Tag: prayer

3.2.2 Times of the Five Prayers

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In this Unit:

  • There are 5 Prayers that are obligatory for Muslims to pray.
  • The times of these prayers are determined based on the position of the sun in the sky and shadows on the ground.

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Keywords

  • Fajr
  • Sunrise
  • Zuhur
  • Zawal
  • Asar
  • Maghrib
  • Sunset
  • Isha

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3.2.2 image

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]uslims are obligated to pray 5 times per day. Though most of us rely on calendars and watches to tell us the prayer time, in reality, the prayer times are determined by the position of the sun and the length of shadows.

How to determine the times of the 5 prayers:

[toggle title=” 1. Fajr (Dawn prayer)” state=”close”]
Start time: At true dawn which is when you see a white light stretched across the horizon.

End time: When the sphere of the sun starts to appear over the horizon
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[toggle title=” 2. Zuhur (Noon prayer)” state=”close”]
Start time: Zawal – which is when the sun passes its highest point in the sky. You know this has happened when the shadow of an object, say a meter stick, goes from decreasing to increasing.

End time: When the shadow of an object is equal to the length of the object

Or more accurately:

Length of meter stick: 100 cm
Length of shadow at zawal: 5 cm
Length of shadow at end of zuhur = x

x = 100 cm+ 5 cm = 105 cm

When x is 105 cm, zuhur is finished, asr has started.

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[toggle title=” 3. Asar (Evening prayer)” state=”close”]
Start time: End of zuhur

End time: When the entire sphere of the sun sets.
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[toggle title=”4. Maghrib (Sunset prayer)” state=”close”]
Start time: When the sun sets

End time: When the redness of sunset leaves the sky.
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[toggle title=”5. Isha (Night prayer)” state=”close”]
Start time: When the redness of the sunset leaves the sky.

End time: Dawn
[/toggle]

Now watch this video to see how to determine the beginning and end of zuhur and asr.


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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.2 times of the five prayers (watermark).pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.4 Times in which Prayer is Makruh

sunrise[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e say these are the times in which prayer is makruh, but really, it is haram to pray at these time. This type of makruh is known as “makruh tahrimi” (kind of like saying makruh to the point of being haram).

Review: The Meaning of Makruh and Haram

Makruh: A makruh act is one that Allah does not like, so it better not to do it. If you do it, you will not be sinful; if you do not do it, you will get reward. Can you name some makruh acts?

Haram: A haram act is one you must never do. If you do it, you will be sinful; if you do not do it, you will get reward from Allah and Allah will love you. Can you name some haram acts?

Makruh tahrimi is similar to haram in that one can be sinful for doing the act.
[toggle title=”Check the table here to understand more…” state=”close”]
3.2.4 table (1)[/toggle]

[toggle title=”There are five times in which it is makruh tahrimi
to pray without a valid reason.” state=”close”]
3.2.4 table[/toggle]

3.2.2 sun picture

Valid reasons to pray in the Makruh Prayer Times

We said you cannot pray without a valid reason. That means you can pray some prayers during the haram times for valid reasons. Here is a list of prayer you CAN pray at the haram times:

1. Any prayers you missed at their time
2. Make-up prayers
3. Funeral prayer
4. Prostrations for recitation of the Qur’an and for thankfulness
5. The two rakah for tawaf
6. Eclipse prayers
7. Two rakah for a wudu
8. Prayer for rain
9. Istikharah prayer
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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.4 time in which prayer is haram (watermark).pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.5 Conditions of Prayer

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In this unit:

  • There are 5 conditions you must fulfill before and throughout the prayer.
  • If any of these 5 things is not taken care of, your prayer will be invalid.

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Keywords

  • Conditions
  • Prerequisites
  • Awra
  • Qibla[/box][/one_half_last]

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here are 5 conditions we must fulfill before we start our prayer. That means there are 5 things we have to do for prayer before we even start praying. These conditions are not part of the prayer. They are prerequisites we must take care of before and during the prayer. A prerequisite is something we are required to do even before we start to pray. Without these, our prayer isn’t valid – our prayer is disqualified.

[toggle title=”1. We must purify ourselves from hadath and filth” state=”open”][one_half]We lift hadath by making wudu and/or ghusl. We remove filth by washing it away from our body and clothes. If filth comes on you, you just wash off the place of the filth with purifying water. You do not have to make wudu if you have filth on you. Wudu is only for lifting hadath.[/one_half]

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Conditions of Prayer3.jpg
As you make wudu, the hadath (“green paint”) comes off you

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[/toggle]

[toggle title=”2. We must cover our awra with pure clothes” state=”close”][one_half]The awra is the parts of the body that have to be covered. In prayer, the awra for girls is everything but the hands and face. Make sure everything else is covered. The color and shape of the body should not show through your clothes. For boys, the awra is from the belly button to the knees. It is also good to cover the upper body. Make sure your clothes are pure; there should be nothing najis on them.[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Conditions of Prayer4[/one_half_last]
[/toggle]

[toggle title=”3. We must stand on a pure place” state=”close”][one_half]Make sure there is no najasa in the place you are standing to pray. The best thing to do is put a prayer rug on the floor or ground. Always keep your prayer rug clean.[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Conditions of Prayer5[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”4. Before we start praying, we must be sure that the time of prayer is in” state=”close”][one_half]Do not start prayer until you are sure the time is in, otherwise you have to pray again.[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Conditions of Prayer6[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”5. We must be sure to face the qiblah” state=”close”][one_half]The qibla or direction for prayer is the Ka’ba in Makkah. If you cannot figure out the direction of the qiblah by yourself, ask someone who would know.[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Conditions of Prayer7[/one_half_last][/toggle]

There are only two situations in which we do not have to face the Qibla:

3.2.5 pray sitting
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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.5 conditions for prayer.pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.7 Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer

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In this Unit:

  • There are 13 Arkan (fard acts) in prayer.
  • The arkan must never be skipped or the prayer will not be valid.

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Keywords

  • Rukn/Arkan
  • Tuma’ninah
  • Ruku
  • Sajdah[/box][/one_half_last]

The Importance of the Arkan

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]rkan are the fard acts of any worship. Acts that are fard must never be skipped. If you skip a fard act, your prayer won’t be valid. Skipping a fard act will automatically disqualify your prayer. If you leave a fard by mistake or by forgetfulness, you must correct yourself. If you don’t correct yourself, your prayer won’t be valid.
We’ll learn how to correct mistakes or matters of forgetfulness in another lesson.

The 13 Arkan of Prayer

There are 13 fards in prayer (you can also say there are 17 if you count each tuma’ninah separately):

1. Standing
2. Niyyah
3. The opening takbir (Allahu akbar)
4. Reciting the Fatihah (bismillahir rahmanir rahim is its first ayah (verse))
5. Ruku’ and tuma’ninah in it (relaxing/resting)
6. Standing straight (after ruku) and tuma’ninah
7. Two sajdahs and tuma’ninah
8. Sitting between two sajdahs and tuma’ninah
9. The final tashahud
10. The final sitting
11. The final salah on the Prophet
12. The first assalamu alaikum (which ends the prayer)
13. Doing it all in order.

In this next section, you must put on your thinking cap because we will give details on each of the 13 arkan. Each day, as you pray, try to pay attention to doing each rukn of prayer correctly. Practice makes perfect!

The 13 Arkan Explained

[toggle title=”1. Standing” state=”open”][one_half]The prayer has to be performed while standing facing the qiblah with your chest. That means your chest should always be toward the qiblah. If a person is very sick, then he can pray sitting or lying down. May Allah keep us and our loved ones in excellent health![/one_half]
[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer2[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”2 and 3. Say the niyyah in your heart while saying Allahu akbar with your tongue.” state=”close”][one_half]The niyyah should be said like this: I intend to pray fard/sunnah (say if it is fard or sunnah) (name which prayer you are praying: fajr, zuhur, asr, maghrib or isha) prayer. In Arabic you would say:

نَوَيتُ أن أُصَلِّي صَلاةَ الظُهرِ فَرضاَ عَلَيَّ[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer3[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”4. Reciting the Fatihah” state=”close”][one_half]Please recite the words of the Fatihah with your teacher so he or she can make sure that you do not make any mistakes. Remember that the first verse of al-Fatihah is:

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer4[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”5. Ruku and tuma’ninah” state=”close”][one_half]The minimum ruku’ is to bend down until your hands are at the level of your knees. But you can do better than that by bending your back until it is flat, as in the picture. You must have tuma’ninah whenever you go to a new position in prayer. Tuma’ninah means to be relaxed in that position.[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer5[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”6. Standing straight (I’tidal) and tuma’ninah” state=”close”][one_half]After ruku’, you must return to a completely straight standing position. Remember to relax in your standing position because you must have tuma’ninah in every new position in prayer.[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer6[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”7. Two sajdahs and tuma’ninah” state=”close”][one_half]When you make sajdah, 7 bones must touch the ground.

a. The forehead – your skin must touch the ground directly. Do not let your scarf or your hat get in the way.
b. Your two hands – your palms must be flat on the ground.
c. Your two knees.
d. The bottom part of the toes of your two feet.

Of course, do not forget tuma’ninah.[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer7[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”8. Sitting between the two sajdahs and tu’amnihah” state=”close”][one_half]When you rise from the first sajdah, you must sit straight down before you go down for the second sajdah. In each sajdah, you must have tuma’ninah. There are special ways to sit during the middle tashahud and the last tashahud. You aren’t required to sit like that, but it’s really good to do if you can. Ask your teacher how to do it. The important thing is to be sure you sit straight down and do not forget tuma’ninah.[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer8[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”9. The final tashahud” state=”close”]This comes at the very end of your prayer after the last rak’ah of the prayer. While you are sitting, recite the following correctly:

التَّحِيَّاتُ الْمُبَارَكَاتُ الصَّلَوَاتُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلَّهِ السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا َرَسُولُ اللَّهِ[/toggle]

[toggle title=”10. The Final sitting” state=”close”][one_half]This is when you sit while reciting the tashahud at the very end of your prayer. You have to sit even if you can’t recite the tashahud. Can you think of a situation in which you can’t recite the tashahud but you still have to sit?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Arkan al-Salah or the Fards of Prayer8[/one_half_last][/toggle]

[toggle title=”11. The final salah on the Prophet” state=”close”]After you finish the final tashahud, you must say salah on the Prophet. This is said in the final sitting.

Say:

اللَّـهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّد

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[toggle title=”12. The first taslim (saying assalamu alaikum)” state=”close”]The fard part is to say assalaamu alaikum. When you say these words, it ends your prayer. Only the first taslim is fard. The second one is not. This is said in the final sitting.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”13. Do it all in order” state=”close”]If you make mistakes and things get out of order, you have to correct the mistakes. We’ll see how to correct mistakes in another lesson.[/toggle]
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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.7 Arkan of Prayer.pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.8 The Important Sunnahs of Prayer

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ome acts in prayer are important sunnahs. If you leaves these, you need to make sujud al-sahw. Others acts in prayer are lesser sunnahs.
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In this Unit:

  • There are 5 Sunnah mua’kkadah acts in prayer.
  • If we forget or miss a sunnah mu’kkadah act, we should perform Sujud Al-Sahw to correct our mistake.

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Keywords

  • Sunnah
  • Ab’aad
  • Hay’ah/Hay’aat
  • Sujud Al-Sahw
  • Du’a Qunoot

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[one_half]13 Arkan - 3.2.3[/one_half]

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Review of the Arkan of Prayer

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n unit 3.2.7, we learned that there are 13 acts that are fard in our prayer. That means we must never purposely leave out those. If we leave one of those acts out by accident or if we forget one of them, we must make the act up. We will learn how to do that later insha’Allah.[/one_half_last]

Ab’aad of Prayer (The important sunnahs)

There are six more acts in prayer that we should do regularly because they are very important sunnahs. That means they aren’t fard acts, but let’s try our best not to leave them. The technical name for these sunnahs is ab’aad. If we forget any of them, we don’t need to repeat them. In fact, we actually musn’t go back to the missed sunnah act or it will invalidate our prayer. Instead, if we miss one or more of the ab’aad, we should perform sujud al-sahw (sujud for forgetting). Sujud al-sahw will be covered in unit 3.2.9.

Important Sunnahs of Prayer

[toggle title=”1 through 4 are related to the Tashahud” state=”close”][one_half]
1. Sitting for the middle tashahud.

2. Reciting the middle tashahud.

3. Saying “Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad” after the middle tashahud.

4. Saying “wa ‘ala aali Muhammad” after the last tashahud.
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[one_half_last]Prayer sitting - 3.2.3[/one_half_last][/toggle]
[toggle title=”5 and 6 are related to Du’a Qunoot” state=”close”][one_half]
5. Making du’a qunoot in every fajr prayer, and in witr prayer during the last half of Ramadan. The du’a is to be made after you stand from the ruku’ of the last rak’ah of the prayer.

6. Standing for du’a qunoot.
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[one_half_last]Prayer standing - 3.2.3[/one_half_last][/toggle]

The Words of Du’a Qunoot

You can say these words in du’a qunoot after you praise Allah and send salah and salam on the Prophet.

Words of Dua Qunoot

Hay’ahs of Prayer

Anything you do in prayer that is not a rukn or ab’aad is called a hay’ah. The plural of hay’ah is hay’aat. These are acts that make the prayer more perfect. It is good to do them to get more reward.  They make the prayer more beautiful.

Some people think that only the arkan of salah are important and they do not have to worry about ab’aad and hay’aat. That is not true at all. It is just that each type of act has a different degree of importance. We learn about the different types of acts so that we know how to correct our mistakes.

Our prayer would be very weak if we only did the arkan and left out everything else. The more you do for Allah, the more Allah will be pleased with you. And prayer is the best way to seek the pleasure of Allah. So make your salah beautiful and do not leave anything out on purpose.

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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.8 Important Sunnah.pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.9 Correcting Mistakes in Prayer

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In this Unit:

  • If you miss a rukn, you have to make it up.
  • If you miss ab’aad, you should perform sujud sahw to correct your mistake.
  • There is nothing to do for missing a hay’ah.

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Keywords

  • Sujud Sahw
  • Ab’aad
  • Hay’ah/Hay’at

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[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hat do you do if you made a mistake in your prayer? The answer is: it depends on what mistake you made.

Remember, in your prayer, some acts are fard, some acts are ab’aad, and some are hay’ah. Can you name some acts of prayer that fall into each of those 3 categories?

[toggle title=”A Mistake in a Rukn of Prayer” state=”close”]
Review Unit 3.2.7 to refresh your memory about the arkan of prayer.
If you make a mistake in one of the 13 arkan of prayer, then sujud al-sawh is not enough to fix the problem. Here is what you must do.

1) If you remember the mistake before you get to the same part in the next rakat: just stop what you are doing, go back to where your mistake was and correct your mistake.

For example, you forget to make ruku, then you remember it while you are making sajdah. You must:

1. Stop making sajdah
2. Stand up straight,
3. Make ruku,
4. Make sajdah
5. At the end of the prayer, make 2 sujud al-sahw right before you say assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

The diagram below will help you see what steps you must take in order to fix the above mistake.

3.2.9 pic1

2) If you remember the mistake after you get to the same part in the next rakat: it is as if you did not pray the first rakat. Pray one extra rakat in place of the rakat you made a mistake in.

In both cases, you must ALSO make sujud al-sahw at the end of your prayer.

Don’t forget: if you miss a rukn, you must do TWO things:
1) Make it up
2) Make sujud al-sahw

If all that seems confusing, don’t worry. The teacher will practice with you until you get it. Prayer is the most important thing we do in our whole life. Learning to do it right is also very important. We want all of our prayers to be accepted by Allah.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”A Mistake in the Ab’aad of Prayer” state=”close”]
Review Unit 3.2.8 to refresh your memory about the ab’aad of prayer. If you make a mistake in one of the ab’aad of prayer, here is what you do.

1) If you started the next fard act, just leave the ab’aad without doing anything about it. The only thing you need to do is make sujud al-sahw!

2) If you have not moved on to a fard, then fix the mistake you made in the ab’aad.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”A Mistake in a Hay’ah of Prayer” state=”close”]
Review Unit 3.2.8 to refresh your memory about the hay’ahs of prayer. If you make a mistake in a hay’ah, don’t do anything about it and don’t make sujud al-sahw.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”A Mistake in the Number of Rakat You Prayed” state=”close”]
Have you ever forgotten how many rakat you already prayed? After sajdah you ask yourself, “Hmm… is this my third rakat or my fourth?” If that ever happens to you, here is what you do: Go with what you are sure of – and that is the smaller number.

Here’s what I mean. You know for sure you prayed 3 rakat. But you’re not sure if you prayed the fourth rakat. So you must go with what you are sure of and assume you only prayed 3 rakat. Now pray one more rakat; then do sujud al-sahw in case you prayed too many rakat without realizing it.

Don’t forget: if you don’t know how many rakat you prayed:
1) Assume you prayed the lesser number of rakat, so pray an extra rakat,
2) Make sujud al-sahw at the end of your prayer

[/toggle]

How to perform Sujud Al-Sahw

You make sujud al-sahw for any mistakes you made in prayer. It helps wipe out some of those mistakes.

In the last sitting, immediately before you say the first “assalamu alaikum”, you should make two sajdahs and sit between the two sajdahs. After the second sajdah, say “assalamu alaikum” twice to end the prayer.

If you forget to make sujud al-sahw, then you do not need to do anything else because
sujud al-sahw is only sunnah.

3.2.9 pic2
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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.9 (watermark).pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.10 Things That Break The Prayer

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In this Unit:

  • Prayer has its own special acts and statements.
  • Doing or saying things that are not part of the prayer could break your prayer.
  • If your prayer is broken, you have to pray it over.

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[one_half_last][box type=”note”]

Keywords

  • Sujud Sahw
  • Ab’aad
  • Hay’ah/Hay’at

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[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen you are praying, you are not allowed to do anything but the acts and words of prayer. In fact, if you do certain things, you prayer will break. Let’s take a look at the things that you CANNOT do while praying. If you do these things, it will break you prayer and you must start all over again.

[toggle title=”1. You cannot talk to people or make noises such as crying and laughing out loud.” state=”close”]3.2.10 (1)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”2. You cannot move your arms, legs and/or head 3 times in a row.” state=”close”]
If you have to move, do it one step at a time and rest between each step.

3.2.10 (2)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”3. You cannot break your wudu.” state=”close”] If you do, your prayer is broken. You need to make a new wudu and pray all over again.3.2.10 (3)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”4. You cannot get filth on yourself or your clothes.” state=”close”]3.2.10 (4)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”5. You cannot let your body get uncovered.” state=”close”] Remember, boys must cover themselves from the belly to the knees; and girls must cover their entire body except for the hands and face.3.2.10 (5)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”6. You cannot eat or drink.” state=”close”]3.2.10 (6)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”7. You cannot turn away from the direction of the Qibla.” state=”close”]3.2.10 (7)[/toggle]
[toggle title=”8. You cannot change your intention.” state=”close”]3.2.10 (8)[/toggle]
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[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.10 (watermark).pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]

3.2.11 The Differences Between Men and Women in Prayer

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In this unit

  • Learn the differences between the way a man and woman prays.

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Keywords

  • Awra
  • Recitation

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The Differences Between Men and Women in Prayer

In most of the prayer, men and women have to do the same movements and say the same things. However, there are some things which are recommended for men and women to do differently.

MAN

manpraying

WOMAN

womenpraying
1 Holds his elbows away from his sides in sajdah Holds her elbows against her sides
2 Holds his stomach away from his thighs in sajdah and ruku Holds stomach close to thighs in sajdah
3 Recites loudly in loud prayers (Fajr, Maghrib, Isha) Recites loudly ONLY if non-mahram men cannot hear her
4 If he wants to notify the imam of a mistake, he says subhan Allah with the intention of making dhikr If she wants to notify the imam of a mistake, she claps the back of her left hand with her right hand
5 His awra, in prayer, is from his belly to his knees (Remember: the awrah is the part of the body one has to cover) Her awra, in prayer, is her whole body except her hands and face

 

[button color=”blue” size=”medium” link=”http://www.deenteens.com/worksheets/3.2.11 The Differences Between Men and Women in Prayer.pdf” target=”blank”]Worksheet[/button]