Dought & clear, - Wisdom behind Fajr prayer being two rak‘ahs

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Why is Fajr prayer two rak‘ahs, fewer than the number of rak‘ahs in other prayers?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Allah has enjoined upon His slaves five prayers to be offered each day and night, and He has prescribed the number of rak‘ahs in each prayer according to His wisdom and knowledge.
So we have to accept, submit and obey, and to say as the Messenger and the believers said:“We hear, and we obey” [al-Baqarah 2:285]. For more information, please see the answer to question no. 65877
Secondly:
Al-Bukhaari (1090) and Muslim (685) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), that she said: Prayer was enjoined with two rak‘ahs in each prayer, whether one was staying at home or travelling. Then the prayer when travelling was confirmed (as being two rak‘ahs) and the prayer when not travelling was increased.
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When Allah, may He be exalted, enjoined upon His Messenger the five prayers each day and night, then he came back down to earth and Jibreel (peace be upon him) led him in prayer at the Ka‘bah, his prayer at that time was only two rak‘ahs in each prayer, whether one was staying at home or travelling. Then the prayer when travelling was confirmed as it was, and two rak‘ahs were added to the prayers when staying at home. What is meant here is the four-rak‘ah prayers only.
End quote fromFath al-Baari, by Ibn Rajab, 2/327
Ibn Khuzaymah (305) and Ibn Hibbaan (2738) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The prayers, whether travelling or staying at home were enjoined with two rak‘ahs each, then when the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) settled in Madinah, two rak‘ahs were added to the prayers when staying at home, but Fajr prayer was left as it was, because of the length of the recitation therein, and Maghrib prayer (was also left as it was), because it is the Witr of the day.
Classed as hasan by Shaykh Shu ‘ayb al-Arna’oot in his commentary onSaheeh Ibn Hibbaan.
According to a report narrated by Ahmad (26338), the first thing to be enjoined upon the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was prayer with two rak‘ahs each, except Maghrib, which was three rak‘ahs. Then Allah completed Zuhr, ‘Asr and ‘Isha’, making them four rak‘ahs when staying at home, and confirming the original obligation (of two rak‘ahs) when travelling.
Classed as hasan by the commentators onal-Musnad.
This hadith explains that when the prayer was first enjoined, it was two rak‘ahs in each prayer, then that was confirmed in the case of travel, but it was increased when staying at home. So Zuhr, ‘Asr and ‘Isha’ were increased by two rak‘ahs. Fajr was confirmed as two rak‘ahs so that one could recite at length in it. Hence the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite at greater length in it than in the other prayers. Sometimes he would recite Soorat as-Saaffaat in it when leading them in prayer, as was narrated by Ahmad (4989) and classed as hasan by the commentators onal-Musnad. Sometimes he recited Soorat ar-Room, as was narrated also by Ahmad (15873) and classed as hasan by the commentators onal-Musnad. Sometimes he recited between sixty and one hundred verses, as is agreed upon (by the hadeeth scholars). So as to allow lengthy recitation in Fajr prayer, it was confirmed as two rak‘ahs, as it was enjoined in the beginning, not because two rak‘ahs were dropped from it.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
When Allah, may He be exalted, enjoined the five daily prayers in Makkah, he enjoined them with two rak‘ahs each. Then that was confirmed when travelling, and more was added to the prayers when staying at home, as is proven inas-Saheehfrom ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: When he (the Prophet – blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) migrated to Madinah, (two rak‘ahs) were added to the prayers when staying at home (i.e., not travelling); Maghrib prayer was made three rak‘ahs, because it is the Witr of the day, and Fajr prayer was confirmed with two rak‘ahs, so as to allow for lengthy recitation therein, hence there was no need to increase the number of rak‘ahs.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 23/114.
A similar case is the shortening of Jumu‘ah prayer to two rak‘ahs because of the khutbah. Ibn al-A‘raabi narrated in hisMu‘jam(1447) that ‘Aa’ishah the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Allah, may He be exalted, enjoined the prayer upon His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Makkah, with two rak‘ahs in each prayer, except Maghrib, which is the Witr of the day. When he migrated to Madinah and settled there, two rak‘ahs were added to each two rak‘ahs, except Maghrib prayer, for it is the Witr of the day; Fajr prayer, so as to allow for lengthy recitation therein; and Jumu‘ah prayer, in which the prayer is two rak‘ahs because of the khutbah.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It was narrated from ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The prayer was made shorter because of the khutbah. The view of ‘Aa’ishah is similar to that. Sa‘eed ibn Jubayr said: Jumu‘ah was four (rak‘ahs), then the khutbah took the place of two rak‘ahs. End quote fromal-Mughni, 2/224
And Allah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - Is it permissible to buy meat from someone who hangs up amuletsin his shop?

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I am a Muslim born and raised in the west. In my community there are not a lot of halal shops to buy meat from. Because I am in the West, there are plenty of shops owned by people of the book. I do not like to purchase meat from them because they sell pork in their shops.
The halal shop nearest to me has amulets that people here call the eye of Fatimah hanging on almost every wall. They even sell the amulets in the shop too. Does the shop owners minor shirk have any affect on the meat? Is it permissible to buy meat and other food items from them?
Praise be to Allah.
The basic principle is that meat slaughtered by Muslims and the People of the Book is permissible, unless it is proven that they mention something other than the name of Allah at the time of slaughter or that they slaughter the animal in a manner that is not acceptable according to sharee‘ah.
The scholars of the Standing Committee said:
It is permissible to eat meat slaughtered by the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians, if they mention the name of Allah over it as well as fulfilling all the other conditions of slaughter as known in Islam. If they mention the name of anyone other than Allah over it, such as al-‘Uzayr or the Messiah, then it is not permissible to eat it. Similarly, if they kill it by strangulation or electric shock, it is not permissible to eat it.
End quote fromFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 22/391-392
If it so happens that the People of the Book sell pork in the same shop where halaal meat is sold, the basic principle is that the place where the evil is committed should be shunned and its people should not be helped in that regard, but this does not mean that their meat that was slaughtered in the Islamically prescribed manner is haraam, or that interacting with them in general is haraam, especially when there is a need for that, and you will encounter difficulty if you stop buying from them, and there is no one else like them from whom you could buy things.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
Is it permissible for a Muslim to buy halaal meat from a store that also sells haraam meat, if each type of meat is in a separate location and is stored in a separate fridge, and the meat is packaged separately? Is it permissible to buy halaal kinds of food from a large store, if that store also sells alcohol in a separate section of the store, and the owner of these stores is not Muslim?
They replied:
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression”
[al-Maa’idah 5:2].
Hence it is not permissible for a Muslim to help anyone in anything that involves sin and transgression or in transgressing the sacred limits set by Allah. Therefore, if the Muslim has a choice, in that there are people who sell halaal things and refrain from selling haraam things, such as pork and so on, then he should deal with him, and not with the one who sells both halaal things and haraam things such as pork, alcohol and so on.
But if that is not possible, then it is permissible for the Muslim to buy halaal meat and permissible foods from him, so long as there is no confusion between the halaal meat and the harasm meat, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can”
[al-Taghaabun 64:16].
End quote fromFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 13/173
Secondly:
If these amulets that are hung up in the shop contain anything that constitutes shirk (associating others with Allah), such as asking of anyone other than Allah, seeking the help of the awliya’ (close friends of Allah, sometimes called “saints”) and the like, or if you know that the owners of these shops are people who practice and promote these kinds of shirk, or they believe that these amulets that they hang up can, besides Allah, bring benefits or ward off harm, then the meat slaughtered by them is not permissible, because these things constitute major shirk.
But if these amulets are free of major shirk, and it is not known that these people wear them or believe that the amulets can bring benefits or ward off harm, then the meat slaughtered by them is permissible.
The fact that a person has fallen into minor shirk – but not major shirk – does not mean that it is not permissible to eat meat slaughtered by him.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
What is the ruling on meat slaughtered by a person who uses amulets containing words from the Qur’an or otherwise, or who ties knots with thread and so on?
They replied: Amulets are things such as pearls, sea-shells and so on that are put around the necks of children, animals, women and so on, or may also be tied to their belts or their hair, to protect against evil or to ward off harm. This is forbidden and in fact is shirk (associating others with Allah), because it is Allah alone in Whose hand is control of benefit and harm; no one else has this power.
Anyone who believes that an amulet and the like has any power to bring benefit or ward off harm is a mushrik in the sense of major shirk that puts him beyond the pale of Islam – Allah forbid – and meat slaughtered by him is not to be eaten.
Anyone who believes that it is just a means and that Allah is the One who brings benefits or causes harm, and that He is the one who brings about the effects of causes is a mushrik in the sense of minor shirk, because an amulet is not a regular means and it is not prescribed in Islam; rather it is just something imaginary.
End quote fromFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah, 22/433-434
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is it permissible to eat meat slaughtered by one who uses amulets?
He replied: That is subject to further discussion. If it is known that the one who uses amulets associates others with Allah and believes that the amulets themselves, not Allah, bring benefits and cause harm; or he relies on them instead of putting his trust in Allah; or he believes in the dead and calls upon them, seeks help from them and makes vows to them; or he believes in trees, idols or jinn, and calls upon them or seeks help from them – meat slaughtered by such a person is not to be eaten.
But if he uses them in a regular manner, and regards them as a means of bringing benefits, but he does not believe that they themselves cause harm or bring benefits, and he does not do any practices of shirk, then meat slaughtered by him may be eaten, because use of amulets in this case is a kind of minor shirk.
And Allah knows best.

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Dought & clear, - She is pregnant and she did not pray for nine months, then she repented. What is the ruling on her marriage?

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You replied to my question by giving me a link to previous answer,but please i need more clarification if you could answer in person!
On the day my father took my permission to marry me to my husband i just started praying,not all the prayers but prayed a couple of salats,i knew that some scholars said if a women dosent pray at all nikah is invalid so thats why i prayed only a day before my nikah,the day after my permission was sought was my nikah day and i prayed fajr and zuhur on my nikah day,and after my nikah in the next couple days i prayed 2/3 prayers altogether,after that my period started and than became lazy may Allah forgive me and stopped praying for 9 months of our marriage,i was lying to my husband he use to think i prayed before and after we got married but alhamdulilah i have started praying again now,i also got pregnant 2 months after my nikah when i was not praying and am still pregnant now and praying alhamdulilah,does this have any effect,is my nikah valid?
Praise be to Allah.
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed as to whether the one who does not pray is a kaafir, if he does not deny that it is obligatory. Some of them – and this is the view of Imam Ahmad and a number of the early generations – said that he is a kaafir in the sense of kufr that puts one beyond the pale of Islam, and he is to be regarded as an apostate.
The majority of scholars said that he does not become a kaafir by not praying, so long as he does not deny that it is obligatory, but he should be asked to repent for three days; if he repents, all well and good, but if he does not, he is to be executed as a hadd punishment, not on the grounds that he has become a kaafir.
The more correct view is the former, which is that the one who does not pray is a kaafir. This is the view reflected in fatwas given on this website.
See also the answer to question no. 5208
Secondly:
If a person prays sometimes and not at other times, there is a difference of opinion among those who say that he is a kaafir in this case. Some of them say that he becomes a kaafir if he omits one obligatory prayer deliberately until the time for it is over. Others say that he does not become a kaafir unless he stops praying altogether. The latter is the view favored by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him). For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 83165and 185619.
Thirdly:
If you were praying before marriage, then the marriage contract is valid, and there is no problem with it.
If it so happened that you stopped praying altogether after marriage, for a period of nine months as you mentioned, then this is subject to the difference of scholarly opinion mentioned above concerning the ruling on one who does not pray. The opinion of the majority of scholars is that the one who does not pray is not deemed to be an apostate, so there is no problem, and the marriage remains valid, especially since you repented after that and adhered to praying regularly.
But according to the view of those who think that the one who does not pray becomes a kaafir and apostate, the marriage is not completely annulled because of that; rather the matter is to be left till the end of the ‘iddah. If the partner who became an apostate repents before the end of the ‘iddah, then the marriage remains as it was. But if the ‘iddah ends (without that partner having repented), then they are to be separated and the marriage is annulled.
Rather, Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] thinks that even after the end of the ‘iddah there is still an opportunity for the partners to go back to their previous marriage contract, if the one who became an apostate repents before the woman remarries.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If both or one of them becomes a kaafir after consummation of the marriage, the matter is to be left until the end of the ‘iddah and the marriage is not to be annulled yet. Rather we should wait until the ‘iddah ends. Then if they come back to Islam, the marriage remains valid. It says inar-Rawd: If the one who became an apostate repents before (the ‘iddah) ends, then their marriage remains valid, otherwise the marriage is to be annulled from the time he apostatised.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] has the same opinion concerning this issue as is mentioned above about the first issue. He says: Before the end of the ‘iddah, the woman is not allowed to marry someone else; after the end of the ‘iddah she may marry someone else. But if she does not want to get married, in the hope that her husband may come back to Islam, then she is allowed that option.
End quote fromash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 12/249. See also:al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 7/35
To sum up:
So long as you have repented and adhered to regular prayer, and you are still pregnant and have not yet given birth, then your marriage is valid and there is no problem with it, in sha Allah.
But what really matters here is that you learn a lesson from this, which is that prayer is too important to be ignored because of laziness or one’s own whims and desires. It is the most important physical act and is the most important thing that Allah demands of His slaves after their entering His religion.
And Allah knows best.

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