Fatwas Archive

Question: Is the prayer valid for someone who cannot properly distinguish between ḍād and ẓāʾ, pronouncing ḍād from the point of articulation of ẓāʾ in “al-maghdūbi ʿalayhim wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīn” [al-Fātiḥah]—bearing in mind that “there is no prayer without the Opening...

Question: Must Qur’anic recitation in prayer be performed in the same style as that used by professional Qur’an reciters and on the radio?

Question: A man enters a congregational prayer with intention and takbīr, then becomes absent-minded during the prayer. When he regains his attention, he has forgotten which prayer he is in—Is it ʿIshāʾ, Maghrib, or Fajr? A pillar or two (or...

Question: A man performs the five daily prayers and maintains them, and he prays in congregation as an act of religion and worship of Allah, with no worldly taint in his intention. Then he is chosen to lead the prayer,...

Question: Which is superior—the imām or the mu’adhdhin? In other words, is imāmah better, or the adhān?

One may ask: Which is better, to take the rukhsah or the ʿazīmah?

Question: In some mosques and lands, people pray Maghrib at sunset before a night star appears and before darkness. Some therefore doubt praying behind them for ʿIshāʾ and other prayers and impugn the validity of their prayers. What is correct...

Question: Which is better: to pray Fajr at the start of its time and then return to bed, or to delay within the time—to the middle or last third—pray Fajr, and then remain seated in one’s place of prayer until...

Question: A man wakes up when the sun is about to rise. He knows that if he performs wuḍūʾ (or ghusl, if required) the prayer time will end with sunrise; but if he performs tayammum he will catch the prayer...

Question: If the imām combines the two prayers, is that an excuse to combine with him? And is combining with him better, or praying each at its time individually?