Prayer and its rules Part 4

Conditions for dress worn during prayers

- There are six conditions for the dress used in Prayer: 

* It should be clean. 

* It should be mubah (permissible for him to use). 

* It should not be made of the parts of a dead body. 

* It should not be made of the carcass, whose meat is haraam. 

* If a person who offers prayers is a male, his dress must not be made of pure silk. 

* If a person who offers prayers is a male, his dress must not be embroidered with gold. The details of these will follow later. 

- The dress of a person who offers prayers should be clean. Therefore, if he prays with najis body, or dress, in normal situations, his prayers would be void. 

- If a person did not care to know that Prayer offered with najis body or dress is void, and he prayed in that state, his prayers is void. 

- If a person did not care to learn the rule that a particular thing is najis, like, if he does not know that the sweat of a Kafir is najis, and he prayed with it, his prayer is void. 

- If a person was sure that his body or dress was not najis, and came to know after Prayer, that either of them was najis, the prayers are in order. 

- If a person forgets that his body or dress is najis, and remembers during Prayer, or after completing Prayer, as an obligatory precaution, he should repeat the prayers again, if his forgetting was due to carelessness. And if the time has elapsed, he should give its Qadha. If it was not due to carelessness, it is not necessary to repeat the pray again, except when he remembers during Prayer, in which circumstances, he will act as explained below. 

- If a person has ample time at his disposal while offering prayers, and he realizes during the prayers that his clothes are najis, and suspects that they may have been najis before he started the prayers, he should wash it, or change it, or take it off, provided that by so doing, his Prayer does not become invalidated, and continue with the Prayer to its completion. 
But if he has no other dress to cover his private parts, or washing the dress, or taking it off may invalidate his Prayer, he should, as an obligatory precaution, repeat his Prayer with clean clothes. 

- When a person is praying, and the time at his disposal is short, and during the prayers he realizes that his clothes are najis, and suspects that they may have been najis before he started the prayers, he should wash it, change, it or take it off provided that in so doing his Prayer is not invalidated, and complete the Prayer. But if he has no other clothes which would cover his private parts if he took off the dress, nor can he wash or change it, he should complete his Prayer with the same najis dress. 

- When a person is praying, and the time at his disposal is short, and during the prayers he realizes that his body has become najis, suspecting that it may have been so before he started the prayers, he should wash that najasat off his body, if by so doing his Prayer is not invalidated. But if it invalidates his prayer, then he should complete his Prayer in the same state, and his Prayer will be valid. 

- If a person doubts whether his body or dress is clean, and if he did not find anything najis after investigation, and prayed, his Prayer will be valid even if he learns after Prayer that his body or dress was actually najis. But if he did not care to investigate, then as an obligatory precaution, he will repeat the prayers. If the time has elapsed, he will give its Qadha. 

- If a person washes his dress, and becomes sure that it has become clean, and offers prayers with it, but learns after the prayers that it had not become clean, his prayers are in order. 

- If a person sees blood on his body or dress, and is certain that it is not one of the najis bloods, like, if he is sure that it is the blood of a mosquito, and if after offering the prayers, he learns that it was one of those bloods with which prayers cannot be offered, his prayers are in order. 

- If a person is sure that the blood which is on his body or dress, is a type of najis blood which is allowed in Prayer, like, the blood from wound or a sore, but comes to know after having offered his prayers, that it is the blood which makes prayers void, his prayers will be in order. 

- If a person forgets that a particular thing is najis, and his wet body or dress touches that thing, and then he offers prayers forgetfully, recollecting after the prayers, his prayer is in order. In such situation, if he does Ghusl without first making his body clean, and then proceeds to pray, both his Ghusl and Prayer will be void, unless he is sure that in the process of doing Ghusl, his body also became clean. 
Similarly, if any part of Wudhu is washed without first making it clean, and prayers are offered, both Wudhu and the prayers will be void, unless he is sure that in the process of Wudhu, that part, which he had forgotten to be najis, had become clean. 

- If a person possesses only one dress, and if his body and dress both are najis, and if the water in his possession is just enough to make one of them clean, the obligatory precaution is to make the body clean, and offer prayers with the najis dress. It is not permissible to wash the dress, and pray with najis body. However, if the najasat of the dress is more, or intense, then he has an option to make either of them clean. 

- A person who does not have any dress other than a najis one, should offer prayers with that najis dress, and his prayers will be in order. 

- If a person has two sets of dresses, and knows that one of them is najis, but does not know which, and has sufficient time at his disposal, he should offer prayers with each one of them.

For example, if he wishes to offer Zuhr and Asr prayers, he should offer one Zuhr prayer and one Asr prayer with each set. However, if the time at his disposal is short, he may offer the prayers with either of them, and it will be sufficient. 

- The dress which a person uses for offering prayers should be Mubah. Hence, if a person knows that it is haraam to use an usurped dress, or does not know the rule on account of negligence, and intentionally offers prayers with the usurped dress, as a precaution, his prayers would be void. 

But if his dress includes such usurped things which alone cannot cover the private parts, or even if they can cover the private parts, he is not actually wearing them at that time (for example, a big handkerchief which is in his pocket) or if he is wearing the usurped things together with a Mubah covering, in all these cases, the fact that such extra things are usurped would not affect the validity of the prayers; although, as a precautionary measure, their use should be avoided. 

- If a person knows that it is haraam to wear usurped dress, but does not know that it makes prayers void, and if he intentionally offers prayers with usurped dress, as a precaution, his prayers will be void, as explained in the foregoing article. 

- If a person does not know that his dress is usurped, or forgets about it being usurped, and offers prayers with it, his prayers is in order, provided that he himself is not the usurper. If he himself is the usurper, his Prayer, as a precaution, will be void. 

- If a person does not know or forgets that his dress is a usurped one, and realizes it during prayers, he should take off that dress, provided that his private parts are covered by another thing, and he can take off the usurped dress immediately without the continuity of the prayers being broken.

And if his private parts are not covered by something else, or he cannot take off the usurped dress immediately, or the continuity of the prayers is not maintained if he takes if off, and if he has time for at least one Rak'at, he should break the prayers and offer prayers with a dress which has not been usurped. But if he does not have so much time, he should take off the dress while praying, and complete the prayers according to the rules applicable to the prayers on nakedness. 

- If a person offers prayers with a usurped dress to safeguard his life or, for example, to save the dress from being stolen by a thief, his prayers are in order. 

- If a person purchases a dress with the particular sum of money whose khums has not been paid by him, then Prayer in that dress will amount to the Prayer in a dress which has been usurped. 

- The dress of the person, including those which alone would not cover the private parts, as an obligatory precaution, should not be made of the parts of the dead body of an animal whose blood gushes when killed. And the recommended precaution is that even if the dress is made of the parts of the dead body of an animal whose blood does not gush (for example, fish or snake), it should not be used while offering prayers. 

- If the person, who offers prayers, carries with him parts from a najis carcass, which are counted as living parts, like, its flesh and skin - the prayers will be in order. 

- If a person who offers prayers has with him parts from a carcass, whose meat is halal, and which is not counted as a living part, e.g. its hair and wool, or if he offers prayers with a dress which has been made from such things, his prayers are in order. 

- The dress of one who is praying, apart from the small clothes like socks which would not ordinarily serve to cover the private parts, should not be made of any part of the body of a wild animal, nor, as an obligatory precaution, of any animal whose meat is haraam.

Similarly, his dress should not be soiled with the urine, excretion, sweat, milk or hair of such animals. However, if there is one isolated hair on the dress, or if he carries with him, say, a box in which any such things have been kept, there is no harm. 

- If the saliva, or water from the nose, or any other moisture, from an animal whose meat is haraam to eat, like that of a cat, is on the body or the dress of a person in Prayer, and if it is wet, the Prayer will be void. But if it has dried up, and if its substance has been removed, then the prayer is valid. 

- If hair and sweat and saliva of another person is on the body, or the dress of a person offering prayers, there is no harm in it. Similarly, there is no harm if animal products, like wax, honey or pearls are with him while he prays. 

- If the person offering prayers, doubts whether his dress is made of the parts of an animal whose meat is halal, or with the parts of the animal whose meat is haraam, he is allowed to offer prayers with it, irrespective of whether it has been made locally or imported. 

- It is not known whether a pearl oyster is one of the parts of an animal whose meat is haraam, therefore it is permissible to offer prayers with it. 

- There is no harm in wearing pure fur, and similarly the fur of a grey squirrel, while offering prayers. However, recommended precaution is that one should not offer prayers with the hide of a squirrel. 

- If a person prayed with a dress about which he did not know that it was made of the parts of an animal whose meat is haraam, or if he forgot about it, he should, as a recommended precaution repeat his pray again. 

- The use of a dress embroidered with gold is haraam for men, and to pray in such dress will make Prayer void. But for women its use, whether in prayers or otherwise, is allowed. 

- It is haraam for men to wear gold, like hanging a golden chain on one's chest, or wearing a gold ring, or to use a wrist watch or spectacles made of gold, and the prayers offered wearing these things will be void. But women are allowed to wear these things in prayers or otherwise. 

- If a person did not know, or forgot that his ring or dress was made of gold, or had a doubt about it, his prayers will be valid if he prayed wearing them. 

- In Prayer, the dress of a man, even his small scalp cap, or the laces for fastening the pajama, or trousers, should not be made of pure silk. The latter two are as a measure of recommended precaution. However, for men it is haraam to wear pure silk at any time. 

- If the entire lining of a dress or a part of it is made of pure silk, wearing it is haraam for a man, and offering prayers with it will make it void. 

- If a man does not know whether a particular dress is made of pure silk, or of something else, it is permissible for him to wear it, and there is also no harm in offering prayers while wearing it. 

- There is no harm if a silken handkerchief, or anything similar is in the pocket of a man, it does not invalidate the prayers. 

- A woman is allowed to wear silken dress in Prayer, and at all other times. 

- When one is helpless, having no alternative, one can wear usurped dress, or dress made of gold fabrics, or of silk. Similarly, if a person is obliged to wear a dress, and has no other dress but one of those mentioned, he can offer prayers with such dresses. 

- If a person does not have any dress but the usurped one, and if he is not forced to put on that dress, he should pray according to rules prescribed for the one who has to offer Prayer unclothed. 

- If a person does not have a dress, except the one made of the parts of the wild animal, and if he is obliged to put on that dress, he is allowed to pray with that dress. But if it is not necessary for him to put on a dress, he should act accordingly to the rules for the unclothed. 
But if the dress available is not from a wild beast, but from the parts of an animal whose meat is haraam, and if he is not in any way obliged to wear it, then, as an obligatory precaution, he should pray twice; once with that dress, and again according to the rules applicable to unclothed person. 

- If a person does not have a dress other than a dress which is made of pure silk or is woven with gold, and if he is not obliged to wear any dress, he should offer prayers in accordance with the rules applicable to the unclothed. 

- If a person does not have anything with which he may cover his private parts in Prayer, it is obligatory on him to procure such a thing on hire, or to purchase it. However, if it is going to cost him more than he can afford, or, if he spends for the clothes, it would cause him some harm, he can offer Prayer according to the rules prescribed for the unclothed person. 

- If a person does not have a dress, and another person presents or lends him a dress, he should accept it, if the acceptance will not cause any hardship to him. In fact, if it is not difficult for him to borrow, or to seek for a gift, he should do so, from the one who may be able to give. 

- Wearing a dress whose cloth, colour, or stitch, is not befitting to the status of a person, or is unusual for him, is haraam if it is undignified or humiliating. But if he offers Prayer with such a dress, even if it is only enough to cover his private parts, his prayers will be valid. 

- If a man wears the dress of a woman, or a woman wears the dress of a man, adopting it as a usual garb, as a precaution, this is haraam. But praying in that dress, in any situation, will not invalidate Prayer. 

- For a person who has to pray while lying down, it is not permissible in Prayer to use a blanket or a quilt made of the parts of a wild beast, or, as an obligatory precaution, an animal whose meat is haraam, or of silk, or if it is najis, if he wraps it around in such a way that it can be seen as worn.

But if he only draws it upon himself, there will be no harm, and his Prayer will not be affected. As for the mattress, there is no objection at all, except when he wraps a part of it around his body, making it to look like wearing. If he does so, then the same rule as that of quilt will apply.