The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

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Issue No. 1306- Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha prayers are obligatory during the time of the Imam (as) and should be offered in congregation. However, in this time that the Holy Imam (as) is in occultation, these two prayers are mustaḥab, and may be offered individually as well as in congregation.

Issue No. 1299- Āyāt Prayer consists of two rak‘ats, with five rukū‘s in each. It can be offered in the following two ways:1- After making the intention, one utters takbīrat-ul-iḥrām (Allahu Akbar) and recites sūrah al-fātiḥa and the sūrah, and then performs rukū‘. Thereafter, he stands and recite sūrah al-fātiḥa and the sūrah again and then perform another rukū‘. He should repeat this action five times, and when he stands after the fifth rukū‘, he should go to sajdah, and after performing two sajdahs, should stand up to perform the second rak‘at in the same way as the first. Then he ends the prayer with tashahhud and salām.2- After making the intention, uttering takbīr and reciting sūrah al-fātiḥa one then divides the verses of the other sūrah into five parts, and recites one part and thereafter performs the rukū‘. He should then stand up and recite the second part of that sūrah (without reciting sūrah al-fātiḥa) and then perform another rukū‘. He should go on with this method and finish that sūrah before performing the fifth rukū‘. Then he goes to rukū‘. The second rak‘at should be done in the same way as the first rak‘at. For example, he may divide sūrah al-Ikhlas in the following manner:Before the first rukū‘, he should say “بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ” and perform the first rukū‘. He should then stand up and say “قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ اَحَدٌ”, and perform the second rukū‘. He should then stand up and say “اَللهُ الصَّمَدُ”, and perform the third rukū‘. Thereafter he should stand up again and say “لَمْ يَلِدْ وَ لَمْ يُولَدْ”, and perform the fourth rukū‘. Then he should stand up again and say, “وَ لَمْ يَکُنْ لَهُ کُفُوَاً اَحَدٌ”, and perform the fifth rukū‘. Then he performs the two sajdahs and continues the second rak‘at in the same manner which he has performed the first and finally ends the prayer with tashahhud and salām.

Issue No. 1226- Congregational Prayer is one of the most important mustaḥab acts, and is one of the greatest Islamic sacraments. Great emphasis has been laid on it in the narrations. Offering prayer in congregation has been especially recommended for those who reside near a masjid or hear adhān being announced from it. One should therefore try to offer his prayer in congregation as much as he can. It has been stated in a narration that the reward for each rak‘at of congregational prayer is one hundred and fifty times as much as that of prayer offered individually. If two people follow the imam in congregation, each rak‘at of their prayer has the reward of 600 prayers. The more the number of the participants in a congregational prayer, the more will be the reward of their prayer. If the number of the participants exceeds ten persons, it has been narrated that if all the skies become paper, the water in the seas becomes ink, the trees become pens, and the angels, men, and Jinn become scribers, they will not be able to put in writing the rewards of one of its rak‘ats [1].

Issue No. 1267- The imam of a congregational prayer should be mature [1], sane, just (‘ādil), of legitimate birth, a Twelver Shi‘a and his recitation should be correct. Furthermore, if the follower is a male, the imam also should be a male. There is no problem in a woman leading congregational prayer for women; every human being, whether Muslim or non-Muslim is of legitimate birth, unless proven otherwise.

Issue No.1107- If a person forgets one or more sajdahs, he should perform the qaḍā of each of them after the prayer (Of course, if one forgets two sajdahs of one rak‘at, his prayer is void). Also if he forgets tashahhud, he should perform its qaḍā immediately after the prayer. And in addition to the qaḍā of sajdah and tashahhud, he should, as an obligatory precaution, offer separate sajdah al-sahw for each of them. (However, as was pointed out earlier, tashahhud of sajdah al-sahw will suffice for the forgotten tashahhud).

Issue No. 1308- Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha prayers consist of two rak‘ats. In the first rak‘at, one should recite sūrah al-fātiḥa and the sūrah and then say five takbīrs, and after every takbīr he should recite qunūt. After the fifth qunūt, he should say another takbīr and then perform rukū‘ and two sajdahs. He should then stand up and say four takbīrs in the second rak‘at, and recite qunūt after each one. Thereafter, he should say the fifth takbīr and then perform rukū‘ and two sajdahs. After the second sajdah he should recite tashahhud, and then complete the prayer with salām.

Issue No. 1236- Several conditions should be observed in a congregational prayer:First condition: There should be no barrierThere should be no barrier between the imam and the follower, and between one follower and the other follower. A barrier is something which obstructs sight, such as a curtain or a wall, etc., as a matter of fact, a glass partition is also considered as a barrier as an obligatory precaution. However, if the follower is a woman, there is no harm, if there is a barrier between her and men.

Issue No. 1240- The place where the imam stands should not be higher than the place of the followers. However, there would be no problem if the height is very little. Furthermore, if the ground is sloping and the imam stands on the higher side there is no harm if the slope is not much and is considered to be flat.

Issue No. 1242- If there is a distance of one or a few steps between the imam and the followers or between the followers themselves and it is as such that it is still called congregation, there would be no problem in it. Therefore, the distance caused by one or two persons who are not offering prayer does not make any problem. However, it is mustaḥab that the rows be connected to each other thoroughly.

Issue No. 1193- A person who does not offer an obligatory prayer in the prescribed time, should offer qaḍā prayer though he may have been sleeping during the entire prayer time or may have failed to offer it owing to his having been ill or drunk. However, a person who has been unconscious during the entire prayer time, qaḍā is not obligatory upon him. Similarly, qaḍā is not obligatory on a non-Muslim who has embraced Islam and a woman who has had to leave out daily prayer, due to ḥayḍ or nifās.

Issue No. 1206- If someone else offers the qaḍā of the prayer and fast of one’s parents, he will no longer be under any obligation.