Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Ruling on praying in the workplace

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I work in the Faisal Tower in Riyadh, and when the time for prayer begins, there is a recording that is played over the PA system in the building, telling us of the time for prayer. I have some colleagues who offer the Zuhr prayer in their offices, and they give a number of reasons for doing so, namely:
1- That they cannot hear the adhaan from the mosque, and this is a recording, not an adhaan.
2- They offer the prayer in congregation and so they fulfil the condition of praying in congregation.
3- There is no prayer-room (musalla) in the tower. Although there is a mosque close to the ground floor, they say that this mosque does not belong to the building so it is far away.
My question is:
What is the ruling on their praying in their offices? How should I respond to their arguments?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly: the basic principle is that the prayer should be offered in the mosque, and this is what the mosques were built for. In the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever hears the call (to prayer) and does not respond, there is no prayer for him (i.e., his prayer is not valid), unless he has an excuse.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (217) and Ibn Maajah (793); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Ibn Maajah(793).
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Ibn Umm Maktoom (may Allaah be pleased with him): “Can you hear the call to prayer?” He said: Yes. He said: “Answer it.” Narrated by Muslim (653).
This hadeeth indicates that it is obligatory for the one who hears the call to respond, and to pray in congregation in the mosque.
What is meant by hearing the call is that one can hear the voice of the muezzin if he raises his voice with the adhaan, without using a loudspeaker.
Whoever is close to the mosque and can hear the call is obliged to pray in congregation in the mosque, but whoever is far away is not obliged to attend the mosque.
See the answer to question no. 20655.
Secondly:
With regard to their saying that they perform the prayer in congregation and thus fulfil the condition of praying in congregation, they should note that two things are required of them:
1- They should pray in congregation
2- This congregation should be in the mosque.
It is essential to do both things together. This has been explained in the answer to the question referred to above. See also question no. 72398.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The basic principle is that prayer should be offered in the mosque, but there is nothing wrong with office workers praying in their offices if going out to the mosque will adversely affect their work, or will lead to some employees playing about if they go out to pray and come back late. If the mosque is far away, it is permissible for them to pray in the workplace.
What matters is that if there is a reason or a need for them to pray in their offices, there is nothing wrong with that. End quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(15/68).
Conclusion:
These people should pray in the mosque so long as the mosque is close by, and it is not permissible for them to pray in their offices unless there is a reason, such as if there is the fear that this may cause employees to waste time and so on.
And Allaah knows best.

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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Is therea difference between subh prayer and fajrprayer?

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Is there a difference between subh prayer and fajr prayer?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Fajr prayer is subh prayer – there is no difference between them. It consists of two rak’ahs. The time for this prayer starts when the true dawn begins, and lasts until the sun rises. There is a prayer that comes before it, consisting of two rak'ahs, which is known as the Sunnah of subh or the two rak’ahs of Fajr.
The phrasessalaat al-subhandsalaat al-fajrare both used in the Sunnah to refer to this prayer, such as the report narrated by Muslim (656) from ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi ‘Amrah who said: ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan entered the mosque after Maghrib prayer and sat by himself. I sat beside him and he said: O son of my brother, I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever prays ‘Isha’ in congregation, it is as if he spent half the night in prayer, and whoever prays Subh (Fajr) in congregation, it is as if he spent the entire night in prayer.”
Al-Bukhaari (556) and Muslim (608) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If one of you catches up with a rak’ah of ‘Asr prayer before the sun sets, let him complete his prayer, and if he catches up with a rak’ah of Subh (Fajr) prayer before the sun rises, let him complete his prayer.”
As for calling it Fajr prayer, Muslim (670) narrated from Jaabir ibn Samurah that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed Fajr he would sit in the place where he had prayed until the sun was well risen.
And al-Bukhaari (891) and Muslim (880) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite in Jumu’ah and in Fajr prayer,“Alif‑Laam‑Meem. The revelation of the Book… ” [Soorat al-Sajdah, no. 32]and“Has there not been over man a period of time” [Soorat al-Dahr, no. 76].
And al-Bukhaari (555) and Muslim (632) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Angels come to you in succession by night and by day, and they meet at Fajr prayer and at ‘Asr prayer, then those who stayed among you ascend and He (Allaah) asks them, although He knows best, ‘How did you leave My slaves?’ They say: ‘We left them when they were praying and we came to them when they were praying.’”
And Allaah knows best.







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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * When should the takbeeraat of movement be said during theprayer?

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When the imam is praying, when should he say takbeer for bowing, for example? Should he say takbeer before he bows, whilst bowing or after bowing?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What is prescribed for everyone who prays (the imam, the one who is praying behind the imam and the one who is praying alone) is for the takbeer for bowing to accompany the movement. So he should start saying takbeer when he starts to bow, and end it before he reaches the bowing position, so that his takbeer comes between the two postures of standing and bowing.
The Sunnah indicates that the takbeer should accompany the intended movement such as bowing, prostrating and standing up. It is narrated inal-Saheehaynthat Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: When the Messenger of Allaah (S) stood up to pray, he would say takbeer when he stood up, then he would say takbeer when he bowed, then he would say “Sami’a Allaahu limanhamidah(Allaah hears those who praise Him)” until he was standing up straight after bowing, and when he was standing he would say, “Rabbana wa laka’l-hamd(our Lord, to You be praise).” Then he would say takbeer when he went down in prostration, then he would say takbeer when he raised his head, then he would say takbeer when he prostrated, then he would say takbeer when he raised his head, and he did that throughout the prayer until he finished. And he would say takbeer when he stood up after two rak’ahs, after sitting.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (789) and Muslim (392).
This hadeeth shows that the takbeer for bowing should be said whilst bending down to bow, and the takbeer for prostration should be said when going down for prostration, and the takbeer for standing up from prostration should be said whilst rising, and so on. This was stated by al-Nawawi inSharh Muslim, and he said that it is the view of the majority of scholars.
Some of the fuqaha’ were very strict on this point, and said that if the worshipper starts to say the takbeer when he is standing, before he bends down, or he completes it after he reaches the bowing posture, that does not count and he has failed to say takbeer properly, because he has not done it at the right time. According to the view that takbeer is obligatory, he has invalidated his prayer if he did that deliberately, and if he did it by mistake he must perform the prostration of forgetfulness (sujood al-sahw). The correct view, however, is that this is forgivable, so as to avoid undue hardship.
Al-Mardaawi said inal-Insaaf(2/59): Majd and others said: The takbeer for going down and rising and standing up should start when the movement begins and end when it ends. If he completes it partway through, that is sufficient [i.e., if it happens between the two postures without elongating it], because it has not been done at the wrong time. There is no scholarly difference of opinion on this matter.
But if he starts it before that or ends it after that, and some of it happens outside the proper place, then this is like not doing it at all, because he did not complete it at the right time. It is like one who completes his recitation whilst bowing, or who starts to recite the tashahhud before sitting.
But he may be forgiven for that, because avoiding it is difficult, and mistakes are often made, and it is too harsh to suggest that this invalidates the prayer or requires the prostration of forgetfulness. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The fuqaha’ (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: If he starts to say the takbeer before he bends down, or he completes it after reaching the bowing posture, then that is not valid, because they said that this takbeer is for movement and its place is between the two postures. If it is included in the first posture it is not valid and if he includes it in the second posture it is not valid, because that is a place where this dhikr is not prescribed. It is not prescribed to say takbeer whilst standing or whilst bowing, rather the takbeer comes in between standing and bowing.
Undoubtedly this view is valid to some extent, because the takbeer is the sign of movement, so it should be done whilst moving.
But the view that his prayer is invalidated if he completes it after he reaches the bowing position or he starts it before he starts to bend down causes hardship for people, because if you think about how people are nowadays, many people do not know this, and some of them say takbeer before they start to bend down, and some of them reach the bowing position before they finish saying it.
It is strange that some ignorant imams have come up with a mistaken ijtihad and say “I will not say takbeer until I reach the bowing position, because if I say takbeer before I reach the bowing position, the people praying behind me will bow before I do, and they will bend down before I reach the bowing position, and perhaps they will reach it before I do.” This is a strange kind of ijtihad, whereby you would invalidate your own worship, according to the view of some scholars, in order to ensure the validity of the worship of someone else who is not enjoined to do things before you, rather he is enjoined to follow you.
Hence we say: this ijtihad is inappropriate, and we call the one who comes up with this kind of ijtihad ignorant … because he is ignorant and he does not know that he is ignorant.
If, let’s say, you say takbeer when you bend down, and you want to finish it before you reach the bowing position, but you reach the bowing position before you finish it, there is nothing wrong with that.
The correct view is that if he starts the takbeer before bending down to bow, and finishes it after that, there is nothing wrong with that. If he starts it when he is bending down and ends it after he reaches the bowing position, there is nothing wrong with that. But it is better for it to be done between the two postures as much as possible. The same applies during the saying of “Sami’a Allaahu liman hamidah” and all the takbeeraat of movement. But if he does not start until after he reaches the position that comes next, then this is not valid. End quote fromal-Sharh al-Mumti’.
And Allaah knows best.

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Humanity in Islam: Service to Mankind is Service to God We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. - Albert Einstein Man is born with a heart of compassion which reacts in accordance to the feelings of fellow humans. Compassion, love, affection and care are the innate qualities which make a human. These qualities define man. The development or suppression of these qualities entirely depends on man himself. From time to time, philosophers and religious scholars have tried to encourage people to increase these innate qualities in themselves. Humanity is one such aspect which has been stressed upon in all parts of the world. "Service to Mankind is service to God" is the proverb highly prevalent all over the world. Serving and treating fellow human beings with courtesy and kindness is an essential part of a good moral conduct. All world religions share and support this concept. Humanity is what you say to someone when you think no one's watching. It's what you do when you are all by yourself. Humanity is what you feel when you watch another person suffering and decide to either do nothing or do something. Humanity is the ability to reach out and hug someone. Humanity is being grateful for your family, your friends, and your ability to do something in this world to your society. Humanity is the ability to trust, the ability to connect, the ability to touch. To be human means we can move, create, love, share and laugh. One example to inculcate the ability to serve mankind in humans is about the "Good Samaritan" who has helped a sick man and did not even care to reveal his identity to the people. Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. - Dalai Lama Islamhas put much emphasis on serving humans, but providing merely food and shelter to fellow humans cannot be considered as a service to Allah (SWT) on the whole. It is inappropriate to think that we are serving mankind as a whole by simply spending a huge amount in charity. Every human being is a problem in search of a solution. - Ashley Montagu Service to Allah (SWT) is being obedient to Him in a way that He expects humans to be. The first stage of this obedience is our acceptance of Tawhid. Once we give our acceptance of the oneness of Allah (SWT), we are expected to obey Him in a way that He has prescribed to us. This is the stage where man fulfills all the mandatory acts like prayers, charity, pilgrimage etc. It is the stage where man develops the bondage between himself and Allah (SWT) directly. The third stage is serving the family and relations: fulfilling the rights of his dependents and of people closely related to him. Here again, man attains further closeness to Allah (SWT) through his family, by pleasing them. No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished? - Lee Iacocca Then comes the fourth stage, which is about service to human beings. Man attains closeness to Allah (SWT) by serving his fellow beings. But the main question is, in what way should the fellow beings be served, so that the service could be termed as service to Allah (SWT) as a whole? Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari in his book, The Perfect Man, says: "Serving people is fine and we should serve them. But if we provide them with food and clothes alone, we would be treating them like animals, especially if we suppose no higher values exist for them. If service is confined to this, what would be the difference between Abu Dhar and Mu'awiya?" Definitely, mere provision of food and shelter does not fulfill the purpose. There has to be an additional form of service. Every Muslim is expected to render his duties towards the society in which he lives. The actual service to human beings lies in treating them as humans first. We need to help our fellow human beings in nurturing and growing their innate qualities which define them as humans. Man is different from all the creatures of both the worlds and so are his duties and responsibilities towards his Creator. Surely, service to this special creature has to be by helping him understand and render his responsibilities towards his Creator. Man is born with the innate ability of learning and understanding. He is capable of multiplying his knowledge through understanding and analyzing what he has learnt. Man is not pre-programmed to obey and pray to Allah (SWT). He does so by his own free will. This makes him different from the rest of creatures, and therefore heaven and hell are made to reward and punish him accordingly. The method of serving man is by grooming and molding him in accordance to the tenets of Islam. This helps man to distinguish himself and highlight his superiority towards other creatures. Education and awareness are the two methods that can be implemented to help man understand himself. We find in Islamic history the best examples of love and compassion for fellow human beings. Sometimes we find the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his progeny) serving the needy and weak; sometimes we see Imam Ali (peace be upon him) sitting with the sick and the poor, attending to their needs affectionately; and sometimes we see other members from our holy Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them)giving the same service to needy ones. Islam has laid great stress on helping the poor and needy ones. But we know that man's needs are not confined to just material aspects of life; rather, he seeks to fulfill higher needs as well, like guidance and seeking knowledge. Hence we find that along with material needs, the Holy Prophet and Ahlul Bayt have quenched humanity's spiritual thirst as well. Man is a creature who always longs for company, love and compassion. If Islam had given the world nothing but this one simple clarion message, "Read!" (Noble Qur'an, 96:1) - and that too at the dawn of the Seventh Century - the entire world would still be in its debt forever. But the tragedy is that Non-Muslims don't know and Muslims won't tell." - Dr. Pasha Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him)served mankind by educating the people, he had more than 6,000 students studying under him from all over the world. They did not just learn about Islam, but were taught various subjects including mathematics, astronomy and science. This eventually terminated the Dark Age in Europe. We can fulfill our responsibility of serving mankind by educating the people, laying more emphasis on Islamic education, arranging educational and awareness campaigns about Islam, helping the people - especially the youth - understand the true meaning behind the message brought by Holy Prophet and protected by Ahlul Bayt, even at the cost of their lives. We must encourage them to spread this knowledge among fellow beings. A Muslim's responsibility does not end just here. It is our duty to act as true representatives of Islam and behave in accordance to the Islamic tenets. We are expected to treat our fellow beings with love and honesty, to respect them and always be available to them whenever they are in need, whatever may be the kind of their need. Some uninformed people object that, "If Islam is a true religion of God, then why doesn't it help mankind and promote peace and love?" Islam states that service to humanity is a part of faith. Muslims should be actively engaged in social welfare and educational needs, not only for fellow Muslims, but also for all the communities where they reside. You are the best community that has been raised for mankind. You enjoin good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah. [Aal-e-Imran, 3:110] In this verse, Muslims have been enjoined by Allah (SWT) to serve mankind and promote goodness. If they fail to achieve this, then they can not state that they are the "best community". After all, a faith which is insensitive to the suffering of other human beings and is not inclined to serve the cause of humanity cannot be described as a good faith. But Islam teaches that Muslims must be always ready to serve mankind and have love and kindness for all of God's creation. And serve Allah and do not associate any thing with Him and be good to the parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the neighbor of (your) kin and the alien neighbor, and the companion in a journey and the wayfarer and those whom your right hands possess; surely Allah does not love him who is proud, boastful; [An-Nisa, 4:36] In this verse, Allah (SWT) very beautifully guides the Muslims to discharge their duties towards all sections of society. We should display kindness to everyone whether they are kind to us or not. In this way by following this teaching we can create peace, love and harmony in the society. Noble Qur'an expressly declares that the human race is one family. All of us are the children of Adam and Eve, whether our skin is white or black. At various places it says: "All human beings are a single nation" (2:213). "All human beings are naught but a single nation and yet they disagree" (10:19). "And verily this your nation (human beings) is a single nation" (21:92) and (23:52).

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