Are we bending and touching the knees when we are told to kneel (raka_a)
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Peace
The bowing position in Salat is rukuh and Quran mentions many times about
bowing (Bending at the waist and touching the knees) as ra_ki'in(a), ra_ki'u_n(a), etc.Each salat has a specified no of RAKAHS.
I am not fluent in Arabic but it striked me that rakah comes from Arabic word for knee ~ rukbaha , rukbahu and kneel ~ raka_a and almost all religious prayers have a kneeling position whether its Christianity, Judaism , Buddhism, Hinduism . The Arabic words for bow or bend does not come from the same root.Please help me to understand this difference in words.
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Salaams warner,
here are the words for the different positions Br.
positions of Pagan Salah or Namaaz or what else they call it
Jathimeena == Prostration,
And from lanes (Aparently you can?t find these in the quran)(p380)
Jath == sitting upon his knees ,putting down his knees and raising his
Buttocks.
Ajthaha == He made him sit upon his knees.
Ajthoo == To fall upon ones knees.
Jathoo/Jathee==He sat upon his knees.
Jathfa ==fall upon his breast.God Bless.
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Salam Warner
The Arabic verb derived from knee (rukba) is baraka, to fall on ones' knees, but it is usually used for animals, specially camels, and the place where camels are kept is caled mabrak (noun of place).
Raka3a in Arabic means to surrender, yield, submit, succumb... I believe that means to kneel(for humans). Unfortunately, some dictionaries twist the meaning of a word to confrom to the traditional interpretation of it. This is one example. It recites a line from a poem which says
"I walk slowly as if every time I get up I (arka3)"I think the poet means he falls, not bows. Then the dictionary says that it means every bending where the knees touch the ground or do not touch it ! I think the last phrase (or do not touch it) is an addition from the dictionary.
If we go back to the original meaning (surrender, yield, succumb) and put it in body action, you kneel, but do not bow
Salam Simple
You are right, jathama means to sit upon the knees, but it is not related to submittion or surrender; actually it has the meaning of sitting like a burden. Jathama on his chest (fugrative); so it is not at all suitable for salat, where you should show submittion and surrender, not being ( a burden) -
Salaams,
17107 Proclaim, "Believe in it, or do not believe in it." Those who possess knowledge from the previous scriptures, when it is recited to them, they fall down to their chins, prostrating.
17108 They say, "Glory be to our Lord. This fulfills our Lord's prophecy."
17109 They fall down on their chins, prostrating and weeping, for it augments their reverence.
I think its just nodding your head in acceptance or something?
God Bless.