Saturday, March 14, 2009

Pray as you have seen me praying

The Prophet's Prayer Described by Shaikh Naasir-ud-Deen Al Albaani, answers all or most questions related to prayer. It is a compilation of the hadith (and their explanations) about prayer. It describes the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu alaihi wa salaam) step by step with evidences, and refutations of weak hadith. It also gives explanations on various innovations in prayer and shows why they are not to be followed.

A key element of Muslim life is the obligatory, ritual prayer. These prayers are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. Prayer in Islam, is the worship of Allah the Almighty, Praising and Thanking Him, acknowledging His Sovereignty and committing oneself to obey and remember Him at all times. It is the central part of a way of life, which is based on submission to the Owner of all and the Lord of the world.

Allah (Subhana wa ta'ala) says in the Quran:
“…..And establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt…..” (Quran, 29:45)

The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salaam) said to:
...Pray as you have seen me praying.. (Sahih Bukhari Book 1 Vol 1, Hadith 604)
and with the information found in this book we can do just that.

Some Prayer issues from the book:

Obligation for a Sutra (Barrier)

He (sallallaahu a'laihi wa salaam) used to say: "Do not pray except towards a sutra, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, but if someone continues (to try to pass) then fight him, for he has a companion (ie. a shaytaan) with him" (Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh (1/93/1) with a sound Isnad)

Placing Hands on the chest

"He used to place the right arm on the back of his left palm, wrist and forearm (Abu Dawood, Nasaai & Ibn Khuzaimah (1/54/2) ) "and he commanded his companions to do likewise" (Maalik, Bukhari & Abu Awaanah), and (sometimes) "he would grasp his left arm with his right" (Nasaai and Daaraqutni)

"He used to place them on his chest" (Abu Dawood, Ibn Khuzaimah, Ahmad & Abu Shaikh)

Going down in Sajdah on the hands

"He used to place his hands on the ground before his knees." (Ibn Khuzaimah (1/76/1), Daaraqutni & Haakim)

He used to instruct likewise, saying, 'When one of you performs sajdah, he should not kneel like a camel, but should place his hands before his knees" (Abu Dawood, Tammaam, Nasaai)

This book is pretty descriptive of the Prophet's prayer from start to finish and is recommended for every Muslim's bookshelf. It is available online at OnlineIslamicStore

6 comments:

  1. yeah its simple, see as uou have seen me pray and all these women are saying women have to pray different, so stupd!

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  2. Salaams Dear:

    They also have an abridged version of the Sheikh's book. I give it to new inmates to help them learn how to make salaat. The thing I like about the abridged version is that the sections are Arabic, English, AND transliteration. It makes the learning easier. The sheikh's original book has only Arabic and English.

    When googling for a link, I came across the ENTIRE booklet as a pdf:

    http://www.mcws.org/UploadedFiles/islam/Prophet's_Prayer_Described.pdf

    I haven't compared it to my hard copy, but that would be a huge Alhamdulillah if it is now available online like that.

    But you can see the book cover from this link.

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  3. You are right Anon, there is no difference between the prayer of women and men.

    Wa alaikum salaam Sister Safiyyah,
    Alhamdullilah you found that link. JazakAllah Khair. If you get a chance to compare it to the hard copy and its ok, let me know InshaAllah, I'd love to pass it on to others.

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  4. As Salaamu 'alaikum,

    MashaAllah a great post! The book is very helpful, my brother keeps taking it from my book shelf! Alhamdulilah that book has helped me a great deal not only practically but in understanding the importance of following the Sunnah. May Allah reward you abundantly my dear sister in Islam and may Allah reward Shaykh Muhammad Nasiruddin Al-Albani with Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen!

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  5. Wa alaikum salaam Sis Sacrifice4Allah,

    Yes MashaAllah, that book is soooooo helpful, and I agree that it helps in understanding the importance of following the Sunnah. Ameen to your duas, may Allah reward you also, Ameen!

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  6. alhamdulilah
    if any book which is perfect after quran it's
    Sahih Al Bukhari

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