Q.1. Why is the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem important for Muslims?
Q.2. During pilgrimage, the night was very cold in Muzdalifah, and a pilgrim knowingly covered his head with a sheet he had. Does he have to give any compensation?
Q.3. If one has just started praying a Sunnah prayer, and the congregational obligatory prayer is called, should he continue his Sunnah, or terminate it to join the congregation? If one has missed the Sunnah offered normally before Zuhr and joined the congregation, should one pray that Sunnah after the obligatory prayer? Could this be done with regard to the Sunnah before Fajr? It is well-known that prayer at the time of midday is forbidden, yet people do it on Friday. Please advise. If you have missed two rak’ahs with the imam and you stand up to complete your prayer after the imam has finished, should you treat these as your initial rak’ahs?
S. Mohammad
A.1. The Prophet was asked which mosque was the first to be built, and his answer was: “The Sacred Mosque” in Makkah. His interlocutor then asked him which was the second mosque to be built, and he answered: “The Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem. A further question asked about the time gap between building them, and the Prophet said: “Forty years.” It is well-known that the Sacred Mosque, or the Ka’bah, was built by the two Prophets, Abraham and his son Ishmael. The Aqsa Mosque was built by Abraham’s grandson, Prophet Jacob, (peace be upon them all).
To emphasize the unity of the divine faith, in all its forms and all periods of history, God took His final messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), from Makkah to Jerusalem, where at the place of the Aqsa Mosque all past prophets were gathered, and he led them in a devotional prayer. Thus, the Aqsa Mosque takes its position alongside the Sacred Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah as the only three mosques built by prophets and to which people may travel to offer their worship. No special travel may be taken to pray in any other mosque on Earth.
A.2. The pilgrim has contravened the restrictions of ihraam when he covered his head. Although this was done for a very valid reason, this does not relieve him of having to offer compensation. One of the Prophet’s companions was suffering from head louse and he complained to the Prophet who saw that his condition was very bad. The Prophet ordered him to shave his head and compensate in any of three ways: to slaughter a sheep and give its meat to the poor, fast three days or feed six poor persons. The three alternatives are stated in the Qur’an: “If any of you is ill or suffers from an ailment of the head, he shall redeem himself by fasting, or alms, or sacrifice.” (2: 196) The same compensation is due in this case.
A.3. Scholars differ on whether such a worshipper should interrupt his prayer in order to join the congregation, or he should finish his voluntary prayer quickly and then join the congregation. Both views are valid. The basis for both rulings is the Hadith that says: “When the congregation is called, i.e. iqamah, the only valid prayer is the obligatory one.” Those who say that the worshipper should terminate his voluntary prayer take this Hadith at face value and consider that the calling of the obligatory prayer renders the voluntary one invalid. Those who take the other view understand the Hadith as meaning that one cannot initiate any prayer other than the obligatory one with the imam. A person who has already started a voluntary prayer is already engaged in prayer and he should not interrupt it.
If one comes into the mosque and finds that the obligatory Zuhr prayer has started or about to start, he should join the congregation. The voluntary prayer before Zuhr is thus missed. One does not offer this prayer after the obligatory prayer, because its time has lapsed. One may offer any number of voluntary rak’ahs after Zuhr, but it would not be the one he missed. With regard to Fajr prayer, the situation is different. This Sunnah is offered after one completes the obligatory prayer either because the congregation has already started or because sunrise is close at hand and he fears that if he were to offer the Sunnah first he will miss the obligatory prayer. In these cases, he may offer the missed Sunnah either shortly after the obligatory prayer, or he waits until the sun has risen well into the sky.
Prayer when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, i.e. at midday, is discouraged, but not forbidden. The reason is that we should not appear as though we are glorifying the sun or praying to it. Once the sun starts to move down, i.e. a few minutes later, we may pray as usual. The people who offer their prayer on Friday after the athan is called are doing well, because the sun would have already started on its way down from its highest point.
Different scholars have different views on the rak’ahs you offer after the imam has finished in order to complete your prayer, because you joined the congregation late. Those who say that the rak’ahs you pray with the imam are counted according to the imam’s prayer require that you offer the earlier rak’ahs when the imam has finished. This means that if you offer with the imam two out of four rak’ahs, these two are your third and fourth. The ones you have to compensate are your first and second, and this is how you offer them. Other scholars consider your prayer as starting with your first. Therefore, what you pray after the imam has finished are your third and fourth. I prefer this last view, which means that you read only the Fatihah in these rak’ahs.
