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

to be present on the dress of a person performing salat and if
he performs it with the knowledge of its presence, his salat is invalid.

They exclude wax, honey, the blood of bugs; lice, fleas and
other insects which have no flesh, as well as the hair, sweat and
saliva of human beings.

They also consider salat invalid
if any part of a dead animal (maytah) happens to be on the clothes irrespective of whether
the animal is one used for food or not, whether its blood flows when
cut or not, and its skin is tanned or not.

A Subsidiary Issue: If there is only a single clothing to
cover the body and that too is najis to an extent that is not excusable, what
should one do if he has no alternative other than either performing
salat in the najis clothing or in the state of nature?

The Hanbalis say: He should perform salat in
the najis clothing, but it is wajib upon him to repeat it later.

The Malikis and a large number of Imamis
observe: He should perform salat in the najis clothing and its repetition is not
wajib upon him.
The Hanafis and the Shafi'is state: He should
perform salat naked and it is not valid for him to cover himself with the najis
clothing.

The Place of Salat:

An Usurped Place: The Imamis consider salat
performed in an usurped place and usurped clothing as invalid provided it is done
voluntarily and with the knowledge of the usurpation.

The other
schools observe: The salat performed in an usurped place is valid, though the person
per- forming it will have sinned, since the prohibition does not
relate directly to salat; rather, it relates to dispensations (of property).

Their
position in this regard is the same as in the case of usurped clothing.
Furthermore in the opinion of the four schools the Salat of usurper
himself is valid in usurped property.

The Imamis also consider as valid
the salat of the true owner and anyone whom he permits, and regard as invalid the salat of the
usurper and anyone whom the owner has not granted permission.

The
Imamis however permit salat in vast stretches of (owned) land which are either
impossible or difficult for people to avoid, even if the permission of the
owner has not been acquired.

Taharah (purity) of the Place: The four Sunni schools
observe: The place should be free from both wet and dry najasah (impurity).

The
Shafi'is overdo by saing: The taharah of all that which touches and comes
into contact with the body or clothes of the performer is wajib.

Therefore,
if he rubs himself against a najis wall or cloth or holds a najis
object or a rope laying over najasah, his salat will be invalid.

The
Hanafis require only the location of the feet and the forehead to be tahir.

The Imamis restrict it to the loca- tion of the forehead, i.
e.
the
place of sajdah.

As to the najasah of other locations, the salat will not be invalid
unless the najasah is transmitted to the body or clothing of the performer
(the person performing salat).

Salat Performed on a Mount: The Hanafis and the Imamis require
the place to be stationary; hence it is not valid in their opinion
to perform salat while riding an animal or something that swings back and
forth, except out of necessity, because one who has no choice will
perform salat in accordance with his capacity.

The Shafi'is, Malikis and Hanbalis
observe: Salat performed on a mount is valid even during times of peace and despite the
ability to perform it on the ground, provided it is performed completely
and meets all the requirements.

Salat Inside the Ka'bah: The Imamis, Shafi'is and Hanafis state:
It is valid to perform salat, faridah or nafilah, inside the Ka'bah.

The Malikis and the Hanbalis say: Only nafilah, not faridah, is valid therein.

A Woman's Prayer Beside a Man: A group of Imami legists observe:
If a man and a woman perform salat in a single place so that she is
either in front of him or beside him, and there is neither any screen
between them nor does the distance between the two exceed 10 cubits, the salat of the one who starts earlier will not be invalid, and if
both star simultaneously, the salat of both will be invalid.

The Hanafis say: If the woman is in front or beside a man, the salat will be invalid if performed in a single place with no
screen at least a cubit high between them, the woman has sex appeal, her shanks
and ankles are adjacent to his, the salat is not a funeral prayer,
and the salat is being jointly performed, i.
e.
either she
is following him or both are following a single imam.

The Shafi'is, the Hanbalis and most Imamis are of the view that the salat is valid, though the manner of performance is makruh.

The Locale of Sajdah: The schools concur that the place where
the forehead is placed during prostration should be stationary and
should not be inordinately higher than the location of the knees
(during sajdah).

They differ regarding that on which sajdah is
valid.
The Imamis state: It is valid to perform sajdah only on earth
and those things which grow on it which are not used for food or clothing.
Therefore, a person cannot perform sajdah on wool, cotton,
minerals and that which grows on the surface of water, for water is not
earth.

They permit sajdah on paper because it is made of a material which grows on earth.
They argue their position by
pointing out that sajdah is an 'ibadah (obedience) prescribed by the Shari'ah that
depends for its particulars on textual evidence (nass).

The
legists of all the schools concur regarding the validity of sajdah on earth and that which
grows on it, thus Imamis restrict it to that because there is
certainty.

They offer as further evidence these traditions of the Prophet (S):

The salat of any of you will not be valid unless he
performs wudu' as in- structed by God and then performs sajdah by placing
his forehead on the earth.
The earth has been created a masjid (a place for
performing sajdah) and a purifier .
Khabbab says: We complained to The Prophet
(S) regarding the excessive heat of sun-baked ground on our
foreheads, but he did not accept our complaint.

Had it been valid to perform sajdah on carpets, why would they
have complained?! However Imamis permit sajdah on cotton
and linen in the case of emergency.
The four schools observe: It is valid to perform sajdah on
anything, including even a part of one's turban, provided it is tahir.

Rather, the Hanafis permit sajdah on one's palm even without an
emergency, though it is considered as makruh.

To be continued-insha'Allah FOOTNOTES:

1.
The Hanafis use two terms ('fard' and 'wajib')
for something whose performance is obligatory and whose omission is impermissible.

Hence they divide obligation into two kinds: fard and wajib.
'Fard
'is a duty for which there is definite proof, such as Qur'anic text,
mutawatir sunnah, and ijma' (consensus).

'Wajib' is a duty for
which there is a Dhanni (non-definite) proof, such as qiyas (analogy) and khabar al-wahid (isolated tradition).

That whose performance
is preferable to its omission is also of two kinds: 'masnun' and 'mandub'.

'Masnun'
is an act which the Prophet (S) and the 'Rashidun' caliphs performed
regularly, and 'mandub' is an act ordered by the Prophet (S) though not
performed regularly by him (S).

That which it is wajib to avoid
and whose performance is not permissible is 'muharram' if it is
established by a definite proof.
If based on a Dhanni proof, it is 'makruh',
whose performance is forbidden.

2.
According to the Hanafis, the salat al-watr
consists of three rak'ahs with a single salam.

Its time extends from the
disappearance of twilight after sunset to dawn.

The Hanbalis and Shafi'is say:
At minimum it is one rak'ah and at maximum eleven rak'ahs, and its time is after the
'isha' prayer.
The Malikis observe: It has only one rak'ah.

3.
There are among 'ulama' of the Sunni
schools those who agree with the Imamis on performing the two salats together even when one
is not travelling.

al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Siddiq al-Ghumari has
written a book on this topic, Izalat al khatar 'amman jama'a bayn al-salatayn fi
al-hadar.

4.
There is no difference regarding the
definition of sunset between the Imamis and the other four schools.

But the Imamis say
that the setting of the sun is not ascertained simply by the vanishing of the sun
from sight, but on the vanishing of the reddish afterglow from the eastern
horizon, for the east overlooks the west and the eastern afterglow, which
is a reflection of sun's light, pales away as the sun recedes.

That
which is rumored regarding Shi'is that they do not break their fast
during Ramadan until the stars become visible, has no basis.

In fact
they denounce this opinion in their books on fiqh with the argument that the stars
may be visible before sunset, at the time of sunset or after it, and
declare that one who delays the maghrib prayer till the stars appear is
an accursed man (mal'un ibn mal'un).

They have said this in
condemnation of the Khattabiyyah (an extrimist sect which deviated from Shia), the
followers of Abu al-Khattab, who held this belief.

Thanks to God
that they are now one of the extinct sects.

lmam al-Sadiq (AS) was
told that the people of Iraq delay the maghrib prayer until the stars become visible.

He answered, That is on account of Abu al-Khattab, enemy
of Allah.

5 The command to face Masjid al-Haram has come in
verse 144 of Surat al-Baqarah (
So turn your face towards Masjid al-Haram
), and the leave to turn in any direction in verse 115 : (To God belong the
East and the West; where ever you turn there is the Face of God).