What is the ruling on using the miswak during prayer?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on using the miswak during prayer?
The Shaykh : It is a religious innovation if a person intends to worship Allah with the miswak while praying, and it is a disliked act of fidgeting and movement if the person does not intend this but only wants to purify his mouth.
The prescribed use of the miswak is before prayer if one intends to perform it, and likewise during ablution; using the miswak during ablution is a recommended practice, and using the miswak before prayer is a recommended practice. As for using the miswak during prayer, it is either a disliked act of fidgeting or a religious innovation. It becomes a religious innovation if a person intends to worship Allah with it, and it becomes a disliked act of fidgeting if he does not intend to worship. In any case, a person should not use the miswak while he is praying.
And on this occasion, I would like to expand a little on the ruling regarding movements in prayer. The scholars said that movements in prayer are divided into five categories: an obligatory movement, a recommended movement, a permissible movement, a disliked movement, and a forbidden movement.
As for the obligatory movement: it is the movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends; that is, the movement that, if you perform it, your prayer is valid, and if you do not perform it, it is invalid. An example of this is a man who is praying and sees impurity on his head covering. In this case, he must move to remove his head covering so that he is not carrying impurity. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led his companions in prayer one day while wearing his sandals. He removed them during the prayer, and then the people removed their sandals. When he finished the prayer, he asked them: Why did you remove your sandals? They said: We saw you remove your sandals, so we removed ours. He said:Mishkat al-Masabih 766.
Likewise, if a person is praying in a direction other than the qiblah and a man comes and tells him that the qiblah is to his right, he must turn toward the direction of the qiblah. This movement is obligatory because if he remained facing his original direction, his prayer would be invalid. The evidence for this is that the people of the mosque of Quba were praying the dawn prayer facing the direction of Sham. A messenger came to them and said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has been revealed the Qur'an and commanded to face the Ka'bah. So they turned to face the Ka'bah, and the qiblah they had been facing first became behind them, because one who faces Sham has his back to the Ka'bah, and one who faces the Ka'bah has his back to Sham. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he first arrived in Madinah, used to pray facing the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem, and he remained doing so for a year and four months, or a year and seven months. Then, after this, he was commanded to face the Ka'bah. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:144] So the obligatory movement is the one upon which the validity of the prayer depends.
The recommended movement: it is the movement upon which the perfection of the prayer depends, not its validity. Among this is the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), out of his eagerness for knowledge, spent one night at the house of his aunt Maymunah, the mother of the believers, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) got up to pray the night prayer, Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) got up and stood to his left. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took his head from behind and placed him on his right. This was a movement by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and by Ibn 'Abbas, but it was for the perfection of the prayer.
Likewise, if a person is praying in a row and sees a gap in the row in front of him, it is recommended for him to move forward to fill that gap, because that is part of the perfection of the prayer.
Likewise, if he has something in his pocket, meaning his storage place, that bothers him in his prayer and distracts him, and he takes it out of his pocket and places it on the ground, then this movement is recommended because it is part of perfecting his prayer.
As for the permissible movement, which is the third category: it is a slight movement if it is for a need, a slight movement for a need. In that case, it is permissible. Among this is if a man comes to you while you are praying and says: Give me the pen, please, so I can write with it. If you take it from your pocket and give it to him, there is no blame on you. This is a slight movement for a need. Also among this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) opened the door for 'A'ishah while he was praying. Also among this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead the people in prayer while carrying Ummamah, the daughter of Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was her grandfather on her mother's side. He used to carry her while leading the people in prayer; when he stood, he carried her, and when he prostrated, he placed her on the ground. This is a movement, but it is slight for a need, so it is permissible.
As for the disliked movement, which is the fourth category: it is a slight movement if there is no need for it, as many people do. You find one taking out his watch to look at it without need, taking out a pen from his pocket without need, adjusting the watch strap without need. Perhaps he might dare to do something greater than this. Perhaps he might have forgotten something and remembered it while praying, so he takes out the pen and writes what he forgot, either on his palm or on a piece of paper he takes out of his pocket. All of this is disliked, because it is fidgeting that the person did not need, and it does not relate to the benefit of the prayer.
As for the forbidden among movements, which is the fifth category: it is every excessive, continuous movement without dire necessity. For example, if a person makes many movements while standing or while sitting, and these movements continue without dire necessity, then they are forbidden and invalidate the prayer.
However, if it is for dire necessity, such as if a lion attacks him or a snake attacks him, and he does a lot of work to defend himself, then that does not harm him, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:239].
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : It is a religious innovation if a person intends to worship Allah with the miswak while praying, and it is a disliked act of fidgeting and movement if the person does not intend this but only wants to purify his mouth.
The prescribed use of the miswak is before prayer if one intends to perform it, and likewise during ablution; using the miswak during ablution is a recommended practice, and using the miswak before prayer is a recommended practice. As for using the miswak during prayer, it is either a disliked act of fidgeting or a religious innovation. It becomes a religious innovation if a person intends to worship Allah with it, and it becomes a disliked act of fidgeting if he does not intend to worship. In any case, a person should not use the miswak while he is praying.
And on this occasion, I would like to expand a little on the ruling regarding movements in prayer. The scholars said that movements in prayer are divided into five categories: an obligatory movement, a recommended movement, a permissible movement, a disliked movement, and a forbidden movement.
As for the obligatory movement: it is the movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends; that is, the movement that, if you perform it, your prayer is valid, and if you do not perform it, it is invalid. An example of this is a man who is praying and sees impurity on his head covering. In this case, he must move to remove his head covering so that he is not carrying impurity. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led his companions in prayer one day while wearing his sandals. He removed them during the prayer, and then the people removed their sandals. When he finished the prayer, he asked them: Why did you remove your sandals? They said: We saw you remove your sandals, so we removed ours. He said:
Gabriel came to me and informed me that there was filth on them
إن جبريل أتاني فأخبرني أن فيهما قذراًLikewise, if a person is praying in a direction other than the qiblah and a man comes and tells him that the qiblah is to his right, he must turn toward the direction of the qiblah. This movement is obligatory because if he remained facing his original direction, his prayer would be invalid. The evidence for this is that the people of the mosque of Quba were praying the dawn prayer facing the direction of Sham. A messenger came to them and said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has been revealed the Qur'an and commanded to face the Ka'bah. So they turned to face the Ka'bah, and the qiblah they had been facing first became behind them, because one who faces Sham has his back to the Ka'bah, and one who faces the Ka'bah has his back to Sham. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he first arrived in Madinah, used to pray facing the Sacred Mosque in Jerusalem, and he remained doing so for a year and four months, or a year and seven months. Then, after this, he was commanded to face the Ka'bah. Allah the Exalted said:
We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it
قَدْ نَرَى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُThe recommended movement: it is the movement upon which the perfection of the prayer depends, not its validity. Among this is the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), out of his eagerness for knowledge, spent one night at the house of his aunt Maymunah, the mother of the believers, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) got up to pray the night prayer, Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) got up and stood to his left. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took his head from behind and placed him on his right. This was a movement by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and by Ibn 'Abbas, but it was for the perfection of the prayer.
Likewise, if a person is praying in a row and sees a gap in the row in front of him, it is recommended for him to move forward to fill that gap, because that is part of the perfection of the prayer.
Likewise, if he has something in his pocket, meaning his storage place, that bothers him in his prayer and distracts him, and he takes it out of his pocket and places it on the ground, then this movement is recommended because it is part of perfecting his prayer.
As for the permissible movement, which is the third category: it is a slight movement if it is for a need, a slight movement for a need. In that case, it is permissible. Among this is if a man comes to you while you are praying and says: Give me the pen, please, so I can write with it. If you take it from your pocket and give it to him, there is no blame on you. This is a slight movement for a need. Also among this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) opened the door for 'A'ishah while he was praying. Also among this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lead the people in prayer while carrying Ummamah, the daughter of Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was her grandfather on her mother's side. He used to carry her while leading the people in prayer; when he stood, he carried her, and when he prostrated, he placed her on the ground. This is a movement, but it is slight for a need, so it is permissible.
As for the disliked movement, which is the fourth category: it is a slight movement if there is no need for it, as many people do. You find one taking out his watch to look at it without need, taking out a pen from his pocket without need, adjusting the watch strap without need. Perhaps he might dare to do something greater than this. Perhaps he might have forgotten something and remembered it while praying, so he takes out the pen and writes what he forgot, either on his palm or on a piece of paper he takes out of his pocket. All of this is disliked, because it is fidgeting that the person did not need, and it does not relate to the benefit of the prayer.
As for the forbidden among movements, which is the fifth category: it is every excessive, continuous movement without dire necessity. For example, if a person makes many movements while standing or while sitting, and these movements continue without dire necessity, then they are forbidden and invalidate the prayer.
However, if it is for dire necessity, such as if a lion attacks him or a snake attacks him, and he does a lot of work to defend himself, then that does not harm him, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And if you fear [an enemy, then pray] on foot or riding. But when you are secure, then remember Allah [in prayer], as He has taught you that which you did not [previously] know.
فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالًا أَوْ رُكْبَانًا فَإِذَا أَمِنتُمْ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَمَا عَلَّمَكُمْ مَا لَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْلَمُونَThe questioner : May Allah bless you.