Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Salatul Wusta or The Middle Prayer

Salam,

Today there are many arguments as to the number of salat that God ordained for the Muslims to do their duty to worship Him daily. There are those who propagate that there are only three times as God mentioned only three names of Salat in the Quran and there are others who claimed that there is no ritual at all in the Quran.

However Surah 2:238 and Surah 62:9 is confirmation that God in the Quran ordained the daily obligatory prayers or Salat to be five times a day.

The first evidence which expressed clearly the argument of five Salat is shown in the Surah 2:238: “Guard strictly your prayers (salawaat) and the Middle Prayer (Salatul Wusta)” (Surah 2:238)

By having a Middle Salat logic will tell us that it cannot be accompanied by one or three or five or any odd number of Salat. A Middle Salat can only be in between two or four or six or any even number of Salat that come with it,

Having said that, the word “salawaat” in Arabic is a plural of not less than three because for a dual Salat there is an Arabic word “salataani”. So if one takes the “salawaat” in the above verse to be just three Salat which is an odd number the “Middle Salat” cannot be associated with it because when it added into the total it adds to four and four cannot have the Middle Salat in it!

So the truth is clear from the word “salawaat” the number of Salat God command us to preserve daily must be a total four Salat plus the Middle Salat in between the four Salat this will adds up to a total of five Salat daily.

The other strong evidence which points the daily obligatory prayers to be five times daily is the Surah 62:9 O you who believe! When the call to prayer (Salat) on a day of congregation, hasten earnestly to the remembrance of God, and leave of business: that is best for you if you but knew! And when the Salat is finished, then may you disperse through the land and seek the bounty of God; and celebrate the praise of God often that you may prosper

This command is made to establish the Salat during the peak of business time and during the Prophet days the time can only fit in at the Middle time or Wusta time between the sun’s decline at noon and the sun’s decline at sunset. Wusta time can only be at business time and it cannot be at be at the time of sun’s decline at noon from its zenith or at sunset because according to the Quran these two times are near or at the people privacy times as stated:

O you who believe! let those whom your right hands possess and those of you who have not attained to puberty ask permission of you three times; before the morning prayer, and when you put off your clothes at midday in summer, and after the prayer of the nightfall; these are three times of privacy for you; neither is it a sin for you nor for them besides these, some of you must go round about (waiting) upon others; thus does Allah make clear to you the communications, and Allah is Knowing, Wise. (Surah 24:58)

So there is a relationship between Surah 2:238 to preserve all the Salats with the addition of the Salatul Wusta or the Middle Prayer which is in turn is associated and supported by the Surah 62:9 in determining the “Wusta” time of prayer during the day.

The time of the Middle Prayer or the Salatul Wusta is adjoined by the other four times of Salat as follows

The time to establish the Salat at the Sun’s decline from its zenith at noon

Establish regular prayers at the sun's decline towards the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. (Surah 17:78)

And to establish at the time of dawn, dusk and night time.

And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: For those things, that are good remove those that are evil: Be that the word of remembrance to those who remember (their Lord): (Surah 11:114)

Thus the times ordained by God in the Quran are

Dawn (Surah 11:114), noon (Surah 17:78), business time or Wusta/Middle (Surah 2:238 & Surah 62:9), dusk (Surah 11:114) and night time (Surah 11:114)


These are the times God makes it very suitable for you to remember Him through the Salat but at other times you can remember Him through the zikir which is done without the ritual of ablution.

O ye who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer/salat; for Allah is with those who patiently persevere. (Surah 2:153)

Enjoin prayer/salat on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for righteousness. (Surah 20:132)

Asar

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Menstruation is not filthy

Salam,

Most Muslim women were being brainwashed that when they are having their menstruation, they were forbidden to do their daily obligatory prayer (Salat), fasting, reading the Quran, going to the mosques or any other thing that is related to the worship of God. These teaching does not come from the Quran but were of those borrowed from the Jewish traditions that have seeped through the authenticated hadith.

Quote from the Bible Leviticus 15:19-32

19And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 21And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 22And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 23And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. 24And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. 25And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. 26Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. 27And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 28But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 29And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 30And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness. 31Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. 32This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

But in the Quran the only thing forbidden when the woman had her menstruation is not for her husband to “sleep” with her until she is clean of her period. There is no other restriction that have been imposed on any form of worship if she so wish to fulfill her obligation towards God.

…..They ask you on women’s menstruation, say, “They are a hurt” so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. And when they have cleansed themselves, you may approach them as God has directed you. Surely God loves those who repent and those who purify themselves (Surah 2:222).

There are several evidences from the Quran that the woman is not prohibited to establish her Salat or daily prayer or any other command of God which is obligatory. In term of the daily prayer many were saying that the women menstruation is “dirty” that they should not perform the prayer but please consider after the call of nature even if there is no water to wash the “dirty” defecation leftover still it is obligatory to perform the Salat without water with the “tayamum” or ritual of rubbing the faces and the hands with clean sands (Refer Surah 5:6). In this state of dirty condition the command is still to establish the Salat.

And in the following verse stated below in the Quran the woman is not exempted from doing her fasting during the month of Ramadhan as whether it is the man or the woman who accidently killed a believer if she has no mean to pay the compensation she has to fast for two months consecutively as a way of repentance.

…..It is not lawful for a believer to kill another believer except by error, and whoever slays a believer by error, he should free a believing slave and pay blood money to the heirs of the killed person, unless they charitably forgo it. But if he was from a people at war with you, and he was a believer, then free a believing slave. And if he was from a people with whom you have a treaty, then blood money should be paid to his family and a believing slave be freed. For those who find this beyond their means, it is prescribed a fast for two months running. A penance from God and God is All Knowing, All Wise (Surah 4:92).

So if she is to fast for two months running during her menstruation periods she has no excuse to claim exemption during the month of Ramadhan. There is another evident from the Quran during the Pilgrimage the woman has to fast whether she is having her period or not, when the woman is a non resident of Makkah who wish to proceed to the Hajj from the Umrah and has not the mean to make an offering, she must fast for a total of ten days

…..if any one wishes to continue the Umrah on to the Hajj, he must make an offering, such as he can afford, but if he cannot afford it, he should fast three days during the Hajj and seven days on his return, making ten days in all. This is for those whose household is not in the precinct of the Sacred Mosque. And fear God, and know that God is strict in punishment (Surah 2:196).

In spite of these verses in the Quran, there are those who preach to the women that when they have their periods it is forbidden for them to do all the righteous deeds to God like praying, fasting, reading the Quran, and etc and they are quoting a verse which God only forbid them to sleep with their husbands during their menstruation but does not indicate that God forbid them from doing their daily obligatory in worshipping Him

…..They ask you on women’s menstruation, say, “They are a hurt” so keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. And when they have cleansed themselves, you may approach them as God has directed you. Surely God loves those who repent and those who purify themselves (Surah 2:222).

Even Mary fasted for after she delivered Jesus and she was also at her menstruation after child birth.

"So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, say, 'I have vowed a fast to (Allah) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into not talk with any human being'"

Thus the Surah 4:92 and Surah 2:196 clearly shows that if a woman killed another believer accidentally and have no mean to compensate the deceased family she has to fast two months consecutively irrespective whether she is having her periods. So is the woman who wishes to continue her Hajj from Umrah and has no means to make an offering as she cannot afford it, then she has to fast a total of ten days whether she is having her periods or not.

It is clear that the practice of preventing the women from the normal duties toward God during their periods is indeed an invention against the guidance from the Quran. Since there is nothing in the Quran that God had granted His excuse on the women of their daily duties toward Him during their menstruation, then this negligence of duties must be taken by women seriously so as to avoid the wrath of God in the hereafter.

The Prophet has been warned by God to be careful of the Jews and the Christians

…..Never will the Jews or the Christian be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: “The guidance of God that is the only guidance.” Were thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which has reached thee, then thou would find neither protector nor helper against God (Surah 2:120)

With the above warning from God it is impossible to claim that it was the Prophet who sanction the excuse of women to refrain from doing their duties to God during their menstruation and the Prophet will never follow the Christian/Jewish practice especially when the source of this practice has its root from the Bible

…..after a woman gives birth to a son, she is ritually unclean, as she is during her monthly period. On the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised. Then it will be thirty three more days until she is ritually clean from her loss of blood; she must not touch anything that is Holy or entered the Sacred Sanctuary until the time of her purification is completed (Leviticus 12:2-4 The Bible).

So it is clear that this practice is not sanctioned by God anywhere in the Quran but is sinisterly copied from the Bible and a fabrication against the good name of our Prophet who will never put his authorization as it contradicted against the guidance of God in the Quran.


Asar