Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother Burhan:

As-salaam-o-alaykum-wa-rahmat-Allah-wa-barakatahu;

My dear brother in Islam, I commend you for devoting your time for such a noble cause. May Allah Subhanahu-wa-ta’ala bless you in this life and the life thereafter.

I have a question:

Has anybody researched the reason for the number of raka’at that are predefined for each salaat time ?

I got to thinking about this after performing a Maghrib salaat, and wondering why the Farad for this salaat was an odd number, unlike most of the others. The same goes for witar after Isha prayer.

I am also trying to find out about the actions by which we perform each component of the salaat. (Standing up, Ruku’, Sajdhah etc)

I am not questioning why we perform the salaat, but why we do it the way we do it, and for the numbers of rakat. I know the Allah Subhanahu-wa-ta’ala and His prophet Mohammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, have determined all of the above for a definite reason.

Jazak Allah Khair,

Wa-as-salaam,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

How were praying rites initiated ?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Subhanah is our Creator, and the Creator of everything that is in existence; therefore it is His right that we worship Him Alone. It is also His Right that He teaches us how to worship Him, and what rites of worship pleases Him. Allah Subhanah commanded and taught the Messenger of Allah (saws) the rites of worship; who in turn practiced it himself and taught it to the believers to follow.

We have not been given the right by Allah Subhanah to invent our own ways to worship and glorify Him; that right belongs to Allah Subhanah Alone.

No person who ever walked on this planet earth, worshipped Allah Subhanah better than the person of the Last Messenger of Allah, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws). Allah Subhanah has commanded and made it obligatory on the believers to follow the example of the Messenger of Allah (saws) in their lives, and especially in all the rites of worship.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21:There is indeed the best example for you to follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

And because we believe that there is wisdom in every commandment of Allah and His Messenger (saws); we, as believers, are permitted to search for that wisdom. Mankind, because of his limited knowledge, may be able to understand and comprehend some of the wisdom; but some wisdom he may not be able to comprehend. If we comprehend the wisdom, it will make our faith stronger and enable us to follow the commands with more conviction.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verses 67-69:For every ‘ummah’ We have prescribed a way of worship, which it follows. Therefore, let them not dispute with you concerning this matter. And invite the people to the Way of your Lord, for you are on the Straight Path. And if they dispute with you, say to them, “Allah knows full well what you are doing. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will judge between you concerning all that in which you differ!”

The way the prayers are prayed, and all the actions therein, and the number of obligatory prayers, and the number of rakahs in each prayer…..were taught to the Messenger of Allah (saws) by Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.) under the command of Allah Subhanah. Allah Subhanah has prescribed a way of worship for every people, and He has Himself prescribed the prayer and how and when it is to be prayed by the believers. And when a believer, who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day, receives a command or guidance for Allah and His Messenger (saws), his stand should be as is prescribed by Allah Subhanah in the Glorious Quran:

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah Noor verse 51:The answer of the Believers when summoned to Allah and His Apostle in order that He may judge between them, is no other than this: They say "We hear and we obey": it is such as these that will attain felicity.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan