"And certainly have We explained for
mankind, in this very Qur'aan, models of every circumstance.
Most of mankind then have been too haughty to respond thereto except in
disbelief." [Q: 17.89] This and similar other Verses in the Qur'aan
tell us that it contains examples for every circumstance/situation that
we face
in this life. These models/examples are explained therein for guiding
our actions in those circumstances. And the Verse emphatically
asserts that the necessary explanation is contained 'in this Qur'aan'
itself and nowhere else. This should suffice for us to know
that Salaat timings are explained in the Qur'aan itself.
One of the repeated and binding directives in the Qur'aan is: aqueemis
salaat
(regulate prayer)! Regulating prayers, inter alia, implies offering the
prayers at fixed times.
Now let us examine this aspect of the prescribed salaat (herein
after referred to as the Prayers): whether the fixed timings therefor
are clearly mentioned in the Qur'aan, and if so, what those timings are.
The timings for the Prayers are
generally considered to be given in the Qur'aanic Verses 11.114, 17.78,
24.58, 2.238, 30.17-18 and
20.130.
In Verses 20.130 and 30.17-18, the word salaat is not mentioned
at all. All that these two verses tell the believers is that they
should remember Allah and glorify Him at all times of the day and the
night, when they are awake and not sleeping. This, the believers should
do, whether while offering the ritual Prayers or while doing any mundane
work. The obvious purpose is to keep the minds of the believers riveted
to Allah, and to Allah alone, while they are in the process of offering
the ritual Prayers, and to prevent them from going astray while engaged
in doing some worldly work. It is while doing the mundane work that the
believers tend to forget Allah and the Satan manoeuvres to get them
astray then. These Verses therefore cannot be considered as prescribing
the
specific timings for the Prayers. The Qur'aanic Verses are divine and
therefore ought to be perfect. The timings given in these verses are
too general and vague to be the perfect, divinely prescribed fixed
timings for the Prayers. It is the wrong human interpretation of these
Verses - as indicating the timings for the Prayers - that is
responsible
for attribution of vagueness (nauzubillah) to the divine
Qur'aanic
Verses.
Verse 24.58 does mention the words salaat-il-fajr and salaat-il-ishaa.
But the qualifying words fajr and ishaa are not clearly
defined here to give their exact time-frame. The reference to the two
words in this Verse is for the purpose only of indicating times of
privacy for adults - before the fajr (morning) Prayer and after
the ishaa (evening) Prayer. Giving the exact time-frame for the
two Prayers was not the intention. The time-frame, obviously, is given
elsewhere in the Qur'aan.
Of the three remaining Verses quoted above, the
earliest, in chronological order of revelation, is 17.78. It says,
"Regulate the Prayer for setting of the sun to darkness of night and
recite the
Qur'aan at dawn. Indeed, recitation of the Qur'aan at dawn is a thing
witnessed." This is the first divine Order in the Qur'aan for
regulation of the Prayers. From this it appears that this evening
Prayer was the
first of the daily Prayers to be divinely ordained for the believers. And
it gives the exact time-frame for the
evening Prayer, viz., the dusk before nightfall. Like some other
directives in the Qur'aan (prohibition of intoxicating
drinks, prohibition of Ar-Riba etc.), the directives regarding
the Prayers are ordained by the Kind and Understanding Lord gradually
and step by step so that the implementation thereof doesn't become a
burden on His creatures, the human beings. Along with this evening
Prayer, the other thing ordained by this Verse is the recitation of the
Qur'aan at dawn. At that time, apparently, the Dawn Prayer was yet to
be prescribed.
The next Verse revealed in chronological order, specifically on the
subject of salaat timings, is 11.114: "And regulate the Prayer
at the two ends of the Day and nearness to the Night. Indeed, the good
deeds dispel the bad deeds. That is a reminder to those who remember."
This Verse, in addition to confirming the dusk Prayer prescribed in
Verse 17.78, prescribes the dawn Prayer as well. The phrase 'at
the two ends of the Day and nearness to the Night' effectively covers
both the periods of the dawn and the dusk.
Then comes, in chronological order, Verse 2.238: "Guard the Prayers and
the Middle Prayer. And stand devoutly for Allah!" During the initial
stages of my studies of the Qur'aan, it made me wonder as to why the
Perfect Lord had to mention the 'Middle Prayer' separately in that
Verse. Wouldn't 'Guard the Prayers' cover the 'Middle Prayer' too? But
then it dawned on me that Verses revealed prior to 2.238 had made no
mention of this 'Middle Prayer'. The earlier Verses had prescribed and
referred to only two Prayers, viz., those to be offered during the dawn
period and during the dusk period. Now this Verse 2.238 refers to those
two Prayers prescribed earlier, and it also prescribes a third Prayer -
the Middle Prayer. The Middle Prayer had therefore to be mentioned
separately. The time range for this Middle Prayer, obviously, falls
exactly in between the period of the dawn and the period of the dusk.
Since night is divinely earmarked for the rest of the human mind and
body, the Middle Prayer has to be during daytime. It may conveniently
be called the Mid-day Prayer - corresponding to the Zuhr or the
Jumua Prayers.
Except for the three above mentioned timings, I find no other
time-ranges specifically prescribed in the Qur'aan for the Prayers. The
salaat-il-ishaa mentioned in Verse
24.58 has got to be the Evening (Dusk) Prayer prescribed in Verses
17.78 and 11.114. No time-range in the night has been divinely
prescribed for the Prayers. What was prescribed in Verse 17.79 (without
any specific time range) was optional and specifically for the Prophet
(peace be upon him).
Mohammad Shafi
islam-n-interest.com
Reference: SALAAT IN THE QURAAN
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