How the Qur'an Revived the Abandoned Practice of Salat and Restored its True Form
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Salam all,
I may be misunderstanding, so I am asking to clarify.
From the Quran we see elements that seem to indicate a real, physical Salat: wudu (5:6), standing (2:238), sujud, and specific times (4:103, 17:78). So it does appear that the Quran is referring to an actual structured prayer practice.
At the same time, the Quran does not seem to prescribe any worldly punishment for someone who does not perform this ritual Salat.
So my question is simply this:
If ritual Salat is such a central obligation, why is there no explicit punishment mentioned in the Quran for abandoning it?
And what would be the position of a sincere believer who believes in God and the Quran, but whose interpretation leads him to conclude that the traditional five daily ritual prayers are not required?
Also, just to clarify your thinking (this might help you):
The Quran does criticize abandoning Salat, but it speaks about it more in moral / spiritual consequences, not legal punishment. For example:
19:59 – later generations lost the Salat and followed desires
74:42-43 – “What brought you to Hell? They say: we were not of those who prayed”
107:4-5 – woe to those who pray but are heedless of their prayer
So the Quran frames it as a sign of spiritual decline, not a crime with a fixed penalty like theft or murder.
Some would argue that the physical Salat was not transmitted through hadith literature but through the living Sunnah i.e. the continuous practice of the prophets and their communities. In other words, by the time of the Prophet, people already knew what Salat was and how it was performed, so the Quran did not need to detail its form (such as the number of rakas, etc.).
I am genuinely trying to understand how these perspectives are reconciled
@Fusion said in How the Qur'an Revived the Abandoned Practice of Salat and Restored its True Form:
From the Quran we see elements that seem to indicate a real, physical Salat: wudu (5:6), standing (2:238), sujud, and specific times (4:103, 17:78). So it does appear that the Quran is referring to an actual structured prayer practice.
Peace Fusion and all!
You've raised several points in your post, and I'll go over a few of them for now.
- It's possible to perform wudu (cleansing/washing) before performing physical salat (connection with God through the recitation of God's revelations).
- It's possible to stand while performing physical salat (connection with God through the recitation of God's revelations).
- It's possible to perform sujud during physical salat (connection with God through the recitation of God's revelations).
- It's possible to perform physical salat (connection with God through the recitation of God's revelations) at specific times (4:103 and 17:78), specifically two times per day (24:58 and 11:114).
As an additional point, it's also possible to perform ruku while performing physical salat (connection with God through the recitation of God's revelations).
Read the two following verses carefully.
2:238-239 Maintain the contact prayers; and the middle contact prayer; and stand for God dutifully. But if you are fearful, then you may do so while walking or riding. If you become secure, then remember God as He has taught you what you did not know.
As a matter of fact, it's possible and easier to perform an actual structured recitation practice while walking or riding than to perform an actual structured prayer practice in the same circumstances.
So it's possible that the Qur'an refers to an actual structured recitation practice (which is both a physical and a spiritual act).
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R Ronin referenced this topic on
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Peace Ronin; thank you very much, well done.
@Emre_1974tr said in How the Qur'an Revived the Abandoned Practice of Salat and Restored its True Form:
Peace Ronin; thank you very much, well done.
Peace Emre,
Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.
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The following verses mention Salat alongside the recitation of the Qur'an, and this connection is not random or coincidental.
2:43-46 And hold the contact prayer, and contribute towards purification, and kneel with those who kneel. Do you exhort the people to do good, but forget yourselves, while you are reciting the Book? Do you not comprehend? And seek help through patience and through the contact prayer. It is a difficult thing, but not so for the humble. The ones who conceive that they will meet their Lord and that to Him they will return.
17:78 Hold the contact prayer till the setting of the sun; to the murkiness of the night; and the Qur'an at dawn - the Qur'an at dawn is witnessed.
29:45 Recite what is inspired to you of the Book and hold the contact prayer, for the contact prayer prohibits immorality and vice; but certainly the remembrance of God is the greatest. God knows everything you do.
73:20 Your Lord knows that you rise a little less than two thirds of the night, and half of it, and one third of it; and a group of those who are with you. And God measures the night and the day. He knows that you will not be able to keep-up, so He pardons you. So read what is made easy of the Qur'an. He knows that there will be sick among you, and others that go forth in the land seeking from the bounty of God, and others who are fighting in the cause of God, so read what you can of it. And hold the contact prayer and contribute towards purification and lend God a loan of righteousness. And whatever you put forth yourselves, you will find it with God, for it is better and a greater reward. And seek the forgiveness of God, for God is Forgiving, Merciful.
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17:78 Hold the contact prayer till the setting of the sun; to the murkiness of the night; and the Qur'an at dawn - the Qur'an at dawn is witnessed.
Peace Ronin,
From the wording of the verse, it might be describing the actual duration of the salat (i.e., salat-al-'isha).17:78 uphold the salat for the dulūk of the sun till the darkness of the night and...
In case you haven’t seen: salat timings from the Qur’an
https://mypercept.co.uk/articles/salat-timings-Quran.html -
Does the use of 'duluk' (or li-duluk) here carry any particular significance in terms of timing, since sunset is referred to elsewhere as ghurūb?
With a root sense of rubbing, dulūk-as-shams could suggest the phase where the sun's disc is in contact with the horizon, its gradual descent.It may also be that this kind of wording, or connection to natural markers of time, draws attention to the sublime natural phenomena / signs that often go unnoticed, much like the emergence of dawn mentioned in 2:187 (...until the white thread is distinct from the black thread...) or the observing of the lunar cycle/ crescent moons etc.
Along with salat, the Qur’an also mentions glorification / remembrance (Dh-K-R) at various points of the day and at night (e.g., 20:130, 30:17-18, 33:42, 24:36, 40:55, 50:40, 52:48-49, 76:26, 7:205, 41:38), while also indicating that remembrance/mentioning of God is not limited to specific moments (e.g. 62:10, 3:191, 33:41, 33:35, 3:41)
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Peace Mohammed and all!
Thank you for your replies, Mohammed. I think you raise some valid points about the timing and duration of Salat as well as remembrance (dhikr). I agree with your views.
I think the significance of verses 19:58-60 (as mentioned in the article earlier in this thread) cannot be overstated. These verses hold the master key that unlocks the true meaning of Salat from the perspective of the Qur'an. The context of these verses proves beyond any doubt that the recitation of God's revelations (such as the Qur'an for our faith and our era) and obedience to them is a unified practice directly tied to Salat (which is in essence a spiritual bond and connection with God). In this way, these verses solve the mystery of Salat's true meaning and its irrefutable and undeniable link to the recitation of God's revelations once and for all.
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Just a small observation to add:
Many English translations don’t seem to distinguish this clearly:
For salat in 11:114, the dual form is used, tarafay-an-nahar (two edges/sides of the daytime).
Whereas for glorification (20:130), the plural form appears, atraf-an-nahar (three or more edges/sides of the daytime).
Also, while this verse (along with some others) is in the singular address, seemingly directed to the Messenger, individuals are free to remember or glorify God as extensively as they wish (e.g, 33:21, 13:28). -
You have distorted your writing again, Ronin. You keep stumbling around like a samurai who has lost his master. In reality, there is the ritual prayer (salah), and it is a blessing like our daily sustenance. Being away from it even for a week can lead to disasters. Peace.
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You have distorted your writing again, Ronin. You keep stumbling around like a samurai who has lost his master. In reality, there is the ritual prayer (salah), and it is a blessing like our daily sustenance. Being away from it even for a week can lead to disasters. Peace.
@Emre_1974tr said in How the Qur'an Revived the Abandoned Practice of Salat and Restored its True Form:
You have distorted your writing again, Ronin. You keep stumbling around like a samurai who has lost his master. In reality, there is the ritual prayer (salah), and it is a blessing like our daily sustenance. Being away from it even for a week can lead to disasters. Peace.
I'm a little surprised that you revived one of my older threads only to comment in a way that appears to be "ad hominem." I was actually considering ignoring your comment, since it seems to focus on my character, motives, or personal traits rather than engaging with the substance of my argument and the evidence I presented in my article or in this thread.
However, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you weren't intentionally resorting to an ad hominem, but simply have a blunt way of expressing yourself at times. If that's the case, then that's perfectly understandable.
That brings me to your samurai analogy.
Being a Ronin (a masterless) samurai is not a bad thing, provided one has no human masters.
Furthermore, a masterless samurai can reject human masters while still being a monotheist and a truth-seeker, someone who is convinced of God's existence and oneness, believes in the day of resurrection, and strives to live according to God's scripture.
If you're interested in what the idea of a masterless samurai truly represents, I really recommend watching the Japanese movie "Harakiri" by Masaki Kobayashi. In my view, it is the greatest Japanese movie ever made and one of the five greatest movies of all time. Not only does its philosophical depth surpass that of most classic Japanese and non-Japanese movies, but, in my opinion, it even surpasses "The Matrix" in philosophical depth.
Some of its central themes include:
- The conflict between honour and compassion.
- The emptiness of rigid social codes.
- The human cost of maintaining appearances.
- The difference between reason and emotion.
- The difference between justice and human-made laws.
- The abuse of power by those in authority.
- The importance and value of being a truth-seeker.
- The power of an individual's conscience versus institutional obedience and loyalty.
Regarding Salah, it seems you're assuming that physical prayer is a ritual, whereas Salah, as derived solely from the Qur'an (namely the recitation of God's revelations), is somehow not a ritual. By definition, however, a ritual is simply a sequence of actions performed in a specific and repeated manner.
The Qur'an urges believers to recite God's revelations during Salah, to do so in a moderate voice, and to perform Salah twice a day (73:20, 24:58, 11:114, 17:78, and 17:110). Based on my study of these verses, I conclude that the Qur'an itself does not prescribe a fixed sequence of bodily movements for Salah.
One of the things I appreciate about the Qur'an is that it leaves room for believers either to perform Salah as derived solely from the Qur'an or to perform it in the traditional physical form derived from both the Qur'an and Hadith.
Based on my understanding of the Qur'an, the specific physical movements themselves are not prescribed. As a result, a person could theoretically perform almost any physical movements during Salah, provided they are neither immoral nor harmful to themselves or others. That would even include jumping, backflips, somersaults, acrobatics, or calisthenics if someone truly wished to do so. Of course, I would neither recommend nor consider such behaviour appropriate during Salah. My point is simply that the Qur'an itself does not prohibit it.
The Qur'an also commands believers: "Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge" (see verse 17:36). The verse continues by reminding us that one's hearing, one's sight, and one's heart will all be held accountable. Based on my study of the Qur'an, I understand this to mean that if I do not yet know how "Salah" or "fasting" should be practised solely from the Qur'an, then it is better for me to continue studying until my understanding increases, rather than blindly following practices for which I cannot honestly say I have sufficient knowledge. After all, I will be held accountable for what I choose to follow (once again, see verse 17:36).
Furthermore, as stated in verse 39:18, the Qur'an encourages believers to "follow the best understanding." In my view, that means following the understanding that is the most reasonable, most just, most practical, most realistic, and most beneficial. The question, then, is whether the best understanding of Salah is one derived solely from the Qur'an or one derived from the Qur'an together with Hadith. I have reached my own conclusion through studying the Qur'an, but I recognise that others might have reached different conclusions. It also seems that you might not have fully engaged with the arguments I presented in my article or in this thread, as your comment does not directly respond to or refute the evidence I put forward.
Personally, I consider myself a truth-seeker. So I'm still searching for the truth, and I'm not content simply to follow what I found my forefathers doing.
I'll end this post with two sincere questions for you:
Are you still searching for the truth?
And are you willing to question everything you inherited from your forefathers if the evidence leads you elsewhere? -
I think the Qur’an gives us a clear understanding of Salat and its importance in a Muslim’s life. It teaches us to pray, remember Allah, bow, and prostrate before Him. Prayer was also known before the Qur’an, as earlier prophets worshipped Allah too. The Qur’an helped guide people back to sincere worship. In my view, Salat is not only about actions but also about remembering Allah and becoming a better person.
