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FAREWELL POSTINGS
Pray for Me if You Want. Just Don’t Make It a Production
December 8, 2024
While I don’t believe there is a Paradise and a god who decides who gets in and who doesn’t, I have no objections to someone praying that I be let in. It shows they care and for that I am grateful.
Muhammad would do away with inaudible prayers of the type that were subdued, unchoreographed and uncoerced one-on-one conversations with your god, even when praying in groups. He would make prayers an audible, mandatory, and precise performance at the risk of losing one’s head for non-compliance.
PRAYERS
(Abbreviated from Getting to Know Allah, Boreal Books)
The third holiest site in Islam is a rock underneath the Dome of the Rock, which is part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Muslims believe this is the rock from which Muhammad ascended to heaven on a magical night in 621—the night of Mi'raj is celebrated on the 27th day of the month of Rajab, the seventh month of the Muslim calendar—on the back of a winged-horse named Al-Burak.
The Prophet had just finished his late-night prayers when the angel Gabriel appeared holding Al-Burak’s bridle. Muhammad got on the horse and flew off to Jerusalem where he met with the spirits of earlier messengers and led them in prayer before taking off for Paradise to meet with the god for whom he spoke.
Revelation 17:1 is the only reference to this journey between “the Sacred Mosque,” i.e., Mecca, and “the farthest mosque,” i.e., Jerusalem (Jerusalem surrendered to the Muslims in 638 A.D., six years after the death of Muhammad; therefore, there could not have been a mosque, as we know them, there at the time).
The Night Journey
17 Al-Isrâ'
In the Name of Allah,
the Compassionate, the Merciful
17:1 Glory be to Him Who caused His servant to travel by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed, in order to show him some of Our Signs. He is indeed the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
The trip to heaven was not without its perils, with the jinn intercepting Muhammad on his way up. Allah had already informed him as to what to say so as to be allowed to pass.
72:19 And that when the Servant of Allah got up calling on Him, they almost set upon him in throngs.
72:20 Say: “I only call upon my Lord, and I do not associate with Him anyone else.”
72:21 Say: “I have no power to harm or guide you rightly.”
72:22 Say: “No one shall protect me from Allah, and I will not find apart from Him any refuge;
72:23 “Except for a proclamation from Allah and His Messages. He who disobeys Allah and His Messenger, for him the Fire of Hell is in store. Therein they shall dwell forever.”
72:24 Until, when they see what they are promised, they will then know certainly who is weaker in supporters and is fewer in numbers.
During his ascent to the seventh level of Paradise where God sits on His Throne, Muhammad encountered many figures from the Bible such as Jesus and Moses, whose appearances he describes in hadiths such as the following:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet said, "On the night of my ascent to the Heaven, I saw Moses who was a tall brown curly-haired man as if he was one of the men of Shan'awa tribe, and I saw Jesus, a man of medium height and moderate complexion inclined to the red and white colors and of lank hair."
Bukhari 54.462
There were no witnesses to the departure from Mecca, the landing in Jerusalem, the takeoff for heaven or the landing in Mecca the following morning. When Muhammad described this journey to the Meccans the next day, many believed he had gone insane. It was only after he described seeing a caravan from the air (which arrived shortly thereafter in Mecca) that some of the accusations were withdrawn.
NEGOTIATING THE PRAYERS
It was during this one-night visit with God, for whom Muhammad provides no description, that the number of daily prayers that a believer must perform every day was established. The Koran may be short on specifics, but not those who listened to Muhammad’s swashbuckling account of his flight to Paradise and what took place.
In accounts of this milestone event in the history of Islam, the Bait-ul-Ma'mur is mentioned. Except for an entrance and an exit door, it is almost an exact replica of the Ka’ba in Mecca and is situated directly above it in Paradise. Like Muslims on Earth, angels are required to make a pilgrimage to this Ka’ba in the sky at least once in their lifetime as immortals, and seventy thousand angels do so every day, entering by one door and exiting by the other, as explained by Gabriel in the first of two recollections about this memorable night.
The following hadith, in which the narrator remembers Muhammad mentioning his stopover in Jerusalem, is from the Sahih Muslim collection.
It is narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I was brought al-Buraq Who is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place his hoof a distance equal to the range of version.
I mounted it and came to the Temple (Bait Maqdis in Jerusalem), then tethered it to the ring used by the prophets.
I entered the mosque and prayed two rak'ahs in it, and then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said: You have chosen the natural thing. Then he took me to heaven.
Gabriel then asked the (gate of heaven) to be opened and he was asked who he was. He replied: Gabriel.
He was again asked: Who is with you?
He (Gabriel) said: Muhammad.
It was said: Has he been sent for?
Gabriel replied: He has indeed been sent for. And (the door of the heaven) was opened for us and lo! we saw Adam. He welcomed me and prayed for my good.
Then we ascended to the second heaven. Gabriel (peace be upon him) (asked the door of heaven to be opened), and he was asked who he was.
He answered: Gabriel; and was again asked: Who is with you?
He replied: Muhammad.
It was said: Has he been sent for?
He replied: He has indeed been sent for. The gate was opened.
When I entered Isa b. Maryam and Yahya b. Zakariya (peace be upon both of them), cousins from the maternal side, welcomed me and prayed for my good.
Then I was taken to the third heaven and Gabriel asked for the opening (of the door).
He was asked: Who are you?
He replied: Gabriel.
He was (again) asked: Who is with you?
He replied Muhammad (may peace be upon him).
It was said: Has he been sent for?
He replied He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and I saw Yusuf (peace of Allah be upon him) who had been given half of (world) beauty. He welcomed me prayed for my well-being. Then he ascended with us to the fourth heaven.
Gabriel (peace be upon him) asked for the (gate) to be opened, and it was said: Who is he?
He replied: Gabriel.
It was (again) said: Who is with you?
He said: Muhammad.
It was said: Has he been sent for?
He replied: He has indeed been sent for.
The (gate) was opened for us, and lo! Idris was there. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being (About him) Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious, has said:"We elevated him (Idris) to the exalted position" (Qur'an 19:57).
Then he ascended with us to the fifth heaven and Gabriel asked for the (gate) to be opened.
It was said: Who is he?
He replied Gabriel.
It was (again) said: Who is with thee?
He replied: Muhammad.
It was said Has he been sent for?
He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and then I was with Harun (Aaron, peace of Allah be upon him). He welcomed me prayed for my well-being. Then I was taken to the sixth heaven.
Gabriel (peace be upon him) asked for the door to be opened.
It was said: Who is he?
He replied: Gabriel.
It was said: Who is with thee?
He replied: Muhammad.
It was said: Has he been sent for?
He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and there I was with Musa (Moses, peace be upon him). He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.
Then I was taken up to the seventh heaven.
Gabriel asked the (gate) to be opened.
It was said: Who is he?
He said: Gabriel
It was said. Who is with thee?
He replied: Muhammad (may peace be upon him.)
It was said: Has he been sent for?
He replied: He has indeed been sent for. (The gate) was opened for us and there I found Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him) reclining against the Bait-ul-Ma'mur and there enter into it seventy thousand angels every day, never to visit (this place) again.
Then I was taken to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha whose leaves were like elephant ears and its fruit like big earthenware vessels. And when it was covered by the Command of Allah, it underwent such a change that none amongst the creation has the power to praise its beauty.
Then Allah revealed to me a revelation and He made obligatory for me fifty prayers every day and night.
Then I went down to Moses (peace be upon him) and he said: What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?
I said: Fifty prayers.
He said: Return to thy Lord and beg for reduction (in the number of prayers), for your community shall not be able to bear this burden. as I have put to test the children of Israel and tried them (and found them too weak to bear such a heavy burden).
He (the Holy Prophet) said: I went back to my Lord and said: My Lord, make things lighter for my Ummah.
(The Lord) reduced five prayers for me. I went down to Moses and said. (The Lord) reduced five (prayers) for me, He said: Verily thy Ummah shall not be able to bear this burden; return to thy Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.
I then kept going back and forth between my Lord Blessed and Exalted and Moses, till He said: There are five prayers every day and night. O Muhammad, each being credited as ten, so that makes fifty prayers. He who intends to do a good deed and does not do it will have a good deed recorded for him; and if he does it, it will be recorded for him as ten; whereas he who intends to do an evil deed and does not do, it will not be recorded for him; and if he does it, only one evil deed will be recorded.
I then came down and when I came to Moses and informed him, he said: Go back to thy Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.
Upon this the Messenger of Allah remarked: I returned to my Lord until I felt ashamed before Him.
Sahih Muslim 1.309
In a hadith from the Bukhari collection, there are more back and forth negotiations to get Allah down to five daily prayers; the offer of milk or wine (or honey, which is not mentioned in the previous recollection) is made after arriving in the seventh heaven not prior to the beginning of the ascent. We take up this narrative at the point where Muhammad is being shown the Bait-ul-Ma'mur.
Narrated Abbas bin Malik:
Then Al-Bait-ul-Ma'mur (i.e. the Sacred House was shown to me and a container full of wine and another full of milk and a third full of honey were brought to me. I took the milk. Gabriel remarked, 'This is the Islamic religion which you and your followers are following.'
Then the prayers were enjoined on me: They were fifty prayers a day. When I returned, I passed by Moses who asked (me), "What have you been ordered to do?"
I replied, "I have been ordered to offer fifty prayers a day."
Moses said, "Your followers cannot bear fifty prayers a day, and by Allah, I have tested people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani (Children of) Israel (in vain). Go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your followers' burden."
So I went back, and Allah reduced ten prayers for me. Then again I came to Moses, but he repeated the same as he had said before. Then again I went back to Allah and He reduced ten more prayers. When I came back to Moses he said the same, I went back to Allah and He ordered me to observe ten prayers a day. When I came back to Moses, he repeated the same advice, so I went back to Allah and was ordered to observe five prayers a day.
When I came back to Moses, he said, "What have you been ordered?"
I replied, "I have been ordered to observe five prayers a day."
He said, "Your followers cannot bear five prayers a day, and no doubt, I have got an experience of the people before you, and I have tried my level best with Bani Israel, so go back to your Lord and ask for reduction to lessen your follower's burden."
I said, "I have requested so much of my Lord that I feel ashamed, but I am satisfied now and surrender to Allah's Order."
When I left, I heard a voice saying, "I have passed My Order and have lessened the burden of My Worshipers."
Bukhari 58.227
CHOREOGRAPHING THE IRRATIONAL
(Abbreviated from Fade to Black – Triumph of the Irrational, Boreal Books)
Muhammad made prayers a highly choreographed affair, ostensibly after being shown the steps by the angel Gabriel. It is this prayer play that used to be largely confined to mosques and their surroundings, the Musalla, that is increasingly staged in the public space.
By tying the irrational to the performance of a sequence of prescribed movements done in unison while spouting familiar phrases repeated as one, Muhammad achieved three objectives that are central to the success of Islam, or any militant organization: indoctrination, visibility and discipline.
The coercive choreography of prayers in Islam is central to this purpose. You did not perform this choreography exactly as demonstrated and on schedule at your risk and peril, in both the Hereafter and in the here-and now.
Narrated An-Nu'man bin Bashir:
The Prophet said, "Straighten your rows or Allah will alter your faces."
Bukhari 11.685
Narrated Abdullah bin Masud:
The Prophet recited Suratan-Najm (103) at Mecca and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, "This is sufficient for me."
Later on, I saw him killed as a non-believer.
Bukhari 19.173
The Islamic State exercising the type of discipline of which Muhammad would have approved, in the Syrian city of Jarablus, where parents are forced to watch an ISIS executioner behead their 14-year-old son after he missed Friday prayers, as reported in the Daily Mail February 4, 2016. Notice the blood-stained sword. This is obviously not our executioner's first beheading of the day.
Friday prayers in Islam are of such importance that angels will be taking attendance.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "On every Friday the angels take their stand at every gate of the mosques to write the names of the people chronologically (i.e. according to the time of their arrival for the Friday prayer and when the Imam sits (on the pulpit) they fold up their scrolls and get ready to listen to the sermon."
Bukhari 54.433
The Example of Muhammad
Everyone has had a teacher like Muhammad, the one who said they had eyes in the back of their head.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "You see me facing the Qibla; but, by Allah, nothing is hidden from me regarding your bowing and submissiveness and I see you from behind my back."
Bukhari 12:708
Muhammad was very much a petty perfectionist keen on controlling every detail of everyone's existence, and prayers were no exception.
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet said, "I have been ordered to prostrate on seven bones i.e. on the forehead along with the tip of the nose and the Prophet pointed towards his nose, both hands, both knees and the toes of both feet and not to gather the clothes or the hair."
Bukhari 12.776
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet said, "Be straight in the prostrations and none of you should put his forearms on the ground (in the prostration) like a dog."
Bukhari 12.785
A word you will encounter often relating to prayers is ‘perfectly’.
Narrated Ibn Umar:
Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."
Bukhari 2.24
You could not have straight rows if you did not have crowds; and straight rows, as Muhammad reminded his followers, were an important part of a ‘correct prayer’.
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet said, "Straighten your rows as the straightening of rows is essential for a perfect and correct prayer."
Bukhari 11.690
How to pray properly was something Muhammad took upon himself to demonstrate after being shown by the angel Gabriel how God wanted it done.
Gabriel came to him one day on the high ground above Mecca, and struck with his heel the turf of the hillside, whereupon a spring gushed forth from it. Then he performed the ritual ablution to show the Prophet how to purify himself for worship, and the Prophet followed his example. Then he showed him the postures and movements of the prayer, the standing, the inclining, the prostrating and the sitting, with the repeated magnification, that is, the words Alldhu Akbar, God is Most Great, and the final greeting as-Saldmu 'alaykum, Peace be on you, and again the Prophet followed his example. Then the Angel left him, and the Prophet returned to his house, and taught Khadijah all that he had learnt, and they prayed together.”
Martin Lings, MUHAMMAD: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
Bukhari 11.613
From God’s crafted choreography first performed by Gabriel and mimicked by Muhammad, we get pagan-like performance worship that is unmatched and unavoidable.