Some of the worshippers perform inappropriate movements in the mosque, such as yawning and cracking the spine, and some rise from the second prostration while leaning on their fingertips
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The questioner : Some of the worshippers perform inappropriate movements inside the mosque. Some do not remember to yawn except during the prayer. I have seen some people, after the taslim of the prayer, perform an exercise to crack the spine by placing their hand on the ground behind them and then turning around while sitting, and if you are close to them, you can hear the spine crack. Some also, when rising from the second prostration, lean on their fingertips to create a crack. There are movements a person does, knowing that if he were a guest at someone’s house or in a public place, he would not do such things. Is there a word for these people?
The Shaykh : The word I direct to these people, or others who mess around in the prayer, is this: When a person stands to pray, he stands before Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He should be at the peak of proper conduct, with presence of heart, humility of the soul, and stillness of the body, so that he is mindful of what he says and does in the prayer.
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that movement in the prayer, if it is frequent and continuous, invalidates the prayer, or if it is a movement that is absolutely incompatible with the prayer, such as loud laughter, it invalidates the prayer.
As for if that is after exiting the prayer, there is nothing wrong with a person doing the movements he does, unless it contradicts dignity or draws attention to him. A person is commanded to dispel suspicion from himself and not to do or say what people would criticize him for.
I say that the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided movement in the prayer into categories:
Obligatory movement: This is the movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends. For example, if a person prays facing a direction other than the qiblah, thinking it is the qiblah, and a person alerts him and says, “The qiblah is to your left,” then it is obligatory for him to turn and face the qiblah correctly. Or if a person finds impurity in his ghutrah, then it is obligatory for him to remove his ghutrah so that he does not carry the impurity. Also, among obligatory movement, if a person is praying with one person behind the imam, and then that person’s wudu’ is broken and he leaves, it is obligatory for this person to move forward to be with the imam. The rule is that every movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends is obligatory.
The second category: Recommended movement. This is the movement upon which a recommended act in the prayer depends, such as people being close to one another in the rows, moving forward to a gap that opened in front of him, or pulling a person who prayed to the left of the imam to be on his right, and the like.
The third category: Disliked movement. This is slight movement without need, such as a person cracking his fingers or toes, or adjusting his shemagh, his thawb, or his headband, or things for which he has no need. This is disliked movement.
The fourth category: Forbidden movement. This is movement that contradicts the prayer, either because it is absolutely inappropriate in the prayer, such as laughing and the like, or because it is frequent and continuous by custom, meaning frequent and continuous where one follows the other. The frequency here is determined by custom. This is forbidden and invalidates the prayer.
The fifth category: Permissible. This is everything else, such as if a person needs to adjust his ghutrah because, for example, it slipped a bit and is distracting him in his prayer, or the like. Also, if he is afflicted with an itch that does not go away except by scratching, this is also permissible and there is nothing wrong with it, because it is movement for a need. These are five categories of movements in the prayer.
The Shaykh : The word I direct to these people, or others who mess around in the prayer, is this: When a person stands to pray, he stands before Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He should be at the peak of proper conduct, with presence of heart, humility of the soul, and stillness of the body, so that he is mindful of what he says and does in the prayer.
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that movement in the prayer, if it is frequent and continuous, invalidates the prayer, or if it is a movement that is absolutely incompatible with the prayer, such as loud laughter, it invalidates the prayer.
As for if that is after exiting the prayer, there is nothing wrong with a person doing the movements he does, unless it contradicts dignity or draws attention to him. A person is commanded to dispel suspicion from himself and not to do or say what people would criticize him for.
I say that the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided movement in the prayer into categories:
Obligatory movement: This is the movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends. For example, if a person prays facing a direction other than the qiblah, thinking it is the qiblah, and a person alerts him and says, “The qiblah is to your left,” then it is obligatory for him to turn and face the qiblah correctly. Or if a person finds impurity in his ghutrah, then it is obligatory for him to remove his ghutrah so that he does not carry the impurity. Also, among obligatory movement, if a person is praying with one person behind the imam, and then that person’s wudu’ is broken and he leaves, it is obligatory for this person to move forward to be with the imam. The rule is that every movement upon which the validity of the prayer depends is obligatory.
The second category: Recommended movement. This is the movement upon which a recommended act in the prayer depends, such as people being close to one another in the rows, moving forward to a gap that opened in front of him, or pulling a person who prayed to the left of the imam to be on his right, and the like.
The third category: Disliked movement. This is slight movement without need, such as a person cracking his fingers or toes, or adjusting his shemagh, his thawb, or his headband, or things for which he has no need. This is disliked movement.
The fourth category: Forbidden movement. This is movement that contradicts the prayer, either because it is absolutely inappropriate in the prayer, such as laughing and the like, or because it is frequent and continuous by custom, meaning frequent and continuous where one follows the other. The frequency here is determined by custom. This is forbidden and invalidates the prayer.
The fifth category: Permissible. This is everything else, such as if a person needs to adjust his ghutrah because, for example, it slipped a bit and is distracting him in his prayer, or the like. Also, if he is afflicted with an itch that does not go away except by scratching, this is also permissible and there is nothing wrong with it, because it is movement for a need. These are five categories of movements in the prayer.