The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

I) As an obligatory precaution, the sermons should be delivered after the ẓuhradhān and in case, they are delivered before adhān, the imam should deliver them again.

K) It is befitting that the imam is dressed in a turban and cloak and that he should lean against a walking stick or similar objects, and before delivering the sermon, he should salute the audience by saying salamun alaykum. It is also befitting that he covers important political, social, and moral issues of Muslims and the Muslim world as well as the region to the people. He should make them aware of their duties with respect to these issues. He should warn them about enemy plots and conspiracies.In short, the imam should take the utmost benefit from the sermons in spiritually refining the people and informing them about the important current issues, which is one of the main goals of the two sermons.The sermons should be delivered in fluent, expressive, eloquent, and effective expressions so that they may have the necessary effect on the hearts of the Muslims and they gain perfect benefit from this politico-religious obligation. The imam should not discuss issues which cause disunity; rather he should invite the Muslims to unite against the enemies.The obligatory precaution is that the participants in the Friday prayer should be in the state of ṭahārah and sit facing the imam. They should observe silence and listen to the sermons. However, if they engage in talking intentionally, their prayers are valid, though they should not act in such a way again.

Issue No.700- There are many recommended prayers which are generally called Nafilah, but more stress has been laid on the daily recommended prayers.

Issue No.701- The daily nawāfil are as follow: Eight rak‘ats for ẓuhr prayer, eight rak‘ats for ‘aṣr prayer, four rak‘ats for maghrib prayer, two rak‘ats for ‘ishā’ prayer (offered in sitting posture), eleven rak‘ats of night prayer and two rak‘ats for fajr prayer and since the two rak‘ats of nāfilah for ‘ishā’ prayer are counted as one, the total number of the rak‘ats of these nawāfil is 34, but on Fridays the number of the rak‘ats of these nawāfil is 38 because four rak‘ats are added to the nāfilah of ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers. (All the recommended prayers are performed in two rak‘ats).

Issue No.708- The ‘aṣr nāfilah is performed before ‘aṣr prayer, and its time is until the moment when the shadow of an indicator which appears after ẓuhr reaches 4⁄7 of its length as was explained in the previous issue.

Issue No.709- Maghrib nāfilah should be performed after maghrib prayer and its time continues until the disappearance of the redness which appears in the sky in the west after sunset.

Issue No.710-‘ishā’nāfilah should be performed after ‘ishā’ prayer and its time continues until midnight, and it is better to offer it immediately after ‘ishā’ prayer.

Issue No.712- The time for Night prayer is from midnight until the fajr adhān, as an obligatory precaution, and it is better to offer it at dawn, i.e., the last 1⁄3 of the night.

Issue No.703- Night prayer is one of the most important nawāfil on which the Holy Qur’an and the Islamic narrations have laid a great emphasis [1]. It has a profound effect on peoples’ hearts and minds, making them pure, refining their souls and solving their problems. Certain disciplines have been mentioned in famous supplication books [2] for this prayer especially for the qunūt of the Witr prayer. These disciplines are good to observe yet one can offer the night prayer without observing them. He can offer this prayer in the same way as daily prayers are performed. He, who cannot, for some reasons, get up for the night prayer, may offer it before going to bed.

Issue No.713- One of the prayers, which is good to offer with the hope of gaining Allah’s reward, is ghufaylah prayer which is offered between maghrib and ‘ishā’ prayers. Its time is after maghrib prayer until the disappearance of redness from the west after sunset. In its first rak‘at after sūrah al-fātiḥa, instead of the sūrah, the following verses should be recited:وَ ذَا النُّونِ اِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغاضِباً فَظَنَّ اَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنادى فِى الظُّلُماتِ اَنْ لا اِلهَ إلاَّ اَنْتَ سُبْحانَكَ اِنّى كُنْتُ مِنَ الظّالِمينَ فَاسْتَجَبْنا لَهُ وَ نَجَّيْناهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَ كَذلِكَ نُنْجِى الْمُؤمِنينَIn the second rak‘at after sūrah al-fātiḥa, instead of the sūrah, the following verse should be recited:وَ عِنْدَهُ مَفاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لا يَعْلَمُها إلاَّ هُو وَ يَعْلَمُ ما فِى الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ وَ ما تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَة إلاَّ يَعْلَمُها وَ لا حَبَّة فِى ظُلُماتِ الاْرْضِ وَ لا رَطْب وَ لا يَابِس إلاَّ فى كِتاب مُبينAnd he should recite in qunūt the following:اَللّهُمَّ اِنّى اَسْئَلُكَ بِمَفاتِحِ الْغَيْبِ الَّتى لا يَعْلَمُهَا إلاَّ اَنْتَ اَنْ تُصَلِّىَ عَلى مُحَمَّد وَ آلِ مُحَمَّد وَ اَنْ تَفْعَلَ بِى ... (here one should mention his wishes).Thereafter, the following Du'a should be recited:اَللّهُمَّ اَنْتَ وَلِىُّ نِعْمَتِى وَ الْقادِرُ عَلى طَلِبَتى تَعْلَمُ حاجَتى فَأَسْئَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّد وَ آلِ مُحَمَّد عَلَيْهِ وَ عَلَيْهِمُ السّلامُ لَمّا قَضَيْتَها لِى

Issue No.739- If a person realises after prayer that his body or his clothes were najis, his prayer is correct whether it is in the time of the prayer or after it.

Issue No.740- If a person rinses his najis body or clothes and becomes sure that it has become ṭāhir and performs prayer in it but after the prayer comes to know that they had not become ṭāhir, his prayer is correct. However, he should make his clothes ṭāhir for the next prayers.