Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother burhan,

this year inshaallaha i might go to perform Haj ,i am in a fix what to pray after imaam as i have never prayed namaz in congregration. secondly ,can i take body bath in `ehraam` ?? is it compulsary to wear white cotton clothes ?? can i give the sawaab of my tawaaf to a person live or dead ?? which `duas" recommended for those days ??

Jazakallahekhair

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Hajj and ehram

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: this year inshaallaha i might go to perform Haj ,i am in a fix what to pray after imaam as i have never prayed namaz in congregration.

Beloved brother in Islam, I am really not sure what to reply to a believing brother who says he ‘has never prayed a prayer in congregation’; especially when Allah and His Messenger (saws) have declared it absolutely obligatory for the believers to offer their Friday mid-day prayers and the Eid-prayers in congregation; and to offer the daily five prayers in congregation are an absolutely preferred Sunnah Muakkedah for the believing males of the Ummah.

Anyways, there are still a couple of months left until the Hajj season, and it would be best to attend the congregation prayers in your local mosque and acquaint yourself with the etiquettes of praying in congregation.

If one knows how to offer the ‘salaah’ alone, the congregational prayers are even simpler….one simply needs to follow the ‘Imam’ leading the prayer from its beginning to its end. When the ‘imam’ is reciting the Quran aloud in the prayers the believers must listen to its recitation; and when the ‘imam’ is silent, the believers must recite the Surah Fatihah, and the various phrases of glorifications and supplications one makes in one’s prayer when alone.

If you have any specific questions to ask regarding the etiquettes of offering prayers in congregation, we request you to write back to us and we would strive to address all of them in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, Insha Allah.

Your Question: secondly ,can i take body bath in `ehraam` ??

The intention one makes to visit the Sacred House of Allah for Umrah or Hajj pilgrimage from one of the appointed starting places or ‘meeqaats’ is known as the ‘ehraam’. Certain things which are lawful, would become unlawful for the person in ehram until one has completed the rites of pilgrimage; for example:

1. The believing men must not wear any sown clothes, but adorn themselves with two unstitched sheets.
2. One must not cut one’s hair, or clip one’s nails, etc.
3. One must not apply perfume.
4. One must abstain from sexual intercourse, or any talks or deeds related to sex.
5. One must abstain from hunting any land or air creatures.
6. Strive to abstain from committing any sin, or lying, or cheating, or fighting, or abusing, etc. (these acts are unlawful always, but one must strive even harder to abstain from them when in ‘ehram’)

There is absolutely no restriction if one wishes to take a bath when one is in the ‘ehram’, but one should abstain from using perfumed soaps.

Your Question: is it compulsary to wear white cotton clothes ??

It is not an obligatory condition of ‘ehram’ that the color of its cloth should be white; if one does not wish to wear white, one may wear the two pieces of unstitiched cloth in any color one wishes.

Narrated Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (saws) said: "Wear white clothes, for these are your best clothes, and enshroud your dead in them."

Related by Ahmad, Abu Daw'ud, and Tirmidhi

Since white is the best loved color of Allah Subhanah, and as stated in the hadith above whereby the Messenger of Allah (saws) encouraged the believers to visit the Mosques of Allah wearing white clothes, it is considered a preferred Sunnah to wear a white colored ‘ehram’ when performing the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah.

But if one cannot find a ‘white’ ehram, or one does not wish to wear a white ehram for any reason, there is absolutely no harm.

It is neither obligatory for one to wear white nor cotton material; but what is indeed obligatory for the believing males is that they wear two pieces of unstitched clothes when in the state of ‘ehram’.

Your Question: can i give the sawaab of my tawaaf to a person live or dead ??

Although the general principle in Islam that each person would earn the rewards for his own deeds, if a loved one, alive or dead, has requested or willed the person to perform the Hajj, or Umrah, or tawaaf for them…there is allowance in Shariah for one to perform the pilgrimage on their behalf.

Narrated Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas that a woman of the Juhainah tribe came to the Prophet (saws), and said, 'My mother had vowed to perform pilgrimage (Hajj), but she died before she could fulfill her vow. Should I do it on her behalf?' The Prophet (saws) said, 'Yes. Perform Hajj on her behalf. Would you not pay the debt of your mother if she had owed someone? Fulfill it. Allah is more deserving of receiving payment for what is due to Him'."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1806 Narrated by Abu Razin

A man of Banu Amir said: “O Messenger of Allah (saws), my father is very old, he cannot perform Hajj and Umrah himself, nor can be ride on a mount.” He (saws) said: “Perform Hajj and Umrah on behalf of your father.”

Your Question: which `duas" recommended for those days ??

One may recite any of the supplications made by the Messenger of Allah (saws) during the various rites of the pilgrimage, and one must strive to Extol, Praise, and Glorify Allah and make as many supplications as they wish when visiting the Sacred House of Allah.

There are several ‘masnoon’ supplications made by the Messenger of Allah (saws) at various stages during the pilgrimage….like the ‘talbiyah’ when approaching the Sacred House from the ‘meeqat’, when entering the Sacred Mosque, when first seeing the Kaaba, between the corners of ‘rukne-Yamani’ and the ‘Black Stone’, at the ‘Maqaam-e-Ibraheem’, when drinking the ‘Zam-Zam’ water, when exiting the Sacred Mosque, at the ‘Jamaaraat’, at the plains of Arafah, at Muzdalefah, etc.

Beloved brother, a small booklet is normally given to all pilgrims by their tour organizers or one may purchase this small booklet at any bookstore near the Sacred House which contains all these supplications made by the Messenger of Allah (saws) during the various stages of the pilgrimage.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan