Posts Tagged "bismillah"

The Ruling on Saying the Basmala in Wudu

Posted by on Dec 24, 2011 in Actions Regarding Wudu, Featured | 0 comments

Question: What is the ruling on saying “Bismillah – With Allah’s name” when performing wudu’ (ritual ablution)? What of the narrations used by the Hanbalis to state it is obligatory?

 

Answer:

Alhamdulillah – Allah praise and thanks is to Allah who gives us the ability to worship Him! Peace and blessings be upon Him and His family, and followers!

Imam An-Nawawi (rahmatullah ‘alayh) states in his Minhaj,

“[and it is sunnah to say] The Tasmiyah (i.e. ‘bismillah‘) at the beginning [of wudu']…”

In his At-Tahqiq he states, “The tasmiyah is recommended (mandub) at the beginning of wudu’…”1

The proof for it being recommended is that the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) performed wudu’ saying Bismillah at the beginning.

  1. page 56 Dar Al-Jil [↩]
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Does following an Imam who does not say the Basmalah aloud nullify one's Salah?

Posted by on May 2, 2010 in Featured, Salah | 6 comments

الحمد لله رب العالمين ، وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين، وبالله التوفيق

Imam An-Nawawi says in his Majmu‘,
“There is no disagreement according to us [i.e. the Shafi'is] that it is wajib (obligatory) to recite the Basmalah1 at the beginning of one’s recitation of Surat Al-Fatihah and that Salah is not correct without [reciting] it because it is just like the rest of Fatihah. Ash-Shafi’i and his companions said: And it is Sunnah to recite the basmalah aloud in the prayers that are said aloud and in the [second] surah, and this issue has no disagreement amongst us [Shafi'is].”
[Al-Majmu' Vol 3. page 289 published by Maktabat Al-Irshad, edited by Muhammad Najib Al-Muti'i]
So because it is a Sunnah, here the meaning is a recommended act, to recite the Basmalah aloud in the prayers said aloud (Salat Al-Jahriyyah, i.e. Fajr, Maghrib and ‘Isha’), and not an obligation, it does not nullify one’s Salah if one does not recite it loudly (jahran). If, however, one does not recite the Basmalah at all – even to one’s self (sirran), then one’s Salah is nullified according to the relied upon opinion of the school.
Lastly we would like to mention that it is permitted for the Shafi’i to follow an Imam of another school as long as one is certain that he has not omitted an obligation of the Salah. Ibn Naqib Al-Misri mentions in his ‘Umdat As-Salik, translated by Shaykh Nuh Keller as “Reliance of the Traveller”:
“It is valid for a Shafi`i to follow the leadership of an imam who follows a different school of jurisprudence whenever the follower is not certain that the imam has omitted an obligatory element of the prayer, though if certain the imam has omitted one, it is not valid to follow him. The validity is based solely on the belief of the follower as to whether or not something obligatory has been omitted (والاعتبار باعتقاد المأموم).” [page 183-184 of "Reliance of the Traveller" Revised edition].
والله  أعلم
And Allah Knows Best
Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Department
  1. which is the saying of Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim [↩]
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