Part 5

(The general practice of the Prophet (#) was to pray the Sunnah of Al-Fajr at home.

SITTING AFTER THE FAJR PRAYER

Imaam An-Nawawee said Hassanaa, in this grammatical form, means ‘risen perfectly’ .!1)

Benefit of sitting in the Masjid:

Allah (&) instructed the angels to pray for forgiveness for those sitting in the Masaajid, whether it is before or after the Salaah, by saying:

O Allah, forgive him.

"I ie, has completely cleared the horizon.

WHAT IS SAID DURING THE PRAYER

From the Sunan of what should be said during the prayer, is: 1. Recite the opening supplication after the first Takbeer (Takbeer Al-Ihraam): (V2 SVG BAS Jey Bs Far removed are you from any

imperfection, O Allah and praise be to You.

Blessed be your Name and lofty is Your position.

Alternatively, you may say:

Libs oa es “ul we pally GA

maul Ol Ge Jao S35 2 Ss 035315 elit LSE Gerth Be el

O Allah, distance fe my sins just

2. Seek refuge in Allah before reciting from the Qur’an:

er! OU Se dit 52

3. Then recite Al-Basmala:

5. Recite a surah after Al-Faatihah. The person praying alone should recite 4

surah, or part of one, after Al-Faatihah in the first two Rak’ah of all prayers.

For the one who is praying behind the Imaam in congregation, he should read 4 surah after Al-Faatihah in the first twe Rak‘ah of the silent prayers.

As for the first two Rak’ah of the loud prayers, he does not read ba instead listens to the Imaam’s recitation.’

6. Supplicate upon rising from Rukoo’: (sh) Gb Our Lord, to You be all praise.” And then say:

Ged pre tes Siren EAT

“bel wshly GN af Ae aed wu Y pabite BI ug, ell 38 ba Vp Ge W ght Vy Chel The heavens and the earth and all that is between them abound with Your praises

and all that You will abound with Your Praises.

O Possessor of praise and majesty, the truest thing a slave had said (of You) and we are all Your slaves.

O Allah, none can prevent what You willed to bestow and none can bestow what you willed to prevent and no wealth

. Repeat the Tasbeelt more than once: The Tasbeeh while bowing:

pala At cep OL Far removed is my Lord from any imperfections, the Supreme. The Tasbeeh while prostrating:

WEN coy OLLI Far removed is my Lord from any imperfections, the Most High.

. Repeat this supplication more than once while sitting between the tw? prostrations:

we “oe a ose! w

My Lord, forgive me. . Supplicate after the final Tashshahud:

beh pedis Gli i ys fal Gide O Allah, verily I seek refuge with You

10.Lengthen the supplication when prostrating.

It is preferred for the person not to shorten the supplication after the initial Tasbeeh in prostration but on the contrary to increase the supplication, as he wills. This is taken from the following hadith: The closest the servant is to his Lord, is when he is prostrating - so increase the supplication in it.?”

OQ The Sunan of speech are performed in every Rak’ah, except the opening supplication and the supplication after the Tashshahiud.

O There are other supplications. Whoever desires to know then may refer to Hisn Al-Muslim by Shaykh Sa‘eed AlQahtaanee.

So, the total number of the Sunan mentioned

above, in the obligatory prayers, amounts to ten. As for the optional prayers performed in the day and night in which these two Sunan are repeated, their total amounts to twenty-four Sunan. This may be increased by performing Qiyaan Al-Layl, Ad-Duliaa and Tahiyaat Al-Masjid. By performing more often the Sunan that occur once in the Salaah, the person's reward will be increased and his hold on the Sunnah strengthened.

ACTIONS PERFORMED IN THE PRAYER

Ftom the Sunan actions of the prayer, is:

1, Raise the hands at the following times:

2. The manner of raising the hands:

* When raising and lowering the hands, the fingers should be close together, Stretched out and with the palms of the hands facing the Qiblah.?

* Raise the hands-either to the side of the shoulders or to the bottom of the ears.

3. Place the right hand on the left, or grasp the left wrist bone with your right hand.

‘Separate your feet to a comfortable

_ distance when standing.

OD eal Jp “And recite the Qur'aan (aloud) with Tarteel.”’

From the Sunan of Rukoo’, is:

1. Grasp the knees with the hands, while the fingers are apart.’””

4, Keep the up Pper arms away from the side of the body.

From the Sunan of Sujood, is:

1. To keep the upper arms away from the side of the body.""*

2. To keep the stomach away from thé thighs.

"lj.e. the head should be in line with th straightened back.

3. To ensure the thighs are away from the shins.!"!

4. To separate the knees, 71

5. To keep the feet upright.

6. To ensure the toes face the Qiblah, so that the joints of the toes rest on the floor.’

7. To press the feet together for the duration of the prostration.'”*

10.To ensure the fingers are close together.1!”

11.To ensure the fingers are pointing towards the Qiblah.”!

1. The sitting (or Jalsalt) between the prostration is of two types:

i i.e. keep the hamstrings away from the calves. No specific evidence was found for Points 2 to 4.

However, from the description of the Prophet's (8) Sajdah, he (#8) was not cramped up, but rather he was spread out.

The second is called Al-Iftiraash. This is to keep the right foot in an upright position and lay the left foot flat on the floor.

The Prophet (#) used to lengthen this sitting, until a person would say, ‘Perhaps, he has forgotten (te continuey’ a ii . The other ee of sitting is called Jalsult Al-Istiraahah.”! it is performed after the second prostration before standing up, in the first and third Rak’ah. There are no

supplications in it and the Sunnah is to sit briefly.’??

\ This type of sitting is only permitted for the sitting between the two prostrations and not for the Tashahhud.

) This is an indication that the Prophet (#) used to sit in this position for a long time.

"1 Jalash Al-Istiraahah is performed in the same manner as Jalash Al-Iftiraash is performed for the first Tashaltrud.

1 This final sitting has three forms:

e At-Tawarruk: This is to keep the right foot upright, while placing the left foot under the right shin and to sit on the floor.'”

* Sit in the same position as above, except that the right foot is not placed upright, but it follows the direction of the left"**

2, Place the hands on the thighs - the right hand on the right thigh and the left hand

& At-Tasleem: This is to turn the head to the Tight then left when finishing the Prayer.'7

Summary of actions in the prayer:

There are twenty-five Sunan pertaining to the actions repeated in every Rak’ah. From amongst those Sunan that are not repeated in the prayer more than once or twice:

C To raise the hands with initial Takbeer.

Oi To raise the hands to the shoulders ot bottom of the ears when standing up fot the third Rak’ah, in prayer comprising of two Tashahhuds.

0 To point with the index finger from the beginning of the Tashahhud to the end of it, whether it is the first or second Tashahhud.

( Jalsah Al-Istiraahah, which is repeated twice, in the prayer consisting of fou! Rak’aat, and once in the remaining prayers, whether it is an obligatory voluntary prayer.

Cj To turn the head to the right and the le" in concluding the prayer (Tasleem).

These Sunan are all repeated once, exc!

the pointing with the index finger during

Tashahhud which is performed twice in

every obligatory prayer (apart from Salaah

ALFajr) and Jalsah Al-Istiraahah, which is

tepeated twice in a four-Rak’aat prayer.

These Sunan total thirty-four.

Strive to beautify your prayer by

implementing these Sunan of speech and

action so that your reward is increased and your status with Allah is raised.

General words of advice from Ibn Al-

The servant is between the Hands of Allah in fwo situations. The first is during the time of Prayer and the second is on the Day of Meeting (i.e. the Day of Judgment). So, whoever fulfils his duty in the first Situation will have ease in the second, and whoever underestimates the importance of the first situation and does not fulfill its rights, will have hardships in the second.