Fathwa, - Intention of performing the prayer on time or making up a missed prayer

Question
What is the religious ruling on making the intention of making up a
missed prayer and that ofperforming a prayer on time? Is the prayer
considered invalid if the worshipper does not differentiate between
the two intentions while performing the prayer?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
isHis slave and Messenger.
Muslim scholars unanimously agreed that the intention is a condition
for the validity of the prayer. Allaah The Exalted Says (what means):
{ And they were not commanded except to worship Allaah, [being]
sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish
prayer and to give Zakaah. And that is the correct religion. } [Quran
98:5]
The Prophet , said: " Verily, deeds are based on intentions and an
individual is (rewarded) only according to that which he intends. "
[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
The place of intention is the heart and not the tongue. Uttering the
intention is considered a religious innovation.
The role of intention is todistinguish acts of worship and
differentiate between these various acts as well.Prayers in Islam are
either obligatory or voluntary. Making an intention is a prerequisite
in each obligatory prayer in particular: the worshipper should make an
intention to perform aspecific prayer; Thuhr, 'Asr or the like.
Voluntary prayers are divided into two types:
First: Specified voluntary prayers which are performed on certain
occasions such as Salatul-Kusoof (i.e. eclipse prayer), Istisqaa' or
rain-invoking prayer, Taraaweeh (i.e. voluntaryprayer in Ramadhaan),
Witr and confirmed voluntary prayers. They all require an intention
from the worshipper. For instance, if he intends to perform a
voluntary prayer for the Thuhr or Maghrib prayer.
Second: General voluntary prayers, such as night prayers, which do not
require a specific intention but only the intention of performing
prayer.
However, Muslim scholarsdiffered about making an intention while
performing obligatory prayers. Is it obligatory tomake the intention
to perform an obligatory prayer or not? Should theworshipper make an
intention to perform a prayer on time if he is praying it on time?
Should the worshipper, who is re-offering the obligatory prayer, make
the intention of re-offering the prayer or not?
The preponderant opinion among most Muslim jurists is that it is not
mandatory for the worshipper to do so. The worshipper may settle for
making an intention of performing a specific obligatory prayer. For
example, if the 'Asr prayer is due and the worshipper wants to make up
for the Thuhr prayer, which he had missed, he should make the
intention of performing the Thuhr prayer and he is not obliged to make
the intention of making up for a missed prayer. When he performs the
'Asr prayer in its due time, he should merely make the intention of
performing the 'Asr prayer and not the intention of performing it at
its specific time.
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Fathwa, - Should Isti‘aathah be repeated in each Rak‘ah?

Question
What are the reported supplications that should be recited after the
opening Takbeer? Shouldone recite the Isti'aathah and Basmalah before
the recitation of Al-Faatihah? Should they be repeated in the second
Rak'ah as well?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
isHis slave and Messenger.
It is prescribed for the worshipper to recite the opening
supplication, make Isti'aathah saying: "A'oothu Billaahi min
Ash-Shaytaan Ar-Rajeem" (i.e. I seek refuge in Allaah from The
Accursed Satan), and Basmalah, saying: "Bismillaah Ar-Rahmaan
Ar-Raheem" (i.e. In the Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Ever
Merciful) after reciting Takbeerat Al-Ihraam (i.e. opening Takbeerah).
As for the repetition of Isti'aathah and Basmalah in each Rak'ah, the
view of the majority of Muslim scholars is that they should be recited
only in the first Rak'ah.
Al-Hasan , 'Ataa' , and Ibraaheem Al-Nakha'i believed that it is
recommended to repeat the Isti'aathah and Basmalah in each Rak'ah, and
this is the opinion of the Shaafi'i school of Fiqh.
They relied on the general meaning of the verse that reads (what
means): { So when you recite the Quran, [first] seek refuge in Allaah
from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy]. } [Quran16:98]
There is no doubt that this verse indicates the permissibility of
reciting the Isti'aathah before reading the Quran in general without
restricting it to the worshipper in prayer. Moreover, there are
Hadeeths underlining that talking is forbidden during prayer. They
indicate the impermissibility of talking during prayer without making
a distinction between the Isti'aathah and any other external talk
during the prayer on which there is no evidence highlightingwhether it
is impermissible or permissible.
It is more cautious and prudent to abide merely by what was reported
in the Sunnah of the Prophet . This is to recite the Isti'aathah in
the first Rak'ah only, as was reported in the Hadeeths.
For example, Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri said, " The Prophet , used to recite
this opening supplication during prayer: "A'oothu billaahi As-Samee'
Al-'aleem min Ash-Shaytaan Ar-Rajeem: min Hamzihi wa Nafkhihi,wa
Nafthihi. " (i.e. I seek refuge in Allaah The Hearing The Knowing from
Satan; his madness, arrogance and his poetry .) [Abu Daawood and
At-Tirmithi]
As for Al-Faatihah, the worshipper should recite the Basmalah each
time before reciting it. It should be recited in a low tone if the
prayer is silent (i.e. like Thuhr and 'Asr) or out loud if it is a
loud prayer (i.e. like Fajr, Maghrib and 'Ishaa'). The Prophet , often
recitedthe Basmalah in a low tone more than he recited it out loud.
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Fathwa, - Family problems do not justify abandoning prayer

Question
I am a nineteen-year old young man and am keen to perform the five
obligatory prayers in their due times. However,my problem is that I
live with my brother in his home and his wife hates it. She took money
from me and I informed my brother, thereupon I became the devil who
sowed the seeds of discord between my brother and his wife!
Thisincident gave rise to many problems between them and they stopped
talking to each other because of me. I started abandoning prayer and
stealing money from my brother's shop behind hisback. I have taken
about AED 1000 worth of money. Now, I need to put an end to this and
amthinking of leaving my brother's home. Should I give him his money
back or not, given that I have been working with him almost for an
entire year and he never gave me any pay, not for a month,a week or
even a day? This is the real reason behind me taking that money and I
do not know whether this is considered stealing in the Islamic
Sharee'ah or not?
The Prophet , said: "HeWhose Prayer did not restrain him from evil and
indecent acts, offered no Prayer at all."
Thank you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad
isHis slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should sincerely repent to AllaahThe Exalted for
your sin and immediately abstain from abandoning prayer.Indeed, giving
up prayer is a grave sin. Prayer is the barrier and shield between a
Muslim and disbelief. The Prophet , said: " What lies between a man
and Shirk(i.e. polytheism) and disbelief is the abandonment of prayer.
" [Muslim, Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi]
The Prophet , also said:
· " What lies between belief and disbelief is the abandonment of
prayer. " [At-Tirmithi]
· " The covenant between us and them (i.e. the hypocrites) is prayer
so, ifanyone abandons it, he has become a disbeliever. " [Ahmad in
Al-Musnad, Al-Haakim in Al-Mustadrak and others]
There are other texts from the Quran and the Sunnah warning against
abandoning prayer and being rather lax in performing it. Hence,
youshould repent to Allaah The Exalted and perform the due obligatory
prayers as your Lord Has Commanded you.
Dear questioner, know that if you commit yourself to performing the
obligatory prayers, allyour problems will be solved. You will relish
pleasure and happiness in this worldly life and in the Hereafter as
well. Also, your prayers will shield you against committing sins and
indecent acts.
You should come clean, admit that you stole that money and confess
this to your brother while demanding your due right from him.
However,this should be done while maintaining the kinship ties between
the two of you and fostering brotherly love and tolerance. You should
make sure that this does not undermine your brotherhood bonds, ties of
kinship and the (mutual) obligations that they impose, as brotherhood
is priceless and more vital than anything else in the entire world.
We would like to remind you that the Hadeeth youmentioned is not
authentically proven to be the words of the Prophet , although its
meaning is true. They areproven to be the words of Ibn Mas'ood and Ibn
'Abbaas as ibn Katheer stated in his Tafseer concerning the verse.
Allaah Knows best.

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The role of merchants in spreading Islam

To call people to Allaah is the duty of every responsible and
conscientious Muslim. Since there is no priesthood in Islam or
sacerdotal class among Muslims, the duty of the call to Allaah cannot
be limited to an ill-conceived and imaginary group called the 'men of
religion as is the case with other religions.' In Islam, everyone is a
man (or woman) of religion and everyone will be accountable to Allaah
as to whether or not one fulfilled their obligations sincerely and to
the best of their abilities.
Urging Muslims to own up to their responsibilities in this respect,
Almighty Allaah Says (what means): " And who is better in speech than
one who calls to Allaah and does righteousness and says, 'Indeed, Iam
of the Muslims.'" [Quran 41: 33]
Therefore, one need not be a profound scholar or a great jurist to
call others to Islam. A Muslim should better be a caller to Islam by
his good conduct than by eloquentoration, for to preach others to do
something not practically embodied in the preacher's character is a
vain attempt to win hearts and minds. Moreover, doing so incurs
Allaah's displeasure, as He, the Almighty Says (what means): " O you
who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it
is with Allaah that you say that which you do not do ." [Quran 61:2-3]
The adage: "Actions speak louder than words" was well embodied in the
Islamic history, namely the spread of Islam in many non-Muslim
countries- like parts of Asia, Africa and Europe- through the good
conduct of Muslim merchants who came into commercial contacts with the
people of those countries.
Hereunder is a brief survey of that peaceful spread of Islam:
Southeast Asia
By the 14 th century CE, as Islam made its way through Indian and
Chinese merchants into the area of today's Malaysia , Buddhist and
Hindu influences gave way. Islam became the source of legitimacy for
the Malay feudal rulers. It was during this period that Islamic and
Malay identities combined together, though many Hindu and pre-Hindu
customs and practices remained part of the Malay cultural and social
mix.
Muslim influence in Southeast Asia is at least six centuries old,
i.e., it was present by 1400 A.D. Some argue that the Islamic presence
there goes back to at least 1100A.D. in the earliest areas of Islamic
influence, such as in Aceh and northern Sumatra in Indonesia .
Whatever exact dates and sources one chooses to support, there is no
doubt that the acceptance of Islam by many nations in present-day
Malaysia , southern Thailand , Indonesia , Brunei , and the southern
Philippines occurred within a few hundred years.
In the year 1500, the historian Anthony Reid notes that Islamic
influence was present in coastal ports of Sumatra, Java, and Malaysia
. Southeast Asian peoples came into direct contact with Muslim traders
who had been not just to India , but also to Arabia . Arabic scholars
also came to Malaysia and Indonesia , facilitating information about
the new religion.
The successful spread of Islam in Indonesia , Malaysia , and the
Philippines owed much to the introduction of theNoble Quran and other
Islamic books and references.
Today, 90% of Indonesians are Muslims, while over half of Malaysia 's
population is Muslim. In the Philippines , where the Spanish (andlater
Americans) won the war for religious converts, only 5% of the
population is Muslim.
Africa
The growth of cities was both a cause and effect of the spread of
Islam and economic growth in Muslim-ruled areas in Africa . Cultural
developments in literature, arts and sciences, manufacturing and trade
accompanied the spread of Islam and its influence on
religious,intellectual, economic and political life in those regions.
Although unified Muslim rule lasted only about a century, Islam kept
spreading and Muslim culture and society flourished.
Before 1500, Islam spreadwidely in sub-Saharan Africa . The first town
south of the Sahara that became majority Muslim was Gao on the Niger
River in Mali before 990, when a ruler accepted Islam. Over the
centuries, many rulers followed. By 1040, groups in Senegal became
Muslims. From them Islam spread to the region of today's Senegal ,
west Mali , and Guinea . After the Soninke of the Kingdom of Ghana
became Muslims about 1076, Islam spread along the Niger River .
Muslims established the kingdom of Mali in the thirteenth to fifteenth
centuries, and Songhai from1465 to 1600. Farther east, Kanem-Bornu
near Lake Chad became Muslim after 1100.
In West Africa, as was the case with Southeast Asia , it was traders
who introduced Islam, and many rulers accepted it first, followed by
others. African Muslim scholars became established in the major towns
like Timbuktu , and they taught, wrote and practiced Islamic law as
judges. Islam was established in West Africathroughout the Sahel belt
and along the Niger River into today's Nigeria .
It was famous trade routes which led to the empire of Ghana and
connected prominent African places like Timbuktu (in Mali ), the
present Nigeria , Tripoli and Tunisia . These routeshad made all the
above mentioned places famoustrade centers. These centers of trade
invariably became centers of Islamic learning and civilization. New
ideas came through visiting traders in the field of administrative
practices.
In East Africa , traders hadspread Islam down the coast by the tenth
century, and it gradually developed further in the following
centuries. In the Sudan , south of Egypt , the population of Nubia
gradually became Muslimduring the fourteenth century, through
immigration of Muslim Arab tribesmen. Muslim rule and influence,
however, did not extend south of Khartoum , where the Blue and White
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