Letters to the Editor

Afzal Nakhuda, via email

I have a question which is bothering me from a long time. A friend of mine from the so called ahl-e-hadis asks me to shun the niyyah which I used to say before my prayer. He said it is bid`ah. When I asked a scholar he told me that there is no hadith which asks the niyyah to be pronounced before any prayer, yet it will be good to say as it will become an act of preparation.

YMD

The person who spoke to you about pronouncement of the niyyah, is perhaps a “Muqallid” (follower of someone) without his own access to knowledge. He made an unconditional statement about the issue, calling it bid`ah. If he was not following someone else’s personal opinion, he would have made a conditional statement, saying that more than one school of Fiqh says that it is allowed, although undesirable. Probably, he does not know Arabic, otherwise you could ask him to refer to “Fiqh al-`Ibaadaat `alaa al-Madh-hub al Maaliki” by Kawkab `Ubayd, or Al-Jazeeri’s work “Fiqh `alaa al-Madhaahib al-Arba`ah,” or other books of Fiqh.

Your friend should not be speaking on topics that are beyond his scope of knowledge. He should rather refer you to scholars. The Qur’an has forbidden it that we make statements without knowledge. It says, (17: 36): “And do not indulge in what you have no knowledge of; indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart – each of them shall be questioned about itself.”

Does he wish to be questioned in the Hereafter?”

Indeed, most of us are guilty of the error pointed out by the Qur’an and need to be reminded of our limits. But when it is committed by those who do not wish any reform, but merely wish to take a point off another, or to air superiority, and, the result is confusion, disagreements, divisions, and discord between the Muslims, then it deserves to be censured.

On the other hand, the scholar you referred to over the question was right when he said that there is no support in the Hadith for the pronouncement of the words of niyyah before the Prayers. He was also right when he said that it will be good to say the words. Nevertheless, the Hanafiyy point of view is slightly different and requires some clarification.

The Hanafiyyah do not believe that the pronouncement has any Shari`ah-value. They say that it is innovation (if someone thought that it is necessary). But they also admit that if it is done for the sake of removal of doubts, then it is allowable. Tat is, one makes the intention at heart, but does not immediately enter the Prayer, but rather, says the words by mouth, to be sure he made the right intention, in order to avoid being in doubt within the Prayer, which will strongly distract him, if such are the reasons, then pronouncing the words is allowable.

Some scholars other than the Hanafiyyah have not found any problem at all in the words of intention spoken out aloud. They do not count it as niyyah-words at all, but rather, what aids in making the right intention. This is a brilliant point, and increases our trust in the scholars of the past. They separate the acts of `ibaadah from acts performed by a man for his personal reasons, without treating what he is doing as an act of worship. `Abdul Rahman al-Jazeeri discusses this issue in his well-known work, “Fiqh `alaa al-Madhaahib al-Arba`ah in some detail. The following text might be noted:

 

حكم التلفظ بالنية، ونية الأداء أو القضاء أو نحو ذلك

يسن أن يتلفظ بلسانه بالنية، كأن يقول بلسانه أصلي فرض الظهر مثلاً، لأن في ذلك تنبيهاً للقلب، فلو نوى بقلبه صلاة الظهر، ولكن سبق لسانه فقال: نويت أصلي العصر فإنه لا يضر، لأنك قد عرفت أن المعتبر في النية إنما هو القلب، النطق باللسان ليس بنية، وإنما هو مساعد على تنبيه القلب، فخطأ اللسان لا يضر ما دامت نية القلب صحيحة، وهذا الحكم متفق عليه عند الشافعية والحنابلة، أما المالكية والحنفية … قالوا: إن التلفظ بالنية ليس مشروعاً في الصلاة، الا إذا كان المصلي موسوساً، على أن المالكية قالوا: إن التلفظ بالنية خلاف الأولى لغير الموسوس، ويندب للموسوس... الحنفية قالوا: إن التلفظ بالنية بدعة، ويستحسن لدفع الوسوسة (الجزيري)

I.e.: It is allowable to say the words of intention to say, for example, “I intend the Fard of Zuhr” – because, this is for awakening the heart. However, if he intended in his heart Zuhr Prayer, but his tongue said “I intend `Asr” it will do not harm, for, as you have known, counted is that which is in the heart. Saying by mouth is not niyyah per se, but rather, it helps in triggers the heart. The tongue’s error does not harm so long as the intention at the heart’s level was right. This rule has the Shafe`iyyah and Hanaabilah in agreement. As for the Malikiyyah and Hanafiyyah .. they said, “Voicing the niyyah in the Prayers is not a Shari`ah requirement at all, unless the devotee is given to doubts, while the Maalikiyyah said, “Uttering the niyyah is not the better choice for someone not given to doubts, but could be allowable to him who is subjected to doubts. Hanafiyyah have in fact said that sounding the niyyah is a bid`ah, however, it is desirable from the point of chasing out doubts.”

 

Thus, the issue is not a simple one. The jurists have taken everything into account, and, in so doing, they create confidence in us that they did not make hasty, unbalanced, ill-considered rulings. Whatever they said, following their Principles of Law, win our respect for reason and logic that they combined while working with the textual sources.

The following may be noted from a book of the Malikiyyah:

ويجوز لفظها باللسان لكن الأَولى ترك لفظها، وإن خالف اللفظ نية القلب فالعبرة لنية القلب إن وقع اللفظ سهواً، وإن كان عمداً فهو متلاعب وتبطل صلاته. فقه العبادات على المذهب المالكي، تأليف الحاجّة كوكب عبيد

To put the above in short: “It is allowable to say the words of the niyyah, but not doing so is preferable.” (Fiqh al-`Ibaadaat `alaa Madh-hub al-Malikee)

He also tells me that there is no difference in the method of prayer of men and women. Is it true?

YMD

Once again, he made an unconditional statement, and it is not true.

We have already made our remarks about your friend’s knowledge – although, of course, the possibility remains that he knows better than that, but decided not to discuss with you the issues in detail.

At all events, if the statement is about the contents of the Prayers, he is perfectly right. There is not an iota of difference between the Prayers of men and women so far as the contents are concerned. However, that does not apply to postures. The Salaf believed that there are differences in Prayer-postures between those of males and females. This issue had been taken up earlier (November 2003 issue), where we wrote:

“In today’s world, when journeys are too common, women should not make the mistake of stretching their legs two feet apart while standing in Prayers at airports, hospitals, railway platforms or other public places. Nor should they make a ghastly sight of themselves by throwing their arms side ways, to allow for a little goat to pass through, or of lifting their upper torso above the ground during prostration. Indeed, they should do no such thing even in the confines of their homes, if they have young men around (even if it is their sons).

Ibn Qudamah writes in the famous and standard 9-volume Hanbali Fiqh book “Al-Mughni”: ‘In reference to rules pertaining to the Prayers, the basic principle is that women should do as is required of men for, (even if not separately addressed) the address includes her; except that she should oppose men in (raising herself up and) creating a hollow (between herself and the ground), for she (i.e., the whole of her) is `awrah (something to be concealed). Therefore, it is desirous of her that she should squeeze herself (down), for, that is the best way of concealing herself; since it cannot be guaranteed that nothing of her will be revealed if she (raised herself up to) create a hollow (between her and the ground).. `Ali (ibn abi Talib) has said, ‘When a woman prays she should draw herself in and (during prostration) rest (her abdomen) on the thighs.’ In fact, (it is reported that) Ibn `Umar used to order women to sit square (by spreading their feet side-ways) during the Prayers.’ (Vol.1, p. 562).”

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