05
Why salat?
Posted under salat by rahmaYesterday, I was asked a question I had never pondered before: why does God obligate us to do all of that, ie, why does he oblige us to make salat the way we do?
After some reflection, I responded as follows. Why do you think God oliges us to pray?
Salat is actually one of the reasons I converted to Islam. It’s a form of worship that muslims believe has been given to us by God, and that has been perfectly preserved. I guess I have never asked why we pray - it is just something that seems natural to me, that we praise the Most High, the One who created us. That’s what I went looking for in a religion.One of the things I love about salat is that it’s an intimate conversation with God that we have 5 times a day.
Quote:
| Imam Muslim reported that the prophet Muhammad (saws) declare that God had said: I have divided the prayer into two halves between My servant, and My servant and Me will receive what he asks. When the servant says: “Praise is to Allah, the Lord of the universe”, Allah the Most High says: “My servant has praised Me.” And when he (the servant) says:” The Most Compassionate, the Merciful”, Allah the Most High says: “My servant has lauded Me.” And when he (the servant) says:” Master of the Day of Judgment,” He remarks: “My servant has glorified Me,” and sometimes He would say: “My servant entrusted (his affairs) to Me.” And when he (the worshipper) says: “(You) we do worship and of (You) we do ask help,” He (Allah) says: “This is between My servant, and My servant and Me will receive what he asks for.” Then, when he (the worshipper) says: “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those to whom you have bestowed your Gracious, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray.” He (Allah) says: “This is for My servant, and My servant will receive what he asked for.” |
Quote:
| Abu Bakr bin Abdullah al Muzani said: “Who is like you, O son of Adam? Whenever you wish, you use water to make Ablution, go to the place for worship and thus enter the presence of your Lord (i.e. start praying) without a translator/barrier or a barrier between you and Him!†[Al Bidayah wa an Nihayah 9/256] |
Praying 5 times a day has a lot of benefits for me - it is a reprieve from the helter skelter of the day, where I can take a break and focus on God. It also brings me back to God several times a day, and reminds me of Him, so that my life can be focused around Him. Salat is also a chance to wipe away our sins and to refocus our dedication to God. God gives us this great chance 5 times a day.
Quote:
| Abu Hurairahu (ra) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying, “Say, if there were a river at the door of one of you in which he takes a bath five times a day, would any soiling remain on him?†They replied, “No soiling would left on him.†He (saws) said, †That is the five Salat. Allah obliterates all sins as a result of performing them.â€[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. |
The husband and I talked about this last night, and he likened salat (and the other things God asks us to do) to going to work. On Friday, can we go up to our boss and demand a paycheck, if we didn’t come in to work? Likewise, at the end of life, can we stand before God and expect a reward if we didn’t do what our boss has asked of us?
Assalam Alaikum. Lovely post, Mashalah. So nice to know of your dedication to salaat, even when you were not brought up listening to its spiritual benefits. I Alhadulilah do pray 5 times, but somehow it gets ritualistic; and the connection between Creator and Servant that should be established, remains only partial. Astaghfarallah. How does one ensure total concentration and dedication in salaat? I try that often…for some days the salaat seems so perfect and peace giving and then it goes back to its routine self. :( May Allah guide us all. Ameen.
I took an excellent short course from Sunnipath during Ramadan - http://www.sunnipath.com/Academy/Online/CourseCatalog/Department/General/The-Supplications-of-the-Daily-Prayer.aspx - that really helped me move my salat into something meaningful beyond ritual. In it, we examined the different parts of salat, and delved into their meaning.
For me now, i concentrate on the meaning of what I say, making it a real plea to God.
Thank god for your enlightment. I’m still searching for the TRUE reason why… Dont get me wrong, I’m a good muslim, I’m fasting now etc except that I dont pray 5 times a day anymore. I’ve also done my hajj. These are my main queries:
1. Salat as in the quran is not specific as what we actually do today, it could well be lost in translation of arabic to english. Could salat mean doa/simple pryer?
2. If ALLAH the almighty, so mighty who created all these heavens and earth, the vast universe to the tiniest bacteria and photons and electrons, why bother to demand us small fry to idolise him 5 times a day? He wouldn’t have the ego trip we humans need.
3. The story of prophet Mohd going to 7 heavens, and was then given 50 prayers a day for muslims, then advised by the various prophets for reductions (discounts?) till it reaches 5, and prophet Muhammad was too shy to ask further. Allah the All Knowing would have known in the first instance what his creation human is capable of… a discount? This story is suspicious.
4. Salat in the present form is grossly inconvenient. imagine females wearing makeup has to reapply their make up, taking out your socks in winter to take wuduk?
Enlighten me please…. Thank you.
The reason we have to pray 5 times is so we can prove are faith anybody can say and feel that there is only on god but would you actually do anything to prove it the, most of the sahaaba would make duaa six months after ramaadan that Allah would accept their fast and they would make duaa for six months before that Allah will accept their next one. You really care about your make up that much and the prophet prayed with his socks on. Salat does simply mean duaa but it is still mandatory. It was really 500 prayers He knew from the beginning the he would ask for reductions so that it would not be hard on us by reading what you have written I seriously reccomend you read more hadith I unfortunately read all thet much but am sure of all this
Add A Comment