Of the five pillars of Islam, Salat (prayer) is unique in that it is the daily companion of the believer. It must be performed even in cases of complete immobility, and even when only able to perform Salat by mimicking the gestures with the movement of the eyelids. This underscores the importance and necessity of performing Salat.

But what makes salat such a unique pillar in the practices of worshipping Allah (SWT)? Because, first of all, Allah (PSL) says: “I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” ^{(Quran 51:56)}

There are five (5) daily Salat sequences: at dawn, shortly after the sun crosses the meridian, late in the afternoon, just after sunset, and finally after dusk. Regardless of the Salat sequence, the Rakats are arranged in pairs, and each pair of Rakats consists of the following genuflections:

First Rakat: standing, bowing, sitting up, prostrating, sitting, prostrating ( i.e., 6 genuflections )

Second Rakat: standing, bowing, rising, prostrating, sitting, prostrating, sitting ( i.e., 7 genuflections)

Therefore, a pair of Rakats (2 Rakats) comprises 13 genuflections. These genuflections are the Quranic DNA of Salat (prayer); this is the only description the Quran gives of it. For example: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those with him are firm against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah... ^(48:29)

Salat, the prayer, was revealed to the Prophet during the Night Journey, as recorded in the Quran: Surah 17 Al-Isra (The Night Journey) , 111 verses , Pre-Hijra, no. 50: “Glory be to Him Who took His servant [Muhammad] by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” ^(17:1)

Al-Isra' wa-l-Mi'raj is a personal miracle of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allah (SWT) bestowed upon him to reveal to him the wonders of the universe and the seven heavens. The daily prayers, originally fifty for the day and night, were reduced, by the grace of Allah (SWT), to five. This reduction, however, did not preserve the full value of the original fifty prayers.

The Quran only provides the basic elements of Salat: the genuflections (bowing and prostration); but it is the Sunnah (the prophetic tradition) that reveals the intricacies of prayer, rules, numbers, times…

Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, said: “When Allah prescribed the prayers, He fixed them at two rak'ahs (a complete cycle of 13 rak'ahs) for each set, both at home (in one's country of permanent residence) and while traveling. After the Hijra, 13 years after the beginning of the prophethood, the prayer performed while traveling remained unchanged (two rak'ahs); the prayer performed at home (in one's country of permanent residence) was increased by the number of its rak'ahs (four rak'ahs).” Only the Fajr and Maghrib prayers remained unchanged. (Sahih Bukhari hadith)

As with the Quran, the rituals of Salat, detailed below, have not changed since their revelation 1450 years ago!

Let's look at the totals for a day of Salat:

The number of Rakat during the five daily prayers (17) compared to the total number of genuflections (111) gives us:

Surah 17 Al-Isra (The Night Journey), which consists of 111 verses, is the surah of the revelation of the Prophet's miracle and of the Salat (prayer). Furthermore, its revelation number, No. 50, refers to the number of prayer sequences initially prescribed by Allah.

Surah 17 Al-ISRA (The Night Journey) , 111 verses, Pre-Hijra No. 50:

Thus, the surah begins with the mention of the Mosque , and at the end , verse 111 , continuing from verse 110, describes the Salat (prayer): [Say, "Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever name you call upon - to Him belong the most beautiful names. And do not recite your prayer aloud or recite it too quietly, but seek a middle way between the two."] ^[17:110 ] And say, "Praise be to Allah, who has not taken a son and has no partner in dominion and has not had a protector from humiliation." And glorify Him. ^[17:111 ]

The number of daily prayers (5) compared with the number of genuflections (111) leads us to:

Surah 5 Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread) is also about a miracle, the one that Allah (SWT) bestowed upon Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The story of this miracle, which gives its name to the surah, is revealed in detail from verse 111 to verse 115:

Surah 5 Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread), 120 verses, Post-Hijra No. 112

111. And when I revealed to the disciples, "Believe in Me and My Messenger (Jesus)," they said, "We believe, and bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]." 112. (Remember) when the disciples said, "O Jesus, son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us from heaven a table spread with food?" He said, "Rather, fear Allah, if you are believers." 113. They said, "We wish to eat from it and reassure our hearts and know that you have truly told us the truth and be among its witnesses." 114. Jesus, son of Mary, said, "O Allah, our Lord, send down to us from heaven a table spread with food as a festival for us, for the first of us and the last of us, and as a sign from You. And provide for us; You are the best of providers." “115. “Yes,” said Allah, “I will send it down upon you. But then, whoever among you disbelieves, I will punish him with a punishment I have not punished anyone else in the universe.”

The number of genuflections (111) compared with the number of daily prayers (5) leads us to:

Another observation is Surah 111 Al-Masad (The Fibers), which consists of… exactly 5 verses . This surah reveals the unfortunate fate awaiting the disbelievers upon their return to the hereafter, using the example of the worst among them, Abu Lahab:

Surah 111 Al-Masad (The Fibers), 5 verses, Pre-Hijra No. 6

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 1. May the two hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he himself perish; 2. His wealth will not avail him, nor what he has acquired; 3. He will be burned in a blazing Fire; 4. Likewise, his wife, the carrier of firewood; 5. Around her neck, a rope of fiber.

This verse, revealed very early in the prophethood, is a decisive miracle. Abu Lahab could have simply converted (even hypocritically) to deal a fatal blow to the revelation, which he did not do until his death.

A perpetual miracle of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) : The entirety of the daily prayers reminds us of their miraculous nature. Like the miracle of the "Table set" that nourished the bodies of the Apostles, prayer nourishes the soul of the Muslim. It is also a weapon against the enemies of Islam.

Above all, the Salat, when interpreted, reminds us of the divine origin of the Islamic religion and denounces the monstrosity of attributing a child to Allah in Surah 17, verse 111; and responds to this in Surah 5, verses 111-115 (Jesus is the Servant of Allah, and His miracles are from Allah). Furthermore, the Salat foretells the fate of the enemies of Islam in Surah 111 through five verses.

Salat, like the Quran, is an eternal miracle. We see that everything is interconnected between the legislation of Salat in the Sunnah and the genuflections (the Quranic identity of Salat). The miraculous encryption of Salat, in reference to the numbers of the Surahs and verses of the Book, Al-Kitab, which appeared after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), is a miracle of such complexity that it definitively excludes any human intervention in the writing and arrangement of the Quran.

The Muslim who performs Salat nourishes his soul and testifies for eternity that Islam and the Quran come from Allah, the One God of the first and the last of humankind. May Allah (SWT) forgive us and accept our repentance. Ameen!

Bilal At-Tawbah

Bakary Boloba COLY

Find us at www.at-tawbah.org