Late Praying
LATE JOINERS TO CONGREGATIONAL PRAYING
If you join a praying congregation/jem’at who already dod part of the salat the following rules apply.
1- If you join them not later than than they were doing the ruku (bend down with back straight) of the first rek’at and you make ruku with them it is as if you joined them from the beginning. If not you are regarded as having prayed the number of cycles at which you could do ruku with them. When they sit at the end you sit with them and when the imam gives the selam you get up and pray the number of cycles you missed and give selam to finish.
2- In the course of additional rek’ats you are doing on your own make sure that you sit down after the second rek’at you have been able to do, then pray the balance normally.
MANNERS IN MOSQUES
Mosques are not exclusively for prayers but within certain limits they are also community halls, therefore Muslims can meet in them to discuss legitamate and honourable matters. Normally if there are no safety problems they should be open at all times. At least some part should be kept open for any stray Muslims to pray at odd times.
Pupils and teachers can use can use them to teach Islamic subjects. Preachers to preach with the consent or request of other Muslims present etc, but profane talk (subjects having nothing to do with piety like business, gossip, trade etc) cannot be done in mosques, while shouting, fighting and other disreputable things should not be allowed. Sleeping in a mosque if necessary is helal.
When entering a mosque:
1- If there is nobody you must say “Assalamu aleyna wa ala ibadussaliheen”.
2- If there are people just sitting or standing you can say “Assalamu aleikum,” but selam should not be given to those who are reading the qur’an or praying. Afterwards it can be given.
Noise and especially jokes and other silly behaviour are disrespect to the mosque.
Building and maintaining ,mosques, contributing gifts to them like books or carpets etc are very charitable acts.
JENAZA AND SALAT
When a Muslim is certified dead he or she should be washed and wrapped in shrouds, usually clean cheap cloth preferably white is used to or wrap the dead body but if such is not avaliable any clean piece of cloth or clothing can be used instead. Basicaslly the first thing to do with dead body is to first cleanse private parts wearing gloves and then give wudu to it and then pour water and rub the rest of the body. At all times the body should be covered at it’s private parts which is fom the naval to the knee-caps.
Women can only be washed by women and men by men. Small children dosn’yt matter but it is better to observe the sex differences.
Only woman females can wash females and only males can wash males, even if the washer and the washed were married. The death annuls the marriage.
Then a piece of cloth is used to wrap around the lower part of the body and another to the upper part, and it is better to use separate cloth for his inner parts. The woman should also be given a head cover and the whole body should better be wrapped in an overall piece of cloth.
Jenaze is put into the grave on its right side looking towards the Qibla and on the wall he will face a niche is dug and a barrier of sorts like a straw net like planks of wood are used to shut the niche and the earth shovelled in to fill up the hole.
However there is no harm leaving the coffin with the body in provided the body faces the qibla again.
As for the salatul jenaza it is done after the body is washed and ready for burial. It does not have to be at a mosque but can be anywhere. The body is placed at right angles with the qibla so that the jama’at can stand facing the coffin or the body and the qibla at the same time.
There are no ruku or sejdeh. It is done standing all the while and in four sections:
1-When the ready signal is given imam calls a ‘tekbir’ jema’at follows him and they recite ‘subhaneke’ inserting a clause, ‘jella thanuke’ after ‘teala jedduke’.
2-Another tekbir is called and ‘Allahumma salli, Allahumma barik’ are recited.
3-Another tekbir and a special prayer is said.
4-Then another tekbir is aaid and two selams right and left.
Then the imam asks the jema’at about their opinion about the dead person and whether they make their rights helal to him or her. All Muslims must respond positively.
Then ‘fatiha’ is said for his soul and the coffin is moved for burial. Following after a jenaza to burial is sawab. Reading mawlid or yasin or making some duas on the first night or third night or 40th night or 52nd night are traditioanll, can be done with inshallah giving reward but not very strong in evidence.
Much better if additional to above is giving sadaqa for the dead as a duty for the person’s inheritors is to pay up his any debts and liabilities so that the dead is not punished in the grave and in the hereafter.
The probem of paying for the neglected salat and sawm of a dead person: There are weak traditions and also some subsequently developed practices to free a dead person from his missing of ibadet like salat or sawm. Because at times these can amount to very large sums some ulama decided some tricks whereby a small amount of money is made to ‘change hands between the guardian of the dead person and a poor person entitled to sadaqa. As many times as necessary a small amount of money is given by the guardian to the poor person who then sayds he accepted the sadaqa but returns it to the giver as a present, with enough repetitions of this it is supposed that the debts are paid. This is better than nothing but ideally and if possible the whole amount should be paid and if not possible perhaps there is no need to go through trickery. Allah knows everything and is Kind enough to forgive if He Wants to.
This is called ‘isqat (to make, to cancel to pay-up) al salat’ or in the case of fasting ‘isqat as sawm’.
IMAMAET AND JAMA’AT
An imam is upposed to be if not the only at least one of the better qualified members of the jema’at. So it is mekruh for a jahil to lead a jema’at of ulama or a jema’at among whom there is an alim but unfortunately in modern states imams are often public officials on a salary and sometimes they cannot give their places to others while at other times should not give up their place to another member of jema’at for fear of fitnah. The exception is when that member of jema’at is very well recognised alim to whom nobody including the government is expected to object.
In-case two candidates are to be considered it is said that the following criteria must apply in the order given.
1- The overall more knowledgeable or higher qualified.
2- The one who can recite the qur’an better or know more of the qur’an.
3- The older
4- One with more pleasant character.
5- One whose voice is more beautiful.
6- One who is married.
7- One whose wife is more beautiful, and many other less serious or outright funny criteria are mentioned.
The gist of all is that we must go for the overall better looking more reliable candidate. Of course all these can be overruled by government appointment.
Lastly in unofficial situations unless there is a good reason the resident imam has priority over a guest imam. The host has priority over the guest and resident over the traveller. In the last case if the traveller is chosen he then prays only two rek’ats and as soon as he gives selam the resident jema’at without giving the selam stand up again and do as the rest of the rek’ats themselves. Of course at magrib prayer all pray the full three rek’ats.
ABOUT MOSQUES
1- A mesjid means a designated place of prostration. Both the open and covered areas of a mesjid are equally sacred so what can not be done in a covered part cannot be done in an open part.
2- I f people cannot find a place in any part of a mesjid and they have t pray in any sorrounding areas like roads or pavements this also temporarily becomes mesjids.
3- The holiest mesjid is haram al sherif which is the area sorrounding the Ka’ba.
4- The second holist or according to Maliki’s the holiest is mesjid un mabawi. The third is baitul maqdis in
5- If anybody builds a mesjid he is also more entitled to run it unless he himself delegates his rights to others.
6- In general ulama tolerate embellishing and decorating mesjids but dislike too much luxery and ostentation as these capture the attention of the worshippers and reduce their awareness of Allah.
7- One cannot make wudu inside mesjid. Aslo there should not be a toilet inside the mesjid.
8- One must enter the mesjid putting the right foot first and saying:
‘Allahummaghfirleezunoobee, Allahoomaftah aleynaa abwaaba rahmetik’
9- When going out he first puts the left foot out and says:
‘Allahumma innee as’aluke min fadlik’
10- Behaving noisily or in a disorderly manner or in clothes or in a condition which could make one look boorish or disrespectful is mekruyh.
11- Begging inside mesjids or trading in or causing bad smells in the mesjid are mekruh.
12- If Qur’an Kerim is being recited or Khutba given or wa’az given one should sit and respectfully listen.
MORE ABOUT DEATH AND FUNERALS
1- To a person seemingly near death somebody may suggest to say shahadah and words of repentance f the dying person himself is not doing it.
2- Matyres need not be washed and they can be buried togethor in their existing clothing and in the same graves.
3- One who commits suicide can be prayed upon and buried normally.
4- The non-muslim wife of a Muslim is not prayed upon after she dies. Any non-muslims of her religion can then do the funeral for her.
5- Carrying the jenaza on shoulders is commendable. Those who walk with the jenaza should walk behind the coffin although it is not haram to go forward.
6- Crying so much, shouting too much, demonstrating too much grief and shock, burning incense are mekruh. The people attending a funeral should rather be calm and dignified and not troublesome.
7- Women joining a jenaza procession is mekruh.
8- Woman can also pray salatul jenaza but behind the row of men. They can also pray separate as in group.
9- After the burial somebody suitable may remind the dead the imam and Islam for all to hear around him in effect namely the death Muslim that he will soon be questioned and tell him how answer (talqeen). After this is done the people should not depart too quickly but wait a little bit more to talk to each other, talk about the good side of the dead person and slip away gradually.
10- Small children are not given any talqeen, they are already perfect muslims, however all these details are not obligatory but perhaps only recommended.
11- For seven days afterwards the guardian of the dead person should better pay sadaqa to the poor praying that Allah accepts and forgives the dead. This is sunnah.
12- Lastly condolensces are not so much said in the cemetary or in the mosque but most preferably visiting the family house of the dead during the threee following days and saying them personnally.
13- Some families of the dead distribute food during jenaza. This is mekruh. It is the duty of other the help the bereaved family with food during the following hours and days.
14- Lastly no dead person shopuld be judged. Only Allah knows whether he died a believer or a munafiq or kafir. He should be treated assuming he died a believer.
KITABU SAWM
1- What is sawm? It is staying away from food and sex from the time the true dawn happens to the time the sun sets.
2- The act of abstaining from food and sex is called imsaq – while returning to them is called iftar.
KINDS OF SAWM
1- Fasting during Ramazan is Farz. Making up any lost ramazan days is farz.
2- Any fasting promised to Allah for days outside Ramazan are wajib.
3- All voluntary fasting outside Ramazan are nafl.
4- Fasting of the first day of Shaban (month after ramadan) or on any of the four days of Eid ul Adha (kurban eid) are strongly mekruh, very near to haram.
5- If a mekruh nfasting is broken it need not be repeated.
6- Any fasts done on days which happen to be the sacred days of other religions thinking that they are sacred days is mekruh. So fasting intentionally in deference to non-muslims like christians days or on easter days are respecting kafir days.
7- Fasting continously without making iftar is mekruh.
8- Fasting on a day you think it may be the first day of Ramazan and therefore farz despite the uncertainty is mekruh. On such day you can only make niyyet to fast nafl.
9- Fasting during the hajj or the tarweel and arafat days is mekruh.
10- Fasting which includes also never talking to people is mekrujh.
11- For a woman to fast a nafl without husbands permission is mekruh.
12- For an employee to fast nafl without employer’s permission is mekruh.
Among the best nafl fasts are six days during shawwal (eid ul fitr). This is better done two days a week until all six are done. It can be done also six continous days but according to some ulama this is mekruh.
On the day of doubt which means a day wrongly believed or suspected to be the first day of Ramadan begins fasting and then breaks the fast it does not make it necessary to pay kaffaret. If the day happens to be last day of Ramazan then he can only pay one day.
Among the wajib fasts are the fasts of Kafara (means paying for a crime in the form of extra-worship).
Kaffarat for deliberately ignored days of Ramadan. According to Hanifiye if one did not intend to fast on a day of Ramadan, he may make kade 1 day afterwards. But if he intended and began the fast and then broke it midday he had to add 60 more days. This ofcourse is when there is no legitamate excuse like sudden illness.
THE CONDITION OF FASTING
1-The one who fasts must ne Muslim, of sound mind, and already in puberty or beyond. Children fast only as nafl.
2-For fasting to be farz one must be in good enough health and resident, not a travellor. Any such travelling person will pay day for day when he is well or resident but a travellors fast is still valid.
TIME TO BEGIN THE FAST
Towards the end of the night a vertical light column appears in the east but this soon goes away and full darkness returns. This light is called the false dawn (Al Fajr Al Kazib). About half an hour later the eastern horizon begins to dimly light up. This is the true dawn because the light keeps increasing.
There are two opinions when to begin fasting.
1-As soon as the smallest amount of light of the tru dawn can be discerned.
2-The second and probably better and infact more merciful opinion is that the light should be allowed to appear a bit more so that some visibility becomes possible between outdoor distances about an arrow’s flight.
So the faster can choose any eg Maulana Sheikh Nazim chooses the second.
The second point is also when morning prayer can be done.
Fasting ends when the sun fully sets. When there is some doubt about the Fajr or the sunset, and it cannot be proven either way, any mistakes subsequently found out do not matter. But if Kaza is made perhaps there is Sawab.
In any case one must be careful and investifative as much as he can. If Fajr and sunset are notified by officials or calenders approved by the authorities we can then follow them.
DECIDING THE FIRST DAY OF RAMAZAN AND THE FIRST DAY OF EID
Because the movements of the moon do not fit with the number of days as we know them and distant parts of the globe can see the new moon at different times, there can be no worldwide agreement on when a lunar month begins. So we can trust calenders made by competent and responsible people especially those in charge of religious affairs and need not look for the new moon, in fact experts disagree whether the astronomical calculation or the actual siting of the new moon should be taken as the basis. Ordinary people like us can just follow any local authority analysing the matter.
In the case of those who believe that the new moon should actually be seen before the siting there is the problem of cloudy days. The fatwa about this is that when it is cloudy on a 29th day of a lunar month you must assume that the month will last 30 days and only after that the real month will come. This is called al-yawmulshekh (day of doubt).
Traditionally one or two people should look out for the new moon and announce to the rest of the people in the same area that the new moon appeared. These watchers should be reputable persons.
INTENDING SAWM
The strickter rule is that one intends for Sawm before dawn. The looser opinion is that one can intend for Sawm if not already done so before dawn until noon time provided he has not eated or drunk anything.
According to some Ulama one can intend to fast whole Ramadan at the beginning and need not repeat saying the same words during Ramadan.
If too many Ramadans or days are missed and naturally their date forgotten the Intention doing Kaza is saying like ‘I Intend to Fast for Allah to pay for the last day of Ramadan which I missed’, and keep fasting other days over time until he thinks that he payed all. The same applies to Salah.