645. ÑalÁt al-waÎshah may be offered during any part of the first night after the burial. However, it is better that it be offered during the early part of the night, after the ‘ishÁ prayer.
646. If it is decided to transfer the body to a town faraway, or delay its burial for any other reason, then ÒalÁt al-waÎshah should be delayed until the first night after his burial.
647. It is forbidden to dig open the grave of a Muslim, even if he be a child or insane. However, if his body has disintegrated, and his bones have turned into dust, there is no problem in doing so.
648. It is forbidden to dig open the grave of the descendants of an Imam, the martyrs, the scholars, and other people, digging whose graves would be disrespectful, even though many years may have passed (after their burial).
649. It is not forbidden to dig open a grave in the following cases:
1. The body is buried on usurped land, and the owner is not pleased to let it remain there.
2. The shroud or any other thing that is buried with the body, is usurped, and the owner is not pleased to let it remain in the grave.
The same will also apply if something from the deceased’s wealth which is passed on to his inheritor, is buried with him, and the inheritor is not pleased to let the thing remain in the grave, unless the thing is of insignificant value. In this case, digging open the grave is problematic.
3. The deceased is buried without performing ghusl on his body, or shrouding his body, as long as digging open the grave is not a sign of disrespect to him. The same will also apply if it is later realized that the ghusl was invalid, or if the body was shrouded in a manner not prescribed by the sharia, or if the body was laid in the grave without making it face the qiblah.
4. The body needs to be examined to establish a right which is more important than the honor of the deceased.
5. The body is buried in an area which amounts to disrespecting the deceased, such as the cemetery of the kÁfirs, or a landfill.
6. The grave needs to be dug open for a canonical issue which is of more importance than exhumation. For example, delivering a baby that is alive from the womb of its mother, after the mother has been buried.
7. If there is a fear that scavengers may tear apart the deceased’s body, or the grave may get flooded, or an enemy may exhume the body.
8. A part of the deceased’s body needs to be buried along with the rest of his body. The obligatory precaution is that the part should be buried in a manner that the rest of the body is not exposed.
819. A person who only has one set of clothing and it is najis, must pray with the najis clothing and his prayer is valid.
820. If a person has two articles of clothing and knows that one of the two is najis, but does not know which of the two, he must pray with both of them, if there is ample time at his disposal. For example, if a person wishes to perform Ûuhr and ‘aÒr prayers, he must perform Ûuhr with each article and likewise ‘aÒr. However, if the time left is nominal, he must pray with either one of the two, and after completing his prayer, he must either pray with the other article or with clothing that is ÔÁhir.
651. The scholars of jurisprudence have mentioned many recommended ghusls. The following are some of them:
1. The ghusl on all the odd nights of Ramadan, and the ghusl on every night during the last ten nights of Ramadan, and an additional ghusl towards the end of the twenty third night.
2. The ghusl on the twenty fourth day of Dhul Íijjah.
3. The ghusl of ‘Ïd Nowruz, the fifteenth of Sha‘bÁn, the ninth and seventeenth of RabБ al-Awwal, and the twenty fifth of Dhul QaÞdah.
4. The ghusl performed by a woman who has perfumed herself for someone other than her husband.
5. The ghusl performed by a person who fell asleep in the state of intoxication.
6. The ghusl performed by a person who went to see a hanged person, and actually saw him. However, if he sees him by chance or out of helplessness, or for example, he had gone for the purpose of giving testimony, the ghusl will not be mustaÎab (recommended) in his case.
7. The ghusl for entering Masjid al-NabÐ (Peace be upon him and his progeny).
8. The ghusl for performing the ziyÁrah of the Ma‘sÙmÐn (Peace be upon them all), be it from near or from a distance.
9. The ghusl on the day of ‘Ïd al-GhadÐr.
However, the more precautionary measure is that these ghusls be performed with the intention of rajÁÞ.
652. Having performed the recommended ghusls mentioned in article 650, a person may proceed to perform acts which require wuÃÙ, like offering prayers. However, the ghusls which are performed with the intention of rajÁÞ do not suffice in lieu of wuÃÙ.
653. If a number of ghusls are recommended for a person to perform, and he performs one ghusl with the intention of performing all of them, it will suffice.
821. The clothing a person utilizes to conceal his private parts whilst praying must be mubÁÎ (not usurped). If a person who knows that the utilization of usurped clothing is forbidden, or due to his negligence did not learn the ruling that wearing usurped clothing is prohibited, knowingly conceals his private parts by means of usurped clothing, his prayer is invalid.
However, in the following cases, the utilization of usurped clothing does not cause the invalidation of prayer, though the precaution is that it should be avoided:
a. When the article of clothing is insufficient to conceal the private parts.
b. When the article of clothing is sufficient for concealing the private parts, but is not being worn during prayer, like a large handkerchief or a loincloth that is in one’s pocket, given that it does not move along with the movement of the one who is praying. However, if it moves along with his movements, then praying in it would be problematic.
c. When a usurped article of clothing is utilized for other than concealing the private parts.
822. If a person knows that the utilization of usurped clothing is forbidden, but does not know that using it to conceal the private parts during prayer invalidates the prayer, and he intentionally utilizes it whilst praying, his prayer is invalid.
823. If a person utilizes usurped clothing to conceal his private parts during prayer, but he is unaware that it is usurped, his prayer is valid. Similarly, the prayer of a person who forgetfully utilizes usurped clothing and he is not the usurper, is valid.
However, if one who usurped the clothing himself, forgets that he usurped it, and utilizes it to conceal his private parts, his prayer is invalid if he has not repented for usurping it. If he has repented, to claim that his prayer is invalid is problematic.
Tayammum must be performed in lieu of ghusl or wuÃÙ in the following seven circumstances:
824. If a person does not know or forgets that his clothing is usurped, and realizes it whilst praying, he must remove the usurped clothing if his private parts are concealed by means of another article of clothing, and he is immediately able to remove the usurped clothing or he is able to do so without breaking the muwÁlÁt sequence of the prayer.
One must break his prayer and pray with clothes that are not usurped as long as there is sufficient time for at least one rak‘ah if:
a. There is nothing else concealing his private parts.
b. Or, he is unable to immediately remove the usurped clothing.
c. Or, removing the clothing would break the sequence of the prayer.
However, if the time left is insufficient for even one rak‘ah, he must take off the article of clothing while praying, and observe the rulings of those who pray unclothed as discussed in article 803.
First: when it is not possible to procure enough water for performing wuÃÙ or ghusl.
654. If the person is situated in a populated area, he should search for water for wuÃÙ or ghusl to an extent that he loses hope in finding water.
If he is situated in a desert, on uneven land, he should search for water for a distance covered by an arrow released from a normal bow (the kind used during the olden days). If he is on even land, he should search for twice this distance.
Obligatory precaution dictates that he search for water in the entire circular area having the aforementioned radii, centered at his location.
655. If some of the land around him is flat, and some of it uneven, he should search for the distance covered by an arrow in the uneven areas, and twice this distance in the flat areas, in the manner described in the previous article.
656. A person does not have to search for water in the directions that he is certain do not contain water, or has a proof authorized by the sharia, to that effect.
657. If a person whose time for prayer is not constrained, and is afforded enough time to procure water, attains certainty that water is available in an area which is further than the distance he is obligated to search, he should go to that area to procure water as long as it does not entail hardship or harm. The same will apply if a proof authorized by the sharia is established to that effect.
However, if he merely speculates that water may be available in an area, he does not have to go to that area even though it may be highly probable, unless he attains satisfaction. It is however more precautionary that he do so.
658. It is not necessary for a person himself to go searching for water; rather, he may send someone whose word satisfies him. In fact, the same will apply if the person is trustworthy and one does not have a reasonable doubt contrary to his statement, even though his statements may not evoke satisfaction. In both cases, if one person goes searching, it will suffice in lieu of the rest, even if they be many.
825. If a person prays with usurped clothing to save his life, or for example prays with usurped clothing to avoid its theft, his prayer is valid even though it may cover his private parts.
659. If a person speculates that he may have some water within his belongings, in his house, or within the group he is travelling with, he should search to an extent that he attains certainty or satisfaction that water is not available, or to an extent that he loses hope in finding water.
660. If a person searches for water before the time of prayer, and fails to find any, and he remains in that area until the time of prayer, obligatory precaution dictates that if he speculates that water may have been located within the area, he should not suffice himself with the search that was conducted earlier, unless it was conducted close to the time of prayer, such that it would allow him to offer prayer at its prime time.
826. If a person purchases clothing with the very money on which khums has not been paid, then the ruling of praying with such clothing is that of praying with usurped clothing.
661. If he searches for water after the time of prayer sets in, and fails to find any, and he remains in that area until the time for the subsequent prayer, obligatory precaution dictates that if he speculates that water may have been located within the area, he should conduct another search for water.
662. It is not necessary to search for water in the following cases:
a. when the time for prayer is constrained
b. when one fears from thieves or wild animals for his life, or belongings which are significant in accordance to his status
c. when searching for water is so difficult, that undertaking the search entails hardship
663. If a person does not go searching for water until the time left for prayer becomes constrained, he will have committed a sin. However, his prayer offered with tayammum will be valid, even if he later comes to know that had he gone searching for water, he may have found it. The recommended precaution is that he also offers the qaÃÁ of the prayer.
664. If a person who has certainty that he cannot find any water, does not go searching for water, and offers his prayer with tayammum, only to realize later on that had he gone searching for water, he may have found some, he should offer his prayer again with wuÃÙ if the time for that prayer has not elapsed.
665. If a person does not find water after conducting a search for it, and offers his prayer with tayammum, only to realize later on that water was in fact available in the area that he searched, he should offer his prayer with wuÃÙ if the time for it has not elapsed. If it has, his prayer will be valid.
