Part 4

There are many of these, the most famous of which is “Subhaanaka Allaahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaaraka ismuka wa ta’aala jadduka, wa laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You O Allaah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You).” The command to do this is proven so we should adhere to it. Whoever wants to see the other du’aa’s may refer to Sifat al-Salaah, p. 91-95, Maktabat al-Ma’aarif, Riyadh, edition. [In English, see “The Prophet’s Prayer described” by Shaykh al-Albaani, alHaneef Publications, p. 14-19] Recitation of Qur’aan 46Then he should seek refuge with Allaah – this is obligatory, and he is sinning if he omits to do so. 47The Sunnah is sometimes to say “A’oodhu Billaahi min al-Shaytaan il-rajeem, min hamzihi wa nafkhihi wa nafathihi (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan, from his madness, his arrogance and his poetry),” – poetry here refers to blameworthy kinds of poetry. 48And sometimes he may say, “A’oodhu Billaah il-Samee’ il-A’leem min alShaytaan… (I seek refuge with Allaah, the All-Hearing, All-Knowing, from the Shaytaan…).” 49Then he should say silently – whether the prayer is to be recited aloud or silently – “Bismillah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful).” Reciting al-Faatihah 50Then he should recite Soorat al-Faatihah (the first surah of the Qur’aan) in full, including the Basmalah (Bismillaahi ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem). This is an essential part of the prayer, without which the prayer is not valid. Those who do not speak Arabic must memorize this surah. 51Those who cannot remember it should say: “Subhaan Allaah, wa’l-hamduLillaah, wa laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, there is no god but Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, and there is no strength and no power except with Allaah).” 52The Sunnah is to recite it one verse at a time, and to pause at the beginning of each aayah. So he should say: “Bismillaah ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem (In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful),” then pause. Then say, “Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabb il-‘Aalameen (All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists), then pause. Then say: ‘al-Rahmaan arRaheem (The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful), then pause… and so on, until the end of the aayah. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite the whole surah, pausing at the end of each aayah and not joining one aayah to the next, even if there is continuity of the meaning. 53It is permissible to read it as Maaliki Yawn id-Deen or Maliki Yawm id-Deen. How the one who is praying behind the imaam should recite it 54The one who is praying behind the imam should recite it behind the imaam in prayers where Qur’aan in recited silently and in prayers where it is recited aloud, if he cannot hear the imam’s recitation, or if he pauses after completing it so that those who are praying behind him can recite it. We think that this pause was not proven in the Sunnah. I say I have mentioned the evidence of those who think that this pause is permissible and the refutation of that evidence, in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da’eefah, no. 546, 547, part 2, p. 24-26, Dar al-Ma’aarif edition. Recitation after al-Faatihah 55It is Sunnah to recite – after al-Faatihah – another surah, even in Salaat alJanaazah (funeral prayer), or some aayahs, in the first two rak’ahs. 56The recitation may be made lengthy sometimes, and shorter sometimes, for reasons of travel, coughing, sickness or the crying of an infant. 57The recitation varies according to the prayers. The recitation in Fajr prayer is longer than it is in all the other prayers. Next longest is Zuhr, then ‘Asr, then ‘Isha’, then Maghrib, usually. 58The recitation in the night prayers (qiyaam al-layl) is longer than all of these. 59The Sunnah is to make the recitation longer in the first rak’ah than in the second. 60He should make the recitation in the last two shorter than in the first two rak’ahs, half the length. If you want more details on this topic, see Sifat al-Salaah p. 102 (Arabic original). Reciting al-Faatihah in every rak’ah 61It is obligatory to recite al-Faatihah in every rak’ah. 62It is Sunnah to add to it in the last two rak’ahs as well. 63It is not permissible for the imaam to make his recitation longer than that which is described in the Sunnah, because that is difficult for those who may be praying behind him, such as the elderly and sick, or nursing mothers, or those who have other things to do. Reciting aloud and reciting quietly 64Qur’aan should be recited aloud in Fajr and Jumu’ah prayers, Eid prayers, prayers for rain (istisqaa’), prayers at the time of an eclipse (kusoof) and in the first two rak’ahs of Maghrib and ‘Isha’. He should recite silently in the first two rak’ahs of Zuhr and ‘Asr, in the third rak’ah of Maghrib and in the last two rak’ahs of ‘Ishaa’.