Class 3
FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS OF SALAH
The Scholars of Fiqh always kept Wudoo with the chapter of Salah, so we will start this class with the Forgotten Sunnahs of Wudoo.
FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS OF WUDUU
An act of worship that we do every day, a condition for our prayer to be accepted, but also a deed most of us are heedless while performing. Amongst the virtues of Wudu are
On the day of Judgement the Prophet ﷺ would recognise us by our shining faces which illuminate due to the traces of Wudu.
Sins are forgiven by each drop of water during Wudu
Gates of Jannah are opened for those who perform it properly and recite the dua afterwards.
To keep the heart alive we should be particular in following the Sunnahs of Wudu. Everyone knows how to perform Wudoo. And then the commonly known & followed Sunnahs are washing the parts thrice (some even think washing three times is mandatory when it is not, once is enough and thrice is Sunnah) or like running the fingers through the beard while washing the face in Wudu.
The Forgotten Sunnahs of Wudoo are:
1. Rinsing Nose and Mouth together
We generally rinse the mouth three times first and then wash the nose three times, although this is also ok, but in many ahadeeth (including Bukhari & Muslim) it is mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ would do them together from one handful, which means He ﷺ would take one handful of water, from that he would take half the water in the mouth and then sniff the remaining water and then blow it out. He ﷺ would do this thrice.
2. Washing the parts once or twice
As mentioned earlier, the most commonly known Sunnah of Wudoo is to wash the parts three times, but it is mentioned in authentic narrations that He ﷺ would wash the parts once sometimes and in another hadeeth in bukhari it is mentioned that he washed the parts twice.
Note: we can wash different parts a different number of times, like one part once and the other twice and then the next thrice. But if we have enough water then we should not persist in washing each part only once, rather we should strive to do that which is most perfect and will increase us in reward.
3. Wiping the head twice and thrice.
Again, what is commonly known and practiced is to do Mas’ah of the head once, but it is also Sunnah to do it twice or thrice. The Hadeeth about twice is mentioned in Abu Dawood & Nisaa’I; classed as Hasan by Albani and about doing it thrice is mentioned in Abu Dawood; classed as Hasan by Albani.
4. Be economic in using water.
With flowing water through our taps we have become heedless in using water for Wudu. So many times we see people open the full tap and waste so much water while making Wudu.
The Prophet ﷺ came upon Sa'd when he was performing ablution and asked, “What is this extravagance, Sa'd?” He replied, “Is there extravagance in ablution?” He ﷺ said, “Yes, even if you are beside a flowing river.’’ (Ahmad and Ibn Majah; classed as Hasan by Albani)
5. Rubbing between the toes with the little finger
Messenger of Allah ﷺ would rub in between his toes with his little finger when he performed ablution (Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi & Ibn Majah; classed as Sahih).
6. Upon completing Wudoo recite the supplication.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever of you performs Wudu' carefully and then affirms (the below) the eight gates of Jannah are opened for him. He may enter through whichever of these gates he desires (to enter). (Sahih Muslim):
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، وأشهد أن محمدًا عبده ورسوله،
'Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallahu Wahdahu la sharika Lahu, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa Rasuluhu
[I testify that there so no true god except Allah Alone, Who has no partners and that Muhammad ((ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger],'.
اللهم اجعلني من التوابين واجعلني من المتطهرين
"Allahummaj-'alni minat-tawwabina, waj-'alni minal-mutatahhirin
O Allah make me among those who repent and purify themselves.
7. Perform 2 Rakats after Wudoo.
The Prophet ﷺ asked Bilal R.A.:- “Tell me~ Bilal! of your most hopeful action since your acceptance of Islam because I have heard the echo of your footsteps in Paradise in front of me?“
Bilal replied:- “I do not consider any of my actions more hopeful (of acceptance from Allah) than that whenever I have made my Wudu during the day or night I have each time offered by way of prayer that which Allah has made easy for me.“ (Bukhari & Muslim)
FORGOTTEN SUNNAHS OF SALAH
Salah, the Second Pillar of Islam, the covenant distinguishing between Imaan & Kufr, the first act that of worship that we will be questioned about on the Day of Judgement, If it is sound then we will have succeeded, but if it is not then we will have lost and be doomed.
So many virtues and so many rewards of Salah, but many of those who actually do pray, do so on Auto-Pilot, thinking about what we have to do after Salah, no khushoo, no concentration and so, hardly any benefit. The Prophet ﷺ said, “A man returns after praying while a tenth part of his prayer, or a ninth part, or an eight part, or a seventh part, or a sixth part, or a fifth part, or a third part, or half of it, is recorded for him”. (Abu Dawood, Hasan)
So it is imperative that we learn the Sunnahs and try and follow as many of them as possible so that our hearts are alive in our prayers and that we get the maximum rewards InShaAllah.
We will list below what we consider as Forgotten Sunnahs related to Salah
1. Walking Calmly to the Masjid
The Prophet ﷺ said, “…when you come for prayer, there should be tranquillity upon you. Pray (along with the Imam) what you can find and complete what you missed”. (Sahih Muslim)
Unlike most of us today who come in rushing and go out running.
2. Arriving Early and doing these three Sunnahs.
Unfortunately something most of us have become complacent about, even if we are not doing anything, we will wait till it is past the time of Iqama and then start to go to the Masjid. First by doing this we miss out on the tranquillity part mentioned above but also miss out on other Sunnahs that we can do.
a) Tahiyatul Masjid
The Prophet ﷺ would always offer 2 Rakahs of Tahiyatul Masjid before sitting down in a Masjid.
b) Making Dua between Adhaan & Iqama
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The supplication made between the adhan and the iqamah is not rejected”. (Abu Dawood & Tirmidhi; classed as Sahih)
Although for men the Dua can be made while at home as well, but it cannot be compared to the state you will be in while in the Masjid after offering your Tahiyatul Masjid and raising your Hands to Allah without any disturbance around.
c) Catching the First Row
Allah & the Angels send blessings on the front rows. (Abu Dawood & Nisaai; classed as Sahih by Albani)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to send Salah and ask forgiveness for the first row three times and on the second row once. (Nisaa’I & Ibn Majah)
3. Keeing the rows straight and gaps filled
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Straighten your rows, for straightening the rows is part of perfecting prayer.” (Bukhaari & Muslim)
“Allah and His angels send blessings upon those who complete the rows, and whoever fills a gap, Allah will raise him one degree in status thereby.’” (Nasaa’I; classed as Sahih)
4. Using Siwak (Miswak) before every prayer
The Prophet ﷺ said, “If I had not found it hard for my followers, I would have ordered them to clean their teeth with Siwak for every prayer.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
5. Sutra
The Prophet ﷺ said: “When one of you prays, let him pray facing towards a sutrah and draw close to it, and not let anyone pass in front of him.”
This includes when one is travelling and when one is at home, and it includes both obligatory and naafil prayers.
The sutrah is mustahabb according to the majority of fuqaha’, and some of them are of the view that it is obligatory.
6. Reciting different Duas after Takbeeratul Ihram
Majority of us, are just used to reciting Subhanakal-lahumma wabihamdika…
There are other authentic supplications as well, these can be found in the Book “Hisnul Muslim (Fortress of a Muslim)”.
We should try to memorise them and alternate between the Duas, this keeps the Sunnah alive and also helps bring in Khushoo in the prayer as it doesn’t just come out as a habit.
7. Pausing after each Ayah of Surah Fatiha that we recite.
Allah replies to every Ayah that we recite.
When the servant says: Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimameen
Allah says, “My servant has praised Me.”
When the servant says, Ar Rahmaan ir Raheem
Allah says, “My servant has glorified Me.”
When he says, Maaliku Yawmi Deen
Allah says, “My servant has glorified Me,” or “My servant has related all matters to Me.”
When he says, Iyyaaka Na’budu Wa iyyaaka Nastaéen
Allah says, “This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he sought.”
When he says, Ihdinas Siraat al Mustaqeem, Siraat al Ladheena an amta Alaihim, Ghayril maghdoobi Alayhim Wa-lad dhoaaleen
Allah says, “This is for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he asked for.”
So we should pause a second and think about the replies Allah is giving us after every ayah that we recite in prayer, it will be a powerful experience for the heart.
8. Saying Ameen out loud
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said; “When the Imam says Amin, say Amin, for if anyone’s utterance of Amin synchronnises with that of the angles, he will be forgiven his past sins”. (Abu Dawood; Sahih)
9. Raising hands Rafa Al Dayn
Raising hands before going to for Rukoo and then after getting up from Rukoo and after getting up from the second Rakah for the third Rakah is a Sunnah mentioned in many authentic narrations.
Imaam al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote a separate book on this issue which he called Juz’ fi Raf’ al-Yadayn (Section on Raising the Hands), in which he proved that the hands should be raised at these points of the prayer, and he strongly denounced those who go against that. He narrated that al-Hasan said: “The Companions of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ used to raise their hands during prayer when they bowed and when they stood up (from bowing).” Al-Bukhaari said, “Al-Hasan did not exclude any of the Sahaabah from that, and it was not proven that any one among the Sahaabah did not raise his hands.”
Click here to read explanation about why Hanafi Maslak do not follow this
10. Reciting some verses in the third and fourth rak’ah of Zuhur prayer
Because of the hadeeth in Sahih Muslim the scholars mention that it is sunnah to sometimes recite a soorah (after Surah Fatiha) in the last two raka`ahs.
11. Invoking and Supplicating to Allah during the recitation of the Qur’an in the salah itself
The Prophet ﷺ would respond to the Ayahs he would be reciting in prayer.
“When he recited an Ayah which mentioned the tasbeeh, he would say Subhan Allah and when he recited the Ayah which tells how the Rubb is to be asked, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would then ask from Him; and when he ﷺ recited an Ayah asking one to seek Protection of Allah, he would seek Protection of Allah” (Sahih Muslim)
“when he ﷺ came across an ayah of Rahmah, he asked, and when he came across an ayah of punishment, he sought refuge.” (al-Nasa’ee; Sahih]
This is obviously only possible when we understand what we are reciting, this is why one should always try and also read the meanings of atleast the small surahs that we usually recite in our prayers. It is amazing how strongly connected we will be in Salah when we understand what we are reciting and are supplicating accordingly.
12. Keeping a Flat back in Rukoo, and reciting different Duas in Rukoo & Sujood
Hadith: If the Prophet ﷺ was in ruku he would straighten his back that if water was poured on his back it would remain. (Ibn Majah)
Again one should try and memorise other Duas to be recited in Ruku and Sujood (can be found in Hisnul Muslim).
13. Giving enough time in the middle of the Rukoo & Sujoods
Prolonged time between Rukoo & Sajdah and between the two Sujood.
My fellow Muslims, amongst the Sunnahs that many Muslims neglected is prolonging time after raising head from bowing and prostration. Many people go for the next quickly after raising head from the first one. This act is actually included in the disliked hastiness, and one should do the opposite of it because it is one of the forgotten Sunnahs in prayer (this prolonged time is mentioned in Bukhari & Muslim).
Equal time for each position
The bowing, the prostrations, the period of standing after bowing and the interval between the two prostrations of the Prophet ﷺ used to be equal in duration (Sahih Bukhari).
14. Sitting for a brief period before getting up from the first and third Rakah
Hadeeth mentioned in Bukhari, Tirmidhi & Abu Dawood.
15. Sitting Mutawarrikan
When he ﷺ sat up after sujood for the last rak'a (for three or four rakah prayers) he ﷺ would put forward the left foot, raised the other, and sat on his hips. (Sahih Bukhari)
16. Supplicating with whatever you want after the Final Tashahud in salah
Meaning, that when one finishes his Attahiyaat, and the Durood e Ibraahim, then he may supplicate to his lord with any dua’a he knows or wants to make (but in ‘Arabic only for Fard Salahs). He may use supplications he knows from the Qur’an (such as rabbana aatinah fid-dunya hasanah wa fil….) or he may supplicate with any dua’a from the sunnah (such as Allahumma Inni zalamtu nafsi… or Allahumma inni ‘audhubika min adhaabil qabr ….). and then he/she may say the tasleem (salaam on both sides to conclude the prayer)
You may find the dua’s which the Prophet ﷺ used to recite in the book Hisnul Muslim (Fortress of a Muslim)
17. Remember Death while praying
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Remember death in your prayer, for the man who remembers death during his prayer is bound to pray properly, and pray the prayer of a man who does not think that he will pray any other prayer.” (al-Silsilat al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 1421. It was reported from al-Suyooti that al-Haafiz ibn Hajar classed this hadeeth as hasan).
18. Dry Spitting on the Left to Ward off Shaitaan
Abu’l-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that he said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the Shaytaan interrupts me when I pray, and I get confused in my recitation.” The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said, “That is a shaytaan whose name is Khanzab. If you sense his presence, seek refuge with Allaah from him, and spit [dry spitting] towards your left three times.” [Abu’l-‘Aas] said: “I did that and Allaah took him away from me.” (Sahih Muslim)
19. Varying Tasleem
Commonly practiced Tasleem is “As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaah” on both sides (right & left), but there are other variations mentioned in authentic narrations that we can alternate in our prayers, to implement more Sunnahs and also to keep the heart alive InShaAllah.
The other variations mentioned are…
i) Saying “As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuh” on both sides (right & left). (Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah & Others)
ii) Saying “As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuh” to the right and “As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaah” to the left. (Abu Dawood & Ibn Khuzaimah with a sahih isnad).
iii) Saying “As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaah” to the right and “As Salam Alaikum” to the left. (Nasaa’I & Ahmad with sahih isnad)
20. Wearing Shoes while Praying
The Prophet said: “Act differently from the Jews who do not pray in their leather socks or their shoes.” [Abu Daawood]
But the condition is that the shoes must be taahir (pure, clean). If there is any najaasah (impurity) on the shoes, then one should not pray wearing them
Note: There are probably many more of the Sunnahs that are not practiced today and maybe there are those that are followed in one part of the world but are abandoned in others.
Like for e.g, the saying of “Aameen” loudly in audible salaah is hardly to be seen in the subcontinent!
So we have only enlisted a few Sunnahs which come under the category of being neglected or forgotten in today’s time in the Ummah in a major way. Secondly, we have tried to enlist those Sunnahs which can easily be followed , so atleast we start our way by doing these first and then we could further learn and in sha allah follow more and more. Like the different Duas that can be recited at various times in Salah.
Please join our free online certificate course(s) mentioned below , to learn to learn more about the Fiqh, rulings, pillars, waajibaat, Sunnahs of Salah and to learn about the spiritual side of each of the movements in Salah, to get out of Autopilot mode and make it more heartfelt. (available online now, register and learn).
Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.
· “ESSENTIALS OF SALAH” : https://learn-islam.org/essentials-of-salah
· “ENJOY YOUR SALAH” : https://learn-islam.org/enjoy-your-salah
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Memorise the Dua to be recited after Wudu
Remember the Sunnahs but more importantly please try and implement as many as possible.
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
Invite atleast 15 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 3 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
Implement any 5 of the Sunnahs covered from week 1. (5 Marks)
Talk about any 5 Sunnahs covered in this week’s classes with atleast 3 people. 5 Marks.
Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. Pray for this applying any three Sunnahs from class 4. - 2 Marks
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As Salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuh :)
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