Part 6

99He should make his toes point in the direction of the qiblah. 100He should put his heels together. Being at ease in sujood 101He should be at ease in sujood, distributing his weight equally [?] on the parts of the body which should be in contact with the ground during sujood. They are: the nose and forehead, the palms, the knees, and the toes. 102Whoever is at ease in his sujood in this manner has got it right. And this being at ease is also an essential part of the prayer. 103In sujood, he should say, “Subhaana Rabbiy al-‘A’laa (Glory be to my Lord Most High)” three times or more. (There are other kinds of dhikr also, see Sifat Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), p. 145/The Prophet’s Prayer described, p. 55). 104It is mustahaab to offer a lot of du’aa’ during sujood, because it is a time when du’aa’ is likely to be answered. 105He should make his sujood almost as long as his rukoo’, as described above. 106It is permissible to prostrate on the bare ground, or on something covering the ground such as a garment or carpet, or a mat, etc. 107It is not permitted to recite Qur’aan whilst prostrating. Iftiraash and Iq’aa’ between the two sajdahs [Iftiraash means sitting on the left thigh with the right foot upwards and its toes pointed towards the qiblah; iq’aa’ means resting on both heels and feet] 108Then he should raise his head, saying takbeer. This is obligatory. 109He should raise his hands sometimes. 110Then he should sit at ease, until every vertebra returns to its place. This is obligatory. 111He should spread his left leg and sit on it. This is obligatory. 112He should put his right foot upright. 113And make its toes point towards the qiblah. 114It is permissible to sit in iq’aa’ sometimes, which means resting on the heels and feet. 115Whilst sitting thus, he should say, “Allaahumma ighfir li warhamni wajburni, warfa’ni, wa’aafini warzuqni (O Allaah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise me in status, pardon me and grant me provision).” 116If he wishes, he may say, “Rabbi ighfir li, Rabbi ighfir li (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me).” 117He should make this sitting almost as long as his sujood. The second sajdah 118Then he should say takbeer – this is obligatory, 119He should raise his hands sometimes when saying this takbeer. 120He should do the second prostration – this is also an essential part of the prayer. 121He should do in the second prostration what he did in the first. The sitting of rest 122When he raises his head from the second prostration and he wants to get up for the second rak’ah, he should say takbeer. This is obligatory. 123He should raise his hands sometimes. 124He should sit up straight, sitting on his left foot, until every bone returns to its place. The second rak’ah 125Then he should get up for the second rak’ah, supporting himself on his hands with his fists clenched as if kneading dough. This is an essential part of the prayer. 126He should do in the second rak’ah what he did in the first. 127Except that he should not recite the du’aa’ for starting the prayer. 128He should make it shorter than the first rak’ah. Sitting for the Tashahhud 129When he completes the second rak’ah, he should sit for the Tashahhud. This is obligatory. 130He should sit in iftiraash, as described above for the sitting between the two prostrations. 131But it is not permitted to sit in iq’aa’ at this point. 132He should put his right hand on his right thigh and knee, and the end of the right elbow on the thigh, not far from it. 133He should spread his left palm on his left thigh and knee. 134It is not permissible to sit resting on one’s arms, especially the left arm. Moving the finger and looking at it 135He should clench all the fingers of his right hand, and put the thumb on the middle finger sometimes. 136Sometimes he should make a circle with them. 137He should point with his index finger towards the qiblah. 138He should look towards it. 139He should move it, making du’aa’ with it, from the beginning of the Tashahhud until the end. 140He should not point with the finger of his left hand. 141He should do all of this in every Tashahhud. How to say Tashahhud and the du’aa’ following it 142The Tashahhud is obligatory, and if he forgets it, he must do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw). 143He should recite it silently. 144The wording of the Tashahhud is: “Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi wa’l-salaawaatu wa’ltayyibaat. Al-salaamu ‘alayka ayyuha’l-Nabiyyu wa rahmat-Allaahi wa barakaatuhu. Alsalaamu ‘alayna wa ‘ala ‘ibaad-Illaah il-saaliheen. Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu (All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allaah. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah.