PERFORMING NAMÂZ
In our religion, after having îmân (faith), the most valuable
worship is namâz (ritual prayer). Namâz is the main pillar of the
religion. Namâz is the most superior of worships. It is the second
fundamental of Islam. It is called (Salât) in Arabic. Originally,
salât means supplication, mercy and to beg for forgiveness from
Allahu ta'âlâ. Since all these three meanings are present in namâz,
it is called salât.
The thing which Allahu ta'âlâ likes most and He commanded
again and again is the five daily prayers. After having îmân, the
most important commandment of Allahu ta'âlâ for Muslims is
namâz. Namâz is the firstly commanded fard in our religion. On
the Day of Judgement, after îmân, the first question will be on
namâz. He who gives his account for five daily prayers well, will
also be free from all other difficulties and attain endless salvation.
Being rescued from the fire of Hell and to reach Paradise depends
on performing namâz correctly. In order to perform a correct
namâz, firstly we must perform a faultless ablution, then we must
begin the namâz without showing any laziness. We must strive to
perform each act of namâz perfectly.
The auspicious worship which gathers all the other worships in
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itself and causes man to approach Allahu ta'âlâ most is namâz.
Our Prophet ‘sall- Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: (Namâz is the
arch-stone of faith. He who performs namâz has built up his faith.
He who does not perform namâz has demolished his faith). By
performing his namâz correctly, he will have been protected from
doing nasty, bad things. As a matter of fact, it is declared in the
forty-fifth âyat of Sûrat-ul-’Ankabût of the Qur’ân al-kerîm,
purporting: (A prayer of namâz performed perfectly will certainly
protect man against doing fahshâ [foul] and munkar [loathsome
actions])
A namâz which does not cause one to be away from evil things
is not a correct namâz. It is namâz in appearance. Nevertheless,
until performing the correct one, we must not omit even making
the appearance. Scholars of Islam said: (Even if something cannot
be done completely, one should not completely miss it either). Our
Rabb, Who grants endless blessings, may accept the appearance as
the reality. One must not say "Instead of performing namâz in
such a wrong manner, do not perform it at all!" One must say
"Instead of performing namâz in such a wrong manner, do
perform it correctly". We should understand this nuance well.
Namâz should be performed in jamâ'at (congregation). Making
namâz in jamâ'at is far more rewarding than making namâz alone.
In namâz, every limb must show humility and the heart must be in
fear of Allahu ta'âlâ. The only thing which will save man from
calamities and difficulties in this and the next worlds is namâz. In
the beginning of the Mu'minûn sûra, Allahu ta'âlâ declared,
purporting: (The Believers will be saved in any case. They are
those who perform their ritual prayers in khushû' [Deep and
humble reverence].)
When worship is done in a dangerous and fearful place, it is
much more valuable. When the enemy attacks, a few actions by
the army become very valuable. For this reason, worshipping by
the young is more valuable. For, they are breaking the evil wishes
of their nafs and they resist the nafs demand to not worship.
During youth, three enemies do not want them to perform
worships. They are your nafs, the devil, and evil company (evil
friend). The beginning of all evil is evil company. If the young
person does not obey the evil desires coming from these, and they
perform their ritual prayer and do not abandon their worships, this
is very valuable. They will attain much more reward than an
elderly person. Their few worships will be given many rewards.
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For whom is Namâz a Fard (Commandment)?
Performing the five daily prayers of namâz is fard-i ’ayn for
every Muslim, man or woman, who has reached the age of
discretion and puberty. There are three conditions for namâz to be
fard:
1- To be a Muslim. 2 - To be discreet. 3 - To have reached the
age of puberty.
In our religion, young children who are not discreet and who
have not reached the age of puberty are not responsible of
performing namâz. But, parents must teach the religious
knowledge to their children and make them accustomed to
worshipping. Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ said, (All
of you are like shepherds of flocks! As a shepherd protects his
flock, so you should protect those in your homes and under your
command from Hell! You should teach them Islâm! If you don’t,
you will be held responsible.) In another hadîth-i sherîf, it is stated:
(All children are born fit and suitable for Islâm. Later, their
parents make them Christians, Jews or irreligious).
Therefore, the first duty of every Muslim is to teach their
children Islam, the recitation of the Qur'ân al-karîm, the
performing of namâz and the conditions of îmân and Islam.
Parents who want their child to be a Muslim and to attain serenity
in this world and the Hereafter, must perform this duty of theirs
first. For, our ancestors said: (A tree may bend while it is young
and fresh). If one tries to bend a tree when it is old, it will break. It
will be harmful.
Any child who is not taught Islamic knowledge and who is not
given beautiful ethics will be deceived by evil people quickly. He
will be harmful to his parents, state and nation.
States of those who perform Namâz
Story: The Namâz Which Freed One from Prison
Abdullah bin Tâhir, governor of Khorasan, was very just. One
day, his gendarmes reported to the governor that they had caught
some thieves. One of the thieves escaped. Instead of the thief, a
blacksmith from Hirât, who had gone to Nishâbûr, was arrested, as
he was going back home that night. Together with the thieves they
took him up to the governor, who then commanded them to be
imprisoned! In the prison, the blacksmith made an ablution and
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performed namâz. Holding his hands out, he invoked, “O my
Allah! Save me! You alone know that I am innocent. You alone
can rescue me from this dungeon. O my Allah! Save me!” That
night the governor dreamt of four strong people, who came up to
him and were about to turn his throne upside down, when he woke
up. Immediately, he made an ablution and performed a namâz of
two rak’ats. He went back to sleep. Again he dreamt that the four
persons were about to overturn his throne, and woke up. He
realized that he had been doing injustice to someone who in turn
had been invoking against him. As a matter of fact, a poem says:
Thousands of cannons and rifles can never do,
What tears will do in the early morning.
The enemy-frightening spears are often
Pulverized by a Believer’s praying.
O our Allah! You alone are great! You are so great that the
great, as well as the meager, only beg of You when they are in
trouble. Only he who begs of You will attain his desire.
That very night he summoned the prison guard and asked him
if there was anyone who was unjustly put in there. The prison
guard said, “I couldn’t know. But there is somebody who is
performing namâz and saying many prayers. He is weeping, too.”
Upon this, he had the blacksmith brought to him. Asking him and
then learning what was wrong, he apologized and requested,
“Forgive me, please, and do accept these thousand silver coins as
my gift upon you. Whenever you desire anything, whatsoever, just
come to me!” The blacksmith said, “I have forgiven you and will
accept your present. But I cannot come to you to ask for my
wish.” When asked why, he said, “Would it become appropriate
for me as a born slave to present my wishes to someone else,
abandoning my Owner, Who has several times overturned the
throne of such a sultan as you for the sake of such a poor person
as me? By my supplications after ritual prayers, He saved me from
many difficulties. He made me attain so many wishes of mine.
How could I take refuge in someone else? While my Rabb has
opened the door of His Treasure of Endless Mercy and spread His
Table of Infinite Endowment for everybody, how can I have
recourse to others? Who has asked and He has not given? One
cannot attain if one does not know how to ask. If one does not
enter His Presence with proper manners, one cannot attain His
Mercy.
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Whoever puts his head on the threshold of worship one night;
The Darling’s Kindness certainly opens thousands of doors for him.
Râbiat-ul-Adwiyya ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaihâ’, one of the great
Awliyâ, heard a man pray, “O Allah! Open Your Door of Mercy!”
She said to him, “O you ignorant person! Has Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Door
of Mercy been closed up to now so that you want it to be opened
now?” [Though the source of Mercy is always open, it is the hearts,
the receivers that are not always open. We should pray so that they
should open!]
Yâ Rabbî! You, alone, are the One who rescues everybody
from distress. Do not leave us in distress in this world and the next!
Only You are the One who sends everything to the needy! Send
auspicious, useful things to us in this world and the next! Do not
leave us in need of anybody in this world and the next! Âmîn!”
Story: His home burned
Hamîd-i Tawîl, one of the Awliyâ-i kirâm, was making namâz
in his prayer room. His home started burning. People gathered and
extinguished the fire. His wife ran to him and said angrily: "Your
house is burning. People are gathering. There are many works to
do. But you do not move." He said, "I swear by Allahu ta'âlâ that
I have not been aware of all these events."
The friends of Allahu ta’âlâ, reaching such a great degree in the
love and closeness to Him and feeling the taste of supplicating,
begging Him, have forgotten themselves.
Story: Water in Pot
Abdullah bin Shahîr from the Ashâb-i kirâm tells: I was
performing ritual prayer near Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa
sallam.’ I heard sounds coming from his blessed chest, it was as if
water was boiling in a pot on a fire.
Story: Arrow in his foot
Hadrat Ali, the dear son-in-law of Rasûlullah ‘alaihis-salâm,
would be oblivious to everything when he started to make a ritual
prayer.
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It is narrated: In a battle, an arrow had come and it was stuck
in Hadrat Ali’s blessed foot to the bone. They could not pull it out.
They showed the wound to a doctor. The doctor said: You should
be given anesthesia which will make you unconscious, only then
the arrow can be pulled out from your foot. Otherwise, it is
impossible to bear its pain." Amîr-ulmu’minin Hadrat Alî
“radiyallahu anh” said: (What’s the use of anesthesia? Wait for a
while, when the prayer time comes and I start performing namâz,
you take it out." The prayer time came. Hadrat Alî started
performing namâz. The doctor cut the blessed foot of Hadrat Ali
and took the arrow out. He bandaged the wound. When Hadrat
Ali completed his ritual prayer, he asked the doctor: Have you
taken the arrow out? The doctor answered: (Yes, I have taken it
out). Hadrat Ali said: I did not feel it at all.
What is so surprising! As a matter of fact, before the beauty of
Yûsuf (Josef) 'alaihis-salâm, the Egyptian women had been so
amazed and preoccupied, they did not realize that they had cut
their hands. If being in Allahu ta’âlâ’s Presence turns His beloved
slaves into a state which make them unconscious of themselves,
why does one become amazed at this? While passing away, the
Believers will see our Master Rasûlullah 'alaihis-salam, hence they
will not feel the agony of death.
Story: Anesthetic Medicine
Âmir-i Kays was among the Awliyâ. It was seen that leprosy
was on one of his toes. They said it was necessary to amputate it.
Âmir said: "Consenting to the verdict is a fundament of slavery."
They cut it off. A few days later, they saw that the illness spread to
his leg and reached the upper leg. They said, "It is necessary to
amputate this foot, our religion gives permission for this
operation." They brought a person to operate on him. He said:
“To make him unconscious, it is necessary to have a medicine so
that he will not feel the pain. Otherwise, he cannot endure it.
“Âmir said: No need for this. Bring someone who recites the
Qur'ân al-karîm with a beautiful voice. Let him recite the Qur'ân
al-karîm. When you see a change on my face, cut off my foot, I will
not be aware of it. They did so. A person came and started reciting
the Qur'ân al-karîm with a beautiful voice. The color on the face
of Âmir changed. The operator severed his leg at the middle of the
upper leg. He cauterized and bandaged it. The person who was
reading the Qur'ân al-karîm became silent. Âmir came to himself
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and asked: "Have you amputated it?" They said: Yes. They had
amputated, cauterized, bandaged his leg, and he was unaware of
all these. Then, he said: Give my amputated leg to me. They gave
it to him. He lifted it and said: “O my Rabb, you are the
Benefactor. I am Your slave. The decree is Yours, the verdict is
Your verdict, the qadâ is Your qadâ. This is, a foot about which if
You ask, on the Day of Judgement, with it, did you never take a
step towards a sin? I can say that I have never taken a step or a
breath without your command. ”
Story: Sacrifices for Namâz
Before the city of Bursa was taken by the Ottomans, one of its
Greek residents had secretly become Muslim. A very close friend
of his asked about the reason: “How could you abandon the
religion of your father and your forefathers?” Thus, he criticized
him. The answer of that Greek Muslim was meaningful. He said:
Once, one of the captive Muslims was left with me. One day, I saw
that this captive was sitting down and standing up in the room
where he was kept. I went near and asked him what he was doing.
When his movements stopped, he rubbed his hands on his face and
he said he performed a ritual prayer and if I allowed him, he would
give one gold coin for each ritual prayer. I became greedy. Day by
day I increased the payment amount. At a certain point, I wanted
ten gold coins for each prescribed time for ritual prayers. He
accepted that. I was amazed at his sacrifice for his worship. One
day, I told him: “I will set you free.” He became very joyful. He
outstretched his hands and prayed for me: “O My Allah! Honor
this slave of Yours with îmân (faith)!” At that moment, a wish to
become Muslim occurred in my heart and it increased so much so
that I became Muslim by reciting the Kalima-i shahâdat
immediately.
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TYPES OF NAMÂZ
Namâz, commanded for Muslims are in three groups: Fard
prayers, wâjib prayers and nâfile (supererogatory) prayers. They
are:
1- Fard prayers: The fards of five daily prayers, the two rak'at
fard of Friday prayer, janâza prayer. (Performing janâza prayer is
fard-i kifâya).
2- Wâjib prayers: Witr prayer, Eid prayers, nazr prayers and
those prayers which you had begun but did not complete. It is
wâjib to make qadâ of the omitted witr prayers too.
3- Nâfila prayers: The sunnats of five daily prayers, tarâwih
prayer, and those namâz which are performed in order to attain
rewards such as tahajjud, tahiyyat-ul-masjid, ishraq, awwâbîn,
istihâra, tasbîh prayers. We are not commanded to perform them.
Those who do not have any debt of fard or wâjib qadâ prayers will
be given rewards for their supererogatory worships too.
NAMÂZ, FIVE TIMES DAILY
Namâz is a commandment of Allahu ta'âlâ. Allahu ta'âlâ
commands “Perform namâz!” more than one hundred places in
the Qur'ân al-karîm. For every Muslim who is discreet and has
reached the age of puberty, performing namâz five times a day has
been ordered in the Qur'ân al-karîm and Hadîth-i sherîfs.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth âyat-i karîmas of Rûm Sûra,
it is purported: “Make tesbîh (glorification; declaring to be far
from defects and imperfections) of Allâhu ta’âlâ at evening and
morning times. The hamd performed by heavenly and earthly
beings and done in the afternoons and at noon time are for Allâhu
ta’âlâ.” . In the two hundred thirty ninth âyat of Baqara Sûra, it is
purported: “Protect the salâts and the late afternoon salât!” [that
is, never stop from performing namâz] The one hundred and
fourteenth âyat of the Sûra of Hûd purports, (At two times of the
day [early afternoon and late afternoon] and three times during
the night [evening, night and morning] make namâz as it should be
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done! In fact, those things that are good (hasanât) [the rewards of
the five daily prayers] remove [venial] sins. This is an advice for
the mindful.)
In a hadîth-i sherîf, it is declared that (Allahu ta'âlâ
commanded to perform namâz five times every day. Allahu ta'âlâ
will forgive those who perform a correct ablution and make these
five prayers in their due time by doing their ruku' and sajdas well.)
These five daily prayers add up to forty rak’ats (units), out of
which seventeen are fard, three are wâjib and twenty are sunnat.
They are:
1- Morning prayer consists of four rak’ats. First the sunnat
prayer, which consists of two rak’ats, is performed. Then the fard
prayer, of two rak’ats, is performed. The sunnat (the first two
rak’ats) is very important. Some scholars classify it as wâjib.
2- Early afternoon prayer consists of ten rak’ats: The initial
sunnat consisting of four rak’ats, the fard consisting of four rak’ats,
and the final sunnat consisting of two rak’ats.
3- Late afternoon prayer consists of eight rak’ats. First the
sunnat, which consists of four rak’ats, and then the fard, which
consists of four rak’ats, are performed.
4- Evening prayer contains five rak’ats. First the fard, which is
composed of three rak’ats, then the sunnat, consisting of two
rak’ats, are performed.
5- Night prayer consists of thirteen rak’ats. The initial sunnat
contains four rak’ats. The fard also contains four rak’ats. But the
final sunnat has two rak’ats, while the (Witr prayer) has three
rak’ats.
The initial sunnats of the late afternoon prayer and night
prayer are Ghayr-i muakkada. When sitting during their second
rak’at, after reciting the (Attahiyyâtu..), the prayers of
(Allahumma salli alâ…) and (Allahumma bârik âlâ…) are recited
completely. After standing up for the third rak’at, the prayer
(Subhânaka…) is recited before saying the Basmala. But the first
sunnat of the early afternoon prayer is (Muakkad). That is, it has
been recommended emphatically. There are more thawâbs
(blessings) for it. During its second rak’at, as in the fard prayers,
only the Attahiyyâtu is recited and then we stand up for the third
rak’at. After standing up, we first recite the Basmala and then the
sûra (chapter) of Fâtiha.
It is mustahab to perform four more rak’ats after the fard of
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early afternoon and night prayers and six more rak’ats after the
fard of evening prayer. In other words, it is very blessed. One can
perform all of them with one salâm or by saying the salâm after
every two rak’ats. In either case the first two rak’ats are deemed to
be the final sunnat. These prayers, which are mustahab, can be
performed separately after the final sunnats of the early afternoon
and night prayers of namâz as well.
The first rak’at commences with the beginning of the prayer
and the other rak’ats begin as soon as you stand up, and each
rak’at continues until you stand up again. The final rak’at
continues until the salâm. After the second sajda (prostration) of
each second rak’at we sit.
Each rak’at of prayer contains its fards, wâjibs, sunnats,
mufsids (things or acts which nullify a prayer), and makrûhs
(actions, words, thoughts avoided and disapproved by the
Prophet). On the pages ahead, we shall explain these in
accordance with the Hanafî Madhhab.
THE FARDS OF NAMÂZ
Fard is an obligation clearly commanded by Allahu ta’âlâ.
Unless the fards of one worship are carried out, that ibâdat cannot
be sahîh, correct. Namâz has twelve fards, Of these fards, seven of
them are outside and five of them inside of the namâz. The fards
that are outside are termed (Sharts) [preconditions]. The fards that
are inside are termed (Rukns). [Some Islamic scholars have said
that the takbîr of tahrîma is inside the namâz. According to them,
both the conditions and the rukns of the namâz, each is six in
number.]
A) Preconditional Fards of the Namâz:
1- Tahârat from hadas: The performance of an ablution by a
person who does not have an ablution and performance of a ghusl
by those who are junub.
2- Tahârat from najâsat: People who are to perform namâz
must purify their bodies, clothes, the places where they will