Message #13284

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Thanks very much for the additional info my sister.  The piece you wrote was wonderful and it was a pleasure going thru it .. full of excellent and most useful information.

Hadith has interfered with the incident of Meraj so much.  According to Hadith number of prayers was first prescribed to 500, then reduced to 50 and then 5.  The truth is that the Quran mentions all 5 times when we are ordered to pray.   

That comparison of Tarawih was very correct.  Yes, very true that tarawih came from generation to generation.   And you are absolutely right, the method of salaat also came the same way. Those examples of father and mother teaching prayer thru demonstration is one hundred percent correct.

I am sure for a full 150 years after the death of the Prophet (sw) people prayed in the same way as came down from the Prophet (sw).  It's only when Hadith began being written and accepted as a part of Islam officially, was when everything began to change .. changed by Hadith.  It's also quite possible that the method of salaat we offer today is not exactly the way the Prophet (sw) offered because the Hadith brought in so many of its own rules. Therefore, Hadith didn't teach salaat but it changed salaat. 


"The purpose of prayer is to be close to Allah, not the counting of rakah units ..And Our Creator knows us before He created us !!"

You are so, so correct sis.  May Allah give you lots of reward for your wisdom.  This is exactly what I think.  Issues like number of rakat or the number of times one should perform ruku or sajood, can vary from person to person.  After all, from all the Quranic verses quoted, we know for sure that all former Prophets also prayed.  We are also sure that they didn't pray in exactly the same method as we do today.  Yet we know for sure from the Quran that Allah accepted their prayers.  It's very simple to understand but the imams and ulemas just don't.


"Reasons why salat may not be achieving much for the many Muslims of today may be because it has become ritualized, heaped with sectarianism and has lost much of the purpose that was once intended."

Absolutely, you got the words out of my mouth sister.  This is precisely what I say.  Today prayer has become a ritual performed like a robot.  Even Arabic speaking people don't pay attention to what they are reciting, let alone knowing its purpose and implementing its values in their lives.


"The number of prayers is not as important as is the commitment behind the prayer when a prayer is enacted Although a number of prayers have been enjoined on believers and at particular parts of the day u imams ,ulmas corrupt  sunnah as well."

Very good point and totally correct.    Of course Allah has mentioned in the Quran the importance of praying to Him at 5 times of each day, but it's the commitment to Allah and always having Him in our hearts & minds that comes first.  Without that a person can never understand the purpose of prayer.  Thus, there is also a Verse in the Quran, quote:  "Lo! worship preserveth from lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more important. And Allah knoweth what ye do."   (29:45).

Btw, the point about method of prayer coming from the Prophets from generation to generation has also been included in another post of ours at the following link:
http://muslimvilla.smfforfree.com/index.php?topic=2302.0

JazekAllah khair and thank you again for your very helpful contribution, my sister.  Allah bless you and your family, always.  Ameen.