1. Sunan Acts within Salah
Halaqa Session #4
Jun 14, 2007
Fiqh us-Salat
Sunan Acts within Salah
-Sunnah is a proof next to the Quran in all shar'i matters
-it is an obligation on all Muslims to conform to the Sunnah
Scholars of Usul al-Fiqh
-Sunnah refers to the source Shariah and a legal proof next to the Quran
Scholars of Fiqh
-Sunnah primarily refers to a shar'i value which falls under the category of
'mandub'/recommended
-meaning when scholars of fiqh say 'Sunnah' they mean neither fard nor haram
Scholars of hadith
-Sunnah includes all that is narrated from the Prophet: his words, actions, and
silent approvals
-also includes physical descriptions of Prophet and his character
-regardless of whether it may contain a ruling of the Shariah or not
Difference between hadith and Sunnah
-hadith means: narrative, communication of an event
-hadith: narration of the conduct of the Prophet
-SUnnah: the example or law deduced from the hadith
"I do not know of anyone among the ulama to oppose [the doctrine] that the Sunnah of
the Prophet is of three types: first is the Sunnah which prescribes the like of what
Allah has revealed in His Book; next is the SUnnah which explains the general
principles of the Quran and clarifies teh Will of Allah; and last is the Sunnah
where the Messenger of Allah has ruled on matters on which nothing can be found in
the Book of ALlah. The first two varieties are integral to the Quran, but the ulama
have differed as to the third."
Shafi' in his Risalah

2. Topics: Review: Shurut, Arkaan, Waajibaat
Importance of Sunnah in Islam
Sunnah in Islamic Jurisprudence
Sunan of Salah

3. Review

4. Shurut of Salat 1- Islam 2- Sanity 3- Reaching age of Maturity
4- Ritual Purity from Major and Minor Impurities
5- Purity of Body, Clothes and Place
6- Covering of the ‘Aurah
7- Knowledge that time of prayer has begun
8- Facing the Qiblah
9- Intention

5. Arkaan in Salat 1- Standing straight for prayer 2- Opening Takbir
3- Reciting Surah al-Fatihah
4- Bowing (ruku’)
5- Rising from bowing and standing straight
6- Prostration (sujood)
7- Sitting between the two prostrations
8- The final Tashahhud
9- Sitting for the final Tashahhud
10- Saying the salutation
11- Having tranquility during all of these acts
12- Performing the above in the correct order

6. Waajibaat in Salat 1- All other takbeers
2- Saying Subhaana Rabbi al-’Adheem during Ruku’
3- Saying Sami-Allahu liman hamidah when rising from Ruku’ (for both imam and follower)
4- Saying Rabbana wa-lakal hamd after rising from Ruku’
5- Saying Subhaana Rabbi al-’Alaa during Sujood
6-Saying Rabbigh firli between two prostrations
7- Saying the first Tashahhud (in a 3 or 4-unit prayer)
8- Sitting for the first Tashahhud
9- Salutations on the Prophet

7. Sunnah in Islam

8. Importance of Sunnah in Islam
“And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it” (59:7)
“Whoever obeys the Messenger verily obeys Allah” (4:80)
“Whenever Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, it is not for a believing man or woman to follow another course of his or her own choice” (33:36)

9. Sunnah in Islamic Jurisprudence
Scholars of Usul al-fiqh -
Scholars of Fiqh
Scholars of Hadith

10. Sunnah is of three types…
1-prescription of duties as mentioned in the Qur’an
2-clarification of Qur’an and Will of Allah
3-rulings on matters not found in Qur’an

11. Sunan of Salat

12. Sunan of Salat 1- Raising hand for the first takbir
-hands raised to the shoulders, fingertips parallel to the ears, palms open
-other times where hands should be raised:
--before going into ruku’
--after coming up from ruku’
--after rising from first sitting (in a 3/4-unit prayer)
-Hanafi: raise hands only at the first takbir

13. Sunan of Salat 2- Placement of hands during standing
-right hand over left wrist and forearm, or right hand grasping left wrist and forearm
-hands can be placed on the chest, above the naval, or below the naval
3- Position of feet during prayer
-straight, pointing towards the qibla

14. Sunan of Salat
4- Sight
-look towards his/her place of prostration with eyes open
permitted to close eyes if it increases concentration, or if one is distracted by keeping eyes open (ibn Qayyim)
-not permitted to raise eyesight towards the sky/above

15. Sunan of Salat 5- Opening Supplication 6- Saying ‘aoudhu billah…’
-should only be recited in first rakah before…
7- Saying ‘bismillah…’
[rukn: Surah al-Faatihah]
8- pausing after each ayah in Surah al-Faatihah

16. Sunan of Salat 9- Reciting Surah al-Faatihah in congregation
-remain silent when imam is reciting out loud
-recite in the pause between al-fatiha and surah
-if imam does not pause, then recite al-fatiha in the heart while concentrating on the surah
-recite al-fatihah in 3rd and 4th units of prayer individually

17. Sunan of Salat 10- Saying Ameen out loud/silently
11- Quranic recitation after al-Faatihah
12- Making the recitation beautiful, but not innovating tones or trying to sing Qur’an (Muslim)
13- Recitation in first rak’ah longer than recitation in second rak’an (Bukhari, Muslim)

18. Sunan of Salat Ruku (Bowing) 14- Qualities of Ruku
-The Prophet, when he bowed, would be straight, his head neither up nor down (with respect to the hips), and he would place his hands on his knees as if he was holding them" (Nasa'i)

19. Sunan of Salat 15- Dhikr in Ruku
Say Subhana rabbi al-’adheem at least once (this is obligatory)
Sunnah to say it three times
Read any dhikr if you want, as long as it is not Qur’an
16- Rising from Ruku
-[Sami-Allahu liman hamidah] - obligatory
-[Rabbana wa-lakal hamd] - obligatory

20. Sunan of Salat 17- Going into Sajdah
Knees before hands, or hands before knees?
18- Qualities of Sajdah
-fingers together and facing qibla (Bukhari)
-nose, forehead, palms, knees, and toes touching the ground
-palm parallel to shoulders and thumbs parallel to ears
-elbows spread away from body and not touching the floor (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)

21. Sunan of Salat 19- Dhikr in Sujood
Say Subhana rabbi al-’ala at least once (this is obligatory)
Sunnah to say it three times
Read any dhikr if you want, as long as it is not Qur’an

22. Sunan of Salat 20- Sitting between prostrations
-sit on left foot with right foot upright with toes pointing towards the qiblah
-fingers slightly separated and should not go beyond the knees
-The Prophet would lay out his left foot and keep his right foot upright (Bukhari, Muslim)
-say Rabbighfirli at least once (sunnah three times)

23. Sunan of Salat 21- Rising from Sujood into standing position
-Knees before hand, or hands before knees?
22- Second unit of prayer same like first with following exceptions:
-no ‘Opening Supplication’
-preferable not to recite ‘aodhubillah…’ before Surah al-Faatihah

24. Sunan of Salat The Sitting and Tashahhud -important note!
23- Raising and pointing the index finger
Hanafi: raise it when saying ‘La ilaaha’ and drop it when saying ‘ilallah’
Shafi’i: raise index finger upon saying ‘ilallah’
Hanbali: raise index whenever you get to ‘Allah’
Maliki: raises his finger without moving it and continues pointing it until he makes taslim

25. Sunan of Salat 24- Prayers on Prophet
-to be mentioned after last Tashahhud of prayer
-most common du’a:
25- Du’a before salutation (tasleem)
-’O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the torment of the Hell-fire and the grave, from the trials of life and death, and from the trials of the false Messiah’ (Muslim)

26. Sunan of Salat 26- Final salutation (tasleem) -first tasleem: pillar
-second tasleem: sunnah
-most common opinion:
27- Individual dhikr after prayer
-Seek forgiveness 3 times and then say ‘O Allah you are peace and from you is peace. You are filled with good, O Sublime and Honorable One’ (Muslim, Bukhari)

27. Sources 1- Fiqh us-Sunnah: Sayyid Sabiq
2- Prayer of the Prophet by al-Albani
3- Sheikh Salman al-Oudah
4- Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence: Muhammad Hashim Kamali