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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| Caraj |
| 12/30/03 at 03:10:31 |
| 1) Does the Quran mention why 5 times a day? 2) Does it mention why those specific times? 3) How did those times come to be? 4) What is the purpose/reason for washing the body of a person who died? 5) Is there an Islamic equiv to Christian baptisim? (sorry I know my spelling is off) 6) What is the Islamic stand point on possible life in other planets and worlds? (ie: does it mention other places and where?) 7) Ok as I read in another post this subject is banned but if someone can answer it in a private message I thank you. Why is Islam against musical instruments or music or singing and when you answer can you back up your opinion with Quran please (thank you) Kathy mentioned drums only in a post about her sons's schol what is drums all about? Ok ok I know as you read this you may be thinking....my goodness so many different types of questions ::) :P ;D But I know we have a 5 time a day limit. (Jannah are we allowed to make up for lost time ;D ;) ) |
| 12/30/03 at 03:18:17 |
| Caraj |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| faith |
| 12/30/03 at 22:58:14 |
| [slm] its good to hear that you are keen to understand islam. Let me try to answer some of your questions :) 1) however, God's commands us to perform our prayers strictly, in many different chapters of the quran. On the no. of times to pray: Surah Ta-Ha: 20:130 So bear patiently what they say, and glorify the praises of your Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting, and during some of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day [an indication for the five compulsory congregational prayers], that you may become pleased with the reward which Allah shall give you. On why should a person pray 5 times a day: Surah Hud: 11:114 And perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salat (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice). 2) on why those specific times: not sure but...."We hear and we obey" our Lord's commands. 3) how did those times come to be? from the Prophet Muhammad's [saw] Night Journey to Heaven, where he met all the Prophets before him, and where Allah commanded Muhammad [saw] and his nation to pray 500 daily prayers , where finally it was reduced to 5 daily prayers. After advice from Prophet Moses who stated that Muhammad's followers would not be able to perform so many prayers, then Prophet Muhammad [saw] asked Allah to reduce the no. of prayers, so it is not a burden on his followers. This is not from the qur'an, but from the narrations of the qur'an. The Night Journey is only briefly mentioned in the Qur'an, but detailed narrations are in the Hadeeths (sayings of the Prophet) (17:1) Glory to ((Allah)) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). 4) the purpose of washing a dead person before burial: don't know.. 5) Islamic equivalent to christian baptism: in terms of affirmation to one's faith, Islam's only equivalent is the testimony of faith, the shahadah: I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is his Messenger 6) life on other planets and worlds: I suggest you go to www.harunyahya.com where there are tonnes of info on Islam and science, on topics such as the creation of the universe, signs in the heavens and the earth, God created the universe from nothing, etc.. thats all that I can help you with, perhaps other members will be more informative... :-) :) Peace :-) |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| AbdulJalil |
| 12/30/03 at 23:13:23 |
| Salam About life on other planets: read this part: Verse 12 of sura 65 does however predict the following: "God is the One Who created seven heavens and of the earth (ard) a similar number. The Command descends among them so that you know that God has power over all things and comprehends all things in His knowledge." Since 7 indicates an indefinite plurality (as we have seen), it is possible to conclude that the Qur'anic text clearly indicates the existence of more than one single Earth, our own Earth (ard) ; there are others like it in the Universe. http://www.islam101.com/science/universe.html --------------------------------------- We live on earth which is in just one galaxy, and there are millions, if not billions, of galaxies. Why not other earths too? |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| William |
| 12/30/03 at 23:35:58 |
| Bismillah [slm] Just because there are many does not mean that other Earths exist. How would the message of Rasul-Ullah be transmitted there since he was the Seal of Prophethood to all mankind? Why must we doubt the might of Allah? Is it not a sign to show us that we are nothing? There are billions of atoms in my body. Does that mean other universes exist within those? I believe that the vastness of the universe is to show us how Great and High Allah is. I mean, we cannot even see the end of the universe. How much Greater must Allah be? [slm] |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| AbdulJalil |
| 12/31/03 at 09:51:07 |
| Assalamu Alaikum you have a good point bro William. But 1) could it be that these other Earths are not inhabited by people? or inhabited just by other life forms( vegetal, animal,etc) where no da'wah would be needed? 2) There are some islands here on earth, where no one has yet heard of the Prophet(pbuh), yet this does not diminish the fact that the prophet(pbuh) is for all mankind. Maybe these other people on these other earths will need da'wah too. I don't understand when you say why must we doubt the might of Allah(swt). Believing in the possibilities of many earths is not doubting in Allah(swt). In the end, it is all conjecture, we really don't know. |
| 12/31/03 at 10:18:24 |
| AbdulJalil |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| AbdulJalil |
| 12/31/03 at 10:33:45 |
| Assalamu Alaikum from Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com) Question : Someone has asked me this question (she is about to become a muslimah). Her statement: 'A lot of others will never meet a Muslim in person. Will they be held responsible for their ignorance? What exactly does this mean: "After the revelation of the Quran who ever receives this message & does not abide by it is a non-believer"? i. Who is considered to have received the message? ii. Isn't it possible for people to have not received the message even though the Quran is in existence?' Answer : Praise be to Allaah. It is part of the justice of Allaah that He does not punish any people until He has first sent a warning to them and unless there is evidence against them. Allaah does not treat anybody unfairly. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning).” [al-Israa’ 17:15]. In his tafseer (commentary) on this aayah, Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “These words, ‘…And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)’ tell us of the justice of Allaah, may He be exalted, and that He does not punish anyone until after He has established evidence against him by sending a Messenger to him. This is like the aayat (interpretation of the meaning): ‘… Every time a group is cast therein [into Hell], its keeper will ask, “Did no warner come to you?” They will say, “Yes indeed; a warner did come to us, but we belied him and said: ‘Allaah never sent down anything (of revelation), you are only in great error.’”’ [al-Mulk 67:8] and: ‘And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups, till, when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened (suddenly like a prison at the arrival of its prisoners). And its keepers will say, “Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves, - reciting to you the Verses of your Lord, and warning you of the Meeting of this Day of yours?” They will say: “Yes, but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers!”’ [al-Zumar 39:71]…” A person who has never heard of Islam or the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and who has never heard the message in its correct and true form, will not be punished by Allaah if he dies in a state of kufr (disbelief). If it were asked what his fate will be, the answer will be that Allaah will test him on the Day of Resurrection: if he obeys, he will enter Paradise and if he disobeys he will enter Hell. The evidence (daleel) for this is the hadeeth of al-Aswad ibn Saree’, who reported that the Prophet of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are four (who will protest) to Allaah on the Day of Resurrection: the deaf man who never heard anything, the insane man, the very old man, and the man who died during the fatrah (the interval between the time of ‘Eesaa (Jesus, upon whom be peace) and the time of Muhammad SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). The deaf man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but I never heard anything.’ The insane man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but the children ran after me and threw stones at me.’ The very old man will say, ‘O Lord, Islam came but I did not understand anything.’ The man who died during the fatrah will say, ‘O Lord, no Messenger from You came to me.’ He will accept their promises of obedience, then word will be sent to them to enter the Fire. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if they enter it, it will be cool and safe for them.” According to another report, he said: “Whoever enters it, it will be cool and safe for him, and whoever does not enter it will be dragged to it.” (The hadeeth was reported by Imaam Ahmad and Ibn Hibbaan, and deemed saheeh by al-Albaani, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 881). Everyone who hears the message of Islam in a sound and correct form (and rejects it), will have evidence aginst him. Whoever dies without having heard the message, or having heard it in a distorted form, then his case is in the hands of Allaah. Allaah knows best about His creation, and He will never treat anyone unfairly. And Allaah is All-Seer of His slaves. |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| sofia |
| 12/31/03 at 10:41:59 |
| Peace, Azizah [quote] 1) Does the Quran mention why 5 times a day? 2) Does it mention why those specific times? 3) How did those times come to be?[/quote] In Islaam, law is derived from two main sources – the Qur’aan and the Sunnah (tradition of the Prophet). There are other levels after that. Anyhow, the two do not contradict one another, and actually compliment one another. While the Qur’aan is the single most authentic source, the Sunnah comes in second (ie, not on equal ground with the Qur’aan), and is mainly used to complement and “enliven” the message of the Qur’aan through actual experience of the Prophet, who was described by his wife as being somewhat of a living Qur’aan (ie, he practiced the teachings of the Qur’aan in a way that it was supposed to be understood and revealed, so his followers could follow the Qur’aan and his example). That was a long run-on sentence, but hopefully, you got my point. And another point to make is that although the authentic sunnah is important in Islaam, not all traditions are as authentic, so the science of assigning authenticity is pretty rigorous in Islaam. About following the Quraan and the Sunnah/way of the Prophet, the Qur’aan states: [color=green] "And obey Allah and the Messenger; that ye may obtain mercy.” [/color] [Translation of the Qur’aan 3:132] [color=green] "So obey Allah, and obey His Messenger: but if ye turn back, the duty of Our Messenger is but to proclaim (the Message) clearly and openly. Allah! There is no god but He: and on Allah, therefore, let the Believers put their trust. [/color] [64.012-13] [color=green] "The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise. [/color] [9.071] [color=green] "O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger, and make not vain your deeds! [/color] [47.032] [color=green] "All who obey Allah and the messenger are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah -- of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship! [/color] [4.069] About the 5 prayers/day and the specific amount, this is specifically prescribed in regards to the fard or obligatory prayers. In actuality, a Muslim can pray (and is suggested to pray) even more than that, which are called the nawaafil (superogatory) prayers, and which can bring a servant even closer to God. But the fard is the minimal amount. The authentic sunnah describes detail; there are several authentic ahaadith that identify the 5 fard prayers. The most famous is one in which the Prophet (S) was taken on a “Night Journey” to the Heavens with Gabriel, where the 5 prayers was first prescribed. This is an authentic hadith, as already mentioned above. In another authentic hadith, narrated Abu Hurairah: [color=blue]“I heard Allah's Apostle saying, ’If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day, would you notice any dirt on him?’ They said, ‘Not a trace of dirt would be left.’ The Prophet added, ’That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.’”(Saheeh Bukhaari) [/color] There are many many more, with much more detail. Regarding the timings of the prayers, there are set time periods (not set [i]times[/i]) in which to pray each of the 5 prayers. These go in a specific order, so you would pray the morning prayer before the afternoon prayer, and not vice versa. Anyhow, these time periods are pretty accommodating, as Islaam recognizes that humans have things to do/people to see, etc. But Islaam is heavy on balancing both worldly and spiritual pursuits. The Prophet (S) taught his followers that the best time to pray each prayer is at the beginning of each prescribed prayer time (even though flexibility is allowed in terms of when one can choose to pray during the prescribed time periods). From an authentic hadith, narrated Muhammad bin 'Amr: “We asked Jabir bin 'Abdullah about the prayers of the Prophet. He said, [color=blue]‘He used to pray Dhuhr prayer at mid-day, the 'Asr when the sun was still hot, and the Maghrib after sunset (at its stated time). The 'Isha was offered early if the people gathered, and used to be delayed if their number was less; and the morning prayer was offered when it was still dark.’"[/color] Again, there are many more, including narrations in which the Prophet (S) demonstrated the outer limits of the times when one could pray and not pray. [quote] 4) What is the purpose/reason for washing the body of a person who died? [/quote] In Islaam, the point is not to beautify the body, but to simply clean the body, in preparation for the next phase. The act of ablution (for us who are alive, even) is not just for physical purity, but a spiritual preparation – for the next step. God is not in need of our bodies, since He can look directly into our souls, and can put our bodies back together after it has decayed. I guess the simple answer is that it was prescribed for the Prophet (S) to do this, who in turn, ordered his followers to carry it on. Allahu ‘Alim, maybe someone more knowledgeable can elaborate further on this. [quote] 5) Is there an Islamic equiv to Christian baptisim? (sorry I know my spelling is off) [/quote] Anytime something is testified to (and what could be more important, than a matter of faith), it’s important for it to be witnessed for recognition of responsibility (once I say I’ll do something out loud in public, I’ll be more inclined to stick to it than if I just made a personal mental note), aid (other Muslims must recognize and come to the aid of a new Muslim), etc. But when someone decides to become a Muslim, it is a personal decision, and in some cases, they may have no witnesses and are still considered Muslim. Allahu ‘Alim. The Prophet (S) used to tell new Muslims to take a bath (in private, not in public, such as some Christian baptisms and/or Jewish conversions). Just as for any other Muslim, this is both a physical and spiritual preparation. Then, he would teach them how to pray, etc. So it’s not exactly the same as a baptism, but yes, there is an ablution for new Muslims. [quote] 6) What is the Islamic stand point on possible life in other planets and worlds? (ie: does it mention other places and where?) [/quote] Not specifically and/or not in a way that we’ve figured out yet. No reason Muslims should debate over it, since we have responsibilities towards the things we know for sure, let alone that which we don’t. Qur’aanic Arabic does indicate the idea of a universe, and in fact, several universes. As to whether or not there is life in those universes equivalent to live on earth, God knows best, He is able to do more than we can comprehend. [quote] 7) Ok as I read in another post this subject is banned but if someone can answer it in a private message I thank you. Why is Islam against musical instruments or music or singing and when you answer can you back up your opinion with Quran please (thank you) Kathy mentioned drums only in a post about her sons's schol what is drums all about? [/quote] Islaam isn’t against music or singing. In fact, children and performers used to dance and sing and play the drum in the presence of the Prophet (S). What the Qur’aan teaches us, however, is to not to be deceived/deluded/distracted by the play and amusement of this world, from the reality of our situation (that there is a Judgment Day, that we will be asked about what we did, that we do need to worship God, etc). True, there are certain instruments that the Prophet (S) forbade, and he did warn against men listening to women sing, and there may or may not be some differences of opinion on these and several other issues. Best to check with legit scholars on this. Main thing is that Islaam cannot be reduced to singing and chanting and playing instruments (which is common in some other places of worship). It is about prayer, the way it was prescribed to all of the Prophets. When it comes to leisure, Islaam is not against all forms of leisure. The Prophet (S) sang songs sometimes, he played sports sometimes, he joked with his wives and friends sometimes, etc. But Islaam does set limits to safeguard faith, uphold good and forbid evil, etc. Like for example, gambling is forbidden, for societal and spiritual reasons. Main point is, sometimes we don’t/aren’t meant to see it, but there is wisdom to what is prescribed or prohibited in Islaam. As a separate note and as mentioned above, the larger issue is that Islaamic law is derived from several different series of sources, the highest level being the Qur’aan, and then the Sunnah, and so on and so forth. Some of these levels allow for differences of opinion, while others do not. So that’s what Muslims have to be careful about, and probably why the topic of music is banned so quickly here, and with legit cause. We aren’t scholars. Hope this helped until you can get better help. |
| NS |
| Re: the 5 daily prayers and other questions |
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| humble_muslim |
| 12/31/03 at 13:35:06 |
| AA My very quick two cents. Life on Other Planets : In Maududi's tafseer, he mentions the opinion of Ibn Abbas about either the ayat Abdul Jalil mentioned or a similar one. Ibn Abbas is reported to have said that the ayat in question indicates that there is indeed life on places in the universe other than earth, and that the inhabitants of these places had their own messengers. He (Ibn Abbas) was afraid to say this too much because he thought it would sound dumb (which it probably would at that time). Now that we actually understand the size of the universe, it doesn't sound dumb at all. If anyone has Madudi's tafseer, it might be worth searching for this. 2. Music I'm not going to go into the legalities of this issue (that is a banned topic), but mention a couple of points to illustrate the effect of music without passing judgement. a) Like Se7en said in a post a long time ago, most of us - without any effort - have memorized the lryics of more songs than the number of Surahs (Quranic chapters) we have memorized. b) I stopped "formally" listening to music many years ago, but my head is still ALWAYS full of this stuff. c) If any of us hears (me included) just a single bar of a song we haven't heard for 20, 30 or even 40 years or more, the whole song will instanteously come back into our minds. |
| NS |
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