Salat 3 or 5? Proving 5
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http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectiveprint.php?id=32
Essay No.10 in a series of essays on Community
For more info contact [email protected]Rituals our social bonds
Oct 2005Quran presents rituals as means of enhancing the level of social integration in community, not as a virtue which mobilizes supernatural
THE HISTORY of rituals is as old as mankind. From earliest hunter gatherers to modern city dwellers, anthropologists have found ample evidence of rituals, both religious and secular, in all cultures throughout time. However, religious rituals generally have more significance and a central role in the religion in which it is practiced and judging by the prevalence of rituals it can be argued that like religion, rituals are a part of human nature.
In this essay we will examine three things. First, what are rituals, their functions and types? Secondly we will examine the significance of rituals in religions and the role of religious specialist? Finally, we explore the concept of rituals in Quran.
What are rituals?
Rituals are a prescribed order of performing religious or other devotional service. Rituals can be religious or non-religious, which are also called secular. Example of a non-religious ritual is the graduation ceremonies in academic institutions or passing out parades in armed forces.
Here it is important to understand the difference between social obligations and rituals e.g. the requirement for marriage is to seek the consent, appoint witnesses and register the marriage. But different cultures have evolved rituals around the same set of requirements which are completely different from each other. Since our focus in this articles is rituals, we will not discuss social obligations described in Quran e.g. for marriage, menstruation and divorce.
Rituals have some important functions in human society. They reinforce a group?s social bonds. They are meant to relieve anxiety and tensions. They are a way to celebrate important events or deal with crises. Anthropologists divide rituals into several types. Included among them are
Rites of passage, which pertain to stages in a person?s life cycle e.g. rituals related to birth, marriage and death.
Rites of intensification, which occurs during crises in the life of a group e.g. rituals during severe drought or appearance of an enemy or some other events that disturbs the social group, and
Rites of solidarity, any ceremony performed for the sake of enhancing the level of social integration among a group of people e.g. congregational prayers and pilgrimage.
Rites of communication, acts of a person or group to develop a communication with supernatural.Religious ritual
A religious ritual is the means through which persons relate to the sacred. It is religion in action. The types of rituals the followers of a religion perform display the significance of rituals in that religion. They consist of prayers, songs, dances, offerings and sacrifices. There purpose is to manipulate or mobilize the supernatural forces to their advantage. These supernatural forces can be gods, goddesses, ancestors, spirits or a combination of them.
An important aspect of religious rituals is the concept of religious specialist. In all societies there exist classes of individuals, either full-time or part-time, who claim to be the specialist in religious rituals and usually rationalize them by a body of myths. They claim to be qualified based on some special training they have received. They usually display certain personality traits and almost in all the cases earn their livelihood from performing religious rituals. Since performing religious rituals are their source of income, religion to them is only a set of rituals and they being the experts in it.
Rituals in Quran and their purpose
In this section we will attempt to answer the following
i) What is the role of religious specialist?
ii) What rituals prescribed by Quran and what is their purpose?
iii) Are they considered virtues by Quran?Quran strictly disapproves the concept of religious specialists who earn their livelihood from performing rituals. The rituals prescribed by Quran do not need the services of a religious specialist. At least in nine different passages in Quran it is advised that nobody should expect or ask for any reward in the name of religion.
Four of the five generally accepted pillars of the religion in Quran are rituals. First is to profess the faith. Second is Salat, which is congregational prayer. There is no prescribed order of performing the prayers mentioned in Quran. Therefore, different people perform it in slightly different ways, according to the traditions they follow. However, the basic ritual is to recite passages of Quran bowing down to touch the forehead to the ground. Third is Hajj, which is a pilgrimage to house of Kabba and fourth, Siam is fasting from dawn to dusk in the ninth month of Hijra calendar.
These are rites of solidarity and communication to God. There purpose is to enhance the level of social integration in the community. They bring the members of community together in their expression of gratitude and submission towards their Creator and promote social harmony and identity. They help in reducing tensions and anxiety, handling crises and celebrating occasions among the members of the community.
However, Quran clearly warns that performing rituals alone is not a virtue nor cleaning and maintaining the places of worship. Quran even criticized those who performed rituals of whistling and hand clapping in house of Kabba. Instead, God suggests that if you want to seek help do it through patience and prayers.
It is interesting to note that not a single passage in Quran, mentions that God supports and loves the people who perform any of the rituals prescribed by God e.g. nowhere it is mentioned that God supports and loves the people who worship or perform pilgrimage or fast. On the other hand, in numerous passages God expressed love, support and rewards for those who are patient, do good deeds, act justly, are dutiful, trust God and are pure. Thus, there is a clear message is in the Quran that virtues are linked to moral excellence and goodness of act and not simply performing rituals.
Conclusion
The rituals in Quran are rites of solidarity and communication to enhance the level of social integration among the members of the community by creating social bonds and reducing tensions. Therefore, performing rituals alone are neither a virtue nor a reason for nearness to God. Instead, God commands the followers of the community to be upright and strive for moral excellence and practice virtues of patience, good deeds for fellow human beings, act justly, be dutiful and trust God.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
Those who study humankind in all places and throughout time
Oxford Dictionary
Priests and Shamans
Quran 934
Quran 690, 1072, 1151
Please also refer to article ?Values our foundation?
Quran 2177
Quran 919
Quran 835
Quran 245, 2153
God loves, supports and offers rewards for those who
References-
are patient
3146, 2153, 2155, 2249, 846, 866, 11115, 1696, 16126 -
do good
2195, 3134, 3148, 513, 593, 1290 -
are dutiful
376, 94, 97 -
are just
542, 499, 608, -
trust God
3159, -
are pure
2222, 9108
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salam alikum brother
ur post is indeed very helpful for me and inshallah i will start praying 5 times daily
but i dont agree with the way u have interpreted some of the verses
i am goin to apply the verses in this way1.FAJR (morning prayer)
20130 Therefore be patient with what they say and celebrate the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before it?s setting; yes celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the SIDES of the day that thou may be pleased.2.zohar (noon prayer )
3018 Yea, to him be praise, in the heavens and on earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline.3.asr (prayer just before the setting of the sun )
20130 Therefore be patient with what they say and celebrate the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before it?s setting; yes celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the SIDES of the day that thou may be pleased.4.maqrib ( evening prayer just after the setting of the sun )
1778Say your prayer when the sun declines until the darkness of night and also at dawn. Dawn is certainly witnessed5.isha (night prayer )
20130 Therefore be patient with what they say and celebrate the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun, and before it?s setting; yes celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the SIDES of the day that thou may be pleased.
Surah 2458 O ye who believe let those whom your right hands possess, and the Among you who have not come of age ask for your (before they come to your presence), on three occasions before morning prayer; the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer these are your three times of undress outside those times Is it not wrong for you or for them to move about attending each other Thus does Allah make clear The signs to you for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.i hope i am a clear in expressing my views , and may lord increase me in knowledge
your understanding is the one I follow indeed
peace be with you
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2.zohar (noon prayer )
3018 Yea, to him be praise, in the heavens and on earth; and in the late afternoon and when the day begins to decline.I to still see 5 prayers in the Quran.
But I see "in the late afternoon" as being the Asr/afternoon prayer because noon is the beginning of the afternoon not the later part,and I see"when the day begins to decline" as the noon/Zohar prayer,because around noon the sun begins its decline. -
Peace be upon you,
Verses 1778 and 11114 show us that there only two times being given, dawn and dusk, which are the times when teh Day and night MERGE, symbolic of meditation state where the conscious and subconscious merge, which is the optimal time to program your Nafs(spirit/mind).
Also, there is a verse regarding privacy which states three times, two of which are the salat times, dawn and dusk.
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After re reading some of the pro 5 salat times Im going back to it..Until I am proven 100% that there is only 3..I thought I had convinced myself but now Im not sure..even if it is just 3 salat times and night time being optional,theres nothing wrong with contact with the God/Allah...
Peace
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Hello bro
I guess you you should remove the last one, "The part of night one" becaise the verse clearly says that this salat at this tim e is "Nafelah" i.e. not compulsory
peace
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What does approaches mean?In my translation it says
?And establish the Prayer at the two ends of the day, and at the approaches of the night. Surley,good deeds will annul evil ones. This is a remembrance for the mindful.? (Surah 11114.)
Does approaches of the day mean the same as the near part ?
To me it doesnt make since to say establish salat at sunset( from the two ends of the day) and then say and at the approaches of the night if approaches of the night is also sunset..so it must be referring to a different time period,the one that falls somewhere from noon untill sunset(after noon in other words).
So like I have in the above post
Dawn(two ends),Noon/afternoon(approaches/the near part),and Sunset(two ends) times,with the night time salat being optional... -
Peace JHamza,
I can see you're trying to figure out all of this Salat stuff. Print out the following verses (all of the verses pertaining to the salat times) or go here to compare six different translations simultaneously http//www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php
2238, 1778, 2458, 11114
Sift through them, thinking hard about the nuances of the words used and the resulting possibilities they allow for. Divide them up into the different Salat times.
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Peace JHamza,
I can see you're trying to figure out all of this Salat stuff. Print out the following verses (all of the verses pertaining to the salat times) or go here to compare six different translations simultaneously http//www.submission.org/quran/webqt.php
2238, 1778, 2458, 11114
Sift through them, thinking hard about the nuances of the words used and the resulting possibilities they allow for. Divide them up into the different Salat times.
Peace Nazz,
Thanks for the link,I'll be sure to use it alot for my studies DTo me all versions seem to imply the early part of night for 11114..
Khalifa
You shall observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) at both ends of the day, and during the night. The righteous works wipe out the evil works. This is a reminder for those who would take heed.Yusuf Ali
And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night For those things, that are good remove those that are evil Be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord)Pickthal
Establish worship at the two ends of the day and in some watches of the night. Lo! good deeds annul ill-deeds. This is reminder for the mindful.Shakir
And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take away evil deeds this is a reminder to the mindful.Sher Ali
And observe Prayer at the two ends of the day, and in some hours of the night. Surely, good works drive away evil ones. This is a reminder for those who would remember."Progressive Muslims"
And you shall hold the assembly at both ends of the daylight and the near part of the night. The good deeds take away the bad. This is a reminder to those who remember.Thanks again...
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I was beginning to see THREE Salat times,but Im seeing FIVE Times for Salat again...
Surah 11
114. And perform As-Sal?t (Iq?mat-as-Sal?t), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night.Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful(those who accept advice).3 prayers hereTwo ends of the day(sunrise/sunset) and at night..
Surah 17
78. You shall observe the Salat when the sun declines from its highest point at noon, as it moves towards sunset. You shall also observe (the recitation of) the Quran at dawn. (Reciting) the Quran at dawn is witnessed..
79. And in some parts of the night offer the Salat with it (i.e. recite the Qur'an in the prayer), as an additional prayer for you . It may be that your Lord will raise you to a Station of Praise and Glory.The Dawn salat being mentioned again along with a mid-day/ salat in 1778..and the night salat that was referred to in 11114 is mentioned again as an additional one,but in 11114 it merely states for us to observe it as with the ones at the ends of the day...
Surah 2
238.Guard strictly ?Salaw?t, especially the middle Salat. And stand before Allah with obedience.A middle salat?From the above surahs I see 4 salat times Dawn,Midday,Sunset and Night,but we all know 4 doesn't have a Middle,so it must be referring to another Salat, I believe it is referring to the afternoon Salat as mentioned in 3018.
Hence- 5 prayers-(1) Fajr 11114 & 1778; (2) Zuhr 1778; (3) The Middle Salat/Asr 2238; (4) Maghrib 11114; (5) Isha 11114 & 1779.
DAWN(Fajr)-NOON(Zuhr)-MIDDLE/AFTERNOON(Asr)-SUNSET(Maghrib)-NIGHT(Isha).
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This is exactly the problem I went through when figuring out how many salat there are. There are many different translations, and mixing them gives rise to several possibilites for the number of salat. ?
Ya gotta use a system of elimination, that works regardless of the translations used. You really need to be working with the analyses of the Arabic nuances associated with the words of these verses.
Also, 1779 does not indicate a seperate salat. It is merely suggesting extra meditation on the salat you've already carried out, or possibly just meditation in general.
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Also, 1779 does not indicate a seperate salat. It is merely suggesting extra meditation on the salat you've already carried out, or possibly just meditation in general.
Yeah it can be looked at that way I suppose,but if you compare it to 11114 which mentions a night time salat period,you could conclude then that 1779 is referring to the same period of Salat..
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Hmmm, given that all the salat times are specifically referred to using the word "salat", I think it might be drawing a long bow...
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And perform As-Sal?t (Iq?mat-as-Sal?t), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night . Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful.
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And in some parts of the night (also) offer the Sal?t with it(reciting the Quran), as an additional prayer (Tahajjud additional prayer Naw?fil) for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a station of praise and glory!).
Both Surahs use the word Salat and 1779 even explains that the during salat we are to offer an additional prayer along with reading the Quran...
(Note to SelfSalat means a religious act of communication between man and the God/Allah,which can be meditation,reading the Quran and Prayer.1778-79 uses both salat and Nawafil to explain that these salat times are for both praying and reciting the Quran during our Salat)
Seems to be saying at night offer the Salat as an additional prayer..Thats clear enough for me..
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