قُلْ صَدَقَ اللَّه
“Say (O Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)) : “Allāh has spoken the truth””
(Āli ʿImrān, 3:95)
وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ قِيلًا
“Whose words can be truer than those of Allāh? (Of course, none).”
(Al-Nisāʾ, 4:122)
وَمَنْ أَصْدَقُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَدِيثًا
“And who is truer in statement than Allāh?”
(Al-Nisāʾ, 4:87)
وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ
“And none can inform you (O Muḥammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)) like Him Who is the All-Knower (of each and everything).”
(Al-Fāṭir, 35:14)
قُلْ أَأَنتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ
“Say, “Do you know better or does Allāh (know better)?”
(Al-Baq…
Changing Intention from Obligatory to Supererogatory for One Praying by Himself
Changing one’s intention while praying has several circumstances. Among them is a person praying by himself who changes his intention from that of an obligatory prayer to a supererogatory one while the obligatory ṣalāh’s time period remains. An example of this would be if a man begins praying Ṣalāt al-Ẓuhr by himself. While praying, he decides to change his intention such that the ṣalāh he is praying is intended as supererogatory. This is permissible provided there is still time remaining for the performance of …
فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ
“In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy) and Allah has increased their disease. A painful torment is theirs because they used to tell lies.”
(Al-Baqarah, 2:10)1
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ۖ فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَعْمَى الْأَبْصَارُ وَلَٰكِن تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ
“Have they not travelled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear? Verily,…
Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه) said: The Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) drew a line for us [using a stick in the sand]. He said: “This is the path of Allāh.” Then, he drew further lines on its right and left sides. He said: “These are other paths. At the head of each there is a shayṭān that calls to it.” Then he recited the saying of the Most High:
وَأَنَّ هَٰذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) pa…
Variations of the Istiʿādhah
[After saying the opening invocation] the praying person should say the istiʿādhah. That is, he should say:
أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيم
I seek refuge in Allāh from Shayṭān, the outcast
If he prefers, he may say:
أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيم، مِنْ هَمْزِهِ وَنَفَخِهِ وَنَفَثِهِ
I seek refuge in Allāh—the All-Hearer, the All-Seer—from Shayṭān, the outcast. [I seek refuge from] his insanity, arrogance, and defamatory poetry.1 2
He may also suffice with:
أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ ال…
Narrated by Imām Aḥmad (رضي الله عنه) and al-Tirmidhī, on the authority of al-Ḥārith al-Ashʿarī (رضي الله عنه), who narrated that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Indeed, Allāh issued five commands to Yaḥyá ibn Zakariyyā. He was tasked with their fulfilment himself, and to order the Children of Israel to also enact them. But Yaḥyá was slightly slow in his fulfilment of these commands, such that ʿĪsá (عليه السلام) said to him: “Indeed, Allāh—the Most High—has commanded you to enact these five commands yourself, and order the Children of Israel to likewise act in accordance with the…
