UNDESIRABLES OF SALAT

UNDESIRABLES OF SALAT

Q.   What acts are undesirable (Makruh) in Salat?

  These are the following:

1. Sadl which means leaving the clothes loose and hanging from the body, such as leaving the two sides of a sheet of cloth hanging from the head or putting the coat etc., on the shoulders without putting the hands into its sleeves;
2. Helping oneself with one’s clothes to keep them from soil or mud;
3. Sporting with one’s body or clothes;
4. Going to offer Salat with shabby clothes on such as one much not like to wear in a social gathering;
5. Putting in one’s mouth some coin, etc., although it does not completely block one’s mouth in recitation; (if, however, the mouth gets blocked, the Salat will not be acceptable at all);
6. Offering Salat without the cap on the head out of sheer carelessness and indolence;
7. Offering Salat while one is feeling an urgent call of nature;
8. Gathering the hair and forming a pig-tail of it on the head;
9. Removing the pebbles from under the feet; (but if one finds it difficult even to lay the forehead on the ground for prostration, they may be removed in one effort);
10. Struggling with one’s fingers or intercrossing the fingers of the two hands;
11. Placing the hand on the back on either side of the body or on the hips;
12. Scanning this side or that with or without turning the face from Qiblah;
13. Sitting like a dog i.e., sitting with thighs upwards and touching the belly, while the knees kiss the chest and the hands rest on the ground;
14. A male worshipper’s placing the two wrists on the ground in prostration;
15. Facing in prayer a person who is sitting with his face turned towards the worshipper;
16. Acknowledging greetings by a nod of the head or the waving of the hand;
17. Sitting with legs crossed without any excuse or compulsion;
18. Deliberate yawing or not controlling the yawn when is in a position to do so;
19. Closing the eyes (but it is permissible if it is for purposes of concentration in prayer);
20. For the head of the prayer to stand under the arch (but there would be nothing wrong if the feet are outside the arch);
21. For the head of prayer alone to stand on a raised (one arm-high) place (but it is permissible if some of the following him in prayer also share that raised platform;
22. Standing alone in a back row although room in the front row is not yet exhausted;
23. Saying prayers wearing clothes that bear the image of some animate object;
24. Offering prayer at a place which has pictures or pictures on one or more sides of it or over the head of the worshipper;
25. Counting on fingers the verses or chapters of the Qur-an or the formula recited during the prayer;
26. Offering prayer with a shawl or piece of cloth wrapped in such a way that the movement of the hands of the worshipper is hampered;
27. Stretching the hands or twisting the body in order to fight indolence in prayer;
28. Laying the forehead and nose in Sijdah on the rolls of the turban;

Doing things against the precept of the Prophet (peace be on him) in the prayer;

EID MUBARAK 1434

INVALIDATORS OF SALAT

INVALIDATORS OF SALAT

Q.   What do we mean by the term invalidators of Salat?

  Invalidators of Salat are things and circumstances which nullify the prayer and render it necessary for the worshippers to revise it.

Q.   Name the invalidators of Salat!

  These are the following:

             i.     Any speech in Salat, whether intentional or unintentional, big or small, nullifies the prayer;

           ii.     Wishing anyone in whatever terms (eg. Saying AS-SALAMU ‘ALAIKUM or other words used for the purpose);

         iii.     Returning another person’s wish, or blessing or responding to one who sneezes (with words lie WA‘LAIKUM-AS-SALAM or WA RAHMATULLAH ), or saying amen in response to the invocation of some one not joining the Salat;

          iv.     Reacting to a bad news by the words like IN-NA LIL-LAHI WA IN-NA ILAIHI RAJI’UN  to a good news by pronouncing ALHAMDU LIL-LAH or on learning an extraordinary news SUBHANAL-LAH;

            v.     Reacting to one’s pain or disease in words or by exclamation like ah, oh, etc.

          vi.     Interpolating in Salat when an error is committed by a person leading another congregation;

        vii.     Reading the Qur-an from the written or printed text;

      viii.     Committing some grave mistake in recitation;

          ix.     Doing too much of some extraneous act (besides the rituals of Salat such as would lead someone to suspect that the person concerned is not offering Salat;

            x.     Eating or drinking, intentional or otherwise;

          xi.     Walking more than two meters;

        xii.     Turning the chest away from Qiblah without any compusion;

      xiii.     Performing Sijdah on an unclean spot;

       xiv.     Remaining with uncovered Satr for as long as one would complete one part of Salat;

         xv.     Asking from Al-lah things in prayer that would properly be asked from human beings, eg., “May Thou O Al-lah, give me one hundred rupees this day.”

       xvi.     Crying in adversity or pain so that words of sorrow or grief become audible to others;

     xvii.     For a major to give a loud laugh or even to laugh audibly;

   xviii.     Forging ahead of the Imam.