should be approximately a handspan or two above the ground, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you places in front of him something such as the stick on the end of a saddle, he should pray and not worry about anyone who passes in front of that." This hadeeth indicates that a line on the ground is not sufficient, and the hadeeth narrated concerning that is da'eef (weak).

21- He should face the sutrah directly, because this is apparent meaning of the command to pray towards the sutrah. Stepping slightly to the right or left so that one is not facing it directly, is not correct.

22- It is permissible to pray facing a stick planted in the ground and the like, or a tree, or a pillar, or one's wife lying down in bed underneath her blanket, or an animal, even if it is a camel.

Prohibition of praying towards graves

23- It is not permitted to pray facing graves at all, whether they are the grave of Prophets or of others.

Prohibition of walking in front of one who is praying even in al-Masjid al-Haraam

24- It is not permitted to walk in front of one who is praying if there is a sutrah in front of him [i.e., it is not permissible to come between him and his sutrah]. There is no difference in this regard between al-Masjid al-Haraam and other mosques, all of them are the same in that this [walking in front of one who is praying] is not permitted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "If the person who passes in front of one who is praying knew how great a burden of sin resulted from that, standing for forty [years] would be better for him than passing in front of one who is praying." This refers to passing between him and the place of his prostration. The hadeethwhich speaks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) praying in Haashiyat al-Mataaf without a sutrah and with people passing in front of him is not saheeh, even though it does not say that they were passing between him and his place of prostration. It is obligatory for the one who is prostrating to prevent the one who wants to pass in front of him, even in Masjid al-Haraam.

25- It is not permissible for the one who is praying towards a sutrah to let anyone pass in front of him, because of the hadeeth quoted above, "Do not let anyone pass in front of you…" And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) said: "When one of you is praying towards something which is a sutrah between him and the people, and someone wants to pass in front of him, then he should push him in the upper chest and repel him as much as he can." According to another report: "… he should stop him twice, but if he insists then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

Stepping forward to prevent someone passing in front of him

26- It is permissible for a person to take one or two steps to the front, in order to prevent one who is not responsible from passing in front of him, such as an animal or a small child, and to make them pass behind him.

What breaks prayer

27- The sutrah is so important to prayer that it prevents a person's prayer from being invalidated, if someone passes in front of him. This is in contrast to the one who does not use a sutrah, whose prayer is broken if an adult woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him.

3 - Niyyah (intention)

28- The worshipper must have the intention of praying the prayer for which he is standing. He must have the intention in his heart of performing a specific prayer, such as the fard(obligatory prayer) of Zuhr or of 'Asr, or the Sunnah of those prayers. This is a condition or pillar (essential part) of the prayer, but uttering the intention verbally is a bid'ah which goes against the Sunnah, which was not suggested by any of the imams who are followed.

4 - Takbeer

29- Then he should start the prayer by saying "Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)." This is an essential part of the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The key to prayer is purifying oneself (wudoo'), it is entered by takbeer (saying 'Allaahu akbar') and exited by tasleem (saying 'al-salaamu 'alaykum')" i.e, once you say takbeer, certain things are prohibited and this prohibition ends when you say tasleem.

30- He should not raise his voice when saying takbeer in all the prayers, unless he is acting as an imaam.

31- It is permissible for the muezzin to convey the takbeer of the imaam to the people, if there is a need to do so, such as if the imaam is sick and his voice is weak, or because there are many worshippers praying behind him.

32- The one who is following the imaam should not say takbeer until the imaam has finished saying takbeer.

Raising the hands - how it is to be done

33- He should raise his hands when saying the takbeer, or before or after doing so. All of these are proven in the Sunnah.

34- He should raise them with the fingers stretched out.

35- He should raise them level with his shoulders, or sometimes until they are level with his earlobes. I say: with regard to touching the earlobes with the thumbs, there is no basis for this in the Sunnah, rather in my view this has to do with waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan).

Placing the hands - how it is to be done

36- Then he should place his right hand on his left, immediately after the takbeer. This is the way of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions. It is not permissible to let the arms hang at the sides.

37- The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, wrist and forearm.

38- Sometimes the left hand may be grasped with the right. The combination of placing and grasping, which was favoured by some later scholars, has no basis.

Where they should be placed

39- The hands should be placed on the chest only; there is no difference between men and women in this regard. I say: placing them anywhere other than on the chest is da'eef (weak) or has no basis.

40- It is not permissible to put the right hand on the waist.

Humility and looking at the place of prostration

41- The worshipper must be humble in his prayer, and should avoid everything that may distract him from it, such as adornments and decorations. He should not pray where there is food that he wants to eat, or when he needs to urinate or defecate.

42- Whilst he is standing, he should look towards the place where he will prostrate.

43- He should not look to the right or the left, because looking here and there is a snatching away which the Shaytaan steals from the prayer of the slave.

44- It is not permissible for him to look up at the sky.

Du'AA' al-Istiftaah (du'AA' at the start of prayer)

45- Then he should start the prayer with some of the du'AA's which are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There are many of these, the most famous of which is "Subhaanaka Allaahumma WA bihamdika, WA tabaaraka ismuka WA ta'aala jadduka, WA laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You)." The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du'AA's may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see "The Prophet's Prayer described" by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Haneef Publications, p. 14-19]

Recitation of Qur'aan

46- Then he should seek refuge with Allaah - this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so.

47- The Sunnah is sometimes to say "A'oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi WA nafkhihi WA nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry)," - poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry.

48- And sometimes he may say, "A'oodhu Billaah il-Samee' il-A'leem min al-Shaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…)."

49- Then he should say silently - whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently - "Bismillah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)."

Reciting al-Faatihah

50- Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first soorah of the Qur'aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi il-Rahmaan il-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this soorah.

51- Those who cannot remember it should say: "Subhaan Allaah, WA'l-hamdu-Lillaah, WA laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, WA Allaahu akbar, WA laa hawla WA laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah)."

52- The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: "Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)," then pause. Then say, "Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-'Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: 'al-Rahmaan il-Raheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah.

This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole soorah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning.

53- It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawm id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen.

How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it

54- The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur'aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam's recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma'aarif edition.

Recitation after al-Faatihah

55- It is Sunnah to recite - after al-Faatihah - another soorah, even in Salaat al-Janaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak'ahs.

56- The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant.

57- The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then 'Asr, then 'Isha', then Maghrib, usually.

58- The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these.

59- The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak'ah than in the second.

60- He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak'ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original).

Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak'ah

61- It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak'ah.

62- It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak'ahs as well.

63- It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do.

Reciting aloud and reciting quietly

64- Qur'aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu'ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa'), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak'ahs of Maghrib and 'Isha'.

He should recite silently in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, in the third rak'ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak'ahs of 'Ishaa'.

65- It is permissible for the imaam occasionally to make an aayah audible in the prayers where recitation is to be done silently.

66- In Witr and Qiyaam al-Layl, he should recite silently sometimes and aloud sometimes, and he should be moderate in raising his voice.

Tarteel - reciting at a measured pace

67- The Sunnah is to recite the Qur'aan at a measured pace, not quickly or hastily. It should be read in a manner that clearly distinguishes each letter, beautifying the Qur'aan with one's voice. He should observe the well known rulings of the scholars of Tajweed and he should not recite it in the innovated manner of singers or according to the rules of music.

Prompting the imaam

68- It is prescribed for the one who is praying behind the imaam to prompt the imaam if he hesistates in his recitation.

6 - Rukoo' (bowing)

69- When he has completed the recitation, he should pause briefly, to catch his breath.

70- Then he should raise his hands in the manner described for takbeerat al-ihraam (the takbeer at the beginning of prayer).

71- And he should say takbeer ("Allahuakbar"). This is obligatory.

72- Then he should do rukoo', bowing as deeply as his joints will let him, until his joints take the new position and are relaxed in it. This is an essential part of prayer.

How to do rukoo'

73- He should put his hands on his knees, firmly, spacing the fingers out, as if he is grasping his knees. All of this is obligatory.

74- He should spread his back and make it level so that if water were poured on it, it would stay there (not run off). This is obligatory.

75- He should not lower or raise his head, but make it level with his back.

76- He should keep his elbows away from his sides.

77- In rukoo', he should say "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem (Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty) three times or more. There are others kinds of dhikr which may be said in rukoo', some of which are long, some of medium length and some short. See Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 132, Maktabat al-Ma'aarifedition [The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 44].

Making the essential parts of prayer equal in length

78- It is Sunnah to make the essential parts of prayer equal in length, so the rukoo', the standing after rukoo', the prostration and the sitting between the two prostrations should be make approximately the same in length.

79- It is not permissible to recite Qur'aan in rukoo' or in sujood.

Straightening up from rukoo'

80- Then he should straighten up from rukoo'. This is an essential part of the prayer.

81- Whilst straightening up, he should say, "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him)." This is obligatory.

82- He should raise his hands when straightening up, in the manner described above.

83- Then he should stand straight until every vertebra has returned to its place. This is an essential part of the prayer.

84- Whilst standing thus, he should say, "Rabbanaa WA laka al-hamd (our Lord, to You be all praise)." (There are other kinds of dhikr which may be said at this point. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 135/The Prophet's prayer described, p. 47). This is obligatory for every person who is praying, even if he is following an imaam, because this is the dhikr of standing after rukoo', and saying "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah" is the dhikr of straightening up from rukoo'. It is not prescribed to put the hands one over the other during this standing, because this was not narrated (from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). For more details, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, 1 - Istiqbaal al-Qiblah (The Prophet's Prayer Described - Facing the Ka'bah).

85- He should make this standing equal in length to the rukoo', as stated above.

7 - Sujood (prostration)

86- Then he should say "Allaahu akbar" - this is obligatory.

87- He should raise his hands sometimes.

Going down on the hands

88- Then he should go down into sujood on his hands, putting them down before the knees. This is what was commanded by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is proven that he did this, and he forbade imitating the manner in which a camel sits down, which camel is by kneeling with its forelegs first.

89- When he prostrates - which is an essential part of the prayer - he should put his weight on his palms and spread them out.

90- He should keep the fingers together.

91- And point the fingers towards the qiblah.

92- He should put his palms level with his shoulders.

93- Sometimes he should make them level with his ears.

94- He should keep his forearms off the ground. This is obligatory. He should not spread them along the ground like a dog.

95- He should place his nose and forehead firmly on the ground. This is an essential part of the prayer.

96- He should also place his knees firmly on the ground.

97- The same applies to his toes.

98- He should hold his feet upright with his toes touching the ground. All of this is obligatory.

99- He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah.

100- He should put his heels together.

Being at ease in sujood

101- He 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 sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes.

102- Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer.

103- In sujood, he should say, "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'A'laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)" three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet's Prayer described, p. 55).

104- It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du'AA'during sujood, because it is a time when du'AA' is likely to be answered.

105- He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo', as described above.

106- It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc.

107- It is not permitted to recite Qur'aan whilst prostrating.

Iftiraash and Iq'AA' between the two sajdahs

[Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; IQ'AA' means resting on both heels and feet]

108- Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory.

109- He should raise his hands sometimes.

110- Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory.

111- He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory.

112- He should put his right foot upright.

113- And make its toes point towards the qiblah.

114- It is permissible to sit in IQ'AA' sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet.

115- Whilst sitting thus, he should say, "Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa'ni, WA'aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision)."

116- If he wishes, he may say, "Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me)."

117- He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood.

The second sajdah

118- Then he should say takbeer - this is obligatory,

119- He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer.

120- He should do the second prostration - this is also an essential part of the prayer.

121- He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first.

The sitting of rest

122- When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak'ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory.

123- He should raise his hands sometimes.

124- He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place.

The second rak'ah

125- Then he should get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer.

126- He should do in the second rak'ah what he did in the first.

127- Except that he should not recite the du'AA' for starting the prayer.

128- He should make it shorter than the first rak'ah.

Sitting for the Tashahhud

129- When he completes the second rak'ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory.

130- He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations.

131- But it is not permitted to sit in IQ'AA' at this point.

132- He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it.

133- He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee.

134- It is not permissible to sit resting on one's arms, especially the left arm.

Moving the finger and looking at it

135- He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes.

136- Sometimes he should make a circle with them.

137- He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah.

138- He should look towards it.

139- He should move it, making du'AA' with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end.

140- He should not point with the finger of his left hand.

141- He should do all of this in every Tashahhud.

How to say Tashahhud and the du'AA' following it

142- The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw).

143- He should recite it silently.

144- The wording of the Tashahhud is: "Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi WA'l-salaawaatu WA'l-tayyibaat. Al-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu WA rahmat-Allaahi WA barakaatuhu. Al-salaamu 'alayna WA 'ala 'ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah WA ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan 'abduhu WA rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allaah)." [Other versions are mentioned in Sifat Salaat al-Nabi/The Prophet's Prayer Described, but what is mentioned here is the most sound].

Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): this is what was prescribed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and is narrated in the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, 'Aa'ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them). For more details see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, p. 161, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition/ The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 67).

145- After that, he should send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by saying: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innak hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheemand upon the family of Ibraaheem); You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)."

146- If you wish you may shorten it and say: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, WA baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, kama salayta WA baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka haamedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers and blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem; You are

Talkhees Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) min al-Takbeer ila al-Tasleem ka annaka turaahaa by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him).

Source: Islam Q&A (http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/13340/prayer)

Praise be to Allaah.

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or Witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

2 - Qiyaam (standing in prayer)

6- It is obligatory to pray standing. This is a pillar (essential part of prayer), except for the one who is praying the fear prayer or at times of intense fighting, when it is permitted to pray whilst riding; for the one who is sick and unable to stand, who should pray sitting if he is able, otherwise lying on his side; and the one who is praying a naafil prayer, who may pray whilst riding or sitting if he wishes, and he indicates the rukoo' and sujood with his head. The one who is sick may also do this, and he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo'.

7- It is not permissible for one who is praying sitting down to put something raised up on the ground in order to prostrate on it. Rather he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo' - as we have mentioned - if he is unable to touch the ground directly with his forehead.

Prayer on board a ship or airplane

8- It is permissible to pray fard prayers on board a ship or airplane.

9- It is permissible to pray them sitting down if one fears that one may fall.

10- It is permissible to lean on a pillar or stick when standing, if one is old or weak in body.

Combining standing and sitting in prayer

11- It is permissible to pray qiyaam al-laylstanding or sitting with no excuse, or to do both. So a person may pray and reciting sitting down, and just before doing rukoo'he may stand up and recite the rest of the aayahs standing up, then do rukoo' and sujood, then he can do likewise in the second rak'ah.

12- If he prays sitting down, he should pray sitting cross-legged or in whatever position he finds comfortable.

Praying wearing shoes

13- It is permissible to pray barefoot, or to pray wearing shoes.

14- It is better to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing shoes, according to what is easy; one should not make it difficult to put shoes on or to take them off in order to pray If a person is barefoot, he should pray barefoot and if he is wearing shoes then he should pray wearing shoes, except when there is a reason not to do so.

15- If he takes them off, then he should not place them to his right; rather he should place them to his left, if there is no one on his left, otherwise he should put them between his feet. There is a subtle hint that he should not place them in front of himself. This is the etiquette which most worshippers ignore, so you see them praying facing their shoes! This is what was narrated in the saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Praying on the minbar

16- It is permissible for the imaam to pray on an elevated place such as the minbar, in order to teach the people. So he should stand up on it to pray, then say takbeer, recite Qur'aan and do rukoo' whilst he is on that place, then he should come down backwards so that he can prostrate on the ground at the base of the minbar, then he may go back to it and do the same in the second rak'ah as he did in the first.

It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah and be close to it

17- It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah (screen or cover), there is no difference whether that is in the mosque or elsewhere, whether the mosque is big or small, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not pray except facing a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, and if he insists then fight him, for he has a companion (qareen) with him" - meaning the Shaytaan.

18- It is obligatory to be close to the sutrah, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded.

19- Between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prostrated and the wall there would be a space nearly big enough for a sheep to pass through. Whoever does that is close enough [to the sutrah] as is required. I say: from this we known that what people do in all the mosques that I have seen in Syria and elsewhere, by praying in the middle of the mosque far away from the wall or pillars is but negligence towards the command and action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How high should the sutrah be?

20- The sutrah should be approximately a handspan or two above the ground, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you places in front of him something such as the stick on the end of a saddle, he should pray and not worry about anyone who passes in front of that." This hadeeth indicates that a line on the ground is not sufficient, and the hadeeth narrated concerning that is da'eef (weak).

21- He should face the sutrah directly, because this is apparent meaning of the command to pray towards the sutrah. Stepping slightly to the right or left so that one is not facing it directly, is not correct.

22- It is permissible to pray facing a stick planted in the ground and the like, or a tree, or a pillar, or one's wife lying down in bed underneath her blanket, or an animal, even if it is a camel.

Prohibition of praying towards graves

23- It is not permitted to pray facing graves at all, whether they are the grave of Prophets or of others.

Prohibition of walking in front of one who is praying even in al-Masjid al-Haraam

24- It is not permitted to walk in front of one who is praying if there is a sutrah in front of him [i.e., it is not permissible to come between him and his sutrah]. There is no difference in this regard between al-Masjid al-Haraam and other mosques, all of them are the same in that this [walking in front of one who is praying] is not permitted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "If the person who passes in front of one who is praying knew how great a burden of sin resulted from that, standing for forty [years] would be better for him than passing in front of one who is praying." This refers to passing between him and the place of his prostration. The hadeethwhich speaks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) praying in Haashiyat al-Mataaf without a sutrah and with people passing in front of him is not saheeh, even though it does not say that they were passing between him and his place of prostration. It is obligatory for the one who is prostrating to prevent the one who wants to pass in front of him, even in Masjid al-Haraam.

25- It is not permissible for the one who is praying towards a sutrah to let anyone pass in front of him, because of the hadeeth quoted above, "Do not let anyone pass in front of you…" And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) said: "When one of you is praying towards something which is a sutrah between him and the people, and someone wants to pass in front of him, then he should push him in the upper chest and repel him as much as he can." According to another report: "… he should stop him twice, but if he insists then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

Stepping forward to prevent someone passing in front of him

26- It is permissible for a person to take one or two steps to the front, in order to prevent one who is not responsible from passing in front of him, such as an animal or a small child, and to make them pass behind him.

What breaks prayer

27- The sutrah is so important to prayer that it prevents a person's prayer from being invalidated, if someone passes in front of him. This is in contrast to the one who does not use a sutrah, whose prayer is broken if an adult woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him.

3 - Niyyah (intention)

28- The worshipper must have the intention of praying the prayer for which he is standing. He must have the intention in his heart of performing a specific prayer, such as the fard(obligatory prayer) of Zuhr or of 'Asr, or the Sunnah of those prayers. This is a condition or pillar (essential part) of the prayer, but uttering the intention verbally is a bid'ah which goes against the Sunnah, which was not suggested by any of the imams who are followed.

4 - Takbeer

29- Then he should start the prayer by saying "Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)." This is an essential part of the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The key to prayer is purifying oneself (wudoo'), it is entered by takbeer (saying 'Allaahu akbar') and exited by tasleem (saying 'al-salaamu 'alaykum')" i.e, once you say takbeer, certain things are prohibited and this prohibition ends when you say tasleem.

30- He should not raise his voice when saying takbeer in all the prayers, unless he is acting as an imaam.

31- It is permissible for the muezzin to convey the takbeer of the imaam to the people, if there is a need to do so, such as if the imaam is sick and his voice is weak, or because there are many worshippers praying behind him.

32- The one who is following the imaam should not say takbeer until the imaam has finished saying takbeer.

Raising the hands - how it is to be done

33- He should raise his hands when saying the takbeer, or before or after doing so. All of these are proven in the Sunnah.

34- He should raise them with the fingers stretched out.

35- He should raise them level with his shoulders, or sometimes until they are level with his earlobes. I say: with regard to touching the earlobes with the thumbs, there is no basis for this in the Sunnah, rather in my view this has to do with waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan).

Placing the hands - how it is to be done

36- Then he should place his right hand on his left, immediately after the takbeer. This is the way of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions. It is not permissible to let the arms hang at the sides.

37- The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, wrist and forearm.

38- Sometimes the left hand may be grasped with the right. The combination of placing and grasping, which was favoured by some later scholars, has no basis.

Where they should be placed

39- The hands should be placed on the chest only; there is no difference between men and women in this regard. I say: placing them anywhere other than on the chest is da'eef (weak) or has no basis.

40- It is not permissible to put the right hand on the waist.

Humility and looking at the place of prostration

41- The worshipper must be humble in his prayer, and should avoid everything that may distract him from it, such as adornments and decorations. He should not pray where there is food that he wants to eat, or when he needs to urinate or defecate.

42- Whilst he is standing, he should look towards the place where he will prostrate.

43- He should not look to the right or the left, because looking here and there is a snatching away which the Shaytaan steals from the prayer of the slave.

44- It is not permissible for him to look up at the sky.

Du'AA' al-Istiftaah (du'AA' at the start of prayer)

45- Then he should start the prayer with some of the du'AA's which are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There are many of these, the most famous of which is "Subhaanaka Allaahumma WA bihamdika, WA tabaaraka ismuka WA ta'aala jadduka, WA laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You)." The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du'AA's may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see "The Prophet's Prayer described" by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Haneef Publications, p. 14-19]

Recitation of Qur'aan

46- Then he should seek refuge with Allaah - this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so.

47- The Sunnah is sometimes to say "A'oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi WA nafkhihi WA nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry)," - poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry.

48- And sometimes he may say, "A'oodhu Billaah il-Samee' il-A'leem min al-Shaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…)."

49- Then he should say silently - whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently - "Bismillah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)."

Reciting al-Faatihah

50- Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first soorah of the Qur'aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi il-Rahmaan il-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this soorah.

51- Those who cannot remember it should say: "Subhaan Allaah, WA'l-hamdu-Lillaah, WA laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, WA Allaahu akbar, WA laa hawla WA laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah)."

52- The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: "Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)," then pause. Then say, "Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-'Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: 'al-Rahmaan il-Raheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah.

This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole soorah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning.

53- It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawm id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen.

How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it

54- The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur'aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam's recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma'aarif edition.

Recitation after al-Faatihah

55- It is Sunnah to recite - after al-Faatihah - another soorah, even in Salaat al-Janaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak'ahs.

56- The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant.

57- The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then 'Asr, then 'Isha', then Maghrib, usually.

58- The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these.

59- The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak'ah than in the second.

60- He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak'ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original).

Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak'ah

61- It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak'ah.

62- It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak'ahs as well.

63- It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do.

Reciting aloud and reciting quietly

64- Qur'aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu'ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa'), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak'ahs of Maghrib and 'Isha'.

He should recite silently in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, in the third rak'ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak'ahs of 'Ishaa'.

65- It is permissible for the imaam occasionally to make an aayah audible in the prayers where recitation is to be done silently.

66- In Witr and Qiyaam al-Layl, he should recite silently sometimes and aloud sometimes, and he should be moderate in raising his voice.

Tarteel - reciting at a measured pace

67- The Sunnah is to recite the Qur'aan at a measured pace, not quickly or hastily. It should be read in a manner that clearly distinguishes each letter, beautifying the Qur'aan with one's voice. He should observe the well known rulings of the scholars of Tajweed and he should not recite it in the innovated manner of singers or according to the rules of music.

Prompting the imaam

68- It is prescribed for the one who is praying behind the imaam to prompt the imaam if he hesistates in his recitation.

6 - Rukoo' (bowing)

69- When he has completed the recitation, he should pause briefly, to catch his breath.

70- Then he should raise his hands in the manner described for takbeerat al-ihraam (the takbeer at the beginning of prayer).

71- And he should say takbeer ("Allahuakbar"). This is obligatory.

72- Then he should do rukoo', bowing as deeply as his joints will let him, until his joints take the new position and are relaxed in it. This is an essential part of prayer.

How to do rukoo'

73- He should put his hands on his knees, firmly, spacing the fingers out, as if he is grasping his knees. All of this is obligatory.

74- He should spread his back and make it level so that if water were poured on it, it would stay there (not run off). This is obligatory.

75- He should not lower or raise his head, but make it level with his back.

76- He should keep his elbows away from his sides.

77- In rukoo', he should say "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem (Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty) three times or more. There are others kinds of dhikr which may be said in rukoo', some of which are long, some of medium length and some short. See Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 132, Maktabat al-Ma'aarifedition [The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 44].

Making the essential parts of prayer equal in length

78- It is Sunnah to make the essential parts of prayer equal in length, so the rukoo', the standing after rukoo', the prostration and the sitting between the two prostrations should be make approximately the same in length.

79- It is not permissible to recite Qur'aan in rukoo' or in sujood.

Straightening up from rukoo'

80- Then he should straighten up from rukoo'. This is an essential part of the prayer.

81- Whilst straightening up, he should say, "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him)." This is obligatory.

82- He should raise his hands when straightening up, in the manner described above.

83- Then he should stand straight until every vertebra has returned to its place. This is an essential part of the prayer.

84- Whilst standing thus, he should say, "Rabbanaa WA laka al-hamd (our Lord, to You be all praise)." (There are other kinds of dhikr which may be said at this point. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 135/The Prophet's prayer described, p. 47). This is obligatory for every person who is praying, even if he is following an imaam, because this is the dhikr of standing after rukoo', and saying "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah" is the dhikr of straightening up from rukoo'. It is not prescribed to put the hands one over the other during this standing, because this was not narrated (from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). For more details, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, 1 - Istiqbaal al-Qiblah (The Prophet's Prayer Described - Facing the Ka'bah).

85- He should make this standing equal in length to the rukoo', as stated above.

7 - Sujood (prostration)

86- Then he should say "Allaahu akbar" - this is obligatory.

87- He should raise his hands sometimes.

Going down on the hands

88- Then he should go down into sujood on his hands, putting them down before the knees. This is what was commanded by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is proven that he did this, and he forbade imitating the manner in which a camel sits down, which camel is by kneeling with its forelegs first.

89- When he prostrates - which is an essential part of the prayer - he should put his weight on his palms and spread them out.

90- He should keep the fingers together.

91- And point the fingers towards the qiblah.

92- He should put his palms level with his shoulders.

93- Sometimes he should make them level with his ears.

94- He should keep his forearms off the ground. This is obligatory. He should not spread them along the ground like a dog.

95- He should place his nose and forehead firmly on the ground. This is an essential part of the prayer.

96- He should also place his knees firmly on the ground.

97- The same applies to his toes.

98- He should hold his feet upright with his toes touching the ground. All of this is obligatory.

99- He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah.

100- He should put his heels together.

Being at ease in sujood

101- He 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 sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes.

102- Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer.

103- In sujood, he should say, "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'A'laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)" three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet's Prayer described, p. 55).

104- It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du'AA'during sujood, because it is a time when du'AA' is likely to be answered.

105- He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo', as described above.

106- It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc.

107- It is not permitted to recite Qur'aan whilst prostrating.

Iftiraash and Iq'AA' between the two sajdahs

[Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; IQ'AA' means resting on both heels and feet]

108- Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory.

109- He should raise his hands sometimes.

110- Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory.

111- He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory.

112- He should put his right foot upright.

113- And make its toes point towards the qiblah.

114- It is permissible to sit in IQ'AA' sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet.

115- Whilst sitting thus, he should say, "Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa'ni, WA'aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision)."

116- If he wishes, he may say, "Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me)."

117- He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood.

The second sajdah

118- Then he should say takbeer - this is obligatory,

119- He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer.

120- He should do the second prostration - this is also an essential part of the prayer.

121- He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first.

The sitting of rest

122- When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak'ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory.

123- He should raise his hands sometimes.

124- He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place.

The second rak'ah

125- Then he should get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer.

126- He should do in the second rak'ah what he did in the first.

127- Except that he should not recite the du'AA' for starting the prayer.

128- He should make it shorter than the first rak'ah.

Sitting for the Tashahhud

129- When he completes the second rak'ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory.

130- He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations.

131- But it is not permitted to sit in IQ'AA' at this point.

132- He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it.

133- He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee.

134- It is not permissible to sit resting on one's arms, especially the left arm.

Moving the finger and looking at it

135- He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes.

136- Sometimes he should make a circle with them.

137- He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah.

138- He should look towards it.

139- He should move it, making du'AA' with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end.

140- He should not point with the finger of his left hand.

141- He should do all of this in every Tashahhud.

How to say Tashahhud and the du'AA' following it

142- The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw).

143- He should recite it silently.

144- The wording of the Tashahhud is: "Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi WA'l-salaawaatu WA'l-tayyibaat. Al-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu WA rahmat-Allaahi WA barakaatuhu. Al-salaamu 'alayna WA 'ala 'ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah WA ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan 'abduhu WA rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allaah)." [Other versions are mentioned in Sifat Salaat al-Nabi/The Prophet's Prayer Described, but what is mentioned here is the most sound].

Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): this is what was prescribed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and is narrated in the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, 'Aa'ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them). For more details see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, p. 161, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition/ The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 67).

145- After that, he should send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by saying: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innak hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheemand upon the family of Ibraaheem); You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)."

146- If you wish you may shorten it and say: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, WA baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, kama salayta WA baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka haamedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers and blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem; You are

Talkhees Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) min al-Takbeer ila al-Tasleem ka annaka turaahaa by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him).

Source: Islam Q&A (http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/13340/prayer)

Praise be to Allaah.

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or Witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

2 - Qiyaam (standing in prayer)

6- It is obligatory to pray standing. This is a pillar (essential part of prayer), except for the one who is praying the fear prayer or at times of intense fighting, when it is permitted to pray whilst riding; for the one who is sick and unable to stand, who should pray sitting if he is able, otherwise lying on his side; and the one who is praying a naafil prayer, who may pray whilst riding or sitting if he wishes, and he indicates the rukoo' and sujood with his head. The one who is sick may also do this, and he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo'.

7- It is not permissible for one who is praying sitting down to put something raised up on the ground in order to prostrate on it. Rather he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo' - as we have mentioned - if he is unable to touch the ground directly with his forehead.

Prayer on board a ship or airplane

8- It is permissible to pray fard prayers on board a ship or airplane.

9- It is permissible to pray them sitting down if one fears that one may fall.

10- It is permissible to lean on a pillar or stick when standing, if one is old or weak in body.

Combining standing and sitting in prayer

11- It is permissible to pray qiyaam al-laylstanding or sitting with no excuse, or to do both. So a person may pray and reciting sitting down, and just before doing rukoo'he may stand up and recite the rest of the aayahs standing up, then do rukoo' and sujood, then he can do likewise in the second rak'ah.

12- If he prays sitting down, he should pray sitting cross-legged or in whatever position he finds comfortable.

Praying wearing shoes

13- It is permissible to pray barefoot, or to pray wearing shoes.

14- It is better to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing shoes, according to what is easy; one should not make it difficult to put shoes on or to take them off in order to pray If a person is barefoot, he should pray barefoot and if he is wearing shoes then he should pray wearing shoes, except when there is a reason not to do so.

15- If he takes them off, then he should not place them to his right; rather he should place them to his left, if there is no one on his left, otherwise he should put them between his feet. There is a subtle hint that he should not place them in front of himself. This is the etiquette which most worshippers ignore, so you see them praying facing their shoes! This is what was narrated in the saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Praying on the minbar

16- It is permissible for the imaam to pray on an elevated place such as the minbar, in order to teach the people. So he should stand up on it to pray, then say takbeer, recite Qur'aan and do rukoo' whilst he is on that place, then he should come down backwards so that he can prostrate on the ground at the base of the minbar, then he may go back to it and do the same in the second rak'ah as he did in the first.

It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah and be close to it

17- It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah (screen or cover), there is no difference whether that is in the mosque or elsewhere, whether the mosque is big or small, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not pray except facing a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, and if he insists then fight him, for he has a companion (qareen) with him" - meaning the Shaytaan.

18- It is obligatory to be close to the sutrah, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded.

19- Between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prostrated and the wall there would be a space nearly big enough for a sheep to pass through. Whoever does that is close enough [to the sutrah] as is required. I say: from this we known that what people do in all the mosques that I have seen in Syria and elsewhere, by praying in the middle of the mosque far away from the wall or pillars is but negligence towards the command and action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How high should the sutrah be?

20- The sutrah should be approximately a handspan or two above the ground, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you places in front of him something such as the stick on the end of a saddle, he should pray and not worry about anyone who passes in front of that." This hadeeth indicates that a line on the ground is not sufficient, and the hadeeth narrated concerning that is da'eef (weak).

21- He should face the sutrah directly, because this is apparent meaning of the command to pray towards the sutrah. Stepping slightly to the right or left so that one is not facing it directly, is not correct.

22- It is permissible to pray facing a stick planted in the ground and the like, or a tree, or a pillar, or one's wife lying down in bed underneath her blanket, or an animal, even if it is a camel.

Prohibition of praying towards graves

23- It is not permitted to pray facing graves at all, whether they are the grave of Prophets or of others.

Prohibition of walking in front of one who is praying even in al-Masjid al-Haraam

24- It is not permitted to walk in front of one who is praying if there is a sutrah in front of him [i.e., it is not permissible to come between him and his sutrah]. There is no difference in this regard between al-Masjid al-Haraam and other mosques, all of them are the same in that this [walking in front of one who is praying] is not permitted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "If the person who passes in front of one who is praying knew how great a burden of sin resulted from that, standing for forty [years] would be better for him than passing in front of one who is praying." This refers to passing between him and the place of his prostration. The hadeethwhich speaks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) praying in Haashiyat al-Mataaf without a sutrah and with people passing in front of him is not saheeh, even though it does not say that they were passing between him and his place of prostration. It is obligatory for the one who is prostrating to prevent the one who wants to pass in front of him, even in Masjid al-Haraam.

25- It is not permissible for the one who is praying towards a sutrah to let anyone pass in front of him, because of the hadeeth quoted above, "Do not let anyone pass in front of you…" And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) said: "When one of you is praying towards something which is a sutrah between him and the people, and someone wants to pass in front of him, then he should push him in the upper chest and repel him as much as he can." According to another report: "… he should stop him twice, but if he insists then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

Stepping forward to prevent someone passing in front of him

26- It is permissible for a person to take one or two steps to the front, in order to prevent one who is not responsible from passing in front of him, such as an animal or a small child, and to make them pass behind him.

What breaks prayer

27- The sutrah is so important to prayer that it prevents a person's prayer from being invalidated, if someone passes in front of him. This is in contrast to the one who does not use a sutrah, whose prayer is broken if an adult woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him.

3 - Niyyah (intention)

28- The worshipper must have the intention of praying the prayer for which he is standing. He must have the intention in his heart of performing a specific prayer, such as the fard(obligatory prayer) of Zuhr or of 'Asr, or the Sunnah of those prayers. This is a condition or pillar (essential part) of the prayer, but uttering the intention verbally is a bid'ah which goes against the Sunnah, which was not suggested by any of the imams who are followed.

4 - Takbeer

29- Then he should start the prayer by saying "Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)." This is an essential part of the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The key to prayer is purifying oneself (wudoo'), it is entered by takbeer (saying 'Allaahu akbar') and exited by tasleem (saying 'al-salaamu 'alaykum')" i.e, once you say takbeer, certain things are prohibited and this prohibition ends when you say tasleem.

30- He should not raise his voice when saying takbeer in all the prayers, unless he is acting as an imaam.

31- It is permissible for the muezzin to convey the takbeer of the imaam to the people, if there is a need to do so, such as if the imaam is sick and his voice is weak, or because there are many worshippers praying behind him.

32- The one who is following the imaam should not say takbeer until the imaam has finished saying takbeer.

Raising the hands - how it is to be done

33- He should raise his hands when saying the takbeer, or before or after doing so. All of these are proven in the Sunnah.

34- He should raise them with the fingers stretched out.

35- He should raise them level with his shoulders, or sometimes until they are level with his earlobes. I say: with regard to touching the earlobes with the thumbs, there is no basis for this in the Sunnah, rather in my view this has to do with waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan).

Placing the hands - how it is to be done

36- Then he should place his right hand on his left, immediately after the takbeer. This is the way of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions. It is not permissible to let the arms hang at the sides.

37- The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, wrist and forearm.

38- Sometimes the left hand may be grasped with the right. The combination of placing and grasping, which was favoured by some later scholars, has no basis.

Where they should be placed

39- The hands should be placed on the chest only; there is no difference between men and women in this regard. I say: placing them anywhere other than on the chest is da'eef (weak) or has no basis.

40- It is not permissible to put the right hand on the waist.

Humility and looking at the place of prostration

41- The worshipper must be humble in his prayer, and should avoid everything that may distract him from it, such as adornments and decorations. He should not pray where there is food that he wants to eat, or when he needs to urinate or defecate.

42- Whilst he is standing, he should look towards the place where he will prostrate.

43- He should not look to the right or the left, because looking here and there is a snatching away which the Shaytaan steals from the prayer of the slave.

44- It is not permissible for him to look up at the sky.

Du'AA' al-Istiftaah (du'AA' at the start of prayer)

45- Then he should start the prayer with some of the du'AA's which are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There are many of these, the most famous of which is "Subhaanaka Allaahumma WA bihamdika, WA tabaaraka ismuka WA ta'aala jadduka, WA laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You)." The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du'AA's may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see "The Prophet's Prayer described" by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Haneef Publications, p. 14-19]

Recitation of Qur'aan

46- Then he should seek refuge with Allaah - this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so.

47- The Sunnah is sometimes to say "A'oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi WA nafkhihi WA nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry)," - poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry.

48- And sometimes he may say, "A'oodhu Billaah il-Samee' il-A'leem min al-Shaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…)."

49- Then he should say silently - whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently - "Bismillah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)."

Reciting al-Faatihah

50- Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first soorah of the Qur'aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi il-Rahmaan il-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this soorah.

51- Those who cannot remember it should say: "Subhaan Allaah, WA'l-hamdu-Lillaah, WA laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, WA Allaahu akbar, WA laa hawla WA laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah)."

52- The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: "Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)," then pause. Then say, "Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-'Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: 'al-Rahmaan il-Raheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah.

This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole soorah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning.

53- It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawm id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen.

How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it

54- The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur'aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam's recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma'aarif edition.

Recitation after al-Faatihah

55- It is Sunnah to recite - after al-Faatihah - another soorah, even in Salaat al-Janaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak'ahs.

56- The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant.

57- The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then 'Asr, then 'Isha', then Maghrib, usually.

58- The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these.

59- The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak'ah than in the second.

60- He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak'ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original).

Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak'ah

61- It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak'ah.

62- It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak'ahs as well.

63- It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do.

Reciting aloud and reciting quietly

64- Qur'aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu'ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa'), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak'ahs of Maghrib and 'Isha'.

He should recite silently in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, in the third rak'ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak'ahs of 'Ishaa'.

65- It is permissible for the imaam occasionally to make an aayah audible in the prayers where recitation is to be done silently.

66- In Witr and Qiyaam al-Layl, he should recite silently sometimes and aloud sometimes, and he should be moderate in raising his voice.

Tarteel - reciting at a measured pace

67- The Sunnah is to recite the Qur'aan at a measured pace, not quickly or hastily. It should be read in a manner that clearly distinguishes each letter, beautifying the Qur'aan with one's voice. He should observe the well known rulings of the scholars of Tajweed and he should not recite it in the innovated manner of singers or according to the rules of music.

Prompting the imaam

68- It is prescribed for the one who is praying behind the imaam to prompt the imaam if he hesistates in his recitation.

6 - Rukoo' (bowing)

69- When he has completed the recitation, he should pause briefly, to catch his breath.

70- Then he should raise his hands in the manner described for takbeerat al-ihraam (the takbeer at the beginning of prayer).

71- And he should say takbeer ("Allahuakbar"). This is obligatory.

72- Then he should do rukoo', bowing as deeply as his joints will let him, until his joints take the new position and are relaxed in it. This is an essential part of prayer.

How to do rukoo'

73- He should put his hands on his knees, firmly, spacing the fingers out, as if he is grasping his knees. All of this is obligatory.

74- He should spread his back and make it level so that if water were poured on it, it would stay there (not run off). This is obligatory.

75- He should not lower or raise his head, but make it level with his back.

76- He should keep his elbows away from his sides.

77- In rukoo', he should say "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem (Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty) three times or more. There are others kinds of dhikr which may be said in rukoo', some of which are long, some of medium length and some short. See Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 132, Maktabat al-Ma'aarifedition [The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 44].

Making the essential parts of prayer equal in length

78- It is Sunnah to make the essential parts of prayer equal in length, so the rukoo', the standing after rukoo', the prostration and the sitting between the two prostrations should be make approximately the same in length.

79- It is not permissible to recite Qur'aan in rukoo' or in sujood.

Straightening up from rukoo'

80- Then he should straighten up from rukoo'. This is an essential part of the prayer.

81- Whilst straightening up, he should say, "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him)." This is obligatory.

82- He should raise his hands when straightening up, in the manner described above.

83- Then he should stand straight until every vertebra has returned to its place. This is an essential part of the prayer.

84- Whilst standing thus, he should say, "Rabbanaa WA laka al-hamd (our Lord, to You be all praise)." (There are other kinds of dhikr which may be said at this point. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 135/The Prophet's prayer described, p. 47). This is obligatory for every person who is praying, even if he is following an imaam, because this is the dhikr of standing after rukoo', and saying "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah" is the dhikr of straightening up from rukoo'. It is not prescribed to put the hands one over the other during this standing, because this was not narrated (from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). For more details, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, 1 - Istiqbaal al-Qiblah (The Prophet's Prayer Described - Facing the Ka'bah).

85- He should make this standing equal in length to the rukoo', as stated above.

7 - Sujood (prostration)

86- Then he should say "Allaahu akbar" - this is obligatory.

87- He should raise his hands sometimes.

Going down on the hands

88- Then he should go down into sujood on his hands, putting them down before the knees. This is what was commanded by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is proven that he did this, and he forbade imitating the manner in which a camel sits down, which camel is by kneeling with its forelegs first.

89- When he prostrates - which is an essential part of the prayer - he should put his weight on his palms and spread them out.

90- He should keep the fingers together.

91- And point the fingers towards the qiblah.

92- He should put his palms level with his shoulders.

93- Sometimes he should make them level with his ears.

94- He should keep his forearms off the ground. This is obligatory. He should not spread them along the ground like a dog.

95- He should place his nose and forehead firmly on the ground. This is an essential part of the prayer.

96- He should also place his knees firmly on the ground.

97- The same applies to his toes.

98- He should hold his feet upright with his toes touching the ground. All of this is obligatory.

99- He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah.

100- He should put his heels together.

Being at ease in sujood

101- He 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 sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes.

102- Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer.

103- In sujood, he should say, "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'A'laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)" three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet's Prayer described, p. 55).

104- It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du'AA'during sujood, because it is a time when du'AA' is likely to be answered.

105- He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo', as described above.

106- It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc.

107- It is not permitted to recite Qur'aan whilst prostrating.

Iftiraash and Iq'AA' between the two sajdahs

[Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; IQ'AA' means resting on both heels and feet]

108- Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory.

109- He should raise his hands sometimes.

110- Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory.

111- He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory.

112- He should put his right foot upright.

113- And make its toes point towards the qiblah.

114- It is permissible to sit in IQ'AA' sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet.

115- Whilst sitting thus, he should say, "Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa'ni, WA'aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision)."

116- If he wishes, he may say, "Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me)."

117- He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood.

The second sajdah

118- Then he should say takbeer - this is obligatory,

119- He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer.

120- He should do the second prostration - this is also an essential part of the prayer.

121- He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first.

The sitting of rest

122- When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak'ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory.

123- He should raise his hands sometimes.

124- He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place.

The second rak'ah

125- Then he should get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer.

126- He should do in the second rak'ah what he did in the first.

127- Except that he should not recite the du'AA' for starting the prayer.

128- He should make it shorter than the first rak'ah.

Sitting for the Tashahhud

129- When he completes the second rak'ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory.

130- He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations.

131- But it is not permitted to sit in IQ'AA' at this point.

132- He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it.

133- He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee.

134- It is not permissible to sit resting on one's arms, especially the left arm.

Moving the finger and looking at it

135- He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes.

136- Sometimes he should make a circle with them.

137- He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah.

138- He should look towards it.

139- He should move it, making du'AA' with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end.

140- He should not point with the finger of his left hand.

141- He should do all of this in every Tashahhud.

How to say Tashahhud and the du'AA' following it

142- The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw).

143- He should recite it silently.

144- The wording of the Tashahhud is: "Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi WA'l-salaawaatu WA'l-tayyibaat. Al-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu WA rahmat-Allaahi WA barakaatuhu. Al-salaamu 'alayna WA 'ala 'ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah WA ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan 'abduhu WA rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allaah)." [Other versions are mentioned in Sifat Salaat al-Nabi/The Prophet's Prayer Described, but what is mentioned here is the most sound].

Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): this is what was prescribed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and is narrated in the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, 'Aa'ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them). For more details see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, p. 161, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition/ The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 67).

145- After that, he should send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by saying: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innak hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheemand upon the family of Ibraaheem); You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)."

146- If you wish you may shorten it and say: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, WA baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, kama salayta WA baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka haamedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers and blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem; You are

Talkhees Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) min al-Takbeer ila al-Tasleem ka annaka turaahaa by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him).

Source: Islam Q&A (http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/13340/prayer)

Praise be to Allaah.

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or Witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

2 - Qiyaam (standing in prayer)

6- It is obligatory to pray standing. This is a pillar (essential part of prayer), except for the one who is praying the fear prayer or at times of intense fighting, when it is permitted to pray whilst riding; for the one who is sick and unable to stand, who should pray sitting if he is able, otherwise lying on his side; and the one who is praying a naafil prayer, who may pray whilst riding or sitting if he wishes, and he indicates the rukoo' and sujood with his head. The one who is sick may also do this, and he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo'.

7- It is not permissible for one who is praying sitting down to put something raised up on the ground in order to prostrate on it. Rather he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo' - as we have mentioned - if he is unable to touch the ground directly with his forehead.

Prayer on board a ship or airplane

8- It is permissible to pray fard prayers on board a ship or airplane.

9- It is permissible to pray them sitting down if one fears that one may fall.

10- It is permissible to lean on a pillar or stick when standing, if one is old or weak in body.

Combining standing and sitting in prayer

11- It is permissible to pray qiyaam al-laylstanding or sitting with no excuse, or to do both. So a person may pray and reciting sitting down, and just before doing rukoo'he may stand up and recite the rest of the aayahs standing up, then do rukoo' and sujood, then he can do likewise in the second rak'ah.

12- If he prays sitting down, he should pray sitting cross-legged or in whatever position he finds comfortable.

Praying wearing shoes

13- It is permissible to pray barefoot, or to pray wearing shoes.

14- It is better to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing shoes, according to what is easy; one should not make it difficult to put shoes on or to take them off in order to pray If a person is barefoot, he should pray barefoot and if he is wearing shoes then he should pray wearing shoes, except when there is a reason not to do so.

15- If he takes them off, then he should not place them to his right; rather he should place them to his left, if there is no one on his left, otherwise he should put them between his feet. There is a subtle hint that he should not place them in front of himself. This is the etiquette which most worshippers ignore, so you see them praying facing their shoes! This is what was narrated in the saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Praying on the minbar

16- It is permissible for the imaam to pray on an elevated place such as the minbar, in order to teach the people. So he should stand up on it to pray, then say takbeer, recite Qur'aan and do rukoo' whilst he is on that place, then he should come down backwards so that he can prostrate on the ground at the base of the minbar, then he may go back to it and do the same in the second rak'ah as he did in the first.

It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah and be close to it

17- It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah (screen or cover), there is no difference whether that is in the mosque or elsewhere, whether the mosque is big or small, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not pray except facing a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, and if he insists then fight him, for he has a companion (qareen) with him" - meaning the Shaytaan.

18- It is obligatory to be close to the sutrah, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded.

19- Between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prostrated and the wall there would be a space nearly big enough for a sheep to pass through. Whoever does that is close enough [to the sutrah] as is required. I say: from this we known that what people do in all the mosques that I have seen in Syria and elsewhere, by praying in the middle of the mosque far away from the wall or pillars is but negligence towards the command and action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How high should the sutrah be?

20- The sutrah should be approximately a handspan or two above the ground, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you places in front of him something such as the stick on the end of a saddle, he should pray and not worry about anyone who passes in front of that." This hadeeth indicates that a line on the ground is not sufficient, and the hadeeth narrated concerning that is da'eef (weak).

21- He should face the sutrah directly, because this is apparent meaning of the command to pray towards the sutrah. Stepping slightly to the right or left so that one is not facing it directly, is not correct.

22- It is permissible to pray facing a stick planted in the ground and the like, or a tree, or a pillar, or one's wife lying down in bed underneath her blanket, or an animal, even if it is a camel.

Prohibition of praying towards graves

23- It is not permitted to pray facing graves at all, whether they are the grave of Prophets or of others.

Prohibition of walking in front of one who is praying even in al-Masjid al-Haraam

24- It is not permitted to walk in front of one who is praying if there is a sutrah in front of him [i.e., it is not permissible to come between him and his sutrah]. There is no difference in this regard between al-Masjid al-Haraam and other mosques, all of them are the same in that this [walking in front of one who is praying] is not permitted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "If the person who passes in front of one who is praying knew how great a burden of sin resulted from that, standing for forty [years] would be better for him than passing in front of one who is praying." This refers to passing between him and the place of his prostration. The hadeethwhich speaks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) praying in Haashiyat al-Mataaf without a sutrah and with people passing in front of him is not saheeh, even though it does not say that they were passing between him and his place of prostration. It is obligatory for the one who is prostrating to prevent the one who wants to pass in front of him, even in Masjid al-Haraam.

25- It is not permissible for the one who is praying towards a sutrah to let anyone pass in front of him, because of the hadeeth quoted above, "Do not let anyone pass in front of you…" And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) said: "When one of you is praying towards something which is a sutrah between him and the people, and someone wants to pass in front of him, then he should push him in the upper chest and repel him as much as he can." According to another report: "… he should stop him twice, but if he insists then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

Stepping forward to prevent someone passing in front of him

26- It is permissible for a person to take one or two steps to the front, in order to prevent one who is not responsible from passing in front of him, such as an animal or a small child, and to make them pass behind him.

What breaks prayer

27- The sutrah is so important to prayer that it prevents a person's prayer from being invalidated, if someone passes in front of him. This is in contrast to the one who does not use a sutrah, whose prayer is broken if an adult woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him.

3 - Niyyah (intention)

28- The worshipper must have the intention of praying the prayer for which he is standing. He must have the intention in his heart of performing a specific prayer, such as the fard(obligatory prayer) of Zuhr or of 'Asr, or the Sunnah of those prayers. This is a condition or pillar (essential part) of the prayer, but uttering the intention verbally is a bid'ah which goes against the Sunnah, which was not suggested by any of the imams who are followed.

4 - Takbeer

29- Then he should start the prayer by saying "Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)." This is an essential part of the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The key to prayer is purifying oneself (wudoo'), it is entered by takbeer (saying 'Allaahu akbar') and exited by tasleem (saying 'al-salaamu 'alaykum')" i.e, once you say takbeer, certain things are prohibited and this prohibition ends when you say tasleem.

30- He should not raise his voice when saying takbeer in all the prayers, unless he is acting as an imaam.

31- It is permissible for the muezzin to convey the takbeer of the imaam to the people, if there is a need to do so, such as if the imaam is sick and his voice is weak, or because there are many worshippers praying behind him.

32- The one who is following the imaam should not say takbeer until the imaam has finished saying takbeer.

Raising the hands - how it is to be done

33- He should raise his hands when saying the takbeer, or before or after doing so. All of these are proven in the Sunnah.

34- He should raise them with the fingers stretched out.

35- He should raise them level with his shoulders, or sometimes until they are level with his earlobes. I say: with regard to touching the earlobes with the thumbs, there is no basis for this in the Sunnah, rather in my view this has to do with waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan).

Placing the hands - how it is to be done

36- Then he should place his right hand on his left, immediately after the takbeer. This is the way of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions. It is not permissible to let the arms hang at the sides.

37- The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, wrist and forearm.

38- Sometimes the left hand may be grasped with the right. The combination of placing and grasping, which was favoured by some later scholars, has no basis.

Where they should be placed

39- The hands should be placed on the chest only; there is no difference between men and women in this regard. I say: placing them anywhere other than on the chest is da'eef (weak) or has no basis.

40- It is not permissible to put the right hand on the waist.

Humility and looking at the place of prostration

41- The worshipper must be humble in his prayer, and should avoid everything that may distract him from it, such as adornments and decorations. He should not pray where there is food that he wants to eat, or when he needs to urinate or defecate.

42- Whilst he is standing, he should look towards the place where he will prostrate.

43- He should not look to the right or the left, because looking here and there is a snatching away which the Shaytaan steals from the prayer of the slave.

44- It is not permissible for him to look up at the sky.

Du'AA' al-Istiftaah (du'AA' at the start of prayer)

45- Then he should start the prayer with some of the du'AA's which are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There are many of these, the most famous of which is "Subhaanaka Allaahumma WA bihamdika, WA tabaaraka ismuka WA ta'aala jadduka, WA laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You)." The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du'AA's may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see "The Prophet's Prayer described" by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Haneef Publications, p. 14-19]

Recitation of Qur'aan

46- Then he should seek refuge with Allaah - this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so.

47- The Sunnah is sometimes to say "A'oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi WA nafkhihi WA nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry)," - poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry.

48- And sometimes he may say, "A'oodhu Billaah il-Samee' il-A'leem min al-Shaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…)."

49- Then he should say silently - whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently - "Bismillah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)."

Reciting al-Faatihah

50- Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first soorah of the Qur'aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi il-Rahmaan il-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this soorah.

51- Those who cannot remember it should say: "Subhaan Allaah, WA'l-hamdu-Lillaah, WA laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, WA Allaahu akbar, WA laa hawla WA laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah)."

52- The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: "Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)," then pause. Then say, "Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-'Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: 'al-Rahmaan il-Raheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah.

This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole soorah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning.

53- It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawm id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen.

How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it

54- The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur'aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam's recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma'aarif edition.

Recitation after al-Faatihah

55- It is Sunnah to recite - after al-Faatihah - another soorah, even in Salaat al-Janaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak'ahs.

56- The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant.

57- The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then 'Asr, then 'Isha', then Maghrib, usually.

58- The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these.

59- The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak'ah than in the second.

60- He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak'ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original).

Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak'ah

61- It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak'ah.

62- It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak'ahs as well.

63- It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do.

Reciting aloud and reciting quietly

64- Qur'aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu'ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa'), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak'ahs of Maghrib and 'Isha'.

He should recite silently in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, in the third rak'ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak'ahs of 'Ishaa'.

65- It is permissible for the imaam occasionally to make an aayah audible in the prayers where recitation is to be done silently.

66- In Witr and Qiyaam al-Layl, he should recite silently sometimes and aloud sometimes, and he should be moderate in raising his voice.

Tarteel - reciting at a measured pace

67- The Sunnah is to recite the Qur'aan at a measured pace, not quickly or hastily. It should be read in a manner that clearly distinguishes each letter, beautifying the Qur'aan with one's voice. He should observe the well known rulings of the scholars of Tajweed and he should not recite it in the innovated manner of singers or according to the rules of music.

Prompting the imaam

68- It is prescribed for the one who is praying behind the imaam to prompt the imaam if he hesistates in his recitation.

6 - Rukoo' (bowing)

69- When he has completed the recitation, he should pause briefly, to catch his breath.

70- Then he should raise his hands in the manner described for takbeerat al-ihraam (the takbeer at the beginning of prayer).

71- And he should say takbeer ("Allahuakbar"). This is obligatory.

72- Then he should do rukoo', bowing as deeply as his joints will let him, until his joints take the new position and are relaxed in it. This is an essential part of prayer.

How to do rukoo'

73- He should put his hands on his knees, firmly, spacing the fingers out, as if he is grasping his knees. All of this is obligatory.

74- He should spread his back and make it level so that if water were poured on it, it would stay there (not run off). This is obligatory.

75- He should not lower or raise his head, but make it level with his back.

76- He should keep his elbows away from his sides.

77- In rukoo', he should say "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem (Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty) three times or more. There are others kinds of dhikr which may be said in rukoo', some of which are long, some of medium length and some short. See Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 132, Maktabat al-Ma'aarifedition [The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 44].

Making the essential parts of prayer equal in length

78- It is Sunnah to make the essential parts of prayer equal in length, so the rukoo', the standing after rukoo', the prostration and the sitting between the two prostrations should be make approximately the same in length.

79- It is not permissible to recite Qur'aan in rukoo' or in sujood.

Straightening up from rukoo'

80- Then he should straighten up from rukoo'. This is an essential part of the prayer.

81- Whilst straightening up, he should say, "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him)." This is obligatory.

82- He should raise his hands when straightening up, in the manner described above.

83- Then he should stand straight until every vertebra has returned to its place. This is an essential part of the prayer.

84- Whilst standing thus, he should say, "Rabbanaa WA laka al-hamd (our Lord, to You be all praise)." (There are other kinds of dhikr which may be said at this point. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 135/The Prophet's prayer described, p. 47). This is obligatory for every person who is praying, even if he is following an imaam, because this is the dhikr of standing after rukoo', and saying "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah" is the dhikr of straightening up from rukoo'. It is not prescribed to put the hands one over the other during this standing, because this was not narrated (from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). For more details, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, 1 - Istiqbaal al-Qiblah (The Prophet's Prayer Described - Facing the Ka'bah).

85- He should make this standing equal in length to the rukoo', as stated above.

7 - Sujood (prostration)

86- Then he should say "Allaahu akbar" - this is obligatory.

87- He should raise his hands sometimes.

Going down on the hands

88- Then he should go down into sujood on his hands, putting them down before the knees. This is what was commanded by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is proven that he did this, and he forbade imitating the manner in which a camel sits down, which camel is by kneeling with its forelegs first.

89- When he prostrates - which is an essential part of the prayer - he should put his weight on his palms and spread them out.

90- He should keep the fingers together.

91- And point the fingers towards the qiblah.

92- He should put his palms level with his shoulders.

93- Sometimes he should make them level with his ears.

94- He should keep his forearms off the ground. This is obligatory. He should not spread them along the ground like a dog.

95- He should place his nose and forehead firmly on the ground. This is an essential part of the prayer.

96- He should also place his knees firmly on the ground.

97- The same applies to his toes.

98- He should hold his feet upright with his toes touching the ground. All of this is obligatory.

99- He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah.

100- He should put his heels together.

Being at ease in sujood

101- He 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 sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes.

102- Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer.

103- In sujood, he should say, "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'A'laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)" three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet's Prayer described, p. 55).

104- It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du'AA'during sujood, because it is a time when du'AA' is likely to be answered.

105- He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo', as described above.

106- It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc.

107- It is not permitted to recite Qur'aan whilst prostrating.

Iftiraash and Iq'AA' between the two sajdahs

[Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; IQ'AA' means resting on both heels and feet]

108- Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory.

109- He should raise his hands sometimes.

110- Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory.

111- He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory.

112- He should put his right foot upright.

113- And make its toes point towards the qiblah.

114- It is permissible to sit in IQ'AA' sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet.

115- Whilst sitting thus, he should say, "Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa'ni, WA'aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision)."

116- If he wishes, he may say, "Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me)."

117- He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood.

The second sajdah

118- Then he should say takbeer - this is obligatory,

119- He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer.

120- He should do the second prostration - this is also an essential part of the prayer.

121- He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first.

The sitting of rest

122- When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak'ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory.

123- He should raise his hands sometimes.

124- He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place.

The second rak'ah

125- Then he should get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer.

126- He should do in the second rak'ah what he did in the first.

127- Except that he should not recite the du'AA' for starting the prayer.

128- He should make it shorter than the first rak'ah.

Sitting for the Tashahhud

129- When he completes the second rak'ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory.

130- He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations.

131- But it is not permitted to sit in IQ'AA' at this point.

132- He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it.

133- He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee.

134- It is not permissible to sit resting on one's arms, especially the left arm.

Moving the finger and looking at it

135- He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes.

136- Sometimes he should make a circle with them.

137- He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah.

138- He should look towards it.

139- He should move it, making du'AA' with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end.

140- He should not point with the finger of his left hand.

141- He should do all of this in every Tashahhud.

How to say Tashahhud and the du'AA' following it

142- The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw).

143- He should recite it silently.

144- The wording of the Tashahhud is: "Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi WA'l-salaawaatu WA'l-tayyibaat. Al-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu WA rahmat-Allaahi WA barakaatuhu. Al-salaamu 'alayna WA 'ala 'ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah WA ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan 'abduhu WA rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allaah)." [Other versions are mentioned in Sifat Salaat al-Nabi/The Prophet's Prayer Described, but what is mentioned here is the most sound].

Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): this is what was prescribed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and is narrated in the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, 'Aa'ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them). For more details see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, p. 161, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition/ The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 67).

145- After that, he should send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by saying: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innak hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheemand upon the family of Ibraaheem); You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)."

146- If you wish you may shorten it and say: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, WA baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, kama salayta WA baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka haamedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers and blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem; You are

Talkhees Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) min al-Takbeer ila al-Tasleem ka annaka turaahaa by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him).

Source: Islam Q&A (http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/13340/prayer)

Praise be to Allaah.

1 - Facing the direction of the Ka'bah

1- When you stand up to pray, face the direction of the Ka'bah wherever you are, in both fard (obligatory) and naafil (supererogatory) prayers. This is one of the pillars of prayer, without which prayer is not valid.

2- The obligation of facing the direction of prayer does not apply to one who is engaged in warfare, when he prays the fear prayer (salaat al-khawf) or is engaged in heavy fighting. It also does not apply to those who are unable to do it, such as one who is sick, or one who is traveling on a ship, in a car or on a plane, if they fear that the time of the prayer will elapse (before they reach a place where they can find the correct direction). And it does not apply to one who is praying a naafil prayer or Witr prayer whilst riding on a riding-animal etc., but it is mustahabb for him to face the qiblah if he is able to do so when pronouncing the takbeer of ihraam (at the beginning of the prayer), then he may face whatever direction he is facing.

3- Everyone who can see the Ka'bah must face it; those who cannot see it must face its direction.

Ruling on not facing the Ka'bah in prayer by mistake:

4- If a person prays not facing the qiblah, because of clouds [preventing him from working out the direction from the position of the sun] or some other reason, after he did his best to work out the right direction, his prayer is valid and he does not have to repeat it.

5- If someone whom he trusts comes - whilst he is praying - and tells him of the right direction, then he must hasten to turn that way, and his prayer is valid.

2 - Qiyaam (standing in prayer)

6- It is obligatory to pray standing. This is a pillar (essential part of prayer), except for the one who is praying the fear prayer or at times of intense fighting, when it is permitted to pray whilst riding; for the one who is sick and unable to stand, who should pray sitting if he is able, otherwise lying on his side; and the one who is praying a naafil prayer, who may pray whilst riding or sitting if he wishes, and he indicates the rukoo' and sujood with his head. The one who is sick may also do this, and he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo'.

7- It is not permissible for one who is praying sitting down to put something raised up on the ground in order to prostrate on it. Rather he should make his sujood lower than his rukoo' - as we have mentioned - if he is unable to touch the ground directly with his forehead.

Prayer on board a ship or airplane

8- It is permissible to pray fard prayers on board a ship or airplane.

9- It is permissible to pray them sitting down if one fears that one may fall.

10- It is permissible to lean on a pillar or stick when standing, if one is old or weak in body.

Combining standing and sitting in prayer

11- It is permissible to pray qiyaam al-laylstanding or sitting with no excuse, or to do both. So a person may pray and reciting sitting down, and just before doing rukoo'he may stand up and recite the rest of the aayahs standing up, then do rukoo' and sujood, then he can do likewise in the second rak'ah.

12- If he prays sitting down, he should pray sitting cross-legged or in whatever position he finds comfortable.

Praying wearing shoes

13- It is permissible to pray barefoot, or to pray wearing shoes.

14- It is better to pray sometimes barefoot and sometimes wearing shoes, according to what is easy; one should not make it difficult to put shoes on or to take them off in order to pray If a person is barefoot, he should pray barefoot and if he is wearing shoes then he should pray wearing shoes, except when there is a reason not to do so.

15- If he takes them off, then he should not place them to his right; rather he should place them to his left, if there is no one on his left, otherwise he should put them between his feet. There is a subtle hint that he should not place them in front of himself. This is the etiquette which most worshippers ignore, so you see them praying facing their shoes! This is what was narrated in the saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Praying on the minbar

16- It is permissible for the imaam to pray on an elevated place such as the minbar, in order to teach the people. So he should stand up on it to pray, then say takbeer, recite Qur'aan and do rukoo' whilst he is on that place, then he should come down backwards so that he can prostrate on the ground at the base of the minbar, then he may go back to it and do the same in the second rak'ah as he did in the first.

It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah and be close to it

17- It is obligatory to pray facing a sutrah (screen or cover), there is no difference whether that is in the mosque or elsewhere, whether the mosque is big or small, because of the general meaning of the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not pray except facing a sutrah, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, and if he insists then fight him, for he has a companion (qareen) with him" - meaning the Shaytaan.

18- It is obligatory to be close to the sutrah, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded.

19- Between the place where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prostrated and the wall there would be a space nearly big enough for a sheep to pass through. Whoever does that is close enough [to the sutrah] as is required. I say: from this we known that what people do in all the mosques that I have seen in Syria and elsewhere, by praying in the middle of the mosque far away from the wall or pillars is but negligence towards the command and action of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How high should the sutrah be?

20- The sutrah should be approximately a handspan or two above the ground, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When one of you places in front of him something such as the stick on the end of a saddle, he should pray and not worry about anyone who passes in front of that." This hadeeth indicates that a line on the ground is not sufficient, and the hadeeth narrated concerning that is da'eef (weak).

21- He should face the sutrah directly, because this is apparent meaning of the command to pray towards the sutrah. Stepping slightly to the right or left so that one is not facing it directly, is not correct.

22- It is permissible to pray facing a stick planted in the ground and the like, or a tree, or a pillar, or one's wife lying down in bed underneath her blanket, or an animal, even if it is a camel.

Prohibition of praying towards graves

23- It is not permitted to pray facing graves at all, whether they are the grave of Prophets or of others.

Prohibition of walking in front of one who is praying even in al-Masjid al-Haraam

24- It is not permitted to walk in front of one who is praying if there is a sutrah in front of him [i.e., it is not permissible to come between him and his sutrah]. There is no difference in this regard between al-Masjid al-Haraam and other mosques, all of them are the same in that this [walking in front of one who is praying] is not permitted, because of the general meaning of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "If the person who passes in front of one who is praying knew how great a burden of sin resulted from that, standing for forty [years] would be better for him than passing in front of one who is praying." This refers to passing between him and the place of his prostration. The hadeethwhich speaks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) praying in Haashiyat al-Mataaf without a sutrah and with people passing in front of him is not saheeh, even though it does not say that they were passing between him and his place of prostration. It is obligatory for the one who is prostrating to prevent the one who wants to pass in front of him, even in Masjid al-Haraam.

25- It is not permissible for the one who is praying towards a sutrah to let anyone pass in front of him, because of the hadeeth quoted above, "Do not let anyone pass in front of you…" And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) said: "When one of you is praying towards something which is a sutrah between him and the people, and someone wants to pass in front of him, then he should push him in the upper chest and repel him as much as he can." According to another report: "… he should stop him twice, but if he insists then he should fight him, for he is a devil."

Stepping forward to prevent someone passing in front of him

26- It is permissible for a person to take one or two steps to the front, in order to prevent one who is not responsible from passing in front of him, such as an animal or a small child, and to make them pass behind him.

What breaks prayer

27- The sutrah is so important to prayer that it prevents a person's prayer from being invalidated, if someone passes in front of him. This is in contrast to the one who does not use a sutrah, whose prayer is broken if an adult woman, a donkey or a black dog passes in front of him.

3 - Niyyah (intention)

28- The worshipper must have the intention of praying the prayer for which he is standing. He must have the intention in his heart of performing a specific prayer, such as the fard(obligatory prayer) of Zuhr or of 'Asr, or the Sunnah of those prayers. This is a condition or pillar (essential part) of the prayer, but uttering the intention verbally is a bid'ah which goes against the Sunnah, which was not suggested by any of the imams who are followed.

4 - Takbeer

29- Then he should start the prayer by saying "Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great)." This is an essential part of the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The key to prayer is purifying oneself (wudoo'), it is entered by takbeer (saying 'Allaahu akbar') and exited by tasleem (saying 'al-salaamu 'alaykum')" i.e, once you say takbeer, certain things are prohibited and this prohibition ends when you say tasleem.

30- He should not raise his voice when saying takbeer in all the prayers, unless he is acting as an imaam.

31- It is permissible for the muezzin to convey the takbeer of the imaam to the people, if there is a need to do so, such as if the imaam is sick and his voice is weak, or because there are many worshippers praying behind him.

32- The one who is following the imaam should not say takbeer until the imaam has finished saying takbeer.

Raising the hands - how it is to be done

33- He should raise his hands when saying the takbeer, or before or after doing so. All of these are proven in the Sunnah.

34- He should raise them with the fingers stretched out.

35- He should raise them level with his shoulders, or sometimes until they are level with his earlobes. I say: with regard to touching the earlobes with the thumbs, there is no basis for this in the Sunnah, rather in my view this has to do with waswaas (insinuating whispers of the Shaytaan).

Placing the hands - how it is to be done

36- Then he should place his right hand on his left, immediately after the takbeer. This is the way of the Prophets (peace be upon them), and this is what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined upon his companions. It is not permissible to let the arms hang at the sides.

37- The right hand should be placed on the back of the left hand, wrist and forearm.

38- Sometimes the left hand may be grasped with the right. The combination of placing and grasping, which was favoured by some later scholars, has no basis.

Where they should be placed

39- The hands should be placed on the chest only; there is no difference between men and women in this regard. I say: placing them anywhere other than on the chest is da'eef (weak) or has no basis.

40- It is not permissible to put the right hand on the waist.

Humility and looking at the place of prostration

41- The worshipper must be humble in his prayer, and should avoid everything that may distract him from it, such as adornments and decorations. He should not pray where there is food that he wants to eat, or when he needs to urinate or defecate.

42- Whilst he is standing, he should look towards the place where he will prostrate.

43- He should not look to the right or the left, because looking here and there is a snatching away which the Shaytaan steals from the prayer of the slave.

44- It is not permissible for him to look up at the sky.

Du'AA' al-Istiftaah (du'AA' at the start of prayer)

45- Then he should start the prayer with some of the du'AA's which are narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). There are many of these, the most famous of which is "Subhaanaka Allaahumma WA bihamdika, WA tabaaraka ismuka WA ta'aala jadduka, WA laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You)." The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du'AA's may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see "The Prophet's Prayer described" by Shaykh al-Albaani, al-Haneef Publications, p. 14-19]

Recitation of Qur'aan

46- Then he should seek refuge with Allaah - this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so.

47- The Sunnah is sometimes to say "A'oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi WA nafkhihi WA nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry)," - poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry.

48- And sometimes he may say, "A'oodhu Billaah il-Samee' il-A'leem min al-Shaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…)."

49- Then he should say silently - whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently - "Bismillah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful)."

Reciting al-Faatihah

50- Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first soorah of the Qur'aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi il-Rahmaan il-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this soorah.

51- Those who cannot remember it should say: "Subhaan Allaah, WA'l-hamdu-Lillaah, WA laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, WA Allaahu akbar, WA laa hawla WA laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah)."

52- The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: "Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)," then pause. Then say, "Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-'Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: 'al-Rahmaan il-Raheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah.

This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole soorah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning.

53- It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawm id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen.

How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it

54- The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur'aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam's recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma'aarif edition.

Recitation after al-Faatihah

55- It is Sunnah to recite - after al-Faatihah - another soorah, even in Salaat al-Janaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak'ahs.

56- The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant.

57- The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then 'Asr, then 'Isha', then Maghrib, usually.

58- The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these.

59- The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak'ah than in the second.

60- He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak'ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original).

Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak'ah

61- It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak'ah.

62- It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak'ahs as well.

63- It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do.

Reciting aloud and reciting quietly

64- Qur'aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu'ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa'), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak'ahs of Maghrib and 'Isha'.

He should recite silently in the first two rak'ahs of Zuhr and 'Asr, in the third rak'ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak'ahs of 'Ishaa'.

65- It is permissible for the imaam occasionally to make an aayah audible in the prayers where recitation is to be done silently.

66- In Witr and Qiyaam al-Layl, he should recite silently sometimes and aloud sometimes, and he should be moderate in raising his voice.

Tarteel - reciting at a measured pace

67- The Sunnah is to recite the Qur'aan at a measured pace, not quickly or hastily. It should be read in a manner that clearly distinguishes each letter, beautifying the Qur'aan with one's voice. He should observe the well known rulings of the scholars of Tajweed and he should not recite it in the innovated manner of singers or according to the rules of music.

Prompting the imaam

68- It is prescribed for the one who is praying behind the imaam to prompt the imaam if he hesistates in his recitation.

6 - Rukoo' (bowing)

69- When he has completed the recitation, he should pause briefly, to catch his breath.

70- Then he should raise his hands in the manner described for takbeerat al-ihraam (the takbeer at the beginning of prayer).

71- And he should say takbeer ("Allahuakbar"). This is obligatory.

72- Then he should do rukoo', bowing as deeply as his joints will let him, until his joints take the new position and are relaxed in it. This is an essential part of prayer.

How to do rukoo'

73- He should put his hands on his knees, firmly, spacing the fingers out, as if he is grasping his knees. All of this is obligatory.

74- He should spread his back and make it level so that if water were poured on it, it would stay there (not run off). This is obligatory.

75- He should not lower or raise his head, but make it level with his back.

76- He should keep his elbows away from his sides.

77- In rukoo', he should say "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'Azeem (Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty) three times or more. There are others kinds of dhikr which may be said in rukoo', some of which are long, some of medium length and some short. See Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 132, Maktabat al-Ma'aarifedition [The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 44].

Making the essential parts of prayer equal in length

78- It is Sunnah to make the essential parts of prayer equal in length, so the rukoo', the standing after rukoo', the prostration and the sitting between the two prostrations should be make approximately the same in length.

79- It is not permissible to recite Qur'aan in rukoo' or in sujood.

Straightening up from rukoo'

80- Then he should straighten up from rukoo'. This is an essential part of the prayer.

81- Whilst straightening up, he should say, "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him)." This is obligatory.

82- He should raise his hands when straightening up, in the manner described above.

83- Then he should stand straight until every vertebra has returned to its place. This is an essential part of the prayer.

84- Whilst standing thus, he should say, "Rabbanaa WA laka al-hamd (our Lord, to You be all praise)." (There are other kinds of dhikr which may be said at this point. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 135/The Prophet's prayer described, p. 47). This is obligatory for every person who is praying, even if he is following an imaam, because this is the dhikr of standing after rukoo', and saying "Sami'aAllaahu liman hamidah" is the dhikr of straightening up from rukoo'. It is not prescribed to put the hands one over the other during this standing, because this was not narrated (from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). For more details, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, 1 - Istiqbaal al-Qiblah (The Prophet's Prayer Described - Facing the Ka'bah).

85- He should make this standing equal in length to the rukoo', as stated above.

7 - Sujood (prostration)

86- Then he should say "Allaahu akbar" - this is obligatory.

87- He should raise his hands sometimes.

Going down on the hands

88- Then he should go down into sujood on his hands, putting them down before the knees. This is what was commanded by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is proven that he did this, and he forbade imitating the manner in which a camel sits down, which camel is by kneeling with its forelegs first.

89- When he prostrates - which is an essential part of the prayer - he should put his weight on his palms and spread them out.

90- He should keep the fingers together.

91- And point the fingers towards the qiblah.

92- He should put his palms level with his shoulders.

93- Sometimes he should make them level with his ears.

94- He should keep his forearms off the ground. This is obligatory. He should not spread them along the ground like a dog.

95- He should place his nose and forehead firmly on the ground. This is an essential part of the prayer.

96- He should also place his knees firmly on the ground.

97- The same applies to his toes.

98- He should hold his feet upright with his toes touching the ground. All of this is obligatory.

99- He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah.

100- He should put his heels together.

Being at ease in sujood

101- He 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 sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes.

102- Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer.

103- In sujood, he should say, "Subhaana Rabbiy al-'A'laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)" three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet's Prayer described, p. 55).

104- It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du'AA'during sujood, because it is a time when du'AA' is likely to be answered.

105- He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo', as described above.

106- It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc.

107- It is not permitted to recite Qur'aan whilst prostrating.

Iftiraash and Iq'AA' between the two sajdahs

[Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; IQ'AA' means resting on both heels and feet]

108- Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory.

109- He should raise his hands sometimes.

110- Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory.

111- He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory.

112- He should put his right foot upright.

113- And make its toes point towards the qiblah.

114- It is permissible to sit in IQ'AA' sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet.

115- Whilst sitting thus, he should say, "Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa'ni, WA'aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision)."

116- If he wishes, he may say, "Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me)."

117- He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood.

The second sajdah

118- Then he should say takbeer - this is obligatory,

119- He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer.

120- He should do the second prostration - this is also an essential part of the prayer.

121- He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first.

The sitting of rest

122- When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak'ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory.

123- He should raise his hands sometimes.

124- He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place.

The second rak'ah

125- Then he should get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer.

126- He should do in the second rak'ah what he did in the first.

127- Except that he should not recite the du'AA' for starting the prayer.

128- He should make it shorter than the first rak'ah.

Sitting for the Tashahhud

129- When he completes the second rak'ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory.

130- He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations.

131- But it is not permitted to sit in IQ'AA' at this point.

132- He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it.

133- He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee.

134- It is not permissible to sit resting on one's arms, especially the left arm.

Moving the finger and looking at it

135- He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes.

136- Sometimes he should make a circle with them.

137- He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah.

138- He should look towards it.

139- He should move it, making du'AA' with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end.

140- He should not point with the finger of his left hand.

141- He should do all of this in every Tashahhud.

How to say Tashahhud and the du'AA' following it

142- The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw).

143- He should recite it silently.

144- The wording of the Tashahhud is: "Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi WA'l-salaawaatu WA'l-tayyibaat. Al-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha'l-Nabiyyu WA rahmat-Allaahi WA barakaatuhu. Al-salaamu 'alayna WA 'ala 'ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah WA ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan 'abduhu WA rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and Messenger of Allaah)." [Other versions are mentioned in Sifat Salaat al-Nabi/The Prophet's Prayer Described, but what is mentioned here is the most sound].

Sending salaams upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): this is what was prescribed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and is narrated in the Tashahhud of Ibn Mas'ood, 'Aa'ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them). For more details see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi, p. 161, Maktabat al-Ma'aarif, Riyadh, edition/ The Prophet's Prayer Described, p. 67).

145- After that, he should send prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by saying: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama salayta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innak hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheemand upon the family of Ibraaheem); You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory)."

146- If you wish you may shorten it and say: "Allaahumma salli 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, WA baarik 'ala Muhammad WA 'ala aali Muhammad, kama salayta WA baarakta 'ala Ibraaheem WA 'ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka haamedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers and blessings upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem; You are

Talkhees Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) min al-Takbeer ila al-Tasleem ka annaka turaahaa by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him).

Source: Islam Q&A (http://www.Islam-qa.com/en/ref/13340/prayer)