THIRD PART LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF ISLAM CHAPTER I PRAYER Sec. 7. Value of Prayer The fundamental religious duties recognized by Importance of prayer Islafn are five, vis., prayer, zakat or in Islam. poor-rate, fasting, pilgrimage and jihad, but while jihad is a national duty, the first four are, more or less, individual duties, though having an important national value. Among these four, prayer undoubtedly occupies the most important position, and is given the greatest prominence in the Holy Qur'an; poor-rate coming next to it. The importance of prayer may be judged from the following facts that it was the first duty enjoined on the Holy Prophet; that, though prayer and zakat are often mentioned together in the Holy Qur'an, prayer always takes precedence; and that the keeping up of prayer is the most frequently repeated injunction of the Holy Qur'an. It has also been generally recognized as the first and foremost duty of a Muslim. There are several reasons why prayer has been given this impor- tance. It is really the first step in the onward progress of man, and yet it is also his mi raj, his highest spiritual ascent. Prayer keeps man away from evil, and thus enables him to attain to his perfection. It helps him to realize the Divine in him, and that realization not only urges him to do disinterested service for humanity but also makes him attain the highest degree of moral and is also the means of spiritual perfection. Prayer levelling all differences of rank, colour and nationality, and the means of bringing about a cohesion and unity among men which it the necessary basis of a living civilization, 355 THE RELIGION OF ISLAM Reference to the beginning of the Holy Qur'an will Self-development show what prayer really aims at through prayer. There we are told that a Muslim, who would tread the road to self-development, must accept certain principles and carry out certain duties: "This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard against evil, those who believe in the Unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them, and those who believe what has been revealed to thee and what has been revealed before thee ; and of the Hereafter they are sure. These are on a right course from their Lord, and these it is that shall attain to full " self-development (muflihnn) (2 : 2-5). Muflihun is the plural of muftih which is derived from the root falfy meaning cleaving asunder a thing. Falah, the infinitive form of muftih, means success and complete attainment of what is desired (R.). The same authority says that/a/^ is of two kinds, one relating to this life and the other relating to the next. The former stands for the attain- ment of those good things whereby the life of this world is made good; and these are baqa (existence), ghina (freedom from want, i.e., wealth) and '*** (honour). The falah relating to the next life includes, according to Raghib, four things, that is to say, life with which there is no death, wealth with which there is no want, honour with which there is no disgrace, and knowledge with which there is no ignorance. Thus falafy, whether relating to this life or to the next, carries with it the idea of the complete development of the inner faculties of man, the attaining to both material and moral in other be called the full greatness ; what, words, may self-development of man. This self-development is reached, according to the Holy Qur'an, by the acceptance of three principles, the existence of God, His revealing Himself to man, and the Hereafter; and by the exercise 556 PRAYER of two duties, the keeping up of prayer* or seeking communion with God, and the spending of one's wealth for others or the service of humanity. The place of prayer in the self-development of man is given such a prominence in Islam that in the call to prayer the words " "come to prayer are immediately fallowed by the words "come to falah" thus showing that self-development is attained through prayer. And on 'another occasion, the " Holy Qur'an says plainly : Successful indeed are the f believers, who are humble in their prayers" (23:1,2), where the word used for being successful is aflalia^ carrying the signification of 'attaining to full self-develop- ment./ A belief in God is the fundamental principle of every nevertheless the of Prayer as the means of religion; object realizing the Divine in religion is not simply to preach the man ' doctrine of the existence of God as a theory; it goes far beyond that. Religion seeks to instil the conviction that God is, a living force in the life of man and is the means which it is to ; prayer by sought this end. real conviction that is achieve great The God t comes to man, not by the belief that there is a God in the outer world, but by the realization of the Divine within himself; and that this realization is attained through prayer is made clear by what is stated in the beginning of the Holy Qur'an, as quoted above. The three requisites of a true Muslim are there given in their natural order. The first is a belief in the Unseen, which means a belief in God, the great Unseen Who cannot be perceived by the physical eye of man. The second, which follows immediately the belief in the Unseen, is the keeping up of prayer, thus showing that belief in the Unseen is turned into a certainty of the Divine existence, a realization of the Divine within the man, by means of and it is with reference to this realization that prayer ; 357 THE RELIGION OF ISLAM we are told, a little farther on: "And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and surely it is a hard thing except for the praying ones, who know that they shall meet their Lord and that they shall return to Him" (2 : 45, 46). The third requisite, spending out of what God has given, is the natural sequel of the second, and shows that the realization of the Divine in man leads to the service of humanity. In one of the earliest revealed chapters of the Holy Qur'an, it is stated that prayer is useless unless it leads to the service of humanity: "So woe to the praying ones, who are unmindful of their prayers, who do good to be seen, and withhold alms" (107 : 4-7). The universal experience of humanity bears out the The experience of hu- truth of what the Holy Qur'an has inanity. said. Though to most people, now- adays, the existence of God amounts to little more than a theory, yet in every age and among every nation there have been men who, through prayer, have realized the great truth of the Divine existence within their hearts, and have laid down their lives for the good of humanity. In their case belief in the existence of God was a moral force which not only worked an entire change in their own lives, but also enabled them to transform the lives of entire nations for centuries and change the histories of peoples and of countries. Their selflessness and truth- fulness were beyond reproach, and their testimony, which is really the testimony of all nations in all ages, establishes one fact, that belief in the existence of God becomes a moral force of the first magnitude when once it is realized in the heart of man through prayer to the so a moral force is that Divine Being ; great it, indeed, even the most powerful material forces give way before it. Is not the experience of those great person- alities a beacon-light for others, showing them that they also can make God a moral force in their lives ? The 358 PRAYER powers and faculties that are given to one man are also given to another, and through their proper use one man can do what another, before him, has done. Again, if, apart from the experience of humanity, we consider the Prayer, a means of question rationally, attaining to moral great- prayer to God is the natural sequel ncfs of the acceptance, in theory, of the existence of God. The aspiration to rise to moral great- ness is implanted in human nature more deeply than even the to rise to material but the aspiration greatness ; only way in which that aspiration can be realized is to be in touch with the All-pervading Spirit, the fountain-head of " purity and the source of the highest morality. All the perfect attributes are Allah's," says the Holy Qur'fln (7 : 180). But man stands in need of perfect attributes as well for there is in him the ; implanted unquenchable desire to rise higher and higher. How can he do so except by being in touch with the Being that possesses the perfect attributes, the Being that is free from all defects? And prayer is but an attempt to be in touch with Him. And the only way to become imbued with Divine morals is to get in touch with the Divine Spirit, to be drawn away from all worldly trammels for a while, and to drink deep at that source, which is prayer to God. In many Ijadith, prayer is spoken of zsmunajat or confidential intercourse with the Lord 8 : 39 9 : 8 : (Bu.