By Praying five times a day, salaat, is a gift that we have received from Allah (SWT) through our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) . It serves different purposes in our lives, from being a source of healing to a physical submission to Allah (SWT) . Supplication, or du’a, on the other hand, is the informal prayer (as I like to call it) which we can perform at any place, at any time, in any language, and in any state of mind. Salaat is incumbent upon us and contains certain guidelines without which it becomes invalid. I have outlined some of the common mistakes that are made in prayer and hope that you will find it useful as a reminder in your quest to become a better Muslim:
Ablution (Wudhu)
- Talking while performing of ablution. It is known that the focus during a prayer depends on the intensity with which wudhu is performed. If you are able to clear your mind of other thoughts and distractions while you are performing wudhu, you will be able to clear them from your mind while praying as well.
- Running the faucet dry. There is a tendency to let the water flow in our sinks while we take our time performing the cleansing process. It is important not to waste Allah’s (SWT) gift of water, for Islam has taught us to be gentle to ourselves, each other, animals, and the earth.
- Forgetting to remove make-up. While we are performing ablution, water is to reach every part of allotted areas with only the exception of physical inability. If it is obscured by foundation or nail polish, the ablution becomes invalid. We should take great care in removing everything from our skin and nails so that we purify ourselves according to the teachings of the Prophet (SAW) .
Prayer (salaat)
- Wearing skin-tight clothing. We are to approach Allah (SWT) in the best of physical conditions – clean clothes and clean body. Be equally careful to be modest in your dress when you approach the prayer mat: that your shirt is not too short, your pants are not too tight, and your hijab covers your chest. Modesty is loved by Allah (SWT) and it is best to maintain it especially in an act of worship. I find it easier to assign a certain piece of clothing, as in an abaya or a long shirt, to make sure there will be proper coverage without me being distracted and ruining my prayer.
- Failing to remove pictures. While you might want to debate on whether it is okay in Islam to have pictures displayed in your rooms, there is no point of discussion on the fact that pictures of humans, animals, or insects should not be present in your area of prayer. The rule of thumb is to make sure that within 180 degrees of you, there is no picture in sight. If you have a frame or two lying around, simply turn it over so that the face is not showing and there is no threat of jeopardizing your prayer.
- Just breathe. I cannot say it enough times: Slow down, sisters! Take your time and pronounce every word as you are praying and make sure the words are not strung together with barely enough time to breath. Furthermore, do not find yourself as a puppet, bending up and down in a swift motion while clutching your knees and then falling on the floor equally fast for prostration. Instead, follow each movement while understanding its significance, paying special attention to rukuh (when you clutch your knees) and sajadah (when you prostrate) because, as a hadith states, the longer you stay in these positions, the greater the display of your obedience to Allah (SWT) and therefore the greater the award.
I couldn’t have found a better article on these exact key points, thank you soo much sister for this as it is veryyy important to understand all of this and offer salah without leaving any act open for possible invalidation! I never really thought about my nailpolish and timeliness, and how not paying mind to such easily and commonly overlooked, simple things could have so many sisters praying for years without the proper credit! Allahu A’lam…but InshaAllah we are all remembering to remove our eyeliner and polish before Wudu, like I JUST started doing (at least). I’ve always wanted to contribute words on a board about this because I think we all know exactly just how easy it is to lazily wash our feet in the shower for ghusl for example but maybe forget to be mindful of the used water in the tub that we’re still standing in. Remember to wash your feet at the end! : )
Another quick question? I never find anything on this googling and what not, but I was always really used to blowing my hair out to straighten it, as I have thick curls…but it was brought to my attention that just maybe I shouldn’t be blowing it out unless I’m on my period and wouldn’t have to worry about offering proper wudu because of not wanting to wet my hair and mess it up for the requirement. I’ve heard that it may be “sometimes okay” to wipe your hands over your hijaab instead, but I’ve been very skeptical of using this to my advantage and have instead just refrained from straightening my hair : / Anyone on this same boat or have something to add for me?
JazzakAllahu Khayr for this post again, Samia ! Asalaamualaykum everyone ^_____^
Salam sis! Thanks so much for the sincere comment 🙂 I too have heard that wiping your hands over your hijaab is sometimes okay, but those times are only in situations where for instance you are in public and unable to remove your hijab for wudu without someone seeing your hair, or in situations (I think) where it would be extremely difficult to remove your hijab. It’s been reported that the Prophet (SAW) would sometimes wet his hands with water and wipe the top of his turban because it took a long time to wrap it in the first place, and it would take too much time and be too much trouble to unwrap it and re-wrap multiple times a day for wudu. Allahu A’lam. However, in your own home I don’t think that should be a problem and getting your straightened hair wet (however frustrating for us girls haha!) isn’t enough of a reason to be able to do that.
Maybe you can designate a time of day that you can straighten your hair so that you know you won’t get it wet, for instance if you make wudu and pray dhuhr, then straighten your hair, then try not to break your wudu before asr prayer, then by the time maghrib rolls around if you need to make wudu again it will already be nighttime. Or you can adjust this so that you straighten your hair earlier or later in the day for whenever you want it to be straightened. I hope this helps! Just my own personal thoughts haha.
Wa alaikum asalam wa rahmat Allah!
WaSalam!
I figured as much about that point, I too heard that Muhammad (s.a.w.) used to wipe wet hands over his turban sometimes and that a girl is to do so with her hijaab only if there is no private place for wudu. I shall have to make the sacrifice & Allah knows best! (I guess I do also kind of like how we do have to be 100% natural and clear of all new world cosmetic commodities to stand before prayer, as much as us girls do like to use makeup, and paint our nails, and do our hair, etc..). I stand corrected that there really are no excuses when it comes to certain desires & plain articles of faith 😛
Thank you very much for your response; it was reassuring and your personal thoughts were indeed helpful ^_____^
This is a fantastic article,thanks so much for the much needed info.It would be great to see more of these on the site,as they are so helpful 😀
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