Kitab Al-Salaah (The book of Prayer)

Abstract

PRAISE be to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala1) who ordained As-alaat (Prayer) as an act of worship on His servants, and may the utmost peace and blessings of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) be upon His prophet who taught the Ummah (Muslim nation) how best to perform the prayer. I do not intend to write along preface, but I merely wish to make a brief explanation of my reasons for undertaking this work. It is natural that by virtue of its importance, many books have been written in the past about Salaat by different Muslims in different parts of the world - may Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) reward them all for their efforts. And, while a large number of the works so far carried out on Salaat have generally been well appreciated, it is however no secret also that many books on this subject suffer serious shortcomings which notably may be summarized as follows: 1. Apparent lack of subject comprehensiveness in most books. While, certainly, no single writer can comprehend a subject as wide as Salaat, but it is true that many books on this subject only make scanty touch on it. 2. The unfortunate existence in many of the books of various matters such as recitations, supplications and even acts purported to be part of the prayer but which cannot be correctly traced to having been recited and/or performed by the Prophet (PBUH) or even by his rightly guided Caliphs (successors). 3. The absence of arrangement and order in most books with regard to the various matters relating to the prayer. 4. The virtual absence in most books of TRANSLITERATION to the various supplications which a person needs to recite in the course of the prayer. Needless to say, but, the importance of transliteration to the non-Arabic speaking Muslims cannot be overemphasized. In view of the foregoing that the thought of compiling a more appropriate treatise on Salaat arose to me. And it is by the grace of Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) that it is now in our hands although I am quite conscious of how unequal I am to a subject such as this one to which a man of much greater capabilities than myself was required. I am, however, sustained by the conviction that the readers will overlook my shortcomings and treat them with indulgence. In compiling this treatise, I have endeavored to touch over almost all the important aspects of the prayer and there is perhaps no other book which provides such an elaborate account of the subject although, as mentioned earlier. Salaat is just such a wide subject that even this treatise is still in want of much other information on the same but which, lnsha - Allah, shall be taken into account in the next reproduction.