SALAT PER QURAN
.
(Source link: https://m.facebook.com/groups/233232853928910?view=permalink&id=491441541441372).
.
Often people ask about details of Salat. I edited an article and posting here as a reference guide.
Part one
Introduction
What is the definition of the Salat in the Quran? How should we observe it and is the Salat practiced today by millions of Muslims in agreement with the Quranic Salat?
In accordance to 6:114 we must accept the Quran as the only source of law:
Shall I seek other than God as a lawmaker when it is He who has brought down to you the Book fully detailed? 6:114
God asserts that the Quran is fully detailed and contains everything we need in order to practice our religion:
We did not leave anything out of the Book. 6:38
We brought the Book down to you providing explanations for all things. 16:89
He who has brought down to you the Book fully detailed. 6:114
In spite of these clear Quranic words, it is sad that most Muslims still claim that the Quran does not include everything and that the Quran alone is insufficient. They are arrogantly arguing against God just as God describes them in the following verse:
We have diversified in this Quran all kinds of examples for the people, yet the human being is, more than anything, argumentative. 18:54
They will say that the Quran speaks of the headlines only and that the details are to be found only in the hadith!
Note the words "all things" in 16:89 means all matters, big and small alike. The words "fully detailed" in 6:114 simply mean that the Quran contains all the details. It is necessary here to explain exactly what is meant by saying that the Quran contains all the details. The followers of hadith claim that the hadith contains many details that are not to be found in the Quran. This is quite true, however the absence of these details from the Quran is not because the Quran is not fully detailed, but because these details were never authorised by God. The Quran contains all the details that are authorised by God which we will be held accountable to. The followers of hadith have a wide collection of books which they highly cherish which contain all sorts of totally irrational details to say the least. The following verse includes a mockery about such behavior and a warning against such acts of idolatry:
Or do you have some book in which you are studying? Do you have in it whatever you choose? 68:37-38
Consequently, in accordance with 6:114 and other similar verses, all guidance can be derived from the Quran and nothing else.
Importance of the Salat
The Salat provides the nourishment needed by our souls and is a sure method of attaining righteousness and nearness to our Creator. The Quran lists a number of benefits attained from observing the Salat:
1- The Salat protects believers from evil and vice:
Observe the Salat, for the Salat forbids immorality and evil. 29:45
2- The Salat strengthens our belief and make us attain certainty:
Glorify your Lord with praise, and be among the prostrators, and worship your Lord in order to attain certainty. 15:98-99
3- The Salat (along with charity) is the best investment for the hereafter:
Those who recite God's Book, observe the Salat, and give from what We have provided for them, secretly and publicly, are seeking a trade that can never go to waste: that He may pay them their reward in full and increase for them His favour. Indeed, He is Forgiving, Appreciative. 35:29-30
4- Above all, the Salat is to commemorate God:
Surely, the most important objective of the Salat is to commemorate God.
Recite what is revealed to you of the Book, and observe the Salat, for the Salat prohibits immorality and evil, and the remembrance of God is of greater importance. God knows what you do. 29:45
I am God, there is no god except Me. Therefore, you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate Me. 20:14
Part Two
Salat Pre-Requisites
Before observing the Salat, believers are to adhere to a number of pre-requisites. These are Intention, Devotion, Ablution, and Direction.
1- Intention
This first pre-requisite is the conscious intention to establish contact with God Almighty. The believer does not need to utter an intention declaration as is commonly practiced, for God knows our intentions, we do not need to declare it. The intention to observe the Salat cannot be present if one is under intoxication:
O you who believe, do not approach the Salat while intoxicated until you know what you are saying. 4:43
The Salat is not accepted from anyone who is intoxicated from the effect of alcohol or drugs. As a matter of fact, intoxicants present the only case in the Quran where the human being is deprived from the blessing of Salat. This does not mean that intoxication is the greatest of all sins; it only means that a person who is intoxicated would simply not know what he/she is saying.
It is not the sin of taking intoxicants in itself that robs a person from the blessing of Salat, but it is the effect of the sin on the mind that is the cause of the prohibition. What this means is that as soon as the person is free from the effect of intoxication, they must resume observing the Salat.
The Quran asserts the fact that no believer is ever deprived of the gift of Salat, provided that he/she are in their full senses, even after committing the most gruesome of sins. Sins and good deeds are independent of each other; each will be recorded and judged equitably. No sin will erase a good deed:
Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it. 99:7-8
However, and because God is the Most Merciful, He has decreed that for the believers, their good deeds will wipe out their sins:
The good deeds wipe out the bad deeds. 11:114
And if that was not enough to demonstrate God's boundless mercy He has also decreed that for those who believe and lead a righteous life, He will even transform their sins into credits:
God replaces their bad deeds with good deeds. Indeed, God is Forgiver, Merciful. 25:70
For all that it becomes apparent why we should increase our good deeds, especially and immediately after committing a sin.
2- Ablution
O you who believe, when you get up to observe the Salat, wash your faces and your arms to the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles. 5:6
This is the ablution that is decreed in the Quran, it consist of four simple steps:
1- Wash the face 2- Wash the arms to the elbows 3- Wipe the head 4- Wipe the feet to the ankles.
In spite of this very clear command in the Quran, the majority of Muslims today perform their ablution in a different way. The ablution they perform is taken from the 'Sunna' (methodology) of the Prophet. Somehow they believe that the Prophet left the ablution prescribed to him by God and devised an amended ablution! In addition to the four steps prescribed in the Quran they add washing the hands to the wrists, the mouth, the nose, the ears and the neck.
They argue that since 'cleanliness is part of a good belief (as a famous hadith states), then the cleaner one is before the Salat the better. These additional measures that are not found in the Quranic ablution raise the following questions:
1- Is it conceivable that the Prophet whom we are told in the Quran was a "good example" for the believers (33:21), and who was blessed with receiving the Quran, and who was commanded by God to follow the Quran and nothing else (5:48 and 46:9), has in fact ignored the Quranic ablution and devised a different format?
2- Is the ablution prescribed by God inadequate?
3- The previous question ultimately leads to the crucial question; is the purpose and aim of ablution cleanliness after all?
The reply to all these three questions is the negative.
Part Three
The Purpose of Wudu (Ablution)
O you who believe, when you get up to observe the Salat, wash your faces and your arms to the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles. 5:6
The Ablution prescribed by God in the Quran consists of four simple steps:
1- Wash the face
2- Wash the arms to the elbows
3- Wipe the head
4- Wipe the feet to the ankles.
One would think that if God was deliberate in giving us such a precise format for ablution, that all Muslims would say, "We hear and we obey" and follow it to the letter; but no! It is a sad fact that the largest majority of Muslims do not follow this precise ablution but a different format!
The Ablution they perform is taken from what they are told is the sunna (methodology of Prophet Muhammad). They follow an Ablution which they believe was devised and followed by Prophet Muhammad. In addition to the four steps prescribed in the Quran, they add:
1- Washing the hands to the wrists
2- Washing the mouth
3- Washing the nose (nostrils)
4- Washing the ears
5- Washing the neck
As a result, instead of observing the 4-step Quranic Ablution, they observe an Ablution that consists of 9 steps!
They argue that since "Al-Nazafah min al-Imaan" (cleanliness is an attribute of good faith), as one hadith states, then, the more thorough one performs the act of cleansing the better.
Performing these additional steps in Ablution, none of which are in the Quran, raises the following questions:
1- Is it possible that Prophet Muhammad, who was commanded very firmly by God to follow nothing other than the Quran that was revealed to him, has in fact ignored God's commands and devised an Ablution that is different from the one prescribed to him in the Quran?
Say (O Muhammad), "I am not a novelty among the messengers, nor do I know what will happen to me or to you. I follow nothing other than what is revealed to me (Quran). I am no more than a clear warner. 46:9, also 10:15
2- Those who perform the alleged Ablution of the Prophet; are they implying that the Ablution prescribed in the Quran by God is inadequate, and that they prefer an 'improved' format?
3- The above questions ultimately lead to another crucial question: is physical cleanliness the real purpose and aim of ablution after all?
The only answer to the first and second questions must be the negative. The Prophet would have never devised or followed a different format for Ablution than what God gave him in the Quran, not if he obeyed the following command from God in 46:9.
As for the third question one must pose and reflect on a number of issues.
If the primary purpose of Ablution was in fact cleanliness, why did God not command us to wash other parts of our bodies that are more in need of cleaning than our faces, such as our arm pits or our private parts? Better still, if it is all about cleanliness, why did God not instruct us to take a full bath before observing the Salat? In addition, if the purpose of Ablution was cleanliness why did God only say "wipe your heads" and not "wash your heads"? Surely, wiping the head does not properly clean it!
There can only be one answer to such questions: The purpose of Ablution cannot be primarily for physical cleanliness. Ablution can only be a simple command from God to test our obedience. Are we going to obey God's four simple steps, or will the devil dupe us into changing God's command, thinking we are doing good? This simple test that resides in the Ablution is in fact identical to the test given to Adam with regards to the forbidden tree. Why did God place the forbidden tree among all the other trees of Paradise then warn Adam not to eat its fruit? There was nothing physically wrong with the fruit of the tree, because when Adam ate its fruit no physical harm befell him. However Adam failed in the simple test of obedience to God. The devil tricked him in exactly the same way he is tricking millions of Muslims today into disobeying the simplest of God's commands!
The devil's tricks are always the same. God Almighty has warned us that the devil will entice us with lies and illusions. In the case of Adam, the devil tricked him into believing that the fruit of the forbidden tree was of immense benefit when he said:
O Adam, shall I show you the tree of immortality and sovereignty that never perishes? 20:120
Similarly, in the case of Ablution, the devil has enticed millions into believing that there is a better ablution than the one prescribed by God! To make it more convincing, he has tricked many into believing that Prophet Muhammad followed the 'improved ablution'! In reality, the Prophet is innocent of such fabricated lies which are attributed to him. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Prophet, in compliance with the command he received in 46:9, must have followed God's commands in the Quran to the letter without altering them.
If cleanliness was the issue exploited by Satan to mislead people, we find that God has given us sufficient indications in the Quran to confirm that Ablution is merely a test of obedience and not a matter of cleanliness. To confirm the points presented above, the following points are re-affirmed:
First: The parts of the body addressed in the Quranic Ablution (5:6) are not necessarily the parts of the body that need cleaning the most. A person's arm pits and private parts are more in need of frequent cleaning.
Second: The deliberate command from God to only wipe our heads, when a simple wiping does not in any way clean the head, is a firm indication from God to tell us that Ablution is not primarily for physical cleanliness, rather, that obeying God's simple commands is the real core of the Ablution instruction.
Third: The third confirmation is found in the following verse:
If you are ill or travelling, or if any of you has come from the toilet or had sexual contact with women, and you could not find water, then observe dry ablution by means of wiping your faces and hands with clean dry soil. 4:43
An important observation here is that the one who has just been to the toilet or has just had sex with his/her spouse really needs to wash their private parts and not the face and hands! However, and in the absence of water, the command from God is to wipe the face and the hands with clean soil (dry Ablution) which will obviously not clean the private parts. Once again, this confirms that the whole issue of Ablution is not one of physical cleanliness, but simply a test of obedience.
Sadly, the falsifiers will not only add rituals never authorised by God, which makes them guilty of shirk (42:21), but they also add ridiculous conditions that must be observed during Ablution. One of the totally absurd conditions they set is in the direction of water during washing. They insist that if the water slides from the elbow to the wrist then the Ablution is void! They insist that the correct method is for the water to slide from wrist to elbow!
God made the religion easy to practice and rendered the Quranic commands simple and unambiguous (39:28), but sadly, the majority of people who are not satisfied with the Quran alone, have rejected the Quranic instructions and allowed their Imams and scholars to dictate to them a totally complicated and hard to follow version of Islam! When shown the simple commands of God, they will argue against them and will treat them with contempt!
God has already told us that no matter how simple His commands may be, the human being will always argue unnecessarily:
We have diversified in this Quran all kinds of examples for the people, yet the human being is, nore than anything, argumentative. 18:54
Part Four
3- Devotion
Say, "My Salat, my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted to God, the Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. This is what I was commanded with and I am the first of the submitters." 6:162-163
I am God, there is no god except Me. Therefore, you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate Me. 20:14
In accordance with the above Quranic commands, believers must devote and dedicate all their Salat (as well as all other rituals) to the name of God alone. The commemoration of any names other than God in the Salat is in total violation of the Quranic rules and immediately voids the Salat.
Those who dedicate all their religion to God alone are given the title of 'Ebad Allah Al-Mukhlaseen' which translates to God's pure servants. The word "Mukhalseen" comes from the Arabic word 'Khales' which means pure. The phrase 'Al-Deen Al-Khales' as in 39:3 means the Pure Religion and it describes the religion that is devoted absolutely to God alone.
We brought down to you the Book with truth, so worship God, devoting the religion purely to Him. Unquestionably, it is to God that the pure religion is due. 39:2-3
Indeed devotion to God and total submission is an important pre-requisite for the Salat:
Successful indeed are the believers; those who are humble in their Salat. 23:1-2
4- Direction (Qibla)
With the revelation of the Quran, the Qibla has been set towards the Masjid Al-Haram (2:144). In addition, we are given a command to turn our faces towards the Masjid Al-Haram wherever we are when we observe the Salat (2:149-150):
From wherever you set off, turn your face towards the Masjid Al-Haram. This is the truth from your Lord, and God is not unaware of what you do. 2:149
Indeed, from wherever you set off, turn your face towards the Masjid Al-Haram. And wherever you may be, turn your faces towards it so that the people will have no argument against you, except for the transgressors among them. So do not fear them but fear Me instead, so that I may complete My blessings upon you and so that you may be guided. 2:150
Part Five
Salat Positions
The Quran speaks of three positions to be observed during the Salat, they are: Standing, Bowing and Prostrating.
The following verses confirm that the Salat starts in the standing position:
You shall maintain the Salawaat and the Salat Al-Wusta, and stand devoutly obedient before God. 2:238
O you who believe, when you get up to observe the Salat, you shall ....... 5:6
So the angels called out to him while he was standing, praying in the sanctuary: "God gives you news of John, confirming a Word from God, who will be honourable and celibate, as well as a prophet, from among the righteous." 3:39
And if you are among them and you lead the Salat for them, let a group of them stand with you and let them hold on to their weapons. 4:102
After the standing position comes the bowing and prostrating:
We appointed for Abraham the location of the House: "Do not associate anything with Me, and purify My House for those passing by and those standing, bowing, and prostrating." 22:26
Muhammad, the messenger of God, and those with him are stern with the disbelievers and compassionate amongst one another. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking favour from God and consent. 48:29
The Salat ends with prostration:
Then once they have prostrated, let them be positioned behind you and let another group, who has not yet observed the Salat, observe the Salat with you while remaining cautious and while holding on to their weapons. 4:102
The words 'once they have prostrated' indicate clearly that prostration marks the end of the Salat, after which a new group comes to observe their Salat in the place of the first group. There is no mention in 4:102, or anywhere else in the Quran, that the believers should follow prostration by standing once again and repeating the cycle.
Part Six
Three Salat (Prayers) Authorised in the Quran
The Prayers mentioned by name in the Quran are:
1- Salat Al-Fajr (Dawn Prayer) 24:58
2- Al-Salat Al-Wusta (The Middle Prayer) 2:238
3- Salat Al-Isha (Night Prayer) 24:58
However, 99% of all Muslims in the world observe 5 daily prayers.
Their 5 Salat are: Fajr - Zhohr - Asr - Maghrib - Isha.
What they did was add two Prayers to the ones authorised by God in the Quran.
The question is: If the prescribed Prayers are indeed five per day, why does the Quran give us only three named Salat?
First: Why are there only three named Salat in the Quran?
If it is true that God authorised 5 obligatory Salat per day, then we should have a good reason as to why there are only 3 names of Salat given in the Quran?
Let us consider a number of options for this matter:
1- The names of the other Salat are not in the Quran because the Quran does not contain all the details.
This claim is immediately refuted by God's assurance that the Quran is fully detailed and that nothing has been left out of the Book:
Shall I seek other than God as a lawmaker when it is He who has brought down to you the Book fully detailed? 6:114
We did not leave anything out of the Book. 6:38
2- God forgot to mention the other two names of Salat!
This cannot be the case because we read in the Quran that God, be praised, does not forget:
He said, "The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a Record. My Lord does not err, nor does He forget." 20:52
3- God did not mention the names of the other 2 Salat because they are not as important as the other 3.
If some Salat were not important they would not be compulsory, and as a result, to claim that there are five compulsory prayers becomes a false claim.
4- God did not mention the names of the other 2 Salat because God wants us to guess them!
Once again this is false. The Quran is unambiguous and is not a book of puzzles:
A.L.R. These are the signs of the clear Book. 12:1
We have made it (the Quran) easy to understand, in your own tongue, so that they may be reminded. 44:58
5- God does not mention the names of the other 2 Salat because God wants us to find them in the hadith.
Once again this is a false claim since we are commanded in the Quran not to believe or follow any hadith other than the Quran:
These are God's revelations (Quran) that We recite to you with truth, so in which hadith other than God and His revelations (Quran) do they believe? 45:6
It is also a false claim because God assures us in the Quran that the Quran has all the details.
6- God does not mention the names of all the Salat since they came to us through inherited rituals, and because God wants us to follow what we inherited from our parents, even if it is not found in the Quran!
This once again is a claim that violates the Quran. In the Quran we are commanded not to follow what we inherited from our parents if it is not clearly found in the Quran:
And when it is said to them, "Follow what God has brought down (Quran)," they said, "No, we only follow what we found our fathers upon." What! Even if their fathers did not understand anything and were not guided? 2:170
7- God does not mention the names of the other 2 Prayers, because there are no 2 other Prayers according to the law of the Quran.
The genuine believers who believe that the Quran contains all the details, with no ifs or buts, will not accept any option other than option 7.
Second: The Salat is given precise times in the Quran
We read in 4:103 that the time of each Prayer is precisely given in the Quran 'kitaban mawqootan'. The word 'kitaban' means 'book', and the Book we received from God is the Quran. The word 'mawqootan' means specifically timed. The deliberate use of these two words by God confirms that the precise appointed time for each of the Prayers is given in the Quran. This conforms to the fact that the Quran contains all the details.
The exact times of the three Salat are given in the Quran and they are as follows:
1- Salat Al-Fajr (Dawn Prayer), mentioned by name in 24:58
This Prayer starts when Fajr (dawn) starts. The start of Fajr is given in 2:187. It starts when the first thin ray of light is observed in the sky. The words in 2:187 are: 'until the white thread of dawn becomes distinguishable to you from the dark thread.' The Prayer ends at sunrise as will be explained in more detail below.
2- Al-Salat Al-Wusta (Middle Prayer), mentioned by name in 2:238
The time of the Middle (Wusta) Prayer is given in 17:78. It starts when the sun starts to decline from its highest point in the sky (dulook al-shams), which is at noon, and ends at sunset as detailed below.
3- Salat Al-Isha (Night Prayer) mentioned by name in 24:58
The Night Prayer corresponds to the latter end of the day. It is the mirror image of the Fajr Salat. This Prayer starts as soon as the sun has set and ends when all light has disappeared from the night sky.
Part Seven
How many raka?
Traditional Muslims conduct their Salat in units which they call raka. One raka is a cycle of standing, bowing then 2 prostrations. They also follow a strict format for the Salat which is 24434. This means that the first of their Salat (Fajr) has 2 raka, the second of their Salat (Zhohr) has 4 raka and so on. We don’t find this format, nor any other format in the Quran. In addition, the word raka itself is not found in the Quran.
The Quran gives us the following assurances:
Should I seek other than God as a lawmaker when it is He who has brought down to you the Book fully detailed? 6:114
We did not leave anything out of the Book. 6:38
This (Quran) is not a fabricated hadith, but an authentication of what came before it, a detailed account of all things, and guidance and mercy for people who believe.12:111
We brought the Book down to you providing explanations for all things, guidance, mercy, and good news for the submitters. 16:89
Nevertheless, many still argue against God's words about the full detailed attribute of the Quran. They are often heard saying:
- "If the Quran has all the details, then can you show me where do we find the number of raka in the Quran?"
By asking such a question, they rubber stamp a clear admission that they do not believe any of the above verses! They will reject the direct and straightforward meaning of these verses and will always come up with a twisted meaning then claim that these verses in fact, mean something else!
Indeed the Quran does not have any number of raka, but it is not because the Quran does not have all the details, but because the concept of raka itself is not authorised by God.
As a result, when they ask to be shown the number of raka in the Quran, the answer to them would be: How can we show you in the Quran something that was never authorised by God in the first place?
Their question about the number of raka is not any different from someone asking the following question:
- "Where would we find in the Quran the number of pebbles we must throw when we observe the ritual of rajm (stoning) during our Hajj?"
The same answer is given:
God never authorised the ritual of stoning, so how do you expect God to provide a number (of pebbles) for a ritual that He never authorised in the first place?
The Quranic Salat is simply made up of standing, bowing then prostrating in that order. This means that as soon as prostration is observed, the Salat is complete.
To observe one sequence of standing, bowing and prostrating does not mean that the Salat will be reduced to a very short time either! Not at all, those who observe Salat are free to spend as much or as little time in each of the three positions. One can stand in prayer for two minutes, twenty minutes or for any duration of time. The same applies to how much time is spent bowing and prostrating.
Some have also suggested that in 4:101 God gives us the concession to shorten our Salat at times of war or danger. As a result, they claim that the Salat must be made up of at least 2 raka since it is not possible to shorten one raka!
Once again, the error in their interpretation is because they chose a starting point (number of raka) which is not a Quranic concept, thus their result is also un-Quranic.
Shortening the Salat is related to the overall time that is given to the Salat and not to the number of the un-Quranic rakas observed. How can it be possible that God would instruct us to shorten something He never authorised in the first place?
When we adopt the correct meaning of shortening the Salat (time spent), it follows that if we normally spend 10 or 15 minutes in our Salat, at times of war this can be shortened to only a few minutes. In all cases, the Salat would still be comprised of standing, bowing then prostrating.
In addition, we are given Quranic evidence in 4:102 that prostration marks the end of the Salat. The words in 4:102 which speak to the Prophet (or to any leader of the Salat at times of war) say:
And if you are among them and you lead the Salat for them, let a group of them stand with you and let them hold on to their weapons. Then once they have prostrated, let them be positioned behind you and let another group, who has not yet observed the Salat, observe the Salat with you while remaining cautious and while holding on to their weapons. 4:102
The words 'once they have prostrated' are very clear and they indicate that as soon as any group has prostrated, this would mark the end of their Salat, and thus another group may come and observe the Salat with the same Imam. Note that God never said that they should prostrate a number of times, nor did God say that they should stand and repeat the cycle. A clear Quranic proof that the Salat is complete after the first prostration.
If we wish to repeat any of the positions of the Salat, or all of them, as many times as we wish, that is fine, but we should never impose rules and un-Quranic concepts and attribute them to God. This in the Quran is labelled as an act of shirk:
Or do they have 'shuraka' (partners) who legislate for them of the religion what God did not authorise? If it were not for a decisive Word, judgement would have already been passed over them. Indeed, the transgressors shall have a painful punishment. 42:21
The word 'shuraka' is the plural of the word 'shareek' which means partner. The importance of this word should not be overlooked.
God could have said: 'do they have others who legislate for them', but God deliberately chose the word 'shuraka'. The word 'shareek' is an adjective from the noun 'shirk' (setting up partners with God in any of His exclusive rights). One of God's exclusive rights is that He is the Only Law Maker (6:114). Since the words in 42:21 connect the word 'shuraka' with the words 'of the religion what God did not authorised', thus the word 'shuraka' in this verse can only be speaking about partners with God in His exclusive right to be the Only Law Maker. It follows that all who advocate or follow religious rules or rituals not authorised by God are committing shirk. On the Day of Judgement, those who committed shirk will be asked:'where are your shuraka?' (6:22).
Part Eight
Salat Words
With regards to the words of the Salat, we must remember that the purpose of the Salat is to commemorate and glorify the name of God alone.
God instructs in the Quran to utter our Salat in a moderate voice that is not shouting nor whispering:
Say, "Call upon God, or call upon the Almighty. Whichever you call upon, to Him belong the Beautiful Names." Do not shout your Salat nor whisper it, but seek a path in between. 17:110
In addition, we find guidance in the Quran with respect to the following matters:
First : All the words of the Salat should be from the Quran.
Second : Specific Quranic phrases are to be spoken during the Salat.
______________
First : The words of the Salat should be from the Quran.
1- Recite what has been inspired to you of your Lord's Book. None can change His words, and you will not find any refuge besides Him. 18:27
This verse does not specify any one activity, as a result, reciting Quranic words can be done at all times including when we are worshipping God through the Salat.
2- Recite what is revealed to you of the Book and observe the Salat. 29:45
In this verse we read a clear connection between the recitation of the Quran and observing the Salat.
3- They are not all the same: among the people of the Book are an upright nation. They recite God's revelations during the night while they prostrate. 3:113
This verse speaks of the righteous and how they recite the Scripture while prostrating. Prostration, being one of the positions of the Salat, provides another strong link between reciting from God's Book during the Salat.
4- In 20:14 we are told that the Salat is observed for the purpose of commemorating (zhikr) God:
I am God, there is no god but Me. Therefore, you shall worship Me and observe the Salat to commemorate Me. 20:14
We see the same word, "zhikr" of God mentioned in the following verse:
When you mention your Lord, in the Quran alone, they turn their backs and run away in aversion. 17:46
(p.s. the word 'zhikr' is the noun and the word 'zhakart' is the verb)
17:46 tells us that the true believers commemorate God by using the Quran alone. And therefore, the commemoration of God is the principle purpose and core of the Salat (20:14), then it follows that all commemoration of God in the Salat must be by means of the Quran alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment