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Islam, which means Submission, is the state of mind of all people who
submit to God alone. All messengers, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Solomon, Jesus and all previous monotheists were Submitters ( 2:131;
5:111; 7:126; 10:72,84; 22:78; 27:31,42,91; 28:53; 72:14). Thus,
the only religion approved by God is Submission to God (3:19). It is
God Almighty who uses this attribute to describe those who submit to
His law (22:78). Islam is referred to as the "Religion of Abraham" in
many verses since Meccan idol worshipers were claiming that they
were following their father Abraham (2:130,135; 3:95; 4:125; 6:161;
12:37-38; 16:123; 21:73; 22:78). And Muhammad was a follower of
Abraham (16:123).
God sent the Quran in their language. As with each proceeding Book,
the revelation was given in it's time, in the langauge of the people
receiving the revelation. God commands and reveals in a manner
which can be both understood and observed, and then He details His
requirements of His people throughout His Book (16:103; 26:195).
Moreover, if God wants to add a new meaning to a known word, He
informs us. For instance, the Arabic word "al-din" in 1:4 is explained in
82:15-19.
Verse 16:123 is a direct proof that all religious practices in Islam were
intact when Muhammad was born. Thus, he was enjoined to "follow
the religion of Abraham." If I ask you to ride a bicycle, it is assumed
that you know what a bicycle is and you know or learn from others
how to ride it. Similarly, when God enjoined Muhammad to follow the
practices of Abraham (16:123), such practices must have been well
known.
2. Hadith books may contain more details. But are those details helpful
and consistent with the Quran? How does a believer decide between
conflicting details? Does he just pick the word of his favorite Imam? If
we follow the words of a particular, favorite imam, does that meant
that we are really following the practice of the prophet? For instance,
you may find dozens of hadiths in Sahih Muslim narrating that the
Prophet Muhammad read al-Fatiha and bowed down, without reading
any additional verses from the Quran. You will find many other hadiths
claiming that the Prophet read this or that chapter after al-Fatiha.
There are also many conflicting hadiths regarding ablution which is the
source of different rituals among sects. Hadith, more or less of them
compounding God's Word with contradictory details, cannot guide to
the truth. It has become a necessary evil for ignorant believers and
community leaders who manipulate them.
Ablution
Dress Code
There is not a particular dress code for prayer, in fact, if you wish you
can pray nude in your privacy. Covering our bodies is a social and
cultural necessity aimed to protect ourselves from harassment,
misunderstanding and undesired consequences (7:26; 24:31; 33:59).
For the prayer one must face the Sacred Masjid built by Abraham, the
Ka'ba (2:125, 143-150; 22:26). To find the correct qibla a person
should keep in mind that the world is a globe, far different from
Mercator's flat map. Since the prayer during emergency and fear is
reduced to one unit, in normal conditions the prayer should be at least
two units and during the prayer one must dramatically reduce his/her
contact with the external world (4:101-103). Prayers, unlike fasting,
cannot be performed later after they are missed; they must be
observed on time (4:103).
Congregational Prayer
One should start the Salaat prayer in standing position (2:238; 3:39;
4:102) and should not change his/her place except during unusual
circumstances, such as while riding or driving (2:239). Submission to
God should be declared physically and symbolically by first bowing
down and prostrating (4:102; 22:26; 38:24; 48:29). This physical
ritual is not required at the times of emergencies, fear, and unusual
circumstances (2:239).
Prefering the Quran for recitation has practical benefits since believers
from all around the world can pray together without arguing on which
language to chose or which translation to use. The chapter al-Fatiha
(The Opening) is the only chapter which addresses God in its entirety
and is an appropriate prayer for Salaat. For non-Arabs it should not be
too difficult to learn the meaning of words in al-Fatiha, since it consists
of seven short verses. Those who are unable to learn the meaning of
al-Fatiha should pray in the language that he or she understands. I
see no practical reason for reciting in Arabic during individually
observed prayers.
Units of Prayer
The Quran does not specicify any number of units for prayers. It
leaves it to our discretion. The units of the Congragational Prayer
being 2 is revealing, since it is more likely to be accurately preserved.
Funeral Prayer
Sectarian Innovations
There are many sectarian innovations that differ from sect to sect.
Some of the innovations are: combining the times of prayers,
performing the prayers omitted at their proper times, shortening the
prayers during normal trips, adding extra prayers such as "sunnah"
and "nawafil," innovating a paid cleric occupation to lead the prayers,
prohibiting women from leading the prayers, while sitting reciting a
prayer "at-Tahiyatu" which addresses to the Prophet Muhammad as he
is alive and omnipresent, adding Muhammad's name to the Shahada,
reciting zumm-us Sura (extra chapters) after the al-Fatiha, indulging
in sectarian arguments on details of how to hold your hands and
fingers, washing mouth and nose as elements of taking ablution,
brushing the teeth with "misvak" (a dry branch of a three beaten into
fibers at one end as a toothbrush) just before starting the prayers,
wearing turbans or scarves to receive more credits...
All of the verses that define the times of the prayers are attributable to
one of these three prayers. Now let's see the related verses:
"You shall observe the contact prayers at both ends of the daylight,
that is, during the adjacent hours of the night. . . " (11:114)
Traditional translators and commentators consider the last clause
"zulfan minal layl" of this verse as a seperate prayer indicating to the
"night" prayer. However, we consider that clause not as an addition
but as an explanation of the previous ambigious clause; it explains the
temporal direction of the ends of the day. The limits of "Nahar"
(daylight) is marked by two distinct points: sunrise and sunset. In
other words, two prayers should be observed not just after sunrise and
before senset, but before sunrise and after sunset.
"You shall observe the contact prayer when the sun goes down until
the darkness of the night. You shall also observe the Quran at dawn.
Reading the Quran at dawn is witnessed." (17:78).
The decline of the sun can be understood either its decline from the
zenith marking the start of the Noon prayer or its decline behind the
horizon marking the start of the Evening prayer. There are two
opposing theories regarding the purpose of the usage of "duluk" (rub)
in the verse; nevertheless, either understanding will not contradict the
idea of 3 times a day since both Noon and Evening prayers are
accepted.
Verse 38:32 implies that the time of the Middle prayer ends with
sunset.
"And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward
the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three
times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until
David exceeded." (1 Samuel 20:41)
"As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening,
and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear
my voice." (Psalms 55:16-17) (PS: crying aloud apparently means
praying with passion).
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his
house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave
thanks before his God, as he did afortime." (Daniel 6:10)