According to Islamic scholars, if a person is in the state of Sakarat (nearing death), those present with him should do Zikr, Tasbeeh, and Tahleel. This helps remind the sick person to also remember Allah. Reading Surah Yaseen or similar verses of the Quran at that time is even better.
If the sick person is not in the state of Sakarat, then doing Zikr and Tahleel in front of him is still allowed. After the person dies, it is Sunnah to continue doing Tasbeeh and Tahleel.
As mentioned by Allama Al-Jamal (رحمة الله عليه):
"It is good for those around the dying person to do Zikr aloud so that he remembers Allah. They should say together ‘Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar.’ Reading Surah Yaseen in this situation and even after death is the best practice." (Hashiyat al-Jamal 3/122-123)
According to Islamic scholars, in prayers of three or four rak‘ahs, it is Sunnah to recite durood only up to the words “Allahumma salli ala Muhammad” during the first tashahhud.
According to Islamic scholars, if a person combines a missed fardh prayer with sunnah or rawatib prayer using one intention, then neither of the two prayers will be valid. This is because both types of prayers are separate acts of worship. Combining them means mixing fardh (obligatory) and nafl (voluntary) prayers, which makes the salah invalid.
Imam Al-Ramli explained that joining two prayers like fardh and sunnah with one takbir (opening) and one intention does not make the prayer valid. Likewise, Ibn Baz stated that combining a sunnah prayer with tahiyyat al-masjid (greeting of the mosque) is allowed, but combining two separate sunnah or fardh prayers with one intention is not allowed.
According to Islamic scholars, if any impure thing falls into a liquid other than water—such as milk, oil, or juice—then that liquid becomes impure immediately, even if it is more than two qullah (about 193 liters).
However, if a small animal that has no blood, or has blood that does not flow (like a fly, mosquito, or flea), falls into the liquid, then the milk, oil, or juice does not become impure.
According to Islamic scholars, if an impure cloth falls into water that is less than two qullah, both the cloth and the water become impure. But if the water is more than two qullah and the water does not change in color, taste, or smell due to the cloth, then the cloth and the water both remain pure.
Imam Nawawi (رحمة الله عليه) stated that if a najis cloth is dipped into water less than two qullah, the water becomes impure and the cloth does not become pure. However, when pure water flows over an impure area, it can purify it — but if impure matter falls into a small amount of water, it makes that water impure unless the water is large and unchanged.
Related Questions:
If a person has doubt during wudhu that they may not have washed a certain body part, what should they do in this situation?
According to Islamic scholars, if someone is performing wudhu and becomes doubtful about whether they washed a specific body part or not, they must act on certainty. The Islamic ruling in this case is clear: assume that you have not washed that part yet.
For example, if you are wiping your head and suddenly doubt whether you washed both hands earlier, you should consider that you did not wash them. According to this fatwa, washing the hands again becomes compulsory (wajib) for you. After washing that body part again, you can then continue and complete the rest of your wudhu in the proper order.
Imam Nawawi explains this principle in Al-Majmu: When someone begins wudhu and has doubt during the process about washing certain body parts, they must build upon certainty, which is that they did not wash it. Islamic scholars agree on this ruling without any difference of opinion. The basic principle is that the body part was not washed.
This Islamic ruling helps believers maintain proper purification by following certainty rather than doubt. When performing acts of worship, certainty is always given priority over uncertainty.
Related Questions
According to Islamic scholars, if a person finds water after performing tayammum, it becomes compulsory (wajib) for them to repeat the ghusl using water. This is the clear Islamic ruling on this matter.
Allama Khatib Shirbini (may Allah have mercy on him) explains in his scholarly work that tayammum performed for major ritual impurity (janabah) remains valid only until water becomes available without any obstacle. When a person recovers from their illness while still in a state of purification through tayammum, their tayammum becomes invalid because the excuse (illness) has been removed. At that point, it becomes obligatory to wash the affected area and perform proper ghusl with water.
This fatwa makes it clear that tayammum is a temporary substitute for purification. Islamic scholars agree that once the reason for performing tayammum is no longer present, whether that reason was lack of water or illness, the person must perform the proper purification with water. The Islamic ruling emphasizes that water-based purification is the original requirement, and tayammum only serves as a concession during genuine hardship.
Related Questions
Allah commands in the Holy Quran: "When you touch women and cannot find water, then perform tayammum" (Surah An-Nisa, verse 43).
Islamic scholars have used this verse to establish the Islamic ruling that touching a woman breaks wudu. According to this fatwa, the ablution is invalidated regardless of whether the touching is:
The key condition is that the touching must be skin-to-skin contact without any barrier between them. If there is clothing or any barrier, the wudu remains valid.
According to Islamic scholars, men cannot perform salah behind a woman. Imam Nawawi (رحمة الله عليه) said:
"واتفق أصحابنا علي انه لا تجوز صلاة رجل بالغ ولا صبي خلف امرأة" (المجموع شرح المهذب 3/427)
This means that it is not valid for an adult man or a boy to pray behind a woman.
It is also stated in Minhaj al-Talibin (p.120):
"ولا تَصحُّ قُدوةُ رجلٍ ولا خُنثیٰ بِامراةٍ" — the prayer of a man or an intersex person behind a woman is not valid.
Hazrat Azeef bin Haaris reported that he asked Hazrat Aaisha (may Allah be pleased with her) if she had seen the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performing ghusl of janabah at the beginning of the night or at the end. She replied that sometimes he did it at the beginning of the night and sometimes at the end. Hearing this, Azeef said, “All praise is for Allah who made the matter easy.”
From this hadith, Islamic scholars in the Shafi’i school understand that it is permissible to delay ghusl after janabah. However, it is better and recommended to perform ghusl as soon as possible.
Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said, “It shows that delaying ghusl from its first possible time is allowed.” (Fath al-Bari 1/56)
Imam al-‘Imrani said, “It is allowed for a person in janabah to sleep before ghusl, as reported from Aisha (RA) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to sleep while in janabah without touching water. But it is recommended to make wudu before sleeping.” (Al-Bayan 1/356)
According to Islamic scholars, if someone becomes in a state of janabah (major impurity) on Friday morning and takes a bath before Friday prayer without making the niyyah for fardh ghusl, then that bath will not be counted as the required fardh ghusl. The person must make the intention for the fardh ghusl for it to be valid.
As Imam Nawawi (رحمه الله) explains, if the intention is missing before starting the obligatory act, the act is not valid. Therefore, bathing without niyyah of fardh ghusl is not enough for removing the state of impurity.
Islamic scholars have said that if a latecomer (masbuq) joins the imam during the final tashahud and sits with him, then stands to complete his own salah after the imam ends, he should not recite dua istiftah. This is because the time and place for reciting it has already passed.
According to Islamic scholars in the Shafi’i fiqh, if the water in a pond changes because it has been unused for a long time, it is still allowed to use this water for ablution and Fardh cleanliness. As long as no clear external impurity has affected it, the change is linked to the long period of stillness, and it remains pure and usable.
Islamic scholars from the Shafi'i school say that sitting while doing wudu is better when it helps to avoid water splashes. Normally, when a person sits to make wudu, the water does not splash back on the body. But when standing, there is a chance that water droplets may bounce back. That is why it is better to sit while doing wudu in a place where the water will not splash.
In Shafi’i fiqh, the sunnah method of saying "Allahu Akbar" in the adhan is to place sukoon (no vowel) on the Ra. This is the most preferred way. However, if someone says the takbeers together without a pause between them, then it is better to use pesh (u), saying "Allahu Akbaru." Even if someone uses zabar (a) or pesh (u), it is still allowed. But between zabar and pesh, using pesh is better than zabar.
This fatwa is based on trusted Shafi’i books like I’anat al-Talibin, Nihayat al-Muhtaj, and Hashiyat al-Jamal, where Islamic scholars have explained the proper way clearly.
Is it necessary to say the intention (niyyah) out loud before performing a prayer or any act of worship? Or is having the intention in the heart enough, according to Shafi’i fiqh?
In Islamic law (Shari’ah), niyyah means having the intention in the heart to do a specific act of worship — like praying, fasting, or performing Hajj. According to Shafi’i fiqh, the correct place for intention is the heart, and this is enough for the act to be valid.
However, many Islamic scholars — including those from the Shafi’i, Hanafi, and some Hanbali schools of thought — have stated that saying the intention out loud is recommended (mandub or mustahabb). This means it is not compulsory, but it is better to do so. Why? Because speaking it helps to strengthen the intention in the heart and brings more focus to the act of worship.
Islamic jurist Imam al-Mawardi (رحمه الله), a well-known scholar from the Shafi’i school, explains:
“Intention is an inner belief in the heart, and saying it with the tongue shows and completes what is in the heart. This brings perfection and strength to the intention.” (Al-Hawi al-Kabir, 1/93)
Similarly, Imam al-Suyuti (رحمه الله) summarized two important principles:
Just saying the niyyah with the tongue is not enough without intention in the heart.
But saying it is not required if the heart has made the intention. (Al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair, p. 45)
This means, if a person only says the words of niyyah without truly intending in the heart, then the worship is not valid. But if someone intends in the heart without saying anything, the worship is valid and accepted.
Scholars also pointed out that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ used to say the words of intention during Hajj and Umrah, especially in the form of Talbiyah. From this, they understood that saying niyyah out loud is allowed and even encouraged for other acts of worship.
In summary:
The real niyyah is in the heart.
Saying it out loud is not required, but it is recommended in Shafi’i fiqh.
This ruling is supported by many Islamic scholars from different schools of thought, including Shafi’i, Hanafi, and Hanbali.