Prayer According to Islam and Christianity - Part 2
Contributed by Sister Janine Cadd, Western Australia
The focus in Part 1 of this article was on Allah commanding the Muslims to perform obligatory prayers 5 times each and every day, as well as establishing that there are many exhortations to pray contained in the Bible.
Part 2 of this article on prayer, will Insha Allah (God willing) detail the form and content of the Islamic prayer (salat) and also the form and content of prayer as described in the New Testament.
Certain prerequisites apply when one intends to pray to Allah. They are as follows;
1. For obligatory prayers, the knowledge that the time for the particular prayer has arrived;
2. An ablution which is still in effect;
3. Freedom of the body, clothing and place of prayer from contamination by any unclean substance (namely blood, vomit, urine, excrement, sexual discharge);
4. Adequate covering of the body - A man must be covered at least from the navel to (and including) the knees. It is also preferable to cover the upper body if such a garment is available to the man. A woman must be entirely covered, except for her face an hands;
5. Facing the direction of the Ka'bah (which is at the centre of the sacred mosque in Mecca);
6. The intention to perform a particular prayer.
Units of Prayer
Each prayer is made up of a specific number of units called rak'ah's (bowings), consisting of standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting.
Name of Prayer Number of Rak'ah's
Fajr (dawn) 2
Thuhr (midday) 4
'Asr (mid afternoon) 4
Maghrib (sunset) 3
'Isha (evening) 4
Muslim prayer comprises certain actions with corresponding words, as follows;
1. To enter the state of prayer one stands upright raising the hands to the height of the shoulders or ears and says "Allahu Akbar" (God is the Greatest);
2. One remains standing while reciting chapter 1 al-Fatihah and other verses of the Qu'ran.
3. Bowing at the waist with hands on knees, while saying "Glory be to my Lord, the Almighty", 3 times;
4. Return to standing position while saying "Allah hears the one who praises Him, O my Lord all praise belongs only to You";
5. Prostrate with hands, knees, forehead and nose touching the ground, while saying "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High", 3 times;
6. Return from prostration to sitting position.
7. Prostrate again as in step 5.
With this one rak'ah is complete. To start the second rak'ah, stand up again and repeat steps 1 through to 7, then perform step 8 and 9 to complete a prayer of 2 rak'ah such as the dawn prayer.
8. Return from the second prostration to sitting position and say, "To Allah belong all greetings, prayers and all that is good. Peace be upon you, O Prophet and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings. Peace be upon all righteous servants of Allah. I testify that there is no God except Allah and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger";
9. Turn ones head to the right side saying "Peace be upon you and the Mercy of Allah" and repeat the action turning ones head to the left and thereby ending ones prayer.
In step number two of the actions during prayer, one recites the opening chapter of the Qur'an (al-Fatiha) in Arabic. All recitation during salat is in Arabic. A translation of al-Fatiha is as follows;
1. In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful;
2. Praise be to Allah, Lord of All Creation (Systems);
3. The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful;
4. Owner of the Day of Judgment;
5. You alone we worship, You alone we ask for help;
6. Guide us to the straight way;
7. The way of those whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not the way of those who earn Your Anger, nor of those who have gone astray;
Amen.
After reading al-Fatiha, one may recite another chapter from the Qur'an. An example of these is Chapter 112, The Unity;
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful;
1. Say: He is Allah, the One (in uniqueness and in Godship);
2. Allah, the eternally sought after by all;
3. He begets not, nor was He begotten;
4. And there is nothing similar to Him.
Another example is the Chapter 103, The Declining Day;
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful;
1. (I swear) by the declining day;
2. Certainly, man is in a state of loss;
3. Except those who believe1 and perform good deeds2 inviting one another to the truth and inviting one another to be patient.
The previous description is for all obligatory and voluntary prayers. The prayers said in congregation, such as Friday congregational prayers and the prayers celebrating the two religious festivals of Eid al Fitr (at the end of Ramadan) and Eid al Adha are accompanied by a sermon delivered by the Imaam or religious scholar.
A different type of prayer practiced by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and all Muslims is that of supplication (dua) which may be used to ask Allah for specific blessings, assistance etc. Supplications may be performed in any language, although the supplications used by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Arabic are especially blessed and Muslims are encouraged to memorize and supplicate with them.
The prayer performed by Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) as described in the New Testament does not follow a permanent or specific timetable or methodology. Some examples of prayer as narrated in the New Testament are;
1. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray". He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved and agitated even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me'. And going a little further, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want, but what you want." Matthew 26: 36-39
2. "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we also have forgiven those who trespass against us. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one." Matthew 6:9-13
The first example indicated clearly that Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was very distressed about his circumstances, causing him to prostrate himself to God("he threw himself on the ground"), and pray for the removal of his trial if God would permit. This indicates a likeness to Islamic prayer in two ways. Firstly, Jesus is prostrating in prayer, as a Muslim does and secondly, Jesus is acknowledging that Jesus of himself could perpetrate nothing, in keeping with submission to God, i.e. all things eventuate according to Almighty Gods Will and Plan.
The second example is a version of The Lords Prayer. The wording is a true indication of the relationship between Jesus and Almighty God. Jesus says "our Father", not "my father" which shows that Jesus did not claim ownership of God as "his father". It implies that the title "father" is figurative, not literal, as we know that the disciples were all begotten by human fathers.
The word father is used to portray God as Superior, strong and His servants as inferior and vulnerable. God provides for and protects His servants just as a father provides for and protects his children.
Next the "hallowed be your name", tells us that only Gods name is glorified, otherwise Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) would pray "hallowed be our name". "Your kingdom come" and "Your Will be done" also states unequivocally that God alone is the King and Sovereign, Ruling over all creation as He Wills.
Islam honours and reveres Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) as one of the imminent servants and prophets of Allah. There are many statements about Jesus in the Qur'an which depict him as a sincere and persevering messenger of God. However, the Qur'an dispels any claim that Jesus is God. For example;
1) 'He (Allah) has ordained for you that religion which he commended to Noah, and that which is inspired in you (Muhammad) and that which was commended to Abraham, Moses and Jesus, saying "Establish the religion and be not divided therein.. And they were not divided until after the knowledge came to them, through rivalry among themselves and had it not been for a word that had already gone forth from your Lord for an appointed term, it surely had been judged between them. And those who were made to inherit the Scripture after them are verily in hopeless doubt concerning it.";
2) 'O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion and do not say concerning Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was a messenger of Allah, and His Word which He conveyed to Mary and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and do not say "Three" - Cease! It is better for you! - Allah is One God only. Glorified is He, far removed from His Divine Majesty that He has a son. Unto Him belong all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah suffices as Guardian! Qur'an 4:171
3) 'This recitation (Qur'an) is a revelation and a wise reminder. Verily the likeness of Jesus in Allahs sight is as the likeness of Adam (who had neither parent). He created him from soil, and then he said unto him: "Be!" and he was. This is the truth from your Lord (O Muhammad) so be not of those who waver. Verily, this is the true narrative. There is no God apart from Allah and Allah verily is the Mighty, the Wise. So if they turn away then Lo! Allah is Aware of who corrupts! Qur'an 3:58-63
Footnotes
1. Those who believe in the monotheistic concept of One God being Allah and that Muhammad was His Final Messenger, having received the Final Revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, in which Allah separates Truth from falsehood.
2. Good deeds means performing all worship as ordained by Allah, abstaining from what Allah has prohibited, partaking responsibly in what Allah has permitted, performing acts of charity and assistance only for Allah's sake.
