It is interesting to note that Salaat were known in the past to Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, Zakariyya, Shu’ayb etc… It is not some sort of innovation 1400 years ago. We will also see this when the Bible will be mentioned. Here are some examples: -

And when We made the House (Kaaba) a place of return, a sanctuary for mankind: They took the place where Ibrahim stood (to pray) as a place of prayer (Musallah, a place of Salaat). We contracted with Ibrahim and Isma‘il: ‘Purify My House for those who circle it, and those who stay there, and those who bow and who prostrate.’ (Qur’an, 2:125)

We revealed to Musa and his brother: ‘Settle your people in houses in Egypt and make your houses places of worship and perform prayer (Salaat) and give good news to the believers.’ (Qur’an, 10:87)

(‘Isa said,) ‘He has made me blessed wherever I am and directed me to perform prayer (Salaat) and give the alms as long as I live.’ (Qur’an, 19:31)

They said, ‘Shu‘ayb, do your prayers (Salaat) instruct you that we should abandon what our fathers worshipped or stop doing whatever we want to with our wealth? You are clearly the forbearing, the rightly-guided!’ (Qur’an, 11:87)

The angels called out to him while he (Zakariyya) was standing in prayer (Salaat) in the Upper Room: ‘Allah gives you the good news of Yahya, who will come to confirm a Word from Allah, and will be a leader and a celibate, a Prophet and one of the righteous.’ (Qur’an, 3:39)

“…and establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow (in worship).” (Qur’an, 2:43) (Talking to the children of Israel).

Even if we look at the Old Testament:

"As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. EVENING, and MORNING, and at NOON, WILL I PRAY, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." (Psalms 55:16-17)

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem (old qibla), he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did afortime." (Daniel 6:10)

But we must note that for the Arabs at the time of the prophet who worshipped at the Ka’bah, Salaat was corrupted and empty of meaning, as Allah tells us: -

“Their prayer at the House (Ka’bah) is nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment because you disbelieved!” (Qur’an, 8:35)

PREREQUISITS OF SALAAT

The state of your mind

It must be stated that you have not completed your Salaat if you do not come into your Salaat and leave your Salaat in compliance with the following.

Understand what you are saying

"O you who believe, do not observe the Prayers (Salaat) while intoxicated, so that you know what you are saying." (Qur’an, 4:43)

How can you glorify Allah with your heart and soul if you are just parroting words that mean nothing to you? How can the recitation of Allah’s book inspire awe and fear if you do not understand it? For this reason I believe one should carry a Qur’an in Salaat, with a translation if needed. Salaat really cannot benefit our souls if our souls hear nothing but foreign noises.

Be totally devoted to Allah

"Say, "My Salaat (Prayers), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to Allah, the Lord of the universe. He has no partner. This is what I am commanded to believe, and I am the first to submit." (Qur’an, 6:162-163)

This is an absolute requirement. There is absolutely no one else deserving of our Salaat and glorification.

BE HUMBLY SUBMISSIVE TO ALLAH

“Successful indeed are the believers, Who are humbly submissive (khaashi’oon) in their prayers,” (Qur’an, 23: 1-2)

(Believers are) those who are humble in their prayer. (Qur’an, 23:2)

What kind of arrogance does not humble itself before the All Mighty, Creator, Sustainer of All that is? Surely one that, like Satan, is bound for Hell. But the one that is humble before Allah has truly appreciated his/her position with respect to Allah and has as such truly brought Allah into remembrance.

Do Salaat to remember Allah

"Indeed, I am Allah; there is no other god beside Me; you shall worship Me alone, and observe the Salaat (Prayers) to remember ME." (Qur’an, 20:14)

Here Allah himself tells us why we do Salaat. So take note if you wish for contentment of the soul and a path towards Heaven.

Do not do prayer to be seen

“So woe to the praying ones, Who are neglectful of their prayers (Salaat), Those who (want but) to be seen” (Qur’an, 107:4-7)

The state of your body

Wudu’ and Ghusl

“You who believe! Do not approach the prayer when you are drunk, so that you will know what you are saying, nor in a state of major impurity (Janaabah)—unless you are traveling—until you have washed yourselves (tagtasiloo). If you are ill or on a journey, or any of you have come from the lavatory or touched women (sexual intercourse), and you cannot find any water, then take for yourselves clean earth, wiping your faces and your hands therewith. Allah is Ever-Pardoning, Ever-Forgiving.” (Qur'an, 4:43)

“You who believe! When you get up to perform prayer, wash your faces and your hands and your arms to the elbows, and wipe over your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of major impurity (Janaabah), then purify yourselves (fattahharoo). But if you are ill or on a journey, or have come from the lavatory, or have touched women (sexual intercourse), and cannot find any water, then take for yourselves clean earth, and wipe your faces and your hands therewith. Allah does not want to make things difficult for you, but He does want to purify (yutahhirukum) you and to perfect His blessing upon you so that hopefully you will be thankful.” (Qur'an, 5:6)

What we can understand here is the following: -

· You should do wudu before every prayer.

· If you have had sexual intercourse, are ill or been to the toilet you should clean yourself, this is the ghusl of whatever should be cleaned. But as Ghusl is used in a general manner, you would not be wrong to clean your whole body if you so wished or if it was practical to do so.

· Allah wants us to be purified in mind and body and so we should aim to be as clean as we can be.

If no water, and clean earth, then perform tayamum. That is, wipe your face and hands with clean earth.
If no clean earth, then just pray.

We should note that wudu, tayamum and ghusl would seem to have two functions: -

· To get us into a state of mind, to act like a transitional time from the hustle and bustle of life to the remembrance and glorification of Allah in Salaat.

o It is clear that the basic wudu and tayamum are not designed as an intense cleaning session of our bodies. Hence as they are required even if we are clean then we must see the significance Allah has established in these practices. That being primarily to get us into the state of mind, and secondarily to clean those parts that are likely to touch the ground/carpet.

· When we are dirty or impure in any major way then we are required to clean ourselves if possible. This is the function of ghusl I believe. It is the command to physical cleanliness in as much as we are able. Ghusl linguistically implies the usage of at least water to thoroughly remove dirt and purify. (Lane’s Lexicon and lughatul-Qur’an).

MENSTRUATION (HAYD)

“They will ask you about menstruation. Say, ‘It is a harm/suffering/annoyance (azzan), so keep apart (sexually) from women during menstruation and do not approach them (for sexual intercourse) until they are pure (period is over). But once they have purified themselves, then go to them in the way that Allah has enjoined on you.’ Allah loves those who turn back from wrongdoing and He loves those who purify themselves.” (Qur’an, 2:222)

The word above used to describe menstruation (azzan = harm/suffering/annoyance) is different from the word (mardh) used for illness in the above ablutions verses. Hence, menstruation is not included in the above verses as something that would preclude you from Salaat and that would require purifying before Salaat. This makes sense given the nature of the period, which is not within the control of the lady and is perpetual within the time range of the period. And as Allah has not included it as a cause of nullifying Salaat, no human may do so.

Let us not forget that we can pray on horseback and in battle, surely one would not be totally pure and clean at these times, and Allah gives exception given that these are circumstances out of the control of the Muslims involved. By analogy, Allah will not penalise menstruating women as their situation is also out of their control.

In short, Muslim ladies must perform Salaat everyday. It is obligatory on us all and Allah has not given any command to forbid or exempt them from it.

Direction of prayer (Qiblah)

“We have seen you looking up into heaven, turning this way and that, so We will turn you towards a direction which will please you. Turn your face, therefore, towards the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haramin Makkah). Wherever you all are, turn your faces towards it. Those given the Book know it is the truth from their Lord. Allah is not unaware of what they do.” (Qur’an, 2:144)

“In this way We have made you a middlemost community, so that you may act as witnesses against mankind and the Messenger as a witness against you. We only appointed the direction you used to face in order to know those who follow the Messenger from those who turn round on their heels. Though in truth it is a very hard thing–except for those Allah has guided. Allah would never let your faith go to waste. Allah is All-Gentle, Most Merciful to mankind.” (Qur’an, 2:143)

“Wherever you come from, turn your face to the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Haram in Makkah). Wherever you are, turn your faces towards it so that people will have no argument against you–except for those among them who do wrong and then you should not fear them but rather fear Me–and so that I can complete My blessing to you so that hopefully you will be guided.” (Qur’an, 2:150)

But never forget that: -

“It is not devoutness to turn your faces to the East or to the West. Rather, those with true devoutness are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and the Prophets, and who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to their relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to travellers and beggars and to set slaves free, and who perform prayer and give the alms; those who honour their contracts when they make them, and are steadfast in poverty and illness and in battle. Those are the people who are true. They are the people who guard against evil.” (Qur’an, 2:177)

In the classical dictionary, the word Qibla is translated as meaning the direction to which someone turns his face or attention, and within a religious context it would be taken as the direction faced for prayer (Lughatul Qur’an. However lets look at the relevant ayaat.

The following section speaks about the Qibla the most: -

The fools among the people will say: "What hath turned them from the Qibla to which they were used?" Say: To Allah belong both east and West: He guides whom He will to a straight path

The 1^st point here, is that qibla does not mean religious orientation, as the Muslims would not have changed that, it is therefore a geographical orientation. Note also the mention that both east and west belong to Allah, further confirming that this is a direction in a geographical sense. Note also that the “fools” among the people would actually be able to tell that a change had taken place for something that Muslims did, this gives credence to something physical and obvious, Muslims can be seen praying in a direction, and nothing else…

Thus, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves; and We appointed the Qibla to which you were used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels. Indeed it was (A change) momentous, except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah Make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people Most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful.

The change in the direction of the Qibla was to test the followers of the messenger.

Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven, so We shall surely turn you to a qibla which you shall like; turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it, and those who have been given the Book most surely know that it is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not at all heedless of what they do.

They were to turn to (the Ka’bah contained in) the Sacred Mosque. (An example of the two being linked in 5:2, but even just the fact that the Mosque surrounding the Ka’bah is called “The Sacred Mosque” is clear).

And even if you bring to those who have been given the Book every sign they would not follow your qibla (Sacred Mosque), nor can you be a follower of their qibla, neither are they the followers of each other's qibla, and if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you shall most surely be among the unjust.

We are told that the Jews and Christians would not turn towards the Sacred Mosque, away from the directions they followed.

Those whom We have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their sons, and a party of them most surely conceal the truth while they know (it).

The truth is from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the doubters.

And everyone has a direction to which he should turn, therefore hasten to (do) good works; wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together; surely Allah has power over all things.

And from whatsoever place you come forth, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; and surely it is the very truth from your Lord, and Allah is not at all heedless of what you do.

And from whatsoever place you come forth, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you are turn your faces towards it, so that people shall have no accusation against you, except such of them as are unjust; so do not fear them, and fear Me, that I may complete My favour on you and that you may walk on the right course. (Qur’an, 2:142-150)

Wherever we decide to travel to on earth we are to direct ourselves toward the Sacred Mosque, this is repeated 3 times in 8 verses.

But turn to the Qibla why? What is the only thing that Muslims do that would require them to need a direction that ALL Muslims would turn to? If you think about it, there is actually no other action other than Salaat. In Salaat we stand and we bow and we prostrate, but in what direction? The Qibla is the only conceivable answer given the fact that Allah repeatedly emphasises that Muslims turn to it.

Either that, or you believe that Allah wants us to walk sideways always directing ourselves to the Ka’bah. That makes no sense.

Let’s look at the next verse: -

Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Isma'il, that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or use it as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer) (Qur’an, 2:125)

We are reminded that people pray at the Ka’bah. Do they pray in every direction, to and away from the Ka’bah? We are told that Allah told Abraham and Ismail to purify the house (the Ka’bah) for 3 reasons: -

For those who circle around it.
For those who stay for worship in the Sacred mosque (compare to 2:187)
FOR THOSE WHO BOW AND PROSTRATE (in Salaat).

All of these three directly relating to the Ka’bah. Here we have an unquestionable link between Salaat and the Ka’bah (something which defines a geographical orientation for our Salaat).

Similarly with: -

And We located the position of the House for Ibrahim: ‘Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for those who circle it, and those who stand and bow and prostrate.’ (Qur’an, 22:26)

The next ayah is important also: -

We revealed to Musa and his brother: ‘Settle your people in houses in Egypt and make your houses your Qiblas and perform prayer (Salaat) and give good news to the believers.’ (Qur’an, 10:87)

We see here that the term Qibla is directly linked to prayer.

As a final point consider the following verses: -

(1)The fools among the people will say: "What hath turned them from the Qibla to which they were used?" Say: To Allah belong both east and West: He guides whom He will to a straight path (2:142)

(2)Indeed We see the turning of your face to heaven (i.e., unsure of the Qibla), so We shall surely turn you to a Qibla which you shall like; turn then your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it, and those who have been given the Book most surely know that it is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not at all heedless of what they do. (2:144)

(3)and We did not make (not "NOT REVEAL") the Qibla to which you were used, except to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels. Indeed it was (A change) momentous, except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah Make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people Most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful. (2:142)

The prophet and his followers followed the Qibla that others did (or were used to)(1), but they probably just took it as they either were unsure of another or they wanted the ka'bah (2) but were unsure (2) possibly due to the idols. The fact that they were unsure PROVES that Allah DID NOT reveal to the prophet the Qibla before this (hence we don't need other sources). Allah created this situation (that it was the only well known one, for example among the people of the book) to test the believers once he finally assigned the ka'bah as the Qibla (3).

I believe that the information above is sufficient to conclude that Qibla makes no sense except for the direction for prayer (within the above context at least).

THE CALL FOR PRAYER

When you call to prayer they make a mockery and a game of it. That is because they are people who do not use their intellect. (Qur’an, 5:58)

It is clear that the call for prayer is not specified in the Qur’an. Certainly the one now used is not in the Qur’an. The Qur’an only acts to guide us to call to prayer and guides us to not associate with Allah. Any call for prayer that fulfils both of these is Qur’anically allowable. Let us not forget that Muslims judge by consultation and so it must be widely known and acknowledged. I would favour removing the reference to Muhammad in the Azaan.

“And those who answer the call of their Lord and establish Salaat, and whose affairs are a matter of counsel, and who spend of what We have bestowed on them…” (Qur’an, 42:38)

TIMINGS OF THE SALAAT

Then when you have finished the prayer, remember Allah standing and sitting and reclining; but when you are secure (from danger) keep up prayer; surely prayer (Salaat) is a timed ordinance for the believers. (Qur’an, 4:103)

It is clear from this verse, that we must indeed be able to derive timing information for Salaat from the Qur’an.

This generally is the most contentious topic if you were to talk to a Sunni[2] he would suggest that there should be 5, morning (Fajr), noon (Dhuhr), afternoon (Asr), evening (Maghrib) and night (Isha’). My current understanding leads me to believe that there are only 3 in the Qur’an, Fajr, Wusta and ‘Isha’ (Isha Having a different time range than in Sunni thinking).

I will present the relevant verses and give what I believe to be the Qur’anic guidance on prayer times. Once again we must recall that the Qur’an is complete and sufficient, with this in mind, let us proceed.

I should state that the approach taken is to use only those verses that are seen to refer to Salaat in a clear manner. There are many verses about praising and glorifying Allah at many times. I make a distinction between glorification and Salaat verses, because though one Glorifies Allah in Salaat, one does not need to perform Salaat to glorify Allah, hence one does not necessarily imply the other. I deal briefly with some of the Glorification verses in appendix 2.

We must first note that a (24 hour) Yaum is broken up into 4 periods: -

From the darkness of the night till the point of sunrise. (Here Allah is merging night into day). (The time of ‘Fajr’ prayer)
From sunrise till the sun has set. (Nahar)
From the setting of the sun until the darkness of the night. (Here Allah is merging day into night). (The time of ‘Ishaa’ prayer)
The dark night with no light in the sky from the sun. (Layl)

THE ENDS OF THE DAY

“Perform prayer at each end of the day (tarafay-I-nahaar) and/but in the (times) approaches to/near to (plural) the night (wa zulfann minal layl). Good actions eradicate bad actions. This is a reminder for people who pay heed.” (Qur’an, 11:114)

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ

This verse is telling us that at the periods defined by: -

The two sides/ends of the day (sunrise and sunset) to the night at either end of the day. That is from sunset till night (evening) and from night till sunrise (dawn).

If we just take ‘tarafay-I-nahaar’, (tarafay is the dual plural of tarf) then this is specifying two points in the day, but this defines no actual period, so we take this expression with the next one to define the period…

· The term ‘wa zulfann minal layl’, zulfa has a meaning of nearness. Hence it implies ‘and/but (in the times) in nearness to the night’.

So if we understand that ‘wa zulfann minal layl’ is further explaining ‘tarafay-I-nahaar’, then we understand that we must perform our prayer at the times defined by:

Sunset and sunrise
The times (minutes/hours) in nearness to the night.

That is from first light till sunrise begins, and from sunset till night.

If we don’t understand that ‘wa zulfann minal layl’ is further explaining ‘tarafay-I-nahaar’, then we would be told to pray at two points in the day which last a few minutes, its only if we understand that ‘wa zulfann minal layl’ is a further explanation that we can get a sense of the time range for these two prayers. Hence this is how I did it. The preposition ‘wa’ can mean and, along with, as well as, also, but etc… (Lughatul-Qur’an)

There is also another interesting point here, namely the way Allah defined these two periods. Had Allah said ‘tarafay-I-nahaar’ to ‘tarafay-I-layl’ then we would have the period from sunset till night defined nicely, but the morning prayer would be defined in the wrong direction (that is from the sunrise till the night). Hence Allah describes the two time ranges in an eloquent and accurate manner.

In the current translations we usually see that this verse is translated as talking about both sides of the day and some hours of the night. The ‘approaches of the night’ thought to refer to either ‘ishaa or maghrib and some include asr too… But what is the two sides of the day referring to? All say morning and then some say the other end is either asr or maghrib.

So this verse is ambiguous if it is understood traditionally, that is as translated in the translations. That these translations (and hence the traditional understanding for them) are ambiguous, is clear.

The next verse: -

“Perform prayer from when the sun declines/sets (liduluki-shams) until the darkness of the (ghasaqi-layl) night, and also the recitation at dawn. The dawn recitation is certainly witnessed.” (Qur'an, 17:78)

أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ وَقُرْآَنَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْآَنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

Here we are told of two periods, first from the decline of the sun to the darkness of the night, second in the dawn period. ‘liduluki-shams’ has been interpreted in two ways:-

The setting of the sun from the midday point, that is, the meridian.
The setting of the sun in the evening time.

Both of which can be found in Dictionaries.

The basic meaning of the word dalaka is ‘to rub’ or rubbing.

I will interpret duluk as the setting of the sun (when the sun is rubbing with the horizon), as this then: -

Accords with 11:114.
Does not introduce the ambiguity associated with a period stretching from noon (zuhr) till night (layl) with respect to Salaat.

We must choose the meaning of the word that removes ambiguity, not adds it.

So this verse is once again referring to the dawn and sunset periods.

If we understand it as it is usually translated (decline from midday). Then traditionally this period is referring to zuhr, asr, maghrib and ‘ishaa. But we are not informed what period is for what prayer either directly or indirectly. From 11:114 if you understand it as I wrote it above then you will know the periods for maghrib and fajr, but not Ishaa’ or Asr or zuhr. In fact we will see that the night prayer is a nafila, a voluntary one, and also, Asr Salaat is not even mentioned.

If we then take this traditional understanding for 17:78 along with the traditional understanding of 11:114, we are left in a state of confusion regarding the obligatory prayer times.

Under the guidance of the Qur’an we must know that we should at least be able to derive some specific understanding from these verses, so we must reject the understanding and translation given by the previous translators as they lead to ambiguous understandings. My above translations can at least lead to a clear understanding, and hence they are more likely to be true.

THE OPTIONAL NIGHT PRAYER

“And during a part of the night (minal-layl): remain awake (Fatahaajud) for a voluntary act (nafila) for thee: It may be that thy Lord will raise thee to a praised estate.” (Qur'an, 17:79)

وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَهَجَّدْ بِهِ نَافِلَةً لَكَ عَسَى أَنْ يَبْعَثَكَ رَبُّكَ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودً

This verse being a continuation of the timings of Salaat in the previous verse (17:78) contains an important point. Namely that the prayer that would actually be in the night (layl) is an additional or voluntary one, not a required one like the other ones. Hence we cannot interpret that there is an obligatory night (layl) prayer directly from the Qur’an, it is instead a suggested one.

So if we must have at least three obligatory prayers: -

And the one at night is not obligatory
There is one in the post sunset and pre night period.
There is one in the post night and pre sunrise period.

Then the only period left for a third one is in the day sometime… Which leads to the next Salaat period.

THE MIDDLE PRAYER

“Safeguard the prayers*—especially the middle prayer (Salaatul-Wusta). Stand in obedience to Allah.” (Qur'an, 2:238)

حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ* وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ

*Salawaat: This is the plural of Salaat, which is greater than two. This implies at least 3 Salaat (singular), especially if there is to be a middle one.

This prayer, the middle prayer, is to be taken as the mid prayer of the day, time wise and position wise.

Taking that the Qur’an is complete, we must take that in its description as the middle prayer we have a complete description of its timing and period.

So if we fully make use of the meaning of wusta in the sense of middle, then we can derive that the time of this middle prayer can be defined as follows.

It makes sense to think that the middle prayer cannot be in an instant, hence it is not between two specific points, so what is it in the middle of? It would have to be in the middle of the two periods we already have defined.

We already have 4 points defined by the Qur’an, 2 points for each of the dawn and sunset periods. The period defining the middle prayer can have its two end points defined by: -

The midpoint between first light (the start of the dawn prayer period) and the point of sunset (the start of the sunset prayer period). This gives the start of the middle prayer period.
The midpoint between sunrise (the end of the dawn prayer period) and night (the end of the sunset prayer period). This gives the end of the middle prayer period.

Stated otherwise, the time range it the same duration as the sunset/sunrise time range (which should be theoretically identical), which is a consequence of the mid prayer time range being centred between the other two.

This means that this is a short time range, generally a couple hours placed around the midday point.

If we look at the following verse: -

"O you who believe, when the Salaat is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of God, and drop all business. This is better for you, if you only knew. Once the prayer is completed, you may spread through the land to seek God's bounties, and continue to remember God frequently, that you may succeed." (Qur’an, 62:9-10)

That one would leave his business and trade to go to the prayer implies it is in the pre-noon/noon/afternoon time. That one could return to trade etc. implies that there is a substantial portion of the day left.

Some have used the following verse to try and refute having the Salaatul wusta at around midday by using the following verse: -

O you who believe! let those whom your right hands possess and those of you who have not attained to puberty ask permission of you three times; before the morning (fajri) prayer, and when you put off your clothes at midday (zzahira), and after the evening prayer (‘ishaa’); these are three times of privacy for you; neither is it a sin for you nor for them besides these, some of you must go round about (waiting) upon others; thus does Allah make clear to you the communications, and Allah is Knowing, Wise. (Qur’an, 24:58)

They say that the prayer is not mentioned at the time when zuhr is mentioned above, but the point to be noted here is that Allah is taking about potential times of undress, not prayer times. You may change your cloths to ‘day cloths’ before fajr prayer, you may change your cloths if you have a short break midday to relax and get out of the sun, and you may change your cloths at night after you have prayed the ishaa prayer. You would not need to change your cloths at the Salaatul wusta… Also, this has a time range larger than just the point of noon and hence it need not correspond with the noon nap/break/whatever, it could be before you go for the rest or after it.

Also, if we look at these (glorification) verses: -

“Therefore glory be to Allah when you enter upon the time of the evening and when you enter upon the time of the morning. And to Him belongs praise in the heavens and the earth, and at nightfall and when you are at midday (tuzhiroon).” (Qur’an, 30:17-18)

We can see here that glorification of Allah takes place here dawn, evening, night and in the noon. If glorification can take place at noon, why not Salaat? In fact, it can be seen in the appendix that glorification timings in the Qur’an seem to accord for the most part with the Salaat timings…

So the middle prayer is in the pre-noon/noon/afternoon, and Allah says that we should not allow trade to keep us away from this prayer. Hence we must seek to avoid delaying praying it in its midday time, which is not that long.

Reading the following confirms understanding of having prayer midday: -

“... there are men who proclaim His glory morning and evening, not distracted by trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah and the performance of prayer and the giving of the alms; fearing a day when all hearts and eyes will be in turmoil.” (Qur’an, 24:36-37)

Trade and commerce are done in the daytime; hence, this verse is referring to a Salaat during the day. These people proclaim the glory of Allah in the morning and the evening AND are not distracted by commerce from the remembrance of Allah and Salaat.

And if we again remember that just like for the Friday prayers we could actually go back to trade after Salaat, we understand that there is still a considerable portion of the afternoon remaining. Hence this implies that the prayer is in the early noon to afternoon region as derived from the previous time range analysis. That is, in about the same time region as zuhr prayer is now prayed, but in a smaller and slightly shifted time range.

And if we again recall: -

“Safeguard the prayers; especially the middle prayer. Stand in obedience to Allah.” (Qur'an, 2:238)

We will note that we should try to avoid delaying the prayer. We should not allow the hustle and bustle of our day to artificially delay the prayer, as we could easily miss it due its timing and duration.

Please refer to appendix 3 to see a brief analysis of various ways to analyse the Salaat verses and a justification for the selection of the above understanding.

DURATION OF SALAAT

The duration of Salaat can be derived by considering the very purpose of Salaat, namely to bring Allah to remembrance.

"I am God; there is no other god beside Me; you shall worship Me alone, and observe the Salaat (Prayers) to remember ME." (Qur’an, 20:14)

This implies directly that Salaat must be performed until one has properly brought Allah to remembrance. It is the state of mind that is the Goal in Salaat and not the performance of 3 or 4 rak’as.

And so one should not rush Salaat under normal circumstances. But we are allowed to shorten our Salaat at times when extending them could cause unease in us due to fear of attack, Allah describes this when we are on a journey and we fear the possibility of attack.

“When you are travelling in the land, there is nothing wrong in your shortening your prayer if you fear that those who do not believe may harass you…” (Qur’an, 4:101)

POSITIONS FOR SALAAT

“And when We made the House (Kaaba) a place of return, a sanctuary for mankind: They took the place where Ibrahim stood (to pray) as a place of prayer (Musallah, a place of Salaat). We contracted with Ibrahim and Isma‘il: ‘Purify My House for those who circle it, and those who stay there, and those who bow and who prostrate.” (Qur’an, 2:125)

“Those who repent, those who worship, those who praise, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate, those who command the right, those who forbid the wrong, those who preserve the limits of Allah: give good news to the believers.” (Qur’an, 9:112)

“You who believe! Bow and prostrate and worship your Lord, and do good, so that hopefully you will be successful.” (Qur’an, 22:77)

"We appointed Abraham to establish the Shrine: "You shall not idolize any other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate." (Qur’an, 22:26)

"Muhammad-the messenger of God, and those with him are harsh and stern against the disbelievers, but kind and compassionate amongst themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating, as they seek God's blessings and approval." (Qur’an, 48:29)

"You shall consistently observe the Salaat , especially the middle prayer, and STAND before God in submission." (Qur’an, 2:238)

Perform prayer (Salaat) and give the alms and bow with those who bow. (Qur’an, 2:43)

“When ye travel through the earth, there is no blame on you if ye shorten your prayers (Salaat), for fear the Unbelievers May attack you: For the Unbelievers are unto you open enemies.

And when thou (O Muhammad) art among them and arrangest (their) worship for them, let only a party of them stand with thee (to worship) and let them take their arms. Then when they have prostrated let them fall to the rear and let another party come that hath not worshipped and let them worship with thee, and let them take their precaution and their arms. Those who disbelieve long for you to neglect your arms and your baggage that they may attack you once for all. It is no sin for you to lay aside your arms, if rain impedeth you or ye are sick. But take your precaution. Lo! Allah prepareth for the disbelievers shameful punishment.

Then when you have finished the prayer, remember Allah standing and sitting and reclining; but when you are secure (from danger) keep up prayer; surely prayer is a timed ordinance for the believers.” (Qur’an, 4:101-103)

“Only those believe in Our verses (ayaat) who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate and exalt/glorify with/by praise of their Lord, and they are not scornful” (Qur’an, 32:15)

It must be noted that Allah wants us to glorify him through the day, through remembrance and Qur’anic recital, and to bow with the recitation of the Qur’an if we can. We need not limit our bowing and prostrating only to the obligatory Salaat times.

Please refer to the summary for overall Salaat details.

WORDS FOR SALAAT

Below are some examples of what we could say: -

Say: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer (Salaat) aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between. Say: "Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation: yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!" (Qur’an, 17:110-111)

"You shall recite what is revealed to you of the Scripture (the Qur’an), and observe the Salaat." (Qur’an, 29:45)

“Then celebrate with praises the name of thy Lord, the Supreme!” (Qur’an, 56:74)

This is like ‘subhana rabiall-a’la’ as now stated in sujud.

“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High,” (Qur’an, 87:01)

This is like ‘subhana rabiall-‘azeem’’ as now stated in ruku’.

Note also: -

“And glorify Him during the night and after you have prostrated.” (Qur’an, 50:40)

We must glorify Allah and recite the Qur’an with the goal of remembering Allah. We must glorify and talk only to Allah, our Salaat should be devoted solely to our Creator and Sustainer.

“Only those believe in Our verses (ayaat) who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate and exalt/glorify with/by praise of their Lord, and they are not scornful” (Qur’an, 32:15)

The Qur’an is the guide for and source of what we say in Salaat.

Let us once again recall: -

Let us shun idolatry in personality or object. No more words of praise or blessing to any prophet in our prayers. They are only men with no power to do anything for us other than guarantee us hellfire if we join them with God in our worship.

If we are to make a proclamation of witness to our belief in Allah then we can do it as Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an: -

Allah (Himself) is Witness that there is no ilah (deity) save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no Allah save Him the Almighty, the Wise. (Qur’an, 3:18)

So we state “Inni ash-hadu an laa ilaha ill-Allah!”

“… Neither speak thy Prayer (Salaat) aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between." (Qur’an, 17:110)

When we pray alone we should vocalise our recitation and glorification.

When we pray in groups this is impractical and so there should be one reciter etc… Like we now have in the Friday prayer. The Friday is also likely to be the best-preserved practice of Salaat through the ages.

The Qur’an is truly an essential part of Salaat, its recitation brings us in awe and humbleness of our creator so that we feel ever more compelled to bow and prostrate while praising and glorifying Allah the exalted.

WHAT ABOUT THE TASHAHHUD?

Briefly…

We are supposed to say “Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and blessings.” in the first tashahhud (or the first part of the tashahhud).

In the Qur’an the times when salaam is said of prophets after they die do not include more immediate and personal terms like ‘you’. Read surah 37, examples are ‘Peace upon elias’, ‘Peace upon ibrahim’… So the way this salaam is sent on the prophet Muhammad has no precise Qur’anic basis. I think that it is overly personal, like Muhammad is there to hear… He is not.
Did the prophet actually also say this when he prayed? I’d say no.

Can you imagine him saying this to himself on a daily basis?
This same argument can be said about the second part of the tashahhud where “O Allah, send Grace and Honour on Muhammad and on the family and true followers of Muhammad just as you sent Grace and Honour on Ibrahim and on the family and true followers of Ibrahim etc…” is said… Did Muhammad say that?

How is this bringing Allah into remembrance? It’s not.

Recall that this is the function of Salaat.
We cannot say that remembering Muhammad makes us remember Allah as there is no intermediary to the remembrance of Allah.

Does Allah tell us to do this as part of our Salaat? No.

It therefore cannot be a required part of Salaat, as Muhammad has no authority to create any new Islamic rules/laws.

THE CONCLUSION OF SALAAT

Two other issues to do with the ending of Salaat (apart from the words of the tashahhud) are: -

Raising the index finger when saying, “I bear witness that that there is nothing worthy of worship other than Allah” etc…

This cannot be a required part of Salaat as it is not mandated by Allah.

Saying salaam to the recording angels at the end of each prayer.

This is not mandated by Allah and is a practice that cannot be said to be a part of Salaat.

BENEFITS OF SALAAT

“Recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer (Salaat); surely prayer (Salaat) keeps (one) away from indecency and evil, and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest, and Allah knows what you do.” (Qur’an, 29:45)

And remember: -

"I am God; there is no other god beside Me; you shall worship Me alone, and observe the Salaat (Prayers) to remember ME." (Qur’an, 20:14)

So Salaat brings Allah to remembrance, and the remembrance of Allah keeps away from indecency and evil. This is indeed a multifaceted benefit. Al hamdu lillah.

GET THE FAMILY TO PRAY

Instruct your family to perform prayer (Salaat), and be constant in it. We do not ask you for provision. We provide for you. And the outcome rests on doing your duty. (20:132)

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PRAYERS

“Safeguard prayer–and note the middle one. Stand in obedience to Allah.” (Qur'an, 2:238)

“Those who safeguard their prayer:” (Qur'an, 23:9)

“(They are) not distracted by trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah and the performance of prayer and giving alms; fearing a day when all hearts and eyes will be in turmoil.” (Qur'an, 24:37)

“… those who perform prayer and are constant in it.” (Qur'an, 70:22-23)

Allah expects us to pray even when we are out to battle (if we are not fighting at that point). If it is at all possible to do Salaat, we must. It is so important to bring Allah to remembrance as part of duty with Salaat and with the Praise and Glorification of Allah at All times.

THE FRIDAY PRAYER

O you who believe! when the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trading; that is better for you, if you know.

And when the prayer is ended, then disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah's grace, and remember Allah much, that you may be successful.

But when they see merchandise or some amusement they break up for it, and leave you standing. Say: What is with Allah is better than sport and (better) than merchandise, and Allah is the best of Sustainers. (Qur’an, 62:9-11)

This ayah establishes that the Friday prayer is one that all Muslims must go to regardless of whether they may lose profit or not, and in fact there is special emphasis on not letting trade distract them. But what about its timing? Is it referring to the Morning prayer, Midday prayer or Sunset prayer?

Now I have argued on pages 16 and 17 that the fact that we can return to business would imply that it would be at midday, but it has been noted that people now work at all hours of the day and night, so where would that leave us?

Well we can look at it in a few ways: -

Allah says in the Qur’an: -

“We made the night and day two Signs. We blotted out the Sign of the night and made the Sign of the day a time for seeing so that you can seek favour/bounty from your Lord and will know the number of years and the reckoning of time. We have made all things very clear.” (Qur’an, 17:12)

i. This implying that it was the day that was designed for seeking the bounty of Allah. And the night for sleeping.

“It is He Who appointed the night for you, so that you could rest in it, and the day for seeing. There are certainly Signs in that for people who listen. (Qur’an, 10:67)”.

i. This implying that the night was designed for rest.

So these would imply that it was in the plan of Allah that we would use the night for rest and sleep and the day for the seeking of our bounty (I think this pattern may well be biologically designed into us too). And it is indeed still the predominant pattern of work to work the day and not the night, although people are slipping into the night with work more and more, but still I would think day workers outnumber night workers.

The next point to be considered is that the midday point is the point at which the majority of people are likely to be working and making their money, whereas as you would go to either end of the day, the number of people steeped in business such that they would struggle to leave it (refer to 62:11), would decrease significantly. Hence the midday prayer would: -

Target the majority of people (at all times).

(And hence) maximise the test of leaving business and profit.

And hence maximise the benefit of remembering Allah in our worldly toils.

“O you who believe! let those whom your right hands possess and those of you who have not attained puberty ask permission of you three times; before the morning (fajri) prayer, and when you put off your clothes at midday (zzahira), and after the evening prayer (‘ishaa’); these are three times of privacy for you; neither is it a sin for you nor for them besides these, some of you must go round about (waiting) upon others; thus does Allah make clear to you the communications, and Allah is Knowing, Wise.” (Qur’an, 24:58)

This verse helps us to understand that Allah is talking to the Arabs and their patterns; this then helps us to understand the Friday prayer verse too and its timing.

i. We see that the general pattern was that they would only be putting their clothes on before the fajr prayer (hence not out at work to be distracted by minimal trading opportunities).

ii. We see that they generally might take off their clothes midday (neither before nor after Salaat is mentioned)), though on Friday it may or may not be done.

iii. They would generally take off their clothes at night after having completed their evening/sunset prayer.

iv. All three times being times of general privacy.

These indicate a lifestyle that revolved around generally daytime hustle and bustle and generally rest by night. And so when Allah commands them not to be distracted by trade from the Friday prayer, they would naturally understand that this would be the middle/daytime prayer. And this also manifests itself in the continuing and somewhat preserved practice of praying the Friday prayer at midday and with an audible voice. Note also (Qur’an, 24:36-37).

BRIEF SUMMARY

You start the Salaat by standing (especially 4:101-103 where we see that the Salaat starts with standing, see also 2:125,238) and reciting from the Qur’an (29:45), in an audible voice (17:110). After the recitation you go to bowing and then prostrating (2:43, 125, see also 22:26, 77), the Salaat ends on a prostration (4:101-103 we see here that after a/the sujud the Salaat ends).

There is no indication as to how many times to do this ‘rak’a. Salaat works by inspiring remembrance of Allah and his greatness through the recitation of the Qur’an while standing, we then bow and prostrate to physically express the feelings of humbleness/gratitude/fear/love/submission/etc. that the Qur’an has inspired in us and to glorify and praise Allah. As the following verse indicates: -

“Only those believe in Our verses (ayaat) who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate and exalt/glorify with/by praise of their Lord, and they are not scornful” (Qur’an, 32:15)

How many rak’a?

As Allah does not stipulate a number, then there is no specified number that MUST be performed except 1 which is the absolute minimum unless with the exception even to doing a rak’a as given by (2:239). But there is no reason why for the sake of communal Salaat we cannot agree upon a number. As I stated earlier, the best-preserved physical practice of Salaat is likely to be the Friday prayer as this was communally done from the very start.

We note in it the vocalised recitation of the Qur’an, which is not practiced in normal zuhr and ‘asr Salaat, against Allah’s command in (17:110). This is one point in support of its greater authenticity.

Qur’anically there is no harm in doing 2, 3 or 4 rak’a. So there is not a problem in praying with other Muslims for the most part.

We must not dedicate our Salaat to any other than Allah, so no salaam to Muhammad or any prayers for him to be blessed etc… Also the practice of saying salaam to the recording angels has no Qur’anic basis and adds nothing towards remembering and glorifying Allah. Just always keep in mind during Salaat, “who am I glorifying by this action and word?”

Remember always: -

"Say, "My Salaat (Prayers), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to Allah, the Lord of the universe. He has no partner. This is what I am commanded to believe, and I am the first to submit." (Qur’an, 6:162-163)

Your Salaat is ONLY for Allah.

PROBLEMATIC VERSES?

The following verse was pointed out to me before as evidence (for some reason) that we need to look outside the Qur’an for data on prayer: -

“If ye fear (an enemy), then (pray) on foot, or riding, but when ye are in security, remember Allah in the manner He has taught you, which ye knew not.” (Qur’an, 2:239)

This is true, Allah has revealed the Qur’an which is also known as the zikr (reminder). In it we learn from Allah how to glorify and remember him. Consider for example:-

“Sâd. By the Qur’an holding the Remembrance.” (Qur’an, 38:1)

“That is what We recite to you of the Signs and the wise Reminder.” (Qur’an, 3:58)

“We did not send down the Qur’an to you to make you miserable, but only as a reminder for those who have fear.” (Qur’an, 20:2-3)

“Those who reject the Remembrance when it comes to them–truly it is a Mighty Book;” (Qur’an, 41:41)

“And We have not taught him poetry, nor is it meet for him; it is nothing but a reminder and a plain Qur’an” (Qur’an, 36:69)

Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: 'Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire. Our Lord, those You cast into the Fire, You have indeed disgraced. The wrongdoers will have no helpers. Our Lord, we heard a caller calling us to faith: "Believe in your Lord!" and we believed. Our Lord, forgive us our wrong actions, erase our bad actions from us and take us back to You with those who are truly good. Our Lord, give us what You promised us through Your Messengers, and do not disgrace us on the Day of Rising. You do not break Your promise.' (Qur'an, 3:191-194)

“You who believe! When you are called to prayer on the Day of Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and abandon trade. That is better for you if you only knew.” (Qur’an, 62:9)

Also through Salaat with the recitation of the Qur’an we remember Allah.

We must not forget what Allah said when he said: -

“Their prayer at the House (Ka’bah) is nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment because you disbelieved!” (Qur’an, 8:35)

Allah has taught us in the Qur’an to bow and worship only him, to recite the Qur’an to remember Allah and in prayer, to remember Allah and glorify him at any time and bow to Allah.

This knowledge was not with the stupid Arabs before Allah revealed it to them through his prophet Muhammad. They may well have brought Allah to remembrance with ‘partners’ and statues and stupid sacrifices and no doubt stupid chants and customs. Their actions were empty and superficial; their supplications were no more than noises.

Hence with the Qur’an Allah truly did teach us the error of such things and guided us to proper remembrance of Allah.

APPENDIX 1: THE COMPLETE AND DETAILED QUR’AN

"And certainly We have repeated for humankind, in this Qur’an, every kind of example, but the majority of humankind do not consent to anything but denying." (17:89)

“We have put forth for humans, in this Qur’an, every kind of example so that they may remember” (39:27).

"A. L. R. These are the verses of a Book,- and a Qur'an that makes things clear. " (15:1)

"We have not instructed the (Prophet) in Poetry, nor is it meet for him: this is no less than a Message and a Qur'an making things clear: " (36:69)

"And We have revealed the Book to you which has the clear explanation of everything, and a guidance and mercy and good news for those who submit." (16:89)

“Shall I then seek a Ruler other than Allah? When He it is Who has revealed to you the Book (which is) distinctly detailed” (6:114)

“And certainly We have brought them a Book, which We have detailed with knowledge, a guidance and mercy for a people who believe” (7:52)

“A Book of which the verses are distinctly detailed, an Arabic Qur’an for people who know” (41:3)

“Indeed We have made the verses detailed for a people who take reminder” (6:126)

“Thus do We make the revelations detailed for a people who reflect” (10:24)

“Thus do We make the revelations detailed for a people who use their reason” (30:28)

“Is it not enough for them that We have revealed to you the Book, which is recited to them? Most surely there is a mercy in this and a reminder for a people who believe” (29:51)

5:44-50: - With reference to the Jews then the Christians then to Muslims, Allah repeatedly tells us that we must ONLY follow that which is revealed and not the words and opinions of men, which is the judgement of the times of ignorance.

“And the Messenger will say: O my Lord! Surely my people have neglected this Qur’an.” (25:30)

This is not an exhaustive list. For more details on the completeness of the Qur’an for our guidance please email me.
APPENDIX 2: THE GLORIFICATION VERSES

Arabic word translations: (Using Lane’s Lexicon and Lughatul-Qur’an)

Bukran:- early morning. (bakr)

Asaal: (plu of aseela) root, base, foundation, evening time (similar to ‘asheeyan, its like when the sun is rooted in the horizon) (Lane LEXICON and lughatu lqur’an)

Gudoo: early morning

Layl: night

Fajr: Dawn

Zuhr: noon

‘ishaa’: (late) evening

masaa’: (early) evening.

Sabaah: morning.

What I hope to explore here are the timings that have been associated with the act of glorification. I must state that one or two above words can have differing meanings, for example the ‘ishaa and asaal. I simply chose the meaning that I thought could be nicely linked to the Salaat verses. It may be noted that in the classical dictionaries, some of the meanings of these periods have been derived from Sunni practices. I have as a rule not taken these to necessarily be the true and original meanings of these words.

In the following verses I include the transliterated words from the Arabic text relating directly to times. So lets begin: -

“So be steadfast in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun (tuloo’I shams) and before its setting (gurrobiha). And glorify Him during part of the night (layl) and at the (atraaf) parts of the day (nahar), so that hopefully you will be pleased.” (Qur’an, 20:130)

This ayah tells us to glorify Allah: -

Before sunrise
Before sunset
During part of the night
During parts* of the day.

At the atraaf (Atraaf = plural greater than 2) of the day. In 11:114 Allah commands us to perform prayer at (tarafay) the sides (plural dual) of the day and/but in the times in approach to the night. The word tarf can mean side as well as part, extremity, edge, ends etc… The most logical meaning would be to take it as ‘part’. So atraafu-nahar can mean parts of the day.

So in short, Allah is asking us to glorify him at all times. If we read on, in 20:132 we see that we are told to enjoin prayer in a manner distinct from the glorification verse (20:130). I therefore take them to be representing to differing yet not mutually exclusive phenomena.

“So glory be to Allah when you enter the evening (early evening) and when you enter the morning. Praise be to Him in the heavens and the earth, in the (‘asheean) late evening and when you reach midday (tuzhiroon).” (Qur’an, 30:17-18)

“So remain steadfast. Allah's promise is true. Ask forgiveness for your wrong action and glorify your Lord with praise in the late evening (‘asheeye) and the early morning (abkar).” (Qur’an, 40:55)

“So wait steadfastly for the judgement of your Lord – you are certainly before Our eyes. And glorify and praise your Lord when you get up. And glorify Him in the night (layl) and when the stars set/fade out (dawn time).” (Qur’an, 52:48-49)

“(It is) so that you might all believe in Allah and His Messenger and honour Him and respect Him and glorify Him in the morning (bukran) and the evening (aseela).” (Qur’an, 48:9)

“We subjected the mountains to glorify with him in the evening (ashee-ye) and at sunrise (isharaaq).” (Qur’an, 38:18)

“You who believe! Remember Allah much, and glorify Him in the morning (bukratan) and the evening (aseela).” (Qur’an, 33:41-42)

“In houses which Allah has permitted to be built and in which His name is remembered, there are men who proclaim His glory morning (bukratan) and evening (aseela),” (Qur’an, 24:36)

“He (Zakariyya) came out to his people from the Upper Room and gestured to them to glorify Allah in the morning (bukratan) and the evening (‘ashee-ya).” (Qur’an, 19:11)

“He (Zakariyya) said, ‘My Lord, appoint a Sign for me.’ He said, ‘Your Sign is that you will not speak to people for three days, except by gesture. Remember your Lord much and glorify Him in the evening (‘ashee-ye) and after dawn (abkaar).” (Qur’an, 3:41)

“Remember your Lord in yourself humbly and fearfully, without loudness of voice, morning (gudoo-y) and evening (asaal). Do not be one of the unaware.” (Qur’an, 7:205)

“Restrain yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning (gudoo-y) and evening (‘ashee-ye), desiring His face. Do not turn your eyes from them, desiring the attractions of this world. And do not obey someone whose heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance and who follows his own whims and desires and whose life has transgressed all bounds.” (Qur’an, 18:28)

“In houses which Allah has permitted to be built and in which His name is remembered, there are men who proclaim His glory morning (gudoo-we) and evening (asaal), not distracted by trade or commerce from the remembrance of Allah and the performance of prayer and the giving of the alms; fearing a day when all hearts and eyes will be in turmoil.” (Qur’an, 24:36-37)

“Remember the Name of your Lord in the morning (bukratan) and the evening (aseela).” (Qur’an, 76:25)

“And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has caused to be written: and they are dictated before him morning (bukratan) and evening (aseela)."” (Qur’an, 25:5)

It is interesting to note that in these two times of Salaat and glorification when Muhammad was likely to be out of sight, the kuffar say that he is being told what to write of the Qur’an.

“Whatever beings there are in the heavens and the earth do prostrate themselves to Allah (Acknowledging subjection),- with good-will or in spite of themselves: so do their shadows in the morning (gudoo-we) and evenings (asaal, this context defines asaal which is sometimes mistranslated as afternoon)”. (Qur’an, 13:15)

“Send not away those who call on their Lord morning (gudoo-we) and evening (‘ashee-ye), seeking His face. In naught art thou accountable for them, and in naught are they accountable for thee, that thou shouldst turn them away, and thus be (one) of the unjust.” (Qur’an, 6:52)

If we read through these verses (which are not exhaustive, but they are fairly) representative, we find that the times of glorification fall into the following regions: -

Night time: -

52:48-49, 20:130

Morning and Evening time (early and late evening): -

20:130, 30:17-18, 40:55, 52:48-49, 48:9, 38:18, 33:41-42, 24:36, 19:11, 3:41, 6:52, 76:25 etc…

Noontime: -

30:17-18, 20:130 (indirectly)

At All times: -

20:130

I think therefore that in accordance with the Salaat timings, the glorification/supplication timings would generally fit in and around the same time regions. Some are just after a Salaat region or before or within it. Nevertheless, Glorification is a different thing from Salaat in the Qur’an and their timings need not accord.

Let us be clear that Allah wants us to keep him in remembrance at all times, because let us recall Allah orders us to establish Salaat to remember him, and surely the remembrance of Allah is the greatest.

Truly Allah is the greatest. He orders us to read the Qur’an to remember him, to appreciate his mercy and power, to express our devotion physically in body by bowing and prostrating.

And he tells us of glorification at various times because truly those who glorify Allah have properly remembered him.

And in the act of Salaat and glorification when we bring Allah into remembrance and with Allah in remembrance we are protected from Satan and averted from evil action.

All praise to Allah, surely there is none other deserving of our total submission.

APPENDIX 3: ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE SALAAT VERSES?

THE FIRST VERSE

There are it seems two ways to take this verse:

The periods defined from first light till sunrise and from sunset till last light.
The approaches/hours in nearness to the night and two sides of the day.

Where the approaches/hours in nearness to the night have been thought to refer to maghrib and ‘ishaa or ‘asr, maghrib and ‘ishaa.
And the two sides thought to be morning and either zuhr/’asr or maghrib.

THE SECOND VERSE

There are it seems two ways to take this verse:

The setting of the sun from the midday point, that is, the meridian until the darkness of the night.
The setting of the sun in the evening time until the darkness of the night and the dawn recitation.

THE THIRD VERSE

“Safeguard the prayers—especially the middle prayer (Salaatul-Wusta). Stand in obedience to Allah.” (Qur'an, 2:238)

حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ

This has generally been understood as the middle prayer, although some have tried to say that wusta means best or something similar. But this is not derivable from the context and it adds nothing to the understanding. If it ever comes up as a real challenge I will deal more thoroughly with it then.

THE ANALYSIS

Now to try and derive what would be the best way to understand and translate the above three verses we must look at each of the alternative ways of understanding the first two verses along with the one understanding of the third, hence there are the following permutations for understanding the verses can be imagined: -

Verse 1 (Understanding 1) + Verse 2 (Understanding 1) + Verse 3.
Verse 1 (Understanding 1) + Verse 2 (Understanding 2) + Verse 3.
Verse 1 (Understanding 2) + Verse 2 (Understanding 1) + Verse 3.
Verse 1 (Understanding 2) + Verse 2 (Understanding 2) + Verse 3.

THE 1^st UNDERSTANDING

1^st Verse: The periods defined from first light till sunrise and from sunset till last light.

2^nd Verse: The setting of the sun from the midday point, that is, the meridian until the darkness of the night and the dawn recitation.

3^rd Verse: The middle prayer

Morning prayer and evening prayer defined in the 1^st verse.
So we have morning and evening prayer periods defined, what we have left is the time from midday till sunset and possibly also the night portion of time (though it says from midday till the darkness of night, it may be possible (seemingly) to interpret it as from midday till night, including a portion of the night).

So we are left with this extended period from midday till night, which actually OVERLAPS with the sunset prayer…

Finally we have the middle prayer.

Now if we think about it, we would have to say that “Ok. The middle prayer will be slotted into this period.”. Now let us analyse if this fits in nicely with other verses we know of.

If we look at the following verse: -

Trade and commerce are predominantly done in the daytime; hence, this verse is referring to a Salaat during the day.

And if we again remember that just like for the Friday prayers we could actually go back to trade after Salaat, we understand that there is still a considerable portion of the afternoon remaining. Hence this implies that the prayer must be done in a period after which you can return to trade, namely, the period for the prayer must actually leave a portion of the day between its end point and night.

Therefore, the 1^st understanding/translation does not seem to be logical…

THE 2^nd UNDERSTANDING

1^st Verse: The periods defined from first light till sunrise and from sunset till last light.

2^nd Verse: The setting of the sun in the evening time until the darkness of the night and the dawn recitation.

3^rd Verse: The middle prayer.

Morning prayer and evening prayer defined in the 1^st verse.
The evening prayer period defined and the Morning Prayer referred to.
The middle prayer.

In this case A and B define the morning and evening prayer periods. We are then left with a verse stating the existence of a middle prayer.

The period for the middle prayer can then be derived as being in the exact middle of the other two periods, as was derived in the main portion of the section on Salaat timings. This understanding removes ambiguity and gives us the clearest understanding for the two primary verses.

THE 3^rd UNDERSTANDING

1^st Verse: The approaches/hours in nearness to the night and two sides of the day.

i. Where the approaches/hours in nearness to the night have been thought to refer to maghrib and ‘ishaa or ‘asr, maghrib and ‘ishaa.

ii. And the two sides thought to be morning and either zuhr/’asr or maghrib.

2^nd Verse: The setting of the sun from the midday point, that is, the meridian until the darkness of the night and the dawn recitation.

We have some ambiguity in the 1^st verse if we interpret ‘two sides of the day’ and ‘approaches/hours in nearness to the night’ separately because now approaches to the night has only one point defined, night, so we cannot say from just how far before night the ‘approaches’ start. Also, at least one of the two sides of the day would have to overlap with the approaches from the night (if it is correctly understood as the points of sunset and sunrise). In short, when you interpret them separately, you get some confusion.
Now the 2^nd verse is compounded in ambiguity, as now we do not even have the morning and evening prayer periods defined. So now we have the statement to do Salaat from midday till night and the dawn recitation. Is this one prayer? For this whole period? These interpretations, which are the traditional ways of interpreting these verses, are really the MOST ambiguous ways of interpreting these verses.

So I reject this way.

THE 4^th UNDERSTANDING

1^st Verse: The approaches/hours in nearness to the night and two sides of the day.

i. Where the approaches/hours in nearness to the night have been thought to refer to maghrib and ‘ishaa or ‘asr, maghrib and ‘ishaa.

ii. And the two sides thought to be morning and either zuhr/’asr or maghrib.

2^nd Verse: The setting of the sun in the evening time until the darkness of the night and the dawn recitation.

3^rd Verse: The middle prayer

We have some ambiguity in the 1^st verse if we interpret ‘two sides of the day’ and ‘approaches/hours in nearness to the night’ separately because now approaches to the night has only one point defined, night, so we cannot say from just how far before night the ‘approaches’ start. Also, at least one of the two sides of the day would have to overlap with the approaches from the night (if it is correctly understood as the points of sunset and sunrise). In short, when you interpret them separately, you get some confusion.
In the 2^nd verse we have the period of the evening prayer defined and the morning one (fajr) stated with reference to recitation.

So here again we have the ambiguity in the 1^st verse, which affects the understanding of the 2^nd verse. We do not have the Morning Prayer period defined. The 2^nd verse defines only the evening prayer period.

So how can we define where the middle period is if we cannot define the other two periods unambiguously. I therefore reject this understanding scheme.

CONCLUSION

My method has been to find the most unambiguous understanding of the two primary verses. I take it as a Qur’anically defined axiom that the Qur’an is complete and detailed, I will therefore seek to interpret and understand it in a manner that is in harmony with this axiom.

This has been my approach, and the document above represents my efforts in that direction. I pray I have not made errors, and if I have I pray Allah helps me see them, either by my own effort or by the words of another.

All praise to Allah the Creator and Sustainer of all that Exists. The One who creates every moment of our existence and who is closer to us than our jugular veins.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

[2]The Sunnis make up the majority of the Muslim world. There may well be similar issues with the Shi’a, but as I have not studied them I should not mention them. Nevertheless, the analysis in this paper can be easily extended and used to see if the method of Salaat practiced by the Shi’a is in fact Qur’anic/Islamic.