Physical Salat (Prayer)
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peace,
What specifically about 443?
Selam Wakas
Thanks for replying. It just seems to me that there seems to be a ritualistic element to prayer with the washing/bathing cleansing with soil etc mentioned in 443. Another part of me reads 'do not approach the bond while you are intoxicated, until you know what you are saying.' This suggests to me maybe it is something we read to understand rather than say with no understanding. I am just swaying back and forth with this one.
Peace
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peace,
Well, the word "ritual" by itself is not a bad word, e.g. brushing one's teeth twice daily can be considered a ritual. When this word "ritual" has a religious connotation, then it comes with baggage, and is often taken as a negative word, because many religious rituals are seemingly illogical or have little to no discernible benefit to them. If however, we can see benefit in a "ritual" and it makes logical sense, feels right, agrees with the evidence etc then seems ok to me. So, perhaps you are looking to resolve what is the meaning/purpose behind the washing (if one translates it in this way)? This has been discussed before.
Another part of me reads 'do not approach the bond while you are intoxicated, until you know what you are saying.' This suggests to me maybe it is something we read to understand rather than say with no understanding. I am just swaying back and forth with this one.
Why not sway in the direction where The Quran takes you? Your instinct seems right to me, and concurs with my own studies, i.e. one should know what one is saying. Just to clarify, I do not translate salat as prayer however.
I may be off, but a common mistake people seem to make when they read the discussions on the forum about salat, is this
http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9597865.msg193643#msg193643
