A Primer of Religious Knowledge — Page 30
A PR I M E R OF R E L IGIO U S K NOW L E D GE A PR I M E R OF R E L IGIO U S K NOW L E D GE 30 While the Takb i r [another name for Iq a mat ] is being said, the imam [one leading the S al a t ] should be standing at his [pre- scribed] place and the followers [those offering the S al a t behind him] should straighten their lines and stand solidly close together. No one should be out of line, ahead or behind. Then the imam and the followers, while facing towards the Qiblah, should raise both hands and say, ُ َہّٰللُّٰ ا َ کۡبَر ا [ All a hu Akbar ]—‘Allah is the Greatest. ’ But the imam should say ُ َہّٰللُّٰ ا َ کۡبَر ا first and the followers should say it after him, and then fold their hands. For folding of the hands, it is established from the a ha d i th that hands may be folded on the chest and also the hands may be folded below the navel by putting the right hand upon the left (some Muslims also offer S al a t with the hands left unfolded). 1 Then everyone should recite Than a qui- etly. Then Ta‘awwudh and Tasmiyah should be recited and after it, the whole of S u rah al-F a ti h ah should be recited. Then a m i n should be said. After this the imam should recite some short or long S u rah after S u rah al-F a ti h ah. In the whole S al a t of Z uhr and ‘ A s r, and in the third rak‘at of Maghrib, and in the last two rak‘ a t of ‘Ish a , everything should be recited quietly. And in the two Far d rak‘ a t of the [morning] Fajr Prayer and in the evening and ‘Ish a ’s first two rak‘ a t , the imam should recite with a loud voice. The imam should also recite in a loud voice in Friday Prayer and Eid Prayers, and while the imam is reciting loudly the followers should listen to him silently. However the followers should recite Al- h amd Shar i f [ S u rah al-F a ti h ah ] quietly. 1. See Sunan al-Kubr a by Baihaq i , Abw a b S ifati s - S al a t, B a b Wa d ‘il-Yadain, ‘al a S adri fi s - S al a ti minus-Sunnah, Part 2, p. 46, Hadith 2335; see also Sunan Ab i Daw u d, Abw a b Tafr i‘ Istift ah al- S al a t, B a b Wa d ‘il-Yumn a ‘al-Yusr a fis- S al a ti, Hadith 756. [Publisher]