The contact prayers, traced through the Quran to Abraham and his followers, with their daily times, the Friday Congregational Prayer, and the 2, 4, 4, 3, 4 units confirmed by mathematical facts based on the number 19. Extra Sunnah units are rejected as unauthorized. A report on the 12th annual international conference of submitters in Tucson follows, with a call for children's Quranic study booklets.
We learn from the Quran that all religious
practices of Submission (Islam) were given to Abraham. Therefore, these
practices, Salat (Contact Prayers), Zakat, (obligatory charity), fasting,
and Hajj pilgrimage, were already established before the revelation of
the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. This is contrary to the common belief that
Muhammad is the founder of the religion of Submission.
Recall that Abraham said, “My Lord, make this a peaceful
land, and protect me and my children from worshiping idols. My Lord, they
have misled so many people. As for those who follow me, they belong with
me. As for those who disobey me, You are Forgiver, Most Merciful. Our
Lord, I have settled part of my family in this plantless valley, at Your
Sacred House. Our Lord, they are to observe the Contact Prayers (Salat),
so let throngs of people converge upon them, and
provide for them all kinds of
fruits, that they may be appreciative. Our Lord, You know whatever we
conceal and whatever we declare—nothing is hidden from God on earth,
nor in the heavens. Praise be to God for granting me, despite my old age,
Ismail and Isaac. My Lord answers the prayers. My Lord, make me one who
consistently observes the Contact Prayers (Salat), and also my children.
Our Lord, please answer my prayers.” (14:35-40)
We made them imams who guided in accordance with our commandments,
and we taught them how to work righteousness, and how to observe the Contact
Prayers (Salat) and the obligatory charity (Zakat).... (21:73)
In fact, according to the Quran, Submission is called the religion of
Abraham, and Muhammad was a follower of Abraham. So were Isaac, Ismail,
Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Jesus, and other messengers of God.
Abraham was indeed an exemplary
vanguard in his submission to God, a monotheist who never worshiped idols.
Because he was appreciative of His Lord's blessings, He chose him and
guided him in a straight path. We granted him happiness in this life,
and in the Hereafter he will be with the righteous. Then we inspired you
(Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham, the monotheist; he never
was an idol worshiper. (16:120-123)
The practices of our religion have been preserved in their basic form
since the time of Abraham despite the efforts of corruption and distortion
by idol worshipers and disbelievers. Each messenger who came after Abraham
purified and followed these practices in accordance with God’s will,
making sure that all practices are devoted to God alone.
And mention in the scripture Ismail.
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Contact Prayers (Salat)
He was truthful when he made a promise, and he was
a messenger prophet. He used to enjoin his family to observe the
Contact Prayers (Salat) and the obligatory charity (Zakat); he was
acceptable to his Lord. (19:54-55)
We inspired Moses and his brother. “Maintain
your homes in Egypt for the time being, turn your homes into synagogues,
and maintain the Contact Prayers (Salat). Give good news to the
believers.” (10:87)
She pointed to him. They said, “How can we
talk with an infant in the crib?” (The infant [Jesus] spoke
and) said, “I am a servant of God. He has given me the scripture,
and has appointed me a prophet. He made me blessed wherever I go,
and enjoined me to observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and the obligatory
charity (Zakat) for as long as I live.” (19:29-31)
In fact, according to the Quran, there is only one acceptable
religion to God: Submission to His will.
Anyone who accepts other than Submission as his religion,
it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter, he will
be with the losers. (3:85)
The only religion approved by God is “Submission.”
Ironically, those who have received the scripture are the ones who
dispute this fact, despite the knowledge they have received, due
to jealousy. For such rejecters of God’s revelations, God
is most strict in reckoning. (3:19)
Contact Prayers (Salat)
The five daily Contact Prayers are very important aspects of Submission.
They are constant reminders for us of our Creator throughout the
day by bowing and prostrating before Him. God does
not need any of our prayers. It is we
who need these practices to redeem ourselves and to attain certainty.
Observing the contact prayers are among the traits of the believers.
They also enjoin their family to do the same, like Luqmaan did:
“O my son, you shall observe the Contact Prayers
(Salat). You shall advocate righteousness and forbid evil, and remain
steadfast in the face of adversity. These are the most honorable
traits.” (31:17)
Those who are too arrogant to worship God, the Most Gracious, are
the ones who refuse to prostrate before Him (25:60). However, they
suffer the consequences by losing their souls, or having shrunken
souls when they face God on the Day of judgment. Unfortunately,
they will not be able to prostrate before the Lord of the universe
then as they are required. They will have to run away from God to
Hell since they will not be able to withstand the light of God.
They will be in darkness there, and they will not be allowed to
borrow any light from the believers (57:13). This temporary world
is our only chance to nourish our soul in order for it to be saved
from the eternal retribution. If we can manage to be saved, even
barely, this will be the greatest triumph by God’s will. The
recompense for the righteous soul is beyond our imagination. That
is God’s promise and incredible mercy.
Every person tastes death, then you receive your
recompense on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever misses Hell, barely,
and makes it to Paradise, has attained a great triumph. The life
of this world is no more than an illusion. (3:185)
You have no idea how much joy and happiness are waiting
for you as a reward for your (righteous) works. (32:17)
The Contact Prayers must be observed at specific times during the
day (4:103):
The Dawn prayer must be observed before sunrise.
The Noon prayer is due when the sun declines from its highest
point at noon.
The Afternoon prayer can be observed from mid afternoon until
prior to sunset.
The Sunset prayer becomes due after sunset.
The night prayer can be observed after the twilight disappears
from the sky.
On Fridays, the Congregational Prayer (Salat Al-Jumu`ah) replaces
the noon prayer. A two-part khutbah (sermon) is followed by a prayer
of two units. The Friday prayer is obligatory for all believers,
men and women (62:9).
Units of Contact Prayers
There is no dispute concerning the number of units (rak`ahs) in
all five daily prayers enjoined by God for Abraham and his followers.
They are universally accepted to be 2, 4, 4, 3, and 4 units, respectively,
for the above prayers listed. These are considered as the obligatory
units ordained by God. Other additional units practiced by the traditional
Muslims are disputed and vary according to different sects, from
none to as many as 10 units per prayer. These extra prayers are
considered Sunnah, something that Prophet Muhammad was claimed to
have done. However, establishing religious rites that are not authorized
by God is a gross offense. Prophet Muhammad or any messenger of
God would never disobey God by adding or even slightly changing
anything that God had enjoined them to do. People who follow these
practices not only disobey God, but they also make the religion
difficult for themselves, and for their children. God tells us in
the Quran that He does not want hardship for us:
He has chosen you and placed no hardship on you in
practicing your religion.... (22:78)
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Contact Prayers (Salat)
Mathematical Confirmation
The total number of units of the five daily Salat prayers is 17:
Two units at dawn, four at noon, four in the afternoon, three at
sunset, and four at night. These practices were first given to Abraham,
and have been preserved since then by his followers, which include
Prophet Muhammad. The question often asked is how we can be sure
of that. God with His infinite mercy blessed our generation with
mathematical confirmations based on the number 19 that the units
of the Salat prayers are indeed preserved in accordance with His
will.
Fact 1. The units of daily Salat prayers consist
of 2, 4, 4, 3, and 4 units, a total of 17 units. The number 24434
is a multiple of 19:
2 4 4 3 4 = 19 x 1286
The digits of 1286 add up to 17, the total number of units prayed
each day (1+2+8+6 = 17).
Furthermore, the units of daily Salat prayers followed by the sequence
number of the prayer is also a multiple of 19:
2 1 4 2 4 3
3 4 4 5 = 19 x 112759655
Fact 2. The total number of units prayed each
day is 17. However, on Fridays the Congregational Prayer replaces
the noon prayer. This prayer has only two units instead of the usual
four units of noon prayer, because of the Friday sermon. Thus, the
total units prayed on Friday is 15. Now, let us take every day of
the week, from Saturday to Friday (assuming Friday being the last
day of the week), and write down the number of units prayed each
day. The resultant number is a multiple of 19:
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
17
17
17
17
17
17
15
= 19 x...
Fact 3. Let us insert the number of the day before
the units of prayer in each day. The resultant number is also a
multiple of 19:
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
1 17
2 17
3 17
4 17
5 17
6 17
7 15
= 19 x...
Fact 4. In above table, replace every 17 by 24434
which represents the individual units of daily prayers for Saturday
through Thursday, and replace 15 by 22434 which represents the individual
units of prayers for Friday. The resultant number is also a multiple
of 19:
Fact 5. The same as Fact 3, except take Friday
as the first day of the week, instead of the last day. The resultant
number is also a multiple of 19:
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
1 15
2 17
3 17
4 17
5 17
6 17
7 17
= 19 x...
Fact 6. The same as Fact 4, except again take
Friday as the first day of the week, instead of the last day. The
resultant number is also a multiple of 19:
You shall hold fast to the rope
of God, all of you, and do not be divided....
Let there be a community of you who invite to what is good,
advocate righteousness, and forbid evil. These are the winners. (3:103-104)
The 12th annual international conference of submitters was held from
the 29th to the 31st of August. This year the venue was Tucson and submitters
from all over the world congregated to have the opportunity and joy of
sharing and learning from each other. By God’s grace, there were
over 200 people, and many countries were represented.
The conference began with a wonderful Friday Congregational Prayer. The
subject of the sermon was about learning from our experiences. After the
sermon, the scheduled talks and presentations started. There were many
excellent and well prepared speakers. Some of these speakers were at the
conference for the first time. They shared
a lot of diversity and knowledge with everybody.
One of the recurring themes of the conference was unity and the care
we must exercise when interacting with our fellow submitters. This year
there were excellent talks, songs and poems from young submitters age
four and up, who delighted everyone with their heart-warming effort. Besides
the talks there were beautiful Quranic studies, recitations and songs
in praise of God. Overall it was a spiritually joyous and invigorating
experience, made possible by God’s Grace and the hard work put in
by the organizers.
As all things come to an end, so did this, with a beautiful group photo
session and the “looking forward” to another wonderful conference
next year, inshaAllah.
All praises be to God, Lord of the Universe.
Faiz Currim
God willing, we are hoping to put together
some booklets which will consist of collections of Quranic study lessons
and articles for our children. Two age groups are being considered, ages
5-10, and 10-15. However, we need the cooperation and input of all our
readers. We need some commitment from you, whether you have children in
those age groups or not.
The articles or lessons do not have to be long. They can be from a few
paragraphs to a couple of pages long. They can be on any subject that
will enlighten our children. They can be hand written, typed, or on a
computer disk. When you send in an article to us, we can either reorganize
it or keep it in the same format received, depending on the readability
of the article. We prefer it if we can take your contribution, and include
in the booklet without editing it. That saves us time, and also we can
keep the originality of your work.
God willing, if you send us any contribution, we will send you the booklet
free, when the booklet is published. Thus, if you send us multiple contributions,
you can get more free booklets. But seriously, without your help, we cannot
complete this project. Remember, it is our children who will soon shoulder
the responsibility of keeping and spreading the God’s message. Don’t
let time run out.
About this work
Kind
Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson