Miss Sunni Imam in Ruku in congregational Prayer

April 26, 2018 by Admin Posted in All Q&A, Congregational Prayers, Islamic Laws, Rules of Prayer Tagged Congregational Prayer, Furada, Imam of Prayer, Mustahab, Prayer, Qunut, Rak'at, Ruku, Shia, Sunni

Question 270: assalam alaykum. when a shia is in a sunni jamaat prayer And lifts his hands for Qonoot in the second rakaat as they go for rokoo is it still considered as a jamaat prayer?

Answer 270: If you know that if you complete qunut, you will not be able to join the Imam in his Ruku, yet you purposely recite qunut, and miss the Imam in Ruku, your congregational prayer will be void, and should act accordingly to the rules of Furada prayers.

Otherwise, if you are sure that if you recite qunut you will not miss the Imam in Ruku, but when you recite qunut and miss the Imam in Ruku, your congregational prayer is in order.

As you know it is Mustahab that qunut be recited in all obligatory and Mustahab prayers before the Ruku of the second Rak’at. So, if you don’t recite it there would be no problem in it and your prayers would be in order.[1]

For further information in this regards, please refer to the following answer:

Index: Number of things which invalidate the prayer, answer 547.

Index: Qualification of an Imam of congregational prayers, answer 021.

Index: The differences and similarities between Shia and Sunni, answer 187.

Index: Offering prayer behind a Sunni Imam, answer 237.

(https://www.facebook.com/groups/AskShia/permalink/612343082250336/

[1] . The official website of the office of Sayyid Sistani (ha), obligatory acts relating to Namaz, issues 1452&1453; Tawzih al-Masael of maraja’, Vol. 1, issues 1117-1121.

Rules Concerning Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adhã Prayers

June 25, 2017 by Admin Posted in All Q&A, Eid Prayer, Islamic Laws Tagged Assalat’, Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Ghaibat, Jama’at, Jummah, Khutbah, Prayer, Qunut, Takbir

Question 143: Why is the Eid prayer led by one person and the Eid qunut dua led by another person?

Answer 143: The Prayers for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are obligatory during the presence of the Imam, Peace be upon him, and when he has complete freedom of action as well as the fulfillment of other required conditions, but they are approved during the Occultation (Ghaibat) of the Imam, and it is more cautious to offer them individually during the Period of Occultation of the Imam. There is, however, no objection in offering them with Jamã’at with the hope (that it shall be desirable to Allah), and not with intention that it has come down in the Shari’at The time for offering these two prayers is from the rising of the sun to noon. It does not become due if not offered.

They consist of two Rak’ats, in each of the Rak’ats one must recite the Sürat al-Hamd (Chapter 1 of the Quran) and some other Surah of the Quran. It is, however, preferable to recite Surat al-Shams (Chapter 91 of the Quran) in the first Rak’at and Surat aI-Ghãshiyah (Chapter 88 of the Quran) in the second Rak’at, or Surat al-A’la (Chapter 87 of the Quran) in the first Rak’at and Surat al-Shams in the second Rakat. After the recitation of the Surah from the Quran in the first Rak’at, one must recite five Takbirs and five Qunuts, one Qunut being after each Takbir, and in the second Rak’at four Takbirs and four Qunuts, one Qunut being after each Takbir.

In the Qunüt, it is permissible to recite any Dhikr or Du’ã’ like other prayers, and if one recites what is usual, there is no harm; rather, it would be approved, and that is as follows (in Arabic): “Allãhummã ahlal kibriyã’i val ‘azamati va ahlal judi val jabarut va ahlal ‘afwi var rahmah va ahlat taqwâ val maghfirah As’aluka bihaqqi hadhal yowmi ladhi ja ‘altahu lil Musilmeena Eidä va lil Muhammadin sallallãhu alaihi va àlihee dhukhran vasharafan va karãmatan va mazeeda an tusalli ‘alã Muhammadin va Al-i Muhammad va an tudkhilani fi kulli khairin adkhalta feehi Muhammadan va Al-a Muhammad va an tukhrijani min kulli su’in akhrajta minhu Muhammadan va Al-a Muhammad Salawàtuka ‘alaihi va ‘alaihim Allãhummã as’aluka khaira ma sa’laka bihi ‘ibãdukas Salihun va ‘audhu bika mimmasta’ãdha minhu ‘ibãdukal mukhlisun”.

Its English translation is as follows: “O Allah, Possessor of Majesty and Greatness, Possessor of Generosity and Almightiness, Possessor of Forgiveness and Mercy, Possessor of Protection and Pardon, I ask Thee, for the sake of this Day which Thou hast set for Muslims a Day of Rejoicing, and for Muhammad, Blessing be on him and his Progeny, (a source of) treasure, honour, dignity and even more, to send Blessing to Muhammad and his Progeny, and to enter me (or my name) in every good deed, Thou hast entered in it (the names of) Muhammad and Muhammad’s Progeny, and remove me (or my name) from every evil, Thou hast removed from it (the names of) Muhammad and Muhammad’s Progeny, Thy Blessing be on him and them. O Allah, I ask Thee for every good thing asked for by Thy pious Devotees, and seek of Thee for the refuge sought for by Thy pure Devotees.”

If a group of people offers these two prayers with Jamã’at with the intention of hope (that it would be desirable to Allah), the Imam shall deliver two Sermons after offering them with the intention of hope (that it would be desirable to Allah). It is permissible to give up both these prayers during the

Period of Occultation (of the Twelfth Imam). (When these prayers are offered), it is permissible to recite the words loudly by the Imam (when offered with Jamãat), or by the individual (when offered individually). It is also approved to raise the hands at the time of reciting the Takbirs, and offer it in large open spaces excepting Mecca. It is disapproved to offer these prayers under a roof.

Like all other Jama’ats, the Imam is not responsible in these prayers for anything except recitation.

If a person doubts about the number of the Takbirs or Qunuts (in these prayers), and the doubt occurs in its proper place (of compensation), he shall decide in favour of the minimum.

If a person does something entailing the performance of the prostration for error, it is more cautious to perform the prostration for error with the intention of hope (that it would be desirable to Allah), though its non-obligation, when the prayer be considered to be approved, (and not obligatory), is not devoid of force. The same is the case with the compensation for a forgotten Tashahhud or prostration

In the prayers for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adhà, there is neither a call for prayer (Adhãn), nor a call for standing for prayer (Iqamah). Of course, it is approved for the Muadhdhin (one who calls for prayer) to call (loudly) three times: ‘Assalat’ (i.e., The prayer is ready).[1]

According to an obligatory precaution, it is said that two sermons (khutbas) be delivered after Eid prayer (in regards to the Jummah prayer, another difference is that the khutbah is delivered before prayer and with Eid prayer the khutbah is delivered after the prayer), and it is better the sermons should explain rules regarding Zakatul Fitr.

– If you are going to offer it individually, you must recite the whole Dhikrs by yourself.

– If you want to offer it in congregation, some of its Dhikrs are recited by the Imam and others by you and the Imam simultaneously.

– When the Imam of prayer is reciting Surah al-Hamd and al-Ikhlas (or al-A’la) others just listen and don’t recite these Surahs by themselves.

– Other Dhikrs such as Takbirs, dua in Qunut, Ruku, Sujood and Tashahhod are being recited by the Imam of Prayer and all Mamomeen altogether.

– Since this prayer comes only once a year, there is often difficulties about how to offer this prayer and recite the dua in Qunut. So, a mukabbir (one who pronounces takbir) is usually recite this dua in order to help others recite this dua correctly. However, the Imam of prayer and all Mamoneen are reciting it by themselves.[2]

For further information in this regards, please refer to the following answer:

Index: Zakat of Fitrah, Zakãt al-Abdan (or Zakãt of Bodies), answer 045.

Index: Zakat and difference between Sayyid and non-Sayyid holms, answer 040.

[1] . Tahrir al-Wasiah of Imam Khomeini, Vol. 1, Rules Concerning Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adhã Prayers.

[2] . Tawzih al-Masail (without annotation), Roohollah al-Moosavi al-Khomeini, Vol. 1, Pgs. 824 & 825 question 1516, 1519 & 1520.

Do we have to pray in Arabic language

January 31, 2017 by Admin Posted in All Q&A, Rules of Prayer Tagged Arabic, Dhikr, language, Prayer, Qibla, Qunut, Sunnah, Wajib

Question in short 010: Why do we have to pray in Arabic language?

Question 010: I know this has more than likely been ask before, but, here goes. I understand the reasoning that we do certain things like Prophet Muhammad(SAW) especially salah, i read in Ad-Dukhan 44.58 that the Qur’an was made easy in they tongue so we can take heed. I can’t speak arabic very well at all, main salahs and I read transliterations when I pray,I understand that we do this because Prophet Muhammad(SAW) recited them im Arabic, it was his native language, my native language is English(USA), will Allah only honor the obligatory prays if they are only spoken in Arabic? Please forgive my newbiness

Answer 010: In order to give the appropriate answer we need to know what is being asked exactly. If the question is asking about why some other language wasn’t chosen to pray instead of Arabic, the same question will come up for those who don’t speak that other language. But if the question is about why we have to perform prayers only in Arabic and why it isn’t permissible for one to pray in his/her mother language, then we need to pay attention to the following points to get an answer to the question.

1- The main reason behind performing prayers only in Arabic after the fact that it is part of the prophet’s (pbuh) Sunnah and that in general, all forms of worship need to be dictated to us by Allah (swt) the way He wants them to be performed, is to avoid the alteration of the form of prayers throughout the different ages and to be protected from any potential change, and if every individual is to perform prayers in the language he/she speaks there would be a fairly great possibility of the alteration of the prayers by adding or omitting some words or even mixing it with superstition, there were also chances of these changes would leading to other changes in the fundamentals of the prayer and little by little the concept of praying would lose its importance and would be completely forgotten.

Obviously in order to prevent an act from fading away during different ages and eras, there needs to be an unchangeable criteria and measure that it can be judged by. For example, length is measured by the unit of centimeters and millimeters and weight is measured by the unit of kilograms and grams. The units and in other words the criteria never changes with the pass of time and this applies to praying too, meaning that there are certain criteria for prayers which are the wajib acts and the fundamental acts of prayer and among these fundamentals is saying the wajib phrases in Arabic.

2- Islam is a global religion that aims to unite all Muslims and without a language that they can understand each other through, such a goal is achievable. Arabic, which according to the experts, is one of the most comprehensive languages that has the potential to be an international language, one which Muslims can be united by and will remain as a sign of Muslim unity, just like in other aspects of Islam, like praying towards one Qibla and so forth.

3- Some may think that forcing people who aren’t good at Arabic to pray in this language is not fair because of the trouble they need to go through to learn it. In this regard one must say that learning a total of 20 words (without counting the words repeated more than once) that are used in the prayer isn’t considered difficult for those who can easily learn and use tens and hundreds of words and phrases of other languages! Add to that the fact that the simple meanings of the phrases in prayer are easy to learn and understand and all people are capable of learning the simple meaning of (بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم) and other phrases, although these phrases do have profound and deep meanings as well.

4- According to language experts, Arabic is one of the world’s most comprehensive languages that has the capability of conveying deep meanings in short and beautiful phrases.[1]

5- It is not obligatory to perform all acts of worship in Arabic. For example, some Islamic scholars’ fatwas do not say that it is wajib[2] for the marriage contract to be pronounced in Arabic; some great scholars like Imam Khomeini say that if a person isn’t capable of pronouncing the marriage contract in Arabic and is able to get an agent (wakil) to do it in Arabic for them, it isn’t necessary and he/she can do it his/herself in his/her own language.[3]

Also, it isn’t necessary to do supplications and call Allah (swt) in Arabic and is okay to talk to Him in other languages (of course not in prayer) and according to the fatwa of the majority of faqihs (jurists), one can pronounce all phrases of the prayer other than the wajib ones in other than Arabic, especially in the qunut (which isn’t wajib)[4]. What was said of course was not meant to encourage Muslims to ignore the meanings of the phrases in prayers, for all Muslims are responsible of learning the meanings of these prayers and supplications in order to understand what he/she says while speaking to Allah (swt). This gives rise to one’s worship not being a mere formality anymore, giving it life and integrity, helping him/her rise in spirituality.

[1] . Al-Mizan, vol. 4, pg. 160; Tafsir Nemoneh, vol. 9, pg. 300, and vol. 13, pg. 311.

[2] . Mo’allaqate Ayatollah Gerami, vol. 4, pg. 645.

[3] . Urwatul-Wuthqa, vol. 2, page 645.

[4] . Tawdihul-Masa’ele Maraje’, vol. 1, pg. 62.