NAMAZ

Obligatory daily Namaz

It is obligatory to perform the following five prayers during day and night:

• Dawn prayers (Fajr) - 2 Rak'ats.
• Midday (Zuhr) and Afternoon prayers ('Asr) - each one consisting of 4 Rak'ats.
• Dusk prayers (Maghrib) - 3 Rak'ats and Night prayers ('Isha) - 4 Rak'ats.

Namaz-e-Jumuah

Friday prayers consists of 2 Rak'ats like Fajr prayers. The difference between these two prayers is that Namaz-e-Jumuah has two sermons before it. Namaz-e-Jumuah is Wajib Takhyiri, which means that we have an option to offer Jumuah prayers, if its necessary conditions are fulfilled, or to offer Zuhr prayers. Hence, if Namaz-e-Jumuah is offered then it is not necessary to offer Zuhr prayer.

The following conditions must be fulfilled for Jumuah prayers to become obligatory:

• The time for Jumuah prayers should have set in. And that means that the midday time should have begun to decline. The time for Namaz-e-Jumuah is the earliest part of Zuhr. If it is very much delayed, then Namaz-e-Jumuah time will be over, and Zuhr Namaz will have to be prayed.
• The number of persons joining Namaz-e-Jumuah should be at least five, including the Imam. If there are less than five people, Namaz-e-Jumuah would not become obligatory.
• The Imam should fulfil the necessary conditions for leading the prayers. These conditions include righteousness ('Adalat) and other qualities which are required of an Imam and which will be mentioned in connection with the congregational prayers. In absence of an Imam qualifying to lead, Namaz-e-Jumuah will not be obligatory.

The following conditions should be fulfilled for the Namaz-e-Jumuah to be correct:

• The prayers should be offered in congregation. Hence, Namaz-e-Jumuah cannot be prayed alone. If a person joins Namaz-e-Jumuah before the Ruku of the second Rak'at his prayers will be valid and he will have to add another Rak'at to complete it. But, if he joins the Imam in the Ruku of the second Rak'at then the prayers may not suffice, and as a measure of precaution Zuhr Namaz should be prayed.
• Two sermons should be delivered before the prayers. In the first sermon the preacher should praise Allah and exhort the people to observe piety, and then he should also recite a short chapter (Surah) from the holy Qur'an. Thereafter he should sit down for a while and then stand up again. This time also he should praise Allah and invoke peace and blessings upon the holy Prophet and the holy Imams and, as a recommended precaution, seek forgiveness for the believers. It is necessary that the two sermons should precede the Namaz.
  It will not be correct to offer the prayers before the two sermons. And, it is not permissible to deliver the sermons before Zuhr time has set in. It is also necessary that the preacher should be standing while delivering the sermons. Hence, if he delivers sermons while sitting, it will not be in order. It is also necessary and obligatory that there should be a break between the two sermons by way of sitting down during the interval for a while. It is also necessary that the preacher who delivers the sermons should also lead the prayers.
  Taharat may not be a condition for delivering the sermons, but as a precaution, it should be maintained. As far as the glory of Allah, invocation of prayers and mercy upon the Prophet and the Imams are concerned, it must be rendered in Arabic, but the rest of it need not be in Arabic. In fact, if the majority in the audience are non-Arabs, then as an obligatory precaution, words of admonition and exhorting people to be pious and virtuous should be delivered in their language.
• The distance between the two places where Namaze-Jumuah are offered should not be less than one Farsakh (3 miles). Hence if the distance between the two places is lesser and both the prayers commence at one and the same time both will be void. And if one of those prayers precedes the other (even to the extent of Takbiratul-ehram i.e. the first Takbir) the one which precedes will be in order and the other will be void.
  If, it transpires after the Namaz-e-Jumuah is over that another Namaz-e-Jumuah had commenced earlier or simultaneously at a distance of less than farsakh, it will not be obligatory to offer Zuhr prayers. It is immaterial whether this information is received within the time or later. Moreover, a Namaz-e-Jumuah can stop another from being held within the stipulated distance only if it is itself valid, comprising of all conditions, otherwise it cannot have any prohibitive effect.

Rules regarding Namaz times

A person can start offering prayers only when be becomes certain that the time has set in or when two just (Adil) persons inform that the time has set in. In fact, one can rely upon the Adhan, or on advice of a person who knows the timings and is reliable.

If a person cannot be certain about the Prime time for prayers due to a personal handicap like blindness or being in the prison cell, he should delay the prayer till such time when he feels sure that the time has set in. And as an obligatory precaution, he should act the same way when there are general hindrances like dust or clouds.

If a person is satisfied on the basis of any one of the above methods that the time for prayers has set in and he begins offering prayers, but then realises during the prayers that the time has not yet set in, his prayer is void. And the position is the same if he realises after the prayers that he has offered the entire prayers before time. However, if one learns as he prays that the time has just entered or if he learns after the prayers that the time entered while he was in the process of praying, his Namaz will be valid.

Rules of Qibla

Our Qibla is the holy Ka'bah, which is situated in Makkah, and one should offer one's prayers facing it. However, a person who is far, would stand in such a manner that people would say that he is praying facing the Qibla, and that would suffice. This also applies to other acts which should be performed facing the Qibla like, while slaughtering an animal etc.

A person offering obligatory prayers while standing should have his chest and stomach facing the Qibla, and his face should not digress from Qibla, and the recommended precaution is that the toes of his feet should also be facing Qibla.

If a person offers prayers while sitting, it is necessary that his face, chest and stomach face the Qibla.

If a person cannot offer prayers in the sitting posture, he should lie on the right hand side in such a manner that the front part of the body would face the Qibla. And if that is not possible, he should lie on the left hand side in such a manner that the front part of his body would face the Qibla. And if even that is not possible, he should lie on his back in such a manner, that the sole of his feet face the Qibla.

788. Namaz-e-Ihtiyat, and forgotten Sajdah, and forgotten tashahhud should all be offered facing the Qibla, and on the basis of recommended precaution, Sajda-e-Sahv should also be offered facing the Qibla.

Ruku (bowing)

In every Rak'at, a person offering prayers should, after reciting the Surahs (Qira'at), bow to an extent that he is able to rest his finger tips on his knees. This act is called Ruku.

If the person performs Ruku in an unusual manner, like, if he bends towards left or right, his Ruku is not correct even if his hands reach his knees.

Bending should be with the niyyat of Ruku. If a person bends for some other purpose (e.g. to kill an insect), he cannot reckon it as Ruku. He will have to stand up and bend again for Ruku, and in so doing, he will not have added any Rukn, nor will his prayers be void.

Qir'at (reciting the Surah Al-Hamd and other Surah of Holy Qur'an)

In the the daily obligatory prayers, one should recite Surah al-Hamd in the first and second Rak'ats, and thereafter one should, on the basis of precaution, recite one complete Surah. The Surah az Zuha and Surah Inshirah are treated as one Surah in namaz, and so are the Surah al-Fil and Quraysh.

If the time left for namaz is little, or if a person has to helplessly abandon the Surah because of fear that a thief, a beast, or anything else, may do him harm, or if he has an important work, he should not recite the other Surah. In fact, there are situations when he should avoid it, like when the namaz time at his disposal is limited, or when in fear.

If a person intentionally recites Surah before Hamd, his prayer is void, and if he does it by mistake, and realises this while reciting it, he should abandon the Surah and recite Hamd first, and then the Surah.

If a person forgets to recite Hamd and Surah, or either of them and realises after reaching the Ruku, his prayers are in order.

Niyyat

A person should offer prayers with the intention of Qurbat, that is, complying with the orders of the Almighty Allah. It is not, however, necessary that he should make the niyyat pass through his mind, or should, for example, utter: "I am offering four Rak'ats of Zuhr prayers Qurbatan ila-llah."

If a person stands for Zuhr prayers or for Asr prayers, with niyyat to offer four Raka'ts without specifying whether it is Zuhr or Asr prayers, his prayers are void. Similarly, if he wants to offer a Qadha Zuhr prayers at the time of Zuhr, he should specify whether he is offering the Zuhr prayers of the day, or the Qadha.