Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-90a
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The reader : " Chapter on the dislike of turning around in prayer without a valid excuse :
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 982 Al-Bukhari narrated it.
And it was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 589 Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good, authentic hadith " .
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin* : " Chapter on the dislike of turning around in prayer without need " :
When a person stands to pray, he is in the presence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), so he should not turn, neither with his heart nor with his face, to anything other than Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). As for turning with the heart, it is when a person thinks about things unrelated to the prayer, such as the distracting thoughts that often afflict many of those who pray. This is turning with the heart, and it is more detrimental to the prayer than turning with the body, because it diminishes the prayer until a person may leave his prayer with only a tenth or less of its reward recorded for him, depending on the presence of his heart.
As for turning with the face: it is when a person turns his neck, twisting it to the right or to the left. This is because a person is commanded in his prayer to face the qiblah, not to lean to the right or to the left. If he does so, Aisha asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about turning around in prayer, and he said:Sahih al-Bukhari 751 For Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is facing the servant with His Face, so if a person turns away from his Lord, he is likely to find that Allah turns away from him. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited turning around in prayer, as in the hadith of Anas ibn Malik, and he said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 589 .
However, if there is a need, there is no harm, such as if you hear the sound of an animal wanting to run at you, and you turn, there is no harm. Or if you send a person for an important need and you turn, there is no harm, on the condition that the turning is with the head only. As for turning with the body, it invalidates the prayer, because it is a deviation from the qiblah, and facing the qiblah is one of the conditions of the prayer.
There are some people who do not turn by twisting the neck, but they turn with their gaze. You find them letting their gaze wander to the right and to the left; if someone stands, they look at him, and if someone sits, they look at him, and if someone moves, they look at him. This undoubtedly diminishes the reward of the prayer. So a person should keep his gaze in front of his face, either looking at his prostration or looking at the place of his prostration, and not looking to the right or to the left. And success is from Allah.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
I asked God’s Messenger about looking to the side during prayer and he said, “It is something which the devil snatches from a servant’s prayer.”
سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الالتفات في الصلاة فقال : هو اختلاس يختلسه الشيطان من صلاة العبدAnd it was narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Beware of looking around during the Salat, for indeed looking around during Salat is destruction. If you must do so, then in the voluntary (prayers), not in the obligatory (prayers).
إياك والالتفات في الصلاة، فإن الالتفات في الصلاة هَلَكة، فإن كان لابد، ففي التطوع لا في الفريضةThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin* : " Chapter on the dislike of turning around in prayer without need " :
When a person stands to pray, he is in the presence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), so he should not turn, neither with his heart nor with his face, to anything other than Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). As for turning with the heart, it is when a person thinks about things unrelated to the prayer, such as the distracting thoughts that often afflict many of those who pray. This is turning with the heart, and it is more detrimental to the prayer than turning with the body, because it diminishes the prayer until a person may leave his prayer with only a tenth or less of its reward recorded for him, depending on the presence of his heart.
As for turning with the face: it is when a person turns his neck, twisting it to the right or to the left. This is because a person is commanded in his prayer to face the qiblah, not to lean to the right or to the left. If he does so, Aisha asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about turning around in prayer, and he said:
It is a way of stealing by which Satan takes away (a portion) from the prayer of a person.
هو اختلاس يختلسه الشيطان من صلاة العبدfor indeed looking around during Salat is destruction
إن الالتفات في الصلاة هلكةHowever, if there is a need, there is no harm, such as if you hear the sound of an animal wanting to run at you, and you turn, there is no harm. Or if you send a person for an important need and you turn, there is no harm, on the condition that the turning is with the head only. As for turning with the body, it invalidates the prayer, because it is a deviation from the qiblah, and facing the qiblah is one of the conditions of the prayer.
There are some people who do not turn by twisting the neck, but they turn with their gaze. You find them letting their gaze wander to the right and to the left; if someone stands, they look at him, and if someone sits, they look at him, and if someone moves, they look at him. This undoubtedly diminishes the reward of the prayer. So a person should keep his gaze in front of his face, either looking at his prostration or looking at the place of his prostration, and not looking to the right or to the left. And success is from Allah.