THE METHOD OF OFFERING FARD SALAAT
[The Fard Acts of
Salaat | The Wajib Acts of Salaat | A few rules
related to Fard Salaat]
[Difference in Salaat between Men and Women | Rules
Concerning Recitation of the Qur'ān]
1. After making the intention for salaat, say Allahu Akbar. While saying Allahu Akbar, raise both the hands upto the shoulders. However, one should not take out the hands out of the headgear or scarf (or burqah). Thereafter, the hands should be clasped onto the chest with the palm of the right hand placed on the back of the left hand. Thereafter, the following dua should be read:
After reading A'udhu billah and Bismillah, she should recite Surah Faatihah and after Wa lad daalleen, she should say aameen. After reading Bismillah, she should recite some other Surah.
She should then say Allahu Akbar and go into ruku and read:
Translation: Glory to my Lord, the most exalted.
This should be read three, five or seven times. In ruku, the fingers of both hands should be together and placed on the knees. The arms should be well joined to the sides and the ankles of both the feet should be together. She should then read:
Translation: Allah has heard the one who has praised Him.
While saying this, she should raise her head.
Once she stands upright, she must say Allahu Akbar and go down for sajdah. First, the knees should touch the ground, thereafter the hands should be placed in line with her ears and the fingers should be close together. Then place the head in-between both the hands. In sajdah, both the forehead and the nose should touch the ground. The fingers and toes should face the qiblah. But the feet should not be upright. Instead, they should be taken out towards the right hand side. She should draw herself closely together and press herself firmly while in sajdah. The stomach should be joined to both the thighs, the arms to the sides, and both arms should be placed on to the ground. In sajdah, she should read the following dua at least three times:
Translation: Glory to my Lord, the Highest.
She should then say Allahu Akbar and sit upright. She should say Allahu Akbar again and go down for sajdah for a second time, and read:
at least three times. She should then say Allahu Akbar and stand up. When standing up, she should not place her hands on the ground for support.
She should then recite Bismillah, Surah Faatihah and another Surah and thereafter complete her second rakaat in the same way.
On completing the second sajdah, she should sit on her left buttock and take out both her feet towards the right side. She should place both her hands on her thighs and keep her fingers joined together. She should then recite the following dua:
On reaching the kalimah, she should make a circle with the thumb and middle finger of the right hand. When she says La ilaha, she should raise her forefinger, and on saying Illallahu she should drop it. However, the circle should be maintained till the end of the salaat.
If it is a four rakaat salaat, she should not read anything further. Instead, she should immediately say Allahu Akbar and stand up and offer two additional rakaats. In the latter two rakaats of the fard salaat, nothing should be recited after Surah Faatihah. When she sits down for the fourth rakaat, she must recite the following durood after reciting at-tahiyyaat:
Thereafter, she should recite the following dua:
or, the following dua:
Alternatively, she could read any other dua that is found in the Quran or Hadith. Thereafter, she should turn towards the right and say As salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. She should then turn towards the left and say the same thing. At the time of making salaam she should make the intention of making salaam to the angels.
This is the method of offering salaat. If even one of the fard acts of salaat are missed out, the salaat will not be complete, irrespective of whether it was missed out intentionally or unintentionally. There are certain things which are wajib. If they are left out intentionally then the salaat will become worthless and it will have to be repeated. If a person does not repeat it, then although he will be absolved of his fard duty, he will still be committing a sin. But if he leaves out a wajib unintentionally, his salaat will become valid by making sajdah-e-sahw. There are certain things which are sunnah while others are mustahab.
2. The Fard Acts of Salaat
There are six acts which are fard in salaat:
1. To say Allahu Akbar at the time of making the intention.
2. To stand up.
3. To recite any verse or Surah from the Quran.
4. To make the ruku.
5. To make the two sajdahs.
6. To sit down at the end of salaat for as long as it takes one to recite the entire at-tahiyyaat.
3. The Wajib Acts of Salaat
The following things are wajib in salaat:
1. To recite Surah Faatihah.
2. To recite some other Surah with it.
3. To execute every fard act at its specific place.
4. To stand and recite Surah Faatihah and to recite some Surah with it.
5. To go into ruku.
6. To go into sajdah.
7. To sit down after two rakaats.
8. To recite at-tahiyyaat in both the sitting postures.
9. To recite dua-e-qunoot in witr salaat.
10. To complete the salaat by saying As salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.
11. To perform all the acts with patience and without rushing.
4. Apart from the above acts, all the others are either sunnah or mustahab.
5. A person does not recite Surah Faatihah but reads some other verse or some other Surah, or he only recites Surah Faatihah and does not read any other verse or Surah, or he does not sit down after the second rakaat but stands up for the third rakaat without sitting down and without reading at-tahiyyaat, or he sat down but did not read at-tahiyyaat - in all these cases, although he will be absolved of his fard duty, his salaat will be worthless. It is wajib on him to repeat his salaat. If he does not repeat his salaat, he will be committing a great sin. However, if he does all these things unintentionally, then by making sajdah-e-sahw, his salaat will become valid.
6. At the time of making salaam, the person did not make salaam. Instead he started to speak, or conversed with someone, or got up and went away somewhere, or did something else with which salaat breaks; then the same rule applies over here. That is, although he will be absolved of his fard duty, he will still have to repeat his salaat. If he does not do so, he will be sinful.
7. If a person recited a Surah before Surah Faatihah, even then he will have to repeat his salaat. If he did this unintentionally, he should make sajdah-e-sahw.
8. After Surah Faatihah, at least three verses should be recited. If only one or two verses are recited and they are such that they equal three verses in length, salaat will still be valid.
9. After standing up from ruku, a person did not recite:
or in ruku he did not recite:
or in sajdah he did not recite:
or in the last sitting position he did not recite durood after at-tahiyyaat. Then in all the above cases his salaat will be valid, but it will be contrary to the sunnah. Similarly, if after the durood, he did not read any dua, but made salaam immediately after reciting the durood, then too his salaat will be valid but contrary to the sunnah.
10. It is sunnah to raise the hands at the time of commencing the salaat. If one does not raise his hands, it will still be proper but contrary to the sunnah.
11. In every rakaat, Bismillah should be read before Surah Faatihah. When the next Surah is read, Bismillah should be read again. This is the preferable method.
12. When making sajdah, if one does not place the forehead and nose on the ground, but places the forehead only, even then the salaat will be valid. But if one does not place the forehead, and places the nose only, the salaat will not be valid. However, if a person has a valid excuse, it will be permissible to place his nose only.
13. If a person did not stand upright in ruku, but merely lifted his head slightly and went straight into sajdah, he will have to repeat his salaat.
14. A person did not sit properly in-between the two sajdahs, he merely lifted his head slightly and went down for the second sajdah. If he does this, he has in fact made only one sajdah and did not complete the two sajdahs. His salaat is not valid. But if he lifted his head in such a way that he was near the sitting position, he will be absolved of his duty but it will be worthless. He should therefore repeat his salaat. If he does not do so, he will be sinful.
15. If a person makes sajdah on something made out of straw or cotton wool, he should press his head down firmly and make sajdah. He should press it down in such a way that he cannot press any further. If he does not press it down firmly but merely places his head lightly, his sajdah will not be considered.
16. If a person adds another Surah after Surah Faatihah in the latter two rakaats of a four rakaat fard salaat, then no harm will come to the salaat. His salaat will be perfectly correct.
17. If a person does not read Surah Faatihah in the latter two rakaats but merely reads Sub'haanallah three times, even then his salaat will be proper. However, it is preferable to recite Surah Faatihah. And if he reads nothing at all and merely remains silent, even then there is no harm and the salaat will be proper.
18. It is wajib to read a Surah after Surah Faatihah in the first two rakaats. If a person only recites Surah Faatihah in the first two rakaats or does not even read Surah Faatihah but merely reads Sub'haanallah; then in the latter two rakaats he should read a Surah after Surah Faatihah. If he did this intentionally he will have to repeat his salaat. And if he did this unintentionally, he will have to make sajdah-e-sahw.
19. In her salaat, a woman must recite Surah Faatihah, another Surah, and all the other duas softly and silently. But she should recite them in such a way that her voice reaches her own ears. If she cannot hear her own voice, her salaat will not be valid.
20. One should not set aside or specify a particular Surah for a particular salaat. Instead, one should read whatever one wishes. To set aside a particular surah is makruh.
21. In the second rakaat, one should not recite a Surah that is longer than the one that one recited in the first rakaat.
22. Women should offer their salaat individually and not in congregation. They should not go to the musjid to offer their salaat in congregation with the men. If a woman offers her salaat in congregation with her husband or any other mahram, she should find out the relevant rules in this regard. This occurs very seldom. We have therefore not gone into details in this regard. However, it should be noted that if such an occasion arises, the woman should not stand in line with the man. She should stand behind him. If not, her salaat and even his salaat will not be valid.
23. If one's wudu breaks while offering salaat, one should make wudu and repeat the salaat.
24. It is mustahab to fix the eyes on the spot of sajdah when one is standing. In ruku the eyes should be fixed on the feet, in sajdah on the nose, and when making salaam on the shoulders. If one yawns, one should close one's mouth tightly. If it does not stop in any other way, it should be stopped with the back of the hand. If one feels an irritation in the throat, then as far as possible, one should try to stop the cough or subdue it.
A few rules related to Fard Salaat
1. The "alif" of aameen should be lengthened and read. Thereafter, any Surah of the Quran should be read.
2. If a person is travelling or he has some other necessity to fulfil, then after reading Surah Faatihah, he has the choice of reading any other Surah. But if he is not travelling or has no other necessity to fulfil, then in fajr and zuhr salaat, he should recite any Surah from Surah Hujurat till Surah Burooj. The Surah of the first rakaat of fajr should be longer than that of the second rakaat. As for the rest of the salaats, the Surahs of both the rakaats should be more or less equal. If they are longer or shorter by one or two verses, there is no harm in this. In asr and esha salaats, any Surah from Surah Tariq till Surah Lam Yakun could be recited. In maghrib salaat, from Surah Zilzal till the end of the Quran.
3. Whilst standing up from ruku, the imam should only say Sami Allahu liman hamidah and the muqtadi should only say Rabbana lakal hamd. The person offering salaat on his own should read both. While saying the takbeer, the person should place his hands on his knees and then go into sajdah. The termination of his takbeer and the beginning of his sajdah should be done simultaneously. In other words, the moment he reaches the sajdah posture, his takbeer should end.
4. When going into sajdah, the knees should first touch the ground. Thereafter, the hands, nose, and forehead. The face should be in-between both the hands and the fingers should be together pointing towards the qiblah. The toes should be upright pointing towards the qiblah. The stomach should be away from the thighs and the arms away from the sides. The stomach should be so high from the ground that a small kid (young goat) could pass through.
5. In the first two rakaats of fajr, maghrib, and esha; the imam should recite Surah Faatihah, any other Surah, Sami Allahu liman hamidah, and all the other takbeers in a loud voice. The one offering salaat on his own has the choice of reciting the Quran aloud or softly while Sami Allahu liman hamidah and all the other takbeers should be read softly.
As for zuhr and asr, the imam should only read Sami Allahu liman hamidah and all the takbeers in a loud voice. The one offering salaat on his own should read everything softly.
As for the muqtadi, he should always say the takbeers, etc. softly - irrespective of what salaat it is.
6. On completing the salaat, both the hands should be raised upto the chest and dua to Allah Ta'ala should be made for oneself. And if he is an imam, he should make dua for all those following him as well. On completing the dua, both hands should be passed over the face. The muqtadis could make their individual duas or, if they can hear the dua of the imam, they could say aameen to it.
7. One should not make very lengthy duas after those salaats that are followed by sunnah salaats, eg. zuhr, maghrib and esha. The person should make a brief dua and occupy himself with the sunnah salaats. One could lengthen the duas for as long as one wishes for those salaats that are not followed by sunnah salaats, such as the fajr and asr salaats. If the person is the imam, he should turn towards his right or left, facing the muqtadis. Thereafter, he should make the dua on condition that there is no masbuq facing him.
8. It is preferable to read the following after the fard salaat:
three times, aayatul kursi, Surah Ikhlaas, Surah al-Falaq, Surah an-Naas, 33 times Sub'haanallah, 33 times Alhamdolillah, and 34 times Allahu Akbar. All this is on the condition that there is no sunnah after the fard salaat. If there is, then it will be preferable to recite these duas after the sunnah salaat.
9. On entering the musjid and finding the imam in ruku, a few ignorant people rush to join the congregation. They immediately go into ruku and in the same instance they say the takbeer-e-tahreemah. Their salaat is not valid because the takbeer-e-tahreemah is a prerequisite of salaat. And the prerequisite for takbeer-e-tahreemah is that one must be standing. So if the person did not stand, his takbeer-e-tahreemah is not valid, and if that is not valid, his salaat will not be valid.
Difference in Salaat between Men and Women
There are a few differences with regards to the postures adopted by men and women when offering salaat. They are as follows:
1. If a man is covered with a sheet or shawl, then at the time of saying takbeer-e-tahreemah he has to take out his hands from under the shawl and raise them upto his ears if there is no need to keep them inside. For example, when it is cold, he still has to take them out. As for women, under all conditions they have to keep their hands inside and raise them upto their shoulders.
2. After saying the takbeer-e-tahreemah, men have to clasp their hands below the navel while women have to clasp them on their chests.
3. When clasping the hands, men have to place the right hand over the left hand in such a way that the thumb and little finger encircles the left wrist with the remaining three fingers extended along the left arm. A woman has to place her right palm over the back of her left hand and she should not form a circle with the right hand, nor should she clasp her left hand.
4. In ruku men have to bow down quite low, to the extent that their heads, hips, and backs are in line. Women should not go so low down. Instead, they should only bow down to the extent that their hands touch their knees.
5. In ruku, men should spread out their fingers and place them on their knees while women should not do this. Instead, they should keep their fingers together when placing them on their knees.
6. In ruku, men should keep their elbows away from their sides while women should keep them close to their sides.
7. In sajdah, men should keep their stomachs away from their thighs and their arms away from their sides while women have to keep all these parts close together.
8. In sajdah, men should raise their elbows above the ground while women should place them on the ground.
9. In sajdah, men should keep the toes upright while women should not do this.
10. In the sitting posture, men should sit on their left leg and the fingers of the right leg should be upright. Women have to sit on their left buttock and both their legs should point towards the right hand side in such a way that the right thigh comes over the left thigh and the right calf over the left calf.
11. Women do not have the choice of offering their salaat aloud under any circumstances. They should always offer all their salaats in a soft voice.
Rules Concerning Recitation of the Quran
1. It is wajib to recite the Quran correctly. Every letter should be pronounced correctly. Just as there are differences in pronouncing the "ain" and "hamza", there are similar differences in pronouncing the following letters:
All these have to be pronounced correctly and no letter should be pronounced in place of another.
2. If a person is unable to pronounce a particular letter correctly, it is incumbent on him to practise pronouncing it correctly. If he does not make an effort to pronounce it correctly, he will be a sinner and no salaat of his will be correct. However, even if he is unable to correct himself after making concerted efforts, then there is no compulsion.
3. If the letters can be pronounced correctly, but due to negligence and complacency they are uttered incorrectly, then the person will be a sinner and his salaat will not be correct.
4. There is no harm in reciting the Surah that had been recited in the first rakaat, in the second rakaat as well. But to do this unnecessarily is not good. (In fact, it is makruh tanzihi to do so).
5. In salaat, the Surahs should be recited in the same order as that of the Quran. For example, if a particular Surah is recited in the first rakaat, then in the second rakaat a Surah which comes after it in the Quran should be recited and not one that comes before it. For example, a person reads Surah al-Kafirun in the first rakaat. So in the second rakaat he should read: Surah an-Nasr, Surah Ikhlaas, Surah al-Falaq or Surah an-Naas. He should not recite any Surah that comes before it, such as Surah al-Fil or Surah Quraysh. To do so is makruh. But if one does this forgetfully or unintentionally, it will not be makruh.
6. Once a person commences with a Surah, it is makruh for him to leave it and start with a new Surah unnecessarily.
7. If a person does not know how to offer salaat at all, or has just accepted Islam, he should continue reading Sub'haanallah in his salaat. In doing so his fard duty will be completed. However, he should continue learning the method of offering salaat properly. If he displays any laziness in this regard, he will be extremely sinful.
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