The Faith of Islam Part 14

"Say: He is G.o.d alone: G.o.d the Eternal, He begetteth not, and is not begotten; and there is none like unto Him."

The Takbir-i-ruku'--Allahu Akbar!--is said whilst the Musalli makes an inclination of the head and body, and separating the fingers a little, places his hands upon his knees.

The Tasbih-i-ruku' is said in the same position. It is:--

"I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Great!

I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Great!

I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Great!"

The Tasmia' is then said with the body erect, but with the hands placed on either side. Thus:--

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"G.o.d hears him who praises Him: O Lord, Thou art praised[195]."

The Takbir-i-Sijdar--Allahu Akbar!--is said as the worshipper drops on his knees.

The Musalli then kneeling down, places his hands, with the fingers close to each other, upon the ground. He must rest upon his toes, not on the side of the feet which must be kept straight behind him. The elbow must not touch the side, nor the stomach the thigh, nor the thigh the calf of the leg. The eyes must be kept bent downwards. Then he touches the ground first with his nose, and then with his forehead, taking care that the thumbs just touch the lobe of the ears.[196] All this being carefully attended to, the Musalli can say the Tasbih-i-Sijda thus:--

"I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Most High!

I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Most High!

I extol the holiness of my Lord, the Most High!"

He then raises his head and body, sinks backwards upon his heels, places his hands a little above his knees, and whilst doing so says the Takbir-i-Jalsa[197]--"Allahu Akbar!"

After a slight pause, a second prostration, or Sijda is made and the Takbir-i-Sijda and the Tasbih-i-Sijda are repeated as before. Then when in the act of rising up the Musalli says the Takbir-i-Qiam--"Allahu Akbar!"

This concludes one rak'at. The second rak'at begins with the Fatiha, so that after saying the Takbir-i-Qiam a Musalli would have to begin again at that place (p. 195) and repeat all that he had just finished; the only change being that after the Fatiha, he recites different verses of the Quran to those he said in the first rak'at. After two rak'ats have been said, and after the last, though it be an odd number, the {197} Musalli, unless he is a Shia'h, places his left foot under him and sits upon it. He then places his hands above his knees, as for the Takbir-i-Jalsa, and with his eyes directed towards his lap says the Attahiyat:--

"The adorations of the tongue are for G.o.d, and also the adorations of the body, and almsgiving! Peace be on thee O Prophet! with the mercy of G.o.d and His blessing. Peace be on us and upon G.o.d's righteous servants!"

Then raising the first finger of the right hand he says the Tashahhud[198]:--

"I testify that there is no deity but G.o.d; and I testify that Muhammad is the servant of G.o.d and the messenger of G.o.d."

Then at the end of all the rak'ats the Musalli, whilst in the same posture, says the Darud:--

"O G.o.d! have mercy on Muhammad and his descendants[199]; as Thou didst have mercy on Abraham and his descendants, Thou art to be praised and Thou art great. O G.o.d! bless Muhammad and his descendants, as Thou didst bless Abraham and his descendants. Thou art to be praised and Thou art great."

Then comes the Du'a, which may be in the worshipper's own words though he usually says[200]:--

"O G.o.d our Lord, give us the blessings of this life, and also the blessings of life everlasting. Save us from the torments of h.e.l.l."

Then turning the head to the right the Musalli repeats the Salam:--

"The peace and mercy of G.o.d be with you."

Then turning the head to the left he says:--

"The peace and mercy of G.o.d be with you."

At the close of the whole ceremony, the worshipper raises {198} his hands as high as his shoulders, with the palm towards heaven, or towards his own face, and offers up a Munajat, or supplication, either in Arabic or in the vernacular. The hands are then drawn over the face, as if to convey the blessing received from above to every part of the body.

The appointed periods of prayer are five in number, in proof of which the following text is quoted: "Glorify G.o.d when ye reach the evening (masa), and when ye rise at morn (subh); and to Him be praise in the heavens and in the earth,--and at twilight ('ashi) and when ye rest at noon (zuhr)." (Sura x.x.x. 17). The Commentators say that masa includes both sunset and the period after sunset; that is both the Salat-ul-Maghrib and the Salat-ul-'Isha. There is also a reference to a stated period of prayer in the following verse: "Observe prayer at early morning, at the close of the day, and at the approach of night." (Sura xi. 116).

These daily Namaz are farz, sunnat, witr and nafl prayers. Farz are those distinctly ordained by G.o.d, such as the five stated periods of prayer.

Sunnat, a certain number of rak'ats which are added, because it is said the Prophet repeated them.

Witr rak'ats are an odd number of rak'ats, 3, 5 or 7, which may be said after the last prayer at night, and before the dawn of day. Usually they are added to the Salat-ul-'Isha. Imam Abu Hanifa says they are wajib, that is ordered by G.o.d. They are not authorised by any text in the Quran, but by Traditions each of which is generally received as a Hadis-i-Sahih, and so witr rak'ats are regarded as being of divine authority. Imam Shafa'i, however, considers them to be sunnat only, a term already explained.

The Traditions referred to are: "G.o.d has added to your Namaz one Namaz more: know that it is witr, say it between the Salat-ul-'Isha and dawn." On the authority of Buzar, a Traditionist, it is recorded that the Prophet {199} said: "Witr is wajib upon Muslims," and in order to enforce the practice he added: "Witr is right, he who does not observe it is not my follower." The Prophet, the Companions, the Taba'in and the Taba-i-Taba'in all observed it. The word witr literally means "odd number." A Tradition says: "G.o.d is odd, He loves the odd." (Allahu witrun yuhibbu'l-witra).

Musalmans pay the greatest respect to an odd number. It is considered unlucky to begin any work, or to commence a journey on a day, the date of which is an even number. The number of lines in a page of a book is nearly always an odd number.

Nafl are voluntary prayers the performance of which is considered mustahab, or meritorious, but they are not of divine obligation. It must be understood that all these prayers are precisely the same in form. They simply consist in the repet.i.tion of a number of rak'ats, of which I have already given a single ill.u.s.tration in full. A Muslim who says the five daily prayers with the full number of rak'ats will repeat the Service I have described fifty times in one day. If in addition to these he observes the three voluntary periods of prayers, he must add twenty-five more rak'ats, making a grand total of seventy-five. It is, however, usual to omit some of the Sunnat rak'ats; still there is a vast amount of repet.i.tion, and as the whole must be said in Arabic it becomes very mechanical.

A Muslim who ventured to say that a Namaz might be recited in Hindustani was publicly excommunicated in the princ.i.p.al Mosque at Madras on Friday, February 13th, 1880.[201]

The table on the next page will make the matter clear.[202] The optional Sunnat rak'ats are called {200} 'Sunnat-i-ghair-i-maukadda'; the Sunnat rak'ats before the farz are 'Sun-nat-i-maukadda' and should be said.

---+------------------+-----------------------------------+---------------- No.| Time. | THE NAMES OF THE TIME OF PRAYER. | THE NUMBER OF | | | RAK'ATS SAID.

| +-----------+-----------------------+---------------- | | | Witr | | |--------------------------------------+ | | | Nafl| | | |-----------------------------------+ | | | | Sunnat after Farz| | | | |--------------------------------+ | | | | | Farz| | | | | |-----------------------------+ | | | | | | Sunnat-i-mau-kadda'| | | | | | |--------------------------+ | | | | | | | Sunnat-i-ghair-maukadda'| | | | | | | |-----------+-----------+ | | | | | | | Arabic | Persian | Urdu | | | | | | ---+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+- 1 | From dawn to | Salat-ul- | Namaz-i- | Fajr Ki | | 2| | | | | sunrise. | Fajr. | Subh. | Namaz. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | When the sun | Salat-uz- | Namaz-i- | Zuhr Ki | | 4| 4| 2| 2| | has begun to | Zuhr. | Peshin. | Namaz. | | | | | | | decline. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Midway between | Salat-ul- | Namaz-i- | 'Asr Ki | 4| | 4| | | | No. 2 and 4. | 'Asr. | Digar. | Namaz. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | A few minutes | Salat-ul- | Namaz-i- | Maghrib | | | 3| 2| 2| | after sunset. | Maghrib. | Sham. | Ki Namaz. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | When the night | Salat-ul- | Namaz-i- | 'Isha Ki | 4| | 4| 2| 2|7 | has closed in. | 'Isha. | Khuftan. | Namaz. | | | | [203]

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | When the sun | Salat-ul- | Namuz-i- | Ishraq Ki | | | | | 8| | has well risen. | Ishraq. | Ishraq. | Namaz. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | About 11 o'clock | Salat-uz- | Namaz-i- | Zuha Ki | | | | | 8| | A.M. | Zuha. | Chast. | Namaz. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | After mid-night. | Salat-ut- | Namaz-i- | Tahajjud | | | | | 9| | | Tahajjud.| Tahajjud.| Ki Namaz. | | | | | | ---+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+-

In addition to these there are several kinds of Namaz which have to be said at different times, or under special circ.u.mstances.

(i). Salat-ul-Juma'--The Friday Namaz. This is a farz duty. It has the threefold authority of the Quran, the Sunnat, and the Ijma'. Thus: "O ye who believe! When ye are summoned to prayer on the _day of the a.s.sembly_ (Friday), haste ye to the commemoration of G.o.d, and quit your traffic."

(Sura lxii. 9.) The Prophet also said: "Juma' is farz," and, "G.o.d will make a mark on the heart of him who misses the Salat-ul-Juma'[204]." There are, however, eight kind of persons on whom it is not inc.u.mbent, _viz_: a traveller, a sick person, a slave, a woman, a young child, a mad {201} person, a blind or a lame person. The conditions which make this Namaz obligatory are:--

(1). That the place in which it is said be a town in which a Qazi (judge) dwells.

(2). There must be in the town a ruler or his deputy.

(3). It must take the place of the Salat-uz-Zuhr, with which it agrees, except that two farz rak'ats instead of four are recited. The nafl rak'ats are omitted. The four sunnat rak'ats which precede, and the two which follow the farz ones are said.

(4). One, or according to the followers of Imam Shafa'i two Khutbas, or sermons are preached. These are delivered by the Imam after the four sunnat rak'ats are recited, and before the two farz ones. The Khutba should consist of the praise of G.o.d, prayer and injunctions to piety.

(5). There must be a congregation of three persons besides the Imam. The Shafa'ites say there should be at least forty worshippers.

(6). The Azan, or call to prayers, must be made to all without distinction of rank.

Any person who is qualified to act as Imam at the other prayers can conduct this Namaz. The Imam and Khatib (preacher) is usually, but not necessarily, one and the same person. The Khutbas should not be long, for Muhammad said that long sermons and short prayers would be a sign of the degeneracy of the latter days. When two Khutbas are said, the Imam sits down to rest before the delivery of the second. The worshippers may then offer up a Du'a, or private prayer. Some, however, say that this practice is bid'at, (innovation) and consider it a very bad act. According to the Traditionists, Bukhari, Abu Daud and Tirmizi, it is a mustahab act to wear clean clothes on Friday.

The preacher standing on the second step of the Mimbar, or pulpit, with a large club or staff in his hand, delivers his sermon.[205]

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The following is a specimen of the Khutbas.