skills/sistani-guidance/references/books/worship/pages-049-060.md

# Summary of the Rules of Worship

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## PDF PAGE 49

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49 | S u m m a r y  o f  t h e  R u l e s  o f  W o r s h i p
Traveler’s Prayer
Issue 103: A traveler must shorten the four-unit prayers (Ẓuhr,
ʿAṣr, and ʿIshā) to two units, similar to the Fajr prayer. Shortening
the prayer requires meeting eight conditions:
1. The traveler must intend to travel the legal distance,
approximately 44 kilometers one way or a total of 44 kilometers
round trip or more. The legal distance is calculated from the point
beyond which a person is considered a traveler by common
standards, usually from the borderline of the city where he lives.
2. The traveler’s intention to travel must be continuous, meaning
he should not change his intention midway.
3. The traveler should not intend to stay for ten days at a place,
nor remain undecided for thirty days in one place, and should not
pass through his hometown or a place of residence since passing
through and staying at these places interrupts the travel.
4. The travel should be for a lawful purpose; it should not be for
committing a sin.
5. The travel should not be for the purpose of hunting with the
object of sport and pleasure.
6. The traveler should not be among those who have their homes
with them, such as nomads.
7. The traveler should not be someone who travels frequently,
either due to the nature of his job (like drivers or sailors) or
because his workplace is in another city and he commutes daily.
8. The traveler must reach the point of tarakhkhuṣ (a distance
from the city where the inhabitants of the city and its adjacent
residential areas are no longer visible).1
Issue 104: If the travel meets the aforementioned conditions, the
traveler is required to shorten his prayer unless one of the
following occurs:
1. Passing through or staying in his hometown or place of
residence.
1 Tarakhkhuṣ is a point beyond which travelling begins. However, if a person
is not in his hometown, the rule of tarakhkhuṣ will not apply to him. Just as
he travels from his place of residence, his prayers will be shortened.
```

## PDF PAGE 50

```text
2. Intending to stay for ten days in a specific city.
3. Remaining undecided in a specific city for thirty days without
intending to stay.
In such cases, the traveler’s duty changes from shortened prayers
to full prayers unless he starts a new journey.
Issue 105: The term "hometown or place of residence" refers to
one of the following:
1. The original hometown, typically the place where the person
was born and to which he is commonly associated.
2. A place a person has decided to permanently reside and spend
the rest of his life.
3. A place where a person stays for an extended period such that
he is no longer considered a traveler, like someone staying in
another city for work or study for a year and a half or more.
Issue 106: If a traveler intends to stay in a city for ten days and
changes his mind before performing a single four-unit prayer, he
must shorten his prayers. However, if he changes his mind after
performing one four-unit prayer, he must continue performing
full prayers as long as he is in that city.
Issue 107: If someone required to shorten his prayer performs it
fully, several scenarios arise the most important of which are the
following:
1. If this was due to ignorance of shortening prayers for travelers
or ignorance of the obligation of shortening prayers on him, his
prayer is valid.
2. If this was due to ignorance of a specific rule, like not knowing
that the outward and return distances when combined causes the
prayer to be shortened, he should, as an obligatory precaution,
repeat the prayer if he finds out during the prayer time. If he finds
out after the prayer time, he is not required to make it up.
3. If this was due to forgetting he was a traveler or forgetting that
travelers must shorten their prayers, he should repeat the prayer
if he finds out during the prayer time. If he finds out after the
prayer time, he is not required to make it up.
Issue 108: If someone, who is required to perform full prayers,
shortens them, his prayer is invalid, and he must repeat it or make
```

## PDF PAGE 51

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51 | S u m m a r y  o f  t h e  R u l e s  o f  W o r s h i p
it up. However, if a traveler intending to stay for ten days shortens
his prayer due to ignorance of the rule that he must perform full
prayers, he should, as an obligatory precaution, repeat the prayer
upon learning the correct ruling.
Issue 109: If someone is not a traveler at the beginning of the
prayer time and then travels before performing the prayer, he
should, as an obligatory precaution, perform the prayer in a
shortened form during the journey. If he were a traveler at the
beginning of the prayer time but does not perform the prayer until
he returns to his hometown or a place where he intends to stay for
ten days, he should, as a precaution, perform the prayer in full.
Hence, the rule for shortening or performing the prayer in full
depends on the time of performing the prayer, not the time it
becomes obligatory.
Issue 110: A traveler is allowed to choose between performing
his prayer in full or shortening it in four places, such as the holy
city of Mecca, the holy city of Medina, the city of Kūfa (including
the Mosque of Sahla), and the tomb of Imam Husayn (peace be
upon him) within approximately eleven and a half meters from
the holy grave.
Qaḍā Prayer
Issue 111: If a person does not perform his daily obligatory
prayers or performs them incorrectly until the time for the prayer
has passed, he must make up (qaḍā) for that prayer outside its
prescribed time. There are three exceptions to this rule:
1. Prayers missed by a child who has not reached puberty, an
insane person, or an unconscious person, provided that the
unconsciousness was not due to his own actions. If it was, the
obligatory precaution is that he should make up the prayer.
2. Prayers missed by a woman during menstruation or postnatal
bleeding.
3. Prayers missed by an original non-Muslim, not an apostate.
Issue 112: Qaḍā prayers for daily obligatory prayers can be
performed whether a person is traveling or not, and at any time
of day or night. However, a prayer missed while at home should
be made up in full, even if the person is traveling when
performing the qaḍā. Conversely, a prayer missed while traveling
```

## PDF PAGE 52

```text
should be made up as a shortened prayer, even if the person is not
traveling when performing the qaḍā.
Issue 113: If a person misses a prayer while being a traveler at
the beginning of the prayer time and a non-traveler at the end (or
vice versa), the qaḍā prayer should reflect his status at the end of
the prayer time. Therefore, if the person was a traveler at the end
of the prayer time, he should perform the qaḍā prayer as a
shortened prayer, even if he is now in his hometown. If he was
not a traveler at the end of the prayer time, he should perform the
qaḍā prayer in full, even if he is now traveling.
Issue 114: It is not necessary to observe sequence (tartīb) when
making up daily obligatory prayers, except for prayers where the
sequence is a condition for their validity, such as the Ẓuhr (noon)
and ʿAṣr (afternoon) prayers of the same day, or the Maghrib
(sunset) and ʿIshā (night) prayers of the same night. Thus, it is
not permissible to perform the qaḍā of the ʿAṣr prayer before the
Ẓuhr prayer of the same day.
Issue 115: If a believer does not perform his prayer due to an
excuse and does not make up for it until he dies, and he had the
opportunity to do so, it is obligatory, based on precaution, for the
eldest son to make up for these prayers on behalf of the deceased.
This is provided that the eldest son was not a minor or insane at
the time of the father's death and was not legally disinherited. In
these cases, the obligation does not apply to the eldest son. The
eldest son does not need to perform the prayers personally; he can
hire someone to do so. If someone else undertakes to perform the
deceased's qaḍā prayers, the eldest son is relieved of this duty. If
the father deliberately neglected his prayers, the eldest son is not
obligated to make them up.
Prayer of Signs (Ṣalāt al-Ᾱyāt)
Issue 116: One of the obligatory prayers is the Prayer of Signs
(Ṣalāt al-Ᾱyāt), which becomes obligatory during a solar eclipse
(kusūf) or lunar eclipse (khusūf). It also becomes obligatory, as an
obligatory precaution, during an earthquake. The time for Ṣalāt
al-Ᾱyāt during a solar or lunar eclipse is from the beginning of
the eclipse until the sun or moon returns to its normal state. For
earthquakes, the prayer should be performed without delay.
Issue 117: Ṣalāt al-Ᾱyāt consists of two rakʿahs (units of prayer),
and each rakʿah has five rukūʿs. To perform this prayer, after the
```

## PDF PAGE 53

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53 | S u m m a r y  o f  t h e  R u l e s  o f  W o r s h i p
initial takbīr and reciting Sūrah al-Ḥamd, the worshipper should
choose another sūrah, such as Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ, and divide it into
five parts. The obligatory precaution is not to recite "Bismillah…"
alone as one part. Thus, the worshipper should recite the first
section (e.g., "Bismillāhir-raḥmānir-raḥīm. Qul huwa Allāhu
aḥad") and then perform rukūʿ. After rising from rukūʿ, the
second part (e.g., "Allāhu ṣamad") is recited, followed by another
rukūʿ. This process continues with the third part "lam yalid", the
fourth part "wa lam yūlad", and the fifth part "wa lam yakun lahu
kufuwan aḥad", each followed by a rukūʿ. After the fifth rukūʿ,
the worshipper performs two prostrations, stands up, and
performs the second rakʿah in the same manner. The prayer
concludes with the tashahhud (testimony of faith) and salām
(greetings) as in regular daily prayers.
Issue 118: If someone is aware of a solar or lunar eclipse and
deliberately or out of forgetfulness does not perform the Prayer
of Signs (Ṣalāt al-Ᾱyāt) until the time passes, it is obligatory to
make it up. However, if he was unaware of the eclipse until the
time passed, qaḍā is obligatory only if the eclipse was total (the
entire disk of the sun or moon was obscured). If the eclipse was
not total, qaḍā is not obligatory.
Friday Prayer
Issue 119: The Friday prayer consists of two rakʿahs similar to
the Fajr prayer, but with the addition of two sermons (khuṭbahs).
This prayer is performed in place of the Ẓuhr prayer on Fridays.
During the occultation of Imam al-Mahdī (may Allah hasten his
reappearance), if all the conditions for holding Friday prayer is
fulfilled, the duty-bound person has the choice to attend the
Friday prayer or to perform the Ẓuhr prayer, even if it is at the
beginning time of the prayer.
Some conditions for the validity of the Friday prayer and its
sufficiency in place of the Ẓuhr prayer are:
1. The prayer must be performed in congregation with a
minimum of five people including the Imam.
2. The prayer leader must meet the conditions required for
leading a congregational prayer, such as being just (ʿādil) and
meeting other criteria as mentioned in the conditions for
congregational prayer (refer to Issues 99 and 100).
```

## PDF PAGE 54

```text
3. The prayer leader must deliver two sermons before the prayer.
4. No other Friday prayer should be held within a radius of five
and a half kilometers.
Rules of Fasting
Fasting during the holy month of Ramaḍān is one of the most
significant obligations in Islam. It is narrated from Imam Ṣādiq
(peace be upon him) that he said: "Whoever breaks one day of
fasting during the month of Ramaḍān [without a valid
excuse], the spirit of faith departs from him."
Issue 120: The conditions that make fasting in the month of
Ramaḍān obligatory are:
1. The person must be of age (bāligh). Thus, fasting is not
obligatory for minors, although it is recommended to train them
to fast as much as they can. For instance, it is good to instruct a
child to fast from morning until noon (or slightly more or less) to
get accustomed to fasting.
2. The person must be sane.
3. The person must not be unconscious.
4. The person must be free from menstruation or postnatal
bleeding. Therefore, fasting is not obligatory for a woman during
menstruation or postnatal bleeding, and fasting in such states is
invalid. However, she must make up for those missed fasts later.
5. Fasting must not be harmful. If fasting causes harm to a sick
person, such as worsening his illness, delaying his recovery, or
increasing his pain, then fasting is not obligatory. In all these
cases, the harm must be significant enough to be normally
unbearable.
6. The person must not be traveling. Therefore, fasting is not
obligatory for a traveler whose duty is to shorten the prayers. In
fact, if such a person observes fast, his fast would not be valid.
There are exceptions to this rule:
A) If a person was unaware that fasting is invalid during travel
and fasted, and later learned the rule after completing the fast, his
fast is valid and he does not have to make it up.
```

## PDF PAGE 55

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55 | S u m m a r y  o f  t h e  R u l e s  o f  W o r s h i p
B) If a person starts traveling after midday (Adhān al-Ẓuhr), it is
obligatory as a measure of precaution to complete the fast of that
day and he should suffice to it.
C) If a traveler returns to his hometown before midday and has
not engaged in any acts that invalidate the fast, it is necessary as
an obligatory precaution that he form his intention to fast on that
day and it will suffice.
If a person intends to travel before midday, it is not permissible
for him to break the fast in his hometown or after leaving it until
he reaches the limit of tarakhkhus (a distance beyond which he is
reckoned to be a traveler), which was explained in the eighth
condition of Issue 103.
Issue 121: The start of the month of Ramaḍān is determined by:
1. Personally sighting the new moon with the naked eye. Thus, if
the moon is not visible with the naked eye, seeing it through a
telescope or similar means is not sufficient.
2. Two just men testify that they have seen the new moon, and
there is no knowledge of their error, and their testimony is not
contradicted- even in a legal sense. By "not contradicted in a legal
sense," we mean that there are no factors preventing the
acceptance of their testimony. For instance, if a large group of
people in the city attempts to sight the new moon but no one other
than those two just witnesses claims to have seen it.
3. The completion of thirty days since the beginning of Shaʿbān.
4. Widespread and reliable news among the people about the
sighting of the new moon, creating certainty or strong confidence
in its occurrence. Announcements on audio-visual media do not
have the same credibility.
On the day when one doubts whether it is the last day of Shaʿbān
or the first day of Ramaḍān, it is not permissible to fast with the
intention of Ramaḍān. However, one can fast with the intention
of making up for a missed fast or as a recommended fast of
Shaʿbān. If it is later confirmed to be Ramaḍān, the fast will count
for Ramaḍān.
On the day when one doubts whether it is the last day of Ramaḍān
or the first day of Shawwal, it is not permissible to break the fast
until it is confirmed by one of the methods mentioned that the
new moon was sighted the previous night.
```

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Issue 122: Fasting is when a person, intending to humble himself
and express servitude before the Almighty God, refrains from
certain things called 'mufṭirāt' (invalidators) from the time of
dawn until sunset. These invalidators that break the fast include:
1. Eating and drinking intentionally, regardless of the amount. If
done unintentionally, the fast remains valid, such as someone
who forgets he is fasting and eats or drinks.
2. Intentional sexual intercourse from the front or back, whether
the person is the initiator or the recipient.
3. Intentional masturbation, meaning the deliberate act of causing
ejaculation, even if done through permissible actions like
foreplay with a spouse. However, experiencing a nocturnal
emission during the day does not invalidate the fast, nor does
failing to perform the required ritual purification (ghusl) until the
end of the day.
4. Vomiting intentionally.
5. Deliberately administering an enema with water or any other
liquid.
6. As an obligatory precaution, deliberately ascribing a lie to
Almighty Allah, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his
progeny), or one of the infallible Imams (peace be upon them).
7. As an obligatory precaution, deliberately inhaling thick dust or
allowing thick smoke to reach the throat.
Issue 123: If a person enters the state of major ritual impurity
(janābah) owing to sexual intercourse or ejaculation at night
during the month of Ramaḍān, he must perform ghusl (ritual
purification) before the dawn. If he cannot perform ghusl due to
illness or another valid reason, he must perform tayammum (dry
ablution). Similarly, if a woman becomes pure from menstruation
or postnatal bleeding during the night in Ramaḍān, she must
perform ghusl before dawn. In both cases, if she deliberately fails
to perform ghusl for janābah, menstruation, or postnatal
bleeding, or tayammum as a substitute, before dawn, she must
make up for that day and abstain from invalidators of fasting
throughout the day with the general intention of seeking
proximity to Allah (qurbah muṭlaqah).
Issue 124: If a person enters the state of janābah during the night
of Ramaḍān and is confident that he will wake up before the dawn
```

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57 | S u m m a r y  o f  t h e  R u l e s  o f  W o r s h i p
(due to habit or other reasons) and goes to sleep with the intention
of performing ghusl upon waking, but does not wake up until
dawn, his fast is valid. If this person wakes up before dawn and
goes back to sleep but does not wake up until dawn, he must make
up for that day’s fast as a punishment.1
Issue 125: If a person invalidates his fast during Ramaḍān by
eating, drinking, engaging in sexual intercourse, masturbating, or
remaining in a state of janābah until dawn deliberately and
willingly, without compulsion or necessity, he must not only
make up for the missed fast (qaḍā) but also perform a kaffāra
(expiation). The kaffāra for deliberate breaking of a fast is to
either free a slave for each day, or fast for two consecutive
months, or feed sixty poor people. For feeding each poor person,
it suffices to give 750 grams of dates, wheat, bread, pasta, or any
food item. It is not sufficient to give money equivalent to the
food.
Issue 126: Kaffāra for breaking a fast is obligatory for someone
who knows that fasting is obligatory and is aware that the act he
did invalidates the fast. If someone ignorantly believes that
fasting is not obligatory or that a particular act does not invalidate
fasting and he breaks the fast, kaffāra does not become obligatory
upon him. For example, if someone thinks he has not reached the
age of religious duty and does not fast, or believes that a
particular invalidator does not break the fast and does it, kaffāra
is not obligatory on him in both cases. However, knowledge of
the obligation of kaffāra is not a condition for its obligation.
Issue 127: If a person misses a fast during Ramaḍān, whether
with a valid excuse or without, he must make up for it during
other days of the year, except on the days of Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid
al-Aḍḥa, when fasting is strictly forbidden. There are exceptions
to the obligation of making up missed fasts:
1. A person who remains ill throughout the year until the next
Ramaḍān, making it impossible to make up the missed fasts, is
exempt from making up the fasts but must give a fidya
(compensation). This involves giving approximately 750 grams
of food to a poor person for each missed fast.
1 That is, he will fast on that day and also make up for that day after
Ramaḍān.
```

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```text
2. Elderly people for whom fasting is extremely difficult and
burdensome are exempt from both fasting and making up the
missed fasts, but must give a fidya for each day. If fasting is
completely impossible for them, even fidya is not required.
3. A person with a condition that prevents him from becoming
satiated, no matter how much water he drinks, has the same ruling
as the elderly.
Issue 128: A woman close to childbirth (in the eighth or ninth
month of pregnancy) who finds fasting harmful to herself or her
baby, and a breastfeeding woman whose milk is insufficient and
finds fasting harmful to herself or her baby, may break their fast
during Ramaḍān but must make up for it later and give fidya for
each missed day.
Issue 129: It is recommended as a precaution that a person who
needs to make up fasts from Ramaḍān does so within the same
year and before the next Ramaḍān. If someone deliberately delays
making up the missed fasts, in addition to making them up, he
must also give approximately 750 grams of food to a poor person
for each day. If the delay was not intentional, giving fidya is
necessary as an obligatory precaution.
Issue 130: A person making up a missed fast from Ramaḍān is
not permitted to break the fast after midday (Adhān al-Ẓuhr). If
he does so, he must pay kaffāra by feeding ten poor people,
giving each of them 750 grams of food. If he cannot afford this,
he must fast for three days.
Issue 131: A person who has missed fasts from Ramaḍān cannot
perform recommended (mustaḥab) fasts. However, if he has other
obligatory fasts to perform, such as expiatory fasts (kaffāra) or
has qaḍā fasts other than from Ramaḍān, recommended fasts
observed by him will be in order.
```

## PDF PAGE 59

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59 | S u m m a r y  o f  t h e  R u l e s  o f  W o r s h i p
Rules of Ḥajj
One of the most important obligatory acts in Islamic Sharīʿa is
the pilgrimage to the House of Allah (better known as Ḥajj).
Almighty Allah states: “And it is the duty of mankind toward
Allah to make pilgrimage to the House—whoever is able to find
thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves—then surely God is beyond
need of the worlds.” Almighty Allah has made the pilgrimage to
His House obligatory for those who are capable and able to
undertake it. Whoever turns away from this obligation and denies
it (harms only himself), and God is independent of the worlds.
It is narrated from Imam Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) that he said:
“Whoever dies without performing the obligatory Ḥajj, without
being prevented by a severe need, illness that incapacitates him,
or an oppressive ruler, let him die as a Jew or a Christian.”
Issue 132: Performing the obligatory Ḥajj is mandatory for an
adult, sane, and capable person. This capability is achieved with
the fulfillment of the following conditions:
1. Physical health: The person should be healthy and able to
perform Ḥajj by themselves. Therefore, if a person is ill or elderly
and unable to perform Ḥajj, or if performing the Ḥajj rituals
would cause him severe hardship that is usually unbearable, he is
not required to perform Ḥajj himself.
2. Safety: The person must be safe in terms of life, wealth, and
honor during the journey and while performing Ḥajj rituals.
3. Financial Ability: The person must have the financial means
to cover all the costs of Ḥajj, including expenses for visa,
passport, travel (round trip or just one way if not intending to
return), accommodation in the holy land, food, and medicine.
4. Post-Ḥajj financial stability: Performing Ḥajj should not lead
to financial hardship after returning. Therefore, if a low-income
person has the financial means to cover the Ḥajj costs but will
face unbearable difficulty covering living expenses and returning
to his previous financial state upon return, such a person is not
bound to perform Ḥajj.
5. Sufficient time: The person must have enough time to travel
to the holy places and perform the Ḥajj rituals. If financial
capability is achieved late, and there is not enough time to prepare
for the journey (such as obtaining a passport and visa) or if it
```

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```text
involves severe hardship that is normally unbearable, performing
Ḥajj in that year is not obligatory. However, if the person is
confident that he will be capable of performing Ḥajj in the
following year or years, he must preserve his assets to fulfill this
obligation.
Issue 133: Appointing a proxy to perform Ḥajj on behalf of
someone else is obligatory in three cases:
1. For someone who can afford the Ḥajj expenses but is
physically unable to perform Ḥajj due to illness or another valid
reason.
2. For someone who neglected the duty to perform Ḥajj until he
became old or ill and now has no hope of being able to perform
Ḥajj in the future.
3. For someone who had the capability but neglected the duty to
perform Ḥajj until he passed away. In such cases, a person must
be hired from the deceased’s estate to perform Ḥajj on his behalf.
Issue 134: There are three types of Ḥajj: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ, Ḥajj
al-Ifrād, and Ḥajj al-Qirān.
Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ is obligatory for those whose residence is at a
distance of more than 88 kilometers from Mecca.
Ḥajj al-Ifrād and Ḥajj al-Qirān are for the people of Mecca and
those residing within 88 kilometers of Mecca.
Since the majority of the world's believers reside more than 88
kilometers from Mecca, they are obligated to perform Ḥajj al-
Tamattuʿ. Therefore, the following discussion will focus only on
the rulings of Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ with a brief explanation.
Issue 135: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ consists of two acts of worship:
ʿUmrah al-Tamattuʿ and Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ.
In ʿUmrah al-Tamattuʿ, five actions are obligatory in the
following order:
1. Entering the state of Iḥrām from one of the Miqāts (designated
locations for Iḥrām).
2. Performing Ṭawāf around the Kaʿba seven times.
3. Performing the prayer of Ṭawāf behind Maqām-e Ibrāhīm
(peace be upon him).
```