Salat by Ali Ahasan uk

Please ignore if you don’t have time and humility to read a long response. The response to this isn’t a quick one for reasons. And in it’s context I must lay out what Quran taught us or at least what Quran can give you because I sense you are a blessed one who found out hadith misleads people.

The physical ritual prayer we were taught to perform aren’t what God gave as SALAT. Thus you can’t find “all details” of physical ritual prayers in Quran if you want to re-construct the methods and steps of the ritual. You can’t also find the fundamental details of five prayers, hajj, fasting, etc. in Quran.

Why SALAT isn’t physical ritual people taught us? Because these are not in Quran:

• In Adan/Adhan (call for Prayer) what to say/recite - Not in Quran
• How many units each SALAT has? - Not in Quran
• Saying Allahu Akbar and raising hands to ear lobes or shoulder? - Not in Quran
• Hands holding or hanging while in standing position? - Not in Quran
• Which verse to say first? - Not in Quran
• Should we recite Surah Fatiha at the beginning or other Surah is allowed? - Not in Quran
• Can we recite different Surahs in different Units? - Not in Quran
• How long should each unit be? - Not in Quran
• Do we need to sit in between even if no units are given? - Not in Quran
• Should we just sit or should we recite whatever we can? - Not in Quran
• What to recite when we bow (ruku) and how long we should stay like that? - Not in Quran
• From bowing position, ca we directly go to prostration or do we need to stand, and recite something while standing back, then say another sentence or something while standing again, how long to stand again, what to say when going to prostration or should we simply go to prostration, what to say in prostration, should we keep eyes closed or open in prostration and in other postures of prayers, how long should we stay in prostration, can we do a very long prostration and recite a Surah or do we need to say specific words, do we stand again after 1st prostration or should we do it 2nd time then stand up, etc. - None of these are in Quran
• Name of Zuhr/Dhuhr/Zohar (mid day) prayer - Not in Quran
• Name of Asr (Afternoon) prayer - Not in Quran. Some people claim “SALAT Al-Wusta” is ASR prayer as it’s in the middle as meaning of WUSTA is derived to be “middle” [by some people]. God said to uphold/establish all salats specially WUSTA, does it mean we can skip other salats and be very mindful of WUSTA one?
• Which SALATs are loud and which ones are silent? - Not in Quran. Some people derived that “remembering God” are silent, therefore Zuhr/Dhuhr and ASR are silent. Where in Quran God said these are remembering and not SALAT? If these are not SALAT why do we call them SALAT Al-Zuhr, SALAT Al-ASR? Where in Quran its told that we can’t say loud in these two prayers?
• Some derive SALAT has to offer in middle tone (not loud, not silent). There is no significance of loud or silent prayer in human life. God said to do/execute HIS SALAT (pursue/follow God’s commands) is openly (in balanced manner) and not secretly.
• Name of Magrib prayer - Not in Quran. If this is deemed to be evening prayer, then why we don’t say it as “ISHA” prayer which is the evening (at the end of the day). Why we have to pray ISHA in the night (and after 90 mins to 2 hours if you are in summer time)? - Not in Quran.
• After ISHA we are taught to recite Witr Prayer - Not in Quran
• Tahajjud Prayer - People are taught to sleep, then wake up to read this prayer. But when? Closer to dawn or closer to early part of night or just middle part of night - Not in Quran. How to perform this prayer? - Not in Quran. If we have to get up in the night to perform this prayer then why God is telling us that HE gave night for rest/sleep and day for seeking provisions of God (work/other things we need to do)?
• Taraweeh Prayer - nothing in Quran you can find about it
• Should we simply say SALAM and end prayer or should we have to turn head to right and then left while saying a phrase of SALAM to two angels sitting on both sides of shoulder? - Not in Quran
• After Surah Fatiha recitation we do as we were taught, we say AMIN - Not in Quran. Rather Quran has used Rabbi [The Lord] l-ʿālamīna “Of The Universe”. So we are basically loudly uttering the word “Of the Universe” at the end of the Surah Fatiha recitation.

Even if you can loosely reconstruct certain elements of the ritual prayer we do as SALAT, we won’t be able to recreate the whole version from Quran which we follow today as SALAT.

God has given us Quran as our guidance, Al-Furquan, i.e. Criterion of right and wrong and HE has told us numerous times throughout the Quran that HE HAS GIVEN US A COMPLETE, FULLY DETAILED AND EXPLAINED BOOK which has everything we need for our religion (way of life).

So question comes:

• Did HE forget to give all those details for SALAT?
• Ablution verse (as interpreted to be WUDU verse) was revealed many years after God revealed to perform/establish SALAT and revealed Quran. If Ablution is the pre-requisite to touch/READ Quran and for SALAT , shouldn’t it be revealed as the very first verse? Instead the first verse God said “READ”. At least it should be given before God asked us to establish SALAT, right?
• If we are to follow these step by step process of SALAT as taught, shouldn’t these steps be given directly by GOD in QURAN so that whoever READs Quran can perform this?
• In prayer we were taught to recite verses in Arabic as it is revealed but again in Quran God said do not come near SALAT if you do not understand. Majority of non Arabic people don’t understand Arabic. Isn’t it contradictory to say recite in Arabic even if you are not understanding and non-Muslims wanting to be Muslim needs to remember these verses even if they have no clue about Arabic. So does it mean the pre-requisite is to learn Arabic to become Muslim? Otherwise you can’t be Muslim and can’t perform SALAT (as God commanded not to come near SALAT if we don’t understand).
• We are asked to face Ka’ba building which we were told Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) taught us. If it were true then why God is saying HE sent “NO MESSENGER” to people of Mecca and their forefathers (which includes all of their generations since the advent of time and mankind landed on earth). God didn’t say anywhere in Quran that Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) and Ismail (PBUH) were sent to Mecca. Did HE? Read 6:155-156, 32:2-3, 34:44, 35:24, 35:42, 36:2-6, 43:20-21, 62:2 to learn that Allah (SWT) didn’t send any previous scripture or prophet in Mecca to warn them. That’s why HE has constantly called these people as “UMMIYOON” [Plural of UMMI] and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as UMMI which means those who never received a warner/messenger and not aware/literate of any previous Scripture. Both Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) and Ismail (PBUH) were Messengers of God and they received Scriptures (we are not given names of these Scriptures in Quran).
• So if that black building isn’t the Ka’ba which Ibrahim (PBUH) established, then where do you face towards in Prayers?

As God said, READ - so we have to read, understand, ponder and follow God’s Guidance strictly. God’s SALAT means to follow closely, to comply God’s Commands, pursuit of Divine Ideology/Discipline as He has given in Quran.

By using wrong translations, certain verses of Quran were used to loosely re-construct the existing methods of SALAT by Umayyad rulers and their hired scholars. Some people will claim it is a preserved methods by generations, while the very people will claim that they believe only in QURAN and nothing else. If SALAT isn’t preserved with its every details in Quran, and we have to seek/follow existing practices followed by people, then there is a serious problem of those who think like that. Either you take Quran fully as it is and follow what you find there, or you don’t. It is the understanding which needs to be fixed/corrected with the use of Quran. The understanding has got corrupted due to wrong translations/interpretations based on fake stories recorded in hadiths.

Despite knowing truth, if anyone wants to continue with the known ways of SALAT by executing certain physical steps and reciting verses of Quran without knowing what they are reciting it is their own choice. It might be that by doing this known ways (indoctrination) people can connect to God, can feel the personal piety and closeness/consciousness of God. No matter how you perform your salat, whether by following Shia or Sunni or other Madhhab (schools of thought in Islam) or other Guru/Dignitaries/Masters, it won’t give us success, peace and security until and unless we establish God’s Ways by following HIS Divine Ideology (equality and justice through righteousness).

Therefore whatever ways you do your rituals, keep in focus/view to be righteous and establish/enjoin righteousness in family, society and culture. That’s the greatest place of submission to God we have to keep in mind/view. That’s the Ka’ba (Masjid Al-Haram) - inviolable [not to be broken at all] place of submission [prostration] - the example of which was created/established by Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) and Ismail (PBUH), Issac (PBUH) and other prophets.

All Messengers received same message from God and establish same religion (way of life) as mentioned in 41:43 & 42:13.

41:43 Nothing has been said to you which was not said to the Messengers who lived before you. Your Lord is certainly All-forgiving, but stern in His retribution.

42:13 He has prescribed for you the same religion which He enjoined upon Noah, and that which We have revealed to you and that which We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: “You should uphold the religion and make no divisions therein.” What you are calling the polytheists to is very hard for them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills, and guides to Himself who turns to Him.

Note: Ka’ba (Masjid Al-Haram) isn’t a physical black building (rather it’s an ideal society/living place where we stand towards divinity/TRUTH, bow to this ideology and fully submit/prostrate to God’s Divine Rules/Ways of life - that’s the mission), Qiblah isn’t the direction to this building (rather it’s the direction to our mission/target), Salat isn’t a ritual physical steps (rather it’s pursuing God’s Divine Commands), Fasting isn’t a physical hunger game (rather it’s abstinence from evil/wrong practices), Hajj isn’t a physical journey to Mecca for ritual pilgrimage (rather it’s a transformation journey towards the target/mission of becoming/establishing righteous community where we live life in righteous manner as shown/guided by God in Quran).

So whatever you do as you have learnt but do not forget to perform/pursue God’s commandments. Be righteous - nice, kind, humble, not deceiving, not being dishonest, do not hurt others, let others do what they are doing - no compulsion, do not consume wealth of others, do not alter bequest, do not be unjust with anyone, deal orphans justly and sponsor/take legal guardianship of them, be upright in our deeds, etc.