Lecture 10March 30, 2014

Fundamentals of Purity and Prayer

Pre-conditions of Prayer

Pre-conditions of the PrayerIt is not valid to begin the prayer without having fulfilled its pre-conditions (shara’it), which are:1. Being in a state of ritual purity, from both minor and major

ritual impurity2. Being free from physical impurity on one’s body, garments

and place of prayer• Recall discussion of impurity from previous chapter, as to what is

and is not allowed• All areas of the place one is praying that the body touches (both

feet, knees, hands and the forehead) must be pure

Pre-conditions of the Prayer3. Covering one’s nakedness (‘awrah)• Men: from right below the navel until right below the knees• Women: entire body except face, hands and feet• If ¼ or more of any limb of the ‘awrah is exposed before

beginning prayer, or becomes exposed during prayer for longer than duration of 3 “subhanAllah”, prayer will become invalid• Less than ¼ is excused

• Clothing cannot be tight-fitting nor see-through

Pre-conditions of the Prayer4. Facing the Qibla (the Ka’ba)• One who can see Ka’ba must stand directly facing it• One who cannot see Ka’ba must face its direction

• 45-degree leeway on each side• Must make best educated guess• North America: north-east

• If made best guess toward Qibla but discovered direction was incorrect, prayer will remain valid• If discover direction is incorrect during prayer, must change direction

immediately and continue• Facing Qibla while traveling in car, plane, etc.

Pre-conditions of the Prayer5. Entrance of the prayer time• Necessary to have personal conviction that prayer time has

entered6. Intention for the prayer• Intention is in the heart• For fard or wajib prayer, should specify intention for which prayer

(i.e. Asr)• For sunnah or nafl, intention of “prayer’ is adequate

• When praying behind imam, must make intention of such

Pre-conditions of the Prayer7. Takbir Tahrima• The opening “Allahu Akbar” of the prayer• Must be recited on the tongue, audibly enough that one can hear

oneself• Must be done in standing position• Must be tied to the intention, without any “non-prayer” action

coming in-between• i.e. Making the intention, then answering a phone-call, then saying

takbir without remaking intention – prayer would be invalid• Dhikr, wudu, walking to the prayer, etc. are not considered “non-

prayer” actions

Pre-conditions of the Prayer7. Takbir Tahrima• This is the only takbir for which the hands are raised

• Except Witr and Eid prayers• For men: Sunnah to raise hands until thumbs are level with

earlobes, with fingers spread normally, and palms facing Qibla• Hands should be outside of one’s garment

• For women: Sunnah to raise hands until chest/shoulders, with fingers close together, and palms facing Qibla• Hands should be under the outer garment

Pre-conditions of the Prayer• Some of the conditions may be overlooked if valid excuse is

presentExamples:• Not enough water to purify impurities• Fear of an enemy, illness, etc. which prevents one from facing the

Qibla• Lack of a garment to cover oneself

Integrals of Prayer

Integrals of the PrayerThe following 5 components are the integrals (arkan) of the prayer itself, all of which are fard1. Standing (Qiyam)• Standing is defined as: if one were to extend one’s arms toward

knees, they would not reach them• Standing is fard for all fard and wajib prayers

• If valid excuse, may sit• For sunnah/nafl prayers: may sit, but will earn ½ reward (unless valid

excuse)• Emphasized Sunnah for men to stand with feet spaced at normal

distance, no less than width of 4 fingers• Women with feet close together

Integrals of the Prayer2. Recitation of Qur’an (Qira’ah)• Of at least a single verse consisting of at least 2 words• Fard in at least 2 rak’at of a fard prayer

• Fard in every rak’at of wajib, sunnah and nafl prayers• Must be performed in standing position• Must be in Arabic

• If person does not know Qur’an, recite tasbih until one learns• Must be audible to the reciter • Recitation of Qur’an behind an Imam is makruh tahrim

Integrals of the Prayer3. Bowing (ruku’)• Bowing is defined as: bending of back to extent if one were to

extend arms towards knees they would reach them• Emphasized Sunnah for men to bend at 90-degree angle, such

that head is level with hips• Hands gripping knees with fingers spread apart• Elbows away from body

• For women, bend only slightly with knees slightly bent, place palms on knees without gripping them, fingers close together, and keep elbows close to body

Integrals of the Prayer4. Prostration (sujud)• Fard in every rak’at of every prayer (except Janazah)

• Both sujud are fard• Must touch forehead, hands, knees, and bottom of toes to the ground

• Wajib to place most of forehead, hard part of nose, both hands, both knees, and toes of both feet on ground

• Emphasized Sunnah for toes to face Qibla• Prostration is not valid until the place bears the weight of the head –

should press down nose and forehead• Place of forehead cannot be elevated above place of feet by more than

25 cm

Integrals of the Prayer4. Prostration (sujud)• When going into sujud, recommended for first the knees, then

hands, then nose, then forehead to touch ground• When rising, order reversed

• Fingers should be together, facing Qibla• Face between both hands• For men: arms held apart from sides of body and raised off

ground, with hips raised (so stomach away from thighs)• For women: body contracted in (arms drawn in, thighs touching

stomach), with forearms resting on ground

Integrals of the Prayer5. Final Sitting (Qa’dah akhirah)• For at least length of the tashahhud• Must be after all other integrals of prayer are performed• For men: sunnah to put left foot down flat on its side and sit upon

it, while keeping right foot upright with toes facing Qibla• Hands placed upon thighs, not past the knees• Fingers pointing toward Qibla, spread normally

• For women: sit on left hip, taking both feet out to the right, with right lower-leg resting upon left foot• Feet lay flat on ground• Hands rest on thighs with fingers close together

Integrals of the Prayer• Maintaining order of 5 integrals is fard• i.e. if one performed sujud before ruku, sujud will need to be

performed again• If any integral is left out without a valid excuse, prayer is invalid

and must be repeated

Questions?