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List of Contents 

Some virtues of Salah 5 

Prayer of The Prophet 6 

Conditions 6 

Saying Takbeer 7 

- Raising the hands 7 

- Putting right over left 8 

- Reciting Dua of Istiftah 9 

- Benefits of Having Varieties 10 

- Seeking refuge in Allah 10 

- Reciting Al Fatihah 11 

- Reconciling between different ahadith 11 

- For those who pray behind Imam 12 

- How we recite the Surah 13 

- Saying Amin & 2 silences in Salah 13 

- Reciting Another Surah 14 

- Saying A Verse Out Loudly 14 

- The duration of prayer 15 

- What Rasulullah usually read 16 

- Fajr 16 

- Dhuhr & ‘Asr 17 

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- Maghrib & Isha 18 

- Jum’ah prayer 19 

- Sunnah on reading a Surah 19 

Rukoo’ 21   

Tuma’ninah & the bare minimum 22 

Coming back up from Rukoo 22 

- What ma’mum read 23 

Sujood 24 

- 7 Pillars of Sujood 25 

- Not Imitating Animals 25 

- What to read in Sujood 26 

- How we make Dua 26 

Coming back & Sitting in between 2 sujood 27 

- What to say in between 2 sujood 28 

Coming back up from second sujood 29 

Do we sit to take rest? 29 

Differences between First & Second Rakaah 30 

First Tashahhud 30 

Coming back from the first Tashahhud 32 

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The Final Tashahhud 33 

Places to make dua in Salah 35 

Make dua after salah 35 

Salaam 35 

8 Waajibat of Salah 36 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 بسم اهللا والحمد هللا والصالة والسالم على رسول اهللا وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى یوم الدین. 

Some Virtues of Salah - It was narrated that Thawban said: "The Messenger of Allah said:

'Adhere to righteousness even though you will not be able to do all acts

of virtue. Know that the best of your deeds is Salat (prayer) and that

no one maintains his ablution except a believer.'" (Sunan Ibn Majah)

- Rabi'a bin Ka'b said: I was with Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) one night.

and I brought him water and what he required. He said to me: Ask

(anything you like). I said: I ask your company in Paradise. He (the

Holy Prophet) said: Or anything else besides it. I said: That is all (what

I require). He said: Then help me to achieve this for you by devoting

yourself often to prostration.

- Thauban (May Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard Messenger of

Allah (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) saying, "Perform Salah more often. For every prostration

that you perform before Allah will raise your position one degree and

will remit one of your sins

So

- Narrated Jabir: that the Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: "Between disbelief and

faith is abandoning the Salat."

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What makes us different with the disbelievers is salah, so leaving it

would make us like the disbelievers.

The Prayer of the Prophet Narrated Abu Huraira: A man entered the mosque and started praying

while Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) was sitting somewhere in the mosque.

Then (after finishing the prayer) the man came to the Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص)

and greeted him. The Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said to him, "Go back and pray,

for you have not prayed. The man went back, and having prayed, he

came and greeted the Prophet. The Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) after returning his

greetings said, "Go back and pray, for you did not pray." On the third

time the man said, "(O Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص)!) teach me (how to

pray)." The Prophet said, "When you get up for the prayer, perform

the ablution properly and then face the Qibla and say Takbir (Allahu

Akbar), and then recite of what you know of the Qur'an, and then bow,

and remain in this state till you feel at rest in bowing, and then raise

your head and stand straight; and then prostrate till you feel at rest in

prostration, and then sit up till you feel at rest while sitting; and then

prostrate again till you feel at rest in prostration; and then get up and

stand straight, and do all this in all your prayers."

Conditions 

Having wudhoo and facing the qibla is from the conditions of the

Salah. Condition means something that has to be there but it’s outside

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of the ibadah. Pillar is something that has to be done inside the

ibadah.

Saying Takbeer (Allahu Akbar) 

- Saying takbeer is a pillar of salah

- Ali ibn Abi Thalib narrated that The Messenger said, “The keys to a

salah his ablution and its tahrim (what makes something halal become

haram) is takbeer and its tahlil (what makes something haram become

halal) is salaam.”

Meaning: after we do takbeer, those which are halal for us before like

eating and talking become haram because we’re praying. And after

saying salaam, those which are impermissible to do during salah

become halal again, like talking, drinking, etc.

- Common mistake: when someone is late and Imam in in rukoo’, he

rushes to do rukoo’ without saying takbeeratul ihram, he misses out a

pillar of Salah so he actually haven’t start the prayer.

- The Messenger didn’t say anything before takbeer and never uttered

the intention “nawaitu…..” because its place is in the heart. It’s

commonly attributed to Imam Shafi’i but the fact is he didn't say it.

Raising the hands - The Messenger would raise his hand while uttering the takbeer until

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it is parallel to his shoulders or earlobes and squeeze the fingers

together, no space between them. We can actually combine 2 ways by

making a part of it parallel to the shoulder and the top part parallel to

the earlobes (benefits from Shaykh Muhammad Mukhtar

Ash-Shinqiti). - Three places we raise our hands: takbeeratul ihram, going down

from rukoo’, come back up from the rukoo’ and when coming back up

after the first tashahud.

- As Suyuthi said: Raising the hands has been authentically reported

from 50 of the Companions that Rasulullah used to do it.

Putting right over left - Put your right hand on top of your left hand, this is a sunnah that

has been unanimously agreed upon. Where do we put them? Ibnul

Qayyim didn’t mention it although we’re going through every detail of

the salah because there is leniency in regards to this. We can put it on

the chest, above the navel, or below the navel.

- Imam At Tirmidhi, the famous compiler of hadith, he said, “What

was acted by the people of knowledge from the Companions is that

they place the right hand on top of the left hand, some of them took

the view that you place it above the navel, and some of them took the

view that you place it below the navel. And there is leniency amongst

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the companions, the scholars, and who come after them.” Look how

sensible Imam At Tirmidhi, this is a fiqh issue and we shouldn’t be

rough and tough about it like it’s an aqeedah issue.

Reciting Dua of Istiftah 

- Narrated Abu Hurairah (RA) Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) used to keep

silent - between the opening Takbir of the prayer and the recitation of

the Qur'an - for a short while. Then, I asked him (about that) and he

replied, "I say :

 َاللَُّهمَّ َباِعْد َبْیِني َوَبْیَن َخَطاَیاَي َكَما َباَعْدَت َبْیَن َاْلَمْشِرِق َواْلَمْغِرِب , َاللَُّهمَّ نقِِّني ِمْن َخَطاَیاَي َكَما ُیَنقَّى

 َالثَّْوُب َاْألَْبَیُض ِمْن َالدََّنِس , َاللَُّهمَّ ِاْغِسْلِني ِمْن َخَطاَیاَي ِباْلَماِء َوالثَّْلِج َواْلَبَرِد

'O Allah! Keep me apart from my sins (faults) as you have kept apart

the east and west. O Allah clean me from my sins as a white garment is

cleaned from dirt. O Allah wash me of my sins with water, snow and

hail." [Agreed upon].

Lesson taken: Rasulullah’s sin has been forgiven, the past and the

future sins but he would make this dua. It shows us we shouldn’t be

heedless when it comes to making taubah and we shouldn’t be

complacent when it comes to our good deeds.

- Narrated 'Umar: He (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) used to say,

ُسْبَحاَنَك َاللَُّهمَّ َوِبَحْمِدَك , َتَباَرَك ِاْسُمَك , َوَتَعاَلى َجدَُّك , َوَال ِإَلُه َغْیُرَك

"How perfect You are O Allah, and Praise is for You, Blessed is Your

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Name and Exalted is Your Majesty and there is nothing which

deserves to be worshipped besides You."

And there are other duas that can be read, there’s leniency in this

matter but Imam Ahmad chose the dua that Umar narrated. This is

from the recommended acts to be done in Salah.

Benefits of Having Varieties

It increases you in khusyoo cause your mind is attentive on what you

wanna say and choose. One of ways in attaining khusyoo is applying

the sunan cause it keeps you attentive.

Seeking Refuge in Allah - This can be done with the usual ta’awudh: Audhu billahi minash

shaytanirajim or other one that has been authentically reported that

He (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) used to say after the (opening) Takbir (for prayer):

ِجیِم , ِمْن َهْمِزِه , َوَنْفِخِه , َوَنْفِثِه ْیَطاِن َالرَّ ِمیِع َاْلَعِلیِم ِمَن َالشَّ  َأُعوُذ ِبَاهللاَِّ َالسَّ

"I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing and the All-Knowing from the

accursed devil, from his madness or evil suggestion (Hamz), from his

puffing up (Nafkh), and from his witchcraft (Nafth)."

- We tend to forget things in salah, we’re struggling to stay khusyoo’.

Know that shaytan work his utmost best to cause you to lose focus so

seek refuge in Allah.

 

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Reciting Al Fatihah  

- Next pillar is reciting Al Fatihah, The Messenger sometimes used to

say the basmalah out loud but he mostly did not say it out loud.

- Anas reported: I observed prayer along with the Messenger of Allah (

and with Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman (may Allah be pleased (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

with all of them), but I never heard any one of them reciting

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim loudly.

Reconciling between different ahadith - How to reconcile between those ahadith? Ushul al-Fiqh comes in

handy here. Every companion narrated from which they were present

for. Sometimes we find one sahaba said Rasulullah did it, and another

said Rasulullah did not do it, then came the third said: I was present

for both, Rasulullah did it sometimes and did not do it sometimes. The

third one is the view that we take because he was present for both,

that’s one of the ways to reconcile between the different narrations.

- Al Fatihah is a pillar for the Imam and also the munfarid

(the one who is praying by himself). If you forget it, you should

flip the second rakaah as the first rakaah because you left a pillar.

Narrated 'Ubada bin As-Samit: Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: "There

is no Salat (prayer) for him who does not recite Ummul-Qur'an (Surat

al-Fatiha)". (Agreed upon].

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- Leaving off Al Fatihah, not facing the qiblah, and doing salah outside

its time are from major sins.  

For those who pray behind Imam - For those who pray behind Imam, do they recite Al Fatihah? The

position of Imam Ahmad & Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahumullah is

that they don’t recite it. And this is also the position of some of the

Companions; Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was asked regarding this and he

said, “Keep quiet, indeed in the Salah you’re busy with something and

the recitation of Imam is sufficient.” The recitation of Imam is

sufficient from him and if he prays alone then let him read it.” Naafi’,

the servant of Ibnu Umar said that he never used to read behind the

Imam.

Imam Ahmad said, “We never heard from the people of Islam, that if

the Imam recites loudly and the ma’mum don’t recite it then the salah

is invalid.” Then he mentioned 4 of the Imam that was living and

breathing at that time: Imam Malik in Madinah, Imam Sufyan Ath

Thauri in Iraq (he was from the tabi’in), Imam Al Auza’i in Syam, and

Imam Layth in Egypt, they never said that. But The Shafi’i says they

should still read it. ‘

But if you want to read the Al Fatihah at the time when Imam is quiet,

then there’s no problem.

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How we recite the Surah

- Rasulullah used to stretch his recitation like Ustadh has shown us.

- Ummu Salamah said The Messenger used to separate between the 2

verses (by giving a pause between them). No one says it’s haram to

connect 2 verses, he isn’t sinning if he does that but it’s better to

separate them.

Saying Amin - After finishing Al Fatihah, he would say out loudly: aamiin. Narrated

Abu Hurairah: When Allah's Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص completed the recitation

of Surat Al-Fatiha, he raised his voice and said Amin

And this is what jews really envy with tamin altohether in cingregation

and spreading salaam.

It was narrated from ‘Aishah that the Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: “The Jews

do not envy you for anything more than they envy you for the Salam

and (saying) ‘Amin’.”

2 Silences in Salah

- There would be 2 cases when The Messenger goes silent in the Salah.

First is between saying Allahu akbar and Al Fatihah, this is agreed

upon. Then the scholars differed in the second one; some says it’s after

finishing al fatiha before reciting the second surah, others said it's just

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before the rukoo’ so you can catch your breath again; and this is the

correct view due to this narration:

Narrated Samurah ibn Jundub: I remember two periods of silence in

prayer, one when the imam said the takbir; and when he was about to

bow down for rukoo’.

Reciting Another Surah 

- Another sunnah is to recite another surah.

- After finishing Al Fatiha, he would recite another surah. Sometimes

it would be long, sometimes it’d be short because of some excuse like

being in travel, but most of the time it would be in between..

- What’s the ruling of reading it? It’s recommended. But I don’t want

all of you to think it’s okay to leave it because it’s a sunnah. Remember

what we’ve mentioned before regarding the sunnah (in the

introduction). Let’s be like The Prophet in every way shape or form.

Saying A Verse Out Loudly 

- Narrated Abu Qatadah: Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) used to lead us in

prayer and recite in the first two Rak'a of the Zuhr and 'Asr prayers

Surat Al-Fatiha and two (other) Surah. And he would sometimes recite

loud enough for us to hear the Verses. He would prolong the first

Rak'a, and would recite in the last two Rak'a Surat Al-Fatiha (only).

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[Agreed upon].

Sunnah that many people are unaware of: when he read the surah

after al fatihah quietly, he would say a verse out loud so those who

pray behind him know what he read.

- Sisters might ask, “I never lead the salah, what’s it going to do with

me?” Sisters, you can apply these sunan by yourself.

- In the madhab of Imam Ahmad, it’s actually disliked to just recite al

fatihah without other surah in the first and second rakaah.

The Duration of the Prayers - Rasulullah used to shorten or lengthen the prayer and most of the

time it’s in between; what the Imam has to do is sometimes look

at the best interest of the people that pray behind him.

- I was leading isha prayer and reciting surah ash shams like the

prophet used to do but i forgot that there was a barbeque. After salah,

a brother came and ask “Why did you make it so long? We have

barbeque” and he was right, I should take it into consideration.

- It was narrated that Anas bin Malik said:

“The Messenger of Allah (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: ‘I start prayer and I want to make

it long, but then I hear an infant crying, so I make my prayer short,

because I know the distress caused to the mother by his crying.’”

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What Rasulullah usually read - From the authority of Sulayman ibn Yasar: Abu Hurairah said, “I

never seen anyone who had more of a similar prayer as the prayer of

Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص than fulan bin fulan (referring to an Imam in Madinah).

He used to make the first 2 rakaah of dhuhur long, and shorten the

ashar and make it light, and in the maghrib he used to read qisharul

mufashal (short surah), in the isha he used to read wasatul mufashal

(middle surah), and in fajr he used to read tiwaalul mufashal (long

surah).”

Short surah: Adh Dhuha until An Naas

Long surah: Qaf until An Naba, and some scholars said it’s all the way

up until Abasa

Middle surah: surah in between the long and short surah.

But there’s an exception like although it’s maghrib, Rasulullah one

time read 25 pages (Surat Al A’raf).

Fajr  - In fajr he used to read 60-100 aayah. Ibn Bathal: The scholars have

agreed that the longest prayer is fajr.

- It has been authentically reported that he used to read: tiwaalul

mufashal, As Sajdah (3 pages which is usually read in Friday), Tabarak

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(close 3 pages), Al Mu’minun (8 pages), Ash Shafat (7 pages).

Summary: Rasulullah would read approx. ⅓ - ½ juz. But it has also

been reported that he read less than that like At Takwir & Az Zalzalah.

- It is reported that Abu Bakar read the whole Surah Al Baqarah in

Fajr. Imagine you were in that prayer, the whole surah al baqarah. You

want to try the sunnah of Abu Bakr? Give it a go one time. It is

reported that Umar read in Fajr surah Hud (14 pages), he sometimes

read Yusuf (14 pages).

Dhuhr & ‘Asr - Sometimes Rasulullah would make Dhuhr long (around the duration

of surah As Sajdah), sometimes it’s like surah Al A’la, and sometimes

it’s like surah Al Buruj. Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: We used to

estimate the length of the standing position of Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص

) in the Dhuhr and 'Asr prayers, and we estimated that he stood in the

first two Rak'a of the Zuhr prayer as long as it takes to recite

Alif-Lam-Mim, Tanzil (Surah As-Sajdah) and in the last two rakaah

was half the time of that. And in the first two rakaah of 'Asr, he used to

stand as long as the last two of the Dhuhr. And the last two rakaah of

'Asr used to be of about half the time of the first two." [Reported by

Muslim).

To make it clearer:

Last 2 of dhuhr = half the time of the first 2 of dhuhr

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First 2 of ‘Asr = Last 2 of Dhuhr

Last 2 of ‘Asr = half of the first 2 of ‘Asr 

Maghrib - In maghrib, aside from the surah Al A’raf which has been mentioned

the above, he is also reported to read surah At Tur and there was a

time when he read surah Al Mursalat. These examples clearly show us

that it’s permissible to read longer surah sometimes, even though

mostly one should read the short surah cause that’s what The Prophet

consistently done.

- Ibnul Qayyim said, “Only reading the small surah goes against

the sunnah.” Because Rasulullah sometimes read longer surah.

Marwan ibn al-Hakam used to do it and Zaid ibn Tsabit showed his

disapproval, “Why did you only read the small surah? Indeed I heard

the Prophet read the two long surah (Al A’raf and Al An’am). ”

Isha - In Isha’, he would read the middle surah. It was narrated that Jabir

said: "Mu'adh bin Jabal led his companions in praying Isha' and he

made it lengthy. A man left, and Mu'adh was told about that, and he

said: 'He is a hypocrite.' When news of that reached the man, he went

to the Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) and told him what Mu'adh had said. The Prophet

?said to him: 'Do you want to be a cause of hardship, O Mu'adh (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص)

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When you lead the people in prayer, recite 'By the sun and its

brightness' (Ash-Shams) and 'Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most

High' (Al A’la) and 'By the night as it envelops’ (Al Lail) and 'Read! In

the Name of your Lord.' (Al Alaq)."

- It also has been narrated that one time Rasulullah read surah At Tin

which is from the smallest surah.

Jum’ah Prayer

- In Jum’ah prayer, he used to read: Al Jum’ah & Al Munafiqun or Al

A’la & Al Ghasiyah, or Al Jum’ah & Al Ghasiyah (not many people

know, it’s in Sahih Muslim surprinsingly). Also from the sunnah is

to make the prayer long and khutbah short.

Sunnah on Reading a Surah - From the sunnah is to read a complete chapter of the Qur’an or split

it into 2 rakaah. Example: First rakaah he read Al Fajr and the second

he would read another surah, let’s say An Nas; or he would read the

first half of Al Fajr in the first rakaah and complete it in the second

rakaah.

- Ibnul Qayyim said, “As for reading the ending of the surah or the

middle of it, this isn’t from what has been reported from Rasulullah.”

The scholars explain that what Ibnul Qayyim might mean is it has not

been authentically reported that Rasulullah did it in the obligatory

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prayer, because there’s a narration stating that inthe voluntary prayer

before fajr, Rasulullah read a part of surah Al Baqarah and Ali Imran

(not form the beginning).

- But remember this principle: Whatever has been authentically

reported that Rasulullah did in the obligatory prayer, it can

also be done in the voluntary prayer and vice versa except if

there’s a specific statement that certain act is only for obligatory

prayer or the voluntary prayer.

- To conclude: We say that it’s perfectly okay to not read from the

beginning in obligatory prayer. But it’s better to start from the

beginning of surah. One of the reasons is because it completes the

meaning of the surah, cause we know there’s a message in every surah

so it’s better not to cut off the message.

- Rasulullah used to lengthen the first rakaah more than the

second rakaah in every salah. It is a recommended act. He used to

lengthen it so much to the extent that the steps of those who enter the

masjid wouldn’t be heard anymore. We know that in the beginning of

the salah, there are those who still making wudhoo or coming late so

Rasulullah would lengthen it until there’s no more feet walking

around.

- Whenever he finishes the reading of the surah after Al Fatihah, he

would become silent to allow him to catch his breath.

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Rukoo’

- He raised his hands while saying the takbeer of transition and he

would grab his knees with his fingers being spread out like he clutch

onto it (so there would be spaces in between the fingers) and

place it on the sides of his body. (right pic: wrong position of fingers)

 

- He would straighten his back until it was narrated that if we put a

cup on his back, it would be balanced. And his head would level with

his back without bringing it up or down.

- Then he used to say “Subhana rabbiiyal adhim,” To do it at least

once is waajib, this is the bare minimum. Saying it more than

once is sunnah. You can also add: Subhanaka allahumma wa

bihamdika Allahummaghfir li, and other dua that has been prescribed.

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Tuma’ninah & The Bare Minimum 

- Next pillar is to be tuma’ninah, remain calm in a position. The

bare minimum is as long as the duration to say subahanallah

once. Anything more than that is recommended. If you just go up and

down without being tehre even for a moment, it’s incorrect.

Rasulullah said, “Thee worst of thieves is the one who steals his

prayer." The Companions then asked, "How does he steal his prayer,

Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "He does not do ruku or sujood

properly."

Coming back up from Rukoo - When you come back up, you raise your hand and it’s waajib to say

sami’allahu liman hamidah. Once you get into that position, say:

Rabbana wa lakal hamd or Rabbana lakal hamd. Saying both prayers

is waajib upon the Imam and the one who prays by himself. But for the

one who prays behind imam, the waajib is only to say Rabbana wa

lakal hamd or Rabbana lakal hamd. There’s also times when he add

“Allahumma” before those 2 sayings. So we have 4 sayings to choose.

Some might ask, “What’s the point? It’s just an extra letter.” It is

actually beneficial for us to have a variety of things to do to

keep us attentive & focus during the salah.

- After that, Rasulullah used to remain calm and straighten his back

until his bones fell back into its place. Abu Mas'ud Al-Ansari

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[Al-Badri] narrated that: Allah's Messenger said:, "The Salat is not

acceptable if a man is not at rest - meaning his back - while bowing

and prostrating."

- What people tend to do is make the coming back up from the rukoo

(the standing position) shorter than any other part of the salah.

Rasulullah used to sometimes stand for so long until the

Sahaba think he forgot that he is praying. Ibn Abbas reported: When

the Messenger of Allah (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) raised his head after bowing, he said:

َمَواِت َوِمْلَء اَألْرِض َوَما َبْیَنُهَما َوِمْلَء َما ِشْئَت ِمْن َشْىٍء َبْعُد َأْهَل الثََّناِء اللَُّهمَّ َربََّنا َلَك اْلَحْمُد ِمْلَء السَّ َواْلَمْجِد َال َماِنَع ِلَما َأْعَطْیَت َوَال ُمْعِطَي ِلَما َمَنْعَت َوَال َیْنَفُع َذا اْلَجدِّ ِمْنَك اْلَجدُّ

Allah! our Lord, to Thee be the praise that would fill the heavens and

the earth and that which is between them, and that which will please

Thee besides (them). Worthy art Thou of all praise and glory. No one

can withhold what Thou givest, or give what Thou withholdest. And

the greatness O! the great availeth not against Thee. (Sahih Muslim)

What ma’mum read

- Why is it that for ma’mum, they only say Rabbana lakal hamd?

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

The Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: T he imam is appointed only to be followed;

when he says "Allahu akbar," say "Allahu akbar" and do not say

"Allahu akbar" until he says "Allahu akbar." When he bows; bow; and

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do not bow until he bows. And when he says "Sami’allahu liman

hamidah" say, "Allahumma rabbana lakal hamd."

- From the Prophet’s guidance is to lengthen the rukoo and sujood.

Sujood

- To come down for sujood, you don’t raise your hand when saying the

takbeer of transition. You go down with your knees first, then your

hands, and then your head. The scholars differed on what is the first

thing to touch the ground, but this is the correct view. He mentioned

here, “The first one to touch the ground is the nearest to the ground

(knees) and the first one to come back up is the furthest away from the

ground (head).” Because Rasulullah prohibited imitating animals

inside salah like kneeling down how the camel kneels down. The view

of Imam Ahmad, Imam Abu Hanifah, and Imam Shafi’i is that

kneeling with knees first is the opposite of camel because it usually

kneels down with its hands (front feet) and it normally comes back up

with its feet. But Imam Malik differed on this.

- Rasulullah used to do sujood on his forehead and nose but not when

wearing a turban. Like in Saudi, they would push it up before the

salah.

7 Pillars of Sujood 24   

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- Sujood is one of the 14 pillars of Salah but itself has 7 pillars. If you

leave one of it, your sujood becomes invalid and your salah becomes

invalid. Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: "I have

been commanded to prostrate on seven bones; on the forehead -

and he pointed at his nose, the hands (the palms), the knees

and the tips (toes) of the feet." [Agreed upon].

Not Imitating Animals - Then when doing sujood, his arms would spread on his side so

far up. Not like a dog sits (no space between the arms) because

Rasulullah prohibited us to imitate animals. It would be so far until a

sheep can enter into that area under his arms. Narrated 'Abdullah bin

Malik bin Buhaina, "When the Prophet (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) prayed, he used to

separate his arms from his body so widely that the whiteness of his

armpits was visible." (Sahih al Bukhari)

- His hands would be parallel to his ears and his shoulders,

stay calm in that position for a moment, and the toes would be

facing the qiblah (bent). And you don’t put spaces in between

fingers like you do in rukoo.

 

What to read in Sujood

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- Saying “subhana rabbiyal a’la” once is the bare minimum

that we have to do. Anything more than that is recommended and

the lleast of that to be complete is 3 times.

- Rasulullah strongly encouraged to pray hard in the sujood.

This is the closest we get to our Lord, this is a very honorable position

to be in. Rasulullah used to take his time, cry out to Allah. Abu

Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of

Allah (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said, "A slave becomes nearest to his Rubb when he is in

prostration. So increase supplications while prostrating." [Muslim]

- Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Allah's Messenger (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) said: "I have been

forbidden to recite the Qur'an while bowing or prostrating; so while in

the bowing (position) glorify (the Perfection of) the Rabb (Lord), and

while in the prostrating (position) be earnest in supplication, for it is

fitting that your supplications may be answered." [Reported by

Muslim]

- If you really want to complain to Allah and you wanna ask Him, go

pray 2 rakaah. When anything distressed Rasulullah, he would rush to

do salah.

How we make Dua - Can we make any du’a in arabic in the sujood? Scholars differed but

the more correct view is we can make any dua. Because Rasulullah

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said when someone is in the sujood, let him make any dua that the

want.

- Can we make du’a in our own language? Scholars differed but the

safer opinion is, and if I’m not mistaken I heard Shaykh Muhammad

Mukhtar Ash-Shinqiti said this; in the Qur’an, Allah praises those who

say:

َربََّنا آِتَنا ِفي الدُّْنَیا َحَسَنًة َوِفي اآلِخَرِة َحَسَنًة َوِقَنا َعَذاَب النَّاِر

"Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the

Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of

the Fire."

Anas ibn Malik said that this is from the most excessive supplication

Rasulullah used to make, he used to make this dua all the time. This

dua is so comprehensive, the safer view for those who can’t speak

arabic is to make this dua in arabic in the sujood and make intention

for what you actually want in your heart because Allah knows what’s in

your heart.

Coming back & Sitting between 2 sujood - Then you come back up while saying Allahu akbar without raising

your hand. Then he sat on his left foot and he made his right foot up

straight with the toes facing the qiblah. His hands would be stretched

on his thighs and the elbow would be near the pelvis as if it’s laying

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down. This sitting is called iftirash.

 

What to say in between 2 sujood - There are many dua that can be made but the bare

minimum is to say: Rabbighfir lii once, it’s a waajib. Any

other dua is recommended. Ibn Abbas narrated: “Between the

two prostrations, the Prophet would say: (Allahummaghfir li,

warhamni, wajburni, wahdini, warzuqni). 'O Allah! Pardon me, have

mercy on me, help me, guide me, and grant me sustenance.'" And it

has been authentically reported from Hudhaifah that he would read

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"Rabbighfirli, Rabbighfirli (Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me)."

Coming back up from the second sujood - After the second sujood, you come back up leaning on your thighs as

support and toes to back up. Can you lean on the floor? You can,

there’s also a narration for that, but the sunnah is to lean on your

thighs and toes.

Do we sit to take a rest? - Malik ibn Huwairith narrated that after the second prostration, he

never used to go up until he sit down for a moment to take a rest. This

is known as the sitting of rest (جلسة االستراحة). The scholars differed

whether this is a sunnah or something that only the one who need it

should do it (old person or having difficulty). Ibnul Qayyim took the

view that we shouldn't sit like that.

- What do we do about the hadith? The majority of scholars say that it

is not sunnah because he did it after he became old (Malik ibn

Huwairith only came to Madinah in the 10th year after hijrah when

Rasulullah became old). But if you need it, you can do it. Rasulullah

did it to show that it is permissible.

- After coming back up, Rasulullah wouldn’t be silent, he would go

straight into reciting Al Fatihah. Then, do we say audhu billahi minash

shaytanirajim? There’s differences amongst the scholars but we will

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take the view of the author that we don’t say it on the second rakaah.

Differences between First & Second Rakaah

- Then he would do the second raka’ah like the first one except with 4:

1. He wouldn't read the dua istiftah

2. He wouldn't become silent

3. He wouldn't say takbiratul ihram after standing nor did he

raise his hands. You say the takbeer while you go back up.

4. He would make the second rakaah shorter than the first.

First Tashahhud - Next step is tashahhud; it’s not a pillar, it’s a waajib. He would place

his left hand on his left thigh, his right hand on his right thigh. Then

he pointed with his index finger; it would be bent, not straight. He

would clutch his pinky and the finger beside it, connect the middle and

the thumb.

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- Then you read the dua and every now and then he would look at the

fingers and move it a bit. When do we raise it up? The scholars of

Hanbali madhab said every time there’s Allah’s name; there would be

around 7 times.  

 

 

- In tashahhud, although there’s differences of opinion, we will take

the view that we sit the same way you sit in between 2 prostrations and

it has not been authentically reported about another sitting being

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used. So you sit on your left and the right foot goes up straight, and

the toes are facing the qiblah (bended towards).

- The dua of tashahhud:

َالُم َعَلْیَك َأیَُّها النَِّبيُّ َوَرْحَمُة اهللاَِّ َوَبَرَكاُتُه یَِّباُت السَّ َلَواُت َوالطَّ  التَِّحیَّاُت ِهللاَِّ َوالصَّ

اِلِحیَن َأْشَهُد َأْن َال ِإَلَه ِإالَّ اهللاَُّ َوَأْشَهُد َأنَّ ُمَحمًَّدا َالُم َعَلْیَنا َوَعَلى ِعَباِد اهللاَِّ الصَّ  السَّ

َعْبُدُه َوَرُسوُلُه

The best greetings, prayers and pure words are due to Allah. Peace be

upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and his blessings. Peace

be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that

none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and I bear witness

that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger

A beautiful benefit that I read was that if an individual is not

righteous, the dua isn’t reaching him.

- Rasulullah would shorten this tashahhud so much so as if he

was sitting on a hot rock. What happens when we sit on a hot rock?

We would get up straight away, not making the sitting long at all.

Coming back from the first tashahhud - After that he would come back up again while raising his hand, and

this is the fourth and final place that we raise our hands on. (three

other places: takbeeratul ihram, when going down for rukoo, when

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coming back up from rukoo’)

- For the third and fourth rakaah, he would only read al fatihah. The

sunnah: the 1st and 2nd rakaah are longer than the 3rd and the 4th;

and the 1st is longer than the 2nd rakaah.

The Final Tashahhud - Then on sitting of the final tashahhud, we sit with the tawarruk

sitting, not like the first tashahhud or the sitting between 2 sujood.

How to do it? The hands’ position is the same but we don’t sit on our

left foot, we sit in the ground.

- The toes should face the qiblah when: you’re raising your hands, in

the rukoo, sujood, and tashahud.

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- He would do tahiyat every 2 rakaah.

- We pray more dua in addition to the dua we recite in the first

tashahhud. We add after that:

ٍد ٍد َكَما َصلَّْیَت َعَلى ِإْبَراِهیَم َوَباِرْك َعَلى ُمَحمَّ ٍد َوآِل ُمَحمَّ  اللَُّهمَّ َصلِّ َعَلى ُمَحمَّ

ٍد َكَما َباَرْكَت َعَلى آِل ِإْبَراِهیَم ِإنََّك َحِمیٌد َمِجیٌد َوآِل ُمَحمَّ

“O Allah, send salah upon Muhammad and upon the family of

Muhammad, as You sent salah upon the family of Ibrahim, and send

blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as

You sent blessings upon the family of Ibrahim among the nations. You

are indeed Worthy of praise, Full of glory.”

Then it is recommended to make dua for whatever we want. From the

dua that is recommended to read is:

اللهم إني أعوذ بك من عذاب جهنم، ومن عذاب القبر ومن فتنة المحیا والممات، ومن شر فتنة المسیح الدجال

"Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min 'adhabi jahannam, wa min

'adhabil-qabr, wa min fitnatil-mahya wal-mamat, wa min sharri

fitnatil-masihid-dajjal (O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the torment

of Hell, from the torment of the grave, from the trials of life and death,

and from the mischief of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (Antichrist).”

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Places to make dua in Salah

- Places to make dua in Salah: When you enter salah (dua istiftah),

Rukoo, After coming backup from the rukoo, Sujood, Sitting between

2 sujood and Before salaam. 

What this means is that in these positions we should read what’s been

prescribed, not randomly recite any dua except in the sujood and

before salaam, we can read other dua.

Make dua after Salah  There's no hadith that the Prophet did congregational prayer after

salah. All of these dua that we’ve been told the Prophet advised and

encouraged to be done in salah, these are all befit the situation of the

one who prays because he is facing his Lord, interacting with Him.

And after the salah ends, he is no longer there. How can one leaves off

making dua when he's interacting with Allah and begins making dua

after the interaction stops?

But don't start shouting to those who do this, advice them with good

manners.

Salaam

- Then Rasulullah would say salam to both sides and this is a pillar.

We say Assalamu’alaikum wa rahmatullah and turn our heads from

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the qibla to both sides.

This is the salah of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص ; if you master this, you’ve come

very close to imitating Rasulullahملسو هيلع هللا ىلص in doing the prayer. Everything

we mentioned has evidence behind it and we’re also told to respect all

the four great imam.

8 Waajibat of Salah - 8 Waajibat (things we have to come with, if we leave it intentionally

our salah is invalid; but if it’s out of forgetfulness, we have to make up

for it with the 2 prostration of forgetfulness before salam) of the Salah:

1. Every single takbeer of transition (when you move from one

stage to the next)

2. Saying: Sami’allahu liman (for Imam and munfarid)

3. Saying: Rabbana wa lakal hamd (for Imam, munfarid, and those

who pray behind the Imam)

4. Saying: Subhana rabbial adhim in rukoo at least once

5. Saying: Subhana rabbial a’la in sujood at least once

6. Doing the first tashahhud

7. Sitting of the first tashahhud

8. Saying: Rabbighfirli in between the sujood

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