LESSON 17
PRAYERInstead of ringing a bell, Muslims have a call to prayer. It consists of:
Allâhu akbar God is greater! (twice) Ashhadu anna lâ ilâh illâ llâh I testify that there is no deity but God. Ashhadu anna Muammadan rasűl Allâh. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Hayya `alâ s-salât Come to do salât. (twice) Hayya `alâ l-falâh Come to prosper. (twice) As-alâtu khayrun min an-nawm Salât is better than sleeping. (in the morning only) Allâhu akbar God is greater! (twice) Lâ ilâha illâ llâh There is no deity but God. This call is made at the time of each prayer, but in the morning it is also made about an hour beforehand to make people wake up and prepare.
A Muslim may pray only when ritually pure. A major impurity, like sex or menstrual or childbirth bleeding, must be cleansed by a complete bath. Women are forbidden to do salât those days they are bleeding. A minor impurity, such as urinating or sleeping, requires the minor purification (wudű`), which consists principally of washing the face, the arms to the elbows, and the feet to the ankles. The principal purpose of this purification, as well as the whole prayer, is to obey God's command, thereby earning a heavenly reward and avoiding God's punishment. Some books do also mention purification from sin or communication with God.
The place for prayer and one's clothes must be pure, that is, free from non-ritually slaughtered animals, blood, puss, urine, excrement, any sexual liquid, vomit, rotten food etc. A man must be covered between his navel and his knees, and preferably have his shoulders covered as well. A woman must wear a garment reaching her feet and a shawl over her head. Only her face and hands may show. Young women are discouraged from going to the mosque, lest they socialize indecently with men. Muslims may pray anywhere, but preferably in a marked off prayer area or a house mosque. Muslims are rarely ashamed to pray in public, and sometimes appear ostentatious, but they are faithful to it even when they do not expect to be noticed.
Muslim salât consists of a number of rak`as. A person begins a rak`a by standing facing the qibla (direction of Mecca) with hands raised and saying "Allâhu akbar". He then lowers his hands and recites a passage of the Qur'ân (sűra 1 in the first rak`a), bows with his hands on his knees saying "Allâhu akbar", stands up, prostrates with his forehead touching the ground saying "Allâhu akbar", sits up saying "Allâhu akbar", prostrates again, and stands up. During these actions Muslims add various other words of prayer.
Muslims are held to five prayers a day: 1) subh, at dawn before sunrise, with 2 rak`as, 2) zuhr, beginning at noon, with 4 rak`as, 3) `asr, beginning at mid-afternoon, with 4 rak`as, 4) maghrib, beginning with sunset, with 3 rak`as, and 5) ishâ`, when the sunlight is completely gone, with 4 rak`as. At the end of each prayer they turn to their neighbour and say "as-salâmu `alay-kum - Peace to you", and often continue sitting to recite a rosary (tasbîh) of 99 beads, saying 33 times each: "subhâna Allâh - God is praiseworthy", "al-hamdu li-llâhi - praise to God", "Allâhu akbar", and additional prayers.
On Fridays Muslims must go to a central mosque for the jumu`a salât, which takes the place of zuhr for that day. The service begins with a sermon, which is followed by 2 rak`as. People are expected to arrive early, after bathing and putting on perfume and their best clothes. They are expected to leave the mosque immediately after the salât, but in some places in Nigeria a collection is taken first.
On `îd al-fir, which concludes the Ramadân fast, at sunrise Muslims must distribute an alms to the poor. Around 8:00 A.M. they go to a central prayer ground. There the imâm leads them in 2 rak`as (with some additional "Allâhu akbar"s), and then delivers a sermon. On `îd al-adhâ, the time of pilgrimage, the same procedure is followed, except that the imâm slaughters a ram, after which the other people go home and slaughter their own.
When a Muslim dies, the body is washed and shrouded in an uneven number of cloths mixed with perfumes. A martyr who died in battle, however, is neither washed nor shrouded, but buried as he is, since the blood he shed is an honour to him. Before burial the imâm leads a salât which has no rak`as but, standing all the while, he says four times "Allâhu akbar" and after each one recites a lengthy intercession, asking God to forgive the dead man his sins, to make him happy until the day of resurrection and afterwards in heaven. He also prays for the living relatives and those present at the funeral, concluding with "as-salâmu `alay-kum". The corpse, without coffin, is put into the grave sideways, facing Mecca. Shrieking and noisy manifestations of sorrow are forbidden. Monuments over the tomb or plastering are discouraged.
There are other special prayers in times of drought and on the occasion of the eclipse of the sun or the moon. These are often viewed as punishments or warnings from God, and the prayers refer to repentance and moral reform.
Muslims also have various books of private prayer containing praise of God and of Muhammad and requests for various intentions. In Lesson 21, on Sűfism, we will see more on private prayer.
QUESTIONS
- Explain how Muslims must prepare for prayer; what of Christians?
- What is a rak`a, and how many of them are in each prayer; is there any Christian parallel?
- Describe the ceremonies of Friday jumu`a prayer, and the prayers of the two annual feasts; how does these compare with Sunday, Christmas and Easter?
- Describe the Islamic ritual for burying the dead; compare with traditional, Christian and "modern" norms.
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