Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Lesson 14: The Branches of Religion (I)

Furu’ al-Deen

Furu’ al-Deen means the branches of religion. These branches are very many: but usually six to ten are taught to the children. They are explained below.

I. Salat (Prayer)

The daily five prayers and other eleven prayers which are detailed elsewhere are all obligatory and should be performed on their occasions in fulfillment of prescribed conditions.

The prayers are obligatory on adults (baligh ). For purpose of fulfilling religious obligations a boy is deemed to be adult on completion of his fifteenth year, and a girl on completion of her ninth year.

The Qur’an has repeatedly enjoined upon every Muslim the offering of prayers (Iqam as-Salat ):

“Verily! I am Allah; there is no god but I, therefore submit to Me and maintain the prayer for My remembrance”. (20:14)

“Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book, and maintain the prayer! Indeed the prayer prevents indecencies and wrongs… and Allah knows what you do”. (29:45)

“O my son! Maintain the prayer and enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and be patient in whatever befalls thee: for this is firmness in the conduct of affairs”. (31 17)

II. Sawm (Fasting)

Fasting is obligatory for every Muslim adult, male or female, for the entire lunar month of Ramadhan every year. The fast lasts from the true dawn till the commencement of night. During the fast one has to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and some other actions.

In this regard the Qur’an says:

“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may exercise self-restraint”. (2:183)

“So every one of you who witnesses this month should fast in it”. (2:185)

Lesson 15: The Branches of Religion (II)

III. Hajj (Pilgrimage)

Every Muslim is enjoined to go to Mecca, once in the life time, for pilgrimage which becomes obligatory when a man has funds enough for his return journey as well as maintenance of his family and is able to fulfill other conditions laid down for Hajj. This is performed on the 9th of the last month of the Islamic (lunar) month Dhi’l Hajj. .

“Proclaim the Hajj among people so that they come to you on foot and on camels of any kind from deep and distant places”. (22:27)

“The Hajj of the House of Allah (Ka'ba) is obligatory on every one who has the means for the journey to it”. (3:97)

IV. Zakat (Wealth Tax)

It is incumbent upon everyone to pay wealth-tax on gold, silver, cattle and agricultural produce, when all conditions are fulfilled. This contribution is termedZakat and should be paid to poor Shia Ithna ‘Asharis having a right to it.

The Quran has commanded the payment of "Zakat " almost as vigorously as the saying of prayers so much so that almost every verse which speaks of saying of prayers speaks of payment of zakat, example:-

“And offer prayers and pay zakat and bow down with those who bow down (in worship)”. (2:43)

V. Khums (One-Fifth Levy or Income Tax)

Setting aside one-fifth of the amount of a year's savings, (after deducting all the lawful expenses from the earnings of that year) is calledKhums . Sadaat (descendants of the Holy Prophet), provided they are Ithna ‘Ashari and poor, will get half of the Khums, while the other half belongs to Imam (A.S.). During the ghaybah of Imam (A.S.), his share must be handed over to the Mujtahid.

The Quranic command for this is as follows:

“And know that out of all wealth that you may acquire, one-fifth of it is for Allah, and for the Messenger and for his kinsmen, and the orphans, the poor and the wayfarer”. (8:41)

Lesson 16: The Branches of Religion (III)

VI. Jihad (The Holy War)

Defense is unquestionably the most important phase of a community’s life. Islam provides for the defense of the Muslim community by imposition of what is called Jihad. It means fighting in the path of Allah in response to the call from the Prophet or the Imam of the age.

“And fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you: but do not transgress because Allah does not love transgressors”. (2:190)

VII. Amr bi’l Ma’ruf

It means enjoining the good. If a person does not fulfill the obligations laid down by Allah, it is obligatory on us to guide him to the right path provided we have a hope that he will follow our guidance.

VIII. Nahy ‘an al-Munkar

It means forbidding the prohibited things or works. We should ask any man who is found to be doing things prohibited by Allah, to refrain from such deeds, provided we have a hope that he will act on our advice.

IX. Tawalla

It means to love the Fourteen Ma’sumeen and keep friends with their followers.

X. Tabarra

It means that we should remain aloof from the enemies of the Fourteen Ma’sumeens.

Ijtihad and Taqlid

In every sphere of life we have to heed to the advice of the experts in that field. Likewise, in the matter of Islamic Laws, we must obey the rulings of the experts of that Law. Those experts are called Mujtahids; and the act of obeying their rulings is calledtaqlid .

Here are some of the conditions which govern our choice of the Mujtahid:

(a) He must bebaligh (i.e. adult), (b)Aaqil (i.e. sane), (c) Man, (d) Alive at the time of beginning the Taqlid, (e) Ithna ‘Ashari, (f)Aadil , (g) Mujtahid, (h)A’lam , (i) Of legitimate birth. (j) Having good memory, (k) Not involved in worldly affairs so as to hinder his scholarly pursuits.

Aadil means a person who does not commit major sins even unintentionally; and if he commits minor sins (not intentionally) he repents at once. Only anaadil person can lead the prayers, can be accepted as a reliable witness and be appointed asqadhi (judge).

A’lam means one who is the most learned of all.

Lesson 17: Useful Explanations Part I & II

Part I

1.Wajib : The religious duties, the performance of which is rewarded and neglect of which is punishable are calledwajib .

2.Mustahab : Such of the rites, the performance of which is rewardable but their omission is not punishable are termed asmustahab orsunnat .

3.Haraam : Deeds, the doing of which is sinful and punishable and abstinence from them rewardable, are termed asharaam .

4.Makruh : Those deeds, abstinence from which is rewarded, but committing them is not sinful, are termed asMakruh .

5.Mubah : Those deeds which are allowed by the Shari’ah, but there is neither reward nor punishment for doing or neglecting them, are calledMubah .Mubah is also termed as "ja’iz ”.

Part II

1.Muslim : One who believes in Allah, His Prophet and the Day of resurrection (Qiyamah ), recites the Kalima and accepts the commands of Allah and His Prophet as true, is called Muslim.

2.Mu’min : That Muslim who believes that Allah is ‘Adil (Just), and the twelve Imams (mentioned in lesson 3) are the only rightful successors of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), and that all of them were appointed by Allah, is calledmu’min (i.e. believer: faithful).

3.Kafir : He who does not believe in God or His Prophet or in Qiyamah is akafir (unbeliever).

4.Mushrik : One who believes that Allah has one or more associates or partners is called amushrik .

5.Munafiq : One who proclaims his belief in Allah and his Prophet and also recites the Kalima but does not have faith in them at heart, and is inimical towards them inwardly, is called aMunafiq .

Lesson 18: Useful Explanations Part III

1.Ghasbi : Anything taken by force from others without their consent; likewise, anything taken from others in normal transaction with an intention of not paying its price.

2.Mubah : legal; lawful; taken with consent of the owner.

3.Hadath : Those impurities (najasah ) which requireniyyah (intention) for cleaning, like those things after whichwudhu orghusl becomes necessary.Hadath is of two kinds: greater and smaller.

4. The greaterHadath : Those things which requireghusl for being clean, likejanabat ,haidh ,nifas ,istihaza andmass al-mayyit .

5. The smallerHadath : Those things which requirewudhu for being clean, like sleep etc.

6.Khabath : Those impurities (najasat ) which do not requireniyyah for cleaning like all thenajasah described in Lesson 19.

Note: The difference betweenhadath andkhabath may be described thus:Khabath is external impurity (najasah ) and therefore there is no need ofniyyah for cleaning it, whilehadath is not an external but a spiritual uncleanliness, and therefore it requires the attention and Intention of spirit to clean it.

Note no 2. To make the above point more clear it is advisable to mention that, for example, when a person goes to the the toilet, he acquires both kinds ofnajasah i.e. thekhabath andhadath - khabath is the externalnajasah which he cleanses without anyniyyah , and thus his body becomestahir . But still, he cannot pray; because the spiritualnajasah i.e.hadath has not been removed. It will be removed when he will performwudhu (withniyyah ) and then he will be qualified spiritually to converse with Allah.

7.Muwalat : To perform any act, e.g.wudhu, withoutinterruption ; to perform all parts of the act one after another without a gap.

8.Tartib : To perform every act in the same order that has been approved in the Shari’ah.

Lesson 19: Najasah

Najasah means the thing which is unclean in itself, and makes other things unclean by contact. There are ten (10)Najasah :

1 and 2. Urine and stool of those living things whose meat is forbidden (haram ), and whose blood comes out with a gush, other than birds. For example the urine of sheep is notnajis , because its meat is notharaam though its blood comes out with a gush. Likewise, the stool of snake is notnajis because its blood does not come out with a gush, though its meat isharaam .

Note: Urine and stool of those animals arenajis which eat refuse of the human beings or have drunk milk of pig.

3 and 4. Blood and semen of those living things whose blood comes out with a gush, whether they behalal orharaam . So all these things of human beings arenajis , and also those of cow arenajis .

5. Dead body of those living things whose blood comes out with a gush. But there are some details: Those parts which have no life in them during life-time, like hair, nail, bone, teeth etc. are notnajis . The corpse of a Muslim isnajis after being cold and before being washed. Before being cold it istahir ; after being washed it istahir . The limbs which are cut from a living body (as in operation) are treated as corpse. (Ivory is taken out from dead elephant; still it is notnajis , because it is a part which has no life in the life-time of the elephant (You may think of other examples yourself).

6. The dog.

7. The pig.

8. Kafir.

9. Liquor (liquid intoxicant).

10. Fuqqa (mild beer).

Note: The sweat that comes out during or after becoming unlawfully'junub' , and the sweat of the animal which eats refuse of human beings are notnajis ; but prayer with such sweat on body or clothes is not allowed.

Lesson 20: Mutahhirat (I)

Mutahhirat i.e., the things which make anajis thing clean. These are 12 in number:

(1) Water; (2) Earth; (3) Sun; (4)Istihala ; (5)Intiqal ; (6) Islam; (7)Taba’iyat : (8)Istibra ;

(9)Ghaybah (disappearance) of a Muslim; (10) Zawal al-‘Ayn ; (11) Inqilab and (12) Flowing of blood in normal quantity from a lawfully slaughtered animal.

1. Water

(a) According to purity or impurity, water is of two kinds:mutlaq i.e., pure water; andmudaf i.e., mixed water. Mixed water cannot make anything clean. Instead, it itself becomes unclean by coming into contact with anything unclean.

(b)Mutlaq is of 5 kinds: (1) Rain water; (2) Running water; (3) Well water; (4) Still water about akur or more than akur ; (5) Still water less than akur .

Water cleanses anajis thing on condition that the water is (1)Mutlaq and (2) Clean (tahir ), and (3) Does not becomemudaf by coming into contact with thatnajasah , and (4) All thenajasah is washed away from thatnajis thing.

Rain water, running water (like sea, river, stream, spring etc.) and well water make things clean if washed once after removing thenajasah . But if anything becomesnajis by urine it must be washed twice. It is better to wash it twice even in othernajasah .

Clothes should be squeezed after every washing as described above.

Still water which is just akur or more than akur , also makes things clean in the same way.

These waters cannot be unclean by mere contact withnajasah . They will be unclean if either their taste, color or smell is changed by that contact.

Kur means water which takes 27 cubic span space (3x3x3). It is better to make it 42 7/8 cubic span (3 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 31/2). 1 span = 9 in.

Still water which is less than akur becomes unclean by just coming into contact with anajasah . To cleanse with clean still water, it is necessary to wash twice after removing thenajasah , and it is better to wash thrice.

The water running from the pipes in the houses is treated as river water so long as it is running.

Pots must be cleansed three times with the water which is less than akur , and once if it is washed inkur or running water.

If a pig licks the pot, then it should be washed seven times whether the water is running orkur or less than that.

The same is the rule if a rat dies in a pot.

If a dog licks the pot, it should be rubbed with wet clean earth thoroughly; then, after washing away the earth, it should be washed twice with the water which is less than akur , or once inkur or running water.

If a pot becomesnajis by liquor, it must be washed three times, whatever the kind of water.

2. Earth

The earth makes clean the sole of the shoe or feet. But there are 4 conditions for it:

1. Thenajasah must have been contacted from walking on the earth;

2. It is removed by walking on the earth;

3. The earth is clean;

4. And dry.

Note: This rule does not apply to the end of the stick or wheels of car or carts, etc.

3. Sun

The sun makes clean those things which cannot be moved like wall, tree, earth etc. If thenajasah is removed, and the place or tree etc. is wet, and then it becomes dry by the direct rays of the sun, it becomes clean. If it dries by hot air combined with the sun's rays, or just by hot air, or by sun's heat without direct rays, it will not be clean.

4. Istihala

It means "change". If anajis thing is changed into a clean thing (chemically), it will become clean. For example, if a dog after death is changed into earth, that earth will be clean.

5. Inqilab

It is similar to theistihala . The difference is that inistihala , the shape and form, all are changed, while ininqilab , only the properties are changed, but the shape is not entirely changed. Its only example: If wine becomes vinegar, it isinqilab . Byinqilab , it will become clean.

Note: If grape-juice is fermented, either by fire or by itself, it isharaam (unlawful) to drink. But if that fermented liquid is boiled on fire and its two-thirds are evaporated… the remaining one-third will become halal .

6. Intiqal

It means to change place. If a mosquito sucks the blood of a man and there is a gap of time, so that the blood is called the blood of mosquito, it will become clean.

7. Islam

AKafir becomes clean after accepting Islam.

Lesson 21: Mutahhirat (II)

In previous lesson we explained sevenmutahhirat . Now the remaining five are explained here:-

8. Taba’iyat:

Taba’iyat means to follow. The following things become clean by it:

1. When akafir becomes Muslim, his minor children become clean automatically.

2. If a well becomesnajis and the water is taken out of it until it becomes clean, then the wall of the well, the bucket and the rope will become clean automatically.

3. While washingnajis things our hands become unclean; but when that thing becomes clean, our hands will become clean automatically.

4. If the wine becomes vinegar and thus becomes clean, the pot in which it was will become clean automatically.

5. Wood-plank or cement stone slabs upon which the body of a dead Muslim is washed, as well as the piece of clothes used to cover his hidden parts, and also the hands of the person washing that body become clean when theghusl al-mayyit is completed.

9. Zawal Najis al-‘ayn (removal of the original impurity)

If there is anynajasah on the body of an animal, it will become clean if that najasah is just removed or rubbed out from his body. Likewise, the inner parts of human body, like mouth and stomach, become clean if the najasah is just removed from them. Eyelids, lips and dentures are not included in this rule.

10. Istibra’

The urine and stool of the animal which eats the refuse of man arenajis ; and the only way of its purification (taharah) isistibra ; i.e. guarding it from above-mentionednajis feed for a certain prescribed period. This period is 40 days for camel; 30 days for cow; 10 days for sheep and goat; 5 or 7 days for duck; 3 days for hen.

If any of these animals is kept away from the refuse of man for the prescribed period its urine and stool become clean (tahir ), provided that, at the end of that period, they are no more called ‘refuse-eating animals.’

11. Ghaybat al-Muslim

If there is a Muslim, who is a strict follower of the shari’ah; and any of his clothes or things becomesnajis ; then he goes out of your sight long enough to enable him to make it clean; then he comes back and you see him using those clothes in prayer, for example, then you must believe that he has cleansed the clothes; otherwise, he would not have used it in prayer. It is called ghaybat al-Muslim , which means the "absence of a Muslim."

12. Flowing of Blood

When a halal animal is slaughtered according to the rules of shari’ah, and its blood flows, out of its body in such a quantity which is normal in that kind of animal, the blood which remains in its body becomestahir (clean).

But that blood which remains in those organs of body which are haraam (like spleen, bladder etc.) must be avoided.

Lesson 22: Rules of the Toilet

The following rules must be observed when going to the toilet:

1. The place where one sits to urinate or to relieve bowels, must be such as to hide one’s private parts from onlookers

2. It is haraam to urinate or relieve bowels in the following places:-

(a) In the property of another person without the permission of the owner;

(b) In a place which iswaqf for a certain group - for a person who is not from that group;

(c) On the grave of a Mu’min and in all places which are sacred in the religion, like a Mosque, Husayniyah, etc.

3. It isharaam to face qibla, or to sit with one’s back to the qibla when urinating or relieving bowels.

4. After urinating, the part of the body concerned must be washed twice (better, thrice) with water.

5. After relieving bowels, the part of the body concerned may be cleansed by water or alternatively with clothes, paper, or clay, provided the clothes, paper or clay itself istahir and dry .It iswajib to use three separate pieces even if the body becomes clean before that. If after using the three pieces, the body is not clean, extra pieces should be used till the body becomes clean.

6. If the stool was mixed by some othernajasah (like blood), or the stool had spread outside the body (more than normal), of if some externalnajasah had reached the part of the body concerned, then the only way of cleaning it is with water. Paper etc. cannot make ittahir .

7. It is better to use water after relieving bowels even when using paper etc. is allowed.

8. It isharaam to use sacred things in cleaning the body after relieving bowels: for example, khak al-shifa or a paper having the names of Allah or Ma’sumeen on it.

9. It is now allowed to use bone or dung in cleaning the body after relieving bowels.

Lesson 23: Wudhu (Ablution)

1. When is it required?

Wudhu is necessary for: (1)Salat , (2)Tawaf wajib , (3) Touching the writings of the Qur’an and the names of Allah and 14 Ma’sumeen, (4)Qadha ofsajdah andtashahhud , (5) To wash a copy of the Qur’an which has becomenajis , and (6) When it becomes obligatory because ofnadhr , ‘ahd orqasam .

2. What is Wudhu?

Wudhu is two washings and twomasah (wiping). It means that washing of the face and two hands and wiping part of the head and feet.

1. Washing of the face. The face should first be washed from the place where the hair normally starts growing to the place below the chin lengthwise, and in breadth as much as is normally covered by the tip of the thumb and that of the middle finger, by taking water and pouring the over the face.

2. Washing of hands. After washing the face as above, wash the right hand from a little above the elbow to the tips of fingers. Then wash the left hand in the same way.

3.Masah (wiping). After washing the face and the hands,masah of the head should be performed by drawing the wet fingers of the right hand from the middle of the head up to the edge of the hair. Finallymasah of the feet should be performed by drawing the wet fingers of the right hand over the upper part of the right foot from the tips of the fingers to its junction with the ankles and then the wet fingers of the left hand over the left foot in the same way.

3. Nawaqid al-Wudhu (things that invalidate Wudhu)

i.e. those things after whichwudhu becomes necessary if anybody wants to perform any ‘ibadat mentioned in No. 1 above. These are called the smallerhadath as explained earlier. These are following: (1) Stool, (2) Urine, (3) Gas which comes out of stomach, (4) Sleep, (5) Unconsciousness, intoxication and all such things which effect the sense of a man, (6) All things mentioned in the greaterhadath , and (7)Istihaza (for women). '

Note 1. If a. man is sure that hiswudhu had been broken by any of the above mentioned occurrences, but he is in doubt whether he performedwudhu after .that or not it will be assumed that he has not donewudhu .

Note 2. If a man is sure that he performedwudhu and is sure that any of the above mentionednawaqid has occurred, but he is not sure which of the two was earlier and which was later, it will be assumed that hiswudhu was broken. He will have to performwudhu for ‘ibadat as mentioned in No.1.

Note 3. There is no need ofwudhu afterGhusl al-Janabat .

Lesson 24: Conditions of Wudhu

There are many conditions forwudhu , which are described here:

1. The water ofWudhu must be (1)Tahir , (2)Mutlaq and (3)Mubah ;

2. The place whereWudhu is being done must bemubah ;

3. The pot in which the water ofwudhu is kept must bemubah and should not be made of silver or gold;

4. There must be time forwudhu and Salat. It means that if time of Salat is so short that if you beginwudhu , the Salat will not be performed in time, then you should not makewudhu ; instead you are required to dotayammum . But if the time needed fortayammum is the same as that ofwudhu , thenwudhu should be done. .

5. The face, hands, head and feet (which are called Organs ofwudhu ) must betahir at the time ofwudhu .

6.Wudhu must be performed with the intention ofqurbatan ilal-Laah , i.e. to obey the order of God, to become nearer to Allah. If you dowudhu to keep cool or with any other intention thewudhu will bebatil (null and void);

7.Tartib should be maintained. It means that you should begin by washing your face, then the right hand from elbow down to the fingers, then the left hand accordingly, then you must domasah of a portion of your head. then themasah of feet. It is better to do themasah of the right foot, then of the left; thoughmasah of both feet may be done together;

8.Muwalat . It means that you must do all the above mentioned works inwudhu without interruption;

9. You must do all the acts ofwudhu yourself. It means that if you tell another person to wash your face and hands etc. or to put water upon your face or hands etc. thewudhu will bebatil (invalid); but if you are unable to dowudhu yourself (for. reason of illness), you may seek help from others inwudhu .

10. There must not be any difficulty or danger in the use of water

11. There must not be anything on the organs ofwudhu which may prevent the water from reaching the organs e.g. ring or oil or nail polish etc.

12. Washing must be done in the proper way. It means that face must be washed beginning from the forehead up to the chin (not in opposite direction), hands must be washed beginning from the elbow and ending up to the tips of fingers (not vice versa).

13.Masah (wiping) must be done from the remaining wetness of the water upon the hands. No other water should be mixed. Remember that if your head or feet are already wet, themasah will bebatil , and accordinglywudhu will be wrong. Therefore, your head and feet must be dry beforemasah .

Some people put some drops of water on head before startingmasah . This is absolutely wrong, because their head or hair becomes wet beforemasah . Likewise, you should remember that while doingmasah of head, your hand should not touch your forehead. Otherwise the water of forehead will mix with the water of hand. In that case themasah of foot will become wrong. Some people, after washing the left hand, wipe their right hand again by the left hand in the manner of washing. It is wrong for two reasons:

1. It disturbs thetartib ;

2. It puts extra water on the left hand, putting the validity of the masah of the left foot in question.

Mustahab acts of wudhu

There are many thingsmustahab (sunnat ) inwudhu , washing the hands twice; gargling three times; rinsing the nose three times, (all these are beforewudhu ). Washing the face and hands duringwudhu twice, etc.

Lesson 25: Prayers

There are 12 kinds of obligatory (wajib) prayers:

(a) Three prayers:

1. Daily prayers of five times (Subh: 2 rakaats; Zuhr: 4rak’at s; Asr: 4rak’at s; Maghrib:3rak’at s; Isha: 4rak’at s). .

2. Friday Prayer (wajib takhyiri in theghaybah of Imam)

3. Prayer ofihtiyat . All of these are related to the daily prayer.

(b) Three prayers connected with a dead person:

4. Salatal-mayyit ;

5,Qadha Prayers of the parents (obligatory for the eldest son} ;

6. If the son does not pray theqadha of the parents himself, he may ask some other person to pray on behalf of the dead person. It is called prayer ofijarah .

(c) Three prayers made obligatory by one's own accord:

7. Prayer ofnadhr ;

8. Prayer ofqasam (oath); and

9. Prayer of ‘ahd (promise to God).

(d) Three other prayers:

10. Prayer of Eidayn (Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha).

N.B. It is not obligatory during theghaybah of the Imam.

11. Prayer afterwajib Tawaf of Ka’ba; and

12. Prayer ofAyaat (for earthquake, eclipse etc.)

Lesson 26: Times of Prayers

1.Subh : Beginning fromsubh al-sadiq , ending at sunrise;

2.Zuhr : Beginning from exact noon, ending when only fourrak’at s time remains to sunset;

3. ‘Asr : Beginning after lapsing of four rak’at s time from noon, ending at sunset;

4.Maghrib : Beginning after sunset when the reddish color at east vanishes, ending when only fourrak’at s time remains to exact mid-night.

5. ‘Isha : Beginning after lapsing of 3rak’at s time from sunset, ending at midnight,

Note 1 If any person did not pray Maghrib and Isha in time owing to some appreciable difficulty, he should pray both prayers before Subh withoutniyyah of 'ada' or 'qadha'

Note 2. Midnight is 12 hours after exact noon. .

Some Details About Time

1. Time of fadhilah (the most excellent time for prayer)

It is better topray in the time offadhilah when the prayers are more greatly rewarded:

(a)Subh : From thesubh al-sadiq up to the time when red color appears on the horizon;

(b)Zuhr : From the noon up to the time when the shadow of a given thing becomes equal to its length.

(c)Asr : After the time offadhilah of Zuhr up to the time when the shadow of a given thing becomes double of its length;

(d)Maghrib : After sunset up to the time when the red color on the western horizon vanishes;

(e) ‘Isha : After the time of fadhilah of Maghrib.

2. Reserved and Joint times

(a)Zuhr : four rak’ats time after noon is the reserved time ofZuhr . If anyone praysAsr in that time, it will bebatil (invalid);

(b)Asr : fourrak’ats time before the sunset is the reserved time ofAsr ; if anyone praysZuhr in that time, it will bebatil , The time between these two reserved times is the joint time ofZuhr and Asr.

(c)Maghrib : threerak’ats time after sunset is reserved for Maghrib. If anyone prays Isha in that time, it will bebatil ;

(d)Isha : four rak’ats time before midnight is reserved for Isha; if anyone prays Maghrib in that time, it will be batil. The time between the two reserved times is joint time of Maghrib and Isha.

Lesson 27: Qibla

1. It is obligatory (wajib) to face towards qibla:

a. While praying;

b.. When slaughtering animals.

c. It is alsowajib to face qibla at the time of death;:

d. To keep the dead body facing qibla at the times of prayingSalat al-mayyit and

e. At the burial.

Note: It is notwajib to keep the dead body facing qibla at the times of giving itghusl ,kafan orhunut . But it ismustahab (ihtiyatan ) to do so.

2. Qibla: Ka’ba is qiibla for those who are in Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Haram is qibla for the whole all world. The whole space above the Ka’ba up to the sky, is the qibla.

3. If anybody does not know the exact direction of qibla, he may ascertain it from the graves of Muslims, or Masjids, or may ask those who know the direction.

4. If a man does not know the direction and there is no way to ascertain qibla, but has a strong feeling that it must be in a certain direction, he should pray facing that direction.

5. If he has no inclination at all, he is required to pray facing anyone side; though it is better to pray four times, facing four directions if there is enough time. If the time is not enough, then he may pray as many times as possible.

6. If he thinks that the qibla must be in either of two directions, he must pray twice, facing both the directions.

7. If a man prays facing a certain-direction, and after the prayer he comes to know that the difference was of 90 degrees or more, i.e. qibla was on his right or left or back side, he will have to repeat the prayer, if the time of that prayer has not lapsed. And it is "ahwat " to recite its qadha if the time of the prayer has lapsed.

8. If, in the above case, he comes to know that the difference was less than 90 degrees on either side, the prayer is not to be repeated.

9. It is unlawful to face qibla, or to keep the qibla on the back-side, when sitting in the toilet.