Overview

Level 1 · Fiqh — Islamic Jurisprudence. Condensed revision notes covering the two Books of this level:

• 📘 Purification (Taharah) — water · vessels · wudu · ghusl · tayammum · najasah · menses & nifas
• 📗 Prayer (Salah) — times · conditions · arkan · wajibat · sunnahs · description · invalidators

🎨 Colour key

Condensed, reworded study notes covering the two Books in this level — Purification (Taharah) and Prayer (Salah) — chapter by chapter, in order. Definitions, numbered rulings, key points, and Benefit / For Your Information boxes are kept; activities and question sections are omitted. ﷺ = ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam.

About these notes

Original Arabic (in blockquotes) has been added under each quoted hadith and each ruling-verse — Qur’an bracketed with ﴿ ﴾, hadith with « ». Verses were verified against quran.com / recitequran.com; hadith matn against sunnah.com and the standard collections, with a brief grading note where the hadith is weak or disputed. The English of each quote is my own rendering. As always with sacred texts, spot-check the Arabic against a mushaf and the collections. (Both Books — Purification and Prayer — complete.)

📘 The Book of Purification (Taharah)

Purification (taharah)

Definition. Linguistically, cleanliness and keeping away from filth. It is of two types:

• Metaphorical purification — purifying the heart and keeping it free of shirk and sin (at-Tawbah 9:28; al-Ahzab 33:33).
• Physical purification — removing hadath (a state of ritual impurity) and khabath (physical filth, najasah) from the body, clothing, and place of prayer.

Types of hadath. Divided into minor hadath (removed by wudu) and major hadath (removed by ghusl).

Water

Water is of two categories: pure and impure.

1. Pure water. Water remaining as Allah created it, unmixed with any impurity that changes its taste, colour, or smell — anything falling from the sky or rising from the earth (seas, rivers, springs, wells). It removes both hadath and najasah. Evidence: (al-Furqan 25:48); and of seawater, «Its water is pure and its dead sea-creatures are halal » (Malik in al-Muwatta; sahih per al-Albani).

Qur’an & Hadith

﴿وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً طَهُورًا﴾ — الفرقان ٤٨

«هو الطَّهورُ ماؤُه، الحِلُّ مَيتتُه» (مالك وأصحاب السنن؛ صححه الترمذي وابن خزيمة)

• Water is not affected by changes from standing a long time, from its surroundings, or from things hard to keep out (leaves, moss).
• Water changed by a pure substance — three cases: (1) mixed with a pure substance without changing colour/taste/smell → remains pure; (2) changed so much it is no longer called water (tea, juice, broth) → invalid for purification; (3) changed but still called water (soap, chickpeas, saffron) → scholars differ; the more correct view is that it may be used for purification.
• Used water (already used for wudu or ghusl) is pure in itself and may be used again for purification.

2. Impure (najis ) water. Water mixed with an impurity so that its colour, taste, or smell has changed. It may not be used for purification or any other use (drinking, cooking).

Purifying impure water. By any means that removes the impurity and its effects — adding more clean water until the change is gone; letting it stand until the three signs disappear; or modern treatment (sewage plants). Once the impurity and change are gone, it is pure again.

For Your Information

If an impurity changes one of water’s three characteristics, it is najis by unanimous agreement, whether the amount is large or small. If impurity falls into a small amount of water without changing any characteristic, scholars differ; the stronger view is that it stays pure — «Water is pure and nothing makes it impure» (at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«إنَّ الماءَ طَهورٌ لا يُنَجِّسُه شيءٌ» (أبو داود والترمذي؛ صححه أحمد)

Vessels

Vessels are containers for water and other things.

• Permissible : expensive vessels other than gold and silver (e.g. rubies, diamonds) — no text prohibits them.
• Gold and silver: haram for eating, drinking, purifying, and all uses — «Do not drink from vessels of gold and silver…» (Hudhayfah; al-Bukhari & Muslim); «The one who drinks from a vessel of silver is only pouring the fire of Hell into his belly» (Umm Salamah; agreed upon).

Hadith

«لا تَشرَبوا في آنيةِ الذهبِ والفِضَّةِ، ولا تأكُلوا في صِحافِهما، فإنها لهم في الدنيا ولكم في الآخرةِ» (حذيفة؛ متفق عليه) ۝ «الذي يَشرَبُ في آنيةِ الفِضَّةِ إنما يُجَرجِرُ في بطنِه نارَ جهنَّمَ» (أم سلمة؛ متفق عليه)

This applies equally to men and women.

• Soldering: if done with gold, the vessel is forbidden ; if with silver, permissible when the repair is small and needed — the Prophet ﷺ mended his cracked cup with a silver strip (Anas; al-Bukhari).
• Purification using water from a gold/silver vessel is valid — the vessel is not a condition of wudu.
• Vessels of disbelievers: (a) those not known to use impurities → permissible (Jabir; sahih per al-Albani; and the Prophet ﷺ ate at a Jewish woman’s house — agreed upon); (b) those known to use impurities (pork, alcohol) → better avoided, but if there is no alternative, wash them first (Abu Tha’labah; agreed upon).

Relieving oneself and its etiquette

• Istinja — removing traces of filth from the front/back passage with water.
• Istijmar — removing them with pebbles, tissue, or cloth; Sunnah to use an odd number (agreed upon). If water is unavailable, cleaning with pebbles/tissue becomes obligatory .
• On leaving, say «Ghufranaka» (I seek Your forgiveness) (at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani); Abu Dharr also praised Allah for removing harm.

Hadith

«غُفرانَك» (أبو داود والترمذي؛ صححه أبو حاتم)

• Use the left hand for cleaning and while urinating.
• Mustahabb to urinate sitting (more concealing, avoids splash-back).

Prohibited (haram ) when relieving oneself.

• Urinating/defecating in the road, in the shade, in parks, under fruit-bearing trees, in waterways, or anywhere it harms or annoys people — «Beware of the two things that bring curses: relieving oneself in people’s path or in their shade» (Abu Hurayrah; Muslim).

Hadith

«اتَّقوا اللَّعَّانَينِ، قالوا: وما اللَّعَّانانِ يا رسولَ اللهِ؟ قال: الذي يَتَخَلَّى في طَريقِ الناسِ أو في ظِلِّهِمْ» (مسلم)

• Facing or turning the back to the qiblah when relieving oneself in open desert without a barrier — «do not face the qiblah or turn your back to it; face east or west» (Abu Ayyub al-Ansari; agreed upon).

Hadith

«إذا أتيتُمُ الغائطَ فلا تَستقبِلوا القِبلةَ بغائطٍ ولا بولٍ، ولا تَستدبِروها، ولكن شَرِّقوا أو غَرِّبوا» (أبو أيوب الأنصاري؛ متفق عليه)

Inside a building, or with a screen between you and the qiblah, there is no harm (Ibn Umar).

Disliked (makruh ) when relieving oneself.

• Facing into the wind without a barrier (urine may blow back).
• Speaking while relieving oneself (Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani).
• Urinating into a hole in the ground (Abdullah ibn Sarjis; sahih per an-Nawawi) — an animal may be harmed, or it may be a home of the jinn.
• Entering the toilet carrying anything bearing Allah’s name, except out of necessity.

Benefit

It is haram to take the Mushaf into the toilet (visible or wrapped) — disrespect to the word of Allah. Tapes/CDs containing Quran do not carry the same ruling, provided the verses are not displayed on a screen.

Sunan al-Fitrah

Practices of the natural disposition Allah instilled, giving a person the best appearance and state.

• Siwak — cleaning the teeth; Sunnah at all times — «The siwak cleanses the mouth and pleases the Lord» (an-Nasai; sahih per al-Albani); «Were it not too hard on my ummah, I would order it at every prayer» (Muslim).

Hadith

«السِّواكُ مَطهرةٌ للفمِ، مَرضاةٌ للربِّ» (النسائي؛ صححه الألباني) ۝ «لولا أن أشُقَّ على أُمَّتي لأمرتُهم بالسِّواكِ عند كلِّ صلاةٍ» (متفق عليه)

• Shaving the pubic hair, plucking armpit hair, trimming the moustache, clipping the nails — makruh to leave any of these for more than forty days (Anas).
• Trimming the moustache; letting the beard grow (obligatory , per sahih hadiths — more befitting and a mark of manhood).
• The lists of the fitrah: «Five are of the fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, plucking the armpit hair, clipping the nails, and trimming the moustache» (Abu Hurayrah);

Hadith

«الفِطرةُ خمسٌ: الخِتانُ، والاستحدادُ، وتقليمُ الأظفارِ، ونتفُ الإبطِ، وقصُّ الشاربِ» (أبو هريرة؛ متفق عليه)

and the ten in Aisha’s report — trimming the moustache, letting the beard grow, the siwak, inhaling water into the nose, clipping the nails, washing the knuckles, plucking armpit hair, shaving pubic hair, and istinja (the tenth possibly rinsing the mouth) (Muslim).

• Also: clipping the nails, plucking armpit hair, washing the knuckles (finger-joints where dirt gathers), circumcision, plus taking water into the nose, rinsing the mouth, and istinja.

Wudu

Definition. Linguistically from wadaa’ah (beauty/cleanliness). In Shariah: using water to wash the four parts — face, arms, head, feet — in the prescribed manner, as worship of Allah.

• Obligatory for one in a state of impurity who wants to pray or do what comes under prayer’s ruling (tawaf, touching the Mushaf) — (al-Ma’idah 5:6).

Qur’an

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ﴾ — المائدة ٦

• Not valid from a disbeliever or an insane person; does not count from a child below the age of discernment.
• Conditions: forming the intention («Actions are but by intentions»); using pure water.

FYI

Dyes, creams, and lotions: if they have no physical body, they don’t affect wudu/ghusl; if they form a barrier that blocks water, they must be removed first, or wudu/ghusl is invalid . Fake nails, nail polish, and fake eyelashes must be removed (and shouldn’t be worn in the first place); hair implants may be wiped over.

The obligatory parts of wudu (six)

1. Washing the whole face, including rinsing the mouth (madmadah) and nose (istinshaq), since both are part of the face (al-Ma’idah 5:6).
2. Washing the arms up to the elbows.
3. Wiping the head (a woman need not wipe the full length of her hair).
4. Washing the feet up to the ankles (al-Ma’idah 5:6) — the ankles being the two bones that protrude where leg meets foot; «Woe to the heels from the Fire».

Hadith

«وَيلٌ للأعقابِ من النارِ» (متفق عليه)

5. Order (tarteeb) — as Allah listed them and as every description of the Prophet’s wudu followed.
6. Continuity (muwalah) — washing the parts in succession without a long gap.

Related points. How to wash an amputated limb (wash what remains of the obligatory area); artificial limbs (remove if easy, otherwise wipe); false teeth/dentures/implants need not be removed for rinsing the mouth — the Prophet ﷺ told Arfajah to get a gold nose and did not order it removed for wudu (at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani); rubbing between the fingers/toes is obligatory if water won’t otherwise reach; start with the right (Aisha; agreed upon); washing each part once is obligatory , three times is preferred; after wudu, the shahada opens the eight gates of Paradise (Muslim).

Sunnahs of wudu

• Using the siwak (Ahmad; sahih per al-Albani).
• Saying Bismillah — «There is no wudu for the one who does not mention Allah’s name over it» (Abu Dawud; hasan per al-Albani).

Hadith

«لا وضوءَ لمن لم يذكرِ اسمَ اللهِ عليه» (أبو داود والترمذي؛ حسَّنه الألباني)

• Washing the hands three times at the start (Uthman’s description of the Prophet’s wudu).
• Being thorough in inhaling water into the nose, unless fasting (Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani).
• Starting with the right before the left.

Things that invalidate wudu

• Whatever exits the two passages (urine, stool, wind, semen, madhiy, and the like).
• Deep sleep; and loss of reason through intoxication, fainting, or insanity — even more so than sleep (cf. Safwan ibn Assal: khuffs kept on for three days except in janabah).
• Touching the private part directly, with no barrier — «Whoever touches his penis, let him do wudu» (Busrah bint Safwan; sahih per al-Albani);

Hadith

«من مسَّ ذَكَرَه فليَتوضَّأْ» (بسرة بنت صفوان؛ صححه الترمذي والألباني)

likewise «Whoever touches his private part…» (Umm Habibah; sahih per al-Albani) — front or back. Touching the testicles or buttocks does not invalidate it.

• Eating camel meat — «do wudu after eating camel meat» (Jabir ibn Samurah; Muslim);

Hadith

«توضَّؤوا من لُحومِ الإبلِ» (جابر بن سمرة؛ مسلم)

wudu after mutton is optional.

FYI — certainty vs. doubt

One certain he was pure but unsure whether he invalidated it → still pure; one certain he invalidated it but unsure whether he then purified → treat as invalidated. Certainty is only overturned by certainty — «He should not stop praying unless he hears a sound or notices a smell» (agreed upon; and Abu Hurayrah — Muslim).

Hadith

«لا يَنصَرِفْ حتى يَسمَعَ صوتًا أو يَجِدَ ريحًا» (عبد الله بن زيد؛ متفق عليه)

Wiping over the khuffs (or socks)

A khuff is footwear of thin leather (or similar) covering the ankles and above, like socks.

• Prescription: (al-Ma’idah 5:6) on the genitive reading; and mutawatir hadiths (some forty).
• Conditions: the khuffs must be pure — the Prophet ﷺ removed his sandals in prayer when Jibreel told him of filth on them (ad-Darimi; sahih isnad); they must have been put on in a state of purity; and the wiping must be within its time limit.
• Time limit: one day and night for a resident, three days and nights for a traveller (Ali; Muslim). Benefit: this applies to purification from minor impurity, not major.
• The period begins from the first wipe after invalidating wudu. Once it ends, one may not wipe again — but an existing state of purity remains valid until it is broken (the more correct view), since a time limit was set for wiping, not for the purity itself.
• What may be wiped over: socks and boots covering the ankles (al-Mugheerah; Ibn al-Mundhir listed nine Companions who did so) — with no conditions per the correct view (even if torn or holed); turbans (Thawban; and Amr ibn Umayyah — al-Bukhari & Muslim).
• Benefit: the shemagh, taqiyah (skullcap), and ghutrah are not like the turban (easy to remove). Wigs: not permissible to wear; a bald woman may remove hers and wipe directly, or wipe over it if removal is very difficult. A woman may wipe over her headcover if needed for cold or illness (Ibn Taymiyyah; Umm Salamah used to do so).
• Plaster casts / dressings: if removal would cause harm, wipe over them — the man with a head wound who was told to do ghusl and died: «They killed him! It would have sufficed to do tayammum and bandage the wound and wipe over it» (Abu Dawud & Ibn Majah; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«قَتَلوهُ قَتَلَهُمُ اللهُ! ألَا سَأَلوا إذْ لم يَعلَموا، فإنَّما شِفاءُ العِيِّ السُّؤالُ، إنَّما كان يَكفيهِ أن يَتيَمَّمَ ويَعصِبَ على جُرحِهِ خِرقةً ثم يَمسَحَ عليها ويَغسِلَ سائرَ جَسَدِهِ» (جابر؛ أبو داود — وحُسِّن دون لفظة «إنما كان يكفيه»)

Small plasters (Band-Aids): wipe if removal harms, otherwise remove.

• Issues: a traveller who reaches home, a resident who starts a journey, and one uncertain when he began → all continue as a resident (one day/night); a resident who does wudu and only begins wiping after setting out → continues as a traveller.

Ghusl

Definition. Linguistically, letting water flow over the body while rubbing. In Shariah: pouring pure water over the entire body with the intention of removing impurity.

Things that make ghusl obligatory .

1. Emission of maniy (semen) forcefully and with pleasure — from intercourse or a wet dream.
2. Penetration of the penis into the vagina, even without ejaculation.
3. End of menses — «when your menses comes, stop praying; when it ends, wash and pray» (Aisha / Fatima bint Abi Hubaysh; agreed upon) (al-Baqarah 2:222).

Qur’an & Hadith

«إذا أقبلتِ الحَيضةُ فدَعي الصلاةَ، وإذا أدبرتْ فاغسِلي عنكِ الدمَ وصَلِّي» (متفق عليه) ۝ ﴿وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًى فَاعْتَزِلُوا النِّسَاءَ فِي الْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ﴾ — البقرة ٢٢٢

4. End of nifas — a type of menses; «perhaps you got your menses (la’allaki nafisti)» (agreed upon); obligatory by consensus.

Hadith

«لعلَّكِ نَفِسْتِ؟» (متفق عليه)

5. Death — the obligation falls on the living to wash the dead (Umm Atiyah; agreed upon). Benefit: a miscarried foetus is washed if the soul was breathed in (at four months), otherwise not.

Ghusls that are encouraged (mustahabb ). When a disbeliever becomes Muslim (Qays ibn Aasim; Thumamah); after washing a deceased person (Abu Hurayrah; at-Tirmidhi, hasan); on recovering from fainting (Aisha; as-Sahihayn) or insanity (by analogy); weekly — «it is the duty of every Muslim to do ghusl one day in seven»;

Hadith

«حَقٌّ على كلِّ مسلمٍ أن يَغتسِلَ في كلِّ سبعةِ أيامٍ يومًا يَغسِلُ فيه رأسَه وجَسدَه» (متفق عليه)

on Friday (some held it obligatory ); on the two Eids; for the istihadah sufferer before each prayer; and on entering ihram.

Description of ghusl (Aisha; as-Sahihayn): wash the hands; wash the private part with the left hand; perform wudu; work water to the roots of the hair; pour water over the head three times; pour over the rest of the body; then wash the feet. The minimum acceptable is to pour water over the entire body.

Tayammum

Definition. Linguistically, to aim toward something (al-Baqarah 2:267). In Shariah: wiping the face and hands with clean earth in a specific manner, as an act of worship — «the earth has been made a place of prostration and a means of purification for me» (Jabir; agreed upon).

Hadith

«جُعِلَتْ لي الأرضُ مسجدًا وطَهورًا» (جابر؛ متفق عليه)

It substitutes for wudu and ghusl when they cannot be done.

• When prescribed: when unable to find water, or unable to use it (fear of physical harm, needing it to drink, extreme cold) — (al-Ma’idah 5:6); «clean earth is a means of purification for the Muslim even if he finds no water for ten years» (Abu Dharr; at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«الصَّعيدُ الطَّيِّبُ وَضوءُ المسلمِ وإن لم يَجِدِ الماءَ عشرَ سنينَ، فإذا وجدَ الماءَ فليُمِسَّهُ بَشَرتَه فإنَّ ذلك خيرٌ» (أبو ذر؛ صححه الترمذي والألباني)

• With what: pure dust/earth with particles that cling to the hand; failing that, sand or rock (at-Taghabun 64:16); it must be pure (al-Ma’idah 5:6; Hudhayfah).
• Benefit: tayammum removes hadath temporarily until water is found; it may not be done before the prayer’s time begins; once water is available, it ceases to be valid.

Obligatory parts of tayammum: the intention; wiping the face; wiping the hands; and doing them in order (an-Nisa 4:43; Ammar’s hadith).

• If one fears the prayer time will end if he uses water, he must still do wudu/ghusl (majority view) — tayammum is not prescribed for that.
• Description: strike the ground once (holding the fingers apart is preferred); wipe the face; wipe the back of each hand with the other palm, right then left.
• If there is neither water nor earth → pray as you are, on time, and do not repeat («lacking the two means of purification»).
• Finding water: before the prayer → must do wudu; after praying → no need to repeat (the two men — «You acted according to the Sunnah » / «You have a twofold reward»);

Hadith

«أصَبْتَ السُّنَّةَ وأجزأتْكَ صلاتُكَ» — وقال للآخر: «لكَ الأجرُ مرَّتينِ» (أبو سعيد الخدري؛ أبو داود والنسائي)

during the prayer → tayammum is invalidated; exit, do wudu, and restart.

• Invalidators of tayammum: water becoming available when one can use it; and everything that invalidates wudu.

Removing physical impurities (najasah)

Najasah is every filthy substance the Lawgiver ordered to be avoided.

Categories:

1. Accidental impurity — a pure thing later contaminated (e.g. filth falling on a clean garment). It is purified by simply removing the substance.
2. Inherent impurity — impure in itself (dogs, pigs, donkey droppings, menstrual blood, urine, stools). This cannot be purified — washing a dog in the sea would never make it pure.

Dog contamination: wash seven times, the first with earth (Muslim)

Hadith

«طَهورُ إناءِ أحدِكم إذا وَلَغَ فيه الكلبُ أن يَغسِلَه سبعَ مراتٍ، أُولاهُنَّ بالترابِ» (أبو هريرة؛ مسلم)

— all dogs, with no distinction of colour/type; pigs are not treated the same way.

FYI:

doctors note earth’s germ-killing effect (it absorbs the virus in dog saliva; contains tetracycline/tetralite) — but we follow the Lawgiver’s command regardless of such benefits.

Other than dogs: wash once; repeat until the substance is gone; remove any physical mass first, then wash the spot.

• Madhiy (thin liquid emitted with desire): najis by consensus — wash the penis and testicles, and sprinkle the garment.
• Wadiy (thick white liquid after urinating): najis by consensus — requires istinja, washing body/clothes, and wudu.
• Baby boy’s urine (before eating solids): sprinkle water over it without rubbing (Abu’s-Samh; Umm Qays — agreed upon); a baby girl’s urine must be washed off in all cases.
• Unknown location of impurity (four cases): certain it hit both spots → wash both; certain of one → wash that; most likely one → wash that; equally likely → wash both.

Some pure things (with scholarly differences): the dead believer — «the believer does not become najis » (agreed upon);

Hadith

«سُبحانَ اللهِ! إنَّ المؤمنَ لا يَنجُسُ» (أبو هريرة؛ متفق عليه)

creatures without flowing blood (flies, etc.) unless born in filth (toilet cockroaches) — the fly hadith; urine, dung, and semen of edible animals (the Ukal/Uraynah hadith; the sheepfold hadith — agreed upon); human semen (Aisha scratched it off the Prophet’s garment — Muslim); a woman’s vaginal moisture; and the leftovers of cats and animals that frequent homes — «they are not impure; they are among those who go about among you» (Abu Qatadah; sahih per al-Albani; Ibn Uthaymeen extends this to any hard-to-avoid animal, except those excluded like dogs).

Hadith

«إنها ليست بنَجَسٍ، إنما هي من الطَّوَّافينَ عليكم والطَّوَّافاتِ» (أبو قتادة؛ صححه الترمذي وابن خزيمة)

Types of blood

Human blood:

• Menses and nifas blood → najis by consensus — «scratch it, then rub it with water, then rinse it, and pray in it» (Asma; agreed upon);

Hadith

«حُتِّيهِ، ثم اقْرُصِيهِ بالماءِ، ثم انْضَحِيهِ، وصَلِّي فيه» (أسماء بنت أبي بكر؛ متفق عليه)

and the cloth-with-musk hadith (Aisha; al-Bukhari).

• Other human blood (wounds, nosebleeds, cupping) → pure per the basic principle; the Prophet ﷺ never ordered any blood washed off except menstrual blood, though injuries and nosebleeds were common.

Animal blood:

• Of edible animals → pure (no evidence of impurity; the camel-placenta incident at the Kaaba shows this) — except blood poured forth (al-An’am 6:145); blood remaining in the veins/heart/spleen/liver after proper slaughter is pure.

Qur’an

﴿قُل لَّا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَىٰ طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلَّا أَن يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَّسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ﴾ — الأنعام ١٤٥

• Of inedible animals → najis (except cats and home-frequenting animals, and excluding those Islam excluded, like dogs).
• Of animals not slaughtered properly → najis by consensus (al-An’am 6:145) — except dead fish and locusts, which are pure: «Two dead meats and two bloods are lawful for us: fish and locusts; the liver and the spleen» (Ahmad & Ibn Majah; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«أُحِلَّتْ لنا مَيتتانِ ودَمانِ: فأمَّا المَيتتانِ فالجرادُ والحوتُ، وأمَّا الدَّمانِ فالكبِدُ والطِّحالُ» (ابن عمر؛ أحمد وابن ماجه)

Menses (hayd) and nifas

Hayd (linguistically, “flow”): natural blood emerging from the uterus at certain times, in health, unconnected to childbirth.

• Age: does not begin before nine; usually ceases by fifty.
• Duration: minimum one day and night; maximum fifteen days (most fuqaha) — beyond that is istihadah; the usual is six or seven days. Blood not reaching a full day and night is istihadah (still najis and breaks wudu).
• First-timer: if the blood has menstrual characteristics, it is menses (up to fifteen days; anything after is istihadah) (al-Baqarah 2:222).
• End of menses is known by either the cessation of blood (a cotton test coming out clean) or the white discharge (Umm Alqamah / Aisha — «do not hasten until you see the white discharge»; Malik; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«لا تَعْجَلْنَ حتى تَرَيْنَ القَصَّةَ البيضاءَ» (عائشة؛ رواه مالك والبخاري تعليقًا)

Benefit — brownish/yellowish discharge:

if it comes before or after the menses (not connected to it), it is not counted as menses — «We used to regard the yellowish/brownish discharge after purity as nothing» (Umm Atiyah).

Hadith

«كنَّا لا نَعُدُّ الكُدْرةَ والصُّفْرةَ بعد الطُّهْرِ شيئًا» (أم عطية؛ أبو داود، وأصله في البخاري)

Benefit:

the more correct view is that a menstruating woman may recite Quran (especially if she needs to, e.g. a student or teacher) without touching the Mushaf, as there is no clear text forbidding it.

Prohibited (haram ) during menses and nifas:

• Prayer (Fatima bint Abi Hubaysh; agreed upon).
• Fasting (agreed upon) — «does she not, when she menstruates, neither pray nor fast?»

Hadith

«أليسَ إذا حاضتْ لم تُصَلِّ ولم تَصُمْ؟» (أبو سعيد الخدري؛ متفق عليه)

• Tawaf — «do everything the pilgrim does, but do not circumambulate until your menses ends» (Aisha; agreed upon).

Hadith

«افعَلي ما يَفعلُ الحاجُّ، غيرَ أن لا تَطوفي بالبيتِ حتى تَطْهُري» (عائشة؛ متفق عليه)

• Touching the Mushaf — «none should touch the Mushaf except one who is pure» (Malik; sahih per al-Albani); permissible with a barrier if needed.

Hadith

«لا يَمَسُّ القرآنَ إلا طاهرٌ» (كتابه ﷺ إلى عمرو بن حزم؛ رواه مالك)

• Entering/remaining in the mosque (the hair-combing hadith); passing through is haram only if she fears contaminating it.
• Intercourse in the vagina (al-Baqarah 2:222) — «do everything except intercourse» (Muslim).

Hadith

«اصنَعوا كلَّ شيءٍ إلا النِّكاحَ» (أنس؛ مسلم)

• Divorce (at-Talaq 65:1) — the Prophet ﷺ told Umar to have his son take his wife back and divorce her when pure or pregnant (Muslim).

Benefit — related issues:

menses arriving after a prayer’s time began (and she hadn’t prayed) → make it up afterward; menses on a fasting day → the fast is invalid , make it up; menses ending on a fast day → make up that day, but she need not abstain the rest of it.

Istihadah (three cases): (1) a known, regular cycle → stop praying only at her regular menses times; (2) no regular cycle but she can distinguish the blood → treat the distinctive (dark/thick/odorous) blood as menses, the rest as istihadah; (3) no cycle and no distinction → follow the majority of women (six or seven days a month), the rest istihadah. Otherwise the istihadah sufferer is like a pure woman (prayer, fasting, tawaf, reciting, touching the Mushaf, and intercourse are valid) — except she must do wudu for each prayer after its time begins.

Rulings on nifas. Nifas (lochia) is the blood from the uterus due to childbirth. Minimum: none (may last only days); maximum: forty days — beyond that is istihadah. It is like menses in what it permits and prohibits (fasting, prayer, divorce, tawaf, staying in the mosque; intimacy short of intercourse allowed); ghusl is required when it ends; missed fasts are made up, but not prayers. If it stops before forty days, nifas has ended — do ghusl and pray.

FYI:

a miscarriage where the foetus shows clear rudimentary human features → the rulings of nifas apply; if the miscarriage is at the alaqah (clot) or mudghah (lump) stage with no human features, the bleeding is not nifas, so she keeps praying and fasting.

📗 The Book of Prayer (Salah)

Prayer (salat)

Definition. Linguistically, supplication/invocation (at-Tawbah 9:103). In Shariah: worshipping Allah with specific words and movements, beginning with the takbeer and ending with the tasleem.

• Status: the second pillar of Islam after the shahada («Islam is built on five…» — agreed upon).

Hadith

«بُنِيَ الإسلامُ على خمسٍ: شهادةِ أن لا إله إلا الله وأنَّ محمدًا رسولُ الله، وإقامِ الصلاةِ، وإيتاءِ الزكاةِ، وحجِّ البيتِ، وصومِ رمضانَ» (ابن عمر؛ متفق عليه)

• Virtue: «The five daily prayers, and one Jumuah to the next, and one Ramadan to the next, are an expiation for what lies between them, if major sins are avoided» (Muslim);

Hadith

«الصَّلواتُ الخمسُ، والجمعةُ إلى الجمعةِ، ورمضانُ إلى رمضانَ، مُكفِّراتٌ ما بينهنَّ إذا اجتُنِبَتِ الكبائرُ» (أبو هريرة؛ مسلم)

and the likeness of a river one bathes in five times a day (agreed upon).

• Why so important: it was delayed until the night of the Isra and Mi’raj; enjoined directly by Allah upon His Messenger ﷺ without intermediary, in the heavens; and originally fifty prayers were enjoined — all showing its lofty status and how beloved it is.
• When enjoined: on the night of the Isra and Mi’raj, before the Hijrah.
• Wisdom: gratitude for Allah’s blessings; the highest expression of servitude; and the connection between a person and his Lord that brings peace of heart.
• Obligatory on every adult Muslim of sound mind, male or female (an-Nisa 4:103; the Muadh hadith — agreed upon).

Qur’an

﴿إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا﴾ — النساء ١٠٣

• A child is instructed to pray at seven, and disciplined (a light, non-painful smack) at ten if he does not (Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«مُروا أولادَكم بالصلاةِ وهم أبناءُ سَبعِ سنينَ، واضرِبوهم عليها وهم أبناءُ عَشرٍ، وفرِّقوا بينهم في المَضاجِعِ» (عبد الله بن عمرو؛ أبو داود؛ حسن صحيح)

• Issues: not obligatory on the insane or minors (lacking the “reason” that is the basis of accountability). If a child reaches puberty, a disbeliever becomes Muslim, or a menstruating woman becomes pure with enough time left for one rakah, that prayer becomes obligatory — «whoever catches one rakah has caught the prayer» (agreed upon).

Hadith

«من أدركَ ركعةً من الصلاةِ فقد أدركَ الصلاةَ» (أبو هريرة؛ متفق عليه)

A new Muslim need not make up prayers missed before Islam, since Islam erases what came before it.

Adhan and iqamah

• Adhan (linguistically, announcement — at-Tawbah 9:3): announcing, with specific words, that the prayer’s time has begun.
• Iqamah: announcing, with specific words, that the prayer is about to begin.
• Prescribed in 1 AH, through the dream of Abdullah ibn Zayd, who was taught the wording of both the adhan and the iqamah; Umar had seen the same (Abu Dawud & at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani).

Conditions of a valid adhan:

• The prayer’s time must have begun (exception: the first adhan of Fajr and of Jumuah).
• The phrases must be recited in order and consecutively, as in the Sunnah .
• It must be in Arabic, in the narrated wording.
• The muadhdhin must be Muslim, of sound mind, and male (not valid from a disbeliever, insane, drunk, or pre-discernment person; nor a woman calling men).
• Not required (though encouraged ): being in a state of purity, facing the qiblah, standing, or refraining from speech.

Desirable qualities in the muadhdhin include a good voice and reciting the adhan unhurriedly and the iqamah quickly; turning right and left at «Hayya ala as-salat» and «Hayya ala al-falah» is Sunnah (Abu Juhayfah; al-Bukhari & Muslim).

Hadith

«حَيَّ على الصلاةِ» … «حَيَّ على الفلاحِ» — يَلوي عُنُقَه يمينًا وشِمالًا (أبو جحيفة؛ متفق عليه)

Innovations (bidah ) regarding the adhan: saying «Azizullahi a’zam» at the shahadah; «Nashhad»/«Sadaqta» during the iqamah; «Sadaqa Rasoolullah…» after «As-salatu khayrun min an-nawm»; and «Aqaamaha Allahu wa adaamaha» at the iqamah (its hadith is weak).

How the adhan/iqamah are done (Abu Mahdhurah — the adhan; and Anas — «he ordered Bilal to double the phrases of the adhan and single those of the iqamah except “Qad qaamat is-salat”» — agreed upon).

Hadith

«أُمِرَ بلالٌ أن يَشفَعَ الأذانَ وأن يُوتِرَ الإقامةَ، إلا الإقامةَ» — أي إلا قولَه «قد قامتِ الصلاةُ» فيُثَنِّيها (أنس؛ متفق عليه)

Repeating after the muadhdhin: say what he says (Abu Saeed; agreed upon), but at «Hayya ala…» say «Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billah»; then send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ and ask Allah for al-waseelah (Muslim; and the du’a — al-Bukhari). At «As-salatu khayrun min an-nawm» the listener repeats likewise (not «Sadaqa Rasoolullah», which is a bidah ).

Related: the iqamah’s words are not repeated by the listener; women are not required to give adhan/iqamah (but may, if men don’t hear); when joining two prayers, give one adhan and an iqamah for each (Jabir, at Arafah/Muzdalifah; Muslim); better the same person gives both; a recorded adhan does not suffice (it is a live verbal act of worship).

The times of prayer

Five daily prayers, each at a fixed time (an-Nisa 4:103; the reference hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr — Muslim).

• Zuhr: from the sun’s passing the meridian until an object’s shadow equals its height. Hasten to it, unless it is very hot — then delay until cooler.
• Asr: from the end of Zuhr until sunset. Hasten to it. It is the middle prayer (al-Baqarah 2:238).

Qur’an

﴿حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ﴾ — البقرة ٢٣٨

Benefit: missing it is like losing one’s family and wealth.

• Maghrib: from sunset until the red afterglow disappears. Hasten to it.
• Isha: from the end of Maghrib until halfway through the night; praying it after that counts as making it up.
• Fajr: from true dawn until sunrise. Hasten to it (Aisha — the women would leave unrecognized in the darkness; agreed upon). Deliberately delaying it to sunrise is not allowed, and praying it after sunrise is invalid (out of time).

Conditions of prayer

• Intention (niyyah) — never waived («Actions are but by intentions»).
• Being Muslim — a disbeliever’s deeds are invalid (at-Tawbah 9:54).
• Sound mind — «the Pen is lifted from three: the sleeper, the minor, and the insane» (Ali; Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«رُفِعَ القلمُ عن ثلاثةٍ: عن النائمِ حتى يَستيقِظَ، وعن الصبيِّ حتى يَحتلِمَ، وعن المجنونِ حتى يَعقِلَ» (علي؛ أبو داود والترمذي؛ صحيح)

• Being an adult — not obligatory on a child until puberty.
• Purity from major and minor impurity — «Allah does not accept the prayer of one in a state of impurity until he does wudu» (al-Bukhari).

Hadith

«لا يَقبلُ اللهُ صلاةَ أحدِكم إذا أحدثَ حتى يَتوضَّأ» (أبو هريرة؛ متفق عليه)

• The time having begun (an-Nisa 4:103; the hadith of Jibreel leading the prayers).
• Covering the awrah (al-A’raf 7:31) — a woman needs a headcover (Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani);

Qur’an

﴿يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ﴾ — الأعراف ٣١

a man should put part of his garment over a shoulder. In prayer a woman’s whole body is awrah except the face and hands; before non-mahram men she covers everything («the woman is awrah» — at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«المرأةُ عورةٌ، فإذا خرجتِ استشرفها الشيطانُ» (ابن مسعود؛ الترمذي؛ صحيح)

• Facing the qiblah (al-Baqarah 2:144) — precisely if the Kaaba is visible, otherwise its general direction.

Qur’an

﴿فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ﴾ — البقرة ١٤٤

• Avoiding najasah on the body, clothing, and place (al-Muddaththir 74:4) — «guard against urine, for most of the punishment of the grave is from it» (ad-Daraqutni; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«اسْتَنْزِهوا من البولِ، فإنَّ عامَّةَ عذابِ القبرِ منه» (أبو هريرة؛ الدارقطني؛ صححه الألباني)

FYI — praying in planes, cars, ships:

a nafil prayer may be offered however one is facing; an obligatory prayer must be delayed and prayed properly on arrival if there’s time, otherwise prayed according to one’s situation (facing the qiblah and standing/bowing/prostrating as far as able — at-Taghabun 64:16; «pray standing; if you cannot, then sitting; if not, then on your side» — al-Bukhari).

FYI — carrying images of animate beings:

concealed (in a wallet — money, cards, passport) → permissible , not makruh ; worn openly (on a shirt) → the garment shouldn’t be worn, though the prayer is still valid; a catheter bag needed for health may be worn if firmly closed.

The essential parts (arkan) of prayer

These are not waived whether omitted deliberately, by mistake, or out of ignorance:

1. Standing in an obligatory prayer if able (al-Baqarah 2:238; «pray standing…» — al-Bukhari). In a nafil prayer one may sit even when able (half the reward — Muslim).
2. The opening takbeer (takbeerat al-ihram) — nothing else begins the prayer («its beginning is takbeer and its end is tasleem» — Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani).

Hadith

«مِفتاحُ الصلاةِ الطُّهورُ، وتحريمُها التكبيرُ، وتحليلُها التسليمُ» (علي؛ أبو داود والترمذي؛ صحيح)

3. Reciting al-Fatihah in every rakah, in full and in order (waived for the latecomer who catches the imam in ruku).
4. Bowing (ruku) (al-Hajj 22:77).
5. Rising from bowing until standing straight (Aisha; Muslim).
6. Prostration (sujud) on the seven bones — the forehead (with the nose), the two hands, the two knees, and the toes of both feet (Ibn Abbas; agreed upon).
7. Rising from prostration and sitting between the two.
8. Pausing (tuma’ninah) in every posture — the “one who prayed badly” hadith (agreed upon).
9. The final tashahhud and sitting for it (Ibn Mas’ud; an-Nasai; sahih per al-Albani).
10. Sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ in the final tashahhud (agreed upon).
11. The tasleem — «As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah» to the right and the left.
12. Doing them in order — «pray as you have seen me pray» (al-Bukhari).

Hadith

«صَلُّوا كما رأيتُموني أُصَلِّي» (مالك بن الحويرث؛ البخاري)

The obligatory parts (wajibat) of prayer

Lesser than the arkan: if omitted deliberately, the prayer is invalid ; if omitted by mistake or ignorance, it is corrected by the prostration of forgetfulness (sujud as-sahw).

1. The takbeers of transition between postures (all but the opening takbeer) (Abu Hurayrah; agreed upon).
2. Tasbeeh in ruku and sujud — «Subhana Rabbiy al-Azeem» and «Subhana Rabbiy al-A’la» (Hudhayfah — Muslim; Uqbah — hasan per an-Nawawi).
3. Tasmee’ and tahmeed — the imam/lone worshipper says «Sami’a Allahu liman hamidah» then «Rabbana wa laka’l-hamd»; the follower says only the tahmeed (agreed upon).
4. Saying «Rabb ighfir li» between the two prostrations (Hudhayfah; an-Nasai; sahih per al-Albani).
5. The first tashahhud and sitting for it (an-Nasai; sahih per al-Albani) — «At-tahiyyaatu Lillahi…» (al-Bukhari & Muslim).

The Sunnahs of prayer

• Raising the hands in four places: the opening takbeer, before bowing, on rising from bowing, and on standing after the first tashahhud (Ibn Umar; Abu Humayd).
• Placing the right hand over the left while standing (Sahl ibn Sa’d; Wa’il) — on the chest, above, or below the navel (broad scope).
• The opening supplication (dua al-istiftah) — varying between the narrated ones («Allahumma baa’id bayni…» — agreed upon; «Subhanaka Allahumma…» — Abu Dawud, sahih; «Allahu akbaru kabeera…» — Muslim).
• Seeking refuge before reciting (an-Nahl 16:98), and the Basmalah quietly before al-Fatihah.
• Ta’meen (saying «Aameen») — said aloud in the audible prayers by imam and congregation (al-Bukhari).
• Reciting a surah after al-Fatihah (Abu Hurayrah; agreed upon).
• Reciting aloud in Fajr and the first two rakahs of Maghrib and Isha, and quietly otherwise (Abu Hurayrah; agreed upon).
• Placing the hands on the knees with fingers spread when bowing, back straight and head in line (Ibn Umar; hasan per al-Albani).
• Holding the arms away from the sides in ruku and sujud (Abu Humayd; sahih per al-Albani).
• Extra tasbeeh in ruku and sujud (Anas, of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz; hasan per al-Albani).
• Iftirash sitting (on the left foot, right foot upright) — for the first tashahhud, between the prostrations, and in a two-rakah prayer (Ibn Umar; al-Bukhari).
• Tawarruk sitting — for the final tashahhud in a prayer with two tashahhuds (three narrated forms).
• Pointing with the forefinger in the tashahhud (Ibn Umar; Muslim) and looking at it (an-Nasai; sahih per al-Albani).
• Supplication after the tashahhud, before the tasleem (an-Nasai; sahih per al-Albani).
• Turning right and left for the tasleem (Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas; Muslim).

Description of the prayer

In brief, the prescribed sequence: opening takbeer (raising the hands) → the opening supplication → seeking refuge → al-Fatihah → a further surah → ruku, hands on knees with «Subhana Rabbiy al-Azeem» → rise with tasmee’/tahmeed → sujud on the seven bones, forearms held up and limbs held apart, with «Subhana Rabbiy al-A’la» (three times) and abundant du’a — «in prostration, supplicate much, for it is most deserving of a response» (Muslim)

Hadith

«فأمَّا الرُّكوعُ فعظِّموا فيه الربَّ، وأمَّا السُّجودُ فاجتهِدوا في الدُّعاءِ، فقَمِنٌ أن يُستجابَ لكم» (ابن عباس؛ مسلم)

→ sit (iftirash) with «Rabb ighfir li» → second prostration → stand for the second rakah (no opening supplication). At each first tashahhud, sit in iftirash; for a 3- or 4-rakah prayer, stand and recite al-Fatihah only. For the final tashahhud, sit in tawarruk, adding the salawat («Allahumma salli ala Muhammad…») and seeking refuge from four things (the punishment of Hell and of the grave, and the trials of life-and-death and of the Dajjal) (al-Bukhari & Muslim; Muslim), then du’a, then tasleem to the right and left.

Dhikr after prayer (an-Nisa 4:103): «Laa ilaaha illa Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lah…» (al-Mugheerah; al-Bukhari & Muslim); «Allahumma anta as-salam wa minka as-salam…» (Thawban; Muslim);

Hadith

«لا إلهَ إلا اللهُ وحدَه لا شريكَ له، له المُلكُ وله الحمدُ، وهو على كلِّ شيءٍ قديرٌ» (المغيرة؛ متفق عليه) ۝ «اللهمَّ أنتَ السلامُ، ومنكَ السلامُ، تباركتَ يا ذا الجلالِ والإكرامِ» (ثوبان؛ مسلم)

tasbeeh/tahmeed/takbeer 33/33/34 (as-Sahihayn; and Ka’b ibn Ujrah — Muslim); and the Mu’awwidhatayn after every prayer (at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani).

Actions disliked (makruh) in prayer

• Turning slightly without need — «that is something the Shaytan steals from a person’s prayer» (al-Bukhari);

Hadith

«هو اختلاسٌ يختلِسُه الشيطانُ من صلاةِ العبدِ» (عائشة؛ البخاري)

turning the whole body from the qiblah invalidates the prayer; turning the chest is makruh (some say it invalidates); turning the head/eyes is disliked unless for a reason.

• Resting the forearms on the ground in sujud — «do not spread them like a dog» (al-Bukhari).

Hadith

«اعتَدِلوا في السُّجودِ، ولا يَبسُطْ أحدُكم ذِراعَيهِ انبساطَ الكلبِ» (أنس؛ متفق عليه)

• Tucking up the hair or garment (Ibn Abbas; agreed upon).
• Placing the hands on the hips (Abu Hurayrah; al-Bukhari) — it resembles the Jews.
• Covering the mouth (Abu Dawud & at-Tirmidhi; sahih per al-Albani).
• Interlacing the fingers (Abu Dawud; sahih per al-Albani).
• Excessive movement/fidgeting — «be still in prayer» (Muslim).

Hadith

«اسكُنوا في الصلاةِ» (جابر بن سمرة؛ مسلم)

• Praying when food is ready or while needing to relieve oneself (Muslim) — applying when one genuinely longs for the food and can eat it.

Categories of movement in prayer (five): obligatory (e.g. turning to face the qiblah when told); prohibited (much needless consecutive movement); encouraged (e.g. stepping to fill a gap in the row); permissible (slight movement for a need, or much movement out of necessity); and disliked (slight movement for no need).

Things that invalidate the prayer

• Wudu becoming invalid (purity is a condition).
• Najasah contacting the worshipper, if he is aware and does not remove it at once when able (if unable, he must exit).
• Uncovering the awrah deliberately.
• Turning the back to the qiblah deliberately.
• Speaking deliberately (Zayd ibn Arqam; as-Sahihayn) (al-Baqarah 2:238).
• Laughing out loud — invalidates by consensus.
• The passage of an adult woman, a donkey, or a black dog directly in front, nearer than the place of prostration, with no sutrah (Muslim).
• Omitting an essential part, condition, or obligatory part deliberately without excuse.
• Eating or drinking deliberately — invalidates by consensus (Ibn al-Mundhir).
• Deliberately adding an essential part, or doing them out of order.
• Cancelling the intention.

Benefit — levels of laughing:

smiling does not invalidate the prayer; laughing out loud invalidates it by consensus; chuckling (between the two) invalidates it, per the majority, if two sounds are made.

End of Level 1 — the Book of Purification and the Book of Prayer.

🔗 Related Notes

• TALEB ILM Notes/Zad Academy Notes/Level_1_Notes/AlAqeedah (Islamic Creed)
• TALEB ILM Notes/Zad Academy Notes/Level_1_Notes/Al-Hadith (Prophetic Traditions)
• TALEB ILM Notes/Zad Academy Notes/Level_1_Notes/Al-Tafsir (Qur’anic Exegesis)
• TALEB ILM Notes/Zad Academy Notes/Level_1_Notes/Al-Tarbyiah (Islamic Education)
• TALEB ILM Notes/Zad Academy Notes/Level_1_Notes/Seerah (Biography of Prophet Muhammad)

Last Reviewed: 2026-07-09