Is Quranic “Salaat' (ۃ ٰولص) the Act of Ritual Prayer?
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(صل ٰوۃ) ’IS QURANIC “SALAAT THE ACT OF RITUAL PRAYER? Meticulous Research towards discovering the true academic definition of Quran’s key word “SALAAT” against the prevalent conventional ,( الصل ٰوۃ) meaning of Ritual/Contact Prayer (نماز) ’called ‘NAMAAZ by Aurangzaib Yousufzai www.quranstruelight.com [email protected] ……… This is the updated ENGLISH EDITION of this writer’s Urdu Thesis published (تحقی ِق نماز و صلٰوۃ) ”entitled “Tehqiq-e-Namaaz-o-Salaat repeatedly from Karachi since 2006 1 LIST OF CHAPTERS PAGE NO. 1. PREAMBLE 3 2. THE PRESENT IMPASSE 7 3. HOSTRICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE 11 EXISTING CALAMITY 4. THE REAL CAUSES BEHIND THE EXISTING 17 CALAMITY 5. THE REAL CRIMINALS OF ISLAM – THE HITHERTO HIDDEN ASPECT 30 6. RESEARCH INTO THE FAKE RITUAL OF ‘NAMAAZ’ 33 7. RESEARCH INTO ‘SALAAT’ 62 SABBIH BI-HAMDI“ & (اقم الصل ٰوۃ) ”AQIMIS SALAAT“ .8 80 (سبّح بحم ِد ربّک) ”RABBIK 9. CONCLUDING SUBMISSION 95 2 1. PREAMBLE The eternal truth which constituted the foundations of a Muslim’s life was soon to be driven out of his divinely ordained socio-political conduct. It was carefully wrapped up in thick covering and thrust back into the prohibited precincts of the Holy Book, and then to keep it hidden forever from the human perception, the Book itself was replaced with the huge volumes of viciously concocted substitutes called “Interpretations, Exegeses or Expositions” (tafaseer), bypassing the Divine Authority. As a subsequent measure, through the said man-made secondary sources, the entire virtuous ideology of truth was expediently replaced with the Sacred Spell of an “Ancient Magic” brought forth from the mysterious gloom of the old mythology. That Sacred Spell was embodied in a most irrational five-times a day Worship Ritual ordaining meaningless physical movements of bowing and prostration before an imaginary watching God. This Ritual is called NAMAAZ by the faithful. This mythical worship ritual bewitches the mostly unconscious Muslim masses all over the globe up to this day. Some call it by the name of CONTACT PRAYER and you can watch this act being performed by bearded fanatics not only in their local mosques but, while travelling abroad, on airports, tube stations, crowded streets and highways, and other most unlikely places across the globe with a frenzy of complacent religious fanaticism. Since the offering of NAMAAZ has been proclaimed as “the foremost duty” of a Muslim and since it is regarded as the very first question to be faced by a Muslim at the time of accountability in the Hereafter, why shouldn’t a Muslim feel terrified by the impending threat of severe retribution for ignoring this ritual? And to redeem his spiritual self from this primordial sin and its impending punishment, why shouldn’t the five-time offering of this ritual become his sole life-long pursuit in utter disregard of all the basic human values like ethics and morals, sanity, decorum, etiquette, human brotherhood, equality of rights, concern for fellow humans, social reform & welfare, and other virtuous deeds? Add to that, the unquestionable authenticity of this ritual on the claims of “continuity” over a span of almost a millennium and a half; and attested by endless chain of most respected ancestors passing away generation after generation with sacred “arches” protruding 3 from their foreheads, symbolizing unaccountable life-long prostrations! That was such a span of a millennium and a half when every moment of days and nights was spent by Muslim clerics and priests loudly calling, shouting and yelling in propagation of Namaaz, declaring it the sole essence of the true Deen and the only medium of regular approach to Allah and a clean chit of absolution from all sins and crimes! It is a well-known fact that the religious hierarchy of clerics and priests, henceforth described in this writing by their traditional name of MULLAH, has always been paid generous grants by the powerful elite for acting as their agents for serving their vested interests with religious weapons. Therefore, it is they who openly declare the non-praying individuals as fuel of hellfire, and cast out of the human species, irrespective of the virtuous deeds they may have been performing - like spending a substantial portion of their hard earned sustenance on feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless, etc. Contrary to that, the praying one (called the “Namaazi”) is given by them glad tidings of prompt, unconditional salvation irrespective of whatever his crooked lifestyle may be! That’s why the overwhelming majority of Muslim Namaazis boldly indulge in evil practices like unscrupulous prevarication, crooked conduct and fraudulent business practices like exorbitant profiteering, hoarding, black-marketing and all other kinds of exploitation, as a routine of life. And since they go to the mosque run by Mullahs, five times a day, they are guaranteed exoneration and easy access to the lofty rewards and spiritual achievements in both the worlds. The act of Namaaz has been excessively exaggerated and portrayed as the apex of worship, awarding the praying one an exalted status in the Hereafter. Thus the worshipper’s ego is inflated with the air of superiority over his fellow folks and a foolish pride that makes him spare no chance to humiliate the non-praying ones around him. We can always note their offensive language, passing of frequent edicts and declaring their fellows Kaafir (an infidel) in routine. This Namaazi is often the one who is a vicious capitalist obstructing easy supply of provisions to the poor (“yamna’oon al- in Quranic words. Quran condemns this class of ( یمنعون الماعون - ”maa’oon .(ویل – as those to be perished (Wayilun ( مصلین -Namaazis (Musalleen But wait a moment here. The use of the term “Musalleen” (from SALAAT) may cause serious misunderstandings here, because Namaazis have the same 4 relationship with “Musalleen” as has the Namaaz with “Salaat”; as has a born blind with sunlight; as has the Madrissa (Seminary) or Mullah with the real message of the Book - i.e. absolutely no relationship or no remotest concern or similarity! Let us then refrain from creating a mix-up of Namaaz and Salaat and keep these terms that stand far apart from each other as two terms completely opposite to each other in their definitions. Let us first try to gather some courage to present some research in the context of Namaaz while realizing in all humbleness the meager existence of the writer in comparison with the big monopolists of the most powerful institution of Namaaz in the Muslim World, keeping in view the utmost importance this theme of ours commands! I have used the word “gather some courage” in the above lines in full realization of the sensitivity of the theme under research in this writing. I know fully well that to open your mouth against, and to differ from the dogmas firmly established in the Muslim society for centuries and enjoying widespread recognition irrespective of their man-made origins, requires a great amount of bravery and forbearance; particularly so in the present violent times when the Mullah hierarchy has developed into an armed militant mafia and edicts are delivered in the language of bullets unhesitatingly pumped into the body of the “sacrilegious”. And why not? We are well aware that the very foundations of the powerful Mullah hierarchy in the Muslim World rest on the theme under our active deliberation right now – the hoax called Namaaz. It is the most “sacred Precincts” in the Muslim World where no intrusion can be allowed or tolerated. Hence, it is feared that this booklet may raise a storm that Dr. Mohammad IQBAL has expressed in the following poetical verse:- مہ خانے کی بنیاد میں آیا ہے تزلزل بیٹھے ہیں اسی فکر میں پیران خرابات (“The foundations of the Religious Institution are shaken with tremors, and the devil’s accomplices are sitting together in serious apprehensions”) However, another message from IQBAL is there that cannot be ignored:- اگرچہ بت ھیں جماعت کی آستینوں میں مجھے ہے حکم اذاں ﻻ الہ اﻻ ہللا (“Although there are idols up the sleeves of the “community”, I am ordered to proclaim that ‘there is no absolute authority other than Allah’.”) 5 And the fact of the matter is also manifest in the following verses by IQBAL: جانتا ہوں میں یہ امت حامل قرآن نہیں ہے وہی سرمایہ داری بندہ موکن کا دین جانتا ہوں میں کہ مشرق کی اندھیری رات میں بے ید بیضا ہے پیران حرم کی آستین (“I’m aware that this Community is NOT the torch-bearer of Quran; and the same old brutal Capitalism is still the religion of the Muslim. I’m fully aware that in the dark night of the East; no “illuminating light” is hidden up the sleeves of the religious monopolists.”) So, dear Readers, leaving the sensitivity of the matter to our Lord of the Universe, in this endless darkness of the East we embark upon our search for the divine light once revealed to Man in a glorious era of the past, and step forward to pursue our theme. Nevertheless, before writing further on our actual topic of “Research into SALAAT versus NAMAAZ”, it is highly imperative at this point to look deeply into our drawbacks and shortcomings, viz. the most deplorable situation the Muslim nation is confronted with today, so that our research acquires its adequate socio-historical perspective and context. This background view is aimed at preventing the rise of questionable points in the course of reading through this highly controversial issue. Effort is made to ensure that this writing may become self-explicit as well as self-sufficient to the extent that all question marks arising in minds may automatically be answered, affording a thorough peace of mind and clarity of vision.