Why do we pray five times each day?
Q: I read in the Qur'aan that a man
should pray three times: before sunrise, after sunset and in the
middle of the day. So why do we pray five times? I hope that you
will not give me the story that 50,000 prayers were enjoined then
it was reduced to five. I want a convincing answer.
A: Praise be to Allaah.
1 - What is mentioned in the question about the
number of prayers is mistaken. It was 50 then it was altered to 5
prayers, a favour from the Lord of the Worlds to the Muslims.
2 - The rules of sharee'ah may be divided into two
categories: those which may be understood on a rational basis; and
those which are purely worship, the wisdom behind which is
concealed from us and is not mentioned in either the Qur'aan or the
Sunnah.
Examples of the first include: the prohibition on alcohol and
gambling. Allaah has told us the reason why they are forbidden,
which is:
"Shaytaan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between
you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder
you from the remembrance of Allaah and from As‑Salaah (the prayer).
So, will you not then abstain?" [al-Maa'idah 5:91].
{إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَن
يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاء فِي الْخَمْرِ
وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلاَةِ
فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّنتَهُونَ}
Transliteration: 'Innamā Yurīdu Ash-Shayţānu 'An Yūqi`a Baynakumu
Al-`Adāwata Wa Al-Baghđā'a Fī Al-Khamri Wa Al-Maysiri Wa Yaşuddakum
`An Dhikri Allāhi Wa `Ani Aş-Şalāati Fahal 'Antum Muntahūna
And there are other similar rulings.
Examples of the second kind include offering Zuhr prayer when the
sun has passed its zenith, circumambulating the Ka'bah with it on
one's left (i.e., anticlockwise), the nisaab of gold being a
quarter of ten percent; Maghrib prayer being three rak'ahs, and
many other such rulings.
What is mentioned in the question falls into this second category,
which is things for which we do not know the reason from the
Qur'aan or Sunnah, so we have to submit to the command of Allaah.
This applies to all such rulings.
The Muslim has to accept the things for which Allaah has not
explained the reason, and say as the believers say: "We hear and we
obey." He should not be like the Children of Israel who said: "We
hear but we disobey."
Accepting what Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "He
[Allaah] cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will
be questioned" [al-Anbiya' 21:23], {لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ وَهُمْ
يُسْأَلُونَ}, Transliteration: Lā Yus'alu `Ammā Yaf`alu Wa
Hum Yus'alūna , is better for the believer in his religious and
worldly affairs, for he is a slave who has a Lord, and the slave
has no right to ask his Lord why He enjoined something. Rather he
has to submit to His command. If he tells us why, we should do it,
and if He does not tell us why, we should still do it.
3 - In al-Mawsoo'ah
al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah (1/49-51) there is a useful
discussion which we will quote here:
With regard to understanding the reasons why things have been
prescribed, we may divide the issues of fiqh into two
categories:
1 - Rulings whose wisdom may be understood on a rational basis,
either because the reason is stated in the texts, or because it is
easy to work out.
Such rulings are the majority of those that Allaah has prescribed,
such as enjoining prayer, zakaah, fasting and Hajj in general, and
such as enjoining the mahr (dowry) in marriage, 'iddah (waiting
period) following divorce or widowhood, spending on one's wife,
children and relatives, divorce when married life becomes
unbearable, and many other such issues of fiqh.
2 - Ruling which are enjoined on us as a kind of pure worship.
These are rulings in which the connection between the ruling and
the action is not clear, such as the number of prayers, the number
of rak'ahs and most of the actions of Hajj. By the mercy of Allaah,
such rulings are few in relation to the rulings the wisdom behind
which may be rationally understood. These rulings are prescribed as
a test to demonstrate whether a person is a true believer. It
should also be noted that sharee'ah - both general principles and
minor details - does not prescribe anything that contradict common
sense, but it may prescribe something the reason for which cannot
be understood. There is a big difference between the two. If a
person is rationally convinced that Allaah exists and that He is
wise, and that He alone deserves to be acknowledged as Lord, and he
is rationally convinced that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is a true Prophet, then he affirms that Allaah
is the Sovereign and the Lord, and that he is His slave. Then if he
is commanded to do something or is forbidden to do something, and
he then says, "I will not follow this ruling until I know the
reason behind this command or prohibition," then he has proven
himself to be false in his claim to be a believer in Allaah and His
Messenger. The human mind has a limit beyond which it cannot
go.
The one who rebels against the rulings of Allaah that have to do
with rituals is like a sick person who goes to a trustworthy doctor
who prescribes various kinds of medicine for him, some to be taken
before eating, some to be taken during the meal and some to be
taken afterwards, in various amounts, and he says to the doctor: I
will not take your medicine until you explain to me the reason why
this one should be taken before eating and this one afterwards, and
this one during the meal, and why are they are varying amounts,
some small and some big? Does this patient really trust his doctor?
The same may be said of a person who claims to believe in Allaah
and His Messenger, then he rebels against the rulings the wisdom
behind which he does not understand. The true believer, if he is
commanded to something or forbidden to do something, says, "I hear
and I obey," especially when we have explained that there are no
rulings that can be rejected on the basis of reason. Not knowing
something does not indicate that it is not true. How many rulings
are there, the reason for which has been concealed from us in the
past, then we discovered that there is great wisdom behind them?
The reason why pork is forbidden was unknown to many people, then
we found out that it carries germs and disease and other bad
things, and Allaah wanted to protect the Muslim society against
them. The same may be said concerning the command to wash vessels
that have been licked by a dog seven times, one of which should be
with earth… and other rulings the wisdom behind which may be
discovered one day even though it is hidden from us now.
And Allaah knows best.
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