ARE THERE ANY PRE-REQUISITES FOR OFFERING NAMAZ?

The Holy Quran does not directly tell us about the prerequisites and the exact procedure for offering Namaz and many other things, but directs us to follow Prophet Muhammed (SAWS), who under the guidance of Allah, (SWT) has demonstrated how various instructions given in the Holy Quran, including Namaz, are to be implemented.

Like that. We have sent among you a messenger from among you, who reads to you Our signs and purifies you and teaches you the hook and the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know. (Ch:2 Vs:151)


So remember Me I will remember you and be grateful to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me. (Ch:2 Vs:152)

And obey Allah and obey the messenger and be cautious, then if you turn away, know that (the duty incumbent) on Our messenger is only clear conveyance (of the message). (Ch:5 Vs:92)

In the Messenger of Allah, there is indeed a good example for you to follow, for him who expects (to meet) Allah and (the coming of) the period hereafter and remembers Allah much. (Ch.33 Vs: 21)

For every act there are some conditions to be fulfilled before performing it. Similarly/ there are some prerequisites for offering Namaz which have been systematically laid down by learned Muslims/ based on the instructions and practices of Prophet Muhammed (SAWS). These pre-requisites are as follows :

1. Iman Or Faith : The Holy Quran on the subject of Iman states:

It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the east and the west, but righteous is he who believes in Allah and the period hereafter and the angels and the book and the prophets and gives wealth out of love for Him to the relatives and the orphans and the poor and the wayfarer and to those who ask (begger) and for setting the slaves free, and establish worship (Salaat) and gives charity (zakat), and those who keep up their agreements when they make an agreement, and the patient in poverty and adversity and at the time of conflict. Those are the persons who are true (believers) and those are the persons who guard (against evil).. (Ch:2 Vs:177)

Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) was once asked/ "What is Iman (faith or belief)". (The meaning of) Iman is that you believe in and accept the reality of Allah, His angels, His books. His messengers, day of resurrection (Qiyamat) and favourable (good) and unfavourable (bad) destiny (that it is by the Will of Allah).

Iman is the most important item in the life of a Muslim. Without Iman no deed has any reward. We should therefore try to repeatedly refresh our Iman which can be done by remembering Allah, offering Namaz regularly, reading the Holy Quran, attending religious meetings where purely religious matters are discussed etc.

2. Cleaniliness of Body & Clothes : Iman is spiritual cleanliness with which our body and clothes should also be clean.                               
a) Ghusul (Bathing): It is said that cleanliness is half Iman and that Allah loves those who are clean. We should therefore regularly take bath in addition to Fridays, Idd days etc.

Bathing is compulsory after 1) sexual Intercourse) 2) discharge of semen 3) completion of menses 4) confinement 5) after giving bath to a dead body and 6) before accepting Islam. In these conditions Namaz should not be offered without bathing.

         The method of taking bath is to first wash the hands till the wrists, then wash the private parts removing all dirt and uncleanliness and perform wazu (details given later). Finally take regular bath taking care that no part of the body is left dry and unclean,


The minimum requirement is to pour water on the whole body three times in such a manner that no part of the body is left dry or unclean.

        After taking bath we should always wash our "private parts whenever we pass urine or stool. We should pass urine in a sitting position and not standing. We should regularly cut our nails and remove unwanted hair.

b) WAZU : The Holy Quran, on the subject of wazu, bathing and tayammum, states ;

O you who believe ! When you rise up for worship (Salaat), then wash your faces and your hands upto the elbows and wipe your heads and (wash) your feet upto the ankles and if you have not taken a bath after sexual intercourse (or passing out of semen during sleep etc.) then clean (your whole body by taking bath). And if you are on a journey or one of you comes from the toilet or you have touched women, then, (under the above circumstances) if you do not find water, or if you are sick, then take clean dust and wipe your faces and your hands with it. Allah does not intend to put any difficulty on you, but He intends to clean you that He may complete His favour on you so that you may be grateful. (Ch:5 Vs:6)

It is clear from the verses of the Holy Quran cited above that wazu is essential before offering Namaz.




 We should start the wazu by reciting



BIISMILLA-HIR REHMAN-IR RAJIEEM

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

   Now perform the wazu with clean water as follows :

1. Wash both the hands three times till the wrists, first the right then the left, clean the portions between the fingers and nails.      

2. Clean the teeth with index finger or preferably with miswak (a crude form of brush) then gargle three times, cleaning the mouth well.

3. Blow the nose and rinse the nostrils well 3 times.

4. Wash the face from the fore head down to the chin and from ear to ear three times.

5. Wash the fore arms from the finger tips to the elbow 3 times, first the right then the left.

6. With wet hands wipe the head once, passing the fingers through the hair, as if combing, then pass the wet tips of the index fingers inside the ears , and the wet ends of the thumbs outside the ears, thus cleaning them well, then with the wet back of the hands wipe the neck..

7. Lastly wash the feet upto the ankles three times/ first the right then the left, taking care to wash the portions between the toes and the nails.

After the wazu recite the following:



 



AAS-HADUAN-LLAA ILLAHA ILLALLAHU WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAHU WA ASH-HADU ANNA MUHAMMEDAN ABDUHU WA RASULUHU.

    I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, He is alone without a partner and I bear witness that Muhammed is His servant and messenger:



 
ALLAHUM-MA JALNI MINAT-TAWWABEENA WA JALNI MINAL MUTATAH-HIREENA WA JALNI MIN IBADIKAS-SALIHEEN.

O Allah ! Make me of those who repent (for their sins) and those who keep themselves clean and those servants of Yours who are good.

When is fresh wazu necessary?        
        
We should perform fresh wazu when we 1) pass urine 2) stool 3) gas 4) when there is excessive bleeding through a wound 5) after sleeping 6) after unconsciousness 7) If we laugh during Namaz.

c) Tayammum : Tayammum is permissible instead of wazu and ghusul when one is sick or water is not available. As soon as sickness is over or water is available tayammum is not permissible and wazu or ghusul has to be performed depending on the requirement.

The method of performing tayammum is :

Place the palms on clean sand remove superficial dust by blowing, then wipe the face with both the palms as you wash with water. Again place the palms on clean sand, remove the superficial dust and wipe the right forearm with the 1eft palm from the tips of fingers to the elbow and similarly the left forearm with the right palm. If clean dust is not available, talcum power may be used, because it is the powder of the mineral Talc.

Prayers at the start and end of tayammum are the same as for wazu and the conditions for performing fresh tayammum are the same as for wazu or ghusul, as the case may be.

d) Clothes: Our clothes should be neat and clean and such that no private parts are exposed. If the pants or pajamas we wear are very long they may touch the ground and become dirty specially on roads, in bathrooms and latrines. We should therefore take special care to see that our trousers do not touch the ground.
1.  Cleanliness of Place : Mosques are normally clean, we should also try to keep them clean. The place where we offer Namaz at home should also be clean.

2.  Timings of Namaz : Each Namaz should be offered during the prescribed period. If due to some unavoidable reason we cannot go to the mosque, each Namaz should be offered preferably immediately the period for that particular Namaz starts.

3.   Direction in Namaz : The Quran, in this regard, orders:

"..... turn your face towards the sacred Mosque (Kaaba }, and. where ever you are, turn your face towards it. . . ." (Ch:2, Vs:144).

In obedience to the orders of Allah/(SWT) Muslims all over the world are required to face the Kaaba as the center, parallel circle of praying Muslims will be formed all over the world. It may be noted here that we do not worship the Kaaba, we worship only Allah/(SWT) we just face towards the Kaaba. One of the reasons for all Muslims facing towards Kaaba during Namaz, is uniformity. In the absence of a 70 common direction in Namaz, Muslims from different places might have turned in different directions and this would have given rise to great disturbance and confusion especially at occasions like the Hajj.

Facing the Kaaba, before reciting the niyyath (intention), we should recite the following verse of the Quran to ourselves :     



 


INNI WAJJAHTU WAJHIYA LILLAZI FATARS SMAWATI WAL ARZA HANII-FO-WN-WAMAA ANA MINAL MUSHRIKEEN.

I have turned mi/face ( direction ) towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, as one by nature upright and I am not of those who ascribe partners (unto Allah), (Ch:6, Vs:79.).

4. Languages of Namaz: We are required to offer Namaz in the Arabic language, that is the language in which the Holy Quran was revealed. This too, besides other advantages, gives rise to uniformity, a Muslim belonging to any apart of the world can offer Namaz in any part of the world, fully understanding all that is recited in Namaz. Absence of  common language of Namaz would again give rise to confusion as in the case of absence of common direction.

5. Niyyath ( Intention ):Every deed depends for its value and reward on our intention. Before offering Namaz too, we should have the intention to do so hoping for full reward. We should not stand for Namaz without intention that is, just mechanically or habitually.  We should stand with the intention of offering the particular Namaz, for example; I am  offering four Rakat Farz of Zuhar Namaz, for Allah (SWT) with my direction towards the Kaaba.

6. Consciousness: The following verse of the Quran clearly indicates that while offering  Namaz we should be in our senses so as to understand what we recite :

"O you who believe ! Do not go near Namaz when you are intoxicated until you know (well) what you say....." (Ch:4, Vs:43)  

Though the orders are for the state of intoxication yet the reason given is very clear that under the influence of intoxicants we lose our senses and do not know what we say, therefore in this condition we are ordered not to offer Namaz. Going a little deep into the problem it clearly means that while offering Namaz we should know and understand what we recite. This can be done by memorizing the meaning of all that we recite in Namaz which would also help us in having the proper emotion during the whole Namaz.      

7. Attitude during Namaz : While offering Namaz we should feel that we are seeing Allah (SWT), if this is not possible, we should feel that Allah(SWT) is seeing us. This would give rise to great respect for and fear of Allah (SWT) in our minds. At the same time we should be full of devotion to Allah (SWT), extremely humble and hoping for Allah's Mercy, and Forgiveness. We should be peaceful and composed. We should not be hasty and every act in the Namaz should be performed so peacefully that anyone, watching us should not feel that we are in haste.

In each act of the Namaz we should allow so much time that all the joints and muscles of our body should feel relaxed. 
 
We should not allow our thoughts to wander here arid there but offer Namaz with full concentration which can be increased if we understand what we recite in the Namaz. Namaz is something like talking to Allah (SWT). In our normal life do we talk to a person in a language which we ourselves do not understand ? We must therefore consider it our duty to learn the Arabic language. Concentration in the Namaz is so essential that it is ordered that if we feel like attending to nature's call or if meals are ready, we should first attend to these necessities and then go for Namaz, otherwise our attention might get diverted and we may not be able to concentrate on what we recite during the Namaz. It is reported that once an arrow got stuck up in the heel of Hazarath Ali (R.A) (fourth Calif ah). It was so painful that he did not allow anyone to take it out. When he was busy offering Namaz someone slowly pulled it out and Hazrath Ali (R.A) did not even feel it. Just imagine his devotion and concentration. May Allah (SWT) give us that devotion and concentration.

Another very important advantage of knowing the meaning of what we recite in the Namaz can be illustrated by the following example.

In every Namaz, while reciting the Surah Fateha, we pray : "O Allah guide us to the straight path." After the Namaz If, we try to remember this prayer, will have the indecency to commit a sin, that is one moment we ask Allah (SWT) to guide us to the right path and the very next moment we commit a sin? If we develop this attitude of remembering the prayers recited in Namaz, even after the Namaz, we are sure to be away from sin In fact by this attitude we will be proving the truth of, the verse of the Holy Quran cited in the first chapter that Namaz keeps one away from evil and shameful deeds, our Namaz would thus influence our whole life and thereby serve one of its most important purposes.

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