Prayer:integral parts ,Obligatory pratices and acts of the sunnah

[julie sarri]

I have been reading a book by sheikh Al-Fawzan and fault i would share with you some of it i have copied the following as a reminder of how important performing our salah correctly is

Prayer is a great act of worship which includes decreed statements and postures forming the perfect form of its performance. Scholars define prayer as a special statement and postures starting with the takbir and ending with taslim.

These statements and postures of prayer are divided into three sections,namely the integral part's obligatory pratuices,and the acts of sunnah.

The integral parts pf prayer are those the negligence of any of which intentionally or inattentively,invalidates prayer or invalidates the rak'ah (unit of prayer) in which it is neglected;being replaced by the next one ,as we will point out later.

The obligatory practices of prayer,if any of them is intentionally neglected prayer is invalidated,but if inattentively,it is not invalidated and performing the prostration of forgetfulness will be obligatory then.

The acts of the sunnah to be observed during prayer,the negligence of any of them neither affects the validity of the prayer nor makes it incomplete.Still,we have to bear in mind that whenever the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) performed prayer he observe its integral parts,obligatory pratices and acts of the sunnah, and we have to follow his example ,for he (peace and blessing be upon him said:

"perform prayer in the way you see me performing prayer."(1)

The integral parts of prayer our fourteen:

The first

to stand while performing an obligatory prayer ;Allah ,Exalted be he says:

".....AND SATND BEFOR ALLAH,DEVOUTLY OBEDIENT."
{al-baqarah:238}
Moreover ,in the marf' (traceble hadith0 narrated on the authority of imran, the prophet (saw) said:

"Perform prayer while standing: if you cannot perform it while sitting if you cannot, then perform it while lying on your side.(2)

the above mentioned hadiths proves that standing in prayer is obligatory while performing a fard prayer as long as one is able to. Yet if one is unable to stand due to illness then one is allowed to pray sitting or lying on ones side


once the prophet saw was ill and led the people in prayer while sitting, commanding them to do the same.(3)

if the regular iman of a mosque leads the people in prayer whlie sitting due to a legal excuse, the people led in prayer behind him should do the same



As for a supererogatory prayer it is permissible to perform it while standing or sitting. in other words, it is not obligatory to perform it while standing as is stated by the prophet (saw) sometimes performed supererogatory prayers while sitting without legal excuse.(4)

The second

is the opening takbir in the beginning of the prayer ; the prophet said

"....Then face the qiblah of prayer towards the ka'bah and say takbir."(5)
This is also supported by the hadith in which the prophet said:
"....And the takbir is the beginning of prayer that makes all lawful acts outside prayer unlawful in prayer.."(6)

the third

recitation of al-fatihah 9the opening chapter of the Quran the prophet saw)said:

"no prayer is accepted from whoever dose not recite al-fatihah in it"(7)
the prophet taught the one who used to perform prayer improperly to recite al-fatihah (

the fourth

bowing in every rak'ah Allah the exalted be he says:

"O YOU WHO HAVE BELIEVED,BOW AND PROSTRATE.."
( QURAN AL-HAJJ 77)

Moreover , bowing during prayer is authentically stated in the sunnah so it is an integral part of prayer according to the Quran and sunnah and consensus(9)

The fifth and sixth parts

are rising following bowing and standing upright as the prophet saw) used to do so while performing prayer he saw said:

"perform prayer in the way you see me performing prayer"

the seventh

prostrating i.e. making ones forehead touch the ground as well as the other organs namely the nose,hands, the knees and the bottom of the toes

as Allah swt says" and prostrate.." [al-hajj 77]

it is also a command by the prophet according to many hadiths (10)
"perform prayer in the way you see me performing prayer"..(11)

"the state in which a servant is nearest to his lord is while prostrating himself" (12)

thus the prophet (saw) teaches us that the prostration is the optimum state that draws one near to the lord Allah {swt}

The eighth integral part

Is raising oneself from prostrtionand sitting erect between the two prostrations; Imam Muslim related that 'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) narrated
"When he the Prophet (saw) raised his head after prostration' he did not prostrate himself [again ] until he had sat erect." (13)

The ninth

Is being tranquil while performong all the actions of prayer. Tranquility here means performing the acts of serenely, humbly and submissively,moving as less as possible.The Quran and Sunnah state that the prayer of one who dose not perform it in a state of tranquility and devotion is deemed incomplete,and it is oblligatory for one to re-perform it in this case.

The tenth and eleventh

Are the final tashahhud(14) and posture of sitting for it .It is authenticated that the Prophet (saw) used to recite Tashahhud during prayer and never abandoned it,(15) so we must follow in his footsteps,as he (saw) said:
"Perform prayer in the way you see me performing prayer."

Ibn mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said, Before the Tashahhud was decreed,we used to recite instead..."(16); the phrase "was decreed" here implies that it is obligatory to recite Tashahhud in prayer.

The twelfth

is invoking Allah to confer His blessings upon Muhammad(saw),by saying:
"O Allah confer Your blessings upon Muhammad (saw)

Whtever is recited more than this is an act of the sunnah not an obligatory act

The thirteenth

Is observing succession when performing the above-mentioned integral parts of prayer,as the Prophet (saw) commanded muslims to follow his example while performing prayer,saying as mentioned above
"perform prayer on the way you see me performing prayer."
In addition,When the Prophet (saw) taught the one who performed prayer improperly, the right way of performing prayer he pointed out the aforsaid acts successively, one after another.(17)

The fourteenth

Is concluding prayer with taslim for the Prophet (saw) said: "...And its conclusion is taslim." (18)
so,after taslim, what has been unlawful to be done during prayer such as eating drinking and talking etc) becomes lawful once again, as taslim is decreed as a sign of the end of the prayer

Gentle reader you should be aware that a Muslim should never neglect sny of the aforesaid integral parts of prsyer. As for the opening takbir,if it is not pronouced,then prayer is not begun,and one thus will not be considered in a state of prayer.

The obligatory acts of prayer


All the takbirs

of prayer -other than the opening takbir

Taslim; (19)

which is only obligatory to be said by the imam or by one praying alone not the one(s) led in prayer

Tahmid(20)

which is obligatory to be said by the imam and the one praying alone
for the Prophet (saw) said:
"When the imam say ,"Allah listens to the one who praises Him; you should say, O our Lord to you be (all ) the praise." (21)

Saying, "Subhana Rabbiyal-azim"

only once whlie bowing ;its a act of the sunnah to say it three times at least and ten times at most

Saying "Subhana rabbiyal-A'la"

only once but agauin its an act of the sunnah to say it up to three times

Invoking Allah saying
"O my Lord forguive me" once between the two prostrations and its a sunnah to say it up to three times

Reciting the first tashahhud


Sitting for the first tashahhud

It is worth mentioning here that the prayer is invalidated if one abandons any of the aforesaid eight obligatory practices of prayer intentinally, as one thus alters and distorts prayer. Yet ,if one dose not perform any of them by remissness of ignorace, it is obligatory for one to offer the two prostrations of forgettfulness instead as a way of making up for one's negligence of an obligatory practice of prayer whose non-performance is forbidden.

endnotes

1] Al-bukhari [6008] 10/538].
2) Al-bukhari [117] [2/758], abu dawud [952] [1/409] and At-tirmidhi [372 ]2/208].
3) Al-bukhar [805] [2/375] and Muslim [920] [2/351].
4) Muslim [1696][3/253].
5) Al-bukhari [6251] [11/44] and Muslim [884] [2/330].
6) Muslim[1110] [2/438] and also in [1810] [3/302].
7) Al-bukhari [756] [2/306] and Muslim [[872] ]422].
Al-bukhari [757] [2/306] and Muslim [833] [2/329] concerning the Prophets order to recite al-fatihah as reported in sahih of ibn hibban [1787] [5/88].
9) see book of 'Al-mu'jamul Mufahras [2/298].
10) see book of 'Al-mu'jamul Mufahras [2/415].
11) Al-bukhar[6008].
12) Muslim[1083] [2/423].
13) Muslim[498].
14] the final tashahhud .
15) this may be concluded from a lot of hadiths such as the one related by Muslim[1110][2/438].
16) An-nisa'i [1276][2/247] Al-bukhari[6328][11/157] and Muslim [895][2/337].
17) Al-bukhari [757][2/306] and Muslim[883][2/329].
18) Muslim[1110][2/438].
19) tasmi:saying sami 'allahu liman hamidah.
20) tahmid saying as a reply to tasmi rabbana-walakal-hamd.
21) Al-bukhari[689][2/225] and Muslim [920][2/351]