Part 29

218 A "translation" of the Quran is not considered the Quran. The Quran is only the Arabic text. 219 These phrases mean, respectively, "Exalted and perfect is Allah. All praise and thanks be to Allah. There is none worthy of worship except Allah. Allah is the greatest. There is no power or might except in Allah, the Exalted, the Great." 220 These phrases mean, respectively, "O Allah, have mercy of me, provide for me, pardon me and guide me." 221 Recorded by Abu Dawood and others. According to al-Albaani, it is hasan. 146

A Brief Description of the Prayer 222

When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would stand for prayer, he would face the direction of the Kaabah in Makkah, with the intention of performing the prayer.

Then he would begin his prayer by saying, "Allahu akbar" ("Allah is greatest") and would raise his hands with this saying. Then he would put his right hand over his left above his chest. He would put his sight towards the ground. He would begin the prayer by reciting various supplications, praising and extolling Allah therein. Then he would seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. Then he would recite, "In the name of Allah, the One Full of Mercy, the Ever Merciful," but he would not recite this aloud. Then he would recite surah al-Faatihah, the first chapter of the Quran, reciting each verse separately. When he reached the end of surah al-Faatihah, he would say amen. He would say that aloud and lengthen its pronunciation. Then he would recite another portion of the Quran after finishing reading surah al-Faatihah, sometimes making a lengthy reading while others times a short one.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would recite the Quran audibly in the Morning Prayer, the first two units (rakahs) of both the Sunset and the Night Prayers. He would recite it silently in the Noon and the Afternoon Prayers as well as in the last two units of the Sunset and Night Prayers. He would also recite it audibly in the Friday Prayer, the two Eid Prayers, the Prayer for Rain and the Eclipse Prayers.

He would make the last two rakahs about half as short as the first two, the length of about fifteen verses or sometimes he would only recite surah al-Faatihah in them.

When he would finish the entire reciting, he would pause a little, raise his hands, say the takbeer ("Allah is great") and then bow. He would put his hands on his knees and separate his fingers. Sometimes he would put his hands on his knees as if he were grasping them. He would keep his arms away

222 From Abdul Adheem ibn Badawi, The Concise Presentation of the Fiqh of the Sunnah and the Noble Book (Riyadh: International Islamic Publishing House, forthcoming). 147

from his side and would stretch out his back and keep it straight, such that if one were to pour water on his back it would settle there.

He would be very calm and still in his bow. He used to say, "Subhanna Rabbiyal-Adheem (Exalted and perfect is my Lord, the Great)," three times. Also while bowing, he would state a number of words of remembrance and supplications, sometimes one and sometimes another. He also prohibited the reciting of the Quran while bowing or prostrating.

Then he would raise his back from the bowing position and saying, "Sami-Allaahu liman hamidah (Allah has heard him who praises Him)." He would also raise his hands while moving to stand straight. While standing, he would say, "Rabbanaa wa lakal-hamd (Our Lord and to you is the praise)." Sometimes he would say more than simply that. Then he would say the takbeer and go down to prostrate. He would put his hands on the ground before his knees. He would lean on his hands and spread them out. He would bring his fingers together and direct them towards the qiblah. He would place them parallel to his shoulders or, sometimes, parallel to his ears. He would firmly place his nose and forehead on the ground. He used to say, "I have been ordered to prostrate on seven bones: the forehead-and he pointed to his nose [as well]-, the two hands, the two knees and the ends [toes] of the two feet." He also said, "There is no prayer for the one whose nose does not touch the ground in the manner that the forehead does." He would remain calm and still in the prostration. He would say, "Subhanna Rabbiyal-Adheem (Exalted and perfect is my Lord, the Great)," three times. He would also recite a number of words of remembrance and supplications in this position, varying the different supplications that he would make. He stated that one should exert himself in making numerous supplications in this position. Then he would raise his head while pronouncing the takbeer. Then he would spread out his left leg and sit on it, resting his bones and being still. His right leg would remain erect on the foot, with the toes pointing toward the qiblah. At this juncture, he would say, "O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me [in rank], guide me, pardon me and provide for me." Then he would state the takbeer and make a second prostration like the first one. Then he would raise his head while making the takbeer and sit straight on his left leg, until all his bones returned to the sitting position, and then he would get up, pushing up off the

ground. In the second rakah he would do the same that he did in the first but he would make this rakah shorter than the previous one.

At the end of the second rakah, he would sit for the saying of the tashahhud. If it were a two-rakah prayer, he would sit on his left leg like he did so in between the two prostrations. He would sit similarly in the first tashahhud of the threeand four-rakah prayers. While sitting for the tashahhud, he would put his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh. He would spread out his left hand and make a fist with his right, pointing with his right index finger and fixing his gaze upon it.

He would recite after each two rakahs, the tahiyyat223 and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would also state the prayers upon himself224 in the first tashahhud as well as later, and he established that for his Nation as well. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to make various different types of supplications during his prayer.

Then he would make the salutations to his right, saying, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah," and to his left as well. Occasionally, during the first greeting he would add, "and His blessings" at the end of the phrase.

The Giving of the zakah

Linguistically, the root of the word zakah implies purification, blessing and growth. Allah has stated in the Quran, "Indeed whosoever purifies himself (tazakkaa) shall achieve success" (87:14). Another word used in the Quran and hadith for the zakah is sadaqa. This word is derived from sidq (the truth). Siddiqi explains the significance of these two terms as they are used here,

223 This is the portion beginning with al-tahiyyaatu li-laah. Its translation is: "All compliments, prayers and pure words are due Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger." 224 This portion can be translated as: O Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad as you sent prayers upon the family of Abraham, for You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allah, pour blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as you poured blessings upon the family of Abraham, for You are Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. 149

Both these words are highly meaningful. The spending of wealth for the sake of Allah purifies the heart of man of the love of material wealth. The man who spends it offers that as a humble gift before the Lord and thus affirms the truth that nothing is dearer to him in life than the love of Allah and that he is fully prepared to sacrifice everything for His sake.225

In Islamic Law, its technical meaning is in reference to a specific portion of one's varied wealth that one must give yearly to a specific group of recipients.

There is no question that among the pillars of Islam, zakah ranks very close to that of prayer. They are often mentioned together in the Quranin eighty two instances to be exact. One can also see from the Quran, that one of the keys to receiving Allah's mercy in the Hereafter is the payment of zakah. In surah al-Tauba, verse 71, Allah states, "The believers, men and women, are helpers and supporters of one another, they enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil, they offer their prayers perfectly, they give the zakah and they obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will bestow His mercy on them. Surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise." (9:71)

The payment of zakah should purify a person. It also purifies his wealth. Allah said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), "Take (O Muhammad) alms from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it" (9:103). Beyond that, it can purify a believer's soul by cleansing him of the diseases of stinginess and miserliness.

It also purifies the wealth of the person by removing any evil effect from it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) once said, "Whoever pays the zakah on his wealth will have its evil removed from him."226

zakah also has a very important role to play for society as a whole. There are some obvious factors that may be stated here. For example, zakah helps the poor of society as they receive wealth that they need. This should also help to strengthen the ties of brotherhood within a Muslim society, as the poor 225 Siddiqi, vol. 2, p. 465. 226 Recorded by ibn Khuzaima and al-Tabaraani. According to al-Albani, it is hasan. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb, vol. 1, p. 312. 150

know that the rich will come to their aid through zakah and other means of charity. Even for those who are not very rich, it makes them realize that they can afford to give for the sake of Allah. They may realize that they will not starve or die if they give some of their wealth for the sake of Allah. Furthermore, it can make those who possess wealth realize that such wealth has actually come as a blessing from Allah. Hence, the person must use it in the way that is pleasing to Allah. One of the most pleasing aspects is to fulfill one's responsibility of paying zakah upon such wealth.

Muslims who do not pay their zakah are not only harming themselves but they can actually harm the entire Muslim Nation. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "A people do not keep from giving the zakah on their wealth except that they will be kept from having rain falling from the sky. If it were not for the animals, it would not rain at all."227

Allah and His prophet have made it clear that not paying zakah is an act that is displeasing to Allah. Indeed, Allah has threatened a great punishment for such behavior. For example, the following verse of the Quran is a reference to those who do not pay the zakah on their wealth: "And let not those who covetously withhold of that which Allah has bestowed on them of His Bounty (wealth) think that it is good for them. Nay, it will be worse for them. The things which they covetously withheld shall be tied to their necks like a collar on the Day of Resurrection. And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is Well-Acquainted with all that you do" (3:180).