Understanding Salat — Page 36
Understanding S al A t 36 worship of Allah. In this context, inn ī wajjahtu is as a juxta- position and has the meaning of, ‘as for me, I have turned. ’ The emphasis in the words inn ī [surely I] have an important significance in this context. However, when we recite this verse in S al a t , we are not contrasting ourselves against anyone. Rather, we are saying this verse as an independent statement. To say ‘as for me, I have turned’ does not have the same purpose in an independ- ent statement. Placing extra emphasis on ‘I’ does not carry the significance that it does in the context of contrasting Hadrat Ibrāhīm as with the idolaters. For this reason, rather than start with inn ī [surely I], we start with wajjahtu [I have turned]. Since the words inn ī are at the beginning of the verse, so starting from wajjahtu does not change any sen- tence in the Holy Quran. Rather, this practice of the Holy Prophet sas reveals another meaning of this verse. Also, when the Holy Prophet sas would say this verse as Niyyah for S al a t , he would do so after saying All ā hu Akbar. ( Ab u D a w u d, Book 2, Chapter 272, Tirmidh ī , Book 42, Chapter 32, Nas aī , Book 11, Chapter 17)