Muhhamad and Islamic Salat

Upon receiving the first sacred revelation in year 610, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) embarked on a divine mission to preach his message. These revelations were spread out over a period of 22 years. During those 22 years, Islam started to unfold and develop according to the ongoing events and circumstances. Events such as the Year of Sadness, the Night of Ascension, the Hijrah in year 622, and the building of the first Mosque in Quba all have played a role in shaping the development of the Islamic religion and adding to its complexities. The gradual introduction of the five pillars of Islam, which serve as the cornerstone of the Islamic religion, was among those complexities. One of the main pillars is Salat (Muslim prayer). Salat is one of the pillars that require an external display of faith and submission to God. The current form of salat, which is five daily prayers, took shape in year 619, about 9 years after the first revelation, and its details were fine-tuned by year 622. This paper will attempt to deconstruct the development of salat and how it became more complex, albeit less tedious, over time.

The Salat, a central component of Islam, is a complex assembly of ritual movements and cleansing that allows the Muslim to express devotion and submission to God. The term “salat” itself is derived from an Aramaic word that means “bowing.” Before the establishment of Islam, the term generally referred to institutional prayers in churches and synagogues. Similarly, salat in Islam was also an outward expression of faith. The physical movements done in prayers which compromises of standing erect, bowing and prostrating oneself all serve to acknowledge the might and greatness of God and the dependence of the Muslim on Him . During the pr...

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... the truth from their Lord,” as opposed to the Hypocrites who were only externally Muslim, but were internally otherwise. Their doubt could be observed when some of the “Muslims” in Yathrib were unable to accept the change of qibla and claimed that Prophet Muhammad single-mindedly decided to change the qibla . Thus, the verse above shows a response from God towards the Hypocrites saying that it was His decision and that He is aware of what they do.

In conclusion, salat constantly developed ever since the beginning of the revelations and up until the Medinian period. It is seen how Islam started with only two obligatory prayers, a day prayer and a lengthy night prayer, before evolving to include five daily prayers. We also see how ablution, adhan, and qibla were all issues that were determined as Islam started to establish itself as a major religion in the region.