Compilation of "salaat" verses
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Peace Idolfree,
I too appreciate Aidid Safar's commentary on Salat. However, like you, It still does not fit in with dawn, or the water, or 4102. I even had a post dedicated to explaining 4102 as "commitment" since I had problems doing so.
So, in my eyes If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
So until there is an explanation, I can't accept it.Salat is so interesting....Its treated as if it is simple in the Qur'an, but we treat it as the most complex issue in the world.
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thanks, Wakas.
At least I know that I am not the only one that is leaning towards NOT defining Salat as one definitive word or thing or motion or...whatever. Like I said, the Qur'an treats salat as being self evident. And the one thing that was self evident to me was that the meaning of salat is central, but has multiple manifestations and uses.
I appreciated the article. Before, I tried to theorize salat as being a process of remembrance and realization ( of which meditation is one of my personal "manifestations"). Turning towards works even better.
Peace
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Peace be upon you Wakas,
I just read your article again with the same kind of attention I gave Aidid's article, and now I cant figure out which one is right!! D
Perhaps we can start a new thread "Turning Towards Vs. Commitment".
That would be helpful for my mind to figure this out.
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peace be upon you Kyle,
going/turnings towards is a general term encompassing the core meaning of slw. Every occurrence has this connotation. ('commitment' fits within this umbrella concept/fold). The only difference that may arise is IF we are talking about the regular/timed slw, that is for the mumineen only, and it is strongly related to 'al quran'. For those, it is recommended to be done before & after the working day (whatever that may be for the individual/community).
Wakas
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peace be upon you kyle,
Peace be upon you Wakas,
I just read your article again with the same kind of attention I gave Aidid's article, and now I cant figure out which one is right!! D
Perhaps we can start a new thread "Turning Towards Vs. Commitment".
That would be helpful for my mind to figure this out.
lol you're kinda back to square 1 on this issue
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Peace be upon you Idris,
Yes, I am definately back to square one. D But I guess thats the only place to be where I wont have pre concieved ideas.
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Peace, all...
I am glad to see that this topic is still at hand.
Recently, i have just finished reading Aidid Safar's "Hijacking of Islam", which gives an entire breakdown of his opinions on salat, hajj, etc.
I plan on reading it again immediately, this time with an open quran or two (translations, of course) in the hopes of verifying for myself what, if anything, he writes seems true.
In regards to the questions concerning commitment fitting into 4102 and the dawn "salat", here is how i understand Aidid's writings
the "commitment" is not one particular thing...the revelations contained within the quran are the commitment...all of them...from how to handle a divorce situation, to what to eat, to dealing with "non-believers", to times of war & aggression. what is also mentioned as a commitment is reading & reciting the quran. if, especially during this time of revelation, you are with a group preparing for war or to defend a potential attack, etc, and you want to do everything "by the book", would it not be required of you as the leader of this "militia" to review the gameplan with those involved? This falls in line with commitment. 1) you are committed to your troops as the leader, general, whatever; and 2) the is the obvious correlation between solaa/commitment and READING/RECITING.
The quran, as we know, is guidance and mercy from GOD, so in seeking guidance/advice for any of life's situations, including but not limited to battle, we shoould always consider & consult what the quran has to say.
We, unlike everything else in existence, were granted free will...and given a guidebook to help us use it properly. Our commitment is to following that guidebook. Perhaps solaa does not literally mean commitment, but "commitment" embodies the concept of following the quran to the best of our ability...commitment/follow closely, etc.Aidid suggests that each item listed in the quran is a commitment. Therefore, when the quran says that the dawn recitation is ever witnessed, that is a commitment. So, when it elsewhere generalizes as "during the dawn commitment", it would seem this is what it is referring to. Likewise, the night commitment...night is better for pondering and rearranging verses...to study all or part of the night, whatever is easy...that's our night commitment.
Finally, Aidid suggests that we are to uphold our commitments FROM the rising of the sun until its setting, and part of the night (because we don't all go to bed at sundown). When we are sleeping, we don't have to think about our commitments (unlike the people of mecca, who walk around with a stick to poke you if you are not sleeping on the correct side/position i'm told).The birds, like all things, are a community like ourselves, and the birds know their commitment. We, endowed with free will, do not. It was offered to others (the mountains, etc) but they refused...the human accepted. Since we don't "know" our commitments, we need to read, recite, listen, and follow that which is best...seek refuge in GOD from satan.
This is what i took from his book the first time through. I look forward to hearing from all.
May GOD guide us to the truth
brian -
Peace be upon you Brirob,
I tend to agree with what you are stating. I left this topic alone for a moment to approach it again with a clear mind. It seems like this is the correct option.
Is this also basically what you allude to Wakas?
Further though, I do not take it as reading a certain book called "Koran" at dawn, but meditating on the Universe at Dawn, The Great Reading of which we are all a character.
The problem I was having is that I thought this argument excluded a dawn and also a dusk "commitment".
This also fits with my understanding of "Isa, Son of Marium" which is your 'WILL' , which allows you to command your Emotions so they might move you in the path of righteousness, rather than being one who is led by emotions. Isa was commanded to maintain the commitment from "birth", this is possible for the WILL of man, which is the means of maintaining the commitment.
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peace, all.
i began thinking further about this topic, and began thinking about the bible as well. what commitments does it hold? and how do these compare and contrast?
that brought me to the 10 commandments. i am not convinced that "salat" is to be translated literally as "commitments" as i have previously stated, but the concept is accurate, i believe.
so i thought, "what is an English word that means 'things GOD wants us to do?" that's when i recalled THE 10 COMMANDMENTS.
a google search for hebrew meaning of commandments brought lots of pages...here's one or 2 quotes from them
And the question I am putting to you is how can we uphold and affirm as a Reform value ? The Commandments, with a Capital C ?
The short answer is by means of another word beginning with C ? Commitment.
We uphold them because we are committed to them. There are many things in life which we may not be able to subscribe to 100%. We may not like our job but we?re committed ? we?ve signed a contract; we may not agree with everything the State of Israel does but we stand to Israel in the same relationship as to our family and to the Jewish people as a whole. And it is a commitment. It does not have to be an uncritical commitment. But we cannot opt out without denying who we are.
I put it to you, the same is true of the Commandments. We may not be able to subscribe to them all, but we are committed to the concept of Commandments, mitzvoth, simply by virtue of being Reform Jews.
http//www.mcr-reform.org.uk/A-Z%20sermons/C%20is%20also%20for%20Commandments.htmThe word (davar) may better be translated as "order" as in the phrase "And YHWH gave orders to Moses saying". A commanding officer does not speak to his troops. he has formulated his action plans and has determined the best means to have these plans carried out. Once all of this is determined, he gives his "orders" to his troops. These orders are "an ordered arrangement".
The phrase "Ten Commandments" does not actually appear in the Hebrew Bible, instead it is aseret hadevariym" and is literally translated as "ten orders". The "Ten Commandments" are our orders from God (the general). They are an ordered arrangement of ideas that if followed will bring about peace and harmony
http//www.ancient-hebrew.org/emagazine/002.htmlthese do not verify anything, but they have helped me to feel comfortable with the concept of what commitments are. the word itself is not as important, and i'll continue reading it as commitments, with the understanding that salat falls into the same catagory as commandments, or orders GOD would like us to follow.
just my thought for today.
peace,
brian
