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:

as salam alaikum wrwb!!

may allah bless u all for such an effort!! u people are doing the best anuone can do in his life!
questions:
1. can we pray at 12 midnight the isha prayer? til whn is itvalid? till when is asr valid and tilll whin is maghrib?? and same goes for fajr and zuhar?
2. we cannot go to toilet if we are eating(chewing) something and that is in our mouth ?
3. surah fateha shud be recited when the imam is not reciting i.e. during the last two rakah in esha and similarly but then when u say that imams words are our words , then we shud also not recite even when hez not reciting loudly!! as fas as the other hadeeth you told menbtioning nvalidation of salath without fateha , then for that imam comletes this requirement and we by keeping quite follow the second haddeth??? what are your comments?
in the nutshell wht shud we do concerning reciting of surah al fateha during any prayer?
4. is ablution valid in the towel just covring our belly til below the knee?
5. i want to present islam to one of my freind, how should i start? plz recommend any book, any site,method,?
alhamdulillah i do forward most of ur mails as part of my goodwill as being told by you!!

jazakallah khair

(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:

Exact times of 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.

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Q-1: can we pray at 12 midnight the isha prayer? til whn is itvalid? till when is asr valid and tilll whin is maghrib?? and same goes for fajr and zuhar?
Jarir ibn Abdullah narrated that the Angel Jibrael (a.s.) came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) and said to him, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the noon (dhuhr) prayer when the sun had just passed its meridian. He then came to him (saws) for the afternoon (asr) prayer and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the afternoon (asr) prayer while the length of a shadow of something was similar to the length of the object. Then he came at sunset and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the sunset (magrib) prayer when the sun had just disappeared. Then he came at night and said, "Stand and pray" and they prayed the night (isha) prayer when the twilight had disappeared. He came again when dawn broke (and they prayed the morning (fajr) prayer). Then Jibrael (a.s.) came on the next day at noon and said (to the Messenger of Allah (saws)), "Stand and pray," and they prayed the noon (dhuhr) prayer when the length of the shadow of something was close to the length of the object. Then he came for the afternoon prayer and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the afternoon (asr) prayer when the shadow of something was twice as long as the length of the object. Then he came at the same time (as the previous day) for the sunset (magrib) prayer, without any change. Then he came for the night (isha) prayer after half (or a third) of the night had passed. Then he came when the sky was very yellow and said, "Stand and pray," and they prayed the morning (fajr) prayer. Then Jibrael (a.s.) said, "Between these times are the times for the prayers.

Related by Bukhari, Ahmad, an-Nasa'i and at-Tirmidhi.

In light of the above guidance, if one prays the prescribed prayer between the two specified periods, their prayer will be considered on-time; and it was the preferred Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to offer the prescribed obligatory prayers at its earliest times.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 1.9

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yazid ibn Ziyad that Abdullah ibn Rafi, the mawla of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet (saws) asked Abu Hurayra about the time of the prayer. Abu Hurayra said, "Let me tell you. Pray ‘dhuhr’ when the length of your shadow matches your height, ‘asr’ when your shadow is twice your height, ‘maghrib’ when the sun has set, ‘isha’ in the first third of the night, and ‘fajr’ in the very first light of dawn," i.e. when the dawn has definitely come.

Thus in light of the above guidance the valid prayer ‘time-bands’ are as follows:

Fajr: Starts at the very first break of dawn, and ends when the sun starts rising from the horizon.

Dhuhr: Starts when the sun moves a little west from its absolute zenith, and ends when the shadow of an object is equal to the height of the object.

Asr: Starts when the shadow of an object is exceeds the height of the object and ends when the sun starts to set on the western horizon.

Magrib: Starts when the sun has completely set until the twilight disappears.

Isha: Starts when the twilight completely disappears and is dark, and ends when half the night has passed.

Q-2: we cannot go to toilet if we are eating(chewing) something and that is in our mouth ?
To the best of our knowledge there is no specific guidance in the established and authentic Sunnah that one cannot go to the toilet or should not relieve themselves if one is eating or chewing something in their mouth; but it is only obvious and would be amongst the etiquettes and disciplines of hygiene that one strives to abstain from eating in a place dedicated to the removal of human filth.

Q-3: surah fateha shud be recited when the imam is not reciting i.e. during the last two rakah in esha and similarly but then when u say that imams words are our words , then we shud also not recite even when hez not reciting loudly!! as fas as the other hadeeth you told menbtioning nvalidation of salath without fateha , then for that imam comletes this requirement and we by keeping quite follow the second haddeth??? what are your comments?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraf verse 204:

When the Quran is recited to you, listen to it with attention and keep silent. It may be that you also are blessed with mercy.

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 1.723 Narrated by Ubada bin As Samit

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Whoever does not recite Al-Fatiha in his prayer, his prayer is invalid."

There is slight difference of opinion amongst the four major schools of thought, and although all agree to the guidance that one should remain silent when the Quran is being recited, a prayer without recitation of Surah Fatihah is invalid, and the prayer of the ‘imam’ is the prayer of the ‘muktadi’ (the one praying behind in congregation)……in our humble opinion the best opinion is that of Imam Malik of the Maliki School who opines that when the Imam is praying and recites the Surah Al-Fatihah and the Quran aloud (Fajr, and the first two rakahs of Magrib and Isha), the ‘muktadi’ should remain silent and listen to the Imam’s recitation; and in the rakahs when the Imam recites the Surah Al-Fatihah and/or the Quran silently (Dhuhr, Asr, the last rakah of Magrib, and the last two rakahs of Isha), the believers should recite the Surah Al-Fatihah and/or the Quran themselves. But if for any reason the ‘muktadi’ chooses to remain silent in those rakahs, his prayer will still be valid according to the guidance of the hadith that the prayer of the ‘imam’ is the prayer of the ‘muktadi’. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Q-4: is ablution valid in the towel just covring our belly til below the knee?
Although it is best and preferred that one should not be in the state of nakedness unless one has an absolute genuine need (answering the call of nature, sexual intercourse, changing one’s clothes, etc.)…..to the best of our knowledge we have not found anything in the Quran or the authentic Sunnah which declares that a ‘wudu’ done in the state of nakedness is invalid.

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet as saying, "Whoever touches his sexual organ without any covering (between them) must perform ablution."

Related by Ahmad, Ibn Hibban and al-Hakim.

Thus if perchance one were to perform one’s wudu covering only the body parts from their navel to their knees, or even if in the state of nakedness, provided one does not touch one’s private parts with their bare hands….their wudu will be considered valid in the Sight of Shariah; for it is not the exposing of one’s private parts which invalidate one’s ‘wudu’, but it is its touching with one’s bare hands which does indeed invalidate the ‘wudu’.

Q-5: i want to present islam to one of my freind, how should i start? plz recommend any book, any site,method,?
Allah says in the Holy Quran: Chapter 16, Surah An-Nahl Ayat 125:

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent admonition and argue with people in the best manner. Your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Way and who is Rightly guided.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 103 Surah Al-Asr verses 1-3:

1 By (the Token of) time.

2 Verily Man is in loss.

3 Except such as have (1) Faith, and (2) do righteous deeds; and (3) exhort each other in the mutual teaching of Truth, and (4) exhort each other towards Patience and Constancy.

Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, May Allah Subhanah increase your love for the deen and give you the courage, wisdom, and ability to fulfill the obligatory duty of the propagation of His Truth which He has laid upon His believing slaves.

Every believer is a ‘walking-talking’ dai or propagator of the Truth. The way a believer adorns himself, the way a believer behaves, the way a believer treats his fellow man, the way a believer treats his colleagues, the way a believer deals with others, his/her morals, his/her character, his/her every statement and every deed can and does influence the thinking of all those who meet or associate with him/her.

Thus the absolutely most effective way to propagate the Truth of the Lord is to first and foremost, implement the dictates of the deen on oneself in every aspect of one’s life; and secondly, whenever you meet or associate with one who does not believe, strive with wisdom, politeness, and in the absolute best manner and with sincere desire to wish well for their disbelieving brethren …..to strike a conversation with them which would result in inviting the person towards the understanding of this beautiful ‘way of life’ called Al-Islam.

Then depending on how much time you have the attention of the person, strive with wisdom to invite them to understand the whole of the deen, or even an aspect of it. For example, if one were to meet someone momentarily during a bus or train or plane journey, it would not be wisdom to explain the whole deen in the short span of the journey; but rather an aspect of the deen which would instigate his heart would suffice. But if one were targeting a friend, or a colleague, or a neighbor whom one meets on a regular basis, then one has enough time and must employ a method which would result in a complete invitation.

Beloved Brother in Islam, the truth is that there are a billion (ie. innumerable) ways which can be employed to invite someone to the irrefutable Truth of this beautiful deen called Al-Islam; and only wisdom will dictate which method is most suitable to strike the right cord of each individual being.

In light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, and in our own humble and insignificant experience, two ways or rules if followed, seem to bring about the best results:

Rule-1: Never try to ridicule or abuse the self-declared deities or gods of the disbelievers, nor try to directly challenge or prove their beliefs as falsehood and wrong; for this challenge almost always closes the hearts of those who believe in falsehoods and the door of their sense of logic! Allah has bestowed every person with intelligence, reasoning, and a sense of right and wrong, and in our humble and truly insignificant experience, it is better to instigate the logic and intelligence of those who don’t believe and with wisdom propagate, display, and lay open the Truth to them and let them themselves determine the Truth from the falsehood.

Rule-2: Propagate the Truth in such a way that would get the brethren who do not believe to somehow read and understand the Glorious Message of the Lord Creator, The Al-Quran, in a language they understand best. Allah is our witness brother, this Glorious Miracle of the Quran, which the Lord has revealed for the guidance of all mankind, has a unique way of its very own; provided one is truly seeking guidance to the Truth, and reads and understands it without any pre-conditions or prejudice. Allah Subhanah has truly made His Al-Quran a ‘Furqaan’ or a Criterion between the Truth and the falsehood!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 185:

Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a Perfect Guidance for mankind and consists of clear Teachings which show the Right Way, and are a Criterion of the Truth and falsehood.

Thus in our humble opinion, if one wishes to give their disbelieving brethren a ‘book’ to read so that they may understand Islam, there is absolutely no ‘book’ in this world better or more effective than the Divine and Glorious Book of Guidance, The Al-Quran!

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