Q. Could you please explain the importance and details of Tassabeeh and Dhuha prayers.
K. Abdul-Jabbar, Dammam
A. Dhuha prayer is a voluntary prayer which may be offered at any time starting about half an hour after sunrise until shortly before noon. It is 2-8 rakaahs which are normally short. It may be offered any day, on regular or sporadic basis. Recitation in this prayer is normally private. It is certainly encouraged for anyone who can offer it, because it comes at a time when people are normally busy with their business. If one can take a short break to offer a couple of rakaahs, it does him well. If circumstances do not allow, then one may do it on weekends. Tassabeeh prayer is a night prayer, offered sometime before dawn. It is 2 rakaahs with long glorification of God in certain parts of each rakaah. There is only one Hadith which mentions this type of prayer, and it is not really authentic. In fact, Imam Ahmad, the founder of the Hanbali school of thought, who was one of the top scholars of Hadith and Fiqh, finds no basis for this prayer and does not encourage it. Still, if one wants to offer it, no blame attaches to him.
Arrangement of the Qur’an
Q.1. Could you explain the basis of the arrangement of the Qur’anic Surahs. We know that the Surah entitled Al-Alaq was the first to be revealed, but it is placed as Surah No. 96 in the final arrangement. May I ask on what basis was the Qur’an arranged and by whom.
Q.2. It is said that Sarah, the wife of the Prophet Abraham, was unhappy when his other wife had given birth to his first son, Ishmael. She asked him to banish her and that was the cause for Abraham taking both wife and child to the barren valley of Makkah where he left them. Was Sarah actually so jealous?
Q.3. Since the Shias praise Ali all the time, rather than God and His messenger, and since they do not say the athan as we do, can we consider them Muslims?
I. Hassan, Alkhobar
A.1. The Prophet received revelation of the Qur’anic Surahs as and when God chose to bestow on him new revelation. At times several Surahs, particularly the longer ones, were being revealed to him concurrently. The Prophet was instructed by Angel Gabriel who brought him the revelation where to place every new passage. Thus, the arrangement of the text of each Surah was given by specific instruction from on high.
Similarly the arrangement of the Surahs in a specific order was given by the Prophet, who indicated it mostly by reading the Surahs, particularly in prayer, in a specific order. There are some reports about the arrangement of the Surah being done without any specific authority given by the Prophet, but there is no basis for this assumption. The fact is that when Caliph Abu Bakr instructed Zaid ibn Thabit to collect the original writings of the Qur’anic revelations, Zaid produced a whole copy of the Qur’an. It was arranged in the order we have today. This was done in the first two years after the Prophet’s death, since Abu Bakr ruled for less than two years.
Later at Caliph Uthman’s time, copies were produced and sent to various centers of the Muslim state to be the reference copy in each center. These, also produced by Zaid ibn Thabit, were based on the first collection. There was no disagreement among the Prophet’s companions with regard to the ordering of the Surahs. This shows that an arrangement was made by the Prophet himself as he taught the Qur’an to his companions.
The question remains why the arrangement did not follow the chronological order of revelation. The answer is that the Qur’an was revealed over a period of 23 years, with passages and Surahs revealed in connection with certain events. This was highly beneficial as the Qur’an addressed cases when they actually took place. But when its revelation was over, its arrangement should take into consideration the needs of later generations of Muslims. The arrangement reflects what God wishes His book to be like. Hence, He gave His instructions to His messenger to indicate its arrangement, with both Surahs and verses placed at their appropriate positions.
A.2. The report about Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is correct to the best of our knowledge. Sarah was susceptible to all the feelings and emotions of ordinary women. Hence, it is not surprising that she should feel jealous when her husband was given a child by his second wife, while she, an old woman, had no children. As Abraham showed great care and tenderness toward both mother and baby, Sarah must have felt that she was reduced to a secondary position. Hence her demand that both be taken away. It was God who commanded Abraham to take his wife and child to the valley of Makkah and leave them there. That was for a definite purpose of His, and He does what He wishes.
A.3. It is true that the Shias accord great respect to Ali, placing him above other companions of the Prophet in their esteem. But neither this, nor the additions they have in the athan, or call to prayer, is reason to consider them nonbelievers. How can anyone say so when they declare that they believe in the oneness of God and the message of His messenger, Muhammad (peace be on him).
God’s name, tawaf
Q.1. Considering that the Prophet’s father’s name was Abdullah, may I ask if God’s name, Allah, was known before Islam?
Q.2. Why is the tawaf movement anti-clock wise?
N. Bhatti
A.1. Yes, God’s name, Allah, was known for a long time in Arabia. We find it in Arabic poetry dating back many centuries prior to the advent of Islam. It is perhaps the name used by Prophets Abraham and Ishmael. To the Arabs who lived shortly before Islam, it signified the overall God who controlled the universe. However, they thought their idols to be His partners who would listen to their appeals and bring them closer to God.
A.2. In matters of worship, we accept what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has taught us without question. There need not be an apparent reason for the form of any particular worship. Otherwise we would be questioning every thing and suggesting alternatives. People would ask: why do we do one rukoo’ and two prostrations, or sujood in prayer? Why do some prayers include two rakaahs while others have four? We should remember that whatever God does or orders must have a purpose. We accept that God’s purpose is always wise and beneficial. Hence, we do our worship as the Prophet has taught us. When he started his pilgrimage, he announced to the large number of his companions traveling with him: “Learn from me your rituals.” It is a clear order that the pilgrimage and the Umrah should be done exactly in the manner he did or approved. When he did his tawaf he walked round the Kaaba in an anti-clock wise movement. This is why we do the same.
Arab News Islam 10 February 2003