Kitab Al-Salaah (The book of Prayer)

Other
Important Notes Regarding Prayer

 

• If a person is smelling of garlic, onion, leek, cigarettes,
  tobacco or anything similar which has an unpleasant odor and which may
  cause inconvenience to others, then, such person must not join the
  congregational prayer and should keep away until the odor dissipates
  from him/her. The Prophet (peace be upon him) in this regard says:
  “A person who has eaten garlic or onion or any other bad smelling thing
  should not approach our Mosques because the angels are offended by the
  things which human beings get offended from” (Reported by Imam
  Muslim).
  
• The whole earth is for the Muslims a place of prayer and
  virtually clean. Therefore, anyone can pray wherever he may be when the
  time of prayer comes if there are no Mosques nearby. However, it is
  forbidden to perform prayers at cemeteries, except the funeral prayer
  administered over a dead Muslim. It is also forbidden to pray inside
  toilets and/or bathrooms and at filthy places. All prayers performed in
  such areas are considered null and void.
  
• When entering a mosque it is the tradition that the person
  steps in with the right foot reciting the following supplication:
  "BISMILLAH WASSALATU WASSALAMU 'ALAA RASULULLAAH, ALAHUMMA AFTAH LII
  ABWABA RAHMATIK" which means: "In the name of Allah, and blessings and
  peace be upon the messenger of Allah., O Allah open for me the gates of
  your mercy." And, when departing from the mosque, the person steps out
  with the left foot first saying: "BISMILLAH WASSALATU, WASSALAMU 'ALA
  RASULULLAAAH, ALLAHUMMA IGHFIR LII DHUNUBII WAFTAH LII ABWABA FADHLIKA"
  which means: "In the name of Allah ... may blessings and peace upon the
  messenger of Allah. O Lord, forgive me my sins and open for me the
  gates of your favors".
  
• It is not proper to come to the prayer hastening but the
  person is required to come calmly and in a state of serenity and
  tranquility. If a person joins the prayer while the Imam/congregation
  are in Rukuu position, then, that particular rakaat (unit) is counted
  for him as if he started the rakaat (unit) with the rest of the
  congregation from the start. However, if a person joins the prayer
  after the Imam/congregation has arisen from the Rukuu position, then,
  that particular rakaat is not counted for him, but he should continue
  praying with the rest until the Imam completes the prayer after which
  the person is required to come up with the missed rakaat(s) in order to
  complete his prayer.Here below is an example: Assuming that a person
  joins the Dhuhr prayer in the first rakaat but after the congregation
  has already risen from the Rukuu position, the person would complete
  the remaining part of the rakaat with the rest, although such rakaat is
  not counted for him. The Imam and the congregation proceed to the
  second rakaat, but the late comer should count the second rakaat as his
  first rakaat. Thereafter, the congregation sits for the first
  "At-Tashahud" and would then, stand up to perform the third rakaat and
  subsequently, the fourth rakaat up to the second and final
  "At-Tashahud". After the Imam reads the words of peace to conclude the
  prayer, the late comer under discussion, would thereby stand up to
  perform one more rakaat in lieu of the rakaat missed at the beginning.
  
• It is allowed for a person to pray while wearing shoes, but
  before doing so, the person is required to check on the soles of the
  shoes, and should there appear any trace of wetness and/or defilement,
  this should be cleaned well on the ground.
  
• A person is not allowed to pass in front of another person
  who is praying no matter how long and how much inconvenience the
  waiting may cause. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “If a
  person who passes in front of a praying person could realize the
  gravity of the sin, it would have been better for him to wait for forty
  rather than pass in front of the praying person. The narrator was not
  sure whether the Prophet (peace be upon him) said forty days or forty
  months or forty years” (Reported by Imam Bukhari).
  
• If a person who wishes to perform a prayer fears others may
  pass in front of him in the course of his prayer, it is advisable for
  such a person to place any kind of object in front of him before
  commencing the prayer. Such an object is known as SUTRA in Arabic and
  it acts as a boundary for the person so that people may pass only
  beyond the object. If thereafter, any person attempts to pass between
  him and the object, the person in prayer may push away the passer-by.
  But if the passerby insists on passing, the praying person has perfect
  right to fight the intruder for he is an evil one.
  
• A mature woman (who have reached the age of puberty) passing
  too close in front of a praying male person who has no" Sutra", has the
  effect of invalidating the prayer, except when the prayer is being done
  in the grand mosque of Makkah.