Explaining the Manner of Prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : As for its manner, we say first: every act of worship requires two conditions:
The first is sincerity for Allah
and the second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). These are the two conditions.
The student: Sincerity for Allah the Exalted...
The Shaykh : That is enough, take a break. Sincerity for Allah and following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Bayyinah 98:5] and His saying: [Az-Zumar 39:14] and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan Abi Dawud 2201Sahih (Al-Albani) So if a person stands to pray with showing off, just so that people see him, without any desire for the prayer itself, then he has no prayer, because he is not sincere.
The second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Hashr 59:7] and His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 1718b and in another wording: Sahih Muslim 1718a
But how is following achieved? By knowing the manner of the worship that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed. We must know how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) worshipped Allah in this act of worship. And thus, if we want to follow the Messenger in prayer, we must learn how he used to pray. We are now mentioning what is facilitated of that.
The first is sincerity for Allah
and the second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). These are the two conditions.
The student: Sincerity for Allah the Exalted...
The Shaykh : That is enough, take a break. Sincerity for Allah and following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَSay, "Allah [alone] do I worship, sincere to Him in my religion,
بل الله أعبد مخلصا له دينيActions are to be judged only by intentions and a man will have only what he intended. When one’s emigration is to Allaah and His Apostle, his emigration is to Allaah and His Apostle but his emigration is to a worldly end at which he aims or to a woman whom he marries , his emigration is to that for which he emigrated.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوى فمن كانت هجرته إلى الله ورسوله فهجرته إلى الله ورسوله ومن كانت هجرته لدنيا يصيبها أو امرأة يتزوجها فهجرته إلى ما هاجر إليهThe second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from
وما آتاكم الرسول فخذوه وما نهاكم عنه فانتهواHe who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو رد'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردBut how is following achieved? By knowing the manner of the worship that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed. We must know how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) worshipped Allah in this act of worship. And thus, if we want to follow the Messenger in prayer, we must learn how he used to pray. We are now mentioning what is facilitated of that.