Heart Soul – Episode 15

Welcome back to heart and soul on Qatar foundation radio you're joining me Lauren booth for today's dose of spiritual medicine. Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him called prayer, the pillar of religion. No fundamental element of Islam has been stressed as much as prayer in the Holy Quran, where Allah the Almighty mentions it in in more than 700 verses of the holy text. Among those that define its role in the religion of Islam. Our worship at fixed hours have been enjoyed on the believers be guardians of your prayers and of the mid most prayer. That's the midday prayer that prayer around midday will to explore the inner and outer dimensions of this essential act. We are

honored to welcome back Dr. Mahmoud chandia he senior lecturer and program leader of Islamic Studies at the University of Central Lancashire. Dr. chandia May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you. Thank you very much madam Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you and all your listeners to

Salaam and amin, Doctor, the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was known to yearn for the moment when prayer would be announced by his dear companion below. It was done in the same way that we here today that a van. But how did that call to prayer come about? Can we talk a little bit about that? And how is something that's so regularly impacts on the business of daily life? How is it a coolness of the eyes when we have to break off from our daily lives to do this? So let's discover if we can, how did the call to prayer come about? Well, of course, prior to Islam, other faiths had different ways of calling devotees to a devotional action.

across the world, even today, we will find some times in the United Kingdom, for example, where I embrace the church bell can be heard. And that can be seen as a form of calling the devotees to a devotional action towards the church and in many different countries, individuals have different practices. So the conscious debate of how can we alert the human being, that there are particular times in the Diary of a human being where the claim of the all superior beings is much greater than anything that the human being is may well be doing at that particular time. In Islam, the agreement came that the words of calling to Allah should be the actual words that are used to alert this

devotee, that it is a time for prayer with other actions and undertakings and responsibilities should stop because individual has a more higher responsibility to fulfill.

So we have within Islamic discourse, of course, the words of the Amazon that were agreed upon, and yes, across Muslim

lands, they may well be

a disagreement of how many times a particular phrase is to be chanted in calling the believer to prayer.

Whether one can properly Please announce the call to prayer referred to as an

announcement, or whether one needs to do it within the confines of the masjid without disturbing the neighborhood.

So for the United Kingdom, for example, some local authorities have allowed the words of the call to prayer, which will probably take three to four minutes to complete, to be

publicized through a loudspeaker system during daylight hours, and other local authorities have not allowed this.

So the words of the oven and actually incorporating a reminder of that Allah is the Greatest and given that the call is unknown.

As the greatest anything else and everything else that the human being at that particular time that may be engaged in, needs to stop, because a superior being who has more claim than anybody, by virtue of being the Creator is calling you. So the words of the restaurant for example, Allahu Allahu Akbar, which is to repeatedly said, Allah is the Greatest Allah is the Greatest, absolute affirmation that does not entertain any doubt at all. And the greatest is the superlative form, in the Arabic language, does not entertain any other notion of any other thing being anywhere in Patna

and the xeno, the caller will then further go on to say, I testify

that there is no doubt it worthy of worship, and Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the Messenger of Allah. So the person calling others

to prayer is affirming his own testimony, Shahada at that particular time, and calling everybody to come to prayer, and praise and described come to success. Success, of course, is not only important success, it is eternal success. And coming to success, as you quite rightly alluded to earlier on, that

is individual, through engaging in this

form of spiritual meditation.

Where the intellect where the soul by the body

combines to unite in the worship of Allah subhanho wa Taala Mashallah, I wanted to add to this, that the van is being heard by people of all different communities across the Middle East across Malaysia right now. And to some people it when you don't know the words, it sounds like beautiful music, but it's always very moving. There are many travelers to Muslim lands, who have been brought to Islam because of that, that incredible call and it's beautiful to know the meanings now as well that come to success. Higher, less Salah come to eternal success, and Allahu Akbar, not being not being as it's been misused for to introduce a violent purpose. It's not that it is, it is a reminder that God

is greater than what you're doing now. Take that break, put everything all the worldly stuff that you're doing, it's unimportant come and praise God and it is praising God, isn't it because there is a confusion I think, between this understanding of what the word Salah means because orientalist perhaps have translated it as prayer. Can you can you just take us down down that road a second? Well, literally the word Salah in the Arabic language would refer to supplication and the Azzam or the prayer is a form of supplication. And what is devotee?

chance during the

words of the prayer or the Asana, for example,

is a form of supplication and seeking atonement for one's misgivings and shortcomings. So, Allah, Allahu Akbar, allies, the greatest allies the greatest, so there's a glorification of Allah subhanho wa Taala, the most high the most majestic, and other forms that I testify that there is no worthy of wooden, non worthy of worship except Allah. And Muhammad, peace be upon him is his messenger.

The this then goes on to come to prayer come to success. And in the morning prayer, of course, there'll be a reminder of prayer is better than sleep

to hide them in a note, and the oven is completed by once again, reaffirming allies, the greatest and most the greatest there is no god except

now, across the Middle East, so for example, individuals who may well have traveled to Turkey, or Dubai, or Qatar, for example, may well hear the alarm across the loudspeakers chanted out through minarets and the world may stop for them as well. And yes, it may will appear to be

musical notes

or chants that have some kind of a rhythmic pros to it. And we will be providing a very spiritual enlightenment. For the Muslim mind. Of course, the word of Allah does not

Go without having an impact.

The word ally itself is a powerful word. And the idea that coming to prayer is coming to success. And whereas across the Middle East, people may stop their businesses, stop their classes, stop the journeys to shopping or whatever, wherever they may will be in the nearest locality, the nearest place of prayer Masjid, they will stop and go and fulfill their duty to perform the prayer. Because they have reminded that is no excuse that I, I forgot.

Or I was diverted to other things. There is a constant reminder that this is a duty upon the individual of a mature age that needs refilling. Thank you, Chef, we're going to take a break and consider your beautiful guidance and we'll be back in a moment after this reminder from a beloved regular visitor to Qatar, Mufti menk. Let's look from a purely worldly aspect. How does Allah bless you? How is Salah blessing you from a worldly aspect. Now if you go to the worldly benefit, Salah is spaced out in such a beautiful way. Such a beautiful way one early in the morning just before the sun rises. So you are up as a Muslim you are up. The non Muslim doctors tell you Early to bed early

to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. That's an English saying. So we are taught Early to bed and early to rise is your duty as a Muslim. Allah automatically wants to make you healthy, wealthy and wise. sovann Allah for free. If you are going to live Islam, what time will you get up? Can you be a person who's going to get up 11 in the morning when everyone's already at work? No, if you're a Muslim, one of the blessings of Salah is you're up on time. When you're up on time you get your children up on time Mashallah you read your fragile Salah you might sit for a while on your Quran you might say a few good words to your family members. And then you probably will have

breakfast together something light your tea whatever you have together. Today the world is weeping and crying because families are disintegrating. Everyone is on his own computer locked in his own room. No one talks to each other father goes to work every morning, mother's gone somewhere else. Children gone to school and you know the house is now split. You're a Muslim. You get up early Mashallah you spend the beginning of the day with Allah and then with your family. You've had the cup of tea, even if it took you five minutes. The blessing of Salah is you will see your children how are you my darling? How are you doing my little boy, my little daughter, I really love you.

Today you're going make a do out for me. Let me make a do out for you. This is a beautiful environment in a Muslim home which is lost in a lot of homes. It's lost. Our children are brought up by the television and the computer because we don't have time for them. One meal with your child is priceless. People really are suffering because they don't spend time with their children so the children don't know what's happening in the world. But you get up in the morning in Sharla one of the blessings of Salah you will see your children off inshallah whether they go to school and whatever happens what time is salado just after the center, you know, just after the zenith when the

sun is right at the top just after he tells off his Salah.

Amazing how the world has kept that time as lunch hour. Have you noticed that lunch hour. So people say when is lunch hour you say similar to the time of amazing look at a Muslim Allah did not inconvenience you from the morning like up to that time there are some voluntary prayers but there are no compulsory prayers. So when you get to Allah has meaning when you get to a higher level that Allah would like you you know to achieve more and more you can offer voluntary prayers. But if you have not yet got to that level, at least you know that you know what it is now midday. Let me do something What do you do? You make Hulu Hulu is ablution this ablution with water. What does it do

for you it Your face is washed, your hands are washed, your feet are washed, you're fresh, you have wiped your head and so on. You're feeling good. Let medically is proven to rejuvenate the individual at midday, just like it does at any other time. rejuvenate you, you're woken up, you're refreshed again. Amazing. you've washed your face with cold water. We are looking at health, blessings of solace.

You're listening to heart and soul on Qatar foundation radio with me Lauren booth sharing these gems of knowledge with us today is Dr. chandia. from the United Kingdom, Saudi come share what

we're talking about Salah, this prayer, the submission today this coming to success, this leaving aside of worldly, we say an Arabic dunya affairs. And I wonder how that breaks into our lives practically people who are not following the Muslim faith, who follow other traditions must watch. And it can seem quite amazing when you go to say, Saudi, and you'll see a market stall or indeed a business in a shopping mall, shut up, locked up. And they can do that five times a day. Doctor, we all have diaries these days because we're so busy with our physical lives. We have expectations of others, we've placed those upon ourselves without reason yet prayer. The pillar that holds our

spiritual lives together, is often put on our B list as less important, a non urgent activity that's left or you know, you know, May Allah forgive us if we have a fail forgotten? How do we overcome the contemporary challenges and adhere to punctuality? How do Muslims do this?

Well, the prayer itself, the Koran reminds the Muslim, that the prayer is subject to fixed hours. And these fixed hours means that there are certain parameters of time within which the prayer needs to be performed. If that particular parameter of time has Latin, the devotee still needs to make up that shortfall of prayer, that duty will always hang on his or her head to perform. But the time the prayer itself is a very good lesson in time management, and disciplining oneself to time. So you reference to being put on to the B list. It's a question of priorities. We are constantly challenged by managing different priorities. What is the priority here? Is the priority my daily routine of

mundane activities, whether it be attending work, school, college, undertaking, undertaking any other normal day to day life responsibilities and priority? Or is it my priority of working myself up to meeting my Creator, and meeting him in a sense, where I have fulfilled my duties that were upon me, upon my shoulders, and I need to bear that responsibility to so this is first and foremost a mindset issue of how do we manage different sets of priorities, and what is the priority? This is one concept that we need to understand. The prayer punctuates the day, at different times, early morning, midday, early evening, late evening, and at night, at different times, is a constant

reminders, five reminders a day that this human being has of time management, of a constant reminder of accountability in front of the Creator. And once this individual is prepared, by undertaking ablution and prepared to stand in front of his or her creator, when realizes the idea that the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him has said is the coolness of a believers eyes. He says coolness of my eyes and this is an engagement, spiritual engagement with the Creator, where the human beings actually reciting the words of the Creator in front of the Creator. This is this spiritual bonding. So it's important to understand that the time itself and nowadays people pay

1000s of pounds and dollars

to learn how to manage time. The prayer itself provides an absolute wonderful lesson of time management. It also provides a very good lesson in disciplining oneself. According to time, sleeping pattern, waking up, early morning, and in the United Kingdom. And northern countries, it can be challenging to wake up early morning. So for example, the morning prayer fudger at the moment is purposeful because sunrise is round about five o'clock, that

can be challenging to wake up. Given that the night prayer will be about half past 10 moving on to 11 o'clock. So the night is small, short.

Nevertheless, this driving force of time management of standing in front of the Creator pleasing once creator is driving this individual to break the day and fulfill this religious requirement. Thank you, Chef. And there's one element that we haven't spoken about yet chef. And it's to do with the togetherness, this unity in the lines these ranks that Allah subhanaw taala has talked about unite ourselves stand in ranks of the Prophet peace be upon him said don't leave any space between your shoulders, and the poor man next to the wealthy man, in brief share, why is this so fundamentally important? If we go back to pre Islamic times, where the Middle East was an example of

perhaps the old and concept old concept of the Wild West, that everybody was at the throat of the other person, the prayer established very early on, in the development of Muslim society, a sense of togetherness and unity, because five times a day, a Muslim brother, a Muslim sister, we're coming together in roles in front of their Creator, and the most able to lead the prayers would lead the prayer. This did not differentiate between your accent, your ability to be more eloquent, your ability to express your affluence, or your inability to express your affluence. It was not a question of rich and poor. It was not a question of who had the best clothes who did not have the

best clothes in front of your Creator. The lesson was of equality. Within this diversity, everybody is equal, except the one who is higher in spiritual rank five times a day, this notion of equality, unity, togetherness, cohesiveness,

one cohesive body, across the globe, was instilled and imbued within the Muslim community very early on. And this is one of the ways how the Prophet peace, be upon him change a very disunited fragmented Middle East, into a very united, cohesive

Middle East within the 23 year period, lunar period of his prophecy, to saccular. Her share has been an absolute honor speaking to you may Allah subhanaw taala counters amongst those who remember him often and that will be remembered in a greater gathering in the heavenly realm. The producer for this series is a have a chef you've been listening to heart and soul until tomorrow Assalamu alaikum