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question about prayer
Anonymous
01/03/02 at 04:53:36
Assalamu 'Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh I had a question,is it true that when a woman is praying that she has to have her backside covered (maybe with a wall or the like) so that her awrah isn't exposed when she goes down for ruku and sujood? The reason I'm asking is sometimes I have to pray at school.  We have fixed room at my campus to pray but it's in a very inconvenient part of the building.  I had a morning class one weekend and there were no open classrooms so I prayed in the hallway, but in order to face qiblah I had to pray where there was nothing behind me hence my awrah was exposed when I went down for sujood and ruku.  I could've prayed with a wall behind me but there was just too many people coming and going I rather have them walk behind me than in front of me. but was that not so wise??

Re: question about prayer
assing
01/03/02 at 20:58:49
As salaamu alaykum, if i understand your question correctly you are basically asking if exposing ones awrah (unintentionally) nullifies ones salah. Well from what i have observed some scholars say exposing one awrah (even unintentionally) nullifies ones salah. And this is based on the fact that covering ones awrah is one of the prerequisites for, thus they say if it is exposed the salah becomes invalid. However, the hadeeth of where as he said he was a young boy and he lead them in his people in salah and his {as we refer to it as}"bamcee" became exposed and some women complained about it ;-D (thats funny) yet still he did not repeat his salah indicating that it was valid inshallah. The funny thing about this hadeeth is that it is not found in the chapter of salah in Bukhari but in the chapter of  Military Expeditions: Narrated 'Amr bin Salama: We were at a place which was a thoroughfare for the people, and the caravans used to pass by us and we would ask them, "What is wrong with the people? What is wrong with the people? Who is that man?. They would say, "That man claims that Allah has sent him (as an Apostle), that he has been divinely inspired, that Allah has revealed to him such-and-such." I used to memorize that (Divine) Talk, and feel as if it was inculcated in my chest (i.e. mind) And the 'Arabs (other than Quraish) delayed their conversion to Islam till the Conquest (of Mecca). They used to say." "Leave him (i.e. Muhammad) and his people Quraish: if he overpowers them then he is a true Prophet. So, when Mecca was conquered, then every tribe rushed to embrace Islam, and my father hurried to embrace Islam before (the other members of) my tribe. When my father returned (from the Prophet) to his tribe, he said, "By Allah, I have come to you from the Prophet for sure!" The Prophet afterwards said to them, 'Offer such-and-such prayer at such-and-such time, and when the time for the prayer becomes due, then one of you should pronounce the Adhan (for the prayer), and let the one amongst you who knows Qur'an most should, lead the prayer." So they looked for such a person and found none who knew more Qur'an than I because of the Quranic material which I used to learn from the caravans. They therefore made me their Imam ((to lead the prayer) and at that time I was a boy of six or seven years, wearing a Burda (i.e. a black square garment) proved to be very short for me (and my body became partly naked). A lady from the tribe said, "Won't you cover the anus of your reciter for us?" So they bought (a piece of cloth) and made a shirt for me. I had never been so happy with anything before as I was with that shirt. And Allah knows best
NS

Re: question about prayer
lightningatnite
01/03/02 at 21:40:51
Salam :) SubhanAllah, may Allah reward you for your courage in praying in public spaces, inshaAllah it is good da'wah.  I think you mean not the actual uncovering of the awrah, but its form being revealed because of your position.  It could be dangerous because we know that we should avoid clothes that reveal the shape of the awrah, so this could fall into that category.  But then again, this would also apply for men as well because that is awrah for them too, right?  I guess its more of an issue of hayaa' than anything. I've discovered so many places of solitude whilst in search of a little space to pray.  Its amazing what you hear when you take 5 seconds to get away from the din of the world, and just put things in perspective :)

Re: question about prayer
Arsalan
01/04/02 at 00:48:34
[slm] A different question: Sometimes when some brothers pray and go in sujood, their shirt comes up and their back is exposed unintentionally.  That part of the body is included in the awrah.  If nobody sees the bare back, is the prayer of the person nullified?   What if someone sees it but does not tell the person that they saw it?  How is the person to know that his prayer was nullified if he does not know that his back was exposed in the prayer?

Re: question about prayer
se7en
01/04/02 at 01:05:16
wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllah, Ahh.. I hate praying in the hallway.  It's hard to concentrate when there are people constantly moving around you.  What I've done a few times is pray in an empty stairwell, or outside.   Brother Arsalan, your question reminds me of one my imam was asked a while back.  The question was about a sisters hair being exposed during the salah, but the answer was more general than that. He said that if a part of your awra is exposed for a short time, unintentionally, during the salah, then this does *not* nullify your salah.  He said that you should just cover what was exposed and continue. Let me see if I can find a source for this.. wasalaam

Re: question about prayer
assing
01/04/02 at 11:25:19
As-Salam Alaykum, If one fnds a hole in their prayer garment, and realizes that he/she has been praying in such a condition (the 'awra could be seen through the hole) for some time, are all of his/her prayers in need of being repeated? If so, and the person does not know for how long this occurred, how can they be sure they made up enough prayers? Ja zakAllah kheir. Answer: Praise be to Allaah. The scholars, may Allaah have mercy on them, agreed that covering the ‘awrah is a condition of the validity of one’s prayer. The evidence for this is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes) while praying…” [al-A’raaf 7:31] The conditions for clothes to cover the ‘awrah properly are as follows: They should not show the shape or contours of the body; if they do so, this is no good because it does not cover properly. They should be clean (taahir). If the clothes are unclean or impure (naajis), then it is not correct to pray in them, because it is haraam to have any impurity (najaasah) on one’s body or clothes when praying. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And your garments purify!” [al-Muddaththir 74:4]. It was reported that a baby boy who was not yet eating solid food was brought to the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he sat the infant in his lap. The child urinated in his lap, and he called for water and poured it over the urine. The fact that the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) hastened to wash the child’s urine from his clothes indicates that it is obligatory to clean one’s clothes of any impurity that may get on them. They should be permissible, not haraam, whether they are haraam in and of themselves, such as silk garments, or because of the way in which they are made, such as garments that come below the ankles, or because of the way in which they were acquired, such as garments seized by force or stolen. With regard to the matter of the ‘awrah becoming uncovered during prayer, al-Shaafa'i, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “It is good enough for both men and women to pray with their ‘awrah covered. The man’s ‘awrah is what I have already described (i.e., from the navel to the knee), and all of a woman is ‘awrah, apart from her face and hands. The top of her feet is also ‘awrah. If during prayer any part of the area between a man’s navel and knees becomes uncovered, or any part of a woman’s hair, whether it is a lot or a little, or any part of her body apart from her face and hands and wrist – and no more than that – becomes uncovered, whether they realize it or not, then both (man and woman) must repeat the prayer – unless it was uncovered by the wind, or it slipped and was immediately replaced without delay (no longer than it takes to pick up the garment and place it back immediately.) (Al-Shaafa'i, Kitaab al-Umm, Baab Kayfiyyat Libs al-Thiyaab fi’l-Salaah). Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Mughni: “Section: if a little bit of the ‘awrah becomes uncovered, this does not invalidate the prayer. This is the opinion of Ahmad and Abu Haneefah. Al-Shaafa'i said: ‘It invalidates the prayer because it is a ruling that has to do with the ‘awrah, and it is the same whether it is a little or a lot, as is the case with looking (at the ‘awrah).’ We have what was reported by Abu Dawood, with his isnaad from Ayyoob, from ‘Amr ibn Salamah al-Jarmi, who said: ‘My father went with a group from his people to the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he taught them how to pray. He said, “The one who reads Qur’aan best among you should lead you in prayer.” I was the best at reading Qur’aan, so they appointed me. I used to lead them in prayer wearing a small yellow burdah (cloak or garment), and when I prostrated, my ‘awrah became uncovered. One of the women said, ‘Cover the ‘awrah of your reciter for us!’ so they bought me an Omani shirt, and I never rejoiced over anything – apart from Islam – as much as I rejoiced over that.’ Reported by Abu Dawood. Al-Nasaa'i also reported from ‘Aasim al-Ahwal, from ‘Amr ibn Salamah, who said: “I used to lead them in prayer wearing a burdah made of two attached parts in which there was a gap. When I prostrated in it, my backside showed.’ This was common and was not denounced, and we have not heard that the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or any of his Companions denounced it, because if prayer is still valid despite a severe problem where there is an excuse, then we should differentiate between whether the problem is severe or not where there is no excuse; it is like the case of walking during the prayer. Avoiding little matters may be too difficult, so a little is excused, as is the case with blood. Once this is clear, the definition of a lot is that which is offensive to look at, and in this case there is no differentiation between the private parts and other parts of the ‘awrah. A little is that which is not offensive, and the point of reference is that which is customary, except that the two private parts are more offensive than anything else, so that is considered to be an obstacle to prayer… This is a matter in which Islam did not define what is offensive, so the point of reference is what is customary, as also applies in the case of excessive movement during the prayer…” If these holes show what is customarily regarded to be too much of the ‘awrah, and it shows it for a while, or it is not possible to cover them because the garment is too small, for example, then the prayer is not valid, because covering the ‘awrah is one of the conditions of prayer, and if one of the conditions is not met without a valid excuse such as inability to meet it, then the prayer is not valid. You have to repeat the prayers which you did wearing this garment. If you do not know how many they were, you should take what you are certain of. For example, if you think that they may have been four or three or five, but definitely not more than five, then what you can be certain of in this case is five, and so on. And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) Question: What should one do if one is praying behind the Imam and sees part of his body uncovered? Answer: If someone if in a congregational prayer behind the Imam and sees the ‘awrah (those parts of the body that a man or a woman must cover.) uncovered due to an opening in his clothes or due to his clothes being thin and transparent, then if it is possible he should go ahead and cover it with something, otherwise he should move and come out of prayer and inform the Imam by saying “cover your ‘awrah” (in Arabic “ghatti il-‘awrah”), or “protect what has been uncovered”. He must not stay quiet and continue to pray because it is known that the Imam’s prayer (in the said condition) is incorrect and following him is incorrect as well.1 From the rulings of Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz
NS

Re: question about prayer
Arsalan
01/04/02 at 18:01:48
Jazak Allahu Khairan br. assing for the post. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

Re: question about prayer
Merimda
01/11/02 at 00:44:27
salam, I have a question about prayer as well. ( I didn't want to start another thread about prayer) On campus for the regular prayers we do not have a regular Iman or any one person to lead the prayers.. At dhur today this brother who led the prayer prayed really fast.. I swear..I said my opening dua and the first two verses of Al fatiha and then "Allahu Akbar". The second rakka I *barely* finished al fatiha..and the third and fourth I didn't get to finish it.. So I am just wondering is this prayer valid? Should I have prayed it all over again? I didn't for a couple of reasons but now thinking back I think I should've.. JAK salam, merimda

Re: question about prayer
bhaloo
01/11/02 at 01:23:51
slm From islam-qa.com I have some problems regarding prayer in jamaa’ah, and hope that you can answer the following questions: If I join the prayer in the last tashahhud, am I considered to have caught up with the prayer in jamaa’ah or not? If I cannot recite al-Faatihah even once during prayer in jamaa’ah, because the imaam reads too fast or because there is no pause in which I can recite it, is there anything wrong with that? If I reach the mosque and the iqaamah has already been recited, should I join the jamaa’ah when the iqaamah is recited or when the imaam does rukoo’? Sheikh Munajidd answered: Praise be to Allaah.   According to the correct view, you can only catch up with the prayer in jamaa’ah if you catch up with and do a rak’ah with the imaam. Merely catching up with the tashahhud or what comes before the tashahhud, but not with the rak’ah, does not count as having caught up with the prayer in jamaa’ah. I offer you my condolences for your great loss if you have caught up with nothing of the prayer except the tashahhud. The evidence (daleel) for this is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever catches up with a rak’ah of the prayer has caught up with the prayer.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Mawaaqeet, Baab man adraka min al-salaah rak’ah, 580; Muslim, Kitaab al-masaajid, 607). This is the correct scholarly view; and it is the view of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), and is the view favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah preserve him). It is the view which is supported and strengthened by the evidence. With regard to reciting al-Faatihah in the prayer, this is one of the most important of the arkaan al-salaah (pillars or essential parts of the prayer), and the prayer is not valid without it, because the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no salaah for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book.” But if a person is praying with the imaam and catches up with him during the rukoo’, for example, and he does rukoo’ without reciting al-Faatihah, this is OK, and the imaam’s recitation will count as his recitation, because of the famous hadeeth of Abu Bakrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), “May Allaah increase your keenness, but do not do this again.” But if the imaam is clearly rushing, as you say, then the essential element of tranquillity and measured pace is not there, so the prayer offered behind him is not valid, because he is not qualified to lead it and because one of the essential elements of the prayer – that of a measured pace – is lacking. This condition is based on the famous hadeeth about the one who did not pray properly. But if it is only the case of the imam reciting relatively fast and he is able to maintain the required measured pace, in this case it is usually possible to recite Soorat al-Faatihah behind him, and if you can recite it faster, there is nothing wrong with that. But if you are not reciting al-Faatihah for another reason, such as laziness or forgetfulness, or because you joined the prayer late, then this does not affect your prayer, which is still valid, and the imaam’s recitation counts as your recitation. The Muslim must hasten to prayer as soon as the call is given. This is one of the attributes of the believers whose hearts are attached to the mosques. Being late and only coming when the iqaamah has been given is a sign of weak faith and little desire to do good and be obedient. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would be attending to his family’s needs, then when Bilaal gave the call to prayer, he would stop what he was doing and rush to pray. He  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say, “Let us relax with it [the prayer], O Bilaal” and, “My delight has been made in prayer.” Whenever something distressed or worried him, he would hasten to pray. But those who are lazy and do not come to the mosque until the iqaamah has been given or during the prayer or during the tashahhud should check and rebuke themselves, for the believer’s deeds will say to him in his grave: “By Allaah, I only saw you quick to obey Allaah and slow to disobey Him.” But in the case of the munaafiq (hypocrite) and faasiq (evildoer), his deeds will say: “By Allaah, I only saw you slow to obey Allaah and quick to disobey Him.” (This is a hadeeth narrated by Imaam Ahmad. It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz, where he also mentioned its isnaads). Allaah described the munaafiqeen (hypocrites) as follows (interpretation of the meaning): “And when they stand up for al-salaah (the prayer), they stand with laziness” [al-Nisaa’ 4:142]. So let people pay attention to the seriousness of this matter, and let Muslim women too beware of delaying the prayer until the last moments and beware of letting worldly concerns distract them from paying attention to the provision of the Hereafter… Whoever gets used to praying regularly on time with the jamaa’ah in the mosque when the call (adhaan) is given will find that this becomes his main concern and will no longer neglect it, in sha Allaah. Whoever tries this will find deep joy, tranquillity and peace of heart and mind in the prayer. This will enable him to attain the proper sense of humility (khushoo’) when he stands before Allaah. One of the favours of Allaah to people is when a year goes by and a person never misses a single fard prayer with the jamaa’ah, except for a valid excuse. The sincere believer gets very upset if one day he sleeps and misses the prayer, or is late for the prayer because of some worldly matter, and all of the matters of this world are insignificant and fleeting. This is one of the ways in which Allaah helped His slaves to obey Him and remain steadfast. If the iqaamah has been given, the worshipper must join the jamaa’ah straight away, even in the Fajr prayer and even if the imaam is reciting a lengthy passage, because of the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Once the iqaamah for the prayer has been given, there is no prayer except the prescribed (obligatory) prayer).” (Narrated by Muslim in Kitaab Salaat al-Musaafireen, Baab 710). In this case any other prayer is not valid. For example, if a person starts a naafil prayer then the iqaamah is given, he has to stop his prayer, then make it up, if he wants to, after the (fard) prayer. If he completes the (naafil) prayer, it will not count and will be invalid. Some scholars said that if he is nearing the end of his naafil prayer, he can complete it if he knows that he will be able to catch up with the first Takbeer (Takbeerat al-Ihraam), because the point is to hasten to join the imaam in the prayer. And Allaah knows best.
NS
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