Saturday 3/12/16
Today we covered the etiquette of walking to the prayer:
It is a matter of vital importance as the prayer is one of the great acts of worship in Islam. One should:
- Walk to the prayer with peace and tranquillity
- This means walking with calmness, not raising your voice, looking around unnecessarily and keeping the gaze lowered
- Come early to the prayer so you can catch the start of the congregation
- For every step, a sin is forgiven and a person is raised by a level, so you should take small steps in order to gain more of this.
- When entering the masjid:
- Which foot should you enter with first? Which foot do you leave with?
- What is the dua for entering / leaving the masjid?
- When you are inside, do not sit down until you have prayed to rak’ahs
- If you come late and enter the masjid during the jamaa’ah – what should you do?
- What should you do if enter during the Athaan of the Friday prayer?
- When waiting for the prayer, one should engage in dhikr and recitation of the Qur’an and avoid frivolous activities.
- Don’t talk about wordly matters when waiting for the prayer, because the angels seek forgiveness for the one who waits for the prayer – don’t waste this reward!
- At what point during the iqaamah should you stand up?
- What should you do if the imam is late?
- Be eager to be in the first row – “if people knew the virtue of the athaan and first row, and had to draw lots, they would do so” [Hadith]
- Avoid gaps in the rows
- Try to be as near to the imam as possible
- The Imam should ensure the rows are straight.
- What does straightening the rows mean?
- How do you prevent any gaps occuring in the rows?
- What should you do if the person next to you does not join his feet with you?
Introduction to the next chapter: The Pillars, obligations and sunnahs of the prayer
- What is a pillar? What is an obligatory act during the prayer and what is Sunnah?
- What happens if you leave one of them off?
- When should you perform the prostration of forgetfulness?