Conditions of Prayer

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade sitting on the graves. He also forbade praying while facing the graves if the grave lies in the direction of the Qiblah for the praying person because this is one of the means leading to polytheism.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the ‘Ishā' prayer until part of the night had passed and the women and children, who are likely unable to stay late at night, had gone to sleep. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said: “Come to pray, for the women and children have slept.” The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came out of his home and went to the mosque while his head was dripping with water from the ritual bath and he said: "Had it not been hard for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to perform that prayer at this hour." This indicates that it would have been better to delay ‘Ishā' prayer were it not for the hardship that would result from waiting for such a long time.

It is not permissible for a woman of age and sound intellect to pray without a veil, meaning: with her head and neck bare. If she prays unveiled, her prayer is invalid. Here, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) says: "Allah does not accept" her prayer. This means that the lady's prayer is neither valid nor rewarded. For these restrictions to apply, one must be of age, which, in Islamic terms, has signs: menstruation, emission of semen, growth of pubic hair, or completing fifteen years of age. Menstruation is mentioned in the Hadīth because it is a specific sign of female adulthood. It should be noted, however, that women cannot pray when they have their cycle. Texts of the Sunnah, as well as the scholarly consensus, rule against performing the prayer during menses.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited the one praying in a single garment from leaving his shoulders, i.e., what is between the shoulder and the neck, uncovered without putting anything on them to cover them. This is because although the shoulders are not ‘Awrah (must-cover body parts), yet covering them guarantees better concealment of the ‘Awrah, besides being closer to showing reverence and glorification to Allah Almighty while standing before Him in prayer.

While on a journey, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would not dismount from his riding animal (to pray), rather he used to pray while mounted. This is supported by what Ibn ‘Umar and others narrated; that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray atop his riding animal, regardless of the direction it was facing, during his travels [Al-Bukhāri]. So when he was seated on his riding animal, he would pray in whatever direction he was riding, regardless of whether he was facing the Qiblah or not. When it came to an obligatory prayer – the five daily prayers – he would dismount from his animal and pray on the ground while facing the Qiblah. In the Hadīth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "And he would not do this – performing the prayer on his riding animal – in the obligatory prayers." The obligatory prayers must be performed on the ground, except in case of a Shariah-approved excuse, such as rain or fear of the enemy. In this case, it is not a problem to perform them on one's riding animal; or in case of illness, one prays them on his bed while sitting, especially if one fears the passing of its time. This is supported by proofs that indicate facilitation, alleviation, and removal of blame from this nation, as Allah, the Exalted, says: {Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope} [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 286], and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If I commanded you with something, then you should fulfill it to the best of your ability."

Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey and wanted to offer a voluntary prayer, he would face the Qiblah on his mount while reciting the Takbīr of Ihrām, and then he would pray in whatever direction he was heading to.

All of the earth is a place (suitable) for prayer, except for the place where the dead are buried, and this includes all the area inside the fence of a cemetery; and the place where one bathes with hot water for treatment. An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: "Prayer in the dwelling places of the devil is disliked by unanimous agreement, such as bars, nightclubs, places where excise taxes are levied, and similar places where sins are openly committed, as well as churches, synagogues, restrooms, etc."

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that accountability is binding on all the children of Adam except for these three: A child till he grows up and reaches puberty. An insane and crazy person till his mind is restored. A sleeping person till he wakes up. Accountability has been lifted from them, and their sinful actions are not recorded against them. However, goodness is recorded for a young boy, but not for the insane or sleeping person, because they are in the category of those who are not capable of valid worship due to the loss of consciousness.

One of the Companions went out to Qubā' Mosque in the outskirts of Madīnah, and he found that the people there had not received the news of the abrogation of the prayer direction, and were still praying toward the first Qiblah. So, he informed them that the prayer direction was changed toward the Ka‘bah, and that Qur'anic verses relating to that matter had been revealed to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), alluding to the verse where Allah, the Exalted, says: {We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a Qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do} [Al-Baqarah: 144]. He also informed them that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was then facing the direction of the Ka‘bah. Thanks to their quick and sound understanding, they turned from the direction of Bayt al-Maqdis in Jerusalem – their first Qiblah – to their second Qiblah, which was the honorable Ka‘bah.

When Allah, Blessed and Exalted, enabled His Prophet to conquer Makkah and purify His Sacred House from idols, statues, and images, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) entered the Honorable Ka‘bah, with two of his servants, Bilāl and Usāma, and the Ka‘bah’s caretaker ‘Uthmān ibn Talha (may Allah be pleased with all of them) and closed the door of the Ka‘bah upon themselves, so that the people would not gather in large numbers when the Prophet went in it, in order to see how he worships Allah, thus they would distract him from the very purpose for which he came to this place; that is to communicate privately with his Lord and thank Him for His favors. When they stayed for long, they opened the door. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar was keen to follow the footsteps of the Prophet and adhere to his Sunnah. Therefore, he was the first to enter when the door was opened, and he asked Bilāl if the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed inside the Ka‘bah and the latter replied in the affirmative, adding that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) offered prayer between the two Yemeni Pillars. The honorable Ka‘bah had six pillars at the time. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stood with three of the pillars behind him, two of them on his right side, and one on his left. The wall was three cubits away from him. He offered two Rak‘ahs and made supplication in all four corners of the Ka‘bah.

This Hadīth clarifies the best time to offer the five daily prayers. The Zhuhr prayer: when the sun passes its zenith; this is the beginning of its time. However, if it is too hot in a way that affects the people praying, then it is better to delay the prayer until the temperature is not as severely hot, as proven by other evidence. The ‘Asr prayer: when the sun is still white and clear, when the shadow of everything is equal to it, after the shadow of the zenith. The Maghrib prayer: when the sun sets. The ‘Ishā' prayer: It depends on people. If they attend the congregational prayer at the beginning of its time, when the afterglow disappears, then they should pray. If they do not show up, then they should delay it to the time close to the first half of the night, which is the best time to offer it, as long as there is no hardship involved. As for the Fajr prayer: its time is when light starts to mix with darkness.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) mentions that the female Companions used to cover themselves with their garments and attend the Fajr prayer with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). They would then return to their homes after the prayer at the time when the darkness of the night mixed with the faint light of the morning, and the one looking at them would not recognize them because of the remaining darkness.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that she used to sleep in front of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when he was praying at night. Due to the narrowness of their home, she would stretch her legs between him and his place of prostration. As long as the Prophet stood praying, ‘Ā'ishah would stretch her feet. When he wanted to prostrate, he would prod her to withdraw her feet. If she had been able to see him sitting down to prostrate, she would have withdrawn her feet by herself, and there would have been no need for poking. However, there were no lights at their home at that time, thus she was not able to see the Prophet and save him the trouble of having to prod her.

This Hadīth tells us about the prayer times: First: The time for the Zhuhr prayer starts when the sun passes the highest part of the sky and starts to descend towards the west. That is when we can see the shadow of a straight object increase and fall towards the east, and one's shadow becomes almost equal in length to his height until the time for the ‘Asr prayer comes. Second: The time for the ‘Asr starts from the point when one's shadow is equal to his height in length and lasts until the sun turns yellow. This indicates the preferred time for offering the ‘Asr. However, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever prays one Rak‘ah of the ‘Asr before the sun sets has prayed it in time.'' [Al-Bukhāri and Muslim] Also: "The time for the ‘Asr lasts until the sun sets." A narration of Muslim reads: "...until the sun turns yellow and its first horn has fallen." Third: The time for the Maghrib lasts so long as the dusk has not gone. Dusk is the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon. So if the twilight has partially gone, then the ‘Ishā' time has not yet come. Similarly, if the sun has set partially, then the Maghrib time has not yet come. Fourth: The time for the ‘Ishā' starts when the twilight has completely faded until midnight, which is the preferred time for offering the ‘Ishā'. However, the time of necessity extends until pre-dawn. Fifth: The time for the Fajr starts from pre-dawn (true dawn) and lasts so long as the sun has not yet started to rise. When the sun starts to rise, one must not pray, because it rises between the two horns of the devil. The devil waits for the time when the sun starts to rise and stands up to be facing those who prostrate for the sun. Their prostration for the sun turns into worship of the devil. Hence, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited the Muslims to pray at that time to differentiate between those who worship Allah and those who worship the devil.

This Hadīth clarifies that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would often perform the Maghrib prayer at the beginning of its time period and clarifies that this is a part of the Sunnah. Evidence for this is that they would finish the prayer while there was still light enough for them to see where the arrows that they had shot landed.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs his nation about the final time of the Fajr and the ‘Asr prayers. He stated that whoever catches one Rak‘ah, meaning: he prays one Rak‘ah and raises up from the Rukū‘ in the Fajr prayer before the sun rises, then he has performed the morning prayer in its due time. Similarly, whoever catches one Rak‘ah of the ‘Asr prayer before the sun sets, then he has performed the ‘Asr prayer at its due time, because one Rak‘ah of the prayer has been performed within the prescribed time.

The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) divided the 'Fajr' into two types: 1. The false 'Fajr': It goes up in the sky like a vertical light that resembles the tale of a wolf. The tale of a wolf moves upwards. Then, the false 'Fajr' disappears and the sky becomes dark again. So, this 'Fajr' does not make the Fajr prayer due or render food impermissible in case of a person intending to fast. This is because it is not the real 'Fajr' at which the Fajr prayer becomes due and a fasting person should abstain from food and drink. 2. The true 'Fajr': It is rectangular in shape as it stretches in the horizon from the north to the south. No darkness follows it. Rather, the sky gradually becomes brighter and brighter until light spreads all over the horizon. This is the 'Fajr' at which the prayer becomes due and food and drink become impermissible to a fasting person. The difference in time between the two 'Fajrs' varies, with the time becoming longer and shorter occasionally. And the false 'Fajr' does not appear sometimes. The essential distinction between the two 'Fajrs' lies in the following points: 1. The true 'Fajr' stretches from the north to the south, while the false one does the opposite. 2. The true 'Fajr' is not followed by darkness in the sky, unlike the false 'Fajr'. 3. The light of the true 'Fajr' is connected to the horizon, while that of the false one is disconnected. These three are physical and natural differences. In terms of the Shariah, the false 'Fajr' does not render prayer due or food and drink impermissible to a person intending to fast. The true 'Fajr', on the other hand, indicates that the time of the prayer has come and that it is now impermissible for a fasting Muslim to eat or drink.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was with his companions on a journey on a very dark night, and they were not sure where the direction of the Qiblah was. So all of them prayed in their own direction. When they woke up in the morning and found that they prayed to a direction other than the Qiblah, they mentioned that to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). At this point, Allah, the Almighty, revealed this verse to him: {And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah.} [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 115]

In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies that the direction between the east and west is a Qiblah for the performers of prayer. This statement was addressed to the inhabitants of Madīnah and those who lie in the same direction. As Madīnah lies to the north of the Ka‘bah, its people and those who live parallel to them in the Levant, as well as those who are based in the northern direction, face the Qiblah between the east and the west, i.e. they turn southwards, where the Ka‘bah is situated. On the other hand, the people of Yemen, and other parallel places to the south, face the Qiblah northwards, between the east and the west. As for the people living in the east or the west, their Qiblah lies between the north and the south. There are four fundamental directions: north, south, east, and west. If a praying person is in a place to the east or west of the Ka‘bah, his Qiblah lies between the north and the south. Likewise, if he is based to the north or south of the Ka‘bah, his Qiblah exists between the east and the west. This is how Allah, the Almighty, makes things easy for His slaves. If He had enjoined them to face the exact place of the Ka‘bah, no one would have been able to offer a valid prayer. Indeed, if a person, who is distant from the Ka‘bah and cannot see it, swerves a little bit from its direction, his prayer remains valid, unless he gives his back to the Ka‘bah or keeps it to the side, in which case his prayer would be invalid, for he is not facing the Qiblah.

One day, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) led his Companions in prayer, then he suddenly removed his sandals and placed them on his left. When the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) saw this, they removed their sandals, following the example of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When he finished his prayer and turned towards them, he saw them in a state that they had not been in when they began the prayer. So, he asked them about the reason why they removed their sandals. They responded with their statement: "We saw you throw off your sandals, so we threw off ours," i.e. following your attitude. They did this because they thought that the permissibility of praying in sandals had been abrogated. So, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) explained to them why he removed his sandals as he said: "Jibrīl (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came to me and told me that they had some filth on them (or he said 'dirt')," meaning that Jibrīl (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while he was praying and informed him that his sandals were not suitable to pray in because there was filth or dirt on them (the sub-narrator was uncertain which of the two words was used). Then, he said: "When anyone of you comes to the mosque, he should look (at his sandals). If he sees any filth or dirt on his sandals he should wipe it off and pray in them." Meaning that when a person wants to enter the mosque and pray while wearing his sandals, he must check them first. If he sees any filth or dirt on them he must wipe it off by means of rubbing them against the ground or anything else in order to remove it, and then he can pray in them. The Hadīth, however, does not mean that a person must pray in his sandals, rather, he may or may not pray in them. But if he wishes to pray in them, he must be sure of their cleanliness, and then he can pray in them if he likes. Whoever is praying and does not notice an impurity, whether on his sandals, head covering, hat or clothes, and then realizes it later while he is praying, he must quickly remove the soiled item. If filth is on his garment or pants and he is able to remove them without exposing his ‘Awrah, he should remove them. Then, he should continue with his prayer without having to repeat it. If he is unable to remove the soiled item except by having his ‘Awrah exposed, he must leave the prayer, (remove the dirt), cover his ‘Awrah, and repeat the prayer.

If the food is served at the same time that the prayer is about to be performed, then start eating the food before you pray, even if the time for the prayer is a short time, such as that of the Maghrib prayer. The reason is to keep the mind focused on the prayer during the prayer, and not be preoccupied by the food. Abu Ad-Dardā said: "From the signs of a sound mind is to finalize your needs so that the mind is free to focus during the prayer. Al-Bukhāri narrated this Hadīth in a suspended narration.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on the Day of the battle of the Trench after the sun had set, and he was cursing the disbelievers of Quraysh, because they had distracted him from offering the ‘Asr prayer, and he could not pray it until after the sun had set. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swore by Allah, and he is the truthful, that he too had not yet prayed it, in order to calm ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) because it was hard for him. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got up and performed ablution, and the Companions did so too, and then he offered the ‘Asr prayer after the sun had set, followed by the Maghrib prayer.

In this Hadīth, Abu Barzah (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the times of the obligatory prayers. He first related that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer the Zhuhr prayer when the sun began to move from the middle of the sky toward the west. This is the earliest time of the Zhuhr prayer. Then, he would offer the ‘Asr prayer, and after that some worshipers could go to their houses at the farthest place in Madīnah while the sun was still hot. This is the earliest time of the ‘Asr prayer. As for the Maghrib prayer, the narrator forgot what had been said about it. However, it has been established by reports and consensus that its time begins with sunset. The Hadīth also states that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) liked to delay offering the ‘Ishā' prayer, because the best time to offer it is the latter part of its preferred time. He disliked to sleep before offering ‘Ishā' prayer lest he might delay it beyond its preferred time or miss offering it in congregation. He also feared oversleeping and thus missing Qiyām al-Layl. He disliked having a conversation after offering the ‘Ishā' prayer lest it keeps him from offering the Fajr prayer on time or in congregation. After the Fajr prayer, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would leave at a time when a man could recognize the one sitting next to him, even though he would recite 60 to 100 verses in the prayer; an indication that he used to offer the prayer while it was still dark.

Jibrīl (peace be upon him) used to descend with revelation upon the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He used to come in different forms and guises. In this Hadīth, he descended and led him in the five daily prayers in order to show him their designated time. The story wherein the Hadīth was reported reads as follows: ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz delayed the ‘Asr prayer a bit after its time. ‘Urwah showed his disapproval of such delay. He told him that Jibrīl came down and led the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in prayer. ‘Umar was surprised to hear that and instructed ‘Urwah to think carefully of what he was saying and to make sure not to say anything without proof. ‘Urwah told him that he heard Bashīr ibn Abi Mas‘ūd, who heard Abu Mas‘ūd al-Badri, who heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say that Jibrīl came down and led him in prayer in every single prayer of the five daily prayers. He added that he heard this Hadīth and thus learned how to pray, as well as the prayer's designated times, as well as its essential elements.

In this Hadīth, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out the best time for performing the ‘Ishā' Prayer, which is the last part of the first third of the night. However, he did not perform it constantly at this time out of mercy towards his Ummah and fearing that he would thus make things too difficult for them.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that we should perform the Fajr prayer after the break of dawn, explaining that this is greater in reward, given the certainty that the time of the Fajr prayer has come.

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) went with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on one of his journeys. One night he wanted something from the Prophet so he went to tell him about it and found him praying. Jābir was wearing only one item of clothing, so he wrapped himself with it and placed it ends on his shoulders, and prayed next to the Prophet. When the Prophet finished praying, he inquired about the reason Jābir was out at this late hour. Jābir told him what he came for, and when he was done, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) expressed his disapproval of his wrapping himself with his garment because it was tight, and gave him the following order: if the garment is wide then he should wrap his upper and lower body with it, placing it upon his shoulders with the left end on the right shoulder and vice versa, such that it would be an over garment (Ridā) as well as a waist sheet (Izār), covering his entire body. This is more efficient in covering the ‘Awrah and better looking. If the garment is tight and cannot serve as both an over garment and a waist sheet, then he should wear it as a waist sheet only by tightening it around his waist, thereby covering the lower half of his body.

It is required from the praying person to be in the best appearance while praying, as Allah, the Almighty, has mentioned in the Qur'an: {O children of Adam, take your adornments in every mosque}. Since meeting the kings, nobles, and honorable people necessitates being in the best appearance, so how about meeting Allah who is the King of Kings and Master of Masters?! For this reason the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged the praying person not to pray with his shoulders exposed, while having something to cover them, or one of them. He prohibited praying in this state, while standing in front of Allah invoking Him.