Where is the way to pray documented?
Mu'meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi
wa Barakatuhu. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
The way to pray is not given in th Holy
Quran, the number of rakats
etc., then wherefrom did the muslims, shiah & sunni alike learn it.All pray the same no. of rakats
for the farz of each time & almost in the same
way except for keeping hands down or on the chest.
Which is the book that has given this method of prayer.
(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:
Where is the way to pray documented?
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.
Apart from a few minor and insignificant differences, the whole Muslim Ummah prays in exactly the same manner. All the sects and schools of thought of the Muslim Ummah are unanimous regarding the times of prayer, the number of rakahs in each prayer, the names of each prayer, the sequence of each prayer, the method of each prayer, etc.
When Allah Subhanah commanded the believers to offer the
prayers in the Glorious Quran, He arranged for the prayers to be taught to His
Prophet (saws) by Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.); and the Prophet
(saws) in turn taught it to the believers.
The prayer was an act the Prophet of Allah (saws) performed and was
witnessed and followed by tens of thousands of believers thousands of
times in the life of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
It is the Sunnah or Way of Allah Subhanah, that whenever He sends His Divine Books, He also appoints a Prophet amongst mankind
who himself obeys, follows, and guides those who believe in practical terms how
to obey and follow the commands and guidance of their Lord and Creator.
The Messenger of Allah (saws) himself prayed and taught
the believers how to pray, and his noble companions in turn prayed and taught
their children, and their children prayed and taught this tradition to their
children, and so on! Long after the
death of the Prophet (saws) some scholars documented the way to pray in their
collection of sayings and deeds of the Messenger of Allah (saws) as a reference
to future generations;
and that is where we find the exact way and method of offering
the prayers as practiced by the Messenger of Allah (saws).
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