Question: Is it bid’at to talk, to exchange greetings, to say du’a or tasbihat, or to recite the Qur’an between the interval of a sunnat salat and a fard salat or a fard salat and a sunnat salat? If a person performs the sunnat of Salat al-Fajr at home and then goes to the mosque and repeats Kalima at-tawhid or salawat or talks to someone there, what is the ruling on it?
ANSWER
It is written in the book Ni’mat-i Ýslam, which is the translation of Hashiya of Tahtawi on Maraqi al-falah, in its section concerning Voluntary Salats:
“Talking between a fard salat and a sunnat salat or between a sunnat salat and a fard salat does not render the sunnat salat invalid, but it will reduce the thawab of the sunnat. According to the soundest qawl, it is necessary to repeat the sunnat. All types of du’a fall into the category of talking, too.”
The same statements appear in Durr-ul-mukhtar, too: “According to the soundest qawl, the sunnat salat will not be acceptable, so it must be repeated.” This statement is written on the 457th page of the Arabic original of Durr-ul-mukhtar, and on the 711th page in some editions. It appears on the 40th and 41st pages of the third volume of its Turkish translation.
Hadrat Ibn Abidin explains these statements and says that all types of prayers (du'a) are included in this ruling.
You should not say a du’a, a sura or Surat al-Ikhlas three times between a sunnat salat and a fard salat. It would be bid’at if done on a regular basis. Adding something extra to acts of worship means changing our religion. A hadith-i sharif says, “He who does not do acts of worship as we do is not of us.” Therefore, we must perform acts of worship however our Master the Prophet performed them and however our madhhab explained them. Wishing to add something extra would be reforming Islam, which is in no way permissible. It is written in the book Bahr-ur-raiq as well that reciting something between a sunnat salat and a fard salat voids the sunnat salat.
A person who has come to the mosque after performing the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr at home should not talk or recite anything loudly. He can repeat Kalima at-tawhid within his heart without moving his lips, or he can perform tafakkur (meditation). If he has missed salats, he can perform them. He can listen to the Qur’an al-karim if it is being recited.
If he has performed the sunnat salat in the mosque and is waiting for the fard salat, his returning a newcomer’s greeting wipes out the thawab of his sunnat salat, just as reciting something or talking between a sunnat salat and a fard salat does.
Conclusion:
We must do acts of worship as they were prescribed. Treasure is hidden in performing them as they are told. Doing them less or more means being deprived of the treasure. Besides, changing the order may cause one not only to be deprived of the treasure but also to commit bid’at or to fall into disbelief. As one’s purpose is to obey the order and to attain the treasure, one must perform acts of worship in the same way as they were prescribed.
If a person is not on the path of our madhhab imams and Ahl as-sunnat scholars like Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani and does not love them and has not lost himself in their love, he cannot do acts of worship in the way as they were prescribed, even if he has knowledge of them.
Question: When a person finishes a sunnat salat, if one asks him something, does writing the answer on a piece of paper and handing it to him fall into the category of talking?
ANSWER
Yes, it falls into the category of talking. One should not involve oneself in any activity.
Question: We should not say anything between a sunnat salat and a fard salat except for the prayer “Allahumma antas-salam …” Shouldn’t we recite either the prayers that are mentioned in fiqh books to be recited between a sunnat salat and a fard salat?
ANSWER
That one should not recite anything between a sunnat salat and a fard salat is a general rule. There may be an exception to every rule. The following is an exception to the rule at hand:
“Say Surat al-Fatiha 41 times between the sunnat and the fard of Salat al-Fajr, and repeat this procedure for 40 days. Pronounce the last letter (Mim) of the Basmala together with the second letter (Lam) of Surat al-Fatiha [that is, say “… rahim-il-hamdu …”]. Any prayer you will send after this will be accepted. If you breathe it on some water and have an ill or bewitched person drink the water, the latter [if it is not his predestinated time of death] will recover, and the spell will be broken” (Tafsir-i Azizi).
Question: I sometimes catch the imam while he is performing the second rak’at of Salat az-Zuhr. The imam starts saying du’a before I complete my salat. In this case, is it right for me to join the imam in du’a without performing the post-fard sunnat?
ANSWER
It is not correct to talk or say du’a between a fard salat and a sunnat salat or between a sunnat salat and a fard salat. For this reason, you should perform the post-fard sunnat first, then say tasbihat, and then say du’a.
Question: I know that it is impermissible to say even a prayer between a sunnat salat and a fard salat. Is the prayer “Allahumma antas-salaam wa minkas-salaam tabaarakta yaa dhal-jalaali wa-l-ikraam” included in this ruling?
ANSWER
No, it is not included in it. When one says the salam (Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah) at the end of any salat, whether voluntary or obligatory, one should say, “Allahumma antas-salaam wa minkas-salaam tabaarakta yaa dhal-jalaali wa-l-ikraam.” (Radd-ul-mukhtar)
Question: Some hadith-i sharifs recommend reciting certain prayers after fard salats. Should we recite them immediately after finishing the fard salat or after saying du’a on completion of salat?
ANSWER
According to the Hanafi Madhhab, they should be recited after one finishes salat and says du’a because it is not permissible in the Hanafi Madhhab to say du’a between a sunnat salat and a fard salat. (Radd-ul-mukhtar)
Question: After I perform the sunnat salat of a fard salat in the mosque, is returning the greeting of a newcomer considered to be talking between a sunnat salat and a fard salat?
ANSWER
Yes, it is considered to be talking. When a person enters the mosque, he should not talk to or greet those who have performed the sunnat salat and are waiting for the fard salat. As for the person who has offered the sunnat salat and is waiting for the fard salat, he should not talk to anyone or say any prayer or perform any verbal dhikr. He can perform tafakkur or make up a missed salat if there is time.
It falls in the category of talking to say prayers or perform verbal dhikr while one is going to the mosque after performing the sunnat of Salat al-Fajr at home. One should not even return greeting. For this reason, one should not perform the sunnat of Salat al-Fajr at home as there is a possibility that one may have to talk to people.
Question: It is makruh to have a talk or to engage in an activity or to recite anything between a sunnat salat and a fard salat or a fard salat and a sunnat salat. Is it makruh, too, to wait without talking or reciting anything?
ANSWER
Yes, it is makruh. It is written in fiqh books:
When one completes a fard salat that has a post-fard sunnat, one remains seated as long as to say, “Allahumma antas-salaam wa minkas-salaam tabaarakta yaa dhal-jalaali wa-l-ikraam.” Waiting any longer will be makruh. One should stand up immediately to perform the post-fard sunnat. (Radd-ul-mukhtar)
It is sunnat in the Hanafi Madhhab to stand up immediately for post-fard sunnat and not to recite anything in between. Upon completing fard salat, the Messenger of Allah would sit for an amount of time that it takes him to say only, “Allahumma antas-salaam wa minkas-salaam tabaarakta yaa dhal-jalaali wa-l-ikraam” and no more than it. Then he would perform post-fard sunnat immediately. (Maraqi al-falah)
The Messenger of Allah, after saying the salam at the end of salat, would sit only as long as to say “Allahumma antas-salaam wa minkas-salaam tabaarakta yaa dhal-jalaali wa-l-ikraam” (Tirmidhi).
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