a general rant on salat
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Peace,
I have been meaning to write this post for some time, but the timing never seemed right. Tonight, I skimmed the threads on salat and read Truth referring to ?namaz? as the ?arab gymnastics.? Now, to me this indicates the general feeling that I get when I read posts on salat. When I first joined the forum, salat was a healthy discussion between intellects, now it has degraded into a less than subtle expression of some sort of superiority complex among those who do not believe in ritual salat. I read posts that espouse ritual salat as ridiculous and laughable, and those who do ritual salat are unfortunately, less informed than those who do not. This greatly annoys me...I have sat on the fence about the issue for a long time and have decided that salat is just exactly what the Quran says that it is. It is both a ritual and a maintenance of Islamic laws. Both are so connected that I can see why the Quran jumps from one meaning to the other so fluidly. I am sure those who do not believe in ritual salat will point to examples of those who perform salat and still do evil things. Yes that is true, but they do not comprise the majority of people. Most people I know who do salat are better for it. It helps them to remember god throughout the day. What is better for maintaining islam than a constant remembrance of god by uttering the words of the Quran? I know that I often forget God, but when I read the Quran, wow, the knowledge comes back very very quickly and I am once again humbled. Secondly, I read many posts by those who do not believe in ritual salat that go on about how stupid ritual is...well, exactly what is fasting? Is that not also a ritual? I am sure that nobody will say that fasting is unquranic b/c it is ritual! So, this idea is completely moot as far as I am concerned.What bothers me most of all is the degrading principle of ?quran first,? which I thought was the entire point of this website. If you choose to disregard ayahs of the quran for your own use, them you are as guilty as those who add to them for their own gain(ie sunnis).
Salat has physical dimensions
- 56 which talks about ablution before salat. Here, if one is unclean from sex or going to the bathroom, you can make ablution by cleaning yourself with clean dirt. A popular theory among non-ritualists is that muslims should make ablution all the time as a form of cleanliness; we should always be clean. However, 56 directly speaks to this issue. Here, we are told that if you just had sex, etc. and can?t clean yourself with water before salat, then you can use dirt. I am sure that all would agree that this indicates that ablution is not for the sake of actually being physically clean, but a form of spiritual cleanliness. If God wanted us to be clean for everyday life, ?he? would not advise us to wash ourselves with dirt, as it would only make us dirtier! The verse indicates that dirt can serve as a substitute for water in times of spiritual need.
- If salat was simply commitments, why are there specific times for performing salat? Why is there a salat at night/dawn? Are our commitments only to be performed at those times? And those who insist on salat being meditation, there is hardly evidence for this in the Q. Salat is also more than twice a day, as the verb form used indicates at least 3 times a day. Lastly, on this note, why would God say that salat is a timed observance if we are to observe it all the time? That does not make any sense whatsoever.
- In 443 and 2945, we are told to recite the Q during salat. Now, if salat is only committments/meditation, how does this make any sense? Salat is constantly mentioned alongside the recitation of the Q and the avoidance of wrong. Is this a coincidence? 4103 refers to the salat as a ?timed book.?
- There is a verse that talks about the salat of the hypocrites being for show. If salat was only maintaining the system, then they would not be hypocrites as they would in fact be muslim. Salat must be something visible to everyone that can be sensationalized. Ritual salat fits well here, but neither commitments nor meditation do.
My point is not to prove that the ritual 5 daily prayer is the only correct way, but to state that according to the Q, salat has physical dimensions that hardly anyone seems to care about anymore. You cannot in one breath say that you uphold the Q and in the other ignore key verses that happen to contradict your stance on salat. And really, who made a mandate that salat can only be one thing? As I have previously said, ritual prayer and the remembrance of God will allow a good muslim to uphold the system, thus fulfilling both the physical salat and the nonphysical salat. We all know that salat can mean many things, but the problem occurs when we say that only one meaning can work...which doesn?t make sense. Salat can be a magnification and remembrance of God and the upholding of the system. I will end here, as this post is long enough! Please do not reply by asking me if I think the Q is complete by itself, as I rely only on the Q for my opinion and will not reply to those who respond as such.
-ichephren -
Well saod bro
peace be with you
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Salaams ichephren,
you said"In 443 and 2945, we are told to recite the Q during salat."
2945
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.arn't they two different things according to this ayah Br ?
443
O ye who believe! Approach not Salaat with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.And here the quran isn't even mentioned - as i see Br ?
And someone should check out all your other claims in that post too-i reckon?
Salaam.
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Peace Ichephren
Your post speaks just out of my heart!
And I agree fully with that
It helps them to remember god throughout the day. What is better for maintaining islam than a constant remembrance of god by uttering the words of the Quran?
This my own experience as well.
Regards
warda -
Peace everyone,
Sorry, I've been away for a while, I had to have surgery...long story, anyway, back to my repliesSalaams ichephren,
you said"In 443 and 2945, we are told to recite the Q during salat."
2945
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.arn't they two different things according to this ayah Br ?
443
O ye who believe! Approach not Salaat with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.And here the quran isn't even mentioned - as i see Br ?
And someone should check out all your other claims in that post too-i reckon?
My reasoning is that if 4103 states that salat is a "timed book," then the book must have something to do with salat. In 2945, we are told to recite the book "wa" establish salat. Now, we all know that "wa" can mean both "and," or it can be a continuation of the same idea. Here, it really doesn't matter which, since 443 continues the idea by saying that we should not be intoxicated during salat so that we understand what we're saying. What are we saying? It follows that we should be saying the words of the Quran. Otherwise, why is salat referred to as a "timed book" with given dimensions?
Can we choose for ourselfs how we practice the salat? Or does God say that we must do all of the things you mentioned? Thus read the Quran, contact prayers and the rememberance of God.
I think that Salat is all the things that you just mentioned; they are not separate from each other. Salat involves the recitation of Q verses, prostration, and the remembrance of God. Now, if you want to talk about how many times you should prostrate, then I think that is up to the individual. I don't see why God would put limits on how many times you should prostrate in awe. But salat must be done at the states times as well, and I don't think that you can substitute times. Also, there is the question of 3,4, or 5 salat...my answer to that is there is definetly at least 3. I am going to continue a closer reading of the timings, b/c I think I may be able to see 4 or 5 now. If you are worried about the timings, it is always wiser to overperform.
My basic point for starting this thread was to counter the prevailing anti-physical salat vibe. It reminds me of the way atheists talk about people who believe in god as irrational and stupid simply b/c they feel as if they have "outgrown" god. It seems to me that a wise god would probably institute something like physical salat. Human beings are creatures of habit, and we are forgetful. What better way to counter both those things than to form a habit of remembering God many times a day?
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Salaams Br,
you said " What better way to counter both those things than to form a habit of remembering God many times a day?"
putting the idea of what salaat is to one side for a moment why can't we remember God all the time - via His descriptions ,The kind,polite helpful,truthful and so on they are all around us and all of the time.
So you should get satisfaction every moment rather then just so many times of the Day.
God Bless.
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Salaams Br,
you said " What better way to counter both those things than to form a habit of remembering God many times a day?"
putting the idea of what salaat is to one side for a moment why can't we remember God all the time - via His descriptions ,The kind,polite helpful,truthful and so on they are all around us and all of the time.
So you should get satisfaction every moment rather then just so many times of the Day.
God Bless.
Because human beings are forgetful. Why didn't Adam remember God was the only "ilah" rather than obey Iblis? Because Adam was forgetful. The entire point of the story of Adam is to demonstrate the human habit of forgetting truth; and remember depending on how you spin Adam's story, Adam knew the nature of God better than we currently do. It is true that we may remember God throughout the day, but how many people really do that? Those who do are a rare breed. We have so much to do everyday that I don't doubt that most people can go months without really thinking of God. I think that we(members of this forum) are bad judges of what human beings need. I can probably say that we are very committed to the idea of God, and that most members truly care, otherwise we would not be on a site for this purpose nor would we have cared about the Quran alone as opposed to Sunnism. That given, we are bad judges for the typical condition of human beings. I know for sure that if I do not read the Quran and nothing jolting happens to me, I become so swamped with schoolwork that I don't remember sometimes. Also, religion is everywhere and there are things to remind us of God everywhere, but most people still do not remember. It is only on rare occasions when something meaningful happens that most people remember. To answer your question, salat makes devotion more of a habit than a random occurence, and I think that practice is really what distinguishes believers from those who just don't care.