3.16. PRAYER: THE ASCENT OF MAN (concluded)

God says

So remember Me and I shall remember you; … Q2:152

And if My servants ask thee about Me, I am near; I respond to the call of him who calls, whenever he calls unto Me: let them, then, respond unto Me, and believe in Me, so that they might follow the right way. -- Q2:186

And bring your Lord to remembrance in your very soul, with humility and
reverence,…. Q.7:205


Prophet said

“Worship God as if you see Him, and if you don’t see Him, He certainly sees you” – H: Muslim. N: Omar-bin-al-Khattab

“A servant becomes nearest to his Lord while he is in prostration; …” – H: Muslim. N: Abu Hurairah

Prayer is a living experience for those who turn to God with the whole mind turned towards Him, inspired by the awe of Him, and reflecting upon His word with devotion while praying, extolling His glory and praising Him

confirming their relationship with Him : IYYAKA N`A BUDU WA IYYAKA NASTA’EEN ; asking for His guidance : IHDINAS SIRATAL MUSTAQEEM; and listening to Him in the recitation from Quran that follows; bowing down, extolling His glory; and standing up from the “ru’ku” listening to: “God heard him/her who praised Him” and, thereupon, with a deep sense of gratitude and humility touching the ground with their foreheads – drawing closer, still closer: the ascent of the humans to God!

3.16. PRAYER: THE ASCENT OF MAN (to continue)

God says

[true servants of the Most Gracious are (only) those] and who remember their Sustainer far into the night, prostrating themselves and standing; -- Q.25:64

“Your Sustainer says “Call unto Me, [and] I shall respond to you! …” Q.40: 60

Prostrate yourself [before God] and draw close to Him.* -- Q96:19
* Prostration is the climax of each rakat, repeated twice, drawing one close to God again and again.



Prophet said

“There is concentration* in prayer” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Abdullah-b-Masud
* I.e., prayer is performed with concentration.

“Recite the Qur’an morning and evening, recite in a good voice and reflect upon it,* so that you may be rewarded” – H: Mishkat. N: Ubaidah.
*The Tradition is directing us to understand the verses when we perform our prayer because it is only then we can “reflect” upon it.

God says about the Quran in 38:29 “[This is] a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its verses, and that people of understanding may remember.” Quran with Tafseer i.e., commentaries and explanations are today available to help us to understand. God also says in 25:73 “And those who, when they are reminded of the verses, do not fall deaf and blind at that.” Hence, necessary to gradually learn the meanings of what we recite in the prayer and understand it. The matter needs urgent attention, as it will be in the direction of performing the prayer in communion with God.

3.15. PRAYER AND HEEDFULNESS

God says

Be ever-mindful of prayers and of praying in the most excellent way,* and stand before God in devout obedience. -- Q.2:238
* Lit., “the mid-most” (or “the most excellent) prayer. According to Muhammad ‘Abduh, it may mean “the noblest kind of prayer—that is, a prayer from the fullness of the heart, with the whole mind turned towards God, inspired by the awe of Him, and reflecting upon His word, ( manar 2).


O you who have attained to faith! Be conscious of God with all the consciousness that is due to Him,… Q.3:102


... those who believe in the life to come do believe in this [Book]; and it is they who are ever-mindful of their prayers. -- Q.6:92


… and do not allow yourself to be heedless [in prayer]. – Q.7:205


Woe to praying ones who are heedless* in their prayer -- Q.107:4
*I.e., knowingly unmindful of prayer.


Prophet said

“Prayer performed in the early time is to please God and performed later in time is to ask His forgiveness.” – H: Tirmizi. N: Ibn Umar

“…The person, who does not bow down (properly in prayer) and does not prostrate well, in fact steals in prayer.” – H: Ahmed. N: Abu Qatada

“Whoever becomes Imam of a people, let him make the prayer easy because among them are the old, and the sick, and the infirm, and among them there are those who have (to attend to) other needs” – N: Osman-b-Abil`Aas

3.13. PRAYER: ITS SIGNIFICANCE

God says

…Verily, for all believers prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to particular times [of day]. -- Q.4: 103

And be consistent in praying at the beginning and the end of the day as well as during the early watches of the night; for, verily, good deeds drive away evil deeds: this is a reminder to all who bear (God) in mind… Q.11: 114

…Say : “Verily, God’s guidance is the only guidance: and so we have been directed to surrender ourselves unto the Sustainer of all the worlds, and to be constant in prayer and conscious of Him: for it is He unto whom you all shall be gathered.” -- Q.6:71--72

Prophet said

When asked which action was best the Messenger of God said: “Prayer in its initial time” – H: Ahmed, Tirmizi and Abu Daud. N: Omme Farwah

“To offer prayer early in time is to please God and to offer prayer late in time is to ask God’s forgiveness” – H: TIrmizi. N: Ibn Umar.

“The first action for which a servant (of God) will be taken into account on the Resurrection Day will be his prayer” -- H: Abu Daud and Ahmed. N: Abu Hurairah

The Prophet called (a man who had committed a sin) and recited the verse 11:114 of the Qur’an. (See the last verse of this topic.) Someone asked: O Apostle of God! Is it specially for Him? He replied: “Rather for the whole mankind.” – H: Muslim. N: Abdullah-b-Masud

3.12. PRAYER (Salat)

God says

And bid your people to pray, and persevere therein. -- Q.20: 132

O you who believe! When the sound of prayer is sounded on the day of congregation,* hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it. And when the prayer is ended, disperse freely on earth** and seek to obtain (something) of God’s bounty; but remember God often,*** so that you might attain to a happy state! -- Q.62: 9--10

* I.e., on Friday, when the congregational prayer at noon is obligatory. Nevertheless, as the sequence shows, Friday is not a day of compulsory rest in Islamic Law.

** I.e., “you may devote yourselves to worldly pursuits” (In devoting ourselves to worldly pursuits do we remember God often?)


[dwelling] in gardens [of paradise], they [the righteous] will inquire of those who were guilty: “What has brought you into hell-fire ?” They will answer: “We were not among those who prayed,” -- Q.74: 40-43



Prophet said

“Whoever gives up three Friday prayers by way of neglect, God will seal up his heart.’ – H: Abu Daud, Tirmizi, Nisai, Ibn Majah. N: Abu Ja`ad-az-Zumairi.

“Offer prayers when you remember me” – H: Bukhari . N: Anas

“Between a Muslim and disbelief (kufr) the distinctive mark is prayer” -- H: Muslim. N: Jaber.

The Prophet wrote to his governors: “Verily, the most important of your affair to me is prayer. Whoever protects* it and takes care of it protects his religion…” – H: Maalik. N: Omar-b-Khattab.

*I.e., prays regularly, with due rites, on time, and truly remembering God.

3.12. PRAYER (Salat)

God says


Be constant in (thy) prayer from the time the sun has passed its zenith till the darkness of night,* and (be ever mindful of its) recitation at dawn: for behold, the recitation (of prayer) at dawn is indeed witnessed.** -- Q.17: 78

*As is evidenced by the practice (sunnah) of the Prophet this verse fully circumscribes the five daily prayers laid down in Islam as obligatory for every adult man and woman.

** Most of the classical commentators take this to mean “witnessed by the angels of night as well as those of the day” since dawn is the time between night and day. Razi, however, is of the opinion that “witness” to which the Qur’an refers here is the spark of God-given illumination in man’s own soul – the heightening of his inner perception at the time when the darkness and stillness of night begins to give way to the life-giving light of day, so that prayer becomes a means of attaining deeper insight into the realm of spiritual truths and, thus, of achieving communion with all that is holy.


[God spoke to Moses] Verily, I – I alone – am God; there is no deity save Me. Hence, worship Me alone, and be constant in prayer, so as to remember Me! * -- Q.20: 14

*Thus conscious remembrance of God and of His oneness and uniqueness is declared to be the innermost purpose, as well as, intellectual justification, of all true prayer.



Prophet said

“Order your children to pray when they are boys of seven years, and at the age of ten if they do not pray, punish them…” -- H: Abu Daud. N: Amr-b-Shoaib from his grandfather.

“Whoever forgets to pray, or falls asleep, his expiration is that he shall pray when he remembers it” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Anas


Salat is mentioned 82 times in the Quran.

3.11. ABLUTION (wuzu)

God says

O you who have attained to faith! When you prepare for prayer, wash your faces and your hands and arms upto elbows, pass your (wet) hands lightly over your head, and wash your feet upto ankles….. Q5:6

(Washing of mouth, throat and nose are sunnat of wuzu.)

Ablution is a transition to prayer: turning of mind to remembrance of God, while washing each part patiently and properly.

Start by saying ‘BISMILLAHI WAL HAMDU LILLAH’ (I begin with the name of God and all praise be to God) and at the end recite: ‘ASH HADU AL LA ILA HA IL LAL LAHU, WAH DAHU LA SHAREEKA LAHU, WA ASH HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAN ‘ABDU HU WA RUSOOLU HU.’

It is preferable to maintain silence, cleansing the mind from thoughts other than remembrance of God, in preparation of prayer.

…..If you are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if you are ill or are traveling, or have just satisfied a call of nature, or have cohabited (your) women, and can find no water – then take resort to pure dust passing (your palms) therewith lightly over your face and your hands. -- Q.5:6


Prophet said

“Whoever performs ablution and performs it well*, his sins come out of his body till they come out even from under his nails” – H: Bukhari and Muslim. N: Osman.

* More than three times is forbidden.



Holy Prophet passed by Sa`ad while he was performing ablution and asked, “Why is this extravagance?” Sa`ad enquired: Is there any extravagance in ablution?

“Yes” said the Prophet, “Even though you may be doing it from a flowing rivulet.” -- H: Ahmed and Ibn Majah. N: Abdullah-b-Amr-b-al-‘Aas

Moral of this to be followed is that abundance of any resource, not only water, must not result in its abuse i.e., its excess.