Q. My son, who is studying in Australia, tells me that he and his friends offer the prayer known as Salat Al-Hajah when they have an exam to sit. I wrote to him not to do so, as this is an invention. Was I correct?

M. Nasir, Makkah

A. The principle of seeking God’s help in meeting what we need is perfectly legitimate in Islam. In fact, God invites us in the Qur’an to pray to Him for what we need and He promises to respond to us and grant us what we pray for.

We may pray to God at any time for anything we want, provided it is not one of the things God has forbidden. Moreover, it is always better to do something good before putting our request to God. Thus, it is better to offer some obligatory or voluntary prayer, or read some parts of the Qur’an, or give something for charity before we pray God for what we need.

Having said that, it should be pointed out that the prayer to which the reader refers is a special type of prayer, described in the following Hadith: “Whoever is in need of something to be done by God or by a human being should perform ablutions in a perfect way and offer two voluntary rakaahs. He follows that with glorifying God and praying for God’s messenger. He then says: ‘There is no deity other than God the Forbearing, the Most Generous. There is no deity other than God the Most High, the Supreme. Limitless in His glory is God, the Lord of the mighty throne. All praise belongs to God, the Lord of all worlds. I appeal for what ensures the bestowing of Your grace, and Your total forgiveness. I pray to You to grant me a share of every good thing and to spare me every type of sin. My Lord, do not let any sin of mine without removing it by Your forgiveness. My Lord, remove every worry I have and facilitate every need of mine that is pleasing to You. You are indeed the most merciful’.”

This Hadith is related by Al-Tirmithi who classifies it as ghareeb, which means that it is reported by a single transmitter at least in one stage of its transmission. As such, it is lacking in authenticity, even though its reporters are reliable. This means that the prayer called salat al-hajah in this particular form is not a confirmed Sunnah.

Another more authentic Hadith is related by Imam Ahmad with a reliable chain of transmitters. It quotes the Prophet as saying: “Whoever performs ablutions well and offers two voluntary rakaahs and completes them to perfection will be granted by God whatever he prays for, either immediately or in God’s good time.”

This is more in line with Islamic teachings. It requires no special form of prayer or supplication. It simply recommends a good deed to begin with, and a supplication addressed to God with sincerity. The answer of his prayer is guaranteed, either immediately or after sometime, as God deems best. We know that when God delays answering a prayer, He gives us better than what we ask for. Therefore, we always gain.

Too many movements in prayer

Q. Some people do too many movements in prayer such as fussing about their clothes, hair, face, checking their pockets, blowing their noses, etc. When it happens that the person next to me in prayer does such movements, I find myself distracted. What could be done in such a situation, particularly when one feels that such movements only become necessary after the person concerned has started his prayers.

R. Osman, Yanbu’ Al-Sinaiyah

A. This is unfortunately true of a minority of people. The origins of this is a difference between schools of Islamic law on what movements invalidate prayer, with one school saying that any three movements in succession would render a prayer invalid and another allowing any movements without an adverse effect on prayer validity. At one period of time, the scholars of this latter school took a hard attitude toward other schools and made a point of contradicting them. This was manifested in making many movements in prayer, to show that the other viewpoint was wrong.

It was an unnecessary, childish attitude, but it lingered on beyond its usefulness, if any. Hence, one meets the odd person who does such movements out of habit, rather than any deliberate intention.

It is useful in most cases to tell the person concerned that his action is improper, but this must be done with utmost care. Normally such people will adopt a hard attitude if they feel that you are behaving to them as a teacher addressing schoolchildren. My advice is that one should stress two points: the first is that one should reflect the sort of manners that suits a person standing in front of God and addressing Him. Since we offer our prayers to God, we are actually in a meeting with Him, and when one stands up to pray, he is standing in God’s presence. Therefore, his behavior must conform to what is suitable in such presence. Any one of us who attends his boss at work behaves in a way that signifies respect. He does not begin to make the sort of movements such people do in prayer. It is only reasonable that, when they are in God’s presence, they should refrain from what is contrary to a respectful attitude.

The other point is that of distracting the people standing close to them in prayer. This should be taken into serious consideration by them, because they will realize that the question here is one of spoiling other people’s worship.

If you speak to one such person and he tells you that you should not bother with him, but concentrate on your prayer, you may gently tell him that you try hard, but his movements disturb you. If he is still defiant, then cut the argument short, because prayer should never be the subject of such a futile argument.

How to read the Qur’an

Q. How should I read the Qur’an to seek its guidance and to overcome my day-to-day problems?

S. Hilal, Riyadh

A. In whichever way you read the Qur’an, you get some benefit from it. Even when you do not know the meaning of what you are reading, your awareness that you are reading God’s word which He revealed to provide guidance for mankind gives a feeling of satisfaction for doing an act of worship. It also ensures reward for you because God credits us with 10 good deeds for every letter of the Qur’an we read.

However, the Qur’an should be read for contemplation and implementation. Since it provides guidance for mankind, they should make sure that they understand this guidance and carry out its directives. This will ensure that we remain on the right track, reap the benefits of being so guided and be happy with the result of our efforts of implementing Qur’anic teachings.

If your knowledge of Arabic is not at a level that enables you to understand the Qur’an well, then you need to refer to a good translation of its meaning. You need also to study what commentators say about its meaning, so that you know how to implement its teachings. Do not think that this is a daunting task. You may approach it gradually and read regularly a reliable commentary.

We have carried over the years a commentary on the Qur’an under “What the Qur’an Teaches”. Much of this is published in book form and plans are under way to publish the remainder. Four volumes have appeared under the title “In the Shade of the Qur’an”, published by The Islamic Foundation, Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leicester LE67 9SY, UK.