You did not maintain the performance of prayer due to confusion over the differences among people

Question:
In reality, she has a long question, Your Eminence, and it is all praise and appreciation for this program and for the participants in it, the noble scholars, and she mentions the benefit they derive from it in their region. Then she lists a long question, saying: I am a committed Muslim girl who does good and avoids evil, but I have not been performing the prayer because of confusion. In Iraq, the people are divided into two sections—the Muslims—one section is called the Shi'ah, and the other section, the second one, is called the Sunnah. The prayer of each differs from the other, and each claims that their prayer is the most correct. If I pray the Shi'ah way or the Sunnah way, the whispers do not leave me. For this reason, I wrote to you, hoping you will save me from my confusion by telling me the correct prayer, starting from the ablution. I know that this will take a lot of time from the program, but if you knew the extent of the benefit in your answer, not only for me but for many of us. Knowing that I will record the answer on a cassette tape so that I can learn it and memorize it, and then pass it on to other girls. And so she continues, Your Eminence, until she says: I hope you will benefit me regarding the prayer, starting from the ablution and ending with the closing salam?

Answer:
I ask Allah for you and all your sisters in Allah for success and guidance. First, I advise you to adhere to what the people of the Sunnah are upon, and let the standard be what Allah and His Messenger said. The standard is the great Book of Allah, the Qur'an, and what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in his hadiths and his biography (peace and blessings be upon him). The people of the Sunnah are the most deserving of this and the ones who are successful in this matter. Among the Shi'ah, there are many errors and many mistakes. We ask Allah for us and for them for guidance so that they return to the Book and the Sunnah, and so that they abandon the religious innovations they have.
So I advise you to adhere to what the people of the Sunnah and the community are upon, and to be steadfast upon that until you meet your Lord upon the path of the Sunnah and the community.
As for what concerns the prayer, it is obligatory for you to pray, and it is not permissible for you to abandon it out of confusion. The correct way is what the people of the Sunnah are upon in this matter. So you must pray as the people of the Sunnah pray, and you must beware of being lax in this, for the prayer is the pillar of Islam, and abandoning it is disbelief and misguidance. So it is obligatory for you to be cautious of abandoning it, and it is obligatory for you and every Muslim man and woman to hasten to it and maintain it in its times. As Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [al-Baqarah:238] This is in Surat al-Baqarah. And He, the Exalted, said: [al-Baqarah:43] This is also in Surat al-Baqarah. And He, the Exalted, said: [al-Nur:56] In Surat al-Nur. So you must care for the prayer and strive to maintain it, and you must advise those with you in that. And Allah has promised the maintainers of prayer Paradise and honor. He, the Exalted, said: al-Ladhina Hum fi Salatihim Khashi'un [al-Mu'minun:1-2] Then He listed great attributes for the people of faith, and He concluded them with His saying, the Exalted: Ula'ika Hum al-Warithun al-Ladhina Yarithun al-Firdaws Hum Fiha Khalidun [al-Mu'minun:9-11] This is a great promise from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the people of prayer and the people of faith. And He said in Surat al-Ma'arij: Itha Massahu al-Sharru Jazu'an Wa Itha Massahu al-Khayru Manu'an Illa al-Musallin al-Ladhina Hum 'ala Salatihim Da'imun [al-Ma'arij:19-23] Then He listed their attributes after that, and then He said: Ula'ika fi Jannatin Mukramun [al-Ma'arij:34-35] So I advise you to care for the prayer and maintain it.
As for what you asked about regarding ablution and how to perform the prayer, here is the answer:
First: The ablution is a condition for the prayer, and it is necessary. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: : [al-Ma'idah:6] This is how Allah commanded in Surat al-Ma'idah. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the ablution is necessary. The ablution begins first with cleaning oneself after relieving oneself. If a person has passed stool or urine, he cleans himself with water from his urine and stool, or he cleans himself with pebbles or stones or with rough, pure napkins from what came out of him, three times or more, until he purifies the place in the anus and the penis and the front, until he purifies the two private parts from the traces of stool and urine with stones, pebbles, or napkins, three times or more, and water is better. And if he combines them, cleaning with pebbles and cleaning with water, that is more complete and more perfect. Then after that, he performs the legal ablution: he washes his hands three times, this is the best. Then he rinses his mouth and sniffs water three times with three mouthfuls. Then he washes his face three times, from the hairline above to the chin below, and across to the tips of the ears, this is how the face is washed. Then he washes his hands and arms from the tips of the fingers to the elbows, the joint of the arm from the upper arm, and the elbow is washed. He washes the right one then the left, for the man and the woman. Then after that, he wipes the head and the ears, for the man and the woman. Then after that, he washes his right foot three times, including the heels, then the left three times, including the heels, until he reaches the shin, so the heels are washed. The recommended practice is three times for the face, the rinsing and sniffing, the face, the hands, and the feet, three times each. As for the head, it is one wipe with the ears, this is the recommended practice. If he did not wash his face except once, he covered it with water, then he covered his hands with water once, and so the feet, he covered them with water once or twice, that suffices. But the best is three times. It is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he performed ablution once, twice, and three times. And it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he performed ablution in some instances three times and in some twice. So the matter is broad, praise be to Allah. The obligatory is once, covering every limb with water, covering his face with water with the rinsing and sniffing, and covering his right hand with water until he washes the elbow, and so the left, covering it with water. And so he wipes his head and ears, covering his head with water, then the feet, he washes the right one once, covering it with water, and the left likewise, covering it with water, including the heels. This is the obligatory. And if he repeated it twice, it is better. And if he repeated it three times, it is better. And with this, the ablution ends. Then he says: This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. And al-Tirmidhi added with a good chain after that: So this is said after the ablution. The man says it and the woman says it, outside the bathroom. And the ablution begins with the name, saying: In the name of Allah, at the beginning of the ablution. This is what is prescribed. Some of the scholars made it obligatory to say: In the name of Allah, at the beginning of the ablution. And with this, we have known the ablution, and it is the key to the prayer .
Then the prayer, its manner is that it begins with the takbir. For the Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha', and Fajr, he says: Allahu Akbar. The man and the woman: Allahu Akbar. Then he says: This is the best. Or he says: If he does this or that, it is all correct. And there are other opening supplications established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); if he does any of them, it is valid. But these two opening supplications are among the shortest. If the man does them or the woman does them, it suffices, and it is recommended. This opening supplication is recommended and not obligatory. If he begins the recitation immediately after the takbir, it suffices. But it is better that he comes with this opening supplication, saying: This is better. Or he comes with his saying: And this is the most authentic thing that has been reported in the opening supplication.
Then the man or the woman says: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Then he recites al-Fatihah, which is: al-Rahman al-Rahim Maliki Yawm al-Din Iyyaka Na'budu Wa Iyyaka Nasta'in Ihdina al-Sirat al-Mustaqim Sirat al-Ladhina An'amta 'Alayhim Ghayr al-Maghdubi 'Alayhim Wa La al-Dallin [al-Fatihah:2-7] Then he says: Ameen. And Ameen is not part of al-Fatihah. It is recommended. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say it after al-Fatihah in the loud and quiet prayers, saying: Ameen. Its meaning is: O Allah, accept.
Then he recites what is easy after al-Fatihah, in the first unit of the midday prayer and the second unit of the midday prayer, and the first unit of the afternoon prayer and the second unit of the afternoon prayer, and the first unit of the sunset prayer and the second unit of the sunset prayer, and the first unit of the night prayer and the second unit of the night prayer, and in both units of the dawn prayer, he recites a surah or verses along with al-Fatihah; after he recites al-Fatihah, he recites a surah or verses. The best in the midday prayer is to be from the middle of the final group of surahs, from the middle of the final group of surahs, such as [al-Ghashiyah:1], such as [al-Layl:1], such as [Abasa:1], [at-Takwir:1], [al-Infitar:1], and what is similar to that and what is around that. In the afternoon prayer, it is like that or slightly lighter in the afternoon prayer. In the sunset prayer, likewise, he recites after al-Fatihah what is easy from these surahs or shorter than them, and if he recites longer at times in the sunset prayer, it is better; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited at times in the sunset prayer with at-Tur, and recited in it at times with al-Mursalat, and recited in it at times with the surah al-A'raf, dividing it between the two units, but mostly he recited less than that, shorter than that, like reciting [al-Ghashiyah:1], [al-Balad:1], or (Izaz Zalzalat) or (al-Qari'ah) or (al-'Adiyat); there is no harm in this. But at times he recited longer as mentioned, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) recited longer in the sunset prayer, like at-Tur and al-Mursalat and the like. In the night prayer, he recites what he recited in the midday and afternoon prayers; he recites al-Fatihah and adds to it, in the first unit like (wa as-Sama' ad-Dhati al-Buruj), (wa as-Sama' wa at-Tariq), (Hal Ataka Hadith al-Ghashiyah), (Abasa wa Tawalla), (Izash Shamsu Kumat), and what is similar to that, or verses of that length, in the first and second units. And so in the dawn prayer, he recites an addition after al-Fatihah, but longer than the previous ones; in the dawn prayer it is longer than the midday, afternoon, sunset, and night prayers. He recites in the dawn prayer like (Qaf), like (Iqtarabatis Sa'ah), or less than that like (at-Taghabun) and (as-Saff) and the like, like (Tabarak alladhi biyadihi al-Mulk), like (Qul Uhiya...), like (Ya Ayyuhal Muzzammil), and what is similar to that. In the dawn prayer, it is longer than the midday, afternoon, sunset, and night prayers, following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If he recites less and shorter, there is no blame on him, for it is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he recited at times with less than that. But that in the dawn prayer he recites with the long surahs mostly is better, following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the third and fourth units of the midday and afternoon prayers, and the third unit of the sunset prayer, and the third and fourth units of the night prayer, al-Fatihah is sufficient; he recites al-Fatihah, which is al-Hamd, then he says Allahu Akbar for bowing. But it is reported regarding the midday prayer what indicates that he (peace and blessings be upon him) at times may recite an addition in the midday prayer in the third and fourth units. So if he recites at times in the midday prayer in the third unit an addition to al-Fatihah, and in the fourth unit an addition to al-Fatihah, somewhat, it is good, following him (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the description of recitation in the prayer.
Then he bows and is calm in his bowing, and places his hands on his knees with his fingers spread apart, and levels his head with his back and says: , due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): , and he used to say in his bowing: . Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: . So all of this is recommended, and the obligatory is: Subhan Rabbi al-Azim once, and if he repeats it three times it is better, or five times, and if he increases beyond that: at times, it is good. This is in the bowing.
And when he bows, he says: Allahu Akbar; when he bows, he says: Allahu Akbar. He straightens up in the bowing and is calm and does not hasten. Then he raises his head and says: if he is an imam or praying alone, upon raising his head. He says: Sami' Allahu liman hamidah, then he says after . This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, and he approved a person whom he heard saying: Hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fih. He approved him for that and said: He saw such and such of the angels, all of them hastening to write it to raise it, or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said.
So the result is: when he raises his head from the bowing, if he is an imam or praying alone, he says: , then he says while standing upright: .
The presenter: Shaykh Abdul Aziz, the time for this episode has ended. I hope you will be kind enough to complete the description of the correct prayer in a future episode, if Allah wills.