Issue No.781- Second: If the blood on the body or clothes of a person is less than a dirham (which is almost equal to the upper joint of the forefinger), it is permissible to perform prayer with it provided that the blood is not of ḥayḍ, nifās, or istiḥāḍah and of a dog, pig, dead body or haram meat animal (as an obligatory precaution).
Issue No.786- Third: If a small piece of clothing of a prayer-performer with which the private parts cannot be covered (like skullcap and socks) becomes najis, the prayer performed with it is correct. The same ruling applies to a najis ring and eyeglasses.
Issue No.787- Fourth: If there is a najis handkerchief or clothes, with which one’s private parts can be covered, in one’s pocket while performing prayer, the prayer is correct. Also, if there are any other najis objects in one’s pocket, prayer with them would be correct. However, the recommended precaution is to avoid them during prayer.
Issue No.788- Fifth: A nanny, who is not able to easily have ṭāhir clothes for prayer, can perform prayer with najis clothes if she cannot easily have ṭāhir clothes for prayer, if she washes her clothes once in 24 hours, even if her clothes become najis with the urine of a child. However, she should, as an obligatory precaution, wash her clothes for the first prayer which she offers.
Issue No.714- One should perform all obligatory prayers facing the qiblah.
Issue No.720- There are many ways for determining the direction of the qiblah: First, one should make efforts to locate the direction of the qiblah such that he becomes sure of it. Also, he can act upon the statement of two just persons, or one reliable person who gives evidence on the basis of sensory signs, or act upon the statement of a person who knows the direction of the qiblah by a reliable scientific rule. If that is not possible, he should guess through the altar (miḥrāb) of the mosque or from the graves of the Muslims, or by other ways and means, and act accordingly.
Issue No.700- There are many recommended prayers which are generally called nawāfil (plural form of nāfilah), but more importance and attention has been placed upon the daily nawāfil.
Issue No.702- Out of the eleven rak‘ats of the night prayer, eight rak‘ats should be offered with the intention of the night prayer, two rak‘ats with the intention of shaf‘ prayer, and one rak‘at with the intention of Witr prayer.
Issue No.671- Friday prayer (ṣalāt al-jum‘ah) consists of two rak‘ats and replaces the ẓuhr prayer on Friday. It is obligatory at the time of the presence of the holy Prophet (ṣ) or an Infallible Imam (as) and his specific deputy. However, during the major occultation (of the Imam Mahdi (as)), Friday prayer is a Takhyīrī Wājib , which means that we have an option to offer either Friday prayer or ẓuhr prayer. However, at a time when a just Islamic Government is ruling, the obligatory precaution is not to miss it.
G) Friday prayer consists of two rak‘ats like fajr prayer. It has two qunūts, one recited before the rukū‘ in the first rak‘at and the other recited after the rukū‘ in the second rak‘at. It is recommended for the imam to recite sūrah Jumu’ah after al-fātiḥa in the first rak‘at, and recite chapter Munafeqeen in the second rak‘at. Moreover, as an obligatory precaution, if the imam starts reciting one of these two it is not permissible to switch to another sūrah.
Issue No.670- It is obligatory to perform the following five prayers during the day and night:The ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers each consist of four rak‘ats, the maghrib prayer of three rak‘ats, the ‘ishā’ prayer of four rak‘ats and the fajr prayer of two rak‘ats. However, while travelling, a traveller should reduce the four rak‘at prayers to two. The conditions for reducing the rak‘ats will be covered later inshallah.
Issue No.672- The time for ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers is from the beginning of canonical noon (i.e., when the sun starts declining at midday towards the west) until sunset. The best way to find out the start of ẓuhr time is to use an indicator (Shākhiṣ). That is, if we drive a stick or a rod into a flat ground vertically, its shadow will fall westwards when the sun rises in the morning, and as the sun continues to rise, the shadow cast by the indicator will reduce in size. When the shadow is the shortest, it is ẓuhr time, and as it begins getting longer again, and the shadow turns eastwards, it is the beginning of ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers. However, in some cities, e.g., Mecca, the shadow disappears totally sometimes because the sun shines completely vertically. In these regions, when the shadow reappears, it indicates the time for ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers [1].
