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| 786 The Zahuri Sufi Web Site |
I was asked to take part in a brief interview for a local radio station to celebrate the
occasion of Shab-i-Miraj when the holy Prophet Muhammad was told by Allah to give this
practice to the Muslim community. I prepared a short description as below but in fact the
nature of the interview did not enable me to get even these few points in so I have
published it here.
occasion of Shab-i-Miraj when the holy Prophet Muhammad was told by Allah to give this
practice to the Muslim community. I prepared a short description as below but in fact the
nature of the interview did not enable me to get even these few points in so I have
published it here.
The role of the Ritual Prayers in the Daily Life of a Muslim - a brief introduction for
non-Muslims.
The question is - what is the significance of the times of the 5 Muslim prayers?
First let us understand that the use of the word 'prayers' is a little different from the idea of prayers in the
Christian sense. It is in fact a short ritual comprising of very specific actions including ritual ablutions and the
recitation of very specific texts. The details of Namaz are very carefully laid down even the volume of the voice
is prescribed. Prayer in the Christian sense of a private conversation with God, may be added at the end of
the ritual. It is probably more appropriate to refer to Namaz (or Salat) as ritual worship.
It is worth emphasising that it is a very structured process with different sections and sub-sect ions. It is
nothing at all like the image that the old Hollywood and Pinewood films used to present of people sort of wildly
prostrating and generally flinging their arms about.
If you want to get a sense of its feeling you might think of some of the beautiful classical mosques - their
polished white marble juxtaposed with ornate and carefully inlaid text, graceful curves.- serene , calm, ordered
and dignified. The feeling of peace with awe that some people have a sense of when encountering those
building can give you some idea of the inward feeling associated with the ritual worship of the Muslims.
There are 5 prayers prescribed to be recited each day. The first is in the early morning - after dawn and
before sunrise, the second at midday, the third mid afternoon, the fourth just after sunset and the fifth after
dark. Except for the Friday midday prayers the Namaz can be recited at home, in a quiet place at work, in an
aeroplane or anywhere. The only two times of the day it is forbidden to offer Namaz is at the time of the sun
setting or rising. This is to ensure the person is not worshipping the created sun but the Creator of the sun
and indeed of the entire universe.
The short and simple answer to why Muslims recite their prayers at these time is that these are times and
conditions prescribed in the holy Qur'an and in the traditions of the holy Prophet Muhammad.
It is in the nature of human beings however to try to understand the reason for such things and to speculate
on them.
We can think of the five prayers as ensuring that during the course of the day the pious person has to leave
aside the cares and business of this busy, cruel and unjust fleeting world to commune with the Eternal One
Who made him - to restore a sense of perspective. He or she imposes a discipline on their natural impulses
and brings them under control so that they prostrate with humility before their Lord. The prostration
represents the highest point of the Namaz and indicates the person is submitting their will to God's Will -
ideally with body, heart, mind and soul. It is also a mental discipline demanding concentration and attention. It
is said one should pray as if one is seeing God - and if one can't imagine this then the person must pray
thinking that God is seeing them.
Another way to think of the different times of the day is to do with the rhythms of nature. We recognise that the
human body operates on biological rhythms as modern science has been busy rediscovering. It would not be
unreasonable to speculate that our biological clocks reflect a hidden divine rhythm which we can see in nature
as (for example) the alternation of day and night. The timing of the prayers draw us back into harmony with
that rhythm.
The Namaz causes us to remember God's Mercy and Love - and we believe that when we die it is the things
which have occupied our attention and which we have loved deeply that our soul will be drawn towards. The
prayers can be thought of as islands of tranquillity amidst the turbulent currents of daily life. They are joy
amongst sorrow, spiritual pleasure amidst pain, sanity amidst madness. They are a gift of God to the Muslims
and a great blessing and the cause of inward joy and delight.
JMZ. Southampton. October 6th 2002.
Published by The Zahuri Sufi Web Site October 2002
non-Muslims.
The question is - what is the significance of the times of the 5 Muslim prayers?
First let us understand that the use of the word 'prayers' is a little different from the idea of prayers in the
Christian sense. It is in fact a short ritual comprising of very specific actions including ritual ablutions and the
recitation of very specific texts. The details of Namaz are very carefully laid down even the volume of the voice
is prescribed. Prayer in the Christian sense of a private conversation with God, may be added at the end of
the ritual. It is probably more appropriate to refer to Namaz (or Salat) as ritual worship.
It is worth emphasising that it is a very structured process with different sections and sub-sect ions. It is
nothing at all like the image that the old Hollywood and Pinewood films used to present of people sort of wildly
prostrating and generally flinging their arms about.
If you want to get a sense of its feeling you might think of some of the beautiful classical mosques - their
polished white marble juxtaposed with ornate and carefully inlaid text, graceful curves.- serene , calm, ordered
and dignified. The feeling of peace with awe that some people have a sense of when encountering those
building can give you some idea of the inward feeling associated with the ritual worship of the Muslims.
There are 5 prayers prescribed to be recited each day. The first is in the early morning - after dawn and
before sunrise, the second at midday, the third mid afternoon, the fourth just after sunset and the fifth after
dark. Except for the Friday midday prayers the Namaz can be recited at home, in a quiet place at work, in an
aeroplane or anywhere. The only two times of the day it is forbidden to offer Namaz is at the time of the sun
setting or rising. This is to ensure the person is not worshipping the created sun but the Creator of the sun
and indeed of the entire universe.
The short and simple answer to why Muslims recite their prayers at these time is that these are times and
conditions prescribed in the holy Qur'an and in the traditions of the holy Prophet Muhammad.
It is in the nature of human beings however to try to understand the reason for such things and to speculate
on them.
We can think of the five prayers as ensuring that during the course of the day the pious person has to leave
aside the cares and business of this busy, cruel and unjust fleeting world to commune with the Eternal One
Who made him - to restore a sense of perspective. He or she imposes a discipline on their natural impulses
and brings them under control so that they prostrate with humility before their Lord. The prostration
represents the highest point of the Namaz and indicates the person is submitting their will to God's Will -
ideally with body, heart, mind and soul. It is also a mental discipline demanding concentration and attention. It
is said one should pray as if one is seeing God - and if one can't imagine this then the person must pray
thinking that God is seeing them.
Another way to think of the different times of the day is to do with the rhythms of nature. We recognise that the
human body operates on biological rhythms as modern science has been busy rediscovering. It would not be
unreasonable to speculate that our biological clocks reflect a hidden divine rhythm which we can see in nature
as (for example) the alternation of day and night. The timing of the prayers draw us back into harmony with
that rhythm.
The Namaz causes us to remember God's Mercy and Love - and we believe that when we die it is the things
which have occupied our attention and which we have loved deeply that our soul will be drawn towards. The
prayers can be thought of as islands of tranquillity amidst the turbulent currents of daily life. They are joy
amongst sorrow, spiritual pleasure amidst pain, sanity amidst madness. They are a gift of God to the Muslims
and a great blessing and the cause of inward joy and delight.
JMZ. Southampton. October 6th 2002.
Published by The Zahuri Sufi Web Site October 2002