questions about salat

[greenshirt]

asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakhatu

alhumdullillah, today so far i have said three of the five prayers(because it is not yet time for me to do the other two), but then as i was looking at the prayer times, i saw that it mentioned something known as the "shorook". i do not think it is a prayer, so i am asking:
1. why does it mention sharook on the list, and what is shorook?

2. i have been praying the prayers as soon as one can begin. so for example, the noon prayer here is at 1:07. so i made woodoo at about 1(because i invalidated my earlier woodoo) and then as soon as it hit 1:07, i started praying.

but i have heard that allah(swt) has made it easier upon us, and that we do not have to pray at an exact time, but rather we just have to say it within a given period of time. so can anyone tell me what these time limits are? like, i have heard that we get almost 4 hours to say the noon prayer. so basically, what are the time limits i can say a prayer?

3. are there any other prayers i need to say besides the 5, and if so, which?

wa salaam

[waziri]

asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakhatu

Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah wa barakathu

alhumdullillah, today so far i have said three of the five prayers

MasahaAllah akhi well done,I dont want to sound like Im being pushy akhi but you really need to be praying 5 times.

, but then as i was looking at the prayer times, i saw that it mentioned something known as the "shorook". i do not think it is a prayer, so i am asking:
1. why does it mention sharook on the list, and what is shorook?

Im not sure about it but Im sure one of the brothers will explain

2. i have been praying the prayers as soon as one can begin. so for example, the noon prayer here is at 1:07. so i made woodoo at about 1(because i invalidated my earlier woodoo) and then as soon as it hit 1:07, i started praying but i have heard that allah(swt) has made it easier upon us, and that we do not have to pray at an exact time, but rather we just have to say it within a given period of time. so can anyone tell me what these time limits are? like, i have heard that we get almost 4 hours to say the noon prayer. so basically, what are the time limits i can say a prayer?.

Generally speaking you can pray as soon as the time for prayer starts up untill the start time for the next prayer.These times change throughout the year depending on when the sun rises and sets.

3. are there any other prayers i need to say besides the 5, and if so, which?

wa salaam

There are other prayers that you could do but I suggest you concentrate on the 5 obligatory prayers before you start praying the others.Once your praying the 5 regularly without fail then you can start to add some of the voluntary prayers.

Also akhi you should try to pray in congregation i.e in a masjid.


Wasalam

[greenshirt]

asalaamu alaikum

thanks brother so much for the response. it has definetely been of help

and brother, the reason i have done 3 prayers, is because it is not yet time for me to do the other 2! insha allah i will do the other two and will have done all 5 by the end of the day

[waziri]

asalaamu alaikum

Wa Alaykum salam warahmatullah

thanks brother so much for the response. it has definetely been of help

No problem akh Im more than happy to be of assistance

and brother, the reason i have done 3 prayers, is because it is not yet time for me to do the other 2! insha allah i will do the other two and will have done all 5 by the end of the day

Oh ok akhi sorry, Its gone past midnight here in the uk I guess your quite a few hours behind in the us.


wasalam

[hearandobey]

assalamu alaykum,


shurooq means sunrise, so the time is for you to know that fajr ends at that time.

as for the time span of a salaah and when to pray it, it is better to pray it as soon as you can (ie as soon as it's time starts) than to delay it unless you really have a good reason.

islam-qa.com has a lot of fatawa about salah, it's time etc. so i think you should check it out inshallah.

[Abu Abdallah al-Bulghari]

Since you are getting a kick of it, may be it's time to pray Sunnah Mu'aqqada, voluntary (Nawaafil) prayers that Prophet,sal Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam, never missed.

Two rakah before Fajr.
Four rakah before Dhuhr, two rakah - after Dhuhr
Two rakah after Maghrib
Two rakah after 'Isha.

Three rakah Witr before going to bed (In Hanafi fikh Witr is considered Wajib - almost obligatory). Witr is done with a Du'ah called Qunut before third Ruku.

Do not do any prayers after you prayed Fajr and before Shurook, and after you prayed 'Asr before Adhan for Maghrib.

You also can start learning some Du'as after completing prayer (after Taslim), like saying three times Astaghfir Allah, then Allahumma antas-salaamu wa minkas-salaamu, tabaarakta yaa dhul jalaali wal-ikraam, then 33 times Sunhan Allah, 33 times AlhamduliLllah, 33 tiems Allahu akbar, then Laa ilaaha il Allahu wahdahu laa sharika lah, lahulmulku wa lahulhamd wa hua 'alaa kulli shayyin qadeer.

[Abu Abdallah al-Bulghari]

About delays.

Few people do it now, but it is Sunnah to delay Dhuhr until later if it's really hot. Nowadays everything is air-conditioned, so not really applicable.

Also, it's Sunnah go to bed shortly after 'Isha and devote that time to Dhikr. So some people delay 'Isha. Prophet, sal Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam, sometimes delayed Jamaa' 'Isha prayer until very late (midnight) and Sahaba were patiently waiting.

If you live far from the masjid, try to move closer, to catch Jamaa' prayers in congregation. The reward for such prayers it 25 or 27 (depending on hadith) times larger than solitary prayer. Prophet,sal Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam, did not excuse even a blind man from not going to Jamaat prayer at the masjid, once he learned that this man can hear the Adhan (meaning, he knows the direction).

[greenshirt]

thank you for the reply, it helped a lot

so the hanafi's put a strong emphasis on the witr' prayer. what about the shafi'i madhab?(which is the madhab i am following) is it wajib or not?

[Abu Abdallah al-Bulghari]

Witr is not Fardh in any of the Madhabs. Only Hanafis make a distinction between Fardh and Wajib, so there are 5 Fardh and 1 Wajib. In other Madhaahib Witr is Nawaafil - voluntary.

There are several ahadith on the matter of Witr, so there are some differences in praying it. Some pray all three Raka' together without Tashahhud, some make Tashahhud after second Raka', and some make both Tashahhud and Taslim after second Raka' which almost makes it look like two separate prayers (but it's not). I do not know how Shafi'i pray Witr.

There are also recommendations on the length of the Second surahs in prayers. Fajr has the longest Surahs (or the longest sequences of consequitive Ayahs - it does not have to be a complete Surah, just 3 Ayah are enough), while Maghrib has the shortest.

I guess you know already that you read Fajr, Maghrib and 'Isha aloud, while Dhuhr and 'Asr to yourself (but not inside, the lips must move).

[Um Abdullah M.]

Witr is not Fardh in any of the Madhabs. Only Hanafis make a distinction between Fardh and Wajib, so there are 5 Fardh and 1 Wajib. In other Madhaahib Witr is Nawaafil - voluntary.

There are several ahadith on the matter of Witr, so there are some differences in praying it. Some pray all three Raka' together without Tashahhud, some make Tashahhud after second Raka', and some make both Tashahhud and Taslim after second Raka' which almost makes it look like two separate prayers (but it's not). I do not know how Shafi'i pray Witr.

There are also recommendations on the length of the Second surahs in prayers. Fajr has the longest Surahs (or the longest sequences of consequitive Ayahs - it does not have to be a complete Surah, just 3 Ayah are enough), while Maghrib has the shortest.

brother, do not overwhelm ur new brother, he is new to Islam, many of these things he does not have to learn now, you are overwhelming him, let him learn step at a time.

Let him first learn the obligatory and stick to it, then he can learn other things one thing at a time.
he is only human, so he can't do everything all at one time.

keep it simple