Tartib (order among parts of a duty)

Tartib is the order of parts of a duty: some parts come before others. In wudu it is obligatory for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis and a sunna for the Hanafis and Malikis; in making up missed prayers it is obligatory for the Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis. ^{1 2}

In the language, tartib is putting each thing in its place. In law it is gathering many things under one name in which some parts come before others. ¹ Tataabu' (succession) and muwalat (continuity) are close: jurists use tataabu' for i'tikaf and fasting expiation, and muwalat for purification. Order differs in that it concerns the precedence of parts, while succession and continuity are spoiled by delay. ¹ Order arises only between different things, such as the limbs in wudu or the three pebbles at stoning, so it does not apply to ghusl, which is one act for the whole body. ¹

The Shafi'is and Hanbalis make order obligatory in wudu, since the verse lists the limbs in order, and placing the wiped head between the washed limbs signals order. The Hanafis and Malikis hold it a sunna, since the particle waw does not imply order; Ibn Mas'ud is reported to have said he did not mind which limb he began with. Between the right and left limbs, starting right is a sunna and order is not required. ²

The majority, Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis, require order among missed prayers and between them and the current prayer while the time is wide. The Malikis require it for a few missed prayers with the present one even after its time has passed. The Shafi'is treat order as a sunna and require the present prayer first if they fear it will be lost. The Hanafis and Hanbalis drop order through forgetting or fear of losing the current prayer; the Hanafis add that it drops when the missed prayers exceed five. ^{2 3}

Men stand in the first row behind the imam, then boys, then women; for the Hanafis women standing ahead of men invalidates the prayer of those behind them. The same order applies to funerals. ³ Order arises also in the acts of pilgrimage, in debts, in proofs, in the order of guardians in marriage and in expiations, each treated in its own place. ⁴