Chafa'a Prayer

Chafa'a ( ar, شَفْعٌ) is an Islamic prayer (''salat'') that is performed at night after ''Isha'' (night-time prayer) or before ''Witr'' (odd or imparity prayer).

Presentation

The term ''Chafa'a'' is cited in the Quran into the '' Āyah 3'' of '' Surah Al-Fajr'':

Recitation

It is desirable (''mustahabb'') in the ''Chafa'a prayer'' to recite the qiraat and tilawa of Surat Al-Fatiha and the surah that follows it in a loud voice like a , just as it is desirable to recite Surat Al-Ala in the first ''rak'ah'', then recite Surat Al-Kafirun in the second ''rak'ah''.

The ''jurists'' have relied on the ''loudness'' and the ''silence'' in the ''Chafa'a prayer'', as well as the ''Witr prayer'', which is part of the law of God, which requires that the recitation be in the entire night prayer, including Chafa'a and Witr, sometimes loudly and sometimes in silence.

This jurisprudential opinion was based on the prophetic ''hadith'' narrated by the Mother of the Believers Aisha bint Abi Bakr in the Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, which reads:

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Imam Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani said in his book Al-Risalah:

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Liaison with Witr

''Muslim'' jurists ('' fuqaha'') believe that it is mandatory (''mustahabb'') to separate the two ''rak'ahs'' of the "Chafa'a prayer" by performing the taslim to get out of them, before continuing to perform the only ''rak'ah'' for the Witr prayer afterwards.

These ''jurists'' considered that the ''makruh'' ruling of the Islamic ''Ahkam'' applies to the case of joining the ''Chafa'a prayer'' with the ''Witr prayer'' afterwards without separating them by pronouncing the phrase of ''taslim''.

The scholars of fiqh schools (''madhahib'') also relied on the rules of the ''principles of Islamic jurisprudence'' to determine that it is objectionable (''makruh'') to limit the performance of the ''Witr'' without being preceded by ''Chafa'a''.

Compensation

If a Muslim does not perform the ''Chafa'a'' and ''Witr'' prayers until dawn and until he performs the Fajr fard prayer, then he must make them up during the day to compensate for giving up on them during the previous night.

Since the supererogatory prayer (''nafl prayer'') is performed during the hours of the day in a silent voice, the fulfillment of the ''Chafa'a'' and ''Witr'' prayers is performed in a non-loud voice, as when the '' Duha prayer'' is performed in a non-loud voice.

''Maliki'' jurists have acknowledged that the bass voice is a delegate (''mustahabb'') in reciting the two ''Chafa'a'' and ''Witr'' prayers, whether he prays them at night after the evening prayer (''Isha'') or makes up for them after the dawn prayer ('' Fajr'').

Gallery

File:FirstSurahKoran.jpg, ''Al-Fatiha''
File:Quran - year 1874 - Page 123.jpg, ''Al-Ala''
File:Quran Leaf from Mamluk Sultanate.jpg, ''Al-Ala''
File:Qur'an Neirizi.jpg, ''Al-Kafirun''
File:Al-Kafirun.jpg, ''Al-Kafirun''

See also

* Witr
* Fajr nafl prayer
*

References

{{Authority control

Salah
Salah terminology
Night in culture