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Clarification On Niyyat For Prayer
Asalamualaikum,
During the khutbah today, the imam listed some of the pillars of the prayer. He went over niyyah being one of the pillars, stating that it should be done in the heart. But the way he explained it, I got the impression that he was saying it should be some kind of a declaration. For example, he said that one should acknowledge that they are praying dhur and that it is four rakat long.
I understood niyyat as being consciously aware of doing something. For example, when I sit down to eat, I’m aware that I’m going to eat. I’m not necessarily declaring in my mind that I’m going to eat a meal and that I’m doing it during lunch time, etc.
Can someone please clarify? I’ve seen the video by Ghamidi Sahab, but if the points I made can be addressed directly as well, I’d really appreciate it!
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13 Replies
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Clarification On Niyyat For Prayer
updated 2 years, 2 months ago
4 Members
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13
Replies
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Salam haseeb bhai (not a scholar)…..But
I think no one, no one prays without niyyah, I mean its impossible, since no one prays as a joke.
Based on my experience I would say dont delve into these issues. Just pray naturally.
This super emphasis and saying “chaar rakat parta hon dhur ke” I fear it might cause ppl wahmee issues. This method of really saying niyyat is common in pakistan. Yanee tasalee nahee hui aur niyyat mou sai bolo.If you are praying correctly, and know the correct way to pray (salah) then I see no reason to even have a look at those. I mean the list of thousand things cud really make ppl “wahmee”…..
My sincere advice, just learn once, and not to delve in these minute small things, just as the video you mentioned to me “Namaz Kay Adaab Par Fuqha Ki Behas – Javed Ahmed Ghamidi”
If whatever niiyat method causes you problems, I would say then avoid that method. Because I think habit of doubting is super super dangerous and must be stopped in track.-
JazakAllah Ali Bhai.
I really appreciate you sharing this with me. Honestly, I’ve been trying to stay away from internet fatwas now as much as possible. No doubt, I have benefitted tremendously from them. But at the same time, they’ve caused me so much stress that I’ve had to spend quite some time unlearning and clarifying a lot of what I’ve read.
My goal was only to make sure that I was performing wudu and prayer as best as possible, but I did not anticipate that there would be strict rulings on every little, minute thing. Alhamdullilah for this site and kind folks like you, otherwise I don’t see how I would’ve been able to function every day.
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Niyyah is not just being consciously aware of doing something but purposefully doing it with an intent.
Let’s understand this with the example of eating as you used above. Suppose that you were walking from your bedroom to your living room in order to watch TV and passing by the kitchen counter you happened to just pick up a few grapes to eat even though you weren’t hungry. In contrast, suppose that you were sitting in your bedroom and felt hungry and then decided to go to the kitchen to grab something, and you ended up eating grapes. In both cases you were consciously aware of your action to eat, but in the first case you didn’t intent on it while in the second case you clearly did.
In case of salah, niyyah refers to the intent of actually praying rather than doing it just as an unintentional habit, for example.
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JazakAllah Mr. Faisal Haroon. I think I understand your point. It’s like if I’m washing my face at the sink to wake myself up, but then decide to continue with the next step of wudu after realizing that I’ve just completed the first step. I hope I am correct in my understanding.
Based on your explanation, it seems like I can ignore what the imam said, since I can purposefully perform dhur with intent without having to actively bring to mind that I am praying dhur and that it is four rakat. These are things that I naturally know due to practice. Can you please confirm that I have the right idea?
JazakAllah
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Asalamualaikum,
I was wondering whether I can get any updates here? Much appreciated!
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Yes, uttering the words is not necessary. You just have to intent on praying.
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JazakAllah Mr. Faisal Haroon. That makes sense.
But is there any problem if people do state their prayer and its respective rakats either in mind or out loud? Is it biddah? I saw this written somewhere.
Because I grew up praying in this fashion, but I think it’s mostly a cultural thing. I personally never saw a problem with it, because a person is only going an extra step in making sure they have intent.
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There’s no problem in individually doing it. Bidah / innovation is in asserting that it’s part of religion and imposing it on others.
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JazakAllah Mr. Faisal Haroon.
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I know Mr. Faisal Haroon has already implied this many times in the thread, but if someone can just directly confirm for me for my reassurance. I understand that uttering specific words is not mandatory for intention in religious matters (e.g., prayer, wudu, ghusl, etc.). So in the same way, thinking specific thoughts for the prayer is not necessary either, correct (e.g., number of rakat, specific prayer like dhur, etc.)?
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Yes, but you must be clear in your mind that what you’re trying to do, which is also referred to as intention.
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JazakAllah Mr. Umer Qureshi. One thing that I’ve noticed is that I will form intention before prayer, but when I raise my hands to say takbeerat ul ihram, it won’t specifically be in my mind, since I’m focussed on the action. And then I have to remind myself during Surah Faatiha that I am praying asr, etc. Is this okay as long as I had the intention before beginning prayer and raising my hands to say takbeerat ul ihram?
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That’s perfectly fine.
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