Oh sister covered in hijab by sh. Badr Ali Utaybee hafidahullaah

Oh sister covered in hijab by sh. Badr Ali Utaybee hafidahullaah

This is a poem by shaykh Badr Bin Ali Utaybee hafidahullaah, taken from "20 pieces of advice to my sister before her marriage"

"Oh sister veiled in hijaab slacken your pace.
Walk upon the heats of the jealous
ones and cause them to tremble!

Move with nobility and pride whenever the eyes of the envious
are barred from glancing at your skin.

You are beauty in its goodness and perfection.
You are chastity in all its glory.

Don't be decieved! Indeed veiling your face is from the sunnah
of that chosen Hashami Mesenger (sallallahu alyhi wa sallam)

Being veiled from sight is for you
a sign of dignity;
be delighted and with it, spoil yourself.

Your veil is a protective armor from every dreadful assailing wolf.

This is our legislation, truly and justly
Just as it is our nature.

It has been established in verses of the Qur'an and
authentic hadiths, related by trustworthy narrators.

When you recite the book of your Lord then understand
that in (surah) an-Nur are ayaat concerning al-Hijaab.

So ponder His order to throw the khimar, that covers your head,
over your face and to let it drape over your sides from and back.

And understand the word (throw) to indicate the importance
of being keen to cover your face and body
and this is clear truth.

And you have been prohibited from throwing your legs about,
So let not the sounds of anklets entice the ears.

And also in (surah) al-Ahzaab are verses 53 and on,
In them is my Lord's command to veil.

When
they came asking the prophet's wives or if you, Oh
sister are asked.

Because these verses even though they are for the prophets wives,
they are to be applied generally, due to what follows.

Because veiling is for the purification of the hearts which
so quickly fades the eyes when lined with kuhl.

And look to the conclusion of Al-Ameen and his understanding of the verse in
Adwaa'ul bayaan (1) and it is replete with benefits and also in this verse is an order
for you to bring your garment over you fully as to hide yourself and make yourself unrecognizable.

This book of Allaah Affirming that unveiling is
a foundation of evil that being (men) to trail.

And the best of creation says about you "she is auwra"(2)
referring to women so think!

And on the authority of ibn Mas'ood as related by at-Tirmidhee
and declared hasan saheeh with each narrator just and precise
from first to
last.

And likewise al Bazzaar and ibn Khuzaymah and ibn al Adiyy
and Ali ad-Daraqutni (3)

Oh sister do not throw off the veil.
It is nobility for you and increase you in splendor,

As for those who encourage unveiling,
they only intend for you shame and belittlement.

And that you become like a mannequin in the hands,
a plaything, sold off for a petty price.

They seek that your picture is displayed in magazines
after you were once like a jewel, protected and safeguarded.

They want you to dance to music with them,
abandon your religion, and act like someone else.

And that the scum of mankind exchange,
between them and themselves, authority over you.

And use not acting as an excuse
Barking jackals, howling wolves,
there is no trust to be had in them.

Be warned from becoming the hunted, stalked down and eaten.

The "muck" of the art is belittling and
embarressing,
be warned of falling, Oh sister into mud.

Don't be amazed by the laughing of the mistresses of singning
and don't be bedazzled by the sinful stars of cinema.

This cannot decieve your type!
By Allaah, their chests constrict due to their sins,
filled with anguish and regret.

They, with their worries and woes, live their lives in a sick state,
Only Allaah's religion holds the cure.

Their chests are burnt by an open flame
that has set a blaze in its hollow.

With every day it burns stronger, more hot.

This is their intent; it decieves us not.

So do you, Oh sister, see as we see?

Do you understand whats being presented to thee?

Is dignity, that the Muslim women relinquishes her hijaab?

Or that she fills with shame and disgrace?

Or is it decency if she is naked, uncovering her face,
wearing tight clothes and pants instead a modest
overgarment?

Is chastity to sing the song of adulterers and fornicators,
when overtaken by passion la la lee?

Is fortitude to agree to burn along with those
that will roast in hell?

Or is it sound politics to appoint to office over the masses,
one pampered raised in petty amusement(4).

Those who make one from your gender in charge over their affairs will never attain success,
As authentically reported in the prophetic narration (5)

And it is just that she is given exactly as her husband in inheritance
and in rights of marriage and divorce ? (6)

Naturally she is not the same as a man

And in Islamic legislation she is below him
and is rightfully under his guardianship.

Oh our sisters, By Allaah this is her condition,
If you asked them: A modern woman

So do yourself well and stick to the shari'ah,
which if you hold firm to it,
your will not be misguided and will not
go astray.

It is your fortress, your honour.

It is your covering,
your light in the darkeness of the nights

Your are exalted in sticking to the injunctions of your faith,
like a star by which the sky is fully of beauty.

May Allaah protect you and All who say
"Be rewarded with good Oh Bad bin Al-Ali

footnotes:

1)
I intend here the shaikh of our scholars, Al- Allaamah Muhammad Al
Ameen ash-Shanqetee, in his book Adwaa Al-bayaan (6/548). He mentioned
that the strongest opinion is that this verse is general to all women.
2)
Translator note: The auwra (private part) for the woman varies
depending on who she is in front of. However, while in front of foreign
men, who are not her husband, father ,grandfather, brother, son , uncle
or nephew, she has to cover every part of her body according to the
opinion of many of the people knowledge.

3) Narrated by
at-Tirmidhee (4/337), Ibn khuzaymah in his saheeh (3/93-94), Al Bazzaar
in his Musnad (5/427), ibn Adiyy in al Kaamil (3/424),ad- Daraqutni in
al-I'lal (5/314), At-Tirmidhee declared it to be hasan saheed Gareeb
and al Hafidh A'li bin Umar ad-Daraqutni graded it to be authentic.

4)
Allaah, th Most High said about the female gender "(Like they then for
Allaah) a creature who is brough up in adornments (wearing silk and
gold ornaments, i.e. women), and who in dispute cannot make herself
clear?"(surah az-Zukhruf:18) According to the scholars of tafsir, this
verse refers to the weakness of the woman and her deficiency in
expressing herself.

5) Collected by Al-Bukhari , based on this
how can woman be given positions of great importance in a nation, such
as the ruler of the country or military general?

6) A woman is
not equal to man in inheritance or when dealing with marriage and
divorce. All of this is not because of the deficiency in her, but it is
from the completeness of a man's authority and guardianship over her;
he is her wali and he is responsible for her affairs. That is because
in the Islamic legislation, females are not equal to males.

sunnah prayers

QUESTION

What is your advice to someone who has stopped praying the Sunnah prayers in the daytime and does not pray anything at night?

ANSWER by Shaykh Muhammad 'Umar Baazmool, instructor at Umm Al-Quraa University in Makkah

There is nothing more outstanding as advice than the hadeeth of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), when he said:

"The very first thing a servant will be asked about on the Day of Judgement is the prayer. If it is found to be deficient, then it will be said, 'Doesn't he have any optional prayers?' If it is found that he has optional prayers, then they will fill the void, and thus his prayers will be accepted, and the rest of his deeds will also be accepted." [1]

And the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) was asked about a dream that Ibn Umar had, so he (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

"What a good man 'Abdullaah ibn Umar is, so long as he prays at night." [2]

So then consistently praying the optional prayers, the most important of them being the Witr prayer and the (12) Sunnahs throughout the day and night, is from the most important of all affairs to the Muslim. This is because you, O Muslim, by way of them, compensate for the lapses found in your obligatory prayers.

And the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) clarified in a hadeeth that a man may pray but he may only be credited with half of it, another may pray but only be credited with one third of it, and another may pray but only be credited with one fourth of it... [3]

The meaning is that it often occurs that the people have shortcomings in their prayers, while it is obligatory to offer them, completing them perfectly. So have you actually offered all of your prayers completely and perfectly according to the Sharee'ah?

So then you must take care to consistently offer optional prayers, you must take care to consistently offer the Witr prayer, you must take care to offer the other optional prayers consistently. It has been related that Imaam Ahmad said about the one who does not consistently pray the Witr prayer, "He is an evil man, his witness is not to be accepted."

So how could a Muslim who has no work keeping him from his worship become lazy and then abandon these (optional) prayers. No doubt, he has caused himself to lose a great amount of good, and to miss an opportunity to obtain tremendous virtues, while being free to do them and try to keep consistency in offering them.

I ask Allaah to excuse us and him, and to be gracious.

There is a hadeeth of the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):

"May Allaah have Mercy on the one who offers four (rak'ahs) before 'Asr prayer." [4]

When you do not pray this prayer, four rak'ahs before the 'Asr prayer, you have prevented your own self from being included in those whom the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) supplicated for, those who pray this prayer.

The Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

"Whoever consistanly prays twelve rak'ahs throughout the day and night, a palace will be built for him in Paradise." [5]

When you abandon the rawaatib prayers, and you do not pray these twelve rak'ahs, you have deprived your own self from this virtue.

Most of the optional prayers have great virtues attached to them, described by the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam). So then, O Muslim, how can you lose out, how can you not be concerned about it?

And Allaah knows best.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Collected by At-Tirmithee, Aboo Daawood, An-Nasaa'ee, and others, see Saheeh Al-Jaami'is-Sagheer wa Ziyaadah #2020.

[2] Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree #1122 (3/10 of Fat-hul-Baaree)

[3] see Saheeh Sunan Abee Daawood #796

[4] Saheeh Sunan Abee Daawood #1270

[5] Saheeh Sunan Abee Daawood #1250

SOURCE

This was translated exclusively for www.bakkah.net from a cassette recording with the knowledge and permission of the shaykh, file no. AAMB015, dated 1423/6/25.

some factors that cause backbiting and their cures

some factors that cause backbiting and their cures

Some factors that cause backbiting and their cures

1. Subsiding anger.
This is done by backbiting the person who kindles his anger -so everytime this person makes him angry, he subsides it by backbiting the person. Through this (the backbiting), he feels he is getting even with the other person. The cure for this is the advice of the Messenger (peace be upon him) "Whoever suppresses his anger while in a position to enforce it, Allah will call him at the head of the creation until he chooses for him from the hoor'een (special women of Jannah that are promised to the believer), for him to marry from them as he pleases. [Ahmad and At-Tabaraanee]

2. Wanting to keep Mends.
In order to maintain friends with others, a person indulges in backbiting because he is afraid of losing their friendship. Thus he does not reprimand them when they backbite, but indulge in it with them. To cure this he must remember the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him) "Whoever solicit the pleasure of men by displeasing Allah, Allah will consign him to mankind. [At-Tirmidhi]

3. Wanting to raise one's status with other people.
This is done by debasing others, by saying things like such and such a person, is ignorant or his understanding is weak, thus indirectly implying that he is more knowledgeable than the one he debases. In order to cure this sickness, the perpetrator must be reminded that Allah is the final judge and this person that he is claiming is ignorant, might be better than him with Allah. Furthermore, that person may be excused because of his lack of understanding.

4. Playing around and making fun of others.
This could involve mockery and sarcasm. It is enough to remind those indulging in this practice of what Allah, the Most High said:
"O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter is better than the former..." [Al-Hujuraat 49:11]
At other times, it could involve lies, as mention is made of some people in a way to make others laugh. It is enough to answer with the statement of the Messenger (peace be upon him): "Woe to the one who speaks and lies to make people laugh, woe to him, woe to him" [Ahamad, Abu Dawood & others]

5. Envy.
Through envy, a person is backbited because of his noble position and high standing, in order to debase and reduce his worth in people's eyes. The envier should reflect upon the statement of the Messenger (peace be upon him): "Faith and envy cannot exist together in the heart of the slave". [Ahmad 8: 436]

6. Fear of Blame.
Something is attributed to a person who wants to free himself from it, by blaming another person totally, although they both had shared in the act. He does this so that he can free himself from being blamed. The correct thing to do is to acquit himself honestly, and not try to throw the blame upon anyone else.

7. Having too much spare time.
This can cause a person to fall into backbiting, because it is easy for such an idle mind to become busy with men, their honor and their faults. To correct this a person must spend his time in acts of obedience to Allah, worship, seeking knowledge, and teaching others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Two blessings are misused by people, good health and spare time to do good." [Bukhari]

8. Trying to get close to a person in authority to acquire material gains.
In order to get close to those in authority and to gain their favors, someone may backbite his workmates with his boss. To cure this, he must realize the true value of this world with Allah, the Glorious, and that He is the Provider, and that He would allow him to get only what he deserves. And no boss can give him anything if Allah, the Sublime does not will such for him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"...know that if the nation (all mankind) were to gather together to benefit you with something, it would only benefit you with something that Allah had already prescribed for you..." [At-Tirmidhi]

Why are we not able to wake up for Fajr? (and some helpful tips)

Our Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) is our exemplar who
provided the best example in spending long hours of the night in
prayer and waking in time for Fajr Prayer. This record was
authentically known of him both in his teachings and his living
example as he did not like sleeping before Ishaa [night] Prayer
and discouraged his followers from useless talk after it.
In this he was followed by his companions and all the muslims up to
a time not very far from our own days. They knew the reasons
which cause laziness and lessen motivation to observe prayers in
time (be such prayers Fard [obligatory] or Nafla [optional]) and
warned people against them so much that some of them are
reported to have said:

"If you are unable to pray at night, then
that is a clear sign that your sins have shackled you and
deprived you of good deeds".

Al-Hasan al-Basri was once asked:

"Why is it that we cannot uphold prayers at night?" He answered:
"You are shackled in your own sins".

Motivation is presently lacking among muslims. Otherwise they
would not have given in to sleep even if they had to stay awake
in the first part of the night. When one of them is required by
his work arrangements or for his own worldly benefit to wake
early at dawn, he would no doubt take the necessary precaution
not to miss his appointment. He will forsake his peace of mind
and have a restless sleep just for fear he might be punished or
have his salary reduced. When it comes to prayer, they have no
excuse especially when in our modern times Allah has provided us
with alarm clocks which would be set at any time we wish. The
problem therefore, is one of laziness. Such people do not know
what they are missing.

The Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said with respect to
those who do not observe Ishaa and Fajr prayers:

"Had one of them known that he would find a wholesome
meal or two good targets, he would have come for Ishaa prayer."

All in all, for him who sincerely wants to purify his soul from
the attributes of the hypocrites, let him steer clear of
laziness, be active, put into practice the action inspiring
instructions laid out in our religion, accustom himself to take
the initiative and realise what he and everybody in his position
are missing in terms of the health of the body and great reward
from Allah. Only then will his performance improve, Allah
willing, and he will make up for what he has missed and follow
the lead of the best of generations.

Allah, the Most High and Exalted, is the Provider of success and
assistance. Peace and Blessings be upon Prophet Muhammed, his
household and followers.

Signed,
Abdullah Ibn Abdur-Rahmaan al-Jibreen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Text
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most surely all praise belongs to Allah, we praise Him and we
seek His Aid and Forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from the
evils of our souls and from the evils of our actions. Whomsoever
Allaah guides there is none to misguides and whomsever He
misguides their is none to guide. I send prayers and blessing
upon our leader Muhammed with the best of prayers and the most
complete submission.

To proceed:

One of the ill-seeming phenomena and most serious precedents
boding impending danger and punishment, giving reason to fear
and calling for most urgent consideration on our part requiring
immediate investigation into its causes and treatment of its
symptoms is the fact that a growing number of observers of
prayer deliberately shun Fajr prayer in congregation and only
perform it at times other than its lawful time.

It may be the case that this is due to their wasting away long
hours at night engaged in idle and leisure pursuits. Our
ancestors not very long ago used to make a point of going to
bed early, to lock their doors after Ishaa prayer and to make
their dinner light so as to be able to wake up for Fajr prayer
in anenergetic state. That is why they led a happy, peaceful and
healthy life experiencing the real taste of life.

The advent of modern civilisation spoiled both our religious
observances and our worldly arrangements. As a result, we have
fallen into laziness and inertia; our bodies grew fat and
flabby; we move about less frequently whilst showing a greater
readiness to sleep and a marked inability to perform the most
trivial of manual actions.

The present paper attempts therefore to suggest ways which
maybe of help in inducing us to wake up for Fajr Prayer; for
instance:


1: To make sure to go to bed early as the Prophet
(sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) used to discourage sleep before
performing Ishaa prayer and especially engaging in conversation
after it. Certain cases were excepted, some of which are
enumerated by Imam Nawawi in his explanation of Muslim's
account.

Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him says:

"The reason why conversation after it is discouraged is the fear
lest it leads to staying awake for long, which might induce
drowsiness and difficulty with observing night prayers or
Subh[dawn] prayer in their permitted, preferred or best times."

The topics covered by this restriction are all fulfilling no good
useful purpose. However, as to useful verbal activities, such as
the pursuit of knowledge, listening to the wise tales of
righteous people, talking to one's guest or bride, or members of
one's family for the sake of company, interacting with
travellers with a view to protect themselves and their goods,
embarking on talks designed to conciliate between people or
intercede before them in a good cause or to enjoin good and
forbid evil and admonish people by pointing to a beneficial
course of action to follow etc... there are no such restrictions.


2: To be assiduous in observing the Aadaab [good manners
prescribed in Islam] as to what to do before sleep such as
making Du'aa [supplication] ... reciting the last three soorah's
of the Qur'aan ... being physically and religiously pure and
performing a two rakah voluntary prayer after wudhoo [ablution].

A muslim has to ask his wife, parents, relatives or neighbours
to help waking him up. Once waken up, he should not linger
lazily for long in bed, lest he acquires the vices of the
hypocrites who come to prayer showing ample signs of laziness
and lack of enthusiasm.


3: To fill one's heart with faith and good deeds. Once faith
is alive in the heart, it induces the person to do good deeds
and strive unremittingly hard. Faith is like a tree which only
yields good fruit when irrigated from the streamlets of good
deeds, thus bringing about an improvement both in personal
conduct and at the interactional level with society at large.
The lack of such streamlets or water supplies proportionately
causes faith to wither and wilt. The heart is highly sensitive
to external hardening stimuli, such as excess food or drink or
aberrations in watching or listening (letting your eyes and ears
loose to what is unlawful for them). You should therefore
protect your heart from such external allurements.


4: To keep away from Ma'aasi [acts of disobedience to Allah]
by protecting the eyes, the tongue, the hearing and all the
senses from indulging in the perception of objects that Allah
has made unlawful for us. As an alternative, one should concern
himself with matters pertaining to the worship of Allaah, such
as devoting one's sight to the reading of Allaah's Book,
meditating over the creatures that Allaah has created in this
universe, reading books of knowledge etc. One member of the
rightly guided early generations was asked about the reason why
people found it difficult to uphold voluntary prayers at night.
He answered: "Your sins have shackled you". No doubt sins can be
a major cause for a persons inability to enjoy the blessings of
piety.

As Imaam Ibn ul-Qayyim said,

"sins are wounds and some wounds can be fatal."


5: To bear in mind the great reward for attending Fajr prayer
in congregation on time, and the strong rebuke for him to fails
to observe it and to satisfy its conditions.

Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan related:

I heard Allah's Messenger (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) say:

"He who prays Ishaa in Jamaa'ah [congregation] is as if he has
prayed for half the night. As to him who (also) prays Fajr in
congregation, it is as if he has prayed all night."
[narrated by Maalik and the wording is that of Muslim who also reported it]

Similarly, Bukhaaaree and Muslim and An-Nasaaee related on the
authority of Ibn Mas'ud (radiallaahu-anhu) that he said:

The case of a man who slept all the night up to sunrise (without
waking up for Fajr) was related to the Prophet
(sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) whereupon he said:

"That was a man in whose ear Shaytaan has urinated", or he said
"in both his ears".

The urinating is literally true, as Imaam Qurtubi says, since
Shaytaan urinates and has sexual intercourse and procreates in a
manner that Allah alone knows.(1) To ascertain for yourself the
truth of this assertion, look at the faces of those who come to
deal in their daily business without having prayed Fajr in
congregation at due time; look at their faces at working hours.
You will surely ask Allaah for refuge from a lot as miserable as
theirs. But, after all what do you expect from a person in whose
heart Shaytaan has urinated!!!


6: To realise the bad effects resulting from one's failure to
pray Fajr, such as the melancholic and depressive state of mind
and the loss of many religious and worldly benefits, and the
good effects resulting from managing to perform it. In this
respect the Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said:

"Shaytaan ties three knots on the crown of any one of you in
your sleep. He says upon each knot that he ties: "You have a
long night before you, therefore sleep". But if you wake up and
mention Allah, Most Exalted in remembrance one knot will be
untied. If you then make ablution another knot will be undone.
If you then proceed to pray the last knot will be disentangled.
Thus, you will feel in the morning energetic and in good
spirits. Otherwise you will feel in a despicable state, lazy".
[narrated by Maalik, Bukhaaree, Muslim and Abu Dawood]

The time following Fajr prayer is full of goodness and
blessings. At-Tirmidhee narrated upon the authority of AlGhamdi
that the Prophet (sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said:

"O Allah bless my Ummah in its early rising!" and whenever he
dispatched an expedition or army he sent them early at the
beginning of the day. Sakhr was a merchant who always sent his
merchandise early in morning thus, becoming wealthy."(3)

That is why we find the craftsmen and traders are particular about
making good use of this time. Those who sleep up to the late
morning have denied themselves the blessings of this early
hour.

There are many benefits to the health derived from waking up for
Fajr prayer. For instance, the highest proportion of ozone gas
(O3) in the atmosphere is registered at dawn. It then gradually
fades away until comlplete disappearance by sunrise. This gas
has a very beneficial effect on the nervous system as it
vivifies the brain and energises the muscles such that when a
person inhales the beautiful breeze of the dawn, known as the
SABAA wind, he will experience a pleasure that is unparalleled
at any other time of the day or night.(4)


7: To lose no time to categorically clear yourself from the
stigma of hypocrisy. Because of the difficulty of waking for
this time, praying Fajr in congregation provides evidence that a
person has firm faith and is free from hypocrisy. That is why in
a hadeeth narrated by Bukhaaree and Muslim,
the Prophet(sallallaahu-alaihi-wasallam) said:

"Indeed, the most difficult of prayers to bear, for the
hypocrites, are Ishaa [night] and Fajr prayers. If only they
knew what they are missing , they would sooner come, even if
crawling on their knees".

The most worthy companion, Abdullaah and
Ibn Mas'ood(radiallaahu-anhu) asserts

"The only one indeed who misses them
[i.e. Ishaa and Fajr prayers] is a confirmed hypocrite"(5).

IbnUmar (radiallaahu-anhu) said "When we find a man missing from
the Ishaa and Fajr prayers we nurture suspicions about him".(6)

If you want a criterion for evaluating a person's degree of
faith and truthfulness monitor his observance of Fajr prayer. If
he passes the test, that should be taken as a sign indicating
the strength of his Eeman [belief, faith]. Let us then testify
to his truthfulness since he managed to achieve the greatest
victory over himself and to be superior to the pleasure of
sleeping in bed. If he fails the test, this is an index to his
weakness in faith, a hardness in his heart, an indulgence in
self-gratification and a defeat against his own whims.
How is it then that he who indulges in sleep and misses prayer
should conceivably feel comfortable while people are delighting
in the mosques in the company of the Qur'aan, listening
raptuously to Allaah's message, and basking happily in His
gardens. He who prefers the pleasures of the bed to the pleasure
of the communion with Allaah is the real loser.

These are a few suggestions to help you wake up for Fajr prayer.
May Allah make them useful. Glory be to Allah, Most Exalted over
any false attributions and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all
Beings.

Written by an anonymous student of Islamic knowlege with an
introduction by Sheik Abdullah Ibn Jibreen

(

A woman prays in her house, having many young children...

QUESTION

A woman prays in her house, having many young children and no family members or servants to assist her. She feels that her prayers are always deficient or unacceptable as a result of her lack of concentration due to the children's constant activities. What is your advice to her?

ANSWER by Shaykh Muhammad 'Umar Baazmool, instructor at Umm Al-Quraa University in Makkah

This woman, so long as she offers the prayer with its prescribed manner, after being purified (having wudhoo'), reciting (Soorah Al-Faatihah), standing, bowing, raising up, prostrating, sitting, prostrating again, with tama'neenah (resting fully in each position), then her prayer is valid in shaa' Allaah.

And she should feel free of any blame by offering this prayer, by Allaah's Permission. She (also) gets the reward for all of her work in the house and taking care of her children.

One time the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) was leading the people in prayer in the masjid, and he shortened the prayer. So they said, "O Messenger of Allaah! You have prayed in a way that we have not seen from you before!" or a phrase similar to this.

He replied (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam):

"I heard the crying of a child, and I supposed that his mother was praying with us, so I wanted to free his mother for him." [1]

So here the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), praying one of the obligatory prayers in congregation, shortened the prayer, showing concern for this child. So in this there is evidence to support that if a woman was to shorten her (recitation in her) prayer due to her responsibilities toward her house or her child, while she has no assistance, then there is no harm in that, so long as she offered her prayer in the manner ordained in the Sharee'ah. And Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted, says [2]:

( So fear Allaah to the best of your ability )

And the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

"...And when I have ordered you with something, then do as much of it as you are able." [3]

Therefore she offers the prayer to the best of her ability, fulfilling her duty and thus freeing herself from any blame. In addition, she will be rewarded by Allaah, the Glorified and Exalted, for being a good wife to her husband, taking care of the family, and staying on top of all her responsibilities. By these things she reaps great rewards and obtains lofty virtues. And by these things, her reward is with Allaah, the Glorified and Exalted.

She will also have a magnificent reward from Allaah, the Glorified and Exalted, for all her patience and forbearance, (as Allaah says) [4]:

( Verily those who persevere will receive their reward without measure )

FOOTNOTES

[1] from an authentic hadeeth collected by Ahmad, see The Prophet's Prayer Described (p.25 of the English version) sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam

[2] the meaning of Soorah At-Taghaabun (64):16

[3] Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree #7288 (13/317 of Fat-hul-Baaree)

[4] the meaning of Soorah Az-Zumar (39):10

SOURCE

This was translated exclusively for www.bakkah.net from a cassette recording with the knowledge and permission of the shaykh, file no. AAMB017, dated 1423/6/25.