Salat & Zakat

Go to this site http//www.toluislam.com/pub_online/articles/salat.htm This for those people who say that they only offer 3 Salat!

Subsequent to my initial expose on salaat, I have realized that there are two parts of salaat. This stems from the fact that there are also two objectives. One is the zikr...the remembrance..the reading. The other part is avoidance of that which is "fahash" or wrong. The two parts of salaat also follow through with the objectives. Firstly, we see the mention of salaat and references to salaat in context and implication in the following ayahs Verily, Salaat is a prescribed duty upon the believers (to be performed) at appointed times Salat-i-Al-Fajar (morning prayer) tarafay-i- alnnahar (at both ends of the day) (morning and evenings) Salat-i-Al-Aaisha (early part of the night when it gets dark) zulafan mina allayli (at nightfall) ghasaqi allayli (when it becomes dark) dulooki alshshamsi (when the sun declines at midday) Alssalati alwusta Surely, taking these verses alone, we would think that salaat is merely ritual. But that is not so. These verses remind us that the initiation of salaat is based on making a promise at various times of the day. The second part of salaat...and a very integral part of it...is based on the secondary objective of salaat that deals with avoidance of certain activities and following through with the promise and oath made to Allah. Let us take the following ayahs 1185-87 (The Prophet Shoaib said) "Hence, O My people! Always give full measure and weight with equity and do not deprive people of what is rightfully theirs. Do not spread corruption and disorder in the land. That which Allah gives you as just profit is better for you if you believe. But I am not a guardian over you." They said, "O Shoaib!. Does your SALAAT command that we should forsake the worship that our fathers practiced? Or, that we leave off doing what we like to do with our economy? Behold, you want us to think that you are the only clement, and the rightly guided man among us." We see here that it is part of the salaat to abandon the worship of rituals...and it is a part of salaat to perform duties of good conduct. Thus when the Quran says Aqimusalaat...it refers to the entire ensemble and not JUST a ritual or reading. Surely, Salaat is like a promise...which is meaningless if not kept. Similarily, simply stating our oath has neither any effect nor reward from Allah. The argument of the sects is based more on performance or ritual than the performance of the promise. Yet they do not realize that they all agree on what the Quran commands us to do in our daily lives. But still they argue on how and when to make a promise...not realizing that it is at all times that the promise made during the salaat is to be kept. Regards, Khurram Chaudhry ?Verily, establishment of SALAAT (as an end result) refrains from lewdness, stinginess and all behaviour contrary to the Quranic Values.

According to 57 we are to bathe our entire bodies in some circumstances. In some translations, it's translated as "times of ceremonial impurity" and the general interpretation is after sex/ sexual secretions. In The Message, it's translated as "If you are filthy, become clean". I was wondering about anyone's thougts on what exactly this means. Are we to take a bath after every sexual contact, or is this referring to a general state of uncleanliness? blue

So What About GOD Previous Scriptures A Critical View On Koranic Abuse. People hate to hear the truth. However, it seems since 1982, everyone seems to have the correct understanding of God Alone worship. Many testify that according to the Koran, the only sources of religious information and historical evidence is the Koran alone. With this concept, many redefine Salat, Zakat, and even the concept of worship. As there defense, many individuals who claim God Alone worship quote Koran verses to prove the point. However, with further study one can easy see how these individuals abuse Koran verses in order to convince other of their viewpoint. Many quote verse such as the one below to testify to their ideology. Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt. However what many fail to do in the attempts to abandon outside information as irrelevant is their constant unawareness of previous scripture and historical data. God said it is a requirement for believer to believe in the previous scripture O you who believe, you shall believe in GOD and His messenger, and the scripture He has revealed through His messenger, and the scripture He has revealed before that. Anyone who refuses to believe in GOD, and His angels, and His scriptures, and His messengers, and the Last Day, has indeed strayed far astray. This is what you shall preach, and steadfastly maintain what you are commanded to do, and do not follow their wishes. And proclaim "I believe in all the scriptures sent down by GOD. I was commanded to judge among you equitably. GOD is our Lord and your Lord. We have our deeds and you have your deeds. There is no argument between us and you. GOD will gather us all together; to Him is the ultimate destiny." With this in mind, if one reads the Koran, he or she will notice that God place great value on previous scripture and encourage us not to overlook them. Not only does God mention many by names, He also encourages Muhammad to ask those who were given scripture previous to the Koran if he is in doubt about the Koran itself If you have any doubt regarding what is revealed to you from your Lord, then ask those who read the previous scripture. Indeed, the truth has come to you from your Lord. Do not be with the doubters. We did not send before you except men whom we inspired. Ask those who know the scripture, if you do not know. Yet those who redefines important Koran concept ignore these historical scriptures to chase their egos and desire. For example, the issue with salat. Although this term is logical define as prayer in many Arabic dictionary, many insist on redefine the term for their own purpose while ignoring previous scriptures and historical data. Since the Koran states that Salat was establish by Abraham, logically we will find evidence of some kind of ritual prayer in previous scriptures. However, when such information is brought to the awareness of those committed to following their desires, it is ignore. If one reads previous scripture, we see evidence of ritual prayer conduct religiously "And Abraham fell on his face." And they (Moses and Aaron) fall upon their faces." Then Cornelius replied, "Three days ago, about this time, I was observing the afternoon hour of prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God. "As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice." "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." "And he (Elijah) cast down himself upon the earth and put his face between his knees" "And he (Jesus) went a little further and fell on his face, and prayed." "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship." 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. 5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD , the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground (a great description of prayer gathering similar to more than one individual praying together). Even the ritual washing or ablution before a ritual Salat is also mention in the previous scriptures (Exodus 40 30-32). So why are people still committed to disbelieving in God?s previous scriptures? What many fail to realize is that God confirms previous scripture. Why else would God make it mandatory for believer to believe in pervious scripture unless they brought great benefit? This Quran could not possibly be authored by other than GOD. It confirms all previous messages, and provides a fully detailed scripture. It is infallible, for it comes from the Lord of the universe. Information contain in previous scripture are confirm including ritual salat. Well many will still say ?Those previous scripture are nothing but fabricated narrations". Then why would God make it a requirement to believe in those previous scripture? Because the Koran confirms the truth about all previous scripture, so with the Koran one can determine what is false and truth within previous scriptures. In their history, there is a lesson for those who possess intelligence. This is not fabricated Hadith; this (Quran) confirms all previous scriptures, provides the details of everything, and is a beacon and mercy for those who believe. The verse must be the most abuse verse in the Koran by those claiming God Alone worship yet insist on redefining salat. If one reads this verse in CONTEXT, you will learn that the history of the messenger are detailed and confirmed and not invented. In other words, the story of these messengers are not fabricated in this Quran but actually confirmed by the Koran. God never labels His previous scripture as fabricated narrations. Notice the verse DOESNOT say, ?This is not a fabricated scripture? but literally says it is not a fabricated narration/story (like many hadiths/sunnahs). God never label His scriptures as fabricated so why should we?

peace, before reading this is not attacking any of your own definitions of salat, just my own understanding The ones who were driven out of their homes without justice, except that they said ?Our Lord is God!? And if it were not for mankind being pitted against one another, then many monasteries, synagogues, salawatun, and temples where the name of God is frequently mentioned would have been destroyed. God will give victory to those who support Him. God is Powerful, Noble. (2240) traditional translation The ones who were driven out of their homes without justice, except that they said ?Our Lord is God!? And if it were not for mankind being pitted against one another, then many monasteries, synagogues, churches, and temples where the name of God is frequently mentioned would have been destroyed. God will give victory to those who support Him. God is Powerful, Noble. LOL I GUESS RITUAL PRAYERS NOW MEANS CHURCHES, IF THAT IS THE CASE THEN THE READING IS A BIGGER ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE CHURCH COLLECTION PLATES THEN THE NEW TESTAMENT ITSELF FOR IT SAYS TO UPHOLD THE CHURCH OVER 70 TIMES AND TO PAY ALMS AROUND 30 TIMES, WHAT A JOKE, I DO HAVE TO AGREE THOUGH THAT THEY GET THE POINT THAT SALAWATUN IS SOME SORT OF ASSEMBLY AS A CHURCH IS translation with other words that are suggested meanings for salat The ones who were driven out of their homes without justice, except that they said ?Our Lord is God!? And if it were not for mankind being pitted against one another, then many monasteries, synagogues, ritual prayers, and temples where the name of God is frequently mentioned would have been destroyed. God will give victory to those who support Him. God is Powerful, Noble. (2240) ritual prayer is not a place but a robotic action one does (and no its not a place of ritual prayers, the word place is no where in salawatun) The ones who were driven out of their homes without justice, except that they said ?Our Lord is God!? And if it were not for mankind being pitted against one another, then many monasteries, synagogues, learning processes, and temples where the name of God is frequently mentioned would have been destroyed. God will give victory to those who support Him. God is Powerful, Noble. (2240) same goes for the ritual prayers, only the learning process is actually a useful thing D which is still a possible definition in a lot of verses unlike ritual prayers THE ONLY DEFINITION THAT MAKES SENSE IS THE ONE THAT MOST JUST THREW BEHIND THEIR BACKS, AND HAVE KIND OF IGNORED LATELY, AND THAT ONE IS LAYTH'S The ones who were driven out of their homes without justice, except that they said ?Our Lord is God!? And if it were not for mankind being pitted against one another, then many monasteries, synagogues, assemblies, and temples where the name of God is frequently mentioned would have been destroyed. God will give victory to those who support Him. God is Powerful, Noble. (2240) assembly is obviously the best definition within the context of its mention along with an several other verses I will bring up once people start responding, unless you can prove to me monasteries and synagogues is mistranslated, but obviously they mean physical places where people gather to mention God's name, this is just my understanding that SALAT=ASSEMBLY, or basically the learning process in group format, my understanding is that it is obviously for rememberance of God but also to establish the constant unity of a community, to gain better understanding of God's laws, etc. oh yea to Wakas For he did not believe nor assemble. But he denied and turned away. (7531-32) do you think that works? peace

Peace be upon you, I think it should help us a lot to go away from the MEANING of the word "salaat" and go to the METHOD of SALAAT(whatever that word means). I will start by showing the METHOD that I see. I see that we should be reciting the reading at dawn and dusk. (177 gives me timing of dawn and dusk (443) tells me not to approach salaat until I know what I am SAYING...this implies that it is dealing with speech and reason also, we have DAWN READINg stated clearly in 1778 also. So again, my understanding is that we should read at dawn and dusk. Please share your METHOD with me, not the meaning of the word "salaat", but the METHOD of it.

Peace be upon you idolfree1, Peace be upon you Andy, I am glad that you are interested in hearing more about my position, I am working on an article that is taking me longer than expected, but once it is done I will put it here for all to view and debate. Well ...I am here not to debate ...I am here to listen to all views and follow the best of it.

paix comme je ne lis ni ?cris ?cris l'anglais je lis ce forum via un traductreur, j'aimerais discuter sur la salat a ceux qui parlent fran?ais. alors combien ?tes-vous?? que dieu nous benisse

SALAT WITH BOTH MIND AND BODY Edip Yuksel 29 May 2004 The moment I joined the forums of free-minds.org and posted the first message about the FIVE PROJECTS (not five prayers!) we were working on, my faith was questioned by several people and I was immediately challenged regarding my opinion on SALAT. On any subject I wrote, I was harassed and demanded to indulge in their favorite argument. It seems that several people were so excited from freeing their minds and their bodies from performing a ritual; they just wanted to PROHIBIT such a ritual in the name of God. According to these people, anyone disagrees with their INTERPRETATION, INFERENCES and SPECULATIONS on some Quranic verses or words, or someone prays differently, he or she must be a MUSHRIK or DISBELIEVER. According to them I should not spend much time to think and study their claims. They did not even recognize a right for me to spend time on anything else in my life. I was expected either to reject their position IMMEDIATELY or accept IMMEDIATELY. Studying their argument was either a luxury, or evasion of absolute truth! I should have had acted reflexively, with a knee-jerk reaction, perhaps like they have done it. As a response, I told them that I was taking their position seriously, and I even acknowledged that though I have heard the argument 30 years ago when I was living in Turkey, I learned a few new good points raised in their argument, and I added that after studying their assertions, if I find their argument to be factual and coherent I would not hesitate to change my position. I never accused them of committing sin by NOT observing Salat prayers physically. I was simply following the instructions in 20114; 1736; 3938. I would like to share two incidents with you before I venture to briefly state my reasons why I disagree with their RIGID position (accusing those who observe prayers mentally and physically of being mushriks), and why I am not so far persuaded by their SOFT position (that the Salat prayers should be observed mentally). Several years ago, when I came to the conclusion that according to the Quran the number of Salat prayers were not FIVE, but THREE, I started praying three times a day. I shared my view with the members of my small congregation, and some of them, including my wife, did not want to change their routine of praying 5 times a day. They found my argument difficult to follow, and they had some arguments supporting their position. Yet, I never questioned their faith. I knew that it was still possible that a group of people following the Quran alone could have some differences in their understanding of its verses, since their knowledge, experience, and background were not all the same. The most important thing was their intention to devote their religion to God alone. Perhaps, with more research and some friendly discussion their differences would fade out with time. I did not and do not expect that every believer in Quran Alone must understand every verse, every word and their implications the same. My wife still prays five times a day and follows the traditional numbers of units. If I listened to these people and did not mind my own business and demanded her to accept my version of understanding some verses, I would have accused her of committing SHIRK, the ultimate crime. How could a believer blame another for merely observing EXTRA prayers based on their differences in understanding of the Quran? The second incident I want to share with you involves a spin-off group of Tucson submitters. Some submitters led by a couple of messenger claimants (Yes, after Rashad Khalifa dozens of people claimed to be messengers) came to believe that uttering Allah-u Akbar was wrong, since AKBAR was not a Quranic attribute of God. Instead, they started using Allah-ul Kabeer in their prayers. I preferred the attribute used by the Quran to the one that was not, and I started uttering Allah-ul Kabeer; but unlike them I did not have problem with someone who uttered Allah-u Akbar. Though AKBAR was not used in the Quran as an attribute for God, it shared the same root KBR with KABEER and there was no problem with its meaning. It was a beautiful attribute and all beautiful attributes, regardless of language, belonged to God. However, most of those who converted to Kabeer acted devisively and started condemning those who uttered Akbar. The other group also reacted similarly. They claimed that Kabeer was an innovation and switching from Akbar to Kabeer was a diversion from their late messenger's practice (that is Rashad Khalifa's Sunnah! Ironically, these people were the same people who rejected Hadith and Sunnah attributed to Muhammad arguing that the Quran alone must be the ONLY authority of their religion). Turning back to present topic?. The same extremism or desire for schism is at work among some members of free-minds. A group of people come to believe and practice a particular issue differently than others; and they start turn that issue to a sales-pitch for their cult or group. They develop and sharpen their arguments and use it like a holy sword. They might have some good points, they might be even totally correct; but they start abusing their newly discovered DIFFERENCE by exaggerating the issue and by making it a categorical measure of faith. It is curious dynamic that comes into play in every new religious or political group. Desire to create a separate identity overwhelm their rational thinking and blinds them to see the common values. Soon after Jesus, Paul the Pharisee distorted many facts to divorce Jesus' message from of Moses. Soon after Jesus departure the followers "of the Pharisee son of Pharisee" started calling themselves Christians. This divisive pattern is common in almost all groups that advocate a particular religion, sect, or cult. I would also make one point clear. Understanding and accepting differently is not the same as rejecting God's ayaats/signs in the Quran and/or in the nature. Rejecting to believe an ayat (sign) or ayaat (signs/revelations) is disbelief and considered a great sin. For instance, if 9128-129 were verses of the Quran, rejecting them would be important. Similarly if 9128-129 were not verses of the Quran, accepting them would be important too. (I am deliberately using the word VERSES rather than AYAAT, since the singular word Ayat is used 84 times in the Quran and in all those occurrences it is used to mean signs and miracles, and never in its singular form refers to the verses of the Quran. However, both signs/miracles and revelation is referred with the plural of the word, that is Ayaat. Knowing that the Quran challenges disbelievers to produce minimum 1 chapter similar to the Quran, and knowing that the shortest chapter has three verses, then it is appropriate to use the plural word AYAAT for at least three verses. ) Since, the Code 19 involves this issue and also is considered as one of the greatest miracles (AYAAT) and a test, the very witnessing or understanding becomes a matter of faith. (I will inshallah later post an article on this issue). WHAT IS SALAT? After this lengthy introduction, here are my reasons why I still continue observing the Salat prayers both mentally and bodily. I will focus on brother Layth's article titled What is Salat" It is true that SaJDa means obedience, submission to God's law (1649). From this verse we should not necessarily infer that everything has mind like humans. Even if we subscribe to such a fancy assumption, mental events too are physical events; they are the consequence of interaction of electrons. In fact, the prostration of all the creatures we perceive is PHISICAL. Any event that can be sensed by our five senses is a physical event. Atoms physically (chemical reactions too are physical events in this sense) surrender to God's laws when they interact with each other. When water freezes it surrenders to God's law and expands, when it is heated to a certain degree it evaporates. When Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen atoms come together in a particular order and create bases called Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thymine, and when these bases join each other in a particular order, pre-ordained by God, they create DNAs that produce new qualities and events, including life. Every cell and organ in our bodies submits to God's law. These are all physical demonstration of SaJDa to God. No wonder, the entire universe is stated to have submitted to God (383; 1315). Interestingly, in these two verses the same idea is depicted yet in 383 the verb aSLaMa (submitted) is used while in 1315 the verb yaSJuDu (prostrating) is used. This is a strong evidence that botq verbs belong to the same semantic field. As we know submission to God is not just a mental activity but a physical action, such as working hard, delivering God's message, feeding the poor, etc. On verse 4137 Layth makes the following inference "We are commanded not to prostrate before sun and moon, which means DO NOT GET ON THE GROUND AND BOW BEFORE PHYSICAL CREATIONS thinking you are worshiping The God. The God uses Sun and Moon as examples to represent all day and night." This is not only a far-fetched speculation; it is also based on misunderstanding of the Arabic suffix Li. The verse does not say "BEFORE sun and moon," but "FOR/TO sun and moon." In connection to Layth's argument, the difference is huge. Furthermore, to describe time the Quran frequently uses day and night, not sun and moon. The verse does not prohibit physical prostration for God, but physical and mental prostration to others than God. I agree with Layth that the word SaJDa in some verses means ONLY mental (in quantum, electronic or neural level) prostration while in other verses it means ONLY bodily (atomic and molecular level) prostration. (I do not deliberately use the word PHYSICAL since both mental and bodily events are physical). I agree with Layth in his excellent observation on 2720-24 and deduce that the prostration in question must be physical. I also agree with Layth that 7748 most likely refers to mental prostration. As for verse 2218, it describes both mental and bodily submission to God. After quoting this verse Layth asks a rhetorical question, "Has anyone ever seen any of these creations bow and prostrate on the ground (animals excluded)?" He claims that since all things in heavens and earth do not prostrate to God by casting themselves facedown on the ground in humility, then we should not prostrate that way either. But, this conclusion is based on a false assumption that ALL creatures prostrate the same way. Every creature in heavens and earth glorifies God (2441; 571; 591,24; 611; 621; 641). But we do not understand their glorification (1744). We are also instructed to glorify our Lord day and night, not like birds or planets, but like humans, in our language (341; 598; 7206; 1911; 20130; 3215; 4055; 5039-40; 5248-49; 5674,96; 6952; 7626; 871; 1103). Hence "Do you not see that everything in heavens and earth glorify God, including the birds in columns. Each knows his/her/its prayer (Salat) and glorification. God is fully aware of everything you do." (2441). The following verse is also important "Are they seeking other than God's religion, when everything has submitted (aSLaMa) to Him in the heavens an the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and to Him they will be returned?" (383). Now Layth should ask similar question about ho to be a muslim as he asked about how to perform prostration "Has anyone ever seen any of these creations give charity or deliver God's message or study the Quran?" So, according to Layth muslims also should not give charity, should not deliver the message, should not study the Quran, and should not use computers?!! After quoting verse 262 Layth adds "No, not all of the mentioned people bow and prostrate on the ground. Will they be punished? No, it is the people who do not SUBMIT to The God and FOLLOW HIS COMMANDS that will deserve His punishment." Again, Layth reaching conclusions hastily. The groups mentioned in the verse (believers, Jews, Nazarenes, and those from other religions) attain salvation as long as they believe in God, do righteous work and believe in hereafter. Perhaps not all these groups bow and prostrate, and perhaps not all these groups believe and follow the Quran, either. First, we should remember that God hold responsible depending on their circumstances. As those who witnessed Moses' miracles will be hold responsible for their reaction to them, similarly those who are instructed to bow and prostrate will be held responsible for their reaction. Each nation received a messenger and each received their instruction (1047; 2234; 402. Referring to verse 1850, Layth concludes "There is no need to get on the ground to worship your Lord because He has not commanded us to do this. He wants us to Bow and Prostrate our WILLS to that of HIS WILL." This is a reasonable conclusion. However, knowing that the word prostration was also used to mean humbly getting on the ground, we cannot equate the prostration in this verse to all others. The verse refers to an event took place before the creation of life on earth. Besides, the instruction is to Satan, a creature made of energy not matter like us. The nature of prostration asked from Satan or angels might be little different than the one asked from us. Or, more accurately, the form, way or style of our prostration might not necessarily be expected to be the same with angels. Layth makes an interesting point "Most times it is preceded by the word "Khar'a" (fall down), which adds to "prostration" to let us know that it is indeed physical prostration. If "prostration" was automatically understood as physical, there would be no need to add "Khar'a" along with it." He later quotes verse 12100 which describes how Jospeh's vision/dream was fulfilled. In that verse the words "fall" and "prostrate" are used together. But, Layth forgets that in the beginning of the chapter, Joseph's vision that describes the very event described in 12100 uses ONLY one word SaJeDeen, which means "they were prostrating." Furthermore, David who was observing Salat prayer is described by the Quran as "? He then implored his Lord for forgiveness, bowed down (KhaRra RuKka'An), and repented." (3824). David's repentance is clearly described as bowing down, BOTH MENTAL AND BODILY. I do not know Layth, but some of his friends are not only reaching the wrong conclusion about the nature of Salat prayer, they further arrogate themselves by insulting, harassing and condemning those believers who observe Salat prayer BOTH MENTALLY and BODILY. I hope that Layth will carefully re-visit this issue and reform his position. I would like to remind him and others who are trying hard to eliminate the formal component of Salaat prayer the following verse "? When the revelations of the Gracious are recited to them, they fall prostrate (KhaRRu SuJjaDan), weeping." (195

Salaam, I can't follow those who still follow the 5 ritual prayers ,some believe in them - and others like us who don't ,yet there are those who don't believe in them but still practice them in case they are wrong in the end. For the benefit of them selves and to save people like the free-minders why havn't they tried to prove them - I don't get that. God bless all - who want to follow the true Gods Deen . Good luck.

The Physical, Moral and Spiritual States of Man The prupose of Salat is to move a person from a lower state to a higher state. To understand this, the difference between three states of a man should be explored. Three Types of Human Actions The first question relates to the natural and moral and spiritual states of man. The Holy Quran has indicated three separate sources of these three states. In other words, it has pointed out three springs out of which these respective states flow. First Source The Self That Incites to Evil The first spring which is the source of all natural states is designated by the Holy Quran the Nafse Ammarah, which means the self that incites to evil, as it says The mind of man is ever ready to incite to evil (1254). This means that it is characteristic of the human self that it incites man to evil and is opposed to his attainment of perfection and to his moral state, and urges him towards undesirable and evil ways. Thus the propensity towards evil and intemperance is a human state which predominates over the mind of a person before he enters upon the moral state. This is man's natural state, so long as he is not guided by reason and understanding but follows his natural bent in eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, anger and provocation, like the animals. When a person is guided by reason and understanding and brings his natural state under control and regulates it in a proper manner, that state ceases to be his natural state and is called his moral state. Second Source The Reproving Self The source of the moral state of man is designated by the Holy Quran Nafse Lawwama, as is said I call to witness the reproving self (753); that is to say, I call to witness the self that reproves itself for every vice and intemperance. This reproving self is the second source of human state from which the moral state is generated. At this stage man ceases to resemble the animals. Calling it to witness is for the purpose of doing it honor, as if by advancing from the state of the self that is prone to evil and arriving at the state of the reproving self, it has become worthy of honor in divine estimation. It is so called as it reproves man on vice and is not reconciled to man's submitting to his natural desires and leading an unbridled existence like the animals. It desires that man should be in a good state and should practice good morals, and no kind of intemperance should be manifested in any aspect of human life, and natural emotions and desires should be regulated by reason. As it reproves every vicious movement, it is called the reproving self. Though it reproves itself in respect of vices, yet it is not fully effective in practicing virtue and occasionally it is dominated by natural emotions, when it stumbles and falls. It is like a weak child who does not wish to stumble and fall but does so out of weakness, and is then remorseful over his infirmity. In short, this is the moral state of human self when it seeks to comprehend within itself high moral qualities and is disgusted with disobedience, but cannot achieve complete success. The Third Source The Soul at Rest The third source which should be described as the beginning of the spiritual state of man is called by the Holy Quran Nafse Mutmainnah, that is to say, the soul at rest, as is said O soul at rest that has found comfort in God return to thy Lord, thou well pleased with Him and He well pleased with thee. Now join My chosen servants and enter into My garden (8928-31). This is the stage when the soul of a person being delivered from all weaknesses is filled with spiritual powers and establishes a relationship with God Almighty without Whose support it cannot exist. As water flowing down from a height, on account of its volume and the absence of any obstruction, rushes with great force, in the same way the soul at rest flows towards God. That is indicated by the divine direction to the soul that has found comfort in God to return to its Lord. It undergoes a great transformation in this very life and is bestowed a paradise while still in this world. As this verse indicates in its direction to such a soul to return to its Lord, it is nourished by its Lord and its love of God becomes its nurture and it drinks at this fountain of life and is thus delivered from death. This is indicated at another place in the Holy Quran where it is said He who purifies his soul of earthly passions shall be saved and shall not suffer ruin, but he who is overcome by his earthly passions should despair of life (9110-11). In short, these three states may be called the natural, moral and spiritual states of man. As the natural urges of man become very dangerous when they are roused and often destroy the moral and spiritual qualities, they are described in God's Holy Book as the self that incites to evil. It may be asked what is the attitude of the Holy Quran towards the natural state of man, what guidance does it furnish concerning it and how does it seek to control it? The answer is that according to the Holy Quran the natural state of man has a very strong relationship with his moral and spiritual states, so much so that even a person's manner of eating and drinking affects his moral and spiritual states. If the natural state of a person is subjected to the control of the directions of divine law it becomes his moral state and deeply affects his spirituality, as is said that whatever falls into a salt mine is converted into salt. That is why the Holy Quran has laid stress on physical cleanliness and postures, and their regulation in relation to all worship and inner purity and spiritual humility. Reflection confirms that physical conditions deeply affect the soul. For instance, when our eyes are filled with tears, even if the tears are artificially induced, the heart is immediately affected and becomes sorrowful. In the same way, when we begin to laugh, even if the laughter is artificially induced, the heart begins to feel cheerful. It has also been observed that physical prostration in prayer induces humility in the soul. As a contrast when we draw ourselves up physically and strut about with our neck raised and our breast pushed forward, this attitude induces a mood of arrogance and vain glory. These instances establish clearly that physical conditions certainly affect spiritual conditions. Experience also shows that different types of food affect the intellect and the mind in different ways. For instance, careful observation would disclose that people who refrain altogether from eating meat gradually suffer a decline of the faculty of bravery; they lose courage and thus suffer the loss of a divinely bestowed praiseworthy faculty. This is reinforced by the evidence of the divine law of nature that the herbivorous animals do not possess the same degree of courage as do carnivorous ones. The same applies to birds. Thus there is no doubt that morals are affected by food. Conversely those who are given to a diet consisting mainly of meat and eat very little of greens suffer a decline of meekness and humility. Those who adopt the middle course develop both types of moral qualities. That is why God Almighty has said in the Holy Quran Eat and drink but do not be immoderate (732); that is to say, eat meat and other foods but do not eat anything to excess, lest your moral state be adversely affected and your health might suffer. As the soul is affected by physical conduct, in the same way sometimes the soul affects the body. For instance, when a person experiences sorrow his eyes become wet, and a person who feels happy smiles. All our natural actions like eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, moving about, resting, bathing etc., affect our spiritual condition. Our physical structure is related intimately to our total humanity. If a certain part of the brain is injured memory is immediately lost. An injury to another part of the brain causes loss of consciousness. Poisonous air affects the body and through it the mind, and the whole inner system, to which the moral impulses are related, is impaired and the unfortunate victim passes out quickly like a madman. Thus physical injuries disclose that there is a mysterious relationship between the soul and the body which is beyond the ken of man. Reflection shows that the body is the mother of the soul. The soul does not descend from outside into the womb of a pregnant woman. It is a light that is inherent in the sperm which begins to shine forth with the development of the embryo. The Word of God Almighty conveys to us that the soul becomes manifest from the framework that is prepared in the womb from the sperm, as is said in the Holy Quran Then we develop it into a new creation. So blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators (2315). This means that God bestows a new creation on the body that is prepared in the womb and that new creation is called the soul. Greatly blessed is God Who has no equal as a creator. The affirmation that a new creation is manifested from the body is a mystery that reveals the reality of the soul and points to the strong relationship between the soul and the body. We are also instructed thereby that the same philosophy underlies the physical acts and words and movements when they are manifested in the cause of God, that is to say, all these sincere actions are charged with a soul as the sperm is charged with a soul. As the framework of those actions is developed, the soul with which they are charged begins to shine and when that framework becomes complete the soul inside it shines forth in its full manifestation and discloses its spiritual aspect. At that stage those actions become fully alive. This means that when the framework of actions is completed, something shines forth from it suddenly like a flash of lightning. This is the stage concerning which God Almighty says in the Holy Quran When I have completed his framework and have set right all his manifestations of glory and have breathed into him My spirit, then fall down in prostration all of you, on his account (1530). This verse indicates that when the framework of actions is completed, a soul shines forth in it, which God attributes to Himself inasmuch as that framework is completed at the cost of worldly life. Thus the divine light which is dim in the beginning suddenly flares up, so that on the beholding of this divine manifestation, it becomes incumbent on everyone to fall into prostration and to be drawn to it. Everyone perceiving that light falls into prostration and is naturally drawn to it, except Iblis who loves darkness.

i am new here, but i surely enjoy the contant arguments on salat. however, i notice that many use salat term and the disputed "bow/protration" terms out of context. to me this is very evidence in the progressive muslim (PM) tranlations. when i was reviewing this issue, i use a very benefical website which allowed up to six translation to be view at once, so one can evaluate the verse for themselves at http//www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php. this was very helpful. i notice in verse 4102, Salat as a ritual prayer (due to reciting the prayer in Sura 1 and doing physical movements) was translated as an assemblence. however, this does not make sense especially when it is view in the context of verse. 4102 God tells the prophet to use precaution in times of war. to have one group "assemble and/or prayer" while another group is on "look out". However, the PM translation states "....and when they have submitted then let them stand guard behind you" how to one submit in an assembly? do submission in a assembly marks the conclusion of the assembly, therefore allowing another group the chance to submit next? what is submission in an assembly? logically it doesnt make sense. It appear that the term translated as "prostrate" should mean what it say and not taken out of context. this will clearify this silly issue of salat as a assembly or ritual. We really should translate the Words of God and not read between the lines.

Hello, I pray but in Arabic - a language i hardly understand. Is it okay if we pray in English using the same verses and all. Is it also okay if we simply just communicate with God saying how we feel, what we want etc in prayer?

SALAM TO ALL H.AAFIZ.O cALAA AS.- S.ALAWAAT WA- AS.- S.ALAAH AL- WUST.AA WA- QOMO LI- 'ALLAAH QAANITEN FA- 'IN KHIFTUM FA- RIJAAL(AN) 'AW RUKBAAN(AN) FA- 'IDHAA 'AMINTUM FA- UDHKURO 'ALLAAH KA-MAA cALLAMA -KUM MAA LAM TAKONO TAcLAMON 2238/239 Guard the prayers, and the middle prayer, and stand up to Allah devout And if ye fear, then on foot or riding; then when ye are secure, remember Allah in the way He hath taught you which ye ever knew not. . 2238/239 There is no command to pray but to guard the prayers and the middle prayer. As there is no fear attached to the ritual prayers therefore it does not need any protection. When the command is to guard the five prayers then what is the need of a separate command to guard the middle prayer. Is that the middle prayer more important, worthy, or greater than the rest of the ritual prayers, OR IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE FIVE RITUAL PRAYERS. Is there any method to guard the ritual prayers? And if you fear then on foot or riding, what is the fear? Is the fear of not guarding the ritual prayers? Is the fear of not guarding the middle ritual prayer? Is the fear of not standing up to Allah devout? How could we ever think of ritually praying on foot or riding? What is the fear that will compel us to pray ritually on foot or riding rather than standing? How can anyone prostrate or bow while on foot and riding? If we can ritually pray on foot then we can very well pray ritually while standing. The subject discussed before this verse and after this verse is DIVORCE and I don't think that there is any fear in divorce that will force us to ritually pray on foot or riding. Even in a situation like war we can easily pray while standing rather than on foot. IN KHIFTUM IF YOU FEAR. FA- 'IN KHIFTUM 'AN LAA YUQEMAA H.UDOD 'ALLAAH 2229 Then if you fear that they would not be able to keep the limits ordained by Allah WA- 'IN KHIFTUM 'AN LAA TUQSIT.O FE AL- YATAAMAA 43 And if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls WA- 'IN KHIFTUM SHIQAAQ BAYNA -HUMAA 435 If you fear a breach between them twain IN KHIFTUM 'AN YAFTIN -KA 'ALLADHENA KAFARO 4101 If you fear that the disbelievers may attack you WA- 'IN KHIFTUM cAYLAH 928 And if ye fear poverty In all the above verses Allah has mentioned the kind of fear, but in verse 2239 there is no fear mentioned and it means the subject mentioned in verse 238 is the cause of fear The subject mentioned are guarding the ritual prayers and the middle prayers and standing devoutly for Allah. Then it should read like this And if you fear that you cannot guard the prayers and the middle prayers then pray on foot or riding. And if you fear that you cannot stand devoutly for Allah then pray on foot or riding. Is there any logic? IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN EXPALIN THIS?

forgive me, but i have a lot of issues swimming around in my head, so here it goes. out of curiousity, how do you all feel about the ritual salat building a sense of community among the followers? do you think it's necessary to have a set time to gather at the mosque for prayer? and what about eid prayers? does eid even come from the quran? don't you think it's good to practice traditional prayers if only for the purpose of praying with other muslims? i'm somewhat torn on the whole issue of salat. on one hand, i believe that we should be able to pray however we want because it's such a personal thing. on the other hand, i don't want to isolate myself from other muslims. do any of you have kids? if so, how do you teach them to pray? also, a question about the following verse "And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night." (11;114). yusuf ali interprets "the two ends of the day" as fajr and zuhur, and "the approaches of the night" as asr, maghrib, and isha, since the word "zulafun" is plural, hence more than one prayer. he says the reasonable number is 3, hence 5 total prayers. any comments on this? is there anyone else who had a tough time abandoning their ritual prayers for more personal ones?

Peace, Last night I had a discussion with a friend of mine about Salat. I'm trying to absorb as much as I can before drawing my own conclusions. I've read the articles here as well as in other forums and books and I'm getting closer to finding my way. I have a question for you In our discussion, my friend mentioned an ayah, in which she couldn't remember the Surah, that said something to the effect of, "Salat is the one thing you do for God alone, because He asks you to". Although this sounds familiar, I can't remember if it was from Al-Qur'an or the Ahadith. I've spent some time looking for it and can't find it in either. Any help will be appreciated. Peace, Tay

Hi... I just came across the free minds site and found it interesting... Even though I am not muslim, Ive always had some sort of curiosity/connection/feelings about it...so I started doing my research on the religion...I read half of the Quran and read through various Hadiths... after reading the Hadiths, I started to become a bit confused- I just felt some of the things said in the Hadiths made little sense and kind of pulled me away from Islam... I kept on doing research and reading and came across your site... Some of the things on the site made sense and also matched some of my own judgements ... I have some questions for you... 1)What do you call yourselves...Muslims? what about to Sunni's? What do you tell them you are? How do you pray- same as other muslims? How many times a day do you pray? Do you still go to the mosque? Which holidays do you follow, which ones have u rejected? Sorry for all the questions.... JD

Peace all of you, this is a note from mh to all especially those who were involved directly in the debaet on salat. I thank sincerely all of them, idolfree, ayman, marie, wakas, ...., and ofer my apologies fro any possible bad temper from my side. there has been no bad intention but it likely the 'heat' of the debate wink. I will be off for sometime as i will have to start seriously to work on projects i have thinking of for a long time, one of which is the root list project with brother wakas. i will be following the discussions from time to time and will gw be sharing my views by updating the existing text of mine on 'as salat'. my God bless us and hlep us all,

THE cIBAADAH (SERVICE) The word cABD and its derivatives, which quite frequently appear in the Quran and which have been interpreted as WORSHIP, is not a perfect interpretation. When I analysed all the verses of the Quran containing this word I found that the message of the verse was far from understood and whatever was understood was vague. cABD in Arabic means SLAVE and slave do not worship but rather serve, and serve his master by obeying and executing his commands. SLAVE a person who is owned by another person and must work for him (Longman Dictionary) Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and their properties; for the price that theirs shall be the Paradise. They fight in Allah's Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed. It is a promise in truth, which is binding, on Him in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme success. (The believers whose lives Allah has purchased are) those who repent to Allah who worship Him, who praise Him, who fast (or go out in Allah's Cause), who bow down (in prayer), who prostrate themselves (in prayer), who enjoin (people) for Al-Ma'ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all what Islam has ordained) and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar, and who observe the limits set by Allah and give glad tidings to the believers. 9111/112 Although Allah created all mankind but of the believers He has purchased their lives and their properties therefore the believers with their properties are the slaves of Allah and therefore it becomes incumbent upon them to obey and execute the commands of ALLAH ONLY. WORSHIP OR OBEYING THE COMMANDS Worship of the believers 'INNA FE HAADHAA LA- BALAAGH(AN) LI- QAWM cAABIDEN 21106 Verily, in this (the Qur'an) there is a plain Message for people who worship Allah 21106 "Verily! I am Allah! There is no god so worship Me, AND establish prayers for My Remembrance. 2014 And We made them leaders, guiding (mankind) by Our Command, and We inspired in them the doing of good deeds, performing Salat and the giving of Zakat and of Us (Alone) they were worshippers. 2173 "It is Allah who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is the straight path 351 Say thou I am but a human being like yourselves; revealed unto me is that your God is One God. Whosoever then hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him work righteous work, and let him not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone. Worship Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess. Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful; 436 Believers are commanded to WORSHIP Allah Alone (obey Allah and His commands) and should not associate in His WORSHIP (obedience) ANY ONE and that is the straight path Worship of the disbelievers And they worship, beside Allah, that for which He hath revealed no authority and that whereof they have no knowledge; and for the wrongdoers there shall not be a helper. 2271 They said "We worship idols, and to them we are ever devoted." 2571 "You do not worship besides Him but only names which you have named (forged), you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. The command (or the judgement) is for none but Allah. He has commanded that you worship none but Him that is the straight religion, but most men know not. 1240 "Is it a falsehood aaliha (gods) other than Allah that you seek? 3786 "You worship besides Allah only idols, and you only invent falsehood. Verily, those whom you worship besides Allah have no power to give you provision, so seek your provision from Allah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and be grateful to Him. To Him (Alone) you will be brought back. 2917 And those who disbelieve will say "Our Lord! Show us those among jinns and men who led us astray, we shall crush them under our feet, so that they become the lowest." 4129 The idols are only names and it is falsehood gods, which they have fabricated, and it will lead them towards the burning fire of hell and ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT they will ask Allah to show those jinn and men who strayed them so that they may crush them under their feet. On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say "Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger (Muhammad SAW)." And they will say "Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (Right) Way. 3366/67 By Allah we were truly in an error manifest` When we held you as equals with the Lord of the Worlds; and none led us astray except the Culprits. Now we have no intercessors, nor a close friend (to help us). Were there for us a return, we would be of the believers. 2697/98/99/100/101/102 DISBELIEVERS will not be in hell because they worshipped the idols but because they obeyed those people (WORSHIPPED) besides Allah who were their Chiefs and great ones and whom they held equal with the LORD and who invented this idol worship and for which they did not have any authority from Allah. It is the WORSHIP OR OBEDIENCE of such people that strayed them from the right path and made them disbelievers. Worship of the people of the Book According to the Holy Quran there is a group of persons who have been and are given an equal status with God and have been the object of WORSHIP by people of different ages. Such persons are the religious leaders They have taken their priests and their monks for their Lords besides God, and also the Masih son of Maryam; whereas they Were commanded not but to worship the One God no god is there but he. Hallowed be He from that which they associate' .931 The people of the Book were commanded to WORSHIP (obey Allah and His command only) but they took their priests and their monks as their Lord and obeyed them blindly. For the people of the Book if the Divine laws did not forbid something, it was declared forbidden by their leader, they abided by this; similarly things their religious leaders declared permissible were also accepted. Therefore the words in the above verse means the acceptance of the priests' decisions, and considering them to be final and beyond reproach, instead of obeying the laws of God. The Jews and the Christians made this mistake because they did not consult the authority of their respective Divine books for a particular issue, and thus considered all that the priests said to be the will of God. Worship of Satan "Did I not enjoin on you O ye children of Adam that ye should not worship Satan; for that he was to you an enemy avowed? "And that ye should worship Me (for that) this was the Straight Way? "But he did lead astray a great multitude of you. Did ye not then understand? 3660/61/62 But Satan whispered evil to him he said "O Adam! shall I lead thee to Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?" Then they both ate of the tree, and so their private parts appeared to them, and they began to stick on themselves the leaves from Paradise for their covering. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray. 20120/121 Allah ordained the Children of Adam not to WORSHIP Satan (obey his commands). Adam obeyed the Satan and disobeyed his Lord and he went astray and was expelled from the paradise. Worship of mankind And they took (aalihah) gods other than Allah to become honour for them! Nay, but they will belie in their (cIBAADAH) WORSHIP (obedience) and will become opponents to them (on the Day of Resurrection). 1981/82 These gods are not idols but from among us, like Kings, Political Leaders, Tribal Chiefs, Scholars, Imams, Priests, Monks, Wealthy, and Great People etc. We don't worship such people but we obey and follow them in our worldly life and the tag of such people on our back is a kind of honour for us. Among such people are those who are strayed from the way of Allah and follow their own desires and tend others to follow them. But on the day of resurrection these very people will deny their WORSHIP and will become opponents of those who followed them in the worldly life to gain honour. But when He gave them a Salih (good in every aspect) child, they ascribed partners to Him (Allah) in that which He has given to them. High be Allah, Exalted above all that they ascribe as partners to Him. (Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol.9, Page 14. Do they attribute as partners to Allah those who created nothing but they themselves are created? No help can they give them, nor can they help themselves. And if you call them to guidance, they follow you not. It is the same for you whether you call them or you keep silent. Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like you. So call upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful. Have they feet wherewith they walk? Or have they hands wherewith they hold? Or have they eyes wherewith they see? Or have they ears wherewith they hear? Say (O Muhammad SAW) "Call your (so-called) partners (of Allah) and then plot against me, and give me no respite! "Verily, my Wali (Protector, Supporter, and Helper, etc.) is Allah Who has revealed the Book (the Qur'an), and He protects (supports and helps) the righteous. "And those whom you call upon besides Him (Allah) cannot help you nor can they help themselves." And if you call them to guidance, they hear not and you will see them looking at you, yet they see not. Show forgiveness; enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e. don't punish them). 7190/191/192/193/194/195/196/197/198/199 To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female (offspring) upon whom He wills, and bestows male (offspring) upon whom He wills. Or He bestows both males and females, and He renders barren whom He wills. Verily, He is the All-Knower and is Able to do all things. 4249/50 It is Allah Who bestows males and females and the partners (shurakaas) do not have any share in such creation because they are themselves created by Him and they are helpless and they cannot render help, to those who call them. These other Gods whoever they are but are slaves like us and do not possess the mystic powers that can match the powers of Allah And (remember) the Day when He will call to them, and say "Where are My (so-called) partners whom you used to assert?" Those about whom the Word will have come true (to be punished) will say "Our Lord! These are they whom we led astray. We led them astray, as we were astray ourselves. We declare our innocence (from them) before You. It was not us they WORSHIPPED." And it will be said (to them) "Call upon your (so-called) partners (of Allah), and they will call upon them, but they will give no answer to them, and they will see the torment. (They will then wish) if only they had been guided! 2862/63/64 And the Day whereon We shall gather them all together, then We shall say to those who did set partners in worship with Us "Stop at your place! You and your partners (whom you had worshipped in the worldly life)." then We shall separate them, and their (Allah's so-called) partners shall say "It was not us that you used to WORSHIP." "So sufficient is Allah for a witness between us and you, that We indeed knew nothing of your worship of us." 1028/29 Mankind do not WORSHIP mankind but obey each other. Those who were obeyed will belie the WORSHIP (obedience) of those who obeyed them and confess that they were themselves strayed and led others also stray. Worship of Pharaoh They said" shall we believe in two men like ourselves, and their people to us are WORSHIPPERS. 2347 And We sent Moses with Our Clear (Signs) and an authority manifest To Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his chiefs, but they followed the command of Fir'aun (Pharaoh), and the command of Fir'aun (Pharaoh) was no right guide. 1196/97 Thus did he make fools of his people and they obeyed him Truly were they a people rebellious (against Allah). 4354 People of Pharaoh did not WORSHIP him but obeyed and followed his command Say (O Muhammad SAW) "I have been forbidden to worship those whom you worship besides Allah, since there have come to me evidences from my Lord, and I am commanded to submit (in Islam) to the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists). 4066 It is not (possible) for any human being to whom Allah has given the Book and Al-Hukma (the knowledge and understanding of the laws of religion, etc.) and Prophethood to say to the people "Be my worshippers rather than Allah's." On the contrary (he would say) "Be you Rabbaniyun (learned men of religion who practise what they know and also preach others), because you are teaching the Book, and you are studying it." Nor would he order you to take angels and Prophets for lords (gods). Would he order you to disbelieve after you have submitted to Allah's Will? (Tafsir At-Tabari). 379/80 It is forbidden to WORSHIP ANYONE besides ALLAH including the prophets Summary of the above Worship Allah (obey His commands) ONLY Do not worship besides Him ANY ONE including the prophets And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment. 414 If a person who worships other (obeys his command) besides Allah then he has disobeyed Allah and transgressed his limits and his place in the hereafter will be in the fire and he will dwell therein. Those who do not wear gold and silk, obey Bukhari, associate partners in the WORSHIP of Allah, disobey Allah, and transgress the limits of Allah. (They like to) listen to falsehood, to devour anything forbidden. So if they come to you, either judge between them, or turn away from them. If you turn away from them, they cannot hurt you in the least. And if you judge, judge with justice between them. Verily, Allah loves those who act justly. And how shall they ask thee for judgment, whereas with them is the Taurat wherein is Allah's judgment? And they turn away thereafter? And those are no believers.. 542/43 Leaving their Book behind them they came to Prophet for decision only to listen to falsehoods, to eat anything that is forbidden. Everything was mentioned in the Torah but still they approached the prophet in the hope that the prophet would give the judgement in their favour and according to their evil wish and such people who leave their Books and look for decisions outside are called (WA- MAA 'OLAA'IKA BI- AL- MU'MINEN) SUCH PEOPLE ARE NOT BELIEVERS. The Muslims also committed the same mistake, which the Jews committed. They had everything in the Quran but they kept the Quran behind them and followed other books to learn what is lawful and what is unlawful, what is forbidden and what is not forbidden, what is good and what is bad, what is piety and what is not piety, what is the punishment of this and what is the punishment of that, and what is Sadaqah and what is Zakaat, etc. etc. The Muslims are required to use their own intellect, learn the Quran by themselves, and take direct guidance from it. But unfortunately very few people take efforts in this direction. They do not use the Quran as a source of law and guidance; they rather use it for purposes of taking oaths or use it as an Amulet or read in the month of Ramadan with the belief that they will be rewarded seventy times for one reading For guidance in the matters of "Den" they often approach the Imam. The Imam when consulted for any particular issue pertaining to "Den" quotes the authority of some hadith or some so-called learned man and seldom quotes the authority of the Quran; thus taking the Imam as his lord in degradation of God. His reason for doing so is that the Imams could supposedly understand the Quran better than other people. Say thou I am but a human being like yourselves; revealed unto me is that your God is One God. Whosoever then hopeth for the meeting with his Lord, let him work righteous work, and let him not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone. And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad SAW), and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment. 414 ALLAH KNOWS THE TRUTH

Peace, As many already may know the modifying word such as an adjective or an adverb follows the modified word in Arabic. e.g. We place shields around their minds, to prevent them from understanding it, and deafness in their ears. And when you preach your Lord, using the Quran alone (Qurani Wahdahoo) , they run away in aversion. Indeed, it is a glorious Quran. (Quranun Majeedun) etc... idea The problem is during translations descriptive words are often split from the modified word and we can miss vital clues. Look at this one and there might have been a clue staring at us all along, You shall observe the Contact Prayer (Salat) when the sun declines from its highest point at noon, as it moves towards sunset. You shall also observe the Quran at dawn. the Quran at dawn is witnessed. (Not a perfect translation by all means) In Arabic Aqimi alssalata lidulooki alshshamsi ila ghasaqi allayli wa qurana alfajri inna qurana alfajri kana mashhoodan Ironically one translation 1778 Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and THE MORNING prayer and READING for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. Here the best translation is the Morning Reading as opposed to the reading in the morning. Because the modified word is the "reading i.e. Quran" the modifier is the "al-fajr i.e. Morning". From what I am understanding is the link between S-L-W is more tangible than one may have thought, for some here this may be old news or it might have escaped attention. But for someone like me who is verifying "Salat" (1736) it is an exciting break through. I see the link between the time and reading is much more tangible. Its reinforces the "timed book= Kitabun Markum" again! I hope this makes sense... lol regards