Wakas: my view on salat (dated 24/5/04)

[Wakas]

peace all,

I will try to be brief but accurate:

From 75:31-32 it can be seen that the basic meaning of salla is to turn/go towards, because it is contrasted/compared (i.e. put opposite to) "went/turn away".

Chapter 75

31. For he did not confirm nor go/turn towards (salla).
32. But he denied and went/turned away (tawalla).

One could substitute this term with similar words such as 'link/bond/connect & follow closely'.

This is the core meaning of a general concept.

Allow me an analogy to demonstrate its general meaning, if I say to you: "go/turn towards justice". You could acheive this in many ways. For example you could start with yourself, make sure you act just, you could become a lawyer, you could help raise funds to set up law courts, you could educate others on justice, you could become a policeman etc. Note that there are many activities you can do to "go/turn towards justice". In otherwords, to "go/turn towards" something is a general term and can be applied very widely.

(I simply chose "justice" as an example of a concept/object you could go/turn towards, I could have said democracy, wealth, health etc.)

One may ask, well, what are we supposed to "turn/go towards"? It depends on context, however, the core meaning of "turn/go towards" is always implied. Unless otherwise stated in al quran, it refers to The God or The System (approved of by The God).

Please apply this basic connotation/meaning/implication to any verse with the root of salat (i.e. slw = sawd-lam-waw) to see if it fits. These verses can be found on the following thread:

http://www.openburhan.com/data/b.x.211.htm

AND/OR

http://www.free-minds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1695

Once you have done that. You may wish to study the following thread in which additional information about salat is presented, from al quran:

http://www.free-minds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=958

As you will hopefully see, the concept of slw (i.e. to turn/go towards) is very broad and can be applied to many things. That is why in al quran, we see it being applied in a general, specific and varied manner, e.g:

those who set-up partners can repent and uphold the salat if they trangressed in the system [9:5, 9:11-12]

The salat can be neglected, in favour of following desires [19:59, 107:5]

One's salat is to/for God [6:162]

salat is possible between people [33:56, 9:103]

That is why when Zachariah calls/prays (dua) to his Lord, he is considered to be in the act of slw (turning/going towards, linking/bonding/connecting) when communication comes to him. [3:38-39, 19:2-11]

etc.

To gain a better understanding of The System, it is clear a better understanding of al quran would be required. That is why a regular/timed slw is given. In this regular/timed slw, reading / reflection / oration of al quran is prescribed. This can be done alone or in a group/community setting.

Verses linking slw to al quran: 2:43-45, 5:12-13, 7:169-170, 8:2-3, 19:58-59, 29:45, 31:2-7, 33:33-34, 17:78.

the salat should be done during/close to the morning & evening twilight times (i.e. 2x per day) [11:114, 17:78, 24:58 specifically. Also 4:43, 5:6, 4:101, 4:103, 5:106, 9:54, 62:9-10, 5:58 amongst others.]

When one undertakes this regular/timed slw, one should follow the specific guidelines given, e.g: be clean [5:6, 4:43] , clear mind [4:43], moderate tone [17:110] etc.

This regular/timed slw is only incumbent upon the mumin (believers/faithful/trustful). See articles below:

http://www.free-minds.org/articles/gods_system/mumin.htm
http://www.free-minds.org/articles/gods_system/thetrust.htm

Additional reading material.

If you read everything above (including the links) several times, the concept of salat should be much clearer.  


Lastly, I'd like to mention the concept of zakat. A word often used along with salat. Its commonly taken to mean "charity" but charity is only one aspect of zakat. Its primary usage in al quran is to mean purification/betterment. If this meaning is taken along with what I've discussed here, it make much more sense. When one upholds the link/bond (to The God/System), one is then in a position to bring forth the purification/betterment. Simple. The two terms reinforce and complement each other.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I'll try and answer them if I can.


Wakas

[mz357]

Salaam wakas,
                      some wonderful research your doing ,i personally apreciate
work like what you have done and others besides aswell.

But one thing i would like to mention simple minded don't know usually from research alone what is the result?

So what is a salah?

To me and to you prabably aswell, I think SALAH is just Gods ADVICE,
one must read ,recite,discuss and finally accept things -HIS ADVICE,as given in the quran.Obviously in accepting his advice its obligatory for me , you and everyone to apply it in our daily lifes. Salaam a God bless.

[marie]

Peace all,

Nice job Wakas!

When I read the quran, two commands are repeated regularly along the quran and which are establishing/maintining the salat and offering the zakat.

I consider 'iqamat assalat' as iqamat addeen  = establishing the system of God.

The recitation of the quran and God's remembrance at dawn 'alfajr' and at dusk'al3isha' are one of the salat aspect.


God knows best

Marie

[Wakas]

peace marie, mz,

Thanks for the positive comments.

So what is a salah?

I'm not entirely sure if you meant this as a question to me, as you gave an answer after it. If you are asking me the question, its important to understand slw is a general term (thats why I put that bit in bold) thus one cant make it specific (or at least not in the context of your question). Its like asking "what is a link?"

From www.dictionary.com

link: To connect or unite with a link, to join; to attach; to unite; to couple. A connecting element; a tie or bond, an association; a relationship.

I think one of the problems that has arisen when people have tried to understand the meaning of slw is to make the general term too specific. This problem becomes evident/amplified when people try to apply a specific meaning in every occurence. The traditional interpretation of salat="prayer" is a perfect example of this.

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For anyone interested, I thought I'd post a brief history of my belief/views on salat:

Timeline:
1981 (born) - 1997: minimal self-study of Islam
1998: became increasingly interested in self-study of Islam, although progress was slow.
Belief up to summer of 2000: traditional view of salat, consisting of 5 daily prayers with a specific sequence (i.e. number of rakas/movements/recitations etc.). All unverified of course, i.e. just follow what I'm taught/told.
Summer of 2000: introduction to Islam based on Al-Quran only. (yep, when I was 19  :wink:)
From summer of 2000 ~ the middle of 2001: still 5 daily prayers but content/sequence of prayer closer to guidelines given in Al-Quran.
Middle of 2001 ~ middle of 2002: reduced to 2 or 3 daily prayers, and the form/method of prayer becomes primarily individual.
Middle of 2002 ~ start of 2003: increasing analysis of Al-Quran leads me to break away from the rigid salat=prayer model.
March 2003 ~ December 2003: intense study of the salat issue. Evidence suggests salat=oration (quran based), but not entirely.
~ February 2004 - present: the view outlined in this thread is refined.

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Wakas

[morningdew]

peace Wakas,

The salat can be neglected, in favour of following desires [19:59, 107:5]

Is this a misprint?

     19:59.   Then generations came after them who lost the assembly, and followed desires. They will find their consequences.

So I am understanding that Salat is the link to Allah.   The connection if you will between a person and his creator?

Reading and understanding his words are how we do that?

[Wakas]

peace md,

Quote:
The salat can be neglected, in favour of following desires [19:59, 107:5]  


Is this a misprint?

No. I'm not sure if my word choice is causing a problem, but it should be remembered not to rely on one translation. One should try and gain a wider understanding by comparing translations. I will quote the verse:

Then generations came after them who adaAAoo the link/bond (salat), and followed desires/lusts/cravings. They will find/suffer their consequences/misguidance/failure. [19:59]

adaAAoo = perished, came to nought, passed away, became lost, left alone, neglected, unmindful, destroyed, wasted

I further deduced that "desires/lusts/cravings" come from oneself, not from The God. Thus it should be viewed that instead of following The God, they followed their own desires/lusts/cravings. The end result was to lose/neglect the link/bond (salat). How can one make sure they follow The God? Once this question is pondered upon, the answer should be clearer.

So I am understanding that Salat is the link to Allah. The connection if you will between a person and his creator?

Yes, that is its general meaning, but please note the following: do not equate things in such a black&white manner (i.e. salat=link to Allah, implying this is the meaning in all occurences and doesn't mean anything else. For example I demonstrated that those who set-up partners can uphold the salat too. You must read the context [19:1-18] to understand it. Or another example where I demonstrated salat between people [33:56, 9:103]. Please understand that slw is an umbrella concept, which can encompass many things. Its just a word that means "go/turn towards", and from the context, we can see what it refers to, but you are mostly right, as it usually refers to The God/System.

Reading and understanding his words are how we do that?

Essentially, yes. It all depends on how far one wishes to progress, or is able to. In islam (the state of being in compliance/submission/conformance/surrender) , there are stages/ranks/levels of attainment. If one follows The System described by The God, then this is the higher end of the "attainment scale" (if I can use such an analogy). As a side note, I never realised there was different levels of attainment discussed in al quran until I researched it, neither did Joe for that matter  :wink:


Wakas

[morningdew]

Peace wakas,

I understand now.  Sometimes takes me a few minutes.  

[savage_carrot]

*post edited by myself*

I've done this twice today, i think i'm sleep deprived...pls disregard and i apologize...thanks!!

[TheNabi]

Peace All

In almost all instances and perhaps all, salat seems to imply 'reaching out' and in most instances reaching out to God, whereas in a few, God, the malaika and humans can reach out to other humans. Reaching out and betterment/purification (salat & zakat) are some important themes in the messages of God. Those who disbelieved, the kafireen, will be in extreme heat (74:41-43) because they neglected to 'reach out'.

Take care.

Joe

[idolfree1]

Peace be upon you Joe,

I do not agree with "reaching out" becuase that wording implies that the God is an object that is far away. The God does not want us to have that type of thought, which is why He reminds us that He is always NEAR. Closer than the jugular vein    Do you agree?

That is again why I translate salaat as "process" (learning from the God process)

The controlled forces(malaika) make up the laws that we can see and lern from, of course, all of that is from the God. This is why we read that the God and His malaika "salaat" upon the Prophet (the one who intuits knowledge from within) and then that human can deliver(rasool) what they learn to others so they can learn quicker, without the trial and error.

Please continue to give me your thoughts on this. I know we all repeat the same things often, but that is the hajj(debate) that we must continue until we can come to an agreement peacefully.