CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS AT HOME

Introduction:

Salah is the most important worship of all. It is the coolness of Prophet Muhammad’s (peace &
blessings of Allah be upon him) eyes. He (peace be upon him) ascended the heavens to receive this gift from His Lord. Some of the pillars of Islam are to be performed annually, some just once in a lifetime.

Salah is ordained Eive times a day for our entire, adult life.
To perform Salah in congregation (jama’a) is a stressed Sunna (Sunna Mu’akkada). The natural place for this congregation is the mosque, but such is the immense beneEit of congregational prayers that it is stressed outside it too. When Muslims read together, it creates an amazing sense of togetherness and love. When they do not, Muslims are depriving themselves of twenty-seven times more reward in comparison to a solitary Salah (Sahih al-Bukhari). Moreover, they are potentially harming themselves.

Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) warned that when three Muslims
gather and they do not establish prayer together in jama’a, they are attracting the lure of the Devil, for “the wolf only attacks the lone sheep” (Sunan al-Nasa’i).

Jama’a prayers at home The Azan should still be recited at home, since it brings so much blessings & spiritual protection. A male member of the household – young or old – can recite the Azan for the Salah, though the Salah can be done without it. In the absence of men, women will not give the Azan or the Iqama.
From the adult male members, the one most learned on the Qur’an and Sunna will lead the prayer, after a male performs the Iqama.
1. All male Jama’at
1a. Father and son only

The father will lead the prayer, with the son slightly behind him on the right. ‘Slightly behind’ means that when they line up standing, the son’s feet should not be equal to that of his father’s. His toes should be equal to the father’s heels.
1b. Father and more than one male behind him

The father will lead the prayer, with the others a Saff behind them.
2. Mixed male & female Jama’at
2a. Husband and wife alone

The husband will stand forward and the wife will read one full Saff (row)behind. They will not be
slightly behind one another. The husband will also give the Iqama.
2b. Husband, wife and one male child

The husband will lead the prayer, the child will stand slightly behind him, and the wife will perform Salah in a separate row.
2c. Husband, wife and male children

The husband will lead the prayer, the children will form the next Saff behind him, and the wife (and other female members) will perform Salah in the third row.
2d. Husband, wife and mixed children

The husband will lead the prayer, the male children in the Saff behind, followed by female children and female adults in the Saff behind.
3. All female Jama’at
In HanaEi Fiqh, an all female Jama’a is strongly discouraged.
Dr. HaEiz Ather Hussain al-Azhari
@haEiz_ather