Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 217
— Part II 212 down becomes the central feature of worship while in others, complete prostration with the forehead touching the ground is the ultimate homage paid to God. In Islamic worship you cannot fail to notice that Islam combines all these features in its comprehensive style so that every religion is partially represented. Every section of society and every condition of man is taken into consideration in the Islamic injunction of prayer. Healthy adult men, who live near a mosque, are required to attend the congregational prayers five times a day. Now the times fixed for each of these prayers are such that generally they do not interfere with one’s daily life. The Z uhr prayer, for example, can be offered during the lunch break and if a mosque happens to be close by, it should not be difficult to attend it at the time of the congregational prayer. The remaining four prayers are offered at times when people are generally free from their worldly obligations. However, there are cases where a person’s professional obligations prevent him from going to the mosque for each prayer. Farmers, for example, start work long before dawn and shepherds take their herd far out into the pastures. It would be difficult for such people to leave their work and go looking for nearby mosques. They are allowed, therefore, to offer their prayers in whichever location they encounter the prayer time. This permission does not comply only with the dictates of justice, it moves a step forward and enters the area of benevolence.