Salaat (Prayers) of
Moses, David & Jesus in the Bible!
By:
Shahid Bin Waheed شاهد بن
وحيد
بسم الله
الرحمن
الرحيم
الحمدلله
رب العالمين
والصلوة
والسلام على اشرف
الانبياء
وسيدالمرسلين
نبينا محمد صل
ا لله عليه
وعلى آله واصحابه
وازواجه
اجمعين -
امابعد
All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Sustainer of the Universe, and blessing and salutation to be the most distinguish of the Messengers and foremost among the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allaah be on him and on his wives, children and Companions.
Allaah
(SWT) decreed Salaat (Prayer) to every Prophet and
his followers similar to Muslims and/or in Islaam.
Every Prophet was prescribed a prayer to be recited in the Salaat.
In this article we will examine the evidence from the Bible, while establishing
that the Message of Allaah was same from Adam عليه السلام to Prophet Muhammad صلی
الله عليه
وسلم.
34:6 And the LORD
passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and
gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and
to the fourth generation.
34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
The
above verses from the book of Exodus tells us that when Moses climbed to Mount
Sinai to receive the Torah, he was also thought the above prayer to recited in
his Salaat and the Salaat
of his followers. We find the above description in Today’s redacted Bible.
Salaat of David: The entire book of Psalms is
a collection of prayers, but one particular prayer titled “A prayer of
David” that we
find in the chapter 86 of Psalms.
86:1 Bow down thine ear, O
LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
86:2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
86:3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee
daily.
86:4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my
soul.
86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive;
and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
86:6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my
supplications.
86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee:
for thou wilt answer me.
86:8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O
Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
86:9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and
worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things:
thou art God alone.
86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy
truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
86:12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify
thy name for evermore.
86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast
delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
86:14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men
have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious,
longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
86:16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy
servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
86:17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate
me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen
me, and comforted me.
As we can see that the above prayer also mentions the
praise and attributes of God, His Oneness, His worship, the desire of the
votary to be guided to the right path. This seems to be the Davidic version
of Surah Fatihah.
Salaat of Jesus: We find the prayer of Salaat of Jesus in the New Testament, Matthew 6:9-13 & Luke 11:2-4, where Jesus after telling
his disciples the etiquettes and manners of supplication and Salaat, teaches them this prayer:
6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors.
6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever. Amen.
|
011:002 |
And he said unto
them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. |
|
011:003 |
Give us day by
day our daily bread. |
|
011:004 |
And forgive us
our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us
not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. |
“Hallowed
be thy name” in the above prayer is praise
and adoration of God. “Thy
kingdom come” is
probably means the Day of Judgment, which has expressed in Qur’aanic
prayer as “The
Master of the Day of Judgment.” (Glorious Qur’aan 1:4) Since
the metaphorical language has been used in the above prayer, thus, “daily bread” means here the food for soul or the straight path, not
the literal meaning of the words used. “Debt” is the above prayer is referring
to discharging the duties and obligations, which have been made obligatory by
God upon human beings. “And
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” is similar to Islaamic prayer in
Surah 1:6-7!
6. Guide us to the
7. The Way of those on whom You have
bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the
Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians).
I documented the
above explanation for the purpose to educate the Muslims and non-Muslims alike,
that the prophetic tongues of Prophets like Moses, David and Jesus (PBUT) to
name few pronounced these prayers.
Times
of Salaat in other Religions!
We find
the different times of Salaat in other religions for
the performance of their worship. For example the Roman Catholic Christians
pray in the morning before sunrise, then in the evening. The Jews have prayers
at three times, as we read in the book of Daniel 6:10-13!
6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he
went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward
Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave
thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
6:11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication
before his God.
6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king
concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man
that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O
king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which altereth not.
6:13 Then answered they and said before the king, That
Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of
We find in the Psalms of David, specification of three times in Psalms 55:16-17, according to Islaamic
point of view these Salaat are of Maghrib,
Fajr and Zuhr!
55:16 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he
shall hear my voice.
Jesus emphasized even greater
importance to supplications and Salaat, as we read in
Luke 18:1!
18:1
And he spake a parable unto
them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
We find similar Salaat times as
those in the Jews from the actions of the disciples (of Jesus), beside some
extra ones also. We learn that they too had Salaat Zuhr (Noon) as mentioned in the Acts 10:9.
10:9 On the morrow, as they went on their
journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray
about the sixth hour:
We also find the Asr
Salaat in the Bible (New Testament) as we read in Acts 3:1.
3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into
the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
The Asr Salaat is again mentioned in Acts 10:30!
10:30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour;
and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me
in bright clothing,
Jesus is reported to have thought Isha
and/or Tahajjud prayer (Salaat) to one of his disciple while answering his
question. We read in Luke
11:1-5 the
following:
11:1
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he
ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John
also taught his disciples.
11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive
every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver
us from evil.
11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto
him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
We also know that at the time of his arrest, Jesus was
performing Isha (most likely since
there was no clock or time measuring device at that time) and/or Tahajjud Salaat
(Prayer) with his disciples, as we read in Luke 22:39-46!
22:39
And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the
mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.
22:40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them,
Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down,
and prayed,
22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless
not my will, but thine, be done.
22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from
heaven, strengthening him.
22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly:
and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
22:45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found
them sleeping for sorrow,
22:46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray,
lest ye enter into temptation.
We again find the mention of Jesus performing Fajr Salaat (Prayer) in the Bible
in Mark 1:35, which reads:
1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
In conclusion, we
learn that the timings of Salaat (Prayers) in Jewish
(redacted Old Testament) books and Christian (redacted New Testament) books are
same as of Islaamic Salaat
i.e., Fajr (Dawn Salaat), Zuhr (Noon Salaat),
Asr (Later afternoon) Maghrib (Evening/Dusk Salaat) and the Isha (night prayer) and/or Tahajjud prayer. Thus, we find evidence of
FIVE times Salaat (Prayers) in the Bible similar to Islaam. Glorious Qur’aan also tells us that Salaat was made obligated for previous nations/ followers
of previous Prophets.
Glorious
Qur’aan Surah Al-Imraan 3:81-85!
|
81 |
وَإِذْ
أَخَذَ
اللّهُ
مِيثَاقَ
النَّبِيِّيْنَ
لَمَا
آتَيْتُكُم
مِّن
كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ
ثُمَّ
جَاءكُمْ
رَسُولٌ
مُّصَدِّقٌ
لِّمَا
مَعَكُمْ
لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ
بِهِ وَلَتَنصُرُنَّهُ
قَالَ
أَأَقْرَرْتُمْ
وَأَخَذْتُمْ
عَلَى
ذَلِكُمْ
إِصْرِي
قَالُواْ أَقْرَرْنَا
قَالَ
فَاشْهَدُواْ
وَأَنَاْ مَعَكُم
مِّنَ
الشَّاهِدِينَ
|
|
82 |
فَمَن
تَوَلَّى
بَعْدَ
ذَلِكَ
فَأُوْلَـئِكَ
هُمُ
الْفَاسِقُونَ
|
|
83 |
أَفَغَيْرَ
دِينِ اللّهِ
يَبْغُونَ
وَلَهُ
أَسْلَمَ
مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضِ
طَوْعاً
وَكَرْهاً وَإِلَيْهِ
يُرْجَعُونَ
|
|
84 |
قُلْ
آمَنَّا
بِاللّهِ
وَمَا
أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا
وَمَا
أُنزِلَ
عَلَى
إِبْرَاهِيمَ
وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ
وَإِسْحَاقَ
وَيَعْقُوبَ
وَالأَسْبَاطِ
وَمَا أُوتِيَ
مُوسَى
وَعِيسَى
وَالنَّبِيُّونَ
مِن
رَّبِّهِمْ
لاَ
نُفَرِّقُ
بَيْنَ
أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ
وَنَحْنُ
لَهُ
مُسْلِمُونَ
|
|
85 |
وَمَن
يَبْتَغِ
غَيْرَ
الإِسْلاَمِ
دِيناً
فَلَن
يُقْبَلَ
مِنْهُ
وَهُوَ فِي
الآخِرَةِ
مِنَ
الْخَاسِرِينَ
|
81.
And (remember) when Allâh took the Covenant of the
Prophets, saying: "Take whatever I gave you from the Book and Hikmah (understanding of the Laws of Allâh, etc.), and afterwards there will come to you a
Messenger (Muhammad (SAW) confirming what is with you; you must, then, believe
in him and help him." Allâh said: "Do you
agree (to it) and will you take up My Covenant (which I conclude with
you)?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness;
and I am with you among the witnesses (for this)."
82. Then whoever turns away after this, they are
the Fâsiqűn (rebellious: those who turn
away from Allâh's Obedience).
83. Do they seek other than the religion of Allâh (the true Islâmic
Monotheism worshipping none but Allâh Alone), while
to Him submitted all creatures in the heavens and the earth, willingly or
unwillingly. And to Him shall they all be returned.
84. Say (O Muhammad (SAW): "We believe in Allâh and in what has been sent down to us, and what was
sent down to Ibrâhim (Abraham), Ismâ'il (Ishmael), Ishâque
(Isaac), Ya'qűb (Jacob) and Al-Asbât
[the twelve sons of Ya'qűb (Jacob)] and what was
given to Műsa (Moses), 'Iesa
(Jesus) and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between one
another among them and to Him (Allâh) we have submitted
(in Islâm)."
85. And whoever seeks a religion other than Islâm,
it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the
losers.
Sunday, April 03, 2005