PURIFICATION for PRAYER

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At-Tahara min Ajal As-Salat

Before any formal prayer (as-salat), whether one of the five obligatory prayers or a voluntary prayer at other times of the day and night, one must purify oneself for worship.

In order to do so,

  1. One can take a bath (if it is needed) or
  2. One can make ablution.

When there is no water to take a bath or make ablution,

  1. Allah has prescribed using the geological crust of the earth to purify oneself (i.e. dry soil, sand, dust).

What breaks your purification?

Once purified for prayer, you can use your ablution to pray more than one of the prayers as long as it is not broken by one of eight actions:

  1. Defecation
  2. Urination
  3. Flatulent breaking of wind (if audible and/or odoriferous)
  4. Sleep (particularly deep sleep, rather than mere dozing) because in this state one is not aware of doing any of the above.

These actions require the renewal of one’s ablution.

  1. Ejaculation/Orgasm
  2. Copulation

These actions require the worshipper to bathe his or her complete body before the following prayer.

  1. Menstruation/Menses
  2. Parturition and post-partum bleeding

These actions require the woman to cease praying entirely during her period of bleeding, and bathe after the bleeding has stopped before returning to her cycle of prayers.

Asserting the Oneness of Allah and in His Lordship, Worship and Attributes for the first time

OR

Reasserting the above after lapsing.

A bath is also required upon entering the pure religion from a state of disbelief and/or idolatry, a concept similar to baptism, so that his or her cycle of obligatory prayers is acceptable as formal worship.

How to purify yourself for the Prayer

  1. The Bath [Taghsila]

Say, “In the name of Allah” [Bismi Llah]

1a.  Brush your teeth with toothpaste. Then shower from head to foot using soap and shampoo. Then rinse the suds off. Make sure every part of your body is wetted while rinsing.

OR

1b. Instead of showering, you can stand in or by a tub and use a container (i.e. a cup, a bowl, a scoop) to wet your hair and wash it, then make wet ablution (see below) except for your feet. Then wash your body while standing starting on your right side and finishing on your left from neck to ankle. Then wash your feet with fresh water as prescribed in wet ablution (see below) in a clean area away from the water already used.

OR

1c.    A total immersion bath is acceptable if

  1. the water is pure
  2. you can stand in the water up to your waist (at least).

A large container of circulating clean water (like a swimming pool), a flowing river, stream, or canal, a lake, and the sea or ocean all count as PURE water.

If you take an immersion bath you must duck under the water to wash your head and you must wash your feet after you step out of the water.

Then say: “There is no true God but Allah, alone, without partners to Him, and Mohammed is the Messenger of God”

This statement is the assertion of Oneness pertaining to Allah in His Lordship, worship and attributes, and the recognition of the authority of the revelation given to, and the message given by, His Prophet Mohammed ﷺ, taking that as our way of life. Acting upon this statement and belief is the First Pillar of Islam, and should be recited in Arabic as follows:

[Ash-hadu an-la ilaha illa Llah, Wahida la sharika lahu,, Wa ana Muhammadan Rasoulu Llah]

YOU CAN NOW PRAY

Wiping over your Shoes or Socks and/or your Headgear.

If you put on a hat or socks after the first bath or ablution of the day, you can merely wipe over the hat or uppers of the socks/shoes with wet hands to renew your ablution of those portions of the body – within a 24 our period beginning with your first renewal.

  • 2. Wet Ablution [TAWADDA]

Begin with saying, “In the name of Allah” [Bismi Llah] as above

First, it is recommended that you wash your hands; then clean your nose by snorting water; then clean your teeth.

Next, you must wash your face so that it is entirely wet from hairline to chin and ear to ear; then you must wash your right forearm to, and including, your elbow. Do the same for the left. These actions are necessary for your ablution to be valid.

Then, it is recommended that you wet your hands and wipe your pate or hair from the top of your forehead back to the nape of your neck; then clean your ears inside with your forefingers and behind with your thumbs.

Finally, with wet hands, you must rub your feet (starting with the right foot) up to the ankles, including between the toes, the sole, the heel and Achilles tendon. This action is necessary for your ablution to be valid. You can wash your feet instead of just wiping (rubbing) them.

Finish by saying: “There is no true God but Allah, Alone, without Partner; and Mohammed ﷺ is the messenger of God.” [Ash-hadu an-la ilaha illa Llah, Wahida la sharika lahu,, Wa ana Muhammadan Rasoulu Llah] as in The Bath.

NOW YOU CAN PRAY

Lack of water, travel and ill health

If you are travelling and there is not enough pure water within easy reach, or if you are sick, or injured and if the water is too cold or hot for your health, or if you need the water you have only for drinking, then you can do dry ablution (Tayyamoum) instead of bathing and/or wet ablution.

  • 3. Dry Ablution

Dry Ablution consists of three actions between two sayings:

After saying Bismi Llah,

  1. First, pat the palms of your hands once on clean soil, sand, rock or dust from the earth and
  2. Second, wipe the back of your hands: You must brush the top of your right hand with your left palm, and the top of your left hand with your right palm (in that order)
  3. Third, wipe your face (eyes and mouth closed) from forehead to chin, including your cheeks with both palms.

Then say the second saying as after Bath and Wet Ablution.

NOW YOU ARE READY TO PRAY

PROOF FROM THE QURAN AND SUNNAH

  1. Complete Ghusl as according to the Ruling by Sheikh Al-Manajjid.
  2. Complete Woudu as according to the Ruling by Shaikh Salih Al Munajjid
  3. Complete Tayyamoum as according to the Ruling of Sheikh Mohammed Salih Al Manajjid
  4. The ruling of when to make Ghusl from Islam Q & A
  5. The ruling that stool, urine and sleep break Woudu from Islam Q & A
  6. The ruling on anal wind breaking Woudu from Islam Q & A
  7. The ruling that dozing does not break Woudu from Islam Q & A
  8. The conditions of wiping over socks from Sheikh Ibn Al-‘Uthaymeen
  9. Wiping over the head cover is permissible when making woudu from Islam Q & A
  10. The conditions that allow Tayyamoum from Islam Q & A.

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