Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Joining Prayers and Other related Issues One of the issues, among many others, that the Sunnis quarrel
with the Shia about is the form, method, and time of the Prayer (Salat)
prescribed on every male and female believer.
Indeed, they make a
mockery of the Shi'i prayer!
The Shia acknowledge FIVE daily PRAYERS.
However,
they are allowed to pray them in THREE distinct TIMES, not five; the five prayers are:
Fajr (Morning), Zuhr (Noon), Asr (Afternoon), Maghrib (Sunset), and
Isha (Night).

The Fajr (morning) is prayed at the same time as the Sunnis do;
however, the Shia usually wait 10 minutes before they consider it to be
time for Fajr.
We are allowed to pray noon and afternoon prayer one after
another (without a lot of delay between the two).

Similarly we are
allowed to pray sunset prayer and night prayer one after another.
Actually it
is better to pray in their own specific time (close to what Sunnis do), but it is not
necessary.
Thus instead of five separate times, we can pray all the five
daily prayers only in three separate times.
(NOTE: The prayers in ALL cases are DISTINCT (separate),
it's NOT that they (the Shia) pray eight Raka't (for Zuhr and Asr) straight,
or seven Raka't (for Maghrib and Isha) straight, as part of ONE prayer.

It is the SAME regular form of prayer, but combined into one TIME, NOT one
PRAYER.
) It should also be noted that the Sunnis agree to the combining
of prayers in the case of Rain, Travel, Fear, or other emergencies.

Two forms are allowed: Jam'a Taqdeem (Early Combination) or Jam'a Ta-ikheer
(Late Combination).
An example of Early combination is the
combining of Zuhr and Asr to be prayed in the time of Zuhr.
An example of
Late Combination is the combining of the Zuhr and Asr to be prayed in the time of Asr.
The EXCEPTION among the Sunni schools are the Hanifites (Followers
of Abu Hanifa): They contend that you CANNOT combine the prayers
at any time, not even if you're traveling.
This clearly violated the
other Sunni schools of thought, but it was and still is tolerated.

The
Maliki's, Shafeei's, and Hanbali's all agree to the combining of prayers when one is
traveling, but are in conflict on other times.
The Shia said that
one can combine the prayers ANYTIME without ANY cause of fear, rain, or whatever.
Nonetheless, the Shia also contend that if you want to pray them separately,
it is acceptable as well.
Now, let's question why the Shia perform the Prayers as
described above, and who is more accurate in their Prayer, the Sunnis or the Shia?

Here is what Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Quran:

Establish regular prayers at the
Sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the recital of the Quran
in the morning prayer; for the recital of the dawn is Witnessed.

[17:78] How many prayer times are mentioned? THREE, NOT five.

Count
them: the Sun's Decline, Darkness of the Night, and the Morning
Prayer.
That's THREE, not FIVE.
Now, what did the Prophet (PBUH&HF) do? Here's what
Ibn Abbas, one of the most famous narrators, says according to the Musnad of Ibn
Hanbal (One of the books of tradition):

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) prayed
in Madina, while residing there, NOT TRAVELING, seven and eight (this is
an indication to the seven Raka't of Maghrib and Isha combined,
and the eight Raka't of Zuhr and Asr combined).
Musnad al-Imam Ibn Hanbal, vol.
1, page 221.

Also, in the Muwatta' of Malik (Imam of Maliki sect), vol.
1,

page 161, Ibn Abbas says:

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) prayed
Zuhr and Asr in combination and Maghrib and Isha in combination WITHOUT a
reason for fear or travel.
As for Sahih Muslim, see the following under the chapter of
Combination of prayers, when one is resident:

Ibn Abbas reported: The messenger of
Allah(may peace be upon him) observed the noon and the afternoon
prayers together, and the sunset and Isha prayers together without being
in a state of fear or in a state of journey Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CCL, Tradition #1515 Ibn Abbas reported that the messenger
of Allah(may peace be upon him) combined the noon prayer with the
afternoon prayer and the sunset prayer with the Isha prayer in Medina
without being in a state of danger or rainfall.

And in
the hadith transmitted by Waki(the words are): I said to Ibn Abbas: What
prompted him to do that? He said: So that his(prophet's)Ummah should not be
put to (unnecessary) hardship.

Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CCL, Tradition #1520 Abdullah b.
Shaqiq reported:

Ibn Abbas one day addressed us in the afternoon(after the afternoon prayer)
till the sun disappeared, and the stars appeared, and the people
began to say: Prayer, prayer.

A person from Banu Tamim came there.
He
neither slackened nor turned away, but (continued crying): Prayer,
prayer.
Ibn Abbas said: May you be deprived of your mother, do you
teach me sunnah? And then he said:

I saw the messenger of Allah(may peace
be upon him) combining the noon and afternoon prayers and the sunset
and Isha prayers.

Abdullah b.
Shaqiq said: Some doubt was created in
my mind about it.

So I came to Abu Huraira and asked him(about it) and
he testified his assertion.
Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CCL, Tradition #1523 Abdullah b.
Shaqiq al-Uqaili
reported: A person said to Ibn Abbas(as he delayed the prayer): Prayer.

He
kept silent.

He again said: Prayer.

He again kept silent, and he cried:
Prayer.
He again kept silent and said: May you be deprived of your
mother, do you teach us about prayer? We used to combine two prayers
during the lifetime of the messenger of Allah(may peace be upon
him).
Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CCL, Tradition #1524 Ibn Abbas reported: The messenger of
Allah(may peace be upon him) observed the noon and afternoon prayers
together in Medina without being in a state of fear or in a state
of journey.

Abu Zubair said: I asked Sa'id[one of the narrators] why
he did that.
He said: I asked Ibn Abbas as you have asked me, and he
replied that he[the Holy prophet] wanted that no one among his
Ummah should be put to [unnecessary] hardship.

Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CCL, Tradition #1516 Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger
of Allah(may peace be upon him) observed in Medina seven (rakahs) and
eight(rakahs), i.
e.
, (he combined) the noon and afternoon
prayers(eight rakahs) and the sunset and Isha prayers(seven Rakahs).

Sahih Muslim, English version, Chapter CCL, Tradition #1522 Now, who is it that follows the customs and tradition of the
Prophet (PBUH&HF)??? The Shia who follow it to the letter, or
the Sunnis who don't even acknowledge the traditions in their own books? This is a
SIGN for those who reflect!
Furthermore, Allah (SWT) continually reminds us in the Quran
that Islam was revealed to make your life easier, not more difficult.

How then, can one work, eat, sleep, study, etc.
with five
prayers a day in five different times? You pray Maghrib, and an hour later, you pray Isha.

Is this convenient, say for doctors in a surgery room? Believe me,
if the Sunnis followed what the Prophet (PBUH&HF) did (five prayers in
three TIMES a day), many people would be praying today.

I
witnessed this myself in this holy month of Ramadan.

My Sunni friends pray Zuhr,
then sleep.
They then wake up about 30 minutes before Iftar (the time to break the
fast), and pray Asr.
Many also miss the prayer! Is this
really convenient???

Question and ask for the TRUTH, and if you are honest and
sincere, Allah (SWT) will guide you.
There is another aspect which the Sunnis make a mockery of when
they see a Shii praying: The Shia will only pray on natural rock (not
cement), the ground (if it is NOT planted something that is either edible
and/or something of which clothe can be made to be worn by humans),
rugs made of Palm tree leaves, or rugs made of dry grasslike material (the
same stuff as that used in building huts).

The Shia will NOT pray
on regular carpet.
That's why, if you see a Shii praying, you will notice that he
is praying on a peace of mud that is about the size of matchbox.

The Sunnis mock the Shia and say that the Shia worship the rock!
It should also be noted that the piece of mud that the Shia pray
on is from the mud of Karbala, the place in Iraq where al-Imam al-Hussein
(AS) was slaughtered by Yazid's army.

Nonetheless, this is
NOT a mandatory requirement; the mud can be from ANY place on Earth as long as
it is clean and, as I mentioned earlier, is not planted edible foods or
materials which can be made into clothe that humans can wear.
Now, let's question why the Shia pray on the above materials
only, and, again, who is wrong or right?

First, carpets are not allowed, nor is cement because the
ingredients that they are made up of are not known.
They may contain
materials which are Haram (Islamically illegal) to prostrate one's head on (make
sujud).
Second, the prostration on the ground is more humble and modest
when one is between the Hands of Allah (SWT).

It is a form of
eliminating pride, arrogance, and flamboyance.
Third, the Shia pray ON the rock, NOT FOR the rock.

We
DO NOT worship rocks.
NOTE: The Sunnis allow the prostration on anything that is
clean, but they do FAVOR rugs made from Palm tree leaves.

But what did the Prophet (PBUH&HF) do?
Sahih Muslim, v1, p168, under the chapter of A
Menstruating Woman's Eligibility to Wash Her Husband's
Head narrates that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) had a special rug made of
Palm tree leaves that he (SAAS) used to pray on.
Sahih al-Bukhari, v2, p256, under the chapter of
Retreating to Prayer in the last ten days (of Ramadan)
narrates at the end of a long tradition that when the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
raised his (SAAS) head from prayer, the companions saw the
marks of mud and water on his (SAAS) forehead.

This
indicates that he (SAAS) prayed on the ground.
Sahih al-Bukhari, v1, p86, under the chapter of Tayamum
narrates that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) said:
The GROUND has been cleansed and made a masjid for me.
Do I need to comment? Who, now, is it that follows the
custom of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)?

Some of the other differences between the Shia and Sunnis are:
The Shia pray with their hands hanging down the sides (like the Sunni
Malikis), not clasped above their navel.
Also, the Shia don't say
Ameen after the recitation of the first Surah (chapter) in prayer is completed.
The reason is that there is no proof to support the notion that this kind
of behavior was performed by the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Again, there is a difference in the Azan (Call to Prayer) among
the Shia and the Sunnis.
The Shia add one line to the Azan,
which they consider to be a MANDATORY component of the Azan.

This line,
repeated twice, is: Haya ala Khair al-'amal -- Rise Up For The Best of Works.
It comes right after the line: Haya ala al-Falah -- Rise Up For
Salvation.

Another addition by the Shia, which is NOT a mandatory part of the Azan,
is the affirmation: Ash-hadoo Ana Ali-yan Walayo Allah -- I
witness that Ali is the Vicegerent of Allah.

This line is repeated twice
and follows the line:

Ash-hadoo Ana Muhamadan Rasool Allah -- I witness that
Muhamad is the Messenger of Allah.
As I mentioned, the latter
line is NOT considered mandatory, and ANY Shii individual that argues otherwise, has
invalidated the Azan.
The origin of this assertion and addition
goes back to the days of the Ummayads and the political environment during those days.

The Ummayads attempted wholeheartedly to eliminate the memory of
al-Imam Ali (AS) from among his (AS) followers.
This effort
reached astronomical proportions, that during and after the days of Muawiyah's
ruling, it became customary to curse al-Imam Ali (AS) whenever his (AS) name was
mentioned (May Allah (SWT) forgive us).
As such, the followers
of al-Imam Ali (AS) chose to oppose the corrupt Ummayad government, and assert that
Ali (AS) was truly the Vicegerent of Allah (SWT).
That served
as both an annoyment to the authorities, and a reminder to the posterity that al-
Imam Ali (AS) was indeed the Agent and Vicegerent of Allah (SWT).

In conclusion, I simply appeal to all believing individuals to
engage in a serious soul-searching effort to find the truth for themselves.

May
Allah (SWT) forgive us our sins, and guide us to that which pleases
Him (SWT).