The Acts of the Prayer

The prayer is made up of eleven divisions. Some of these divisions are called the basic elements, the intentional or unintentional add or delete of which leads to the abolishment of the prayer. And some of these divisions are called the parts, only the intentional add or delete of which leads to the abolishment of the prayer.

The Basic Elements

The basic elements of the prayer are:¹
1- The intention
2- Saying, “God is Great” in starting the prayer
3- Standing straight while saying, “God is Great” in starting the prayer and while standing before bowing
4- Bowing
5- Prostrating (the two prostrations with each other)

The Parts

The parts of the prayer are:²

1- The recitation
2- The extolment
3- Bearing the two witnesses: “There is no god but God and Mohammad is God’s Messenger” after the second bow
4- The bestowal of peace at the end of the prayer

The Duties of the Prayer in Details

Intention

It is meant by this to intend to perform the deed. It is not conditional to utter it or to think about it. What must be considered in it is getting close to The Most High God and specifying the sort of the prayer to be performed.³

Saying “God Is Great” in Starting the Prayer

God Is Great [Allahu Akbar] must be said while standing straight⁴. It is not permissible to join to it something before it; it must be uttered alone. ⁵

When saying, “God is Great”, it is desirable to raise the two hands to the ears or near the face, thus starting with “God is Great” with the start of the raising of the hands and ending “God is Great” with the end of the raising of the hands.⁶

Standing Straight

It is dutiful to be straight, as much as possible and according to the state of the performer of the prayer, while standing.⁷ In case the performer of the prayer is unable to stand in any form even by leaning to something, then he must perform the prayer according to the following order:

A- In case he is unable to stand, he must perform the prayer while sitting, and then he must bow on his knees and prostrate normally.
B- In case he is unable to sit, he must perform the prayer while sleeping to the right side.
C- In case he is unable to sleep to his right side, he must perform the prayer while sleeping to his left side.
D- In case he is unable to sleep to the left side, then he must perform the prayer while laying on his back like the dying person, thus using his head or eyes to signal for his bowing and prostration.⁸

The Recitation

- In the first and second bows, it is dutiful to recite Al-Fatihah [The Opening] Chapter and then any complete chapter he wishes⁹. During the morning, sunset, and evening prayers, it is dutiful on the man only to raise his voice while reciting; on the other hand, the woman is given the choice to raise or lower her voice while reciting.¹⁰ During the noon and the afternoon prayers, it is dutiful on both the man and the woman to lower their voice while reciting.¹¹

- It is not permissible to recite the Azaem chapters during the prayer i.e. Al-Alaq, Al-Najem, Al-Sajda, and Fossilat.¹²

- Al-Feel [The Elephant] and Qouraish chapters are considered to be one chapter in the prayer, so reciting one of them does not settle for the prayer. Likewise is the case with Al-Doha [The Forenoon] and Al-Inshirah [The Opening Forth] chapters.¹³

The Extolment

The extolment comes in three contexts:

1- The first one is the extolment which takes the place of the recitation in the third and fourth bows. Its form is “Subhanal Lah Wal Hamdu Lillah Wa La Ilaha Illal Lah Wal Lahou Akbar” once, and it is a desirable cautiousness to say it thrice.¹⁴ It can be replaced with the recitation of Al-Hamid [The Praise/ The Opening] chapter without any chapter after it.¹⁵

- In case the performer of the prayer ignorantly or forgetfully lowers his voice in the position where he must raise his voice or raises his voice in the position where he must lower it, his prayer is considered to be correct. Still, he has to abide by this rule once he adverts to it.¹⁶

2- The second one is the extolment mentioned during bowing¹⁷. In the extolment, the religiously responsible person is given the alternative to choose between:
- Saying, “Subhana Rabbyal Atheem Wa Bihamdeh” [Glorified and Praised be my God The Most Great] once
- And saying any extolment like: “Subhanal Lah” [Glorified be God] thrice

3- The third extolment is the one dutiful during the prostration. Here also is the religiously responsible person given the alternative to choose between:
- Saying, “Subhana Rabbyal Aala Wa Bihamdeh” [Glorified and Praised be my God The Most High] once
- And saying any extolment like: “Subhanal Lah” thrice

Bowing

The how of bowing is that the performer of the prayer must bend in a way that the palms of his hands reach his knees.¹⁸ It is dutiful to extol God during it as we mentioned above¹⁹, and it is conditional that one be stable during the extolment.²⁰

Prostrating

The how of prostration is that the performer of the prayer must put on the earth his seven organs of prostration i.e. his forehead, his two palms, his two knees, and the tips of the forefingers of the two feet.

As is the case during the bowing, the extolment and stability are also two conditions here.²¹ And the seven organs must be in their positions during the extolment: In case the performer of the prayer wants to move his hand, for instance, he must stop talking at first, move his hand, bring it back to the earth, and then continue the extolment.²²

Bearing Witness

It is dutiful to say while bearing witness, “I witness that there is no god but God, He is One with no partner. And I witness that Mohammad is His servant and prophet. O my God! Bestow your prayers upon Mohammad and his Household!”

* When Must One Bear Witness

When one sits stably²³, he must bear witness in the following form:²⁴
- First: In the prayer which is made up of two bows, one must bear witness once in the second bow.
- Second: In the prayer which is made up of three bows, one must bear witness twice, one in the second bow and the other one in the third bow.
- Third: In the prayer which is made up of four bows, one must bear witness twice, one in the second bow and the other one in the fourth bow.

Bestowing Peace

One must bestow peace while sitting stably in the last bow after having born witness.²⁵ Bestowing peace may be in one of the following two forms:

- First: “Peace be upon you” [Assalamou Alaykom], and it is desirable to add, “God’s Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you.”²⁶
- Second: “Peace be upon us and upon God’s righteous servants.” It is preferred that bestowing peace takes the following form: “God’s Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you, O Prophet! Peace be upon us and upon God’s righteous servants! God’s Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you.”

The Conditions of the Acts

1- Succession: Succession must be considered, so that the form of the prayer will not break up, whether between the acts such as the long interval between Al-Fatihah and the chapter after it, or within the acts themselves such as the long intervals between the verses of Al-Fatihah chapter.²⁷
2- Arrangement of the Acts

The Desirable Acts

The Supplication
It is desirable in the second bow before bowing.²⁸ And it may include any extolment of God and supplication; there is no special saying which is conditional.

Following Up the Prayer with Extolment
It is desirable to follow up the prayer with extolment even if it is a supererogatory prayer; still, the desirability of this after the dutiful prayer is sure. It is meant here to occupy oneself with supplication, glorification of God, recitation of The Noble Qur’an, and the like. The time of this is immediately after having done with the prayer.²⁹

It is preferred to read the following up extolments related to the Household (God’s peace bestowed upon them), especially the glorification of the Pure Honest Sayyda Fatima Al-Zahraa (God’s peace bestowed upon her) which is as follows:

First: Allahu Akbar [God is Great] thirty four times
Second: AlHamdu Lillah [Praise be to God] thirty three times
Third: Subhanal Lah [Glorified be God] thirty three times

1- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 156
2- Tahreer Al-Waseela / Part One/ Page 156
3- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 156/ Question 1
4- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 161
5- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 161/ Question 1
6- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 62/ Question 4
7- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 62/ Question 2
8- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 16/ Part One/ Page3/ Question 5
9- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 164/ Question 1
10- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at [The Answers to the Consultations] / Part One/ Page 134/ Questions 460
and 470
11- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 134/ Question 460
12- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 165/ Question 4
13- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 165/ Question 4
14- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 168/ Question 17
15- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 137/ Question 469
16- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at [The Answers to the Consultations]/ Part One/ Page 134/ Question 458
17- Ajweebat Al-Istifta’at/ Part One/ Page 140/ Question 479- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means]
/ Part One/ Page 171/ Question 7
18- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 170/ Question 1
19- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 171/ Question 8
20- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 171/ Question 8
21- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 172/ Question 1
22- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 172/ Question 1
23- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 180/ Question 2
24- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 180/ Question 1
25- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 180/ Question 2
26- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 181/ Question 1
27- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 182/ Question 1
28- Tahreer Al-Waseela [Editing the Means] / Part One/ Page 183/ Question 1
29- Tahreer Al-Waseela/ Part One/ Page 184/ Question 1