Part 7

“O Allah, remove from me a sin for this (prostration), record for me a reward for this (prostration), save it for me.”

And with At-Tirmidhee is this addition:

Chapter -1 The Manners Of Reciting The Qur’an,,.. 49

“And accept it from me just as You had accepted it from Your servant Daawood.’""]

Or one may say,

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“My face fell prostrate before He who created it and brought forth its faeulties of hearing and seeing by His might and power.”

Or one may also say,

“O Allah, to You I have prostrated; in You I have believed; and to You I have submitted. My face fell prostrate before He who created it, formed it, and brought forth its faculties of hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators.”

This particular prostration is not compulsory; rather it is a Sunnah practice: its doer is rewarded and the one who does not do it is not punished. Nonetheless, the people of Eemaan should not abandon this practice or be negligent regarding it. That it is Sunnah and not Waajib (compulsory) to perform this prostration is indicated by a few narrations. First, it is related that Zaid Ibn Thaabit recited the Qur’an to the Messenger of Allah 2, without prostrating during his recitation. ‘Ataa Ibn Yasaar

"I Related by At-Tirmidhee (3424) and Ibn Maajah (1053), and the wording mentioned here is from Ibn Maajah’s narration of the hadith. AlAlbaanee said, “Hasan (872,1062).”

2) Related by Abu Daawood (1414), and the wording mentioned here is from his narration of the hadith. Al-Albaanee ruled it to be authentic (1255). It is also related by Ahamd (23502), An-Nassaaee (1129), and AtTirmidhee (3425).

5! Related by Muslim (771), Ahmad (805), An-Nassaaee (1126), At-Tirmidhee (3421), Abu Daawood (760), and Ibn Maajah (1054).

related that Zaid Ibn Thaabit . said, “I recited ““Wan-Najm’’ to the Prophet 2% and he #¢ did not prostrate during it”) And on one Friday when ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab 4 stood on the pulpit to recite Sooratun-Nahl (The Bees Chapter), he prostrated at the verse of prostration. On the next Friday, he read Sooratun-Nahl again, and when he came to the verse of prostration, he : said, “O! people, we come across [verses of] prostration. Then whoever prostrates has achieved correctness, and whoever does not prostrate, there is no sin upon him.” And ‘Umar 4 did not perform prostration this time, thus illustrating the ruling he announced. Naafai’ added the following addition from Ibn ‘Umar -, ‘Verily, Allah has not made prostration (i.e., this particular prostration) compulsory upon us, unless we wish to [perform it].”")

Question: Do the requirements of prostration during prayer - the takbeer (i.e., ‘Allahuakbar’) before and after it, tasleem (saying ‘Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullah’ after the prayer), purity, facing the direction of the Qiblah, etc. - apply to the prostration one performs after reading prostration verses? So, for example, does one need to be in a state of purity?

One enters the state of prayer (by raising one’s hands and saying ‘Allahuakbar’) and then exits from it (by saying ‘Assalaamu ‘Alaikum Warahmatullah’), however, as is known from the Sunnah of the Prophet : and the practice of our pious predecessors and Imams, there is no such entering and exiting for the prostration of recitation, which is to say one performs it directly. And as such, it is not prayer, nor does it take the conditions or requisites of prayer. Therefore, one may perform it, as Ibn ‘Umar 4 used to do, without being in a state of complete purity. Nonetheless, Ibn Taymiyyah pointed out that it is better to perform it having fulfilled the conditions of prayer; he also said that one should not forego those conditions or requisites unless one has a legitimate

{| Related by Bukhaaree (1037), Muslim (577), Ahmad (21081), At-Tirmidhee (576), An-Nassaaee (960), and Abu Daawood (1404) ' Bukhaaree (1077)

Chapter -1 The Manners Of Reciting The Qur’an,.. 51

Related Issue: The prostration of recitation is Sunnah not only for the reciter, but also for the one who is listening attentively to his recitation, as opposed to one who is not listening attentively. Suppose person A is reciting the Qur’an; meanwhile, person B is listening attentively to his recitation, when suddenly person C passes by and casually overhears the recitation or, for example, person C is occupied with his own recitation of the Qur’an. When person A comes across a verse of prostration, it is Sunnah for him and person B, and not person C, to perform prostration. One who listens attentively takes the same ruling as the reciter, a ruling which is supported by this verse, in which Allah 38 says to Moosa %8) and Haaroon él,

“Verily, the invocation nof you both is acoepted So you both keep to the Straight Way (i.e., preaching Allah's Message with patience)’ (Quran 10:89)

Allah 3 addressed them both even though it was Moosa #1 who made the supplication. Since Haaroon #4) listened attentively and said, ‘Aameen,’ to Moosa’s supplication, he took the same ruling as the one who supplicated and was thus included in the address.

Another Related Issue: You should not limit yourself to the invocations I mentioned earlier; instead, during the prostration of recitation, you must first say the invocation, ‘Subhaana Rabbiyal- ‘Aalaa (How perfect Allah is! The Most-High),’ and then you may say the other invocations that are particular to the prostration of recitation. To not say, ‘Subhaana Rabbiyal-‘Aalaa,' during the prostration of recitation, some scholars have said, is an innovation.

22) It Is Disliked To Kiss The Quran And Place It Between One’s Eyes

A person bereft of knowledge might say, “Why do you show an aversion to kissing the Qur’an and placing it between one’s eyes? Is that not an act of venerating and honoring Allah’s Speech?”

Answer: To kiss the Qur’an and then place it between one’s eyes is an act of worship, through which one seeks closeness to Allah ¥é. And acts of worship only become legitimate when irrefutable proofs establish their foundations. There is no such proof for the practice in question, but we do have a proof that we do not have doubts about, in which the Prophet 2 said,

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The Companions 4 performed only those acts of worship that they learned from the Messenger of Allah #. When ‘Umar saw the Black Stone, he # said, “You neither cause harm nor benefit, and had not the Messenger of Allah #% kissed you, I would not have kissed you.” When Mu’aawiyah 4 kissed all corners of the Ka’bah, Ibn ‘Abbaas # reproached him for adding to the practice of the Prophet #. And when Ibn Al-Musayyib saw a man performing much Rukoo’ (bowing) and prostration after the Fajr prayer, he censured him. The man said, ‘“O Aba Muhammad, will Allah punish me for praying?” Ibn AlMusayyib said, “No, but for going against the Sunnah (which is to not pray directly after the Fajr prayer until after the sun rises).””

The Permanent Council (Of Scholars In Saudi Arabia) Said: We know of no proof that establishes the legislation of kissing the Noble Qur’an, which was revealed to be recited, to be contemplated, and to be acted upon.!"!

23) It Is Disliked To Hang Verses Of The Quran Up On A Wall

Widespread in many homes today is the practice of hanging up certain verses or chapters of the Qur’an on walls in rooms or hallways. Some people hang them up, seeking blessings, while others do so in order to beautify and adorn their homes. Some people even do so in stores, choosing verses that are appropriate

Chapter -1 The Manners Of Reciting The Quran... 53

to their business. And yet others hang verses on the rearview mirror of their cars, seeking blessings or protection. Finally, there are some who say that they hang up verses as a reminder.

The Permanent Council has issued a lengthy ruling in this matter; basically, the Council ruled that it is forbidden to hang up verses of the Qur’an in homes, places of business, and anywhere else. The ruling of the Council can be summarized in the following points:

1) By hanging up verses, one deviates from the purpose for which the Quran was revealed: guidance, a good reminder, recitation, and so on.

2) This practice is contrary to the way of the Prophet #% and his rightly-guided Khaleefahs .

3) When we forbid this practice, we effectively block off a way that leads to Shirk (associating partners with Allah in worship), for some people hang up a poster with verses on it, considering it to be a charm.

4) The Quran was revealed to be recited, and not to serve as a marketing tool for businesses.

5) Posters with verses of the Quran on them are susceptible to debasement, especially when one moves them from one house to another.

The Permanent Council then said: In short, we must close the door to evil, a way that was followed by the Imams of guidance in the early generations of Islam, and, we must remember, the Prophet #¢ attested to the superiority of those generations. Those generations had sound beliefs and were free from innovations.

The Manners Of Giving Greetings Of Peace

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“O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them’’ (Qur’an

And Allah 36 said:

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“But when you enter the houses, greet one another with a greeting from Allah (i.e., say, ‘Assalaamu ‘Alaikum — peace be on you) blessed and good” (Quran 24:61)

And Allah 36 said: 465 te Soh hs oe ks wp “When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally’ (Quran 4:86) The Mesenget ot of Allah # said,

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“Allah created Adam, whose length was 60 arm-spans, and then

Chapter -2 The Manners Of Giving Greetings Of Peace

Allah 4% said, ‘Go and give greetings of peace to those Angels, and listen to what they greet you with, [it is] your greeting and the greeting of your progeny.’ Then Adam ¥8\ said [to the Angels], ‘Peace be upon you,” and they said, ‘Peace and the Mercy of (Allan upon you,’ so they added, and the Mercy of Allah...”

And the Messenger of Allah ## said,

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