Salat during the time of the Prophet
The multiple-meaning word SALAT derives from the root sad-lam-waw1, which implies communication, contact, nearing, bonding, following closely, backing, remaining attached and so on, depending on the context.
In its most occurrences in the Quran, SALAT means communication – and, more specifically, communication with a guide. This guide can be a messenger, a reminder, a man of wisdom, a book of knowledge, or simply a person’s own inner Script or conscience.
The frequent Quranic directive “aqeemoo alssalata”, or “establish the salat/communication”2, is NOT about “performing a ritual prayer”, but a call to constantly heed the divine messages and implement them in real life.
During the time of the Quranic revelation, people used to receive these messages via direct communication (salat) with the messenger at regular meetings, usually twice a day3. These salat sessions were held at specific times – at dawn and nightfall (11:114, 17:78-79, 24:58) and also occasionally, in an emergency, during business hours of the day (62:9-11; cf. 73:7). They were attended by males, due to the then patriarchal social reality (4:43, 5:6); required, for the sake of civility, physical cleanliness4 and presentability (4:43, 5:6, 7:31); and, importantly, required a conscious state of mind for understanding the messages (4:43, 5:91). For establishing order in personal and collective life, people were asked to establish this on-going communication (salat) in practice, by closely following the prophetic messages of oneness, knowledge, compassion, justice, pluralism and so on.
Clearly, these congregations during the Prophet’s ministry were not ritualistic prayer services in the traditional sense. Originally designed to discuss the contemporary events and to address the important issues of the community, they were mainly about pondering over the words freshly revealed along with transmission of the necessary information (73:20, 35:29, 42:38). Earlier, the Quran encouraged the disciples to establish study groups for making some concentrated effort to reflect on the words during a large portion of the night (73:20, 73:1-7).
Because these salat sessions were primarily intended to deliver and disseminate the messages – and because their audience were therefore urged to understand and assimilate them by thinking and reasoning (3:79, 4:43, 5:91, 12:2, 14:4, 20:114, 25:73, 43:3-4, 44:58, 47:24, 73:6) – they essentially differed from today’s mindless ritual prayers which consist of repetitive mechanical movements and robotic chanting and which entirely overlook the quintessence of the original salat and its actual objective (25:73, 8:35, 107:4-5).
Now, long after the departure of the Prophet, who fulfilled his sole duty of delivering5 (5:92, 16:35), people currently have full access to his detailed message via the copies of the completed Quran and therefore do not need in the same way those scheduled salat sessions at specific times to receive the message from a human messenger. Since the Quran now represents the living messenger, any communication with it or with a similar reminder would qualify as one of the endless forms of salat and would serve the purpose. Likewise, any communication with our inherent inner Script (the Book, al-Kitab), through introspection and mindful meditation, provided it is not robotic, would equally qualify as a form of salat.
As socio-economic progress in our time has made life complex and vast, there are far too many ways available now whereby people can conduct (and benefit from) a Quranically rational salat/communication. Examples include: a discussion session at any meeting place like a community centre; a lesson in a classroom; an online group study at an internet forum or another social media; a self-study of a thought-provoking book at one’s own home; or simply a communication with the inner self anytime anywhere. The quality and content of salat may widely vary: from beautiful and well balanced, like the prophetic salat (2:238), to mere noise and aversion of whistling and clapping, like the Meccan polytheists’ salat (8:35).
While all these are forms of salat, a form cannot be the End in itself but is only a means to an End. The End is obviously the establishment of the salat by constantly remembering God by remaining mindful of God’s messages, through all our thoughts and actions, while applying them in our daily life (7:170, 11:114, 19:60-61, 20:14, 21:73, 29:45). This End, the constant remembrance, is truly more important than any of the forms of salat (29:45; note: remembering God = remembering God’s messages in nature; elsewhere, God’s right is defined as the right of the needy, 6:141).
Final words
The salat sessions during the time of the Quranic revelation were mainly about pondering over the words freshly revealed along with discussing the important issues of the community.
Because these prophetic congregations were primarily intended to deliver and disseminate the messages – and because their audience were therefore urged to understand and assimilate them by thinking and reasoning – they essentially differed from the ritualistic prayer services traditionally misperceived as salat.
Sadly, today’s ritual prayer is a mindless ritual developed over time mimicking the original salat, by annexing to it certain repetitive mechanical movements and robotic chanting, mostly devoid of any real sense or benefit, while entirely overlooking the quintessence of salat and its actual objective – thus reducing it into an act of mockery, to put it bluntly.
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Note 1
The multiple-meaning word SALAT derives from the root ṣlw, or sad-lam-waw, which, depending on the context, implies communication (4:43, 4:102, 17:110, 20:14), contact (19:59, 22:40), nearing (75:31-32), bonding (2:125), following closely (20:132, 70:23, 74:43, 23:2,9), walking/following behind closely (9:84), law-abiding (9:5, 9:11), oration/lecturing (3:39), briefing/discussion (5:106), backing (33:43, 33:56), remaining attached (70:22) and so on. In a horse race when the second horse follows the first one so closely that its head always overlaps the first horse’s body that horse is called AL-MUSSALLI (i.e. the one who follows closely/remains attached). Central portion of the back, portion from where the tail of an animal comes out, the rump. LL, V4, p: 444, 445 http://ejtaal.net/aa/#q=SLW
Note 2
Attending the salat/communication sessions is not the same as establishing the salat, which is remembering/minding these communications (“remembering God”) and implementing them in real life. In other words, we can establish salat by adhering to God’s messages/principles/laws (4:103, 42:38, 62:10), which are constantly communicated to us as God’s messages in nature and are reminded by the messengers (24:41, 22:18).
Note 3
The salat sessions during the Prophet’s time were held usually twice a day – at dawn and nightfall (11:114, 17:78-79, 24:58; cf. 6:52, 7:205, 18:28, 25:5, 33:41-42, 48:9, 76:25). In addition, in an emergency, a salat session could also be held exceptionally during business hours of the day, which is now widely ritualised as ‘Friday prayer’ (62:9-11; cf. 73:7). The concept of a ‘middle prayer’, deduced from overinterpretation of 2:238, is negated by verses like 2:143, 68:28 and 24:58. Then the concept of noon and afternoon prayers, deduced from overinterpretation of 30:17-19, is negated by a careful reading: So glory be to God, when you are at evening and when you are at dawn./ To Him belongs all praise in the heavens and the earth and at the sun’s decline and when you are at noon./ He brings the living from the dead, and He brings the dead from the living. … 30:17-19. This passage, lacking imperative verb, is not a commandment for prayer, but is simply an announcement: Exalted/glorified is God to whom belongs all praise in the heavens and the earth and throughout all the hours of day and night. It is interesting to observe here the recurrent references to dualities in creation that remind us of the oneness of the Creator (evening … dawn; heavens … earth; sun’s decline … noon; living … dead; dead … living, etc). This is in line with the continuously recurring dialectical expressions throughout the long context, 30:2-27. Compare this with analogous passages where God is glorified and praised with similar mentions of day and night, heavens and earth, living and dead etc. For example: 57:1,2,6; 17:12,43,44,49; 3:27,29; 2:163-164; 6:95-96.
Note 4
The salat sessions in early Islam required, for the sake of civility, physical cleanliness (4:43, 5:6). The Quran asked the attendants to achieve this by washing the exposed body areas (face, hands, feet) and, when needed, by washing more thoroughly. There was NOTHING RITUAL about it. Also, if no water was available, the attendants were asked to use clean sand (but never soil or dirt) as typically might be found at the rises of sand dunes (Note: ṣaʿīdan in 4:43 and 5:6 derives from a root that refers to rising; cf. ascend, 35:10, 3:153, 6:125). Apparently, if there was clean sand available instead of water and people were sticky, they could rub about with it and brush it off. Here the Quran is simply giving a practical solution to the contemporary adherents in their arid desert environment, before assuring them that God is pretty relaxed about this. Once again, there was NOTHING RITUAL about it.
Note 5
Everyone’s salat is their own and therefore unique, and thus differs from the salats of others (24:41). The salat of the messengers is also NOT the same as the salat of their followers. Since the sole duty of the messengers was only to deliver, when they were asked to ‘establish the salat’ (11:114, 17:78, 17:110, 20:14, 29:45; cf. 10:87, 14:40, 17:110), they were in fact asked to actualise their salat/communication with God – i.e. God’s order to them to fulfil their duty to deliver the message to their followers – through their delivery missions (19:31, cf. 19:55, 21:73). The Prophet, for example, established in practice his own salat/communication with God – which is God’s order to fulfil his duty of delivery – by following the instructions given to him personally in this regard, such as arranging scheduled salat sessions twice a day (11:114, 17:78-79, 24:58), reciting the discourse at dawn (17:78; cf. 29:45), orating in a moderate tone without raising the voice (17:110, 7:205) and so on. Please observe that all these commandments were ONLY FOR the messenger, and not for his followers (note the 2nd person masculine singular imperative verbs). On the other hand, when the followers were asked to ‘establish the salat’, they were actually asked to establish in practice their salat/communications with their messenger, by implementing these communications in their daily life. Remarkably, the instruction ‘establish the communication’ (‘aqeemoo alssalata’), when addressed to the followers, is usually followed by ‘and contribute towards betterment’. In contrast, the instruction ‘establish the communication’ (‘aqimi alssalata’), when addressed to the messengers, is never accompanied with ‘and contribute towards betterment’.
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