Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(70): “Praying on an Electronic Prayer Mat which Shows the Number of Prostrations and Rakhas“

Date Added : 02-11-2015

 

Resolution No.(70): “Praying on an Electronic Prayer Mat which Shows the Number of Prostrations and Rakhas“

Date: 25/8/1424 AH corresponding to 21/10/2003 AD.

 

The Board received the following question:

What is the ruling of Islamic Sharia on praying on an electronic prayer mat shows the number of prostrations and Rakahs (unit of prayer)?

Answer: All success is due to Allah.

The Board is of the view that a Muslim inflicted with repeated forgetfulness is allowed to use such a mat while praying solely in case of necessity.

However, if his forgetfulness wasn`t repeated, then it is disliked for him to use it because it affects his Kushu` (humble submissiveness) during prayer, and because prostration of forgetfulness is lawful. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ”When any one of you is in doubt about his prayer and he doesn`t know how much he has prayed, three or four (rak'ahs), he should cast aside his doubt and base his prayer on what he is sure of, then perform two prostrations before giving salutations. If he has prayed five rak'ahs, they will make his prayer an even number for him, and if he has prayed exactly four, they will be humiliation for the devil.” {Muslim}. And Allah Knows Best.

                            Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice                     

                         Sheikh Izzaldeen Attamimi               

                        Dr. Yousef Ali Ghyzaan                   

          Dr. Ahmad Hilayel             

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

Which is more excellent for a woman: to pray in the mosque or in her house?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Our Master the Prophet ﷺ said: 'It is more excellent for a woman to pray in her house than in her courtyard, and more excellent for her to pray in her private chamber than in her house.' Therefore, a woman’s adherence to her home and her refraining from going to the mosques—in obedience to the command of Allah the Exalted—attains a great reward and abundant recompense. Furthermore, women praying in congregation within their homes is better than their attendance at the mosques, based on the aforementioned Hadith. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

I`m a pious Muslim woman, but my husband isn`t, what should I do?

You should exercise patience, make supplication that Allah guides him to the straight path, and keep advising him kindly.

Which is better for a traveler: fasting or breaking the fast?

Fasting is better, unless it causes hardship—in that case, breaking the fast is better.

What is the ruling on the prayer of one who said "Subḥāna Rabbiya al-ʿAẓīm" in prostration (*sujūd*) and forgot to correct it?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Saying “Subḥāna Rabbiya al-ʿAẓīm” in bowing (rukūʿ) and “Subḥāna Rabbiya al-Aʿlā” in prostration (sujūd) is one of the hayʾāt (non-essential sunnahs) of the prayer. Whoever omits it, whether deliberately or by forgetfulness, or replaces it with another remembrance (dhikr), his prayer is valid and he does not perform sujūd al-sahw. Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Our school holds that one does not prostrate for omitting the audible or silent recitation, the tasbīḥ, and the rest of the hayʾāt.” [al-Majmūʿ, Vol.4/p.127]
If he performs sujūd al-sahw for something that does not call for it, his prayer is invalidated, because he introduced a prostration of forgetfulness without a cause, and he must repeat the prayer. The exception is one who did so out of forgetfulness or ignorance, whether because he recently entered Islam or because he lives far from scholars; he is excused and his prayer is not invalidated.
It is stated in Mughni al-Muḥtāj (Vol.1/p.417): “It is stated in al-Anwār: If he does something that does not call for sujūd al-sahw, thinking that it does, and then prostrates, his prayer is not invalidated if he is ignorant because he recently entered Islam or because he is far from scholars.”
Since this issue is hidden from the laity, as it is among the subtleties of knowledge, and the laity are excused for ignorance of whatever is of such a nature, and their act of obedience is not invalidated because of it, it may be said that the prayer of one who has not acquired knowledge of the issue is not invalidated. As for after knowing it, the prayer is invalidated.
Whoever realizes while still in the prayer that his prostration was out of place, it is sunnah for him to perform sujūd al-sahw. And Allah Almighty knows best.