Carry babies in prayer.
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:
assalamualaikum
i want
to clarify a doubt i have in mind from long.is it ok if small babies come and sit in
front of you as we stand for prayer?unknowingly babies sit and watch us pray
and sometimes come and sit in the place we have to do the sujood.so is it ok if
we could allow these babies to watch us pray and hence they learn and try to do
the sajdah in their baby ways?
(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:
Carry babies in
prayer
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.
Abu Qatadah reports that the Prophet (saws)
was offering his ‘fajr’ prayer and Umamah bint Zainab was on his neck
[shoulder]. When he (saws) performed ruku', he (saws) put her down, and when he
(saws) got up from his sajdah, he (saws) would place her back on his neck.
Related by Ahmad and Nasa'i.
Abdullah ibn Shidad relates that his father
said: "The Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us either during the noon or
afternoon prayers and he was carrying (his grandchild) Hassan (r.a.) or Hussain
(r.a.). The Prophet proceeded to the front and put him down and made the takbir
for the salah. During the salah, he (saws) made a long sajdah. I raised my head
and saw the child on the back of the Messenger of Allah (saws) while he was in
sajdah. I returned to my sajdah. When the Messenger of Allah (saws) finished
the salah, the people said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah (saws), you prostrated
during your salah so long that we suspected you were thinking about some matter
or you were receiving some revelation.' He (saws) said: 'None of that happened
but my (grand)son was resting and I hated to rush him until he had finished
what he desired."'
Related by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, and al-Hakim.
In light of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah
(saws) there is absolutely no harm if an infant comes in front of one praying,
or sits on ones prayer mat while one is praying, or watches the believers
praying, or even if a believer picks up or holds a child while performing their
prayers.
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