Reciting Salaat Correctly There are many conditions of...

Reciting Salaat Correctly There are many conditions of salaat and we have discussed the actual way in which to pray before. Some other general rules of importance which validate Salaat include: Correct pronunciation of the Arabic words. Qiyaam must be performed and if it is left out - intentionally or unintentionally - Salaat is baatil. Two sujud must be performed. The forehead should be placed on earth, paper, wood, or leaf but not on anything edible or artificially coloured e.g. carpets.

If a person feels that something is preventing his forehead from touching the mohr or earth he is performing sajdah on, he should carefully remove that thing without raising his head off the mohr. As Muslims, we must learn all the rules regarding Salaat and other Ebadat and understand how to refer to the Masa'el (Laws) book when we need to. Things that Invalidate Salaat Certain things invalidate Salaat and are called Mubtilaatus Salaat. In this lesson, we shall list a few.

These are: a) Najasat of clothes. b) Ghasbi place of prayer. c) Breaking of wudhoo through sleep, visiting the toilet etc. d) Lack of discipline in Salaat e.g. looking away or speaking to someone. Doubts in Salaat There are times when a person finds himself doubting his actions in Salaat. There are different types of Shak (doubts) that may occur. Out of these: Some invalidate a prayer as soon as they occur, Some should be ignored and Others have remedial procedures to correct them.

Doubts that invalidate a prayer Doubts about number of rakaats prayed in Fajr. Doubts about number of rakaats prayed in Maghrib. Doubts that should be ignored: These refer to Salaat with 4 rakaats. Doubts about the number of rakaats that a person has performed. If after completing the prayer, a person doubts if he performed tashahhud in the second rakaat or if he recited dhikr of ruku/sajdah. Doubts of a person who has a habit of scepticism.

Doubts of the Imam leading prayers regarding the number of rakaats when the Ma'mun (Follower) knows the number or vice verse if the Ma'mun is sceptical. Doubts that occur in Mustahab prayers and Salaat-e-Ehtiyaat. Doubts that can be remedied: Certain doubts that occur in a salaat of 4 rakaats have remedies that correct the prayer. A person should think about the doubt and if he arrives at a decision, he should act according to it.

However, if the doubt remains then he should follow one of the rules below as relevant.