Salat -- dialogue with the Lord

Salat -- dialogue with the Lord

BY MJ MOHAMMED IQBAL

IN THIS Holy Month, one can witness increased activities and more gathering in the mosques for regular as well as special prayers. This is a sign of blessings for human well being physically, socially and spiritually.

The glorious Almighty does not insist upon the performance of any other devotion as much as He does on the performance of Salat (prayers).

"This is the scripture wherein there is no doubt, a guidance to those who shun evil, who believe in the unseen, and establish Salat, and spend of that which we have bestowed upon them." (Quran - 2:1)

The word Salat in arabic is translated as prayer or worship, and also supplications for forgiveness, compassion, and mercy. (In persian, Turkish and Urdu, the term is Namaz)

Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is reported to have said "the difference between a believer in God and a disbeliever in is the performance of salat."

The great Indian scholar of medieval period Khawja Moinuddeen Chisty commented on the importance of the salat with the following statements:

"Without performing salat, none can approach God, because salat is the climax in the process of such approach for the pious. Salat is the ladder leading to the proximity of god. Salat is a trust committed to human care by the Almighty, a secret relationship existing between the worshiper and the worshiped."

Prophet (PBUH) said: Prayer, five times is like a flowing canal, of pure water by the side of one's house. He takes bath five times daily in it. Will you see any impurity in his body?

His companions replied: No. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: As water removes impurities, so prayer for five times removes sins.

Prayer for the five times expiates the sins of a man till he does not commit major sins. The distinction between us and the hypocrites is our presence at morning and night prayers and their absence at these two prayers. If a man meets God after destroying his prayer, God will not look towards his virtues. Prayer is the pillar of religion. He who gives it up destroys the pillar.

Prophet (PBUH) was once asked: Which action is best? Prophet told: To pray at the appointed times. If a man protects his prayer for five times with full ablution and at appointed times, these will be proof and light for him on the Day of Resurrection. He who destroys his prayer will rise with Pharaoh and Haman enemies of Almighty.

Salat is at once an external and an internal practice: a set of physical exercises (some have compared them to yoga asanas), and the richest spiritual nourishment.

By considering each of these aspects in some details, one can learn why the learned scholars have considered in many cases that they would rather die than forgo their salat.

The practice of salat is performed at five regular intervals throughout the day as a minimum and can be done at other times according to the capacities of the worshiper.

The timings of performance are fixed according to the journey of the sun and planets across the heavens. These times are as follows:

Morning Prayer: Begins approximately forty-five minutes before sunrise and extends up to the rising of the sun.

Mid day Prayer: Begins after the sun has passed the median point in the sky and has just begun its downward arc.

Afternoon Prayer: Begins when the sun has crossed a bisection of the arc made by the sun, midpoint between noon and the line of the horizon; or when the body's shadow is equal to two body lengths.

Evening Prayer: Begins just after the sun has set below the horizon and no light is left reflecting off the clouds (i.e, there is no more redness).

Night Prayer: Begins when night has fully fallen, approximately one hour and twenty minutes after the time of Magrib, or sunset.

By following these prayer timings, one is perfectly tuned to the motions of the planets, seasonal changes, and geographic variations. In so doing, one becomes harmonised with all of the natural cycles of the universe.

There are three aspects to the salat: thought, word, and action. Before beginning the salat, one must clean one self of any physical dirt on the body or clothing, or on the place where one intends to pray.

At the same time, one must drive out all negative or evil thoughts and cleanse the mind to concentrate fully upon the glory of Allah the Almighty. This preparation, called wudu (ablution).

The salat is done by assuming eight separate positions of the body and reciting various Qur'anic verses with each position. Positions, actions and benefits are described in the next article.