Questions on Prayer: Language, Passing in Front of the Person
Question:
1. What are your thoughts about asking dua from Allah in Sajda in your own language?
2. What are your thoughts of passing in front of someone who is praying? Can we pass in front of him if we are in hurry and the person praying is in Sajood position?
Answer:
1. As I have explained before in my answer to "Supplications in And After Salah", the only part of the prayer that needs to be recited in Arabic is where we read the Qur’an. Also the phrases that are said in a loud voice should be in Arabic for the sake of harmony. Other than this, any part of the prayer in my understanding, can be read in any other language.
2. Where it is possible to not pass in front of the person who prays then it is better to do this, as in this way we are respecting his/her private moments with his/her Lord and are not intruding. However, strictly speaking, the ‘ethic’ of not passing in front of the person who prays really only applies to the space between the person’s feet and the point of prostration. It is obvious that passing a person in this close range is not only very disrespectful but can easily interfere with the person’s prayers. This means passing beyond the point of prostration is fine. In case the person has put a sign (sutrah) in front of him to mark his space for praying then assuming that the space he is allocated to himself is reasonably limited, then as a sign of respect and ethics we have to pass only in front of the sutrah.
As you can see the whole issue is an ethical one and it is therefore easy to understand what is and what is not appropriate by the common sense.
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March 2014
1. What are your thoughts about asking dua from Allah in Sajda in your own language?
2. What are your thoughts of passing in front of someone who is praying? Can we pass in front of him if we are in hurry and the person praying is in Sajood position?
Answer:
1. As I have explained before in my answer to "Supplications in And After Salah", the only part of the prayer that needs to be recited in Arabic is where we read the Qur’an. Also the phrases that are said in a loud voice should be in Arabic for the sake of harmony. Other than this, any part of the prayer in my understanding, can be read in any other language.
2. Where it is possible to not pass in front of the person who prays then it is better to do this, as in this way we are respecting his/her private moments with his/her Lord and are not intruding. However, strictly speaking, the ‘ethic’ of not passing in front of the person who prays really only applies to the space between the person’s feet and the point of prostration. It is obvious that passing a person in this close range is not only very disrespectful but can easily interfere with the person’s prayers. This means passing beyond the point of prostration is fine. In case the person has put a sign (sutrah) in front of him to mark his space for praying then assuming that the space he is allocated to himself is reasonably limited, then as a sign of respect and ethics we have to pass only in front of the sutrah.
As you can see the whole issue is an ethical one and it is therefore easy to understand what is and what is not appropriate by the common sense.
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March 2014
