Note that the piece below is a continuation of other piece, do not be confused as to why it starts from iv
iv. WayEvery ibadah was described or expounded or shown to us by the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam – being our best and perfect model to follow and emulate. The way that the ibadahs are done by him have to be followed – it should not be violated. E.g. There are different ways of performing various prayers – Salat ul-Janazah has no ruku’ or sujud. Even the size of the stones used for throwing at the Jamrat has been indicated by the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, as not to be too big.
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E.g. The places for performing the Hajj, I’tikaf, doing Ihram for Hajj have been fixed by
the Shariah and this is something which is sometimes violated by Muslims, e.g. doing the
Ihram (starting talbiyyah and niyyah for Hajj) in Jeddah is incorrect.
iii. Quantity
For most of the ibadahs the Shariah has specified a certain number of times that the
ibadahs or their components need to be performed. E.g. For prayers, there are specified
number of rakaahs and sujud and for Tawaf there is a fixed number of rounds (7), etc. We
should not violate these rules intentionally. To violate intentionally may make the ibadah
subject to be rejected.
iv. Way
Every ibadah was described or shown to us by the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam – being our best model to follow and emulate. The way that the ibadahs are performed by him have to be followed – it should not be violated. E.g. There are different ways of performing different prayers – Salat ul-Janazah has no ruku’ or sujud. Even the size of the stones used for throwing at the Jamrat has been specified by the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, as not to be too big.
Before we carry out any ibadah, we should know and learn the way the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, performed it and we should do it in the right way as he did it. It is related from the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said, “Pray as you have seen me praying.” Many Muslims today go against the way ibadahs are performed, due to ignorance or because they do not bother to learn, and they end up doing the ibadah in the wrong way.
v. Type
If the Shariah has fixed a type of ibadah, then we should stick to that type. E.g. AlUdhiah (sacrifice) – the type of animal to be sacrificed has been made specific by the Shariah and this should not be gone against. Recently a Sheikh in one of the Muslim countries made a fatwa(a ruling) that Muslims can use chicken as sacrifice – this is a violation of the type. If a Muslim cannot afford to offer a sacrifice, then they do not have to do it as it is not a wajib(i.e. an obligation). In certain years, some of the Sahabahs (companions) purposely did not perform the sacrifice so that the people did not think that it was a wajib( compulsory).
Hope we put into practice what we have learned.