It is related by Hadhrat Abu hurairah (R.A.) that
(once) the Apostle of Allah (Sallallaho alaiho wasallam)
was sitting to one side in the mosque that a man came
in and offered his Namaz (Prayer). Afterwards, he
came to the holy Prophet (SAW) and paid his respects
to him. The Holy Prophet (SAW) returned the salutation
and remarked: "Go and offer the Namaz (Prayer)
again. You have not said it properly." He went
back and said the prayers again and returned to the
Holy Prophet (SAW), and paid his respects. The Holy
Prophet (SAW), returning the salutation, once again
remarked: "Go and offer the Namaz (Prayer) again.
You have not said it properly". After offering
Namaz (Prayer) for the third (and the fourth) time,
the man said to the Holy Prophet (SAW): "Sir,
tell me how to offer Namaz (Prayer)". The Holy
Prophet (SAW) replied: "When you decide to offer
Namaz (Prayer), first perform Wadhu throughly and
well, then turn to Qibla, then begin the Namaz (Prayer),
after uttering Takbir-i-Tahrima. After it recite some
part of the Holy Qur’aan which you know by heart
and can recite easily. (In other Traditions relating
to the same incident it is stated that the Apostle
of Allah (SAW) told the questioner, specifically,
to recite Surah-i-Fateha and whatever he liked, in
addition to it). Then after the recital, perform Ruku
till you are still and at ease in Ruku. Then, arise
from Ruku till you stand erect. Then, perform the
Sajadah till you are still and at ease in Sajadah.
Then arise till you sit up comfortably. (According
to another narrator, the Holy Prophet (SAW), instead
of it, said: "Then arise till you stand erect).
Then, do like that throughout the Namaz (Prayer) (i.e.,
in every Ruku, Sujud, Qauma and Jalsa in a calm and
collected manner)." (Bukhari and Muslim)
The incident mentioned above related to Hadhrat
Khallad bin Rafay (RA), the brother of the well-known
Sahabi, Hadhrat Rifa’ah bin Rafay (RA). According
to Nassai, he had offered up two Raka’ah of Namaz
(Prayer) in the Holy Prophet’s (SAW) mosque but
some other commentators suggest that these Raka’ah
were of Tahiyyat-ul-Masjid which Hadhrat Khallad (RA),
had said rather hurriedly, and upon it, he was reproached
by the Holy Prophet (SAW) and told to offer them up
again.
It shows that the Holy Prophet (SAW) did not plainly
tell Hadhrat Khallad bin Rafay (RA), at the first
time, what was wrong with his Namaz (Prayer) and how
it was to be said correctly but at the third or fourth
time, and, then, at his own request. It was, probably,
for the simple reason that a lesson imparted in such
a manner suffices for a lifetime and gets talked about
among others as well.
The paractical teaching imparted in the above Tradition
is that Namaz (Prayer) should be offered up in a calm
and composed manner and if it is offered hurriedly
and wiithout making the necessary pauses and carrying
out the various acts properly it be as good as unsaid.
Namaz
(Prayer) of Holy Prophet (SAW)
Hadhrat Ayeshah (RA) narrated that the Apostle of
Allah (SAW) commenced his Namaz (Prayer) with Takbir
and the recital with Al-Hamdu-Lilaahi Rabbil ‘Alameen,
and while performing Ruku he neither raised his head
upward nor bent it downwards but kept it in the middle
position (i.e., in line with the waist) and when he
from Rukuh he did not go into Sajadah till he had
stood erect, and when he raised the head from Sajadah
he did not perform the second Sajadah until he had
sat upright and he recited At-Tahiyyatu after every
two Rak’ah and at that time, he flattened the
left foot under him and kept the right foot in the
upright postion and he forbade Uqbatish Shaitan (sitting
like the Devil), and he, also, forbade that a man
sat (in Sajadah) with his forearms (i.e., parts of
arms between elbow and wrist) placed on the ground
like the animals, and he brought the Namaz (Prayer)
to an end by saying Assalmu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullah."
----Muslim
Namaz (Prayer) is a worship of a very high order.
For it such forms and postures of Qayam, Qaood, Ruku
and Sujood have been prescribed as constitute the
finest marks and expressions of adoration and humbleness,
and all the unbecoming manners of holding the body
that are indicative of vanity, awkwardness or indifference,
or bear a resemblance with the lowly creatures have
been, particularly, forbidden. The Holy Prophet (SAW)
has, accordingly, ordered us not to sit in Sajadah
with forearms spread on the ground as the dogs and
wolves do or in the manner which, in this Tradition,
has been described as Uqbatish Shaitan , and, in another,
as Aq’aa-al-kalb.
Commentators have differed in their explanation
of the two terms. In our humble view, however, they
denote sitting on the heels with the feet held upright
on the toes and since this posture gives the impression
of haste and exaggerated self-es-teem and only the
knees touch the ground and it is the way dogs and
wolves and other wild animals, generally, sit, the
Holy Prophet (SAW) took special care to forbid against
sitting like that in Namaz (Prayer).
It is to be remmembered that such a manner of sitting
is disallowed only when one is not constrained to
do so owing to a disease or deformity.
Special
prayers and formulas of Allah-remembrance
The inner feelling of earnestness and deep devotion
that runs through the prayer-formulas through which
the revere and adore the Lord during the various parts
or acts of Namaz (Prayer) like Qayam, Ruku and Sujood,
and the entreaties he made in them, form the essence
of Namaz (Prayer). The sayings we are now going to
discuss should be read from that point of view and
the endeavour should be to produce the same emotional
and spiritual state of feeling because it is the characteristic
legacy of the Holy Prophet (SAW).
Hadhrat Ayeshah (RA) related to us that ‘when
the Apostle of Allah (SAW) began (to offer up) Namaz
(Prayer) he first glorified the Lord in these words:
Subhaanakal-laa-humma wabihamdika wa tabarakasmuka
wa ta’ala jadduka wa laa-ilaaha ghiruka (O Allah,
with Thy glorification and Thy praise; blessed is
Thy Name; and there is no Allah save thee). Tirmidhi,
and Abu Dawood.
Hadhrat Ibn-Taimiyah (RA) writes in Muntaqa about
Hadhrat Abu Bakr (RA), on the authority of Hadhrat
Sunnan-i-Saeed bin Mansur (RA), and about Hazrat Omer
(RA) on the authority of Sahih Muslim, and about Hadhrat
Osman (RA) and Hadhrat Abdullah bin Masud (RA), on
the authority of Qutni, that they began their Namaz
(Prayer) with Subhaanakallahumma wa bihamdika... and,
then, goes on to observe that it appears from it that
the Holy Prophet (SAW), usually, recited this short
prayer after Takbir in Namaz (Prayer). It, therefore,
enjoys preference over all the other prayers of adoration
mentioned in the traditions with relation to the commencement
of the service though there is no harm in reciting
the other proven hymns, as for instance, the one occurring
in the next Tradition related on the authority of
Hadhrat Ali (RA).
Hadhrat Ali (R.A.) related that "when the Apostle
of Allah (SAW) stood up to offer Namaz (Prayer) he
recited the following prayer after Takbir: Waj-jahtu
Waj-hil-lazi fataras samawati wal-arz hanifan wa maana
minal-mushrikeena in-nasalaati wa nusuki wa mahya-yawa
ma-matillahii rabbil ‘Aalimeena Laa Shareeka
Lauhu Wa bizaalika omirtu wa ana minal muslimeena
allahumma antal maliku laa ilaaha anta anta rabbi
wa ana abduka azlamtu mafsi wa-’ataraftu bizanbi
faghfirli zunubi jamee’an in-nahu laayaghfiruzzunuba
illa anta wahdin li-absaril akhlaq laa yahdi liahsaniha
illa anta was-rif’ annisaiyyi-aha laa yahsnifu
‘an-nisajyyi-aha illa anta, labbaika wa sa’adaika
was-sharru laisa ilaika anabika wa ilaika tabarkta
wa ta’a-laita astghfiruka wa atoobuilaika (I
have turned away from every direction and set the
Creator of the heavens and the earth, and I am not
of those who associate anyone with Him in allegiance.
My worship, and my every religious act, and my life
and my death are for Allah alone, the Lord of the
Worlds. To this I have been commanded and I am of
those who obey. O Allah Thou art the Sovereign and
Master. No one is worthy of obedience save Thee. Thou
art my Lord and Owner, and I am Thy slave. I have
wronged my soul, and ruined myself, and I confess
my inquities. O Lord! Forgive me my sins; no one can
forgive sins expect Thee. And remove all bad manners
and deplorable morals from my side, and take them
away from me. This, too, no one aside of Thee can
do. I am in THY presence the service and Thy victory.
Here I am, O Lord! All the good things, and every
kind of piety and virtue are in Thy hands, and evil
has no access towards Thee. Thou art the Blessed,
the Most High, then art my only hope and my face is
turned towards Thee. I beg The forgiveness and unto
the do I turn penitent).
This prayer the holy Prophet (SAW) recited after
Takbir and before the commencement (of recitation
from the Holy Qur’aan. Then, as he perform the
Ruku’, (after completing the recital), he used
to say: Allahumma laka rak’atu wa bika aamantu
wa laka aslamtu khash’a laka sam’anini wa
basari wa mukhkhi wa’azmi wa ‘asbi (O Allah!
I am bowed low before Thee and I have believed in
Thee and placed myself I Thy charge. My earns, and
my eyes, and my marrow and my bones, and my muscles,
and my nerves are all bent in submission to Thee).
Later, as the Holy Prophet (SAW) raised his head from
Rukuo’ and stood erect, he said: "Allahhumma
rabbana lakal-hamdu mila-a-as- samawaati wal-arzi
wa ma bainahuma wa mila-a ma shiata min shaiyyan b’adu"
(O Allah! Praise is for Thee alone, such boundless
praise as my cover the extensiveness of the heavens
and the earth and fill all the empty space between
them). After it when the Holy Prophet (SAW) performed
Sajadah, he used to say (placing his forehead on the
ground): Allahumma laka sajad-tu wa bika aamantu wa
laka aslamtu sajada waj-hiyyallazi khalaqa-hu wa sawwar-tuhwa
shaq-qa sam-’ahu wa basarahu tabarak-allahu ahsanul
khaliqeen (O Allah! I am prostrating myself for Thy
sake, and in Thy presence, amd I have believe in Thee,
and I have placed myself in Thy charge. My face is
carrying out genuflexion before the Creator who created
it, and gave it its shape, and its ear, and its eyes
out of nothing. \Blessed, indeed, is the Best of Creators).
In the end, between Attahyyaatu (Also known as Tashahhud)
and Salutation,he would pray: Allahummaghfirli ma
qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu wa ma anta a’alamu bihi
minni antalmuqqdimu wa ant-al muwakhkhartu la ilaaha
illa anta (O Allah! Forgive me all the sins I have
committed earlier or later, and secretly or openly)
and whatever in equity I have been guilty of, and
of which Thou art better informed than me.
"Thou it is who raises to higher rank and reduces
to lower position. Verily, there is no deity save
Thee)."--Muslim
From the narratives relating to the Namaz (Prayer)
of the Holy Prophet (SAW) is it clear that it was
not the Prophet’s (SAW) regular practice to recite
in Namaz (Prayer) the prayers mentioned by Hadhrat
Ali (RA) in the above report. Perhaps, he did so occasionally,
and most probably,in Tahajjud. Infact, Imam Muslim
(RA) has quoted this Tradition in connection with
the traditions appertaining Tahajjud.
Many other prayers were, also, recited by the Holy
Prophet (SAW) in Namaz (Prayer), particularly in Tahajjud
which will be taken up at the approbate time. These
possess a special significance and are charged with
rare feeling. The Imam can read them in Fardh Namaz
(Prayer) as well if he is satisfied that it will not
go hard with the Muqtadis, and as far as supererogatory
services are concerned, there is no reason why one
should not avail oneself of this marvellous bequest
in them.
Recital
of Holy Quran in Namaz (Prayer)
Like Qyam Rukuo’ and Sujud, recital of the
Holy Qur’aan, also, is a principal part of Namaz
(Prayer), and it is done during Qayam. It is common
knowledge that after Takbir some prayers in the nature
of a hymn are recited. We have just mentioned two
of them from the Traditions. It is followed by the
recital of the first surah or opening chapter of the
Holy Qur’aan, i.e., Surah-i-Fateha, which is
a priceless gem of adoration and constains a most
inspiring and comprehensive description of the Attributes
of Allah. Along with the rejection and repudiation
of every form of Polytheism there is, in it, an emphatic
affirmation of Divine Oneness and an earnest prayer
for the Straight Path, i.e., for guidance towards
Faith and the Shari’ah. Anyhow, first of all,
this Surah is recited without which there can be no
Namaz (Prayer). After it the worshipper is required
to recite any other Surah or a part of it. Whatever
passage of the Holy Qur’aan he recites will,
invariably, impart a message of guidance to him.
Either it will be way of glorification of the Lord
and exposition of His Immaculate attributes or dealing
with the Last Day, Heaven and Hell, and Divine reward
and punishment or conveying a command for practical
life or narrating an event that has a religious or
moral significance. It will thus, be a ready answer
to the worship’s entreaty for guidance. In the
second Rak’aah, too, another Surah or some verses
of it will be recited after Surah-i-Fateha but if
the service consists of three of four Rak’ah,
but it is not necessary to recite some other Surah
with it.
Now, the Traditons:
It is relatedd by Hadhrat Abu Huraira (RA) that
the Apostle of Allah (SAW) said: "There can be
no Namaz (Prayer) without the recital of the Holy
Qur’aan," Proceeding, Hadhrat Abu Huraira
remarks on his own that "we recited the Holy
Qur’aan." with a loud voice in the prayer
service in which the Holy Prophet (SAW) recited it
with a loud voice and silently in the prayer-services
in which the Holy Prophet )SAW) recited it sliently."
Muslim
It is recited by Hadhrat Abadah bin Samit (SAW)
that the Apostle of Allah (SAW) said: "Whoever
did not recite Surah-i-Fateha in Namaz (Prayer) did
not offer Namaz (Prayer) at all." --Bukhari and
Muslim
In another version of the above Tradition, quoted,
also, in Sahih Muslim, it is stated that "whoever
did not recite Surah-i-Fateha and something else after
it did not offer Namaz (Prayer) at all." (Bukhari
and Muslim)
It shows that while Surah-Fateha is an essential
constituent to Namaz (Prayer) it is, also, necessary
to recite something else from the Holy Qur’aan
after it, although one is at liberty to make one’s
choice.
Points
of views of legist Doctors
Hadhrat Imam Shafa’i (Rahmatullahe alaih) and
some other leading legist-doctors have inferred from
the foregoing and few other similar Traditions that
it is obligatory to recite Surah-i-Fateha in Namaz
(Prayer), on matter whether one is offering it alone
or in congregation leading the service or participating
in it as a Muqtadi, and saying it with a loud voice
or silently. Imam Maalke (Rahmatullahe alaih) and
Imam Ahmed Hambali (Rahmatullahe alaih), on the other
hand, hold that if the worshippers be a Muqtadi and
Namaz (Prayer) is celebrated along, the recital of
Surah-i-Fateha by the Imam will suffice for the Muqtadis.
In this case the Muqtadi should abstain from doing
the recitation. But in all other circumstances one
must recite Surah-i-Fateha in Namaz (Prayer).
The same view is supported by Hadhrat Imam Abu Hanifa
(Rahmatullah alaih) who, further, believes that the
recital by the Imam will do for the Muqtadis as well
in Raka’at that are offered up sliently.
It is related by Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (RA) that
the Apostle of Allah (SAW) said: "The Imam has
been appointed for no other reason than that the Muqtadis
follow him. Thus, say Allah-o-Akbar, and listen in
silence when he does the recitation." Abu Dawood,
Nassai and Ibn-i-Maja
Some other Ashat too have related in the same words,
the advice of the Holy Prophet (SAW) about listening
quietly when the Imam does the recitation. For instance,
in the course of a long Tradition, quoted in Sahih
Muslim, on the authority of Hadhrat Abu Musa Ash’ari
(RA), the aforementioned instruction is given in identical
words. The Holy Prophet’s (SAW) exhortation,
evidently, is based upon the Qur’aanic injunction
that when the have faith in their sincerity and to
believe that whatever conclusion they have arrived
at in the light of the Holy Qur’aan and the Sunnah
and the coduct of the Ashab, are in good faith and
none of them is guilty of falsehood or distortion.
It is not, at all, opposed or antithetical to aligning
oneself with a particular school of jurisprudence.
The path of justice and moderation pursued by Hadhrat
Shah Waliullah (Rahmatullah alih) in Hujjatullah -i-Baligha
is, in our view, the best and the wisest course in
the current circumstance through which unity can be
brought back into the disintegrated ranks of the Muslim.)
Recital
of Holy Qur’aan by the Holy Prophet (SAW) during
Fajr
Hadhrat Jabir bin Samura (RA) narrated that the
Apostle of Allah (SAW) recited Surah-i-Kaaf and other
Surahs like it in the Namaz (Prayer) used to be light.
--Muslim
Commentators have interprated the concluding part
of the above Tradition in two ways: one that the Holy
Prophet’s (SAW) prayers, i.e., those of Zuhr,
Asr, Maghrib and Isha used to be lighter, and in them,
he recited less of the Holy Qura’an compared
Fajr, and the other that the Holy Prophet’s (SAW)
prayers were usually long in the earlier days of Islam
when the Ashab were few in number and those who formed
the congregation behind him were Muslims of the highest
caliber, but letter when the number of worshipers
had increased and they included Believers of the second
and third grades as well, the Holy Prophet (SAW) began
to celebrate comparatively shorter services and the
more the worshipers, the greater was the possibility
of there being among them some weak sick and faint-hearted
people for whom a long service could be tiresome.
Both the interpretations are correct from the factual
point of view, but, to us, the latter apperars to
be more convincing.
It is related on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Amr
bin Hurais (RA) that he heard the Apostle of Allah
(SAW) reciting Wal-ley-i-Iza-’ as-asa (i.e.,
Surah-i-Takvir) in the Namaz (Prayer) of Fajr. --Muslim
Hadhrat Ma’az bin Abdullah elJuhani (RA) related
that a member of the tribe of Juhama told him that
once he heard the Apostle of Allah (SAW) reciting
Iza zulzilat in both the Raka’at of the morning
service. (The narrator, then added that) he did not
know whether the Holy Prophet (SAW) did so deliberately
or inadvertently. --Abu Dawood
The usual pration of the Holy Prophet (SAW) was
to recite different Surahs in the two Raka’at
of a service. So when he, once recited the Surah of
Iza zulzilat in both the Raka’at, the Sahabi,
on whose authority the above Traditon has been related,
felt uncertain If the Holy Prophet (SAW) had done
so unintentionally or intentionally in order to indicate
that it, too, was permissible.
Hadhrat Ibn-i-Abbas (RA) related that hte Apostle
of Allah (SAW) used to recite the verses, Qooloo aamanna
billahi wa ma unzila ilaina.. of Surah-i-Baqara, and
the verses, Qul yaa aiyyuhal Kitaabi ta’ aloo
ilaa Kalimatin Sawaa-in baina-nana wa bainakum...
of Surah-i-Imraan (respectively) in the two Raka’at
of Fajr. –Muslim It is related by Hadhrat Uqba
bin Aamir (RA) that "in a journey I was going
along on foot, holding the reins of the Holy Prophet’s
(SAW) camel in hand. During the gonrny of the Holy
Prophet’s (SAW) said to me: ‘Uqba, may I
teach you two of the best Surahs of the Holy Qur’aan?’
After it, he taught (me) the Surahs of Qul aoozn be
rabble falaga and Qul ‘aoozu be rabbin naas.
He, then felt that I had not been very happy with
the choice of the two Surahs. So, when the Holy Propeht
(SAW) dismounted for the Fajr service, he let the
prayers by recitig both the surahs. At the end of
the Service he turned towards me and said: Uqba! What
did you see and how did you feel?’’ --Musnadi-i-Ahmad,
Abu Dawood and Nassai.
Ref: http://www.binoria.org/
