Q.1. Here in Saudi Arabia people keep their young children standing next to them during congregational prayers. In my home country, children are told to stand behind the congregation in a row of their own. Which is the correct procedure?
Q.2. If one is offering Sunnah prayer in the mosque when the congregational prayer is started, what should he do? On the other hand, if one misses the first rak’ah of Maghrib with the congregation and stands up to add a rak’ah at the end, is this rak’ah treated as his first or third?
Q.3. After finishing the tawaf and sa’ie, is it sufficient to clip a small portion of hair to complete one’s Umrah?
M.H. Ali
A.1. The argument often used for keeping children in a row behind the congregation is that they may walk around and disturb the worshippers, and that they might not keep themselves properly clean. However, this is counterbalanced by the fact that when young children are forced to stand behind the congregation, one or two of them might be unable to locate their parents and start crying and running around. This is more disturbing to the parent who hears the crying and to the congregation generally. There is no harm in a child standing by the side of his father who is offering his prayer with the congregation. The child is more likely to keep quiet that way.
Besides, the Prophet (peace be upon him) allowed his own grandchildren to be close to him as he led the prayer. One of them mounted on his back as the Prophet was doing his prostration and the Prophet kept in that position until the child stepped down. This made the prostration so long that people feared that something might have happened to the Prophet. When they asked him after the prayer about what had happened, he said: “Nothing other than that my grandson mounted me and I did not wish to disturb him.” That child was not more than 5 or 6 years of age. Had he been 7 years old, the Prophet would have told him to pray with the congregation.
As for cleanliness, as long as the child is unlikely to cause impurity to fall on the carpet or the floor of the mosque, there is no special requirement to be observed in this connection.
A.2. Some scholars are of the view that voluntary, or Sunnah prayers should not be continued once the congregational prayer is called by iqamah. Others say that if you have intended a 4-rak’ah Sunnah prayer and you are still in the first 2 rak’ahs, you shorten your prayer to two rak’ahs only and join the congregation. If your voluntary prayer is intended as 2-rak’ah, you complete it and join the congregation. In any case of completing your voluntary prayer, make it as short as possible. The basis of the two rulings is the Hadith: “When the congregation is called, the only valid prayer is the obligatory one.” The first group take it literally and say that to continue with voluntary prayer is invalid, while the second understand the Hadith as prohibiting initiating a prayer other than the obligatory one. A voluntary prayer that is already in progress should be continued but made short.
Scholars differ as to whether the rak’ah you add to complete your prayer after the congregation has finished is your first or last. You may take either view. However, the one that is more common and perhaps weightier is to consider that the rak’ahs you prayed with the imam to be your first and the ones you add after he has finished, in order to complete your prayer, to be your last.
A.3. Yes, it is sufficient to cut only a small portion of hair as the last duty of the Umrah.