Islamic Culture and Religious Studies Book -4

Lesson 17 : Some Special Salaat

In addition to the daily waajib Salaat, there are some prayers in Islam that hold special significance. Let us look at these different Salaat and the circumstances regarding them.

1. Salaatul Jama'at

In our previous studies, we have seen that Islam emphasizes participation in Salaatul Jama'at (Congregational Prayers) because it helps to create bonds of brotherhood and unity amongst the Muslims.

The equality brought about by standing together to pray to One God is what Islam is base on. Therefore, to miss congregational prayers without a good reason is Haraam. We have discussed Salaatul Jama'at in detail before, so we will now look at only a few general rules regarding its performance.

i)The Imam leading the Jama'at must be Aadil (Just), Pious and known not to commit any big or small sins.

ii)The Imam can be followed in any of his daily prayers by the ma'moon (followers).

iii)If you do not know whether the Imam is praying wajib or mustahab prayers, you cannot join him.

iv)If you pray behind the Imam and later wish to change to your niyyah to furaada (Individual) you can do so during the salaat only.

v)If a person wished to join the Jamaat in the 3rd or 4th Rakaat but is not sure whether he can recite his surahs of the first rakaat in the time the Imam finishes reciting Tasbihate Arb'ae then he should wait until the Imam goies to ruku and join the salaat from there.

vi)Ma'moon must wait until the Imam finishes reciting his Takbiratul Ehram before they recite theirs. They cannot start while he is in the middle.

vii)It is recommended that the lines in Jama'at be straight and the people shoud stand shoulder to shoulder. Also, a person should not stand alone, as long as there is place in a row.

viii) It is makrooh for the ma'moon to recite dhikr so loudly that the Imam can hear them.

2. Salaatul Jumu'ah

Friday is the greatest day of the week for Muslims. It is the favoured by Allah (S.W.T.) and one of the special acts of ebadat for this day is the praying of Salaatul Jumu'ah. This prayer is preceded by a sermon where the Imam is required to update the Muslim Ummah about issue that concern them.

Apart from moral and religious facts, he should also try to speak of the social and political situations facing the Muslims worldwide. Through these Friday Khutba (Sermons), the Muslims learn about each other and become more aware of Islam.

The Khutba is part and parcel of Salaatul Jumu'ah and maintaining silence during the sermon is Ehtiyate Mustahad. Every Muslim should try and attend the prayer early enough to listen to it but in the event that they miss it, they can still join in the Salaat either in the first or second rakaat.

How to Pray

Salaatul Jumu'ah has 2 rakaats just like Subh. It is mustahab to recite the surahs loudly when praying and especially to recite Sura Jumu'ah after Sura al-Hamd in the first rakaat and Sura Munafiqoon in the secondd rakaat. There are two Qunoots in the prayer - one in the first rakaat before Ruku and the other in the second rakaat after Ruku and before going into Sajdah. Note:

A person who joins in Salaatul Jumu'ah does not have to pray Dhohr but it is Ehtiyate Mustahab for him to do so.

3. Salatul Eidayn

The term Salaatul Eidayn refers to the prayers performed in congregation on the days of the two great Eids in the Islamic Calendar i.e. Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of Ramdhan and Idd-ul-Adha which is celebrated after the completion of Hajj. The prayer consists of two rakaats just as Salaatul Jumu'ah and the main difference between them is that the sermon in the Salaatul Eid is given after the prayer not before.

Some important facts about these prayers are as follows:

i) Salatul Eidayn is waajib only during the presence of the divine Imam (a.s.) and otherwise it becomes mustahab.

ii) It recommended that a person breakfast on dates before going for Eid prayers on Eid-ul-Fitr. On the day of Eid-ul-Adha, it is mustahab for him to eat a portion of the meat he has slaughtered, after finishing the prayers.

How to Pray

Salaatul Eid has two rakaats and can be performed at any time from sunrise to noon on the day of Eid.

• In the first rakaat, after reciting Sura al-Hamd and another sura, the Imam recites 5 takbirs. Each takbir is followed by a Qunoot. After the 5th qunoot, the Imam proceeds with the steps of ruku and sajdah.

• The second rakaat is prayed as the first one except that it has 4 takbirs and Qunoots. The prayer in completed with tashahhud and salaam as usual.

4. Salaatul Ayaat

The universe around us is full of marvels that are signs of the existence of Allah (S.W.T.). The moon, the sun, plants, water, mountains, stars - all are wondrous creations and provide constant amazement for the human intellect.

However, it is also human nature that when a person is exposed to a certain object or process repeatedly then it looses its initial appeal and no longer fascinates him constantly. This is what happens to us in our daily lives. Because we see the sun rise and set every day and the moon shines on us every night, we tend to forget the power and complexity of these celestial bodies and the forces that control them. It all becomes ordinary to us.

In order to remind us of Him and to prevent us from taking things for granted, Allah (S.W.T.) sometimes causes certain event to take place which are out of the ordinary and which remind us that we have no power over the world around us.

When events such as sun eclipses, moon eclipses, earthquakes and other natural phenomena occur, they serve as an alarm bell to mankind and remind people to turn back to the only All-Powerful entity.

At such times, one should turn back to Him in praise and seeking forgiveness. For this reason, we pray Salaatul Ayaat (Prayer of the Signs) after experiencing any such event.

Salaatul Ayaat becomes waajib when one of 4 things happen:

a) Sun eclipse - partial ? b) Moon eclipse - even if it is only a partial eclipse c) Earthquakes - even if it is too mild to invoke fear d) Lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes, red and black cyclones, volcanoes and other natural disasters that bring fear in the hearts of people.

For the first two cases, a person should perform the Salaat between the time the eclipse starts and the time it ends. It is recommended NOT to delay the prayer until the eclipse begins to clear.

In the case of earthquakes, thunderstorms and the like, it is wajib to perform the Salaat as soon as possible since delaying it is haram. In any case, you must perform it with the niyyah of Ada - not Qadha - at whatever time in your life you manage to pray it.

How to Pray

Salaatul Ayaat, like the other special prayers, also has two rakaats. In every rakaat there are 5 ruku's. It should be performed as follows:

• Make niyyah
• Recite Takbiratul Ehram
• Recite Sura al-Hamd and any other surah. Then go into ruku and recite dhikr. Stand up and repeat the above until you perform the 5th ruku. After this complete the rakaat with sajdah and stand up for the second rakaat.
• Perform the second rakaat in the same manner as the first but finish the namaaz with tashahhud and salaam.

Another method of praying Salaatul Ayaat is to replace the recitation of a different second surah with one surah of 5 ayatas divided into ayats. This means that in every Qiyam, you recite one verse of the selected surah after reciting Sura la-Hamd. You thus complete it in the 5 qiyams that you stand for per rakaat - this is especially possible using Sura Ikhlaas, which has 5 verses (including Bismillah).

5. Salaatul Qadha

When a person recompenses for a missed prayer, this Salaat is called Qadha. It means that he did not pray it at the allocated time but is now replacing it after a lapsed period. It may be prayed in the following circumstances:

i) When a person misses his waajib prayers.

ii) When a person realises that he had not performed his salaat properly but the time has lapsed for that particular prayer.