Errors to avoid before/during Salah !

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Errors in Prayers that must be Avoided

Salat (namaaz) or prayer is one of the most important pillars of Islam. The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) warned that the first thing man will be questioned about on the Day of Resurrection is prayer. Abu Hurairah said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) saying:


The first act of worship man shall be questioned about on the Day of Resurrection is prayer. If it was performed correctly1, man shall certainly succeed and prosper, if it is not, he shall certainly lose and fail. If, however, man's prayer was incomplete, the Lord, the Exalted, would say (to His Angels), "See if my slave performed supererogatory (nafl) prayers to make up what he had missed of the obligatory prayers. The rest of man's deeds will be reckoned in the same manner2.
Buraidah reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said, The covenant3 which is between us and those (who embrace Islam) is prayer. Whoso neglects it, becomes an unbeliever4.

On the other hand, Allah has prepared great rewards for the believers who observe prayer and are particular about it. Perfect prayer effaces sins. Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: Have you considered, a river running by the door of you in which he bathes five times a day; would any of his dirt stay on him? They said "None of his dirt would stay on him." The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said So does Salah; therewith Allah eliminates sins5.

Therefore, brothers and sisters it is very important to be regular on prayer, and perform it correctly. One may perform prayer according to the way he was taught by his parents or Shaykh, according to their madhhab. But you should always remember that it is only the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) who must be followed. The angels will not ask you, while in the grave, "Did you follow this imaam or that imaam?" Your imaam will not be with you then, nor will he defend you on the Day of Resurrection.

The traditions quoted here, and in every issue of Ad-Deen an-Naseehah, are authentic. Anyone who rejects the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) exposes himself to destruction, as stated by Imaam Ahmed.

The following are some common errors committed by Muslims in their Salah. These errors must be avoided hoping that Allah would accept this act of worship and reward us for it.

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1) Consuming food of bad smell such has garlic or onion, or smoking before coming to prayer.

Angels and the praying people are bothered by offensive smell. On the contrary, one should wear perfume, if available before coming into Mosques. Jabir reported that the Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: He who eats from the smelly plant [garlic or onion], let him come not near our Mosque; the angels are bothered by that which bothers men.

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2) Proceeding to Mosque for prayer with brisk walk, or even running for fear of missing part of the prayer.
This may disturb those who are already in prayer. The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: When prayer has already started, do not walk quickly to join in. Proceed calmly and reposefully; then join in whichever part you catch up, and complete whichever part you missed (i.e., soon after the Imam ends the prayer)

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3) Saying Takbeer al-Ihram while in rukoo'.

Many of those who come late to the mosque and join in prayer which is already in progress, rush to take the same posture, while people are in rukoo', and say takbeer al-Ihram, or the opening takbeer of prayer while bowing for fear of missing that ruk'ah. Takbeer al-Ihram is to be pronounced when one is standing upright, only.

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4) Neglecting the opening du'a of prayer, t'awwudth, and basmalah.

T'awwudth is saying "Aoudhu billahi min ashshaitan ir-rajim" and basmalah is saying "Bismillah hirRahmaan irRaheem."

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5) Reluctance to stand in the front line in congregational prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: Were people to realize the value of making adhan (the call for prayer), and the great reward (for doing so) and the virtue of standing in the first line (in congregational prayer), and had no choice but to make a draw (to decide who makes adhan or stands in the first line) they would have justifiably done so. And were people to know the significance of coming early to (congregational) prayer, they would have raced with one another (to reach the mosque first). And if they were to know the great reward (for coming to Mosque) for Isha' and Fajr prayers, they would have come even if they had to crawl (i.e. even if they were disabled, they would have come crawling for fear of missing its great reward.)

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6) Gazing upward during prayer, or looking at the imam, right or left.

This may cause loss of concentration. We are commanded to lower our gaze, and look at the point at which the head rests during sujood. The Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) warned: Let those who raise their gaze up during prayer stop doing so, or else their sights would not return to them. [i.e. lose their eyesight]. (Muslim)

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7) Leaving gaps in lines of congregational prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) commanded: Straighten your lines, level your shoulders and block the gaps. Shaitan passes through [line] gaps

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8) Reciting Surah al-Fatiha fast without pausing after each verse.

The Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used to pause after each verse of this Surah.

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9) Fidgeting during prayer, or looking at a watch or fiddling with one's fingers, clothes or moving feet or other parts of the body restlessly.

All of this diminish the reward for prayer. Submissiveness is a condition of acceptance of prayer. Allah's command signifies: And stand [in prayer] to Allah submissively

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10) Holding the Qur'an and reciting from it by the muqtadi in congregational prayer to check the imam's recitation.
This act distracts the person who is doing so and prevents him from concentration. It is a dispraised act during salah.

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11) Racing with the Imam, or moving with or before him in congregational prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: Move not before the imam does. When the Imam says. Allahu akbar, you say, Allahu akbar. When he says, waladh-dhalleen' you say, aameen. In another narration, he said: Surely the Imam is there to be followed. He also said: Does not the one who raises his head before the imam does fear that Allah would transform his head into a donkey's head

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12) Lowering the head excessively, or pushing it up, and arching the back during rukoo'.

The head must be kept in normal position, while the back must be straight during rukoo' to form with legs a right angle.

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13) Sticking the arms to the sides of the body, in rukoo' or sujood, and sticking the belly to the thighs in sujood.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: Let not one of you support himself on his forearms (in sujood ) like the dog. Let him rest on his palms and keep his elbows away from his body. The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used to keep his arms away from his body during rukoo' and sujood that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen

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14) Praying while part of the back is exposed.

This happens to those who wear tight and short shirts or tight pants; when they bow or prostrate, part of their backs are exposed. Such part of the body is awrah, or the part which must be covered always. Exposing part of the back during salah, renders salah null and void.

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15) Resting only the tip of the head on the floor during sujood.

The Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: I am commanded to prostrate on seven bones the forehead and the nose, the two hands [palms], the two knees, and the two feet. Applying the above command necessitates resting the forehead and the nose on the ground during sujood.

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16) Hasty performance of prayer which does not allow repose and calmness in rukoo' or sujood.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) saw a man who did not complete his rukoo' [bowing], and made a very short sujood [prostration]; he said: If this man dies while praying in this manner, he would die upholding a religion other than the religion of Muhammad(sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam).

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: My beloved friend, Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) forbade me to perform postures of prayer copying the picking of a rooster; (signifying fast performance of prayer), moving eyes around like a fox and the sitting like monkeys (i.e. to sit on thighs).
The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: The worst thief is the one who steals from his own prayer. People asked, 'Messenger of Allah! How could one steal from his own prayer?' He said: By not completing its rukoo' and sujood.

To complete rukoo' is to stay in that posture long enough to recite 'subhana rabbiyal Adtheem' three times, slowly, and 'subhana rabbiyal-a'ala' three times, slowly, in sujood. He also announced: He who does not complete his rukoo' and sujood, his prayer is void

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17) Moving the two palms upon saying, 'assalamu aleikum warahmatul-lah' to end prayer.

The Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) saw some of his companions doing so. He objected: Why do I see you moving your hands like the tails of wild horses. They never did that again

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18) Counting tasbeeh with the left hand.

The Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used to count tasbeeh on the fingers of his right hand after salah. Abdullah bin Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said, (There are) two good deeds, any Muslim who does them shall enter Jannah but few are those who do them: to say, "subhanAllah" ten times, and "alHamdulillah" ten times, and "AllahuAkbar" ten times. And I have seen the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) counting them on his hand. lbn Qudamah said: The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used his right hand for tasbeeh.

The above hadeeth indicates clearly that the Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used only one hand for counting tasbeeh. No Muslim with sound mind would imagine that the Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used his left hand for counting tasbeeh. Aa'ishah, with whom Allah is pleased, said that the Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) used his left hand only for Istinjaa', or cleaning himself after responding to the call of nature. He never used it for tasbeeh. Yasirah reported: The Beloved Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) commanded women to count tasbeeh on their fingers.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said: They (the fingers) will be made to speak, and will be questioned (on the Day of Resurrection.)

The above hadeeth indicates that it is preferable to count tasbeeh on the fingers of the right hand than to do so on masbahah (rosary).

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19) Walking away right after tasleem, at the end of prayer, and neglecting dhikr.

Dhikr is reciting subhanal-Lah 33 times, alhamdu Lilah 33 times Allahu Akbar 33 times, reciting La ilaha illal-Laah 10 times reciting ayat al-Kursi [i.e. verse 255 of surah 2 al Baqarah], or other authentic dhikr.