A Review of the Debate between Batalavi and Chakrhalavi — Page 2
2 2 A REVIEW OF THE DEBATE BETWEEN BAT A LAV I AND CHAKRH A LAV I considered sufficient what evidence from the Quran alone can be furnished to support that the obligatory morning prayer consists of two rak‘ a t, 1 maghrib [prayer] comprises three and the remain- ing three [prayers] compose of four rak‘ a t each. Although inherently flawed, this rebuttal was still overpow- ering and this is why ‘Abdull a h Sahib was unable to provide any satisfying reply and only responded with absurdities which are not even worth mentioning. However, the objection raised by Maulav i Muhammad H ussain Bat a lv i consequently forced ‘Abdull a h Sahib to invent a new form of s al a t 2 which was com- pletely incongruous with anything practiced by all the sects of Islam. He removed the atta h iyy a t , 3 dur u d 4 and other customary prayers of the Holy Prophet saw from the s al a t and only Quranic verses were incorporated in their stead. He further proposed numerous other innovations in the s al a t which need not be men- tioned here, and perhaps he even sought to ordain changes in the practices of the hajj and zakat. Is it true that the hadith are really as worthless and futile as Maulav i ‘Abdull a h Sahib suggests. God forbid, not at all. The fact of the matter is that of the two parties, both have verged on opposite extremes. Firstly, Maulav i Muhammad H ussain is correct in enunciating the argument that authentic hadith which can be traced back to the Holy Prophet saw cannot 1. A single complete cycle of a prayer. [Publisher] 2. The second pillar of Islam, s al a t refers to the obligatory Prayers required of Muslims five times a day. [Publisher] 3. A prayer recited in the sitting position of the s al a t. [Publisher] 4. To invoke blessings upon the Holy Prophet saw. [Publisher]