IS SALAT A REAL OBLIGATION?

                                               

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Salat or the Ritual prayer brings a question in the minds of those who follow the Qur’an and are serious about their following because it is the first pillar of Islam, and there is no mention of it in understandable detail. Why did God leave this important issue unaddressed? Muslims have been following this ritual for more than one and a half Millennia, yet they are to define its positive effects on personal and societal levels. Suppose we look at the state of those countries where this ritual is followed with intensity, like Afghanistan, Iran, the Sub-continent, Middle and Far Eastern countries, and especially Palestine. We find suffering, chaos, depression, and humiliation. The people are trapped in political dictatorships and exploited by religious leaders. Religious leaders are fooling them into believing that this five-minute ritual after every two or three hours will get them free entry into Paradise. These leaders have firmly fixed that only they can explain the Qur'an with Ahadith and guide through the Qur'an. This facility is especially for those who open the Qur'an and ask a question after reading its translation. The rest of the public finds solace in parroting it and chanting the names of God and its verses on counting beads, which they think is a genuine striving for God in His path. There are some physical benefits of Salat, but they cannot outweigh the damage caused by this ritual. Serious minds are right to ask this question.

 

Let us decide a path for ourselves to follow to answer this question satisfactorily.

 

² We shall discuss the physical benefits of Salat at the end of the discussion because if they had had any soul in them, we would not need to create this article.

² What is Salat in Islam?

² Was there any need for this ritual?

² How did Salat or Ritual Prayer enter the system of Islam?

² We shall see the word that means RITUAL PRAYER in depth.

² Who gave it this meaning?

² The story of Salat being made an obligation.

² How does Qur'an manifest it?

² Is there any need to go outside the Qur'an?

² Conclusion.

 

WHAT IS SALAT OR RITUAL PRAYER IN ISLAM?

 

Salat is a set of actions combined with words done under a clean physical state at different sun phases during the day and before sunrise. Religious leaders are so strict in advising this ritual that they issue edicts against those who miss them. Sometimes, people are threatened with being beheaded for missing Friday sermons and prayer. None of these leaders have succeeded in convincingly defining Salat's needs. For example, they cannot tell where Salat brings a change in personal life or society. There are young people, grown-up people and even ripened people following this ritual, but Islamic societies present a scenario of havoc on Earth. Let’s see whether this ritual was ever needed or advised by God.

 

WAS THERE ANY NEED FOR THIS RITUAL?

 

If we see the world history, it is clear that almost every society practiced some rituals, and while practicing them, they have yet to succeed in establishing a just order of things. God has been sending prophets with the same social order in mind. None of these prophets introduced any rituals. Let's see some examples.

 

² Qur'an 7:85-93. Prophet Shoaib bore the message of fair dealing in financial matters for his people. Was there a need to offer a ritual prayer to stop unfair trade or to commit from the heart and act with hands firmly? Here I would add the same corruption is present in our world. Anybody can see that a commitment is needed. What RITUAL PRAYER has done to our society is that you will see Muslims with prayer marks on their foreheads working hard for the banks. And we know these banks have chained people in debt and usury in the name of financial security. The banks are richer than their account holders. Instead of building a sense of security, they are manipulating resourcefulness. Their employees are well aware of this fact, but they never think against the system which provides them lavish bread and butter.

 

² Qur'an 7:80-84. Prophet Lot was appointed to guide his people in their intimate lives. Again did they need control of their heart and mind, or could Salat do that for them? If God had prescribed Salat and meant it for this purpose, then I am sorry to say it did not work, and God failed. 

                                                           

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Take the example of Muslim countries; you will find the most significant number of rapists and adulterers. There are so many cases in Pakistan that counting fails, and most of the culprits are bearded(beard is one of the requirements of ritualists), RITUALISTS, and even Imams of religious institutions.

 

² Qur'an 2:125. This verse is the worst victim of distortion, whose meaning has overturned the whole message. Here, Prophet Ibrahim and Ismael are given a task to cleanse the system of Allah, which needs a firm commitment, not a few minutes of RITUAL PRAYER.

 

² Qur'an 5:106. Here, two witnesses are required at death in an unfamiliar land. What if the two people are not Muslims? Should we ask them to offer a RITUAL PRAYER or let the person die without a witness? A commitment is needed, and any sane person can commit.

 

These are a few examples, but they are enough to show that a commitment is required to change a life, not a ritual. How could the Creator of human nature not understand that? God never prescribed such practices; for one, He had given the status of His second on Earth.

 

HOW DID RITUAL PRAYER ENTER THE SYSTEM OF ISLAM?

 

For this, we have to look at the pre-Islamic society. Arabs were fond of stones and rocks and had many deities. They were staunch hypocrites. Verse 9:97 is an example of it. They could not accept the idea of an unseen and dissociated God who did not need any ritual, so they split the concept after the Prophet's demise to make it tangible. They put the stones back in the main building of Ka'ba. For example, they put a rock with some mark on it, saying it was Abraham’s footprint while he stood for prayer. They decided God did not like faces, so let it be a building. There is a mention of Safa and Marwah in the Qur'an 2:158, and they made it mandatory for pilgrims to encircle seven times anti-clockwise.

 

 Let's see what was done, and later we shall see who did it.

 

 Verse 2:125 is twisted in such a way that the meaning of the Qur'anic message is altogether changed.

 

² Bayta, which means a system, changed into a house. Please note, if God had a place, and he wanted it to be cleaned, a sweeper could have done that; what was the need to appoint the highest officials like prophets for that?

 

² Maqam, which means status, position or rank, changed into the footprint of Abraham. If he was supposed to act like an Imam Masjid, then every Imam is Abraham? Did he do what these Imams are doing? Was he appointed for a system or the charge of a building?

 

² Musol-lan, a committed man, changed into a place of prayer. Abraham was a persistent man, but religionists say it is the place where he offered prayer.

 

² An-Tho-hira means to cleanse the system and not a physical house.

 

² Bayti-ya, which means My system, changed into my house. Here I don't need to repeat what I said regarding Bayta.

 

² Tho-iffin means "groups of people" twisted into encircling the building. Arabs are very clever indeed.

 

² A'kiffin means to hold something firmly or to devote to a higher purpose; it changed into sitting in seclusion in mosques during Ramadhan or otherwise.

 

² Wa-roka'is-sujud means those who humble themselves in submission; it changed into bowing and prostrating physically. 

 

It is clear that changing the meaning of only one verse and then bringing the rest of the Qur'an in accordance was not difficult for Arabs, who wanted their lust for tangible deities satisfied. This way, they misguided the whole world, especially Muslims.

 

LET'S SEE THE WORD SOLAA IN DEPTH.

 

The word Solaa means commitment or conviction. It is in 24 forms in Quran. Since the root word is identical, its meaning should not go far from it, but the religionists have translated it for other purposes. A close study proves their inconsistency. They give it one meaning in one place and another in another. Let's see what they do.

 

² Solaa occurs in 75:31, 96:10

In 75:31 and 96:10, they take it as ritual prayer.

 

² faSolaa occurs in 2:249, 87:15, 108:2

In 2:249, it is a command; in 87:15 and 96:10, it is ritual prayer.

 

² yuSolaa occurs in 2:27, 13:21

Both mean tying the knot or having a relationship with God.

 

² Sollee occurs in 9:103

Here it is for the Prophet who supplicated for people; it is not ritual prayer.

 

² yuSollee occurs in 3:39, 33:43

In 3:39, it is a ritual prayer of Zakaria, and in 33:43, it is for God and Angels to bless the believers; nothing about ritual prayer.

.

² yuSalloo occurs twice in 4:102 and once in 33:56

It is a ritual prayer in 4:102, and God and angels blessed the Prophet in 

33:56.

 

² muSolleen occurs at 70:22 and 74:43

In both places, it is people perform ritual prayers. Please note that this word is a plural of muSollee in 2:125, where it was a place of prayer, and here its plural is praying for people. Check the inconsistency. How could God disregard the grammar rules, even if they were going to appear in Lexicons in later centuries? God knows the future.

 

² Solaataka occurs in 9:103

Here it is a ritual prayer of the Prophet. See that the Qur'an tells us no burdened soul will bear the burden of another. So how will Prophet's ritual prayer benefit us?

 

² Solaatahu occurs in 24:41

Here it is the ritual prayer of birds. Scientists have been observing animals for centuries and now make documentaries. Are the animals doing RITUAL PRAYER? They act according to their installed program. Similarly, human beings are programmed to exercise the right to choose, and it is sad to see that they often choose wrong. God has been sending prophets to put it right.

 

There are numerous other examples, but they should suffice.

 

WHO GAVE IT THIS MEANING, AND HOW?

 

At the time of the advent of Islam, there were two superpowers, namely the Romans and the Persians. Islam was making its place, and by the time Khilafat-e-Rashida ended, Muslims had overpowered Persia. Ummayyads came into power, and they were against the rule of the Qur'an. They knew that by following Qur'an, they could not enjoy authority since it asked for equity and social justice that did not suit their agenda. They were the planners of the targeted killing of Umar and Uthman. They were initiators of the rule of progeny and respect of Ahl-Bayt, against the essence of the Qur'an. Verse 60:3 is an example of it. They contrived false stories about the Prophet's family only for political gain. 

 

In 132 AH, Abbassids came into power and wiped out all records of previous governments by sending troops to Makkah, Madinah, and Koofah for manslaughter. So people have yet to learn about the system of Islam as it was at the start. Two dominant factions of Sunnites and Shiites appeared. They were different, but both were away from Qur'an. Rulers of the time patronized religious scholars who were actually of Persian descent. They had an attractive formula to rule; give everything a religious cover to impress the masses. An eye-opening example is Imam Ghazali Hujjatul Islam, who issued a proclamation; Sultan is the shadow of Allah and hence unaccountable. You can see it in Nishat-ul-Malook, page 44, Published in London, 1964. 

 

These Persians were not ordinary people but from the elite class. For example, the Baramka family was the posterity of the Central Temple of Fire chief priest in Khorasan province. How could they shun ancestral pride and glory? According to the research of Shah Waliullah Dehlavi, all four Imams who wrote the leading jurisprudence were Shiites. Ibn-Shahab Zohri (Majoosi or jew) was the inventor of the traditions about the abrogation of the Qur'an and propagated the idea of seven dialects of the Qur'an. He was the teacher of Ummayyad princes and a Royal Advisor.

 

Now we come to Hadith collections. All major Hadith compilers were Persians and bore the influence of Zoroastrianism. There was a void of two centuries between the Prophet and these people. They fabricated stories to give their own interpretations authenticity.

 

THE STORY OF SALAT BEING MADE AN OBLIGATION

 

Let's ask any Muslim scholar how and when the Salat was made an obligation. He will confidently quote verse 17:1 and a Hadith from Bokhari in which the Prophet is shown to fly on a winged horse through the skies and taken into the very Presence of God Almighty. God prescribed many Salats during the day, which was negotiated down to five on the advice of Prophet Moses. We have already seen that the Hadith collectors were all Persian and influenced Persian Mythology.

  

 The story of Mira'j matches the tale of Arta Viraf's Night Journey, a Persian saint. One night he experienced a trance in which he felt like flying through the heavens and meeting the prominent Deity. If we look at the story of Mira'j closely, there are many discrepancies. The event happened between Isha and Fajr Salat. What kind of PRAYER was offered before Mira'j if it was revealed in Mira'j?

 

Secondly, did the Prophet Moses have more wisdom than God? Thirdly what is its connection with the following verse that starts with 'and'?

 

Let's discuss 17:1, which depicts the spiritual journey of Muhammad(SAW). If we look at the verse, nothing suggests that it was a spiritual journey. It is an ordinary journey by a servant of Allah, and from the Qur'an, we know that all prophets were servants of Allah. Look at the two words of the sacred mosque and the farthest mosque. Without entering the already known story of Islam, I ask which was the farther and sacred mosque, and which was the farthest mosque? In 621, there was no mosque in Madina, and Muhammad was still stationed in Makkah. Makkan mosque could be blessed, but it was not the farther. Second, which was the farthest mosque? For this, the answer is that it was the Temple in Jerusalem, some 775 miles north of Makkah. Now, if we check the Temple's history we will find that it was a public lavatory under the order of Christian rulers. Could the Prophet step in such a place? As far as the flying horse is concerned, its idea came from Persian literature.

                                       

Flying Horse
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Now, a question arises who made the journey? According to a researcher of religious texts for almost fifty years, James David Audlin, it was the Prophet Abraham. The farther and more sacred mosque(a sacred place) is Tabernacle at Mount Gerizim, and the farthest mosque is at Salem in Baka Valley. Note that it is another 35 miles beyond Jerusalem. The Prophet Abraham traveled this distance in one night so that God may show him His signs. This area is blessed as it was the place of most Jewish prophets. We must paraphrase this verse to understand its connection with the following verse that starts with 'and.' Remember that paraphrasing is a legitimate process to understand the text. So it is like, as one of our servants made the night journey, we gave the book to Mosa similarly. Take a pause here and think about the time of the forty promised nights of Moses in which he got the Torah. I agree with this point of view.

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HOW DOES THE QURAN MANIFEST THE WORD OF SOLLAH OR SALAT?

 

According to Lane's Lexicon, the word Sollah has the root SLW. Let's see how it appears in Qur'an. God says in 6:105 that He explains one thing in many ways to make it clear for those who contemplate. It does not mean RITUAL PRAYER at any place. We have seen the discrepancies above. Now we can see what they mean.

                                    

Musallee and musollan
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² 75:31. It means following closely like a racehorse follows the winner closely.

 

² 87:15. It means following closely, like following something after due contemplation and being convinced of its importance. And it is Qur’an.

                                          

The Qur'an
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² 96:9-10, 13. It means obeying Divine orders, i.e., Qur'an.

                                                 

Black Ant life routine
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² 24:41. It means any creation's life routine can be other than human beings. If we see closely, humans do have a fixed routine. They also move from eating to working and sleeping. Any abrupt change in this causes problems.

 

² 23:2, 23:9, 70:23, 70:34. A true follower's official duties are mentioned in all these. He has to keep aware of the implications of his actions.

 

² 9:103. It means blessings and supplications.

 

As we have seen, the word Sollah and its usage in Qur'an. There is a critical question, why are the timings of SALAT and Wadhu mentioned if SALAT is not obligatory? Take the example of 17:78-79. In this verse, Shams symbolizes a higher goal to achieve, and achieving it through a ritual is absurd. Qur'an-al-Fajr means to bring forth something significant. What is more significant than Qur'an? Here prefix preposition I.L. with LYAL is intentionally ignored to twist the meaning to suit the agenda. I.L. means for the sake of/ for. Can we ask to pray for the sake of night or day? It is to follow the Qur'an to achieve fame and glory. The word Tahajjad in verse 79 means always being vigilant, whether success or failure. God has made the night for rest and the day for business. He does not want us to damage our health or ability to work during the day by making us awake at night. He has already clarified that we should not ignore our share of the world while keeping vigilant for Akhirah.

 

Now take 5:6. It talks about physical cleaning but connects with the previous five and one following verse. The whole set is about food and its consumption.

                                       

Variety of foods
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 God has prescribed kinds of foods for us and has taught us the manners of consuming them. (Please remember that sex is a kind of hunger that needs food, and God also dealt with it in 5:5. This topic needs another article). We can observe that human beings learned to use water without any guidance. It only taught about a clean lifestyle and a pure committed life. God says when you intend to commit and concentrate, you should clean yourself to have pure thoughts. It shows we must continuously maintain cleanliness to have a pure lifestyle. Muslims should always keep wudhu to keep their thoughts pure, not just for a few minutes to say a prayer and back to foolish things.

 

THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF SALAT COULD HAVE LED TO SPIRITUAL ELEVATION.

 

There always are some benefits of a thing that we bring into our routine. It can be physical and can be satisfying us mentally. Salat is a practice that has given Muslims a mental illusion that they satisfy God’s wish for appreciation. This routine could have and still can serve the purpose of spiritual elevation if taken seriously. If we take this call to prayer as a call from God on our telephone, listen to what He is saying and tell Him what we have in our hearts, pay attention to what he prescribes and act on His advice with full heart, this ritual can transform our lives.                                               

 Let's look at the examples of Spiritual leaders like Rumi, Ibn-ul-Arabi, Shekh Abdul Qadir Jilani and like personalities. It is not difficult to conclude that they performed this kind of Salat.

                                   

Helping others with love; A real prayer call
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There is another aspect of Salat: it is not a set of bowing and prostrating but an attempt to listen to fellow human beings in need. It is a call to prayer if someone is hungry and we have extra food. It is a call to prayer when someone needs a witness in court, and we know the truth. It is a call to prayer when someone is indebted, and we have extra money. I want to remind you that according to the Quran, we have everything extra when we fulfill our legitimate desires without being extravagant. So it is a need of the time that we differentiate between what kind of a prayer call this is. Physical prayer should be done when you are fully satisfied with the fulfillment of obligations towards other human beings and solely want to have a friendly talk with God. 

 

If we offer real Salat, we can become physically clean, healthy, punctual and spiritually satisfied.

 

IS THERE ANY NEED TO GO OUTSIDE THE QUR'AN?

 

Working with the Qur'an makes it clear that it is OPEN. It always says to follow by asking. It tells us to use our faculties, reach a conclusion, and follow it if we are satisfied. Everyone is responsible for what they do. If our ancestors did not understand it, we could not blame them for the work that is due to us. Research is the highest obligation of man. Learning Arabic is no doubt an advantage, but not knowing it is not a hurdle. Qur'an explains itself. There is no need to go outside the Qur'an.

 

CONCLUSION

 

There is never a need for rituals in the ideal situation. RITUAL PRAYER was introduced falsely into the system of Islam. It happened under the influence of Persians and Arabs' stickiness to the ways of primitive Arabia. Qur'an uses the word Sollaa, which means commitment and conviction. This word was distorted and given the meaning of ritual prayer, only to divert masses from the Qur'an. The symbols for glory and perfection changed into the timings of RITUAL PRAYER. Somebody changed a healthy and clean lifestyle into a Wadhu before PRAYER without thinking about why God prescribed it. So there is no RITUAL PRAYER in the Qur'an and hence not in Islam. If we still wish to continue this ritual, then we should do it in its real sense. Empty bowing and prostration will only take us somewhere, leave alone the Jannah. May God guide us to use our minds and keep our hearts alive. 

REFERENCES:

Safar, A. (2007d). Mental Bondage in the Name of God. Trafford.

 Goodreads. (n.d.). Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/198188  

 IS QURANIC SALAAT THE RITUAL PRAYER By Aurangzaib Yousufzai : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (2020, February 6). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/ebooksall.com.1548_202002 

 

Similarities Between Islam and Zoroastrianism https://www.dabran.org/English/Dreje.aspx?jimare=4174&paiwan

PROPHETS IN JUDISM.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophets_in_Judaism#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Talmud%2C%20there,%22Shechinah%20departed%20from%20Israel%22 

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