Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (13)

Sunnan of prayer :

Prayer has many Sunnan that the Muslim should eager to follow. Hence, the more he follows such Sunnan, the more reward he gets. Allah does not do injustice to anybody. People could be distinguished by applying such Sunnan. So, two people might join prayer at the same time and might leave it at the same time too. However, there is a big discrepancy between both of them as one of them fulfilled the Sunnan, pillars, and obligatory parts of the prayer while the other one fulfilled only the pillars and obligatory parts of prayer.

Therefore, prayer has many Sunnan, among which are the following:

It is Sunnah to take a sutrah (screen) for both the Imam and the person who is praying alone. The follower of the Imam however does not need it, as the sutrah of the Imam is sufficient for those praying behind the Imam. Abu Dharr t narrated an elevated hadith in which the Prophet r said,

“When one of you stands to offer prayer, he will be screened if he has something in front of him that like the back of a saddle.”^[1]

There are many ahadith that talk about sutrah. The Prophet r used different forms for the sutrah such as a bed, wall, wood, trunk, spear, she-goat, mount, and so on. It is permitted in urban and rural areas and in travel or residence whether the person fears someone might pass in front of him or not. This is because the ahadith did not differentiate between urban or rural areas. In addition, the Prophet r used to take a sutrah when travelling or when resident as was reported in the hadith of Abu Juhaifa.

 It is also Sunnah to be close to the sutra. The distance between the person and the sutra is as like a place where a goat could pass. Sahl as-Sa’idi  narrated, “The distance between the Prophet’s praying place and the wall (i.e. sutra) was like a place where a goat could pass.”^[2] Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud stated that the distance between the Prophet r and sutrah was three arms. ^[3]

It is Sunnah to prevent anyone from passing in front of the worshipper:  Abu Sa’id al-Khudri t reported that Allah’s Messenger r said,

“If any one of you is praying, he should not let anyone pass in front of him. Let him push him away as much as he can, and if he insists then let him fight him, for he is nothing but a devil."^[4]

However, if what passes in front of the worshippers was a woman, black dog, or a donkey, this must be prevented from passing as this would invalidate the prayer according to the hadith of Muslim.

The hadith is narrated by Imam Muslim in his collection of sahih hadith.^[5]  Unlike the three types mentioned here, other things do not invalidate prayer if they pass in front of the worshipper.

Ibn ‘Uthaimeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

“It is possible to say that there should be a difference between that which invalidates the prayer and what does not if it passes in front of the praying person. Hence, that which is known to invalidate the prayer should be prevented from passing in front of the worshipper. Yet, that which does not invalidate prayer can be tolerated as this only decreases the reward of prayer but does not invalidate it completely.”^[6]

The mentioning of women alongside with a black dog (and Allah knows best) has no bearing at all and it does not undermine the woman. Yet, every case has its justification. Namely, the woman might seduce the man and therefore cause him to lose his concentration. For the other two types, it is because of impurity and because a black dog - as is mentioned in a hadith states - is a devil.^[7] There are also other reasons that were mentioned in this regards, and is a kind of wisdom that is perhaps hidden to the worshippers and as slaves, we therefore, have to submit.

4- It is Sunnah to use siwak (tooth-pick) before every prayer: This is the third occasion where we assure the use of siwak. What supports this is the following hadith. Abu Hurairah t narrated that the Prophet r said,

“If I had not found it hard for my followers, I would have ordered them to clean their teeth with the ‘siwak’ before every prayer.”^[8]

While standing for prayer ,

the following Sunnan are to be followed :

Raising one’s hands while making takbirat al-Ihram (i.e. saying Allahu Akbar at the beginning of the prayer) for the following: Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the following hadith, “When the Prophet r stood to pray, he would raise his hands until they were the same height as his shoulders and then he would make the takbir. When he wanted to bow, he would again raise his hands in a similar fashion. When he raised his head from the bowing, he did the same and said, ‘Allah hears him who praises Him’’^[9]  

In his book entitled al-Ifsah, Ibn Hubairah (may Allah have mercy on him) stated,

“Scholars unanimously agreed that raising hands is a Sunnah and not obligatory.”^[10]  This is the first place in which we raise our hands when we make takbir. Scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) in general agreed on this point, but they disagreed over it in other places. There are three places in which the hands are to be raised: when making takbirat al-Ihram, when bowing down, and when standing after bowing down. These are the three places in which hands are to be raised and they proven in the hadith narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) as we have already illustrated. The fourth place is when standing up after making the middle tasleem. This is also supported by the hadith narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) as reported in Al-Bukhari’s collection of sahih hadith.

It is Sunnah to make the fingers stand pointing upward: Abu Hurairah t narrated, “The Prophet r used to make his fingers stand pointing upward when starting his praying.”^[11]

It is Sunnah to raise the hands according to the Sunnah: Texts have proven that there are two ways of raising the hands and both of them are Sunnah. In the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported by Imam Muslim, it is stated that the Prophet r raised his hands up to his shoulders.^[12] In another narration reported by Muslim through Malik Ibn al-Huwarith t, the Prophet r is reported to have raised his hands up to his ears.^[13] Therefore, the person has the choice to do it any of the two ways, but it is better to do it both ways occasionally.

It is Sunnah to put the right hand over the left hand after making takbiarat al-Ihram: Scholars unanimously agree on this as reported by Ibn Hubairah  (may Allah have mercy on them all.) ^[14]

It is Sunnah to hold the left hand with the right hand:  As for the practice of placing the right hand on the top of the left hand, there are two different ways and it is recommended to implement both ways occasionally. The first way is it to place the right hand over the top of the left hand because of the hadith reported by Wael Ibn Hujr t who said, “The Prophet r was seen placing his right hand on the top of his left hand while standing for prayer.”^[15]

The second way is to place the right hand over the left arm which is based on the hadith of Sahl Ibn Sa’d t who narrated, “People were ordered to place their right hands over their left arms while praying.” Thus, the worshipper could place it on his left hand on one occasion and on his left arm on another just to be diverse in applying the Sunnah.

It is Sunnah to start the prayer saying the opening supplication:  This supplication has numerous formulae and it is recommended to vary in using them. Hence, on one occasion the worshipper could use a certain formula and use another formula in a different prayer.  The following are some of the Sunnah supplications:

  « سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ , تَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ , وَلاَ إِلهَ غَيْرُكَ» “Glory be to You, O Allah, and all praises are due unto You, and blessed is Your Name and high is Your Majesty and none is worthy of worship but You.” Narrated by Abu Sa’id t .^[16] Imam Muslim reported that ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab t used to say it loudly in order to teach it to the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all). ^[17]

“Praise be to Allah, a great praise that our Lord blesses.” About its virtues Allah’s Messenger r said,

“I saw 12 angels racing to write the reward of this phrase.”^[18]

Narrated by Abu Hurairah t.

"اللَّهُمَّ بَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ ، اللَّهُمَّ نَقِّنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ ، اللَّهُمَّ اغْسِلْنِي مِنْ خَطَايَايَ بِالثَّلْجِ وَالْمَاءِ وَالْبَرَدِ"

“O Allah, distance me from my sins just as You have distanced the East from the West, O Allah, purify me of my sins as a white robe is purified of dirt, O Allah, cleanse me of my sins with snow, water, and ice.” ^[19]

        اللّهُ أَكْبَرُ كَبِيراً ، وَالْحَمْدُ للّهِ كَثِيراً ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللّهِ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلاً

 “Allah is the Greatest, very great. Praise be to Allah, again and again. Glorified is Allah the Almighty.” Regarding the virtues of this phrase, Allah’s Messenger r said,

 “I was astonished about its benefit! The gates of heavens were opened for it.”^[20]

 Narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). There are also some other supplications that we have already mentioned when discussing the Sunnan of the night prayer.