The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 283
VIII - Expansion of Preaching 283 begun. As such, we find that in the early era of Islām, the Holy Prophet sa and his companions would offer their Ṣalāt secretly in the valleys of Makkah, in pairs of one or two. However, the systematic beginning of the Ṣalāt began after the Mi‘rāj , and from that time the very first and most significant pillar of Islāmic worship was established in its current form. In other words: 1. Fajr prayer at dawn, but just prior to sunrise 2. Ẓuhr prayer after the sun begins to leave its zenith, but prior to sunset 3. ‘Aṣr prayer after the sun has left its zenith, but before the light begins to dispel 4. Maghrib prayer after the sun has set, but prior to the vanishing of the horizon 5. ‘Ishā’ prayer after the horizon has vanished, but prior to midnight Although the Holy Qur’ān has only briefly alluded to the exact timings of these compulsory prayers, 1 elaborate details of their appointed time can be found in Ḥadīth. It is mentioned that after the Mi‘rāj , Gabriel as came to the Holy Prophet sa and elaborately explained the timings of these five compulsory prayers. 2 The physical form and figure of the Islāmic prayers established by divine command begins in a standing position, where the worshipper folds his hands at the breast, and stands before God in respect. After this is the bowing position, which is the second level of God’s greatness and man’s humility, where the worshipper leaves the standing position and humbly bows before his creator and master. The third position is that of prostration, which proceeds after an intermediate standing position, where the worshipper falling to the ground, places his forehead before God in a state of extreme humility and meekness. Since this is a state of extreme humility and devotion, it is repeated twice after an interval, and this completes one Rak‘at 3 of the Ṣalāt. After this the second, third and fourth Rak‘at are offered in the same manner. At the end, the worshipper sits in a kneeling position on the back of his heels, which is like the position of an intimate and satisfied courtier, and this brings the prayer to its completion. In every position of the Ṣalāt , in other words, during the standing, bowing, prostration and sitting position, separate words, which are in 1 Banī Isrā’īl (17:79) 2 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Mawāqītiṣ-Ṣalāt, Bābu Mawāqītiṣ-Ṣalāti wa Faḍlihā, Ḥadīth No. 521 3 One cycle of the prayer (Publishers)