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Fiqh-ul-'Ibaadat (The Fiqh of Worship)

Class by Sister Eman al Obaid - http://alhudasisters.wordpress.com/

Date: Tuesday, 27th November 2012

Aadaab Al-Mashi ila-s-Salaat (The Etiquettes of

Walking to Prayer)

http://alhudasisters.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/fiqh3.pdf - Page 63

It is important for men to know the etiquettes of walking to masjid for

prayer as they are obliged to pray their fardh (obligatory) prayers with

congregation in the masjid. Even though women are not obliged to pray in

the masjid, it is better for them to know the etiquettes of walking to the

masjid for prayer.

Some people delays going to the masjid till the Adhaan is called and then

when they come to know that the prayer is going to begin, they run to the

masjid (to catch the prayer) leaving their cars in wrong parking areas. We

should know that quality is very important. There are etiquettes that should

be followed when walking to the masjid for prayer.

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As-Salaat (prayer) is a great worship in which a Muslim directs

his heart and his body to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. So it (ie;

prayer) should be preceded by getting prepared for it mentally

and physically beforehand.

A person should prepare for the prayers mentally and physically

beforehand because it is a meeting with his Lord.

Mental preparation is by –

Having intention to offer the prayer for the sake of Allah

Hoping for the reward from Allah

Thinking about Allah’s Greatness

Physical preparation is by –

Making wudhu’

Covering the ‘awrah

Wearing the best/clean clothes

It is always better for a person to get mentally prepared for the prayer

beforehand (for e.g. half an hour before) than getting prepared for it the

same moment he is going to offer it. The earlier he gets mentally

prepared for prayer, the more he can focus in his prayer.

So going to the masjid for prayer is preceded by some manners/

etiquettes. These are actually the preparations that should be done when

going to the masjid for prayer.

There are nine etiquettes/manners mentioned here and they are as

follows:

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1. He should purify himself by making the best wudhu’ and

purify/wash (all the prescribed limbs) with water.

To make the best wudhu’ (ihsaan al-wudhu’) means to make

wudhu’/purification with water by following the sunnah and with the

intention of purifying one’s sin, hoping for the reward, thinking of its

virtues etc. and also purifying all the (prescribed) limbs with water. This

is ihsaan al-wudhu/the best wudhu.

2. He should have sincerity while going to the masjid.

When a person is making wudhu’ and going to the masjid for prayer, he

should have in his mind (intention) that he is doing every act (ie;

wudhu, going to the masjid, offering the prayer etc.) sincerely for the

sake of Allah alone. ‘Istihdhaar’ (here means) to bring forward what is

there in one’s mind (ie; to renew one’s intention). So every time a

person wants to do any act of worship or a good deed he should

remember to renew his intention that he is doing it sincerely for the

sake of Allah alone.

Don’t take it for granted and think that we are already ‘mukhlis’

(sincere) by default. We need to renew our intention every time that

we are doing every act for the sake of Allah alone. For this we need to

have ‘Tawakkul ‘ala-Allah (to rely upon Allah, Al-Wakeel) - Allah will

remind us to renew our intention every time.

3. He should go to the masjid early in order to have the

virtues of waiting for the prayer and (to say) the

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‘Takbeerat-al-Ihraam’ (ie; to say ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the

starting of the prayer) with the Jama’ah/congregation.

A person who offers a prayer and then waits to offer the next prayer is

rewarded - The angels make du’a for him and also Allah expiates his sins

and elevates his rank in Jannah.

Hadith: It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Shall I not tell you something by which Allah effaces the sins and elevates ranks (in Jannah)?'' The Companions said: "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah.'' He (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, "Performing the Wudu' thoroughly in spite of difficult circumstances, walking with more paces to the mosque, and waiting for the next As Salat (the prayer) after observing Salat; and that is Ar Ribat, and that is Ar Ribat.” [Muslim].

So even if a woman is waiting for the prayer at home, Allah will expiate her

sins and elevate her rank (in Jannah). For example: After praying the Fajr

prayer if a woman is eagerly waiting to pray Dhuhr prayer (ie; with

intention in her heart) and her heart is attached to the prayer even while

she is doing her work at home or anywhere until she hears the adhaan of

Dhuhr prayer, Allah will expiate her sins and elevate her rank.

A person should reach the masjid early for the prayer and join the

congregation at the beginning and say the ‘Takbeerat-al-ihraam’/Allahu

Akbar at the starting of the salah along with the congregation. He should

avoid joining the congregation in the middle or at the end because the

reward is more for joining the congregation at the beginning. If a person is

eager to offer the prayers he would surely go to the masjid early.

Now the fourth etiquette:

4. He should make du’a when leaving the home. The du’a

includes:

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Bismillaahi, tawakkaltu 'alallaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata ‘ illaa billaah. In the Name of Allah, I have placed my trust in Allah, there is no might and no power except by Allah. [Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi]

Look at this beautiful du’a! Tawakkaltu ‘alAllah’ – We place our trust in

Allah when going out -it’s not like we are going out with our own power. We

affirm that Allah is the One Who is giving us the power to go. When we say

this du’a we feel so obedient and we are submitting ourselves to Allah

Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

Allaahumma 'innee 'a'oothu bika 'an 'adhilla, 'aw 'udhalla, 'aw 'azilla, 'aw 'uzalla, 'aw 'adhlima, 'aw 'udhlama, 'aw 'ajhala 'aw yujhala 'alayya. O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I misguide others , or I am misguided by others , lest I cause others to err or I am caused to err , lest I abuse others or be abused, and lest I behave foolishly or meet with the foolishness of others. [Abu Dawud, Ibn majah, An-Nasa’i, At-Tirmidhi]

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SubhanAllah! Look at these beautiful words of wisdom- the du’a of the

Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). We need to memorize these two

beautiful du’a. Our du’a is our guards and weapons. So we should seek

refuge in Allah whenever we leave our home.

Miguidance mentioned in the du’a means creating doubts in the heart or

something like that. Heart changes quickly and so it is easy for one to cause

misguidance to others or to be misguided by others .

We don’t want to slip/to make mistakes means- we don’t want our eyes,

tongues, ears, hearts or any of our limbs to slip/make mistakes. We also

don’t want to cause anyone to slip/err. For ex: If someone says something

to us we don’t want our tongues to slip or make mistake or we don’t want to

say something to others that cause their tongues to slip or make mistake.

We don’t want to be unjust to anyone and we don’t want someone to be

unjust to us because we feel bad. When we go to the masjid for prayer, or

visit any other places or gatherings, we want a blessed place/gatherings or

people without any problems.

‘Ajhala’ from ‘jahl’ (which means ignorance). None of us want to deceive

anyone or be deceived by anyone because of ignorance. For ex: when we

buy something, we don’t want to be deceived by the shop keepers because

of our ignorance or when we go to a place/gathering, we don’t want to

deceive anyone, because of ignorance.

So when we make this (ie; second) du’a, Allah will guard/protect all our

limbs as well as all the limbs of others (whom we meet), from all the things

mentioned (above).

Imagine!!! If everyone in the society reads this du’a:

No one would cause misguidance to anyone or be misguided by anyone.

No one would cause anyone to slip/make mistake or be made to slip/err by anyone

No one would be unjust to anyone or receive injustice from anyone. No one would deceive anyone or be deceived by anyone because of ignorance.

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So we should remember to make these beautiful du’a (ie; first and second

du’a mentioned above) everytime when we leave our home and go to the

masjid for prayer or when we go to any places or gatherings so that Allah

Subhanahu wa Ta’ala will guard and protect us from all the things

(mentioned above) till we come back to our home.

Allaahumma aj’al fi qalbi nooran, wa fi lisaani nooran, waj’al fi sam’i nooran, waj’al fi basari nooran, waj’al min khalfi nooran, wa min amaami nooran, waj’al min fawqi nooran, wa min tahti nooran, Allaahumma a’tini nooran- O Allah, place with my heart light, and upon my tongue light, and within my ears light, and within my eyes light, and place behind me light, and in front of me light, and above me light, and beneath me light, O Allah, bestow upon me light.[Muslim]

This is a general du’a and it can be read anytime, for example: in the sujud

or when going out (to the masjid) at night for the night prayer or anytime.

If we say this du’a, no one or not even a shaytan can come to us (to harm or

whisper).

We say in this du’a: “Allaahumma aj’al fi qalbi nooran” (O Allah, place with

my heart light) so that our heart shall be filled with Noor (light of guidance)

– ie; Noor at-taqwa, Noor al-Eaman, Noor at-tawakkul, Noor al-khawf etc.

and our heart shall be filled with Eaman billah (faith in Allah). When our

heart has this noor (light of guidance) we will feel happiness.

We say: “wa fi lisaani nooran waj’al fi sam’i nooran waj’al fi basari nooran”

(and upon my tongue light and within my ears light and within my eyes

light) so that we will speak, hear and see only the best/perfect (with

wisdom) that will increase our faith and our heart will be filled with the love

of Allah.

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We say: “waj’al min khalfi nooran wa min amaami nooran waj’al min fawqi

nooran wa min tahti nooran” (and place behind me light and in front of me

light and above me light and beneath me light) because the shaytan can

come behind us and infront of us to whisper as it is mentioned in the

Qur’an: “Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them

and on their right and on their left…” [Surat Al-A’raaf, 7:17]. So if there is

light around us from behind, front, above and below, the shaytan cannot

come to us (to whisper/harm) from any sides because we are guarded and

protected by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. The enemies always plot against

us from behind and we are always scared of something that could happen to

us from behind because we cannot see or know anything that happens

behind us. So we want light from behind us. We also want light in front of

us, above us and beneath us because we don’t want to be deceived or

misguided by anyone. So when we make this du’a we are actually protected

from all sides by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.

We say: “Allaahumma a’tini nooran” (O Allah, bestow upon me light) so

that we can deal easily with our life and also with different types of people

around us. We cannot deal with everyone in the same way and it is very

difficult for us to learn the psychology of different types of people and to

deal with them in different ways. Even if we struggle life long to deal with

them easily, it would be difficult for us to make it. So we should just make

this du’a so that Allah shall guide us and make it easy for us to deal with

different types of people in the right way by making us speak or act in the

perfect way that would suit them and this could make our life easy as well.

So when we make this beautiful du’a, we will have noor (ie; light of

guidance) on all our body parts and Allah will guide all our limbs to do the

perfect things that would make our life and dealing with people around us

easy like how a torch light makes it easy for us to see and walk in the

darkness of night, SubhanAllah!!!

All the above mentioned du’a are so important that no matter where we

visit or whom we meet, we need to make these du’a whenever we leave our

home. You can say the last/third du’a not only when going out but also in

sujud or any other time.

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Now the fifth etiquette:

5. One should walk to (the prayer) with tranquility and

dignity.

The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: "When you

hear the iqaamah, proceed to the prayer with tranquility

and dignity and do not rush. Pray what you catch (with the

congregation) and make up for what you miss." [Agreed upon]

And Sakeenah (here means): -To walk slowly/carefully with

tranquility and (with) dignity (which means): -Not to

gaze/look around unnecessarily (while walking) and not to

lack attention (especially when crossing the road).

One should not delay going to the masjid until the iqaamah is called and

he should not rush/run to catch the prayer even if he hears the iqaamah

because of the statement of the Messenger of Allah (which is mentioned

above). He runs because he doesn’t want to miss the prayer but then

when he joins the prayer (with congregation) he might be panting for

breath and tired in almost half of the prayer. So one should know that it

is important for him to walk to the masjid for prayer with tranquility

and dignity and not to rush (or run) to catch the prayer even if he hears

the iqaamah, and whatever portion of the prayer he gets (with the

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congregation), he should offer it, and complete afterwards (ie; after the

imam says tasleem) whatever he has missed.

The sixth etiquette:

6. One should enter the masjid with his right foot (first) and

say:

A'oothu billaahil-'Adheem wa bi-Wajhihil-Kareem wa Sultaanihil-qadeem minash-Shaytaanir-rajeem.

I seek refuge in Almighty Allah, by His Noble Face by His primordial power from Satan the outcast. [Abu Dawud]

Allaahum-maftah lee 'abwaaba rahmatika.

O Allah, open before me the doors of Your mercy. [Abu Dawud]

And he should exit/come out of the masjid with his left foot

(first) and say:

Allaahumma 'innee 'as'aluka min fadhlika. O Allah, I ask for Your favor. [Ibn Majah]

Look at the first du’a- how many Names and Attributes of Allah are

mentioned when seeking refuge with Him-

Allah, Al-‘Adheem (The Almighty)

Wajhihil-Kareem (His Noble Face),

Sultaanihil-Qadeem (His primordial power).

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This means a person needs too much protection from the (evil of) shaytan

even when he is going to the masjid for prayer. The shaytan will always try

his best to spoil the prayer or any acts of worship. That is why when one

begins to do any ‘ibaadah (worship) for example: when reading Qur’an or

when praying, he/she should say “A’oothu billaahi min-ash-shaytaani-r-

rajeem” (I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed shaytan).

Look at the importance of the niyyah/intention in Islam. Every actions/acts

of worship is based on intentions and so both heart and mind have to work

when doing any action/act of worship. When our heart and mind are busy

with intentions to do any acts of ‘ibaadah, we won’t have space in our mind

to think about silly issues or matters that do not concern us and complaint

to others about them. Actually the intentions keep our heart and brain cells

active all the time because before we do any actions/acts of worship we

need to be conscious of making intention or renewing it.

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7. After he enters the masjid, he should not sit down until

he has prayed two rak’ahs (tahiyyat al-masjid) because:

The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “When any

one of you enters the mosque, let him pray two rak’ahs

before he sits down.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

So whenever a person enters the masjid, he should pray 2 rak’ahs of

tahiyyat al-masjid (greeting the masjid) before he sits down, even if he

enters the masjid at times when it is disliked (to pray). But if the

iqaamah for the prayer is called or the (obligatory) prayer has already

started, then he should join the congregation and not pray the 2 rak’ahs

of tahiyyatul masjid because of the statement of the Prophet (sallAllahu

‘alayhi wa sallam): “When the iqaamah for prayer is given, there is no

prayer except the prescribed prayer.” [Muslim]

8. One should avoid interlacing his fingers when heading

towards the masjid (for prayer) and while waiting for the

prayer.

Hadith: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When one of you does wudoo’ and does it well, then goes out heading to the mosque, let him not interlace his fingers, for he is in a state of prayer.” [Narrated by Abu Dawood, 562; classed as saheeh by al Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood] Reference: Fiqh of Worship, Commentary on ‘Umdat al-Fiqh by Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi. Also: http://islamqa.info/en/ref/36801/interlacing%20the%20fingers

So it is better for one to avoid interlacing his fingers when going out to

masjid for prayer and also while waiting for it (ie; the prayer).

We should not make this (ie; interlacing the fingers when going to

prayer) a big deal as it is not haram (forbidden) to do so. It is better if

we avoid it.

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9. One should be busy with doing dhikr, making du’a and

reading the Qur’an when waiting for the prayer without

interfering those who are praying (in the masjid).

So these are the nine etiquettes/manners that one should follow when

going to the masjid for prayer.