Does salat really means 'Ritual Prayers' ?
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May peace be with you all
I have been a member of FM forum for more than ten years and had been visiting the forum to read before that. In that time, I have been looking forward to seeing a consensus from forum members and contributors and especially from leading intellectuals of this FM forum as to the meaning of salat. If salat really means "ritual prayers", then where is the clear evidence from Al Qur'an as to how we go about performing this ritual prayer(s) or a clear detailed instructions from Allah or from his messenger? The reason I am asking this question is, because there just isn't clear explanation as to what salat is, and if salat is indeed ritual prayer(s) as commonly believed by muslims at large, then where are the verses that explain how to do this ritual prayer(s) as instructed by Allah or his messenger? Perhaps, it is an oversight by Allah? These questions below have to be answered if we are truly following Allah's guidance and his law.
- How do we start "The Ritual Prayer"?
2.What to read during this ritual prayer?
3.Do we perform this ritual prayer sitting down, standing up or lying down?
4.When is the time to perform this prayer?
- What direction do we face while doing this ritual prayer?
I have asked most of the people I know that claim to follow Qur'an and serve God only about this Salat = ritual prayer(s) notion, but alas none of them have found the answers to the above questions. So, perhaps some of the learned and knowledgeable brothers and sisters could enlighten me and others in respect of this matter of salat is ritual prayer(s).
My sincere thanks
almarh0m
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Peace almarh0m.
Can I ask you a question?
Do you do any "ritual prayer"?
When you answer , I can then proceed to tackle your 5 questions.
GOD bless you.
Peace. -
peace,
I do not believe it means "ritual prayers" but to answer your questions, advocates of such a view could say Quran gives the basic framework but it is an individual/freeform ritual prayer, i.e. you can perform it however you want bearing the basics in mind, or you can use Traditional Muslim precedent i.e. living sunnah/precedent, for the form/recitation and this helps answer any problems with a communal ritual prayer which would need to have some sort of uniform structure.
With regard to timings, the overwhelming Quranic evidence is for a minimum of two daily (for the mumineen) with an optional night vigil.
Some opt to extract a basic Traditional Muslim ritual prayer from Quran, and whilst this pretty much can be done, it requires knowing the Traditional format beforehand and cherry picking of verses to match it.
This answer may satisfy some.
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Peace and thank you Bother Wakas
peace,
I do not believe it means "ritual prayers" but to answer your questions, advocates of such a view could say Quran gives the basic framework but it is an individual/freeform ritual prayer, i.e. you can perform it however you want bearing the basics in mind, or you can use Traditional Muslim precedent i.e. living sunnah/precedent, for the form/recitation and this helps answer any problems with a communal ritual prayer which would need to have some sort of uniform structure.
With regard to timings, the overwhelming Quranic evidence is for a minimum of two daily (for the mumineen) with an optional night vigil.
Some opt to extract a basic Traditional Muslim ritual prayer from Quran, and whilst this pretty much can be done, it requires knowing the Traditional format beforehand and cherry picking of verses to match it.
This answer may satisfy some.
I don't know if I can find my early post regarding salat, but as I recall those of us who were studying Qur'an back 1994 started to modify our "regular prayers" as you now suggested using 100% Qur'an only. As we learnt more we dropped verses that mention names other than Allah and reciting Al Fateha only during 'Raka' and praises to Allah during ruku and sujud while maintaining the traditional times and frequency of salat per day. Of course as we progressed in knowledge of Qur'an and specifically understanding 17/36, we dropped the number of prayers down to Fajr and Esha prayers only. As the years progressed and we learn more about meanings of Qur'an Arabic words through your PRL, I stopped doing the normal ritual prayers as is commonly perform by traditional muslims. I am now only interested in the true meanings of 'Salat' as related by the root word of Sad-Lam-Waw and verses regarding the purpose and effect of salat to draw my own conclusion regarding the real meaning of salat as per AQ. So, once again, I sincerely thank you Bro Wakas for all your help over the years. I will continue this thread with my current understanding of the subject and related verses of AQ and hopefully other forum members contribute their own insights to the discussion.
Peace
almarh0m
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Peace almarh0m.
While awaiting your answer from my earlier post ( Although I gather from your last post that you have done in the past), I will leave you with these two points
1- Qoran mentions the one word "Salat" in different forms( Verbs, plural,...)
2- Qoran also mentions the two word "Aquimi Salat"( Using the verb Aquim also in different forms, singular, plural...).
In my opinion they do not mean the same thing.
The word "Salat" is used in different contexts in Qoran to mean different things as do the words "sajd" and "zakkat" and many other Arabic root words.
Qoran is unique it can follow the rules or break them,if the rules are human made.
GOD bless you.
Peace. -
May peace be with you all
I have been a member of FM forum for more than ten years and had been visiting the forum to read before that. In that time, I have been looking forward to seeing a consensus from forum members and contributors and especially from leading intellectuals of this FM forum as to the meaning of salat. If salat really means "ritual prayers", then where is the clear evidence from Al Qur'an as to how we go about performing this ritual prayer(s) or a clear detailed instructions from Allah or from his messenger? The reason I am asking this question is, because there just isn't clear explanation as to what salat is, and if salat is indeed ritual prayer(s) as commonly believed by muslims at large, then where are the verses that explain how to do this ritual prayer(s) as instructed by Allah or his messenger? Perhaps, it is an oversight by Allah? These questions below have to be answered if we are truly following Allah's guidance and his law.
- How do we start "The Ritual Prayer"?
2.What to read during this ritual prayer?
3.Do we perform this ritual prayer sitting down, standing up or lying down?
4.When is the time to perform this prayer?
- What direction do we face while doing this ritual prayer?
I have asked most of the people I know that claim to follow Qur'an and serve God only about this Salat = ritual prayer(s) notion, but alas none of them have found the answers to the above questions. So, perhaps some of the learned and knowledgeable brothers and sisters could enlighten me and others in respect of this matter of salat is ritual prayer(s).
My sincere thanks
almarh0m
Assalamualaikum almar
I think ,for me both Quran and salah are the same
both were transmitted to us in the same manner
for instance ,In the case of Quran we never had the argument that quran came us to by the transmission of generation
i mean transmitted by one generation to another
To be logical, it must had been orally .We cannot say every household ,in those days , had hard copy of Quran in their houses otherwise we would have at least billion(if not trillion) copies of Quran from our ancestors
so it must had been a oral transmission
Likewise salah
even today no one teaches salah by taking ahadith books in their hands but they make us to perform it
so Quran and salah were transmitted to us in the same manneryes,Salah is the most basic ritual in Islam
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May peace be with you all
Peace be unto you as well
I have been a member of FM forum for more than ten years and had been visiting the forum to read before that. In that time, I have been looking forward to seeing a consensus from forum members and contributors and especially from leading intellectuals of this FM forum as to the meaning of salat. If salat really means "ritual prayers", then where is the clear evidence from Al Qur'an as to how we go about performing this ritual prayer(s) or a clear detailed instructions from Allah or from his messenger? The reason I am asking this question is, because there just isn't clear explanation as to what salat is, and if salat is indeed ritual prayer(s) as commonly believed by muslims at large, then where are the verses that explain how to do this ritual prayer(s) as instructed by Allah or his messenger? Perhaps, it is an oversight by Allah? These questions below have to be answered if we are truly following Allah's guidance and his law.
I have given basic answers to your questions below. Because I am unsure of your motives. Are you truly unsure about whether the Quran contains all instructions necessary for salat? Do you even believe salat is an act to be performed at specific times anymore or has your perception changed?
Have you read the entire Quran? Because it is filled with instructions for EVERYTHING.
The OP sounds more like a question of a doubter hence my response is stern, but correct me if I am wrong.
My take is that anyone who has truly vested time into reading the Quran will find specific and clear answers to all your questions. I mean SPECIFIC. I do not mind sharing the specific answers I have found, but I feel you are bent upon a way already. You are questioning your Lord about His ability to explain salat. That is a bit arrogant brother. You are associating the worst with Allah in that manner, instead of assuming your understanding or grasping of a concept is not clear, you are assuming Allah has not explained it well. That is a destructive path to take in reasoning if you are indeed a believer and if you are a brother I would like to admonish you from such approach. Assume that your understanding is poor and seek Help with Allah to teach you and explain to you.
Trust me, if you will. All the answers are 100% in the Quran and 100% explained in detail.
I would rather though you take your time in humility and patience as I have for months upon months and prayer and submission instead of seeking answers to be spoon-fed to you unless of course you already have and this is your last resort/effort to seek understanding.- How do we start "The Ritual Prayer"?
With His Praise and Glorification
2.What to read during this ritual prayer?
Quran, recite what is easy of it.
3.Do we perform this ritual prayer sitting down, standing up or lying down?
All of the above, it truly depends on your abilities and on your reverence for your Lord and the effect of His Words upon your skins
4.When is the time to perform this prayer?
at dawn,before sunrise
at the going down of the sun until the darkness of the night
a night, during the hours before dawn- What direction do we face while doing this ritual prayer?
Face towards al masjid al haram from wherever you are so that there'd be no blame upon you
I have asked most of the people I know that claim to follow Qur'an and serve God only about this Salat = ritual prayer(s) notion, but alas none of them have found the answers to the above questions. So, perhaps some of the learned and knowledgeable brothers and sisters could enlighten me and others in respect of this matter of salat is ritual prayer(s).
Why do you need to ask people, why not ask Allah? He says that He is near the supplicant when he calls Him. Allah says call Him and He will respond to you. So who better than Allah to guide you concerning that which He wants you to do?
Unless of course the true motive is just to bring this up for discussion.My sincere thanks
I hope you are earnest with us and yourself about your motive
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Salamun alaikum.
I share here my views about salaat in Q&A format for whoever it may concern
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Does Salaat mean "Ritual Prayer"? Salat does NOT mean Ritual Prayer. The literal meaning of Salat is close to the English word ?reverence?.
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Does the Qur'an tell us to perform Ritual Prayer? The more relevant question would be when Qur?an says establish salat (aquimus salat), or ?establish reverence? ? does that include a ?Ritual Prayer?? The answer to that would be, yes, there is support from Qur?an to substantiate that those who put faith in Qur?an are expected to perform some form of ritual expression of reverence periodically ? but this is NOT meant to be the end in itself ? rather a means to incorporate reverence of Allah in our lifestyle by refraining from deplorable behavior and by embracing act of kindness.
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What is the frequency of this ritual? Qur?an does not explicitly and specifically mention it ? but there are indications that twice a day is the bare minimum, with higher frequency recommended.
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What is the method of this ritual? Once again Qur?an does not explicitly and specifically mention it - but there are indications that recitation from the Qur?an, bowing down, prostration, prayer in standing and sitting position are expected components to this ritual.
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Why doesn?t God explicitly and specifically mention the frequency and method of the ritual? This is actually very simple ? because the rigidity of frequency and method is not the objective of God.
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But Qur?an commands to establish salaat so many time. If the frequency and method is not supposed to be rigid, how does one know that the command is executed? The simple absence of the specific details about form and frequency implies that one does NOT execute the command by being meticulous about the form and frequency ? rather the essence of salaat is in establishing reverence for God in our lifestyle by refraining from deplorable behavior and by embracing act of goodness. The ritual is just a periodic reminder ? almost akin to ?doing homework? to learn math. Learning math is the end goal ? the homework is just the practice ? it is only beneficial if performed with right intention and attention.
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How should one perform the ritual then? There is indication in Qur?an that this ritual is expected to be performed in group. This endorses the idea that the customary method of ritual common in one's own community should be the starting point if not otherwise problematic. Also Qur'an does indicate that the Messenger led his followers to daily named and timed salaat ritual. So, it makes perfect sense to seek the best practice in the customery ritual that has trickled down from generation to generation. Thus, the best option would be to learn the customary practice and take the best from it. If some specific component of the practice is not up to one?s liking? for example the darud etc? such components can be modified to suite one?s understandings. I personally however understand that Qur?an commands us to invoke reverence upon the messengers, hence personally I have no problems with the darud component either.
The other option is trying to ?reinvent the ritual? based indirect interpretation / extrapolation form Quranic verses. For a couple of reasons I do not support it ? firstly, it seems to me that such an approach seeks to invent the rigidity about ritual into Qur?an ? which Qur?an wisely avoids; secondly, such an approach it extremely unlikely to be ever agreed by the entire community ? so it is bound to generate unnecessary debate, division and fanaticism about the frequency and format which kills the essence of the exercise.
To me the most important aspects of the salaat command are We MUST establish reverence of God in our lifestyle by constantly avoiding deplorable behavior and seeking acts of goodness. We SHOULD make the best use of periodic rituals to express and rehearse such reverence. We MUST not get carried away with the form and format of the ritual ? and be accommodating and tolerant to diversity in form, format and frequency practiced by different commodities. We SHOULD know what we say during the ritual and make sure we say each word meaning it with due sincerity - or else our physical ritual is no more valuable than claps and whistles.
May Allah guide us all to the straight way.
Regards,
Arman -
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Peace @good logic
In answer to your first question on the first reply, Yes I do prayers. I do salat and I do prayers. Regarding the word salat in the Qur'an, is this what you are trying to tell me?
= Sad-Lam-Waw = prayer, supplication, petition, oration, eulogy, benediction, commendation, blessing, honour, magnify, bring forth, follow closely, walk/follow behind closely, to remain attached.
In a horse race when the second horse follows the first one so closely that its head always overlaps the first horse?s body that horse is called AL-MUSSALLI (i.e. the one who follows closely / remains attached).
Central portion of the back, portion from where the tail of an animal comes out, the rump.musalla (ي n. m. - 2125
salat (ة n. f. sing. - 23, 243, 245, 283, 2110, 2153, 2177, 2238, 2277, 443, 477, 4101, 4102, 4103, 4103, 4103, 4142, 4162, 56, 512, 555, 558, 591, 5106, 672, 692, 6162, 7170, 83, 835, 95, 911, 918, 954, 971, 9103, 1087, 1187, 11114, 1322, 1431, 1437, 1440, 1778, 17110, 1931, 1955, 1959, 2014, 20132, 2173, 2235, 2241, 2278, 232, 2437, 2441, 2456, 2458, 2458, 273, 2945, 2945, 3031, 314, 3117, 3333, 3518, 3529, 4238, 5813, 629, 6210, 7023, 7034, 7320, 985, 1075
salawat (ت nom. gen. n. plu. - 2157, 2238, 999, 2240, 239salla (ي vb.II m.
perf. act. 7531, 8715, 9610
impf. act. 339, plu. neg. 4102, plu. 4102, tusalli (ل neg. 984, yusallee (ي sing. 3343, yusalloona (ن plu. 3356
salli (ل impv. 9103, salloo (ا plu. 3356, 1082
musalleena (ن pcple. act. plu. acc. gen. 7022, 7443, 1074LL, V4, p 444, 445 ## http//ejtaal.net/aa/#q=SLW
That would have been more informative and helpful, do you just assume that I have no clue about them? I started this thread with a hope to get more input from the learned brothers and sisters in FM forum, with intention that others who come to read the contents of FM forum may benefit including myself. I need to clarify for my own certainty that salat is different from ritual prayers and hope to be able to reconcile and put the real meaning according to context of Verses that mention Aqim salat. Cheers
Peace
@parvez mushtaq
I refer you to Qur'an 2/2 and 96/1-5. The last time I checked 2/2 mentions about 'Kitab/Book' ). As we all know a book is written or in writings ( not Oral), but don't take my word for it.Peace
HP_TECHNo, I am not uncertain about salat at all. As the title says in question mark, I don't know if salat is the same as or means "ritual prayers". Have you not stumbled onto 17/36? Yes, I ask Allah all the time, or can't I question Allah, If not why not? Even angels questioned Allah, we are mere mortals who strive to understand Allah's message. For your information, yes I have read the Qur'an from cover to cover since I was seven years old, is that relevant? I have studied The Qur'an from traditional method and in other methods such as from the subject matter, topics and theme as well as word analysis through Qur'an concordace and lexicon.And yes, I used to perform the traditional 5 ritual prayers as well as the other so called pillar of islam is reflected on those practitioners of "ritual prayers". Cheers
almarh0m
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Peace almarh0m, all
For me, I see no base for a ritual prayer in al-quran.
I understand "salat" to simply mean "relationship", "yussalli" means "to relate", and "aqeem as'salat (or as-salawate)" means "to straighten up the relationship(s)". This is, I think, what we were doing all these years on FM, as you have related on your post. We are trying to get things straight - to understand things without bias. Also, trying to understand the point of view of each other is a sort of straightening up our relationships.
And for the timing, the expression used in al-quran in 11114 (tarafaye an'nahari wa zouloufan mina al'layli) can mean "all day long and part of the night" as I believe we are required to be/act straight (according to the straight path in 6151-153) all day long and some part of the night; we may have some entertainment afterward at night, if we want to. In the same verse, it goes on to say that "alhassanat yudhibna as'sayeate" meaning that "the good acts overcomes the bad acts".
Also, we should take the stance of Ibrahim (2226 and 2215) as a basement to our reasoning/search. His stance was "to not associate any thing to the god", and this should be the base to understand the world around us and to construct a sensible worldview. If we confuse some thing with the god, our worldview (or relationship with this world) will be flawed.
Straightening up our knowledge is what we do at schools, learning how things relate to each other... This is what brings people from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.
Most of al-quran is recommandations on how we should deal in our relationships, how to regulate them to the best of our abilities in order to be just.
But this is only half of the story, to understand what we are required to do; the other part, is to proceed with the improvement (or a'ati az'zakat). When we know the right way, it is not sufficient, we have to implement it to benefit from it.
This is what I try to do in my real life, and thus far, thanks to the god, things seem to fall in place with people around. And surely, the first prerequisite is to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker.
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Peace
HP_TECHSalaam brother
No, I am not uncertain about salat at all. As the title says in question mark, I don't know if salat is the same as or means "ritual prayers". Have you not stumbled onto 17/36? Yes, I ask Allah all the time, or can't I question Allah, If not why not? Even angels questioned Allah, we are mere mortals who strive to understand Allah's message. For your information, yes I have read the Qur'an from cover to cover since I was seven years old, is that relevant? I have studied The Qur'an from traditional method and in other methods such as from the subject matter, topics and theme as well as word analysis through Qur'an concordace and lexicon.And yes, I used to perform the traditional 5 ritual prayers as well as the other so called pillar of islam is reflected on those practitioners of "ritual prayers". Cheers
I know you won't ask about the specifics and I am fine with it, I think we should all strive to perform salat in the best of our abilities.
Nevertheless the specificity I refer to are not obligatory in the sense but are if you truly seek obviously instructed as prayers to recite. I have found Allah literally teaching me what to pray. I just want to clarify that there are specific prayers one ought to consider reciting besides reciting an easy surah.As far as positions again all of the above are included but I think though that you should stand firm if possible the entirety of the duration to pay attention to the recitation and demonstrate reverence. One of the traits that makes us different from the other creatures is our bipedality. Every creature knows its glorification the birds fly and keep their wings spread out and let the wind carry them left and right, up and down. So we too can stand firm, with the gift we were given. Research also shows that standing prolongs life. It would seem to me that it is appropriate to stand while reciting (if physically possible) and end the prayer with a kneeling and prostration.
I believe that is the basic idea, but that does not mean that others cannot vary in this and incorporate multiple kneelings and prostrations while recitation is occurring.I still do not quite understand your goal and purpose. How can you ascertain that the purpose of salat for example reflects on me by my answers, if you are uncertain of salat itself?
If you make your intentions clearer, I think at least from me, the advice you receive may be much clearer.
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Peace
@parvez mushtaq
I refer you to Qur'an 2/2 and 96/1-5. The last time I checked 2/2 mentions about 'Kitab/Book' ). As we all know a book is written or in writings ( not Oral), but don't take my word for it.almarh0m
Yes, it is a kitab that was transmitted thru oral transmissions
i dont have to remind you regarding the verseSurah 6 Aya 7
7. And even if We had sent down unto you (O Muhammad SAW) a Message written on paper so that they could touch it with their hands, the disbelievers would have said "This is nothing but obvious magic!"It was obvious quran was send orally ,thought orally to his companions by our prophet (pbuh) and his companions did the same
if we see the history of compilations of quran the first quran was complied by Abu Bakr (R.A) and kept with hafsa (R.A),his daughter .but it was evident that over 400 huffaz died in the war and obvious none had the hard copy of quran except the complied one by Abu Bakr(R.A)
During the time of utman (R.A) also they complied only few copies where as there were a multitude of huffaz
more over after the intervention of printing technology in 15th century objection was rised and Shaykh al-Islam gave fatwa against printing of any religious books
it is evident that right thru the ages quran was orally transmittednot only quran every other teaching was made orally and not thru the hard copies
So , even salah was transmitted orally in other words it was/is thought by performing and never thought by the books .
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Peace almarh0m.
OK. I get you. Then you believe "Aquimi Salat" to be some form of contact with GOD. So where does the details of how to "Aquimi salat" come from?
Certainly not hadith!!!
The way we observe "Aquimi, Salah", is not based on Hadith. Qoran teaches us that its rituals were in existence and were delivered and practised by prophet Abraham way before Qoran and prophet Muhammad's time.You shall strive for the cause of God as you should strive for His cause. He has chosen you and has placed no hardship on you in practising your deen - the Millat of your father Abraham. He is the one who named you "Muslimeen" originally. Thus, the messenger shall serve as a witness among you, and you shall serve as witnesses among the people. Therefore, you shall Aquimi Salat and give the Zakat, and hold fast to God; He is your Lord, the best Lord and the best Supporter.
As Abraham raised the foundations of the shrine, together with Ismail (they prayed) "Our Lord, accept this from us. You are the Hearer, the Omniscient.
"Our Lord, make us Muslimeen to You, and from our descendants let there be a community of Muslimeen to You. Teach us the rites of our religion, and redeem us. You are the Redeemer, Most Merciful.Then we inspired you (Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham,* the monotheist; he never was an idol worshiper.
Yes Abraham was taught "Iquami Salat" by GOD, In turn Abraham taught his followers and each generation of believers taught the next and so on. "Iquami Salat" was taught from generation to generation all the way back from Abraham.
Believing in Quran alone mandates the belief in the words stated by God to teach us the above system of how we inherited our rites including of course our "Aquimi Salat". This system is spelled out in 16123, 4125, 2278, and 2127-128.
Ignoring this clear system issued by God, and hanging on our personal wishes to find all the details of our rituals in Qoran only reflects our disbelief in Qoran itself, the lack of trust in its divinity, and the lack of trust in God and His systems. .
Indeed, Qoran is complete and fully detailed. Part of its complete details is the above system of inheriting our rites from Abraham. Either we believe in it or we choose to be with those who take the word of God partially and conditionally.
Qoran only corrected what was corrupted by people. i.e that "Aquimi Salat" is to be dedicated to GOD Alone.GOD bless you.
Peace. -
Claim
Ignoring this clear system issued by God, and hanging on our personal wishes to find all the details of our rituals in Qoran only reflects our disbelief in Qoran itself, the lack of trust in its divinity, and the lack of trust in God and His systems. .
Reality
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9607918.msg377846#msg377846 -
Peace be with you all
First, I would like to inform my respected brothers and sisters in this forum that, it is not my intention to debate or argue about the subject at hand, but rather to have an intelligent discussions based on the reality of life and of course The Qur'an. Never occurred to me to engage in any discourse with an intention to win or lose. I am here as other fellow Qur'anists to learn, to obtain knowledge and wisdom from Allah's guidance and commandments through the learned Brothers and sisters. I realize of course that all knowledge and wisdom come from our creator, but we all need to go through the normal learning processes in order for Allah to guide us and increases our knowledge and wisdom. And I am forever grateful to Allah for this forum's existence, and my heart felt thanks to all the dedicated people who make this forum available to all truth seekers.
Having copy-pasted the root word of salat i.e. Sad-Lam-Waw in an earlier post, I extracted only four meanings from those listed in the root to use in my effort to draw a more clear meaning to verses involving salat which I will refer to shortly. These meanings are 1. To honour, to follow closely, to remain attached, and finally commitment ( my own understanding from all the previously stated meanings). Why these four meanings only you may ask? The reason being these are the closest meanings that I could link to the purpose of salat, and why we are commanded by Allah to uphold/establish salat in the first place.
I think, It is important to ask from the above mentioned meanings, What is it to be honoured, follow closely or to remain attached to or to commit oneself to? The answer is of course the guidance and commandments/the law of Allah as given in Al Qur'an. Now, lets see the verse where Allah Himself commands to serve Him and uphold salat for His rememberance.
AQ 20/14 " "
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Transliteration 14 Innanee ana Allahu la ilaha illa ana faoAAbudnee waaqimi alssalata lithikreeYusuf Ali 14 "Verily, I am Allah There is no god but I So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise.
Mohsin Khan 14 "Verily! I am Allah! La ilaha illa Ana (none has the right to be worshipped but I), so worship Me, and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) for My Remembrance.
Saheeh 14 Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance
From this verse it is clear as daylight that the purpose of salat is the rememberance of Allah, this verse linked the doer of salat to honour the guidance and commandments of Allah, likewise make people follow closely and remain attached and commit themselves to this guidance law/commandments of Allah in all their waking ( conscious ) hours. Which guidance and law of Allah to followed closely? Preferably the whole of The Qur'an but we can start with AQ 2/1-5, 3/18, and 31/1-5 and of course 6/151-153 without forgetting 17/36. This I feel is sufficient for any muslim and believers to start with by knowing the purpose of upholding salat.
As for the goal and object/effect of salat, most muslims know that by upholding salat we are guarded from evil thought and deeds ( here, I mean upholding salat) not ritual prayers. You don't need me to tell you that there hundreds of millions of people out there in the real world who performs regular ritual prayers every day of their lives. The question is, are these ritual prayers prevented these so called muslims from committing crimes or other evil deeds? The answer is a big No. Let us check A.Q 29/45, if following closely the guidance of Allah i.e. upholding salat that prevent us from committing vice or evil deed, or have the rituals prayers failed the multitude of muslim faithful?
A.Q. 29/45
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Transliteration 45 Otlu ma oohiya ilayka mina alkitabi waaqimi alssalata inna alssalata tanha AAani alfahshai waalmunkari walathikru Allahi akbaru waAllahu yaAAlamu ma tasnaAAoonaYusuf Ali 45 Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do.
Mohsin Khan 45 Recite (O Muhammad م what has been revealed to you of the Book (the Qur'an), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed) and the remembering (praising) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed , what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do
Again, the above verse puts a lie to the notion that salat is equal to ritual prayers, if salat was ritual prayers, one would not see or find muslim/believers committing heinous crimes anywhere but the sad reality is the perpetrators of crimes and evil deeds such as corruptions, rapes and paedophilia in muslim majority countries are largely committed by people who professed to be muslims and most if not all of them are regular masjid goers and practitioners of ritual prayers. This is what drives me to find out for certain if salat is different from the proscribed ritual prayers without basis from The Qur'an.
Here is another verse to help clarify the difference between salat and ritual prayers.
A.Q 14/40
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Transliteration 40 Rabbi ijAAalnee muqeema alssalati wamin thurriyyatee rabbana wtaqabbal duAAaiYusuf Ali 40 O my Lord! make me one who establishes regular Prayer, and also (raise such) among my offspring O our Lord! and accept Thou my Prayer.
Mohsin Khan 40 "O my Lord! Make me one who performs As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat ), and (also) from my offspring, our Lord! And accept my invocation.
Saheeh 40 My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication
Hope this verse help clarify that salat is following closely, Honouring, remain attached to and committed to the Book of Allah/Kitabullah. By the way, I agree with most of Brothers @Arman. @Someone and @ HP_TECH regarding ritual prayers is contained in the Salat but not vice versa.
Peace and may Allah increases our knowledge according to the effort that we put into that endeavour.
almarh0m
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Peace be with you all
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As for the goal and object/effect of salat, most muslims know that by upholding salat we are guarded from evil thought and deeds ( here, I mean upholding salat) not ritual prayers. You don't need me to tell you that there hundreds of millions of people out there in the real world who performs regular ritual prayers every day of their lives. The question is, are these ritual prayers prevented these so called muslims from committing crimes or other evil deeds? The answer is a big No. Let us check A.Q 29/45, if following closely the guidance of Allah i.e. upholding salat that prevent us from committing vice or evil deed, or have the rituals prayers failed the multitude of muslim faithful?A.Q. 29/45
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Transliteration 45 Otlu ma oohiya ilayka mina alkitabi waaqimi alssalata inna alssalata tanha AAani alfahshai waalmunkari walathikru Allahi akbaru waAllahu yaAAlamu ma tasnaAAoonaYusuf Ali 45 Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do.
Mohsin Khan 45 Recite (O Muhammad م what has been revealed to you of the Book (the Qur'an), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed) and the remembering (praising) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed , what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do
Again, the above verse puts a lie to the notion that salat is equal to ritual prayers, if salat was ritual prayers, one would not see or find muslim/believers committing heinous crimes anywhere but the sad reality is the perpetrators of crimes and evil deeds such as corruptions, rapes and paedophilia in muslim majority countries are largely committed by people who professed to be muslims and most if not all of them are regular masjid goers and practitioners of ritual prayers. This is what drives me to find out for certain if salat is different from the proscribed ritual prayers without basis from The Qur'an.
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................almarh0m
I may agree with you everything about salat but not this .This was the idea of Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi.To my personal level (note that you have generalized your view point),Yes salah do prevent from fahisahd (shameful and unjust)provided if your salah is not under this verses
verse 104.4
So woe to those who pray
verse 104.5
who are heedless of their prayer -
verse 104.6
Those who make show -
Peace almarh0m.
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Yes Abraham was taught "Iquami Salat" by GOD, In turn Abraham taught his followers and each generation of believers taught the next and so on. "Iquami Salat" was taught from generation to generation all the way back from Abraham....
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GOD bless you.
Peace.wonder how Abraham(PBUH) knew about quran
did he read quran in his salah
really weird -
Peace Wakas.
Here is my reply to you
Peace Wakas.Thank you for your post.
Here are the verses you requested
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Muhammad A Follower of Abraham*
16123
Then we inspired you (Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham,* the monotheist; he never was an idol worshiper.We made them imams who guided in accordance with our commandments, and we taught them how to work righteousness, and how to observe the Salat and the obligatory charity (Zakat)....
GOD bless you.
Peace. -
peace GL,
Peace Wakas.
Here is my reply to you
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...We made them imams who guided in accordance with our commandments, and we taught them how to work righteousness, and how to observe the Salat and the obligatory charity (Zakat)....
Readers should study the actual Arabic
http//corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=21&verse=73#(21731)We made them leaders who guided by Our command and we revealed/inspired them the doing of good deeds and establishment of the salat and giving the zakat....
As the previous post link demonstrates GL's views on this are based on his assumptions and interpretations
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9607918.msg377846#msg377846
