al-Ajwibah al-Jaliyyah 5: Pillars & Recommendations of Prayer

Imam here most of Nureith al-Khadoumi Rahimullah al-Talab in question number 55 it reads what are the conditions of prayer and how many are they? So the conditions of prayer are things which are not a part of prayer but they are prerequisites of prayer. Essentially they are the things that if they are not present then you cannot pray. But if they are present it does not mean it's a you are obliged to pray. We would understand prerequisites in that manner and that's the legal definition of a pillar, excuse me of a condition of prayer. So what are they he says and how many are they? So that's what they are, prerequisites they have to be fulfilled in order to perform prayer and there are nine altogether. The first three of them are typically mentioned or are conditions of every active worship. The first is Islam, al-Aqal which is of sound mind and tamis which means discernment. These conditions are applicable to every active worship minus a tamis for Hajj, tamis meaning discernment. Meaning they reach the age of seven or above before puberty as we discussed before. So basically that means that if a newborn baby was taken to Hajj and the ifr almost made on behalf of them by their parent, the Hajj would count for them. It wouldn't be their obligatory Hajj but it would count as a voluntary Hajj. That's the first three. Number four is puberty. Excuse me. Number four is purity. When possible. Purity of course we're talking about ritual purity from a Hadith or a Qabat and the Hadith are things which are produced from the body. And the Qabat are the things that get on the body or on the clothes or on the place of prayer. The fifth is time being in, entry of the time. And those were discussed in greater detail. Basically you can't pray before the time. If you want to pray the Lord and the event of the Lord is at 1 pm, you can't pray the Lord at 12.55. You're in a rush, you've got to go, you want to get it out of the way so you don't have to think about it later as 12.55. The condition hasn't been met so it means the prayer will be invalid if it's prayed before it's time. So the event is at 1. You have to wait until 1. And then you can pray after that. Now what happens is the prayer goes on. Obviously you can't miss the prayer. But considering the time, the prayer will have been caught on time if you perform the Ihram. Takbiro to Ihram, the first opening takbir while the time is still in. And then if you're praying, the remainder of the prayer and the time is exited, you have prayed on time technically, though you have delayed too far to where you're praying outside of the time. Number 6 is covering the Ihram when possible with something that does not describe the skin. Meaning it doesn't show the color. Basically whatever you're wearing is so thin and so sheer that you can see are they dark or are they of dark complexion or light complexion? So the type of clothing has to be thick enough that it hides the color of skin. What about the form of the body parts? This is not a condition. The form of the body parts. Simply because it's something that's near impossible to manage. Because when you are sitting or bowing or prostrating, whatever you're wearing is going to kind of fall on you and it will define the shape of your body in some form or fashion. That doesn't mean that you should be wearing tight clothes, praying in spandex and leggings and you know those types of outfits because modesty of course is highly recommended. What happens if the aura becomes exposed? The aura is the part that has to be covered. The aura by the way, there's an aura for women and there's an aura for men. The aura for females in prayer, the minimum that must be covered for girls ages 7 to puberty for prayer to be valid is everything between the navel and the knees. Girls 7 to puberty between the navel and the knees. This is also the aura for bond servants, female bond servants which is not available today. But I find it interesting because that may need to be explained to our women folk. So they can understand the difference between a free woman and a slave and how they present themselves to the world. So the free woman is to cover up. So what it looks like is many people carry themselves and present themselves to the world like bond servants in the way that they dress according to our tradition. So the young girls from 7 to puberty they cover what is between the navel and the knees not including the navel or the knees. Women age of puberty and older must be entirely covered apart from their face. It is preferred that they pray in three garments, address a kimar and a jibab. So the dress obviously is well known to us. The kimar is often what is wrapped around the sheyla or the hijab and then the jibab is the outer garment. Outside of prayer the face is considered a part of women's aura. Her voice however is not. And this is of course according to the school of your men, Ahmed regarding the face because I know that's not very prevalent in our region. Also it is permissible to pray in one garment for a woman. It's preferred in three. A man from the conditions of prayers covering the aura. Growing men and boys ages 10 and older must cover what is between and not including the navel and the knees. A child from 7 to 10 must cover their private parts. A minimum. This must be covered at all times except for medical purposes to use the restroom or during intimacy etc. It says it's sufficient for a man to simply cover his aura in order to pray a voluntary prayer. However an obligatory prayer it is sufficient to cover the aura along with one shoulder. It is however preferred for men to pray in two garments such as a long shirt and pants. So what happens when the aura becomes exposed as a condition of the prayer? Because like I said before the conditions have to be met for the prayer to be valid. So if one of the conditions is absent what do we do? So basically if the aura becomes exposed it becomes exposed it's not exposed intentionally. If someone in the prayer exposes themselves intentionally their aura prayers invalidated. If they do it on purpose they raise up their shorts or something. Or they pull them up when they're praying with their thighs exposed. They've done it on purpose the prayers invalidated. But if it happens that it becomes exposed like they go into Rukua and their shirt raises up and so you can see their back. What would be below the navel or they are praying in short pants or shorts. And when they sit down the leg of the short rides up a little bit and then they have to kind of adjust it to fix themselves. So the basic rule is that if it is an extreme exposure for a long duration they have to repeat the prayer. Meaning that if it is an extreme exposure but it's just for a short duration the prayer is not repeated. Meaning it came exposed and then they fixed it quickly. Prayer is still valid. If it came exposed and they let it stay exposed it has to be like not this is something I would consider. This is not considered an extreme exposure just a little bit of the thigh. So that could be uncovered. Go uncovered for some time and it won't invalidate the prayer. But if for example their pants came down from the waist and revealed their backside for example. And then they just stayed in prayer for what we would consider. It's considered an old friend like customarily long. The next number seven is voiding impurities that are not partened when found on the body, clothes and location of the one. when praying when possible. So there are some impurities that are partied. And from those is the ethyl estage model. So you know, when you use the restroom, you relieve yourself. The matter of cleaning is either a sting jet, which is using water or a estage model. The water removes both the matter itself and the traces of the matter are removed. And a estage model would be using paper or something else. Some material where it would remove the matter, the waste matter, but it would leave a trace. And so that trace that's left behind is considered what is pardoned while performing prayer. And so like holding a child that had been wiped with a tissue or a wet wipe or something, they were wiped with that as opposed to cleaning with water. That's excusable. But holding a child with a full diaper is not because you're now carrying an adjacent. Even if it was contained like those bags that are for medical purposes, they'll often put like if somebody's going through surgery or something, then they'll have a bag in which the waste matter is collected. That has to be emptied out because you're carrying it on your person even though it is contained within something. Number eight is facing the kibble, one able to do so. Unless of course you are incapacitated or you are traveling while traveling and making a voluntary prayer, you don't have to face the kibble. You can just simply begin the prayer by facing the kibble if possible. It's not difficulty. And then you can turn it in the other direction. In regards to facing the kibble, what is obligatory is the person that is close to the kaba has to face the kaba itself. The person that is very close, meaning that they can see the kaba, they're obliged to face the kaba directly, exactly head on. And the further you go away, the more lenient that is. So the further you are away, you are obliged to face the general direction of the kaba, general direction of Mecca. So way out here where we are, this is quite a bit of leeway in terms of how accurate we have to actually be. So those are the conditions. The next section are pillars of prayer. The pillars differ from conditions in that pillars are a part of the prayer. And they are not voided if left off purposefully, forgetfully, or out of ignorance. They're also called the "Fouroules Salah." You have the "Arcanosala" or "Fouroules Salah," they're one and the same, synonymous. So how many pillars of prayer are there? And what are they? The pillars of prayer are 14 and number. They are number one. Standing upright during the obligatory prayer when capable to stand up in a manner in which you are not bowing is a pillar. And that means often you may have an injury or something of that nature, and you'll want to use a chair, or you'll want to sit down. But if your injury does not impede you from standing up, you cannot remain seated. So sometimes you'll find that people like they have a problem making sujood, there's a physical incapacity to make sujood. And so they get situated on the chair. They have no problem standing up. But because they can't make sujood or they can't make who-kuh or something, they end up sitting down the duration of the prayer. This is an incorrect approach to it. The standing part, you must stand. Unless you are physically impeded from doing so. Number two is saying takbiru to lehram. And this is the first opening takbir. Number three is reading al-Fatiha in order. It having 11 sheddas. Says if one sheddas is left off or a letter is left off and is not compensated for, then the prayer is invalid. Meaning it has to be made up. So if you are reciting and you leave off a letter or you mispronounce a sheddas, you don't give it its full count. Sheddas was the doubling of the consonants. And you don't go back and make up for it than the prayer is invalid. If the person does not know except one verse, then he will recite that one verse like the duration of al-Fatiha. So basically, if you're new to prayer, and all you know is al-hamdari-la-i-rub-bil al-Alamin, and you haven't learned the rest of the fatihah, then you have to repeat al-hamdari-la-i-rub-bil al-Alamin and the equivalent duration of al-Fatiha. And that would basically cover you and tell you learned al-Fatiha, and that should be done right away. Reading the fatihah is something that is obligatory in all of the rakahat, all of the units of prayer for the imam and for the lone person, the individual praying by themselves. It is a sunnah for the people following the imam because the imam will shoulder that burden for the one standing behind them. So technically, if you wanted to just stand there, you can just stand there. You don't have to read al-Fatiha. It's not a pillar for you. It's a sunnah in this case. Number four is Rukur, and we know that the bowing position. Yeah, that's coming up in one of the later, coming in the next question, Sunnah, the recommendations. Right now we're just doing the pillars. These are the absolute essentials you cannot do without. These are not far, these are, these could be here far, you could say far, The next category is wajibat. Rukur in every unit, of course, rising up from Rukur purposefully and then standing upright all the way. These are often mentioned as one rising up al-Tidab. This means to stand straight up, even if they were to stand there for a long duration, this would not invalidate the prayer. A making, Sajud is number seven, and the Sajud is made on seven body parts. Is the Prophet of the day, commanded or informed us, he was commanded the prayer on seven body parts. He said in the forehead, and he pointed to his nose, as if that was included. His hands, his knees, and the tips of his feet, meaning his toes. So all of those have to be firmly fixed to the ground for the Sajud to be complete. Number eight is sitting up from Sajud. And number nine is sitting between the two such does. And basically you have to rise up to a seated position for that to be complete. Number 10 is tranquility, what is called a Tumahina. And this is where the body comes to rest, even if it's for a short duration of time, the body has to come to rest as you move from one position to the next. Number 11 is the last to Sajud. So for most prayers, the asar, the first to Sajud, there's the Sajud, the last, the last is the pillar. It's a pillar, meaning you absolutely must be done. The last to Sajud, which is, So you bring the first to Sajud, right? You say the first to Sajud. And then after that, you say Allah, and that's sufficient. And we know that there's more to it than that and that will come later as a recommendation. That's the minimum requirement for the Tashahud. That's the minimum, yeah. Allah you're done. You meet the pillars, okay? That's the essential part. Maybe he did the, this is called al-Qadar al-Mujzid. It's just the minimum requirement. - Next issue. - Yeah, yeah. This is your overnight done. And it's actually, it's quite beneficial to know this because especially people that have to make up prayers. If you have to make up a ton of prayers, it's good to make them up in this manner rather quickly. So as to relieve yourself of that burden, yeah. Possibly if you wanna do that in an aphila, et cetera. It's good to know these, the basics, the very basics, what's considered minimum. Number 12 is sitting for the Tashahud and the two Tesliens. The Tashahud, this is actually done while seated and then sitting to make Tashli. So the sitting part here is the Shahud and Tesliim. So often these are mentioned as two before I said five, I think four or five. Now five and six are often mentioned as one. So they're often mentioned as five. And then here these are often broken up as two individual things of Jalusid, Tashahud and Jalusid, Tashliim, Tady. Number 13 is making the two Tesliens in the obligatory prayer by saying, فعل lasts two times و as for a Kennedy وruk�스를 استعمуса اسف الأسلام ي wereb for and do it Slide AP سوة جماع لت النظر و سنجد الى المتحدة و سنجد الى مجددا و سنجد الى مجددا و سنجد الى المتحدة و سنجد الى المتحدة و سنجد الى المتحدة و سنجد الى المتحدة So the options are there and you do what you like. Number five is looking at the place of sujud. Number six is lightning the prayer if acting as the e-man, meaning shortening the prayer, if you're acting as the e-man. This is of course not to be. There should not be any negligence here. This is lightning the prayer and the other works they say, "Mal, it's maam," right? What with completion? And what that basically means is that you don't prolong sections of the prayer actions, including the recitation. The Prophet of the day, Sadatul Salaam, had prescribed chapters that he would read from in the various different prayers as to not prolong them. If you use those chapters as kind of a yardstick to determine what's considered too long or too short, then you won't. You can't go wrong with that. Number seven is making the first lakka longer than the second, longer in duration, leaving the length. That means the standing portion where you're reading. So you would read something a little longer than you would read in the second. Number eight is leaving the length of a hand span between the feet while standing. Number nine is grasping the knees with your hands when in Rukur. So, as if you're trying to hold onto them, not simply placing them on the nears, of course, not on the thigh. Number ten is leveling the back with the head with the back while in Rukur, so the back is straight and it is parallel to the ground. Number seven is separating the biceps from the sides and the stomach from the thighs and soju, so that you're kind of spread out and open. As opposed to constricted and closed. This is the manner of a woman in prayer. I recommend this for the woman to pray constricted to where she's curled up so as to not expose, leave the body open to exposure. Number twelve, leaving distance between the knees and then the feet will follow the knees where they're placed on the ground. Placing the hands parallel to the shoulders when in the soju, placing the hands on the thighs, open palms with fingers together as opposed to open. While sitting between the two sedges and while making the shepherds. No, while sitting between the two sedges and the sedge, your hands are on the ground, shoulder, height, open arms. While you're sitting between the two sedges, the hand goes on the thigh and while you're making it to shepherds, the hand is placed on the thigh. No, the fingers are closed. Once you grasp the pinky and ring finger, grasp the middle finger with the thumb and point the index finger like this. Grap the two pinky and index and then you grab the pointer finger and you extend the index finger during the teshahood when mentioning loveful jalala. This is like this as you can see here and the finger is extended and then whenever you mention the name of Allah, then it's extended. And in the taha'at, there's four times. And then of course in the Allah, the name of Allah is mentioned. And there are others that are mentioned in more lengthy works. That's what we conclude for the evening.