Is the sincerity of Intention beneficial to the deed?

Question: Islamic jurists say that it is necessary for the person who is praying that he must have the sincerity of intention and except for the obeying of divine commands nothing else should be the encouragement of this action. On the basis of this if one prays for show off and gaining fame, is invalid because in this there is absence of sincerity of action. Due to this rule if one prays due to force is also invalid because the reason behind its performance is not the obeying of divine commands. As we see that in Islamic countries people are forcefully made to pray and that too in congregation. What is the nature of such an action?

Answer: Leaving aside the detailed discussions of Islamic scholars regarding the essence of worship acts and according to them force and compulsion is also correct. It is said that this type of force initially makes the person perform it but gradually the effect of compulsion wanes off and repeated performance makes him habitual of it. Then only the obedience of divine commands becomes the force behind his performing the worship act. In this condition even if he had performed some prayers under force they would be invalid but from the time the effect of compulsion had worn off he becomes conscious of his religious obligation and the rest of his worship acts shall be based on the sincerity of intention.

In addition to this it can also be said that those people have no other excuse that they reach to the congregation and stand up for prayers. These people can make an intention for prayers due to their own inclination and obtain the rewards of prayers. Otherwise they can also pretend to pray and perform bowing and prostrating like others while they had not made any intention to pray. Thus in such a condition if a person makes an intention to pray his prayer is correct, because he has performed it with sincerity and inclination.

Why do we sometimes recite the Afternoon Prayers at the time of Noon Prayers?

Question: Why do we sometimes recite the Noon Prayers prayer at the earliest hour and then immediately perform the Afternoon Prayers prayer? While it is not the time of Afternoon Prayers? And in the same way sometimes we pray the Noon Prayers prayer at the last moments while its time has already passed?

Answer: Basically we should remember that Noon Prayers and Afternoon Prayers prayer time and in the same way the Evening and Night prayer time denote that in those times no other prayer is permitted.

For example from the beginning of the time of Noon Prayers till when time remains only to perform four Rak’ahs (units) of prayer is the time of Noon Prayers prayer and before the sunset the time for four Rak’ahs is restricted for Afternoon Prayers prayer. And the time between the two is common time for Noon Prayers and Afternoon Prayers.

We shall also remember that of the two prayers each of them has the best time (Waqt-e-Fazilat) and if they are performed during this time its reward is more.

For example the best time of Noon Prayers is from the beginning of Noon Prayers till the shade of a pole is equal to it. At this moment the best time ends and the time of Afternoon Prayers begins. On the basis of this the prayers are named Noon Prayers and Afternoon Prayers due to their best times and not due to the common time when both these prayers could be performed.

One who prays the Afternoon Prayers prayer at the beginning part of Noon Prayers, he has performed his prayer in the correct time and when he makes an intention to perform the Afternoon Prayers prayer he means that he is praying the prayer which from the point of view of its best time is the time of Afternoon Prayers. In any case it is better if one delays the prayer and performs it at the best time of Afternoon Prayers. And in this way if someone performs the Noon Prayers prayer at the end of the day then he has prayed in the common time of prayers and his making an intention for Noon Prayers means that its best time is Noon Prayers and from the aspect of the specified time, the common time and the best time the same is true fro Evening and Night prayers.

Does Prayer have a role in acceptance of all deeds?

Question: I have seen an objection against Muslims in books that the Islamic scholars have written in the books of jurisprudence and traditions that till the Prayer is not accepted the other deeds will not be accepted. And then the book mentions the conditions for acceptance of Prayer that a person cannot fulfill in his whole life. And even if one fulfills it, such a person must be very exceptional and rare. Therefore according to their own statement all the deeds and worship acts they have done all their life will not be accepted. Please explain to me this matter.

Answer: The first thing is that a study of books of Islamic jurisprudence shows that the conditions mentioned therein are not so difficult that no one could fulfill them. Rather some people can pay more attention to their deeds and worship acts and fully comply to those conditions. You can find it yourself if you study the Articles of Islamic Acts. Therefore it is not correct to blame such things on Islam.

Secondly, the acceptance of deeds and worship acts by Allah has many stages and grades. It is possible that they may not achieve the first grade acceptance but may be eligible for lower grade. Basically correct worship has a grade of acceptance. In the same way the acceptance of other deeds too shall depend on the acceptance of Prayer.

This statement could be explained in the way that if the Prayer is correct and performed according to the apparent Islamic laws, it would definitely be accepted by Allah. And as much the heart and conscience of man are clean and as much he refrains from oppression and injustice, the grade of its acceptance would be proportionate to this. Because the value of each deed depends on the mentality and condition of the person who is performing it.

How to Pray and fast in the polar regions?

Question: When we meet some materialists and non-Muslim people they say that how can Islam be a universal religion while its laws be applied only in our areas and area like ours. For example to pray five times a day and fast in the month of Ramadan is not possible at the north and the south poles because there the days and nights are exceptionally long. Some places have a six-month day and a six-month night.

Answer: By divine wisdom, Islamic law has provided the solution to such problems before they arose. On the basis of this, Islamic laws are enforceable without any difference.

The explanation of this statement is that our senior jurisprudents have discussed this problem in their books. For example, the late Kazim Yazdi, who is of our senior jurisprudent. In this book Urwathul Wuthqa he has mentioned this problem and given a clear verdict that the duty of such people is that they must pray and fast according to the timings of areas which have moderate day and nights. But these people should see how long the days and nights in that season are. And then he can fast according to it and perform the five daily prayers.

This matter can also be explained in another way by which all the doubts and objections are dispelled. (Please note).

In the Polar region where the nights and days are long and sometimes the sun is visible in the sky for six months, and it does not set, it goes from one horizon to the other once in every twenty four hour.

In such regions the movement of the sun around the horizon is not the same all the year round. When it circles the horizon once sometimes it goes up and sometimes it comes down and seen in a low lying ground, from this aspect sometimes the surroundings are more lighted and sometimes less. Thus this process is repeated once a day. If you see those pictures which are taken during the movement of sun around the horizon which were taken from those places you will know the facts.

When the sun is at zenith the people living near the poles call it day and they start working when it declines and reaching near the horizon it dims, they call it night and rest.

We should remember that when the sun sign reaches the horizon at the polar region the moderate regions which have equal days and nights, there is actual night.

From the aspect of this calculation the night and day can be determined easily. If a pole is fixed in the ground when the length of its shadow increase little more than its size it is the time of Noon Prayers and Afternoon Prayers and when it becomes the longest, then it would be midnight. And in this way it is easy to determine noon and midnight.

Now if we know the length of days and nights at this time of year in the moderate regions. For example we know that in the beginning of summer the days are normally of fourteen hours and nights are of ten hours, we could easily know the timings of our prayers and fasts etc.

And whatever is mentioned above on the basis of this in long days the responsibility of Prayers and fast have become clear but when the nights are prolonged we should remember that in twenty-four hours the atmosphere is not the same. Rather sometimes it is absolutely dark and sometimes it is lighted a little bit. Sometimes the sun is near the horizon and the atmosphere is misty or darker than this and sometimes the sun moves away from the horizon and the atmosphere becomes dark.

In the nights the position and the movement of the stars, their distance from the horizon and in the same way the darkness and brightness of the atmosphere could help us to determine the noon and midnight and keeping in view the median length of days and nights in the moderate regions, the religious duties can be performed.

The above-mentioned explanations show that the duties of Prayer and fasting along with the other Islamic duties are not applicable to only one particular area and they can be acted upon in all the regions.