Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
My mother doesn’t seem to know what she is doing in her worship…
A past answer applies to this:
Errors in prayer:
My dad, validity, soundness, properness, & how to apply knowledge
My dad has come a long way as far as being more of a conscious Muslim. However, there are still some errors that I notice him making in salaah… I notice that my step-dad makes mistakes in his prayer and although I want to point it out, I just am unable to… What should I do? Below I’ve noted some mistakes I’ve noticed in his prayer:
1.) He doesn’t hold his hands the Hanafi way that you’ve told us in a prior e-mail
2.) He has tajweed errors; namely “ee-ya-ka-na’ budu wa ee-ya-ka-nas-ta’eem” (it sounds like he’s saying a “meem” instead of a “nuun.”Another is that he says “ghairil magh- zuu bhi ‘alayhim” … the daud sounds like a “z,” not a “d”
3.) It doesn’t sound like he’s saying “sami’ullah huliman hamidah” correctly .. it sounds totally different the way he says it.
I guess I have a few concerns:
a.) Am I being too nitpicky??
b.) Is his salaah valid? If not, do I have a responsibility to tell him so? How do I go about telling given that he’s so much older than me and the fragileness of our relationship?
c.) Are the prayers in which he led invalid? (i.e. do I have to make up the prayers that he led as an Imaam and I followed?)
In the name of Allah, the inspirer of truth. All praise is to Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate, and all blessings and peace to our Master Muhammad, his family, companions, and those who follow them.
Walaikum assalam,
A. It is important to note that the validity of the prayer relates only to the obligatory (fard) actions, such as the pre-conditions and integrals. In the Hanafi school, these are relatively few. If in place, the action is valid. If left out, the action is invalid, and needs to be repeated.
B. The soundness of one’s prayer relates also to the necessary (wajib) actions. If one does not perform these, one’s prayer, though valid, is un-sound and needs to be repeated within the time. For past performances, one may take the opinion that it is no longer wajib (but, rather, recommended) to repeat such prayers.
C. The properness of one’s prayer relates to performing the confirmed sunna (sunna mu’akkada) actions as well as the obligatory and necessary actions. If one does not perform these, without excuse, it is blameworthy. However, it does not affect the validity or soundness of the action.
D. The outward perfection of one’s prayer relates to performing all the recommended (mustahabb) actions, as well as the above. The inward perfection of the prayer, which is the essence of the prayer, lies in one’s attentiveness and presence of heart with Allah. [ See Imam Ghazali’s Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship]
Given this:
1. Placing one’s hands below the navel is a confirmed sunna in the Hanafi school, because of Sayyiduna Ali’s words, “It is from the sunna to place one’s right hand on one’s left, below the navel.” (Abu Dawud and others) Leaving this does not affect validity and soundness, and it is a point the sunni schools differed on. On such points, one does not need to correct others.
2. Minor mistakes in recitation are excused. The scholars caution that one does not nit-pick with common people. It is from the Mercy of Allah that they are praying and turning themselves to Him, even if imperfectly. The possibility that one’s correcting could turn them off worship is more serious than the potential benefits of correction. With such matters, one should have a wisdom-based long term plan of educating them in a positive, preferably indirect, manner.
3.The default in all human actions is validity and soundness. This has been mentioned repeatedly on the Hanafi fiqh forum, but it is an important point. (See answer below.)
4. It is very important in one’s initial steps in learning no to be hasty in correcting others, for one may well be mistaken in one’s understanding of the issues or in one’s assessment of the situation or in one’s judgement on how to deal with it.
‘Certainty is not lifted by doubt.’
[Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa’l Nadha’ir, and Majallat al-Ahkam al-`Adiliyya]
Important fiqh principles related to this matter include:
1. Certainty is not lifted by doubt;
2. Certainty is only lifted by another certainty;
3. The default assumption about a matter is akin to certainty;
4. The default assumption about all matters is validity and soundness;
5. Mere doubts and suppositions are of no legal consequence.
Ibn Abidin points out that following baseless misgivings ( waswasa) is blameworthy in the Shariah: it is from the Shaytan, and Allah Most High has commanded us to refuse his enticings.
This deen is mercy. The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) is mercy. It is a means of mercy, success, and felicity. When one does not find this, one must be doing something wrong.
“Ask the people of remembrance when you know not,” Allah tells us in the Qur’an.
This is an important final point: when in doubt, one should not make up legal rulings. We should also understand that understanding a legal ruling does not mean one understands how to apply it, particularly on others.
Rather, one should seek reliable knowledge and guidance, either from a reliable book one is able to understand or from persons of sound traditional learning.
May Allah grant us success in doing that which He loves.
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.