How to know the method of the Religious Practices of Islam from the Quran

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How to know the method of the religious practices of Islam from the Quran

When people begin to follow the religion of Islam (Submission), sometimes they ask where they can find the method of the religious practices in the Quran, namely, the Salat (Contact Prayers), Zakat (Obligatory Charity), Seyam (Fasting), and Hajj (Pilgrimage).

It is quite natural for people to ask about this because what they are looking for is a step-by-step description of each practice. For example, for the Salat, they are looking for a description like, “to open the prayer, raise your hands to the side of your head and say Allahu Akbar, then in the standing position, recite the Al-Fãtehah,” and so on.

God would not ask us to do something then leave us without telling us how to do it. Therefore, while the method of the practices is not described in the Quran like this, we can certainly know the exact method from the Quran by studying the information God has put in it.

Whatever we need to lead happy lives and redeem ourselves back to God, God has put in the Quran and has asked us not to seek any other source besides it (6:114-115, 18:27). God has designed the Quran in a most efficient manner making it easy for us to study and understand it. If we follow God’s command to study the Quran, He will guide us to the correct understanding. Those who are not satisfied with the Quran alone for their answers are divinely prevented from understanding it.

[Quran 3:7] He sent down to you this scripture, containing straightforward verses―which constitute the essence of the scripture―as well as multiple-meaning or allegorical verses. Those who harbor doubts in their hearts will pursue the multiple-meaning verses to create confusion, and to extricate a certain meaning. None knows the true meaning thereof except GOD and those well founded in knowledge. They say, "We believe in this―all of it comes from our Lord." Only those who possess intelligence will take heed.

[Quran 6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.

The method of the religious practices of Islam from the Quran

The religious practices or duties of Islam are gifts from God to help us grow our souls in huge leaps and bounds. These practices were originally taught to prophet Abraham, not prophet Muhammad. Islam is called “Millat Ibrahim” (The Religion of Abraham) throughout the Quran, and prophet Muhammad was asked to follow the religion of Abraham (16:123).

When the Quran was revealed to prophet Muhammad, the practices that God gave prophet Abraham were already in existence and known to the people.

When dealing with the religious practices, the Quran does not bring anything new. It only (1) confirms the existence of the practices prior to revelation of Quran and asks us to continue doing them; (2) corrects and restores those parts of the practices that had become corrupted or lost over time such as incorrect tone of voice (17:110); and (3) modifies a practice which was to allow sexual intercourse during the nights of fasting (2:187).

Since the Salat method is the most frequently asked about, here is a five-step process to know and confirm the method of the Salat from the Quran. You can use the same process to know about the Zakat, Seyam, and Hajj.

Divine Preservation

As mentioned earlier, when the Quran was revealed to prophet Muhammad, the practices that God gave to prophet Abraham were already in existence and known to the people. God had divinely preserved these practices, so the people had to only continue doing them as commanded by God in the Quran. They did not have to learn the practices anew.

God has continued His system of Divine Preservation when we see how Muslims all over the world follow the same steps of opening, standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting and closing the Salat.

Universal Acceptance

The number of units, physical positions, recitation of Al-Fãtehah in the standing position, words uttered during bowing, prostrating and sitting, are all universally accepted and followed steps of the prayer. Despite so many disputes and divisions among themselves about the religion otherwise, the Muslims are quite in agreement about these aspects of the prayer.

The only parts they differ over or are not sure about are:
(1) What to recite after the Al-Fãtehah in the standing position. (They recite various verses of the Quran which are not consistently the same recitations across all places.)
(2) How many extra prayers there are beyond the five daily prayers. (Those who believe that there are some additional prayers in the Salat format also agree that they are not obligatory. No one can categorically confirm how many of these supposedly “extra” prayers there are, and how many units there should be in them.)

All these areas of “dispute, uncertainty and non-universal practice,” are perfect indicators that they are not part of the Salat. Only the Al-Fãtehah must be recited in the standing position and there are no extra prayers beyond the five daily prayers which have 2-4-4-3-4 units in them respectively.

Distortions purified by Quran

With the core structure of the prayer preserved and universally accepted, all that remains is purification of the distortions that have entered the prayer over the centuries. The Quran corrects all distortions and restores the prayer to its original format. These are:

(1) Devotion to God alone: The foundation of Islam is to ‘Worship God Alone,’ and therefore, all worship must be devoted absolutely to God alone. You cannot mention or bear witness about any other entity besides God in the prayer (3:18, 39:45, 63:1-2, 72:18-19). Muslims presently mention the name of prophet Muhammad along with God in:
- the Shahadah (Declaration of Faith),
- the Azan (call to prayer), and,
- the Tashahhud (the sitting position in the Salat). Many also include the name of prophet Abraham and families of both prophets.
(2) Tone of Voice: The prayer must be recited in a moderate tone throughout, not completely silent as Muslims do in some parts of the prayer (17:110).
(3) Ablution (Wudu): There are strictly only four steps for the ablution, not more, not less (5:6).

Mathematical Confirmation

God has also provided physical, verifiable evidence of the Salat method. The Quran has an inbuilt mathematical code based on the number 19 that proves the existence of God, the perfect preservation of the Quran, and many other important matters concerning the human race. This phenomenon is a modern-day miracle of God which will keep manifesting itself till the end of the world as various mathematical proofs continue to be discovered from the Quran. The reference section at the end will tell you where you can find out more about the Mathematical Miracle of the Quran.

Confirmation by God’s Messenger of the Covenant

God has blessed the world immensely by sending a messenger in this era to purify, clarify and confirm several aspects of the religion. Rashad Khalifa, God’s Messenger of the Covenant, whose identity is also established from the Quran (3:81), has explained and confirmed the method of all the practices of Islam. Henceforth, all future generations can perform their religious duties correctly, completely free from doubt.

Here is a diagram of the five steps to know the method of the Salat from the Quran.

The false claim about the Hadith books

A claim often made by traditional Muslims is that the Salat method is described in the Hadith books. This is a false and misleading claim because the method is not described in them. The Hadith books are collections of multiple third-party reports of what prophet Muhammad apparently said or did 1400 years ago. The publications that describe the Salat method are only compilations of various Hadith references on Salat which make it appear that the method is described in the Hadith books.

As you will see from the following two Hadith examples, the descriptions are vague, and you will not find a series of step-by-step instructions of the Salat method anywhere in the Hadith books.

Narrated Abu Qilaba: “I saw Malik bin Huwairith saying Takbir and raising both his hands (on starting the prayers and raising his hands on bowing and also on raising his head after bowing.) Malik bin Huwairith said, “Allah’s Apostle did the same.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 12, Number 704. As found on prophetpbuh.com)

Narrated Malik: “We came to the Prophet and stayed with him for twenty days and nights. …. He also mentioned some other things which I have (remembered or) forgotten. The Prophet then added, "Pray as you have seen me praying and when it is the time for the prayer one of you should pronounce the Adhan and the oldest of you should lead the prayer.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume. 1, Book 11, Hadith 604. As found on muflihun.com)

So the question is, “Did the narrators of Hadith actually see prophet Muhammad pray?” And if they did, why didn’t they record the method so people would know it, instead of only reporting that the prophet said to pray as they saw him pray?

But the point is not about whether or not the Salat method is described in the Hadith. What the Muslims should be concerned about is that the Hadith books are illegal sources of religious information. They are Satanic innovations falsely attributed to prophet Muhammad about 200 years after his death. They are inconsistent, contradictory and can never be proven as authentic. Even if they could be proven, they cannot be used as a source of religious instruction, because they were never decreed by God or prophet Muhammad in the first place!

The only source God wants us to use for our religious instruction is His complete, perfect, and fully detailed book – the Quran (6:114-115, 18:27). Unfortunately, Muslims have abandoned the Quran in favor of Hadith and man-made laws never authorized by God, which is why there is so much chaos and misery across the Muslim world today (2:38-39).

When they claim that their source or starting point is the Quran but they need Hadith to explain it, how come the Hadith references never tell you which verses of the Quran they are supposed to be explaining!?

If only the Muslims would study the Quran, they would see that God has used the word Hadith (meaning narration or statement) many times in the Quran, and that the only Hadith He wants us to follow is His Hadith, which is the QURAN (12:111, 45:6-7, 77:50).

[Quran 7:185] Have they not looked at the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all the things GOD has created? Does it ever occur to them that the end of their life may be near? Which Hadith, beside this, do they believe in?

[Quran 39:23] GOD has revealed herein the best Hadith; a book that is consistent, and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). The skins of those who reverence their Lord cringe therefrom, then their skins and their hearts soften up for GOD's message. Such is GOD's guidance; He bestows it upon whomever He wills. As for those sent astray by GOD, nothing can guide them.

Interestingly, without realizing it, Muslims are already following God’s system of divinely preserved practices, but with some corruptions in them. To follow the practices correctly, they do not need to learn them all over again. They only need to remove the corruptions by following the Quran and the practices will be purified and restored to their original format.

So when people claim that you cannot know the method of the religious practices from the Quran, don’t let them catch you off guard with that. It is nothing but a clever trick by Satan who takes the chance that people will not counter check. Instead, you can ask people to show you the method of the practices in the Hadith or establish them from there. They will not be able to. Then, you show it to them from the Quran.

Important

This presentation is based on the explanations by Rashad Khalifa, God’s Messenger of the Covenant (3:81), about how to know the method of the religious practices of Islam from the Quran. It is recommended to read these explanations in Appendices 9 and 15 of Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Translated from the Original, by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D.

Appendix 9: Abraham: Original Messenger of Islam.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix9.html
Appendix 15: Religious Duties: A Gift From God.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix15.html

To ensure that you follow each step correctly, see Dr. Rashad Khalifa’s video demonstration of the Salat (Contact Prayers).
http://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/videos/

Additional References

Mathematical Miracle of the Quran.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/miracle/

Rashad Khalifa, God’s Messenger of the Covenant.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/submission/faq/messenger_of_covenant.html

Quran: The Final Testament, Authorized English Version, Translated from the Original, by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D.
(Read online or download.)
http://www.masjidtucson.org/quran/

Hadith & Sunnah: Satanic Innovations.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/submission/perspectives/hadith/

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This presentation contains images that were used under a Creative Commons License. Click here to see the full list of images and attributions: https://app.contentsamurai.com/cc/111637