Surah Al-Baqara: Verse 43 - وأقيموا الصلاة وآتوا الزكاة واركعوا... - English

And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship). (43)

In the last three verses and of these four, Allah reminds the Israelites of the blessings He has bestowed upon them, and invites them to Islam and to good deeds. The earlier three verses were concerned with the true faith and doctrines; the present verses speak of good deeds, mentioning only the most important of them. It was usually the love of money and power that made it difficult for the Jews, especially for their scholars, to accept Islam. The verses prescribe the remedy for the twin diseases - they should fortify themselves with Sabr صبر (patience) and Salah نماز (prayer).

"Patience" is a very weak translation of the Arabic word Sabr صبر ، which has three connotations: (a) bearing pain and misfortune patiently (b) restraining oneself from sin (c) being steadfast in obeying Allah.

Now, patience, in this wide sense, is the perfect remedy for the love of money. For, money cannot be an end in itself, but is sought only as a means of satisfying one's appetites; when a man has made a firm resolve not to follow his appetites like a slave, he will no longer need much money, nor will the love of money blind him to the distinction between his gain and loss. Similarly, Salah نماز is the remedy for ambition and the love of power. For, outwardly and inwardly both, Salah نماز involves the exercise of humility; naturally, the more one tries to perform it in the proper manner, the more it purifies him of the love of money and power, and of ambition and pride. These being the real substance of all spiritual disorder in man, once they are brought under control, it becomes easy for one to accept Islam and to be steadfast in one's faith.

Let us add that while patience (Sabr) requires only the restraining or giving up of excessive appetites and unnecessary desires, Salah, in addition to all this, further requires the performance of certain actions, and also a temporary renunciation of perfectly lawful desires and of many human needs which the Shari'ah allows one to fulfill, e.g., eating, drinking, speaking, walking etc. - and, at that, making such a renunciation five times during the day and the night regularly at fixed hours. Thus, Salah means performing certain prescribed actions and restraining oneself from all lawful or unlawful activities at fixed hours.

Once a man has decided to give up unnecessary desires, the instinctive urge itself loses its intensity in a few days. So, the exercise of patience is not, after all, so difficult. But offering Salah نماز entails submitting oneself to the conditions laid down by the Shari` ah, observing the fixed hours, and giving up the basic human activities and desires, all of which is quite exacting for the instinctive disposition of man. So, one may very well raise an objection here: for the purpose of making it easy for a man to accept Islam and to be steadfast in his faith, the Holy Qur'an prescribes Sabr صبر and Salah نماز ، but to use this remedy is in itself a difficult thing, specially the Salah and its restriction - now, how can this difficulty be overcome? The Holy Qur'an admits that performing Salah نماز regularly and steadfastly is, no doubt, exacting, and proceeds to show the way out of this impasse - Salah نماز is not a burden to the humble in heart.

To know the effectiveness of the remedy, we must know the disease, and find out why Salah نماز should be so burdensome. The human heart loves to roam about freely in the vast spaces of thought and fancy; all the organs of the human body being subservient to the heart, it requires them to be equally free. On the other hand, Salah نماز demands the renunciation of such freedom, - and prohibits eating, drinking, walking, talking etc. - a restriction which annoys the heart and is also painful for the human organs governed by it.

In short, Salah نماز is burdensome because the heart enjoys to keep the faculties of thought and imagination in a continuous motion. Motion being the disease, it can only be remedied by its opposite - restfulness. Hence, the Holy Qur'an prescribes Khushu-` (خشوع) a word which we have rendered into English by the phrase "humbleness in heart", but which actually signifies "the restfulness of the heart."

Now, the question arises as to how one can acquire this "restfulness of the heart." Everyone knows through his own experience that, if one deliberately tries to empty one's heart of all kinds of thoughts and fancies, the effort rarely succeeds. The only way to achieve it is that since the human mind cannot move in two directions simultaneously, one should make it absorb itself in one thought alone so that all other thoughts may disappear by themselves without any effort on one's part. So, having prescribed "the restfulness of the heart", the Holy Qur'an also prescribes a particular thought which will, if one absorbs oneself in it, drive away all other thoughts: once the movement of thought and fancy has been reduced to the restfulness of the heart, the performance of Salah نماز becomes easy; regularity in offering the ordained prayers gradually cures the disease of pride and ambition, and thus the way to the perfecting of one's faith grows smooth. Such is the well-ordered and beautifully integrated art of spiritual medicine that the Holy Qur'an has given us! 21

21. As against this stand the fanciful systems of thought - concentration, wearing a pseudo-mystical look and some-times an Eastern make-up but all spawned in the Angst-ridden West - things like Yoga and Transcendental Meditation, which serve only to derange an already disordered psyche.

Now, the thought in which one should immerse oneself in order to acquire "the restfulness of the heart" has been explained by the Holy Qur'an in describing "the humble in heart" - they are the people who bear in mind that they are to meet their Lord, when they shall receive the reward for their obedience, and also bear in mind that they are to return to Him, when they shall be required to present an account of their deeds. These twin thoughts produce hope and fear in the heart, and hope and fear are the best agents for inducing a man to devote himself to good deeds.

The prayer which the Holy Qur'an prescribes is not a mere contemplation or meditation. Al-Sala-h: الصلوة ، in the terminology of Shari'ah, is a definite form of ` Ibadah عبادت or worship, the mode of which is divinely ordained. As often as the Holy Qur'an insists on the performance of the Salah نماز ، it employs the word Igamah اِقامہ ، except in one or two instances. Lexically, the word means "making a thing straight, or keeping it firmly in its place." A tree or a wall or anything which is vertical and straight, usually lasts long in its place; so, the word also signifies "establishing a thing or making it perpetual." Thus, the conjunction of the two words, Salah نماز and Igamah اِقامہ ، in the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith signifies, not merely offering the prayer, but performing the five ordained prayers steadfastly in the prescribed form at the prescribed hours and fulfilling all the necessary conditions. The Holy Qur'an and the Hadith speak of the great rewards and blessings one can hope to receive for offering Salah نماز ، and of other benefits which flow from it, but all of them are tied up with Igamah اقامہ in the sense which we have just explained.

For example, the Holy Qur'an says: إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ‌: "The Salah نماز restrains one from indecency and evil." (29:45)

The prescribed prayer will bear these fruits only when one has been performing it in the full sense of Iqamah اقامہ . It follows from it that if one finds people who are quite regular in offering their prayers indulging in immodest or even evil activities, one should not have misgivings about the veracity of this verse, for these people have, no doubt, been praying, but not been observing the conditions of Iqamah اقامہ .

Verse 43 also speaks of paying Zakah, the prescribed alms. Now, lexically speaking, the Arabic word ; زَّكَاةَ : Zakah has two significations: (a) to purify (b) grow. Zakah is not a tax levied by the State or society, but, in the terminology of the Shari'ah, means that portion of one's belongings which is set apart and spent in total accord with the injunctions of the Shari'ah.

This verse is addressed to the Israelites, and does not by itself show that offering prayers and paying alms was obligatory for them before the days of Islam. But the following verse:

لَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّـهُ مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَ‌ائِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ‌ نَقِيبًا ۖ وَقَالَ اللَّـهُ إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ ۖ لَئِنْ أَقَمْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَيْتُمُ الزَّكَاةَ

Allah made a covenant with the Israelites and raised among them twelve chieftains. And Allah said, 'I am with you. Surely, if you perform Salah and pay Zakah. (5:12)

does show that the two things were obligatory for them, even if the external modes might have been different.

The verse proceeds to say: "Bow down with those who bow (in worship)." Lexically, the Arabic word Ruku رکوع ` means "to bow down", and may hence be applied even to prostrating oneself (Sajdah سجدہ), which is the ultimate form of bowing down. But in the terminology of the Shari'ah it pertains to the particular form of bowing down which has been prescribed for Salah.

One may well ask why this particular gesture has been chosen for a special mention from among the different gestures involved in the Salah نماز . We would reply that it is a metonymy for Salah, and a part has been made to stand for the whole - just as in verse 17:78: قُرْ‌آنَ الْفَجْرِ‌: "the recitation of the Qur'an in the morning" refers to the morning prayers, and on several occasions in some Hadith narrations the use of the word Sajdah سجدہ covers one set of movements (Rak'ah) in Salah نماز or even to the whole of it. Thus, the verse actually means: "Offer Salah نماز along with those who offer Salah نماز ."

Salah نماز with Jama’ ah: (congregation)

Then, there is a more comprehensive explanation for the specific reference to "bowing down" (Ruku` رکوع). The form of the ritual prayers ordained for the Israelites and others included prostrating oneself (Sajdah سجدہ), but not bowing down. This particular way of bowing down called Ruku رکوع ` is peculiar to the Islamic Salah نماز alone. Hence, Raki` in راکعین or those who bow down (in worship) are, obviously enough, the members of the Islamic Ummah, and the verse, in effect, asks the Israelites to accept Islam, and to offer their prayers along with the Muslims.

The command, أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ : "Be steadfast in Salaih", shows that Salah نماز is obligatory. The other command, وَارْ‌كَعُوا مَعَ الرَّ‌اكِعِينَ : "Bow down with those who bow (in worship) ", establishes that Salah is to be offered in the company of other Muslims (Jama` ah).

A very important question arises here - what is the degree of the obligation intended in this injunction? There is a difference of views among the Fuqaha’ (jurists) on this point. According to a large body of blessed Companions, their successors and of the jurists of the ummah, it is necessary (wajib واجب) to offer Salah نماز in a congregation, and it is a sin to give up the Jama` ah. Some of the blessed Companions have gone to the length of holding that it is not permissible to offer Salah نماز all by oneself without a proper excuse allowed by the Shari'ah. Verse 43, in its literal connotation, provides an argument in favour of this view. Moreover, certain hadith narrations too seem to suggest that the Jama` ah is necessary (Wajib واجب ). For example, a hadith reported by Abu Dawud (رح) says that for a man living near a mosque Salah is permissible only in the mosque.

According to another hadith reported from the blessed Companion Abu Hurayrah ؓ by Imam Muslim (رح) ، a Companion who was blind asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ for the permission to offer Salah نماز in his house, for there was no one to take him to the mosque and to bring him back. The Holy Prophet ﷺ allowed him to do so, but, as he was leaving, asked him if he could hear the call for the prayers in his house. He said that he could. The Holy Prophet ﷺ remarked: "In that case, you must come to the mosque. Another narration of the same hadith as reported by Abu Dawud (رح) adds that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: "Then, I see no room for making a concession in your case." Similarly. al-Qurtubi cites a hadith from the blessed Companion Ibn ` Abbas ؓ who reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ once said: من سمع الندا، فلم یجب فلا صلاة لہ الا من عذر "The man who hears the call for the prayers but does not go to the mosque for the Jam-a'ah, has not offered his prayers at all, except that he should have some valid excuse." On the basis of such ahadith, Companions like ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ and Aba Musa al-Ash` ari ؓ ، have ruled that if a man lives close enough to a mosque to hear the call for prayers and yet does not attend the Jama` ah without a valid excuse, his offering of the Salah نماز at home is not acceptable. (Let us explain that hearing the call refers to the call made by a man possessing an average voice, and not to that made by a man with an extraordinarily loud voice or broadcast by a loudspeaker). Presented this far were arguments advanced by our revered elders who consider that Salah نماز with is wajib واجب or necessary.

On the other hand, the majority of the blessed Companions, their successors and later jurists hold that the Jama` ah is a Sunnah which has been particularly emphasized (Mu'akkadah مؤَکَّدَہ), and that among the Sunnah of this kind it is, like the Sunnah offered in Fajr فجر Salah نماز ، the most emphasized so as to come very close to being necessary. On the basis of certain other verses and Hadith narrations, they interpret the imperative in "bow down with those who bow" as intended for emphasis only. As for the ahadith which appear to be saying that it is just not permissible for those who live near a mosque to offer their Salah نماز at home, they say that these only mean that this is not the perfect way to offer the prayers.

The most comprehensive explanation of the matter has been provided by the blessed Companion ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ ، as reported by Imam Muslim (رح) : "The man who wishes to meet Allah tomorrow (i.e. the Day of Judgment) as a true Muslim, should offer these (five) prayers regularly and steadfastly in a place where the call for the prayers is habitually made (i.e. a mosque), for Allah has laid down for your Prophet ﷺ certain ways of good guidance (Sunnan al-Huda), and offering the five prescribed prayers with the Jama` ah is one of them. If you offer these prayers at home," he added pointing towards a man, "as he does, keeping away from the Jama'ah, you will have forsaken the Sunnah of your Prophet ﷺ ، and if you forsake the Sunnah of your Prophet ﷺ ، you will go astray. The man who (performs the wudu' وضو or ablution and cleanses himself in the proper manner, and then) goes to a mosque, for every step that he takes, Allah forgives one of his sins, adds one good deed to his account and promotes him one rank higher. Our company was such that there was not a single man, except for people known for their hypocrisy who would offer their prayers at home away from the Jama-'ah, so much so that even when a man was ill or unable to walk, he was brought to the mosque with his hands resting on the shoulders of two men, and made to stand in the row of those who were praying."

This statement fully brings out the great importance of the Jama` ah, but at the same time defines its exact position by including it among the "ways of good guidance" (Sunan al-Huda) which are, in the terminology of the Fuqaha’ (jurists), called Al-Sunan al-Mu'akkadah سنن المؤکدہ (the Sunnah on which the greatest emphasis has been placed). Thus, if a man does not go to the mosque for Jama` ah and offers Salah نماز at home without having proper excuse like illness, his prayers will be valid, but he will have earned the displeasure of Allah for having given up a Sunnah which comes under the category of Mu'akkadah. If neglecting the Jama` ah becomes habitual for him, he will be committing a grave sin. If all the people living in the vicinity of a mosque leave it deserted and offer their prayers at home, they become, in the eyes of the Shari` ah, liable to punishment. Qadi ` Iyad says that if persuasion fails to mend such people, they must be challenged by a show of force. (Qurtubi)

(43)