Praying Namaaz really fast

[Sari]

I always seem to be the slowest one at praying namaaz amongst my cousins and friends, and yet i think i pray as fast as is possible without messing up your praying and making sure every actions and prayer is completed fully.

I don't know how people could pray the surahs and everything THAT fast. You would get tounge tied and end up missing chunks and not pronouncing things fully or in tajweed.

Some of my cousins get up from sujdah in the time it would take someone to read "subhana rabbial aalaa" just once really fast. I have brought this up with them many times and asked how it is physically possible to read it 3 times in such a short time and they insist they read it 3 times.

They also "leap" into sujdah from the standing position, rather than go into a sitting position first and then into sujdah. So this speeds up their namaaz quite abit, but i am sure this isn't correct and won't do it myself. Am i correct in thinking this?

[Hayaa]

:sl: sister,

That's a really good quality you have- praying with concentration. May Allah give us all the ability to perform our prayers with khushoo' and khudoo' (humility and devotion), Ameen.

On the authority of Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said:
The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded; and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (The Glorified and the Exalted) will say: See if My servant has any optional prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion. (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, an-Nasai, Ibn Majah and Ahmad).

[IslamicRevival]

Salaam Sister.

Reading at a steady pace is the best way to read Namaz. It does not make sense to read at a fast pace, In my book i would class that as disrespectful to Allah SWT

[Sari]

I'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks that, it seems as if i have spent my whole life being the slowest at praying namaaz and yet like i said, i don't pray especially slow or with so much concentration, i try to pray as fast as i can without knowingly letting my namaaz be spoilt.

The thing is a couple of the cousins doing this are actually more "learned" than me, one is in alimaa class and also goes to an Islamic school, so i am wondering why nobody sees and corrects this. And she does insist she prays things the correct amount of times, but i think it is inhumanely possible. Even if i sit here trying to time how fast i can say the verses in sujdah 3 times, it can never be that fast! I am wondering if some of these people whizz through the verses in their mind.

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

[IslamicRevival]

I'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks that, it seems as if i have spent my whole life being the slowest at praying namaaz and yet like i said, i don't pray especially slow or with so much concentration, i try to pray as fast as i can without knowingly letting my namaaz be spoilt.

The thing is a couple of the cousins doing this are actually more "learned" than me, one is in alimaa class and also goes to an Islamic school, so i am wondering why nobody sees and corrects this. And she does insist she prays things the correct amount of times, but i think it is inhumanely possible. Even if i sit here trying to time how fast i can say the verses in sujdah 3 times, it can never be that fast! I am wondering if some of these people whizz through the verses in their mind.

Salaam. Concentrate on worshiping Allah SWT and do not worry about others

If you have talked to your cousins and they insist they are reading properly then you just have to take their word and trust them

Allah SWT knows best

[Sari]

That is true. I just had to bring it up as they were commenting how slow i pray and i was thinking how fast they pray, thought it would help to discuss with others.

[khadija20]

I'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks that, it seems as if i have spent my whole life being the slowest at praying namaaz and yet like i said, i don't pray especially slow or with so much concentration, i try to pray as fast as i can without knowingly letting my namaaz be spoilt.

The thing is a couple of the cousins doing this are actually more "learned" than me, one is in alimaa class and also goes to an Islamic school, so i am wondering why nobody sees and corrects this. And she does insist she prays things the correct amount of times, but i think it is inhumanely possible. Even if i sit here trying to time how fast i can say the verses in sujdah 3 times, it can never be that fast! I am wondering if some of these people whizz through the verses in their mind.

some people can recite it faster in there minds. trust me it is possible. i recite it faster in my mind but then when i am saying out loud i am slow. try it yourself but everyone is different. it really is not a good thing to be doubting that people are praying properly or not as you say you are not ''learned'' so i am sure they do it correctly :)

[Sari]

But do you not have to pronounce it with your mouth moving, rather than in your mind?

I know, i don't mean to criticise, i would just hate for their namaaz to be not counted because they don't pray properly. I forgot to mention my cousin is only 14 so although i feel she is more learned than me because of her on-going education, she also naive still and needs guidance.

[IslamicRevival]

some people can recite it faster in there minds. trust me it is possible. i recite it faster in my mind but then when i am saying out loud i am slow. try it yourself but everyone is different. it really is not a good thing to be doubting that people are praying properly or not as you say you are not ''learned'' so i am sure they do it correctly :)

As far as im aware when you recite you have to read by mouth, not in your mind

When you are asked to 'Say' or 'Recite' or 'Read', The sound must not be loud and at the same time not totally silent. It should be loud enough just for your ears to hear it and not so loud that a person next to you would be able to hear your recitation clearly. If a person next to you could hear only a mimic from you, that's fine. If you are surrounded by noise such as a fan's noise and you are not able to understand your recitation, it is okay. In an utmost quite room you should be able to understand your recitation. In any case must say it loud enough as mentioned above

Allah SWT Knows Best

[IslamicRevival]

I forgot to mention my cousin is only 14 so although i feel she is more learned than me because of her on-going education, she also naive still and needs guidance.

Salaam. When i was at that age i just wanted to read namaaz as quickly as possible and go home. (May Allah SWT forgive me)

Its important for one to understand why we are reading namaaz and at that age its difficult to get your head around it. Give your cousin time and InshAllah in the future she will learn from this.

[khadija20]

As far as im aware when you recite you have to read it by mouth, not in your mind

When you are asked to 'Say' or 'Recite' or 'Read', The sound must not be loud and at the same time not totally silent. It should be loud enough just for your ears to hear it and not so loud that a person next to you would be able to hear your recitation clearly. If a person next to you could hear only a mimic from you, that's fine. If you are surrounded by noise such as a fan's noise and you are not able to understand your recitation, it is okay. In an utmost quite room you should be able to understand your recitation. In any case must say it lound enough as mentioned above

yes brother i know i do it when necassary only:) sari its okay when they are young to correct them if you want

[nebula]

its good you pray slowly, we need to have pray with kushoo its very important.

[023:001] Successful indeed are the believers.
[023:002] Those who offer their Salât (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness.

[002.238] Guard strictly (five obligatory) As-Salawât (the prayers) especially the middle Salât (i.e. the best prayer - 'Asr). And stand before Allâh with obedience [and do not speak to others during the Salât (prayers)].

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said, "The worst of stealers are those who steal from their salahs." People asked: "O Messenger of Allah, how could one steal from his payer?" He said: "He would not bow down and prostrate completely" (Ahmad).

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said, "Patience is from Allah and hastiness is from Shaytan." (al-Bayhaqi).

[Sampharo]

A man once entered the mosque where the prophet -pbuh- was sitting, prayed, then gave Salam to the prophet, who told him "Go back and Pray, for you have not prayed". The man thought it was strange but obeyed the prophet. He did it the same way, when he was done the prophet said "Go back and Pray, for you have not prayed".He did it a third time, at the end of which the prophet again said "Go back and Pray, for you have not prayed", to which the man replied "By God who sent you with the Truth I don't know how to pray better, please teach me." The prophet told him "If you stand to pray, make your takbeer and then recite what you comes easy of the Quran, Bow and wait till you rest bowing, then stand and wait till you rest standing, then prostate and wait till you rest prostating, then sit and wait till you rest sitting, then prostate and wait till you rest prostating,and do that in your whole prayer." (Muttafaqon Alaih both Moslem and Bukhary)

The prophet also said: "The worst of thieves are those who steal from their prayer," to which he was asked by the companions how could someone steal from their prayer? He answered: "They would not fulfill its bow and prostration." In another hadith the prophet said that whomever prays the way a crow picks at the ground, will not have it accepted, and in a version he said the prayer will not rise to God, but will be taken by an angel and sent down to its performer, slapped across his face with it, and the prayer will say "May you be wasted and lost the way you wasted and lost me!" and he will get no reward for it.

Sheikh Albani explained that the fajr prayer the prophet used to conduct it sometimes with the whole of Al-Baqara chapter till the companions used to fear the sun would rise upon them, and that today's prayers are short and fast already as it is. He insists that appropriate recitation and slow deliberate ritual movement is necessary and an integral part of the prayer.

In his book "The prayer of the prophet" he mentions that every bow and rise and every prostration and sitting need to be done slowly and for the person to wait until every bone, muscle, and joint falls into place and relaxes in that position without any muscles being tightly held in anticipation of the next movement. They also are the same length as each other, the bow is as long as the stand as long as the prostration as long as the sitting.

The reciting of the quran needs to be as slow and pronounced as you would be reciting legibly to a mass of people who are listening to what you are saying for the first time. The pause between every verse equivelent length to each other and sufficient for a separate breath. When bowing, "Subhanaka Rabbeya Al-Atheem" is recited slowly as reciting the quran while standing, and the minimum is one and can be said in odd numbers till 9 (some scholars say 10 or 11 is also sunnah). Same is with "Subhanaka Rabbeya Al-Aala".

Those speeds do not change whether you are reciting loudly or quietly to yourself, and your mouth needs to always move with the words pronounced properly.

As for telling your cousins, Sari, remember that we are muslims, described by God in the Quran "Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah." (3:110), so it is our obligation to enjoin what is right and good and forbid what is wrong and evil, and this is one of the greatest things that need to teach those who don't know. So you need to tell them what you know is right, and to tell them off what they do that you know is wrong. Use kindness and education rather than denouncing otherwise they will be indignant or insulted and would rather ignore you than listen to you. Go online and find more proofs and details on how a slow prayer needs to be and guide them, may you be rewarded for their improvement. Remember though if they resist and refuse, be patient and let them be at least for a while, it is our responsibility to tell and inform, not enforce. It is their responsibility and their prayer.

Barak Allahu Feekee Wa Jazakee Allahu Khairan

[Sari]

Thankyou, that was very informative and has convinced me to try to keep persuading them, as i am not just doubting some random person's namaaz with no real reason, i have a duty to inform and change the way my cousin's are praying too fast.

The "leap" from standing into sujdah is especially worrying and i cannot believe noone notices or corrects this considering the education and environment and learned people she is sorrounded by everyday. I think, because she has so much to do (school work, alima work, house work, daily rayers, quran praying, resting), she speeds it all up, but at the end of the day she is baligh and what is the point in praying prayers that are not accepted just to save time.

[Sampharo]

The "leap" from standing into sujdah is especially worryin

I actually noticed that and I meant to write about it but I forgot. I didn't quite understand what you meant by "leap". Going into sujoud is basically a downward movement so I am kind of not getting the image of "leap". Do they actually... jump? :) Or are you just referring to that they go down and make their hands touch the ground before their knees do, then they get their knees in position before resting their forehead?

[Rabi'ya]

:sl: sis sari

I think I understand what you are saying. I have prayed alongside people who can pray their whole 4 rakat in the time it takes me to do one. and I don't feel I pray particularly slow. I just make sure that I can hear the words in my head and I understand what I am saying and why I'm saying them.

As for the sujood thing. I get it. I;ve seen people literally "leap" as you say into sujood and as soon as their forehead touches the ground they are back up and down again before I an even IMAGINE "Allahu akbar" let alone say it!!

But subhanAllah they must know what they are doing - musn;t they??? Like you say these people are often more knoweldgable and (the people I know) are the first to criticise if I do something wrong. So I just carry on thinking that they must know what they are doing and leave them to it. I mean we've been to classes together which emphasise the importance of Salaah and how we should pray with peace and concentration.

[Sampharo]

As for the sujood thing. I get it. I;ve seen people literally "leap" as you say into sujood and as soon as their forehead touches the ground they are back up and down again before I an even IMAGINE "Allahu akbar" let alone say it

That is what was described by the prophet -pbuh- as "pecking of a crow" نقر الغراب and it invalidates the prayer. Unfortunately though many people do it.

Our job as those who know the truth is to tell them the correct methodology, use the Hadith that we know as proof, and say it in a kind manner. Yes, many times people smirk or roll their eyes, for many times people who pray like that to begin with have weak or no faith in the first place and that's why they want to get through their prayer as quickly as possible, but with repetition and God's will some of them can be guided, and God willing we earn the reward of enjoining what is good and right whether or not they respond.

At the end of the day whomever refuses to follow does that on their own responsibility and earn their rightful reward and punishment by their own deeds, and if everyone responded to logic, then everyone would have become devout muslims when the blessed prophet himself was walking amongst us.

[Sari]

Yes they go from standing straight into proper sujdah, rather than a respecfull movement to going down, sitting, and then into sujdah. Pecking of the crow is a good description.

When i tell them, they say they do it correctly, so i asked them to recite 3 times so i can listen for myself how they pray so fast, and she started praying out loud to prove me and stopped after one "subhanaka rabbiul azeem" as she realised it was taking longer than the time she takes to pray in namaaz, and so i think that proves she's not doing it properly. But in her mind she made herself think she does and until i brought it up she hadn't thought about it - you know how we are as humans, we get into strong habits and then can't see what we are doing right or wrong.
So i feel i must bring it up again and make her see that she is doing it wrong, and ensure this does not go un-corrected. I didn't get a chance to bring up the leaping mistake properly as the sujdah recital issue was already frustraing enough and i wasn't able to complete talking about it.

I don't claim to be perfect at my namaaz, i'm sure there are many flaws in mine too, in fact she told me one herself and now i have corrected it, and i am glad.

[Snowflake]

They also "leap" into sujdah from the standing position, rather than go into a sitting position first and then into sujdah.

As far as I know, women do not sit before going into sujood. Their body should start bowing from standing position going on to place hands on the floor, then tip of nose and finally the forehead. But the movements should not be swiftly made. Neither as you mentioned, should the forehead touch the ground only briefly before straightening up from sujood.

And mashaAllah, your slow pace of prayer is better sis. Remind your cousins/friends that we are conversing with Allah in salah (mention verses of Al-Fatiha "You Alone we worship. And You alone we ask for Help". Tell them they are talking to Allah. Therefore it should be in the most humble, beautiful and eloquent way. Remind them that they wouldn't talk like that with people so why with Allah.

[Sari]

Okay since i read your post i have corrected that and tried to go straight into sujdah, i had no idea you don't need to go into a sitting position first. When i first made the change yesterday i found it really awkward and like my movements were really dis-respectfull, but i think i have now got the hang of doing it okay.

What about going from sujdah to standing up? Do you go into a sitting position then stand up?

[Sampharo]

Going from standing to sajdah does not require sitting first, it is just that several hadiths describe that your knees touch the ground before your hands do, but it's one fluid motion, you don't make "iftirash" sitting before the sajdah. One hadith by Abu Huraira describes what you might have seen, which is dropping and making the hands touch the floor before the knees, "when you prostate, don't kneel the way a camel does, put your hands before your knees" however Abu Tharr and many other old time scholars say the hadith despite being authentic seems to have been reversed in prnounciation, especially that they have been discussing the description of a camel sitting and it DOES put their front down before the back when kneeling, others want it at face value. This is a matter of great scholarly work the likes of which we are not up to.

Anyway, for coming back up, again there is only one hadith that describes the prophet to sit before standing up. Many scholars including Ibn Taymeyya says it stands alone as an observation and the prophet at the time of the narrator was old, it could be to rest. Other descriptions of the prayer say there is not sitting and it's not part of the movements of the prayers. So both ways are acceptable, whether to stand from sajdah (when there is no tashahhud of course) or to sit and then stand, it's up to you.

God knows best

[Sari]

So when you go into sujdah, your knees should touch the floor before your hands? Or the hands should touch the floor before the knees? Sorry i got abit confused!

[papa_smurf]

:sl:
Knees should touch the floor first.

[Sari]

Okay that's how i was doing it now so i'm okay. This has speeded up my namaaz abit, made it lighter and easier to pray. Thankyou for your help everyone.

[Ramadhan]

I have also always been putting my kneels first on the floor before my hands. I am glad that it's been validated.