assalamu 'aleykum,

I prefer to think of this as something that is a continually evolving practice rather than a fixed ritual to performed in a certain way for all time. I've tried to take a middle way through what can be explicitly determined from al-Qur'an and the historical tradition of practice as well. I don't want to, and I don't think that I do make the argument that innovations in traditional practice are completely valid, yet something strikes me as being very arrogant to simply cast aside thousands of years of common practice. This is the result of that mediation and it is a work in progress. As such, I invite those with more knowledge than I to comment, critique, or at least let me know if I'm on the right track ... as I hope my sharing this may insha'allah help others as well.

Tried putting this inline in the message a couple times, but couldn't get the formatting right, so here's a pdf.

https//docs.google.com/file/d/0B2MOiVr1TPeyWGVaZEJEdjIxcG8/edit?usp=sharing

And yes, I am aware of 17111, but there seem to be many interpretations of that as well, so I haven't arrived at any consistent conclusion as of yet.

Another thing this does not address yet is the Adhan, and I'd be curious to know what other's position is on that. I know some perform it before prayer, even if they are by themselves, and others do not. It is not technically part of the Salah, but precedes it so is outside any of the Qur'anic injunctions for how to perform the prayer? It is a beautiful thing, and aside perhaps from the Shahada it contains bearing witness to Muhammad ( &#1605, there doesn't seem to be anything unQur'anic (!) about it.

and note I am not a native speaker of Arabic. I am returning to school in the Fall to work toward completion of my degree(s) in Communications and Linguistics with an emphasis on Central and Southwest Asian Studies, studying Modern, Classical, and colloquial Arabic along the way. Be kind.