The Muslim's Light 💡

All About Prayer In Islam

KITAB AL-SALAT
(THE BOOK OF PRAYERS)

INTRODUCTION

Prayer is the soul of religion. Where there is no prayer , there can be no purification of the soul. The non-praying man is rightly considered to be a soulless man. Take prayer out of the world, and it is all over with religion because it is with prayer that man has the consciousness of God and selfless love for humanity and inner sense of piety.Prayer is, therefore, the first, the highest, and the most solemn phenomenon and manifestation of religion.

The way in which prayer is offered and the words which are recited in it explain the true nature of religion of which it is the expression of man's contact with the Lord.

Prayer in Islam gives in a nutshell the teachings of Islam. The very first thing which comes into prominence in Islamic prayer is that it is accompanied by bodily movements. It implies that Islam lifts not only the soul to the spiritual height, but also illuminates the body of man with the light of God-consciousness.It aims at purifying both body and soul, for it finds no cleavage between them.Islam does not regard body and soul as two different entities opposed to each other, or body as the prison of the soul from which It yearns to secure freedom in order to soar to heavenly heights. "The soul is an organ of the body which exploits it for physiological purposes, or body is an instrument of the soul" (Iqbal, Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, p 105), and thus both need spiritual enlightenment.

Secondly, Islamic prayer does not aim at such a spiritual contact with God in which the world and self are absolutely denied, in which human personality is dissolved, disappears and is absorbed in the Infinite Lord.Islam does not favour such a meditation and absorption in which man ceases to be conscious of his own self and feels himself to be perfectly identified with the Infinite, and claims in a mood of ecstasy: My "I" has become God, or rather he is God. Islam wants to inculcate the consciousness of the indwelling of the light of God in body and soul but does allow him to transport himself in the realm of lnfinity. It impresses upon his mind that he is the humble servant of the Great and Glorious Lord and his spiritual development and religious piety lies in sincere and willing obedience to Allah.The very first step towards the achievement of this objective is that man should have a clear consciousness of his own finiteness and Infiniteness of the Lord, and clearly visualise and feel that he is created as a human being by the Creator and Master of the universe, and he cannot, therefore, become demi-god or god.His success lies in proving himself by his outlook and behaviour that he is the true and loyal servant of his Great Master.Islamic prayer is, therefore, the symbol of humble reverence before the Majesty of the Glorious Lord.

Chapter I:THE BEGINNING OF ADHANBook 4, Number 0735:

Ibn Umar reported: When the Muslims came to Medina, they gathered and sought to know the time of prayer but no one summoned them.One day they discussed the matter, and some of them said: Use something like the bell of the Christians and some of them said: Use horn like that of the Jews.Umar said: Why may not a be appointed who should call (people) to prayer?The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: O Bilal, get up and summon (the people) to prayer.

Book 4, Number 0736:

Anas reported: Bilal was commanded (by the Apostle of Allah) to repeat (the phrases of) Adhan twice and once in Iqama. The narrator said: I made a men- tion of it before Ayyub who said : Except for saying: Qamat-1s-Salat [the time for prayer has come].

Book 4, Number 0737:

Anas b. Malik reported: They (the Companions) discussed that they should know the timings of prayer by means of something recognized by all.Some of them said that fire should be lighted or a bell should be rung.But Bilal was ordered to repeat the phrases twice in Adhan, and once in Iqama.