Salah

From WikiIslam, the online resource on Islam
Revision as of 21:13, 26 August 2013 by Sahab (talk | contribs) (→‎Children)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
Top-left: Due to the sphericity of the earth, a prayer in any direction will point towards the sky/outer-space, not Mecca.
Top-right: People who are located on the opposite 'side' of the earth would have to pray vertically down towards the center of the earth, and would also blaspheme against Allah, because they defecate toward the direction of the Ka'aba when they answer the call of nature.
Bottom-left: If we use the traditional Muslim method of determining qiblah (i.e. a great circle) this would still be blasphemous because you would be simultaneously praying with your face and backside aimed towards the Ka'aba.
Bottom-right: There is one point on the opposite 'side' of the earth where any direction for all 360 degrees would be facing 'towards' Mecca and consequently, there would be no one direction that would be the correct one.

Salāh or salāt (صلاة) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It is the practice of formal prayer in Islam, and is compulsory (fard) for all Muslims. It is a ritual prayer, having prescribed conditions, procedures, and times.

Number of Prayers

Most of the Five Pillars are absent from the Qur'an. Thus it only mentions three daily prayers; salat al-Fajr (dawn prayer),[1] salat al-Isha'a (night prayer)[1] and salat al-Wusta (the middle prayer, now al Zuhr).[2]. It is the hadith that put the number of daily prayers at five.

Prescribed Times

The prescribed time periods (waqt) for daily prayers are as follows:

  1. Salat Al Fajr – Dawn to sunrise.
  2. Salat Al Zuhr – After true noon until Asr.
  3. Salat Al Asr - Afternoon.
  4. Salat Al Maghrib – After sunset until dusk.
  5. Salat Al Isha'a – Dusk until dawn.

Direction of Prayer

According to the Qur'an[3] Muslims must pray towards the Ka'aba (qiblah being the direction that one has to face in order to do this). This would only be possible if the earth was flat, and is just one of the problems which indirectly indicate that the narrator/writer of the Qur'an believed in a flat earth model.

Problems

Praying from a Sphere

Due to the sphericity of the earth, a prayer in any direction will point towards the sky/outer-space, not Mecca.

Praying from a Great Distance

For people who are praying a great distance from Mecca, their qiblah would be somewhere down towards the ground, and the people who are located on the opposite 'side' of the earth would have to pray vertically downward towards the center of the earth.

So, for example, Muslims in the Solomon Islands in fact blaspheme against Allah, because they defecate toward the direction of the Ka'aba when they answer the call of nature.

Using a Great Circle

Even if we were to use the traditional Muslim method of determining qiblah (i.e. a great circle) this would still be blasphemous because you would be simultaneously praying with your face and backside aimed towards the Ka'aba.

Praying from the Opposite Side

There would also be one location on Earth where a Muslim could be standing at the opposite side of Earth in relation to the Ka'aba (for example if the Ka'aba was at the North Pole and the Muslim was standing on the South Pole). For this location, any direction for all 360 degrees would be facing 'towards' Mecca and consequently, there would be no one direction that would be the correct one.

Hadith

Children

According to Prophet Muhammad, a child should be commanded to pray at the age of seven, and be beaten for prayer when they reach the age of ten.[4][5]

This has often resulted in the abuse of children by Muslim parents, guardians and teachers for not praying/reciting the Qur'an. For example, in Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh, and even in non-Muslim countries like the United Kingdom,[6][7] Italy and Canada where a 13-year-old girl was killed by her father for not praying.[8][9][10]

Missing Prayers

Muhammad once commanded a call-maker to lead the prayer, then "take a fire flame to burn all those who had not left their houses so far for the prayer along with their houses."[11] An old man who refused to prostrate in prayer was also "killed as a non-believer."[12][13]

Passing Women

It was reported by Aisha in several sahih hadith that Muhammad said, "Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people)." She also protested about how this rule equated women to animals.[14][15]

Miscellaneous

Al Fatiha

Surah al-Fatiha is recited as part of all daily prayers and repeated within each prayer. A Muslim who says all their prayers would recite this surah at least 17 times a day, and over 5,000 times a year. According to hadith, "those who went astray" are the Christians and "those who earned Allah's anger" are the Jews.[16][17][18] Thus the daily prayers of every Muslim, part of the core of Islam, include a rejection of Christians and Jews as misguided and objects of Allah’s wrath.

Friday Prayers

The Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) is a congregational prayer that replaces the zuhr prayer performed on the other six days of the week. It is compulsory for men to attend and has been mentioned in the Qur'an.[19]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they come to your presence), on three occasions: before morning prayer; the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer: these are your three times of undress: outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about attending to each other: Thus does Allah make clear the Signs to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. " - Quran 24:58
  2. ↑ "Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the Middle Prayer; and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind). " - Quran 2:238
  3. ↑ "We have seen the turning of thy face to heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it..." - Quran 2:144
  4. ↑ "Narrated As-Saburah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Command a boy to pray when he reaches the age of seven years. When he becomes ten years old, then beat him for prayer." - Sunan Abu Dawud 2:494
  5. ↑ "Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Command your children to pray when they become seven years old, and beat them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old; and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately." - Sunan Abu Dawud 2:495
  6. ↑ Fran Abrams, "Child abuse claims at UK madrassas 'tip of iceberg'", BBC News, October 18, 2011 (archived), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15256764. 
  7. ↑ "UK: Muslim beat girl for not reading enough Quran, jailed", ZeeNews, June 16, 2012 (archived), http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/uk-muslim-beat-girl-for-not-reading-enough-quran-jailed_782125.html. 
  8. ↑ René Bruemmer, "Longueuil girl, 13 dies after father slapped her", The Montreal Gazette, October 11, 2010 (archived from the original), http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20101015025541%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.montrealgazette.com%2Flife%2FLongueuil%2Bgirl%2Bdies%2Bafter%2Bfather%2Bslapped%2F3653632%2Fstory.html&date=2013-08-26. 
  9. ↑ "Slapped teen girl dies post coma", UPI, October 11, 2010 (archived), http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2010/10/11/Slapped-teen-girl-dies-post-coma/UPI-43371286832521/. 
  10. ↑ René Bruemmer & Max Harrold, "Girl, 13, dies after being slapped; father faces charges", The Vancouver Sun, October 11, 2010 (archived from the original), http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20101017124547%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.vancouversun.com%2Fnews%2FGirl%2Bdies%2Bafter%2Bbeing%2Bslapped%2Bfather%2Bfaces%2Bcharges%2F3654887%2Fstory.html&date=2013-08-26. 
  11. ↑ "Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "No prayer is harder for the hypocrites than the Fajr and the 'Isha' prayers and if they knew the reward for these prayers at their respective times, they would certainly present themselves (in the mosques) even if they had to crawl." The Prophet added, "Certainly I decided to order the Mu'adh-dhin (call-maker) to pronounce Iqama and order a man to lead the prayer and then take a fire flame to burn all those who had not left their houses so far for the prayer along with their houses."" - Sahih Bukhari 1:11:626
  12. ↑ "Narrated 'Abdullah bin Masud : The Prophet recited Suratan-Najm (103) at Mecca and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, "This is sufficient for me." Later on, I saw him killed as a non-believer." - Sahih Bukhari 2:19:173
  13. ↑ "Narrated 'Abdullah bin Masud: The Prophet recited Surat-an-Najm (53) and prostrated while reciting it and all the people prostrated and a man amongst the people took a handful of stones or earth and raised it to his face and said, "This is sufficient for me." Later on I saw him killed as a non-believer." - Sahih Bukhari 2:19:176
  14. ↑ "Narrated 'Aisha: The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, "Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people)." I said, "You have made us (i.e. women) dogs. I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in my bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away. for I disliked to face him."" - Sahih Bukhari 1:9:490
  15. ↑ "Narrated 'Aisha: The things which annual prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a woman. I said, "You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in (my) bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I disliked to sit and trouble the Prophet. So, I would slip away by the side of his feet."" - Sahih Bukhari 1:9:493
  16. ↑ Sunan Abi Dawood, narrated by Adi ibn Hatim
  17. ↑ Sunan al-Tirmidhi, narrated by Adi ibn Hatim
  18. ↑ "These two paths are the paths of the Christians and Jews, a fact that the believer should beware of so that he avoids them. … the Jews abandoned practicing the religion, while the Christians lost the true knowledge. This is why ‘anger’ descended upon the Jews, while being described as ‘led astray’ is more appropriate of the Christians. … We should also mention that both the Christians and the Jews have earned the anger and are led astray, but the anger is one of the attributes more particular of the Jews. Allah said about the Jews, ‘Those (Jews) who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath’ (Sura 5:60). The attribute that the Christians deserve most is that of being led astray, just as Allah said about them, ‘Who went astray before and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path’ (Sura 5:77) [...] Imam Ahmad recorded that ‘Adi bin Hatim said, … he [Muhammad] said: ‘Those who have earned the anger are the Jews and those who are led astray are the Christians.’" - The Faithful ask for and abide by Guidance, Tafsir Ibn Kathir
  19. ↑ "O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew! And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah: and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that ye may prosper." - Quran 62:9-10
Retrieved from "http://wikiislamica.net/index.php?title=Salah&oldid=96554"