Walking the streets of New York City at noon, one is likely to come across a road-side vendor taking a break from handing a bag of lettuce and tomatoes to a customer, and standing on a piece of cardboard—a flattened out carton—with his arms folded, head bent in prayer. Customers will wait patiently, maintaining social distancing. He will end his prayer by raising his hands in supplication. We can assume that he will be asking God to protect him, his family, and his fellow New-Yorkers from COVID-19, to keep him—the family bread-winner—in good health, and for the coronavirus pandemic to end. He will repeat this act in the afternoon, at sunset, and at nightfall. A Muslim, the vendor is fulfilling his religious obligation to pray five times a day. When, where, and how did the ritual of five daily prayers become a required standard practice? It happened on this day—March 22—in the year 620 C.E.
In accordance with the lunar calendar, on this day, Muslims around the world will commemorate Isra-Meeraj. Muslims believe that on this night, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) made a night journey to Jerusalem and ascended to the heavens for an audience with God, at which time the God ordained the five daily prayers. But not after some intense negotiation.
Tradition has it that in that year, in the city of Mecca, Arabia, the angel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and took him on a flight to Jerusalem, at the site of Temple Mount. From there, Gabriel took him up to the heavens. He saw angels glorifying God in prayer: some standing, some sitting, some bowing, some prostrating. He met the long since deceased prophets (in spirit) in their heavenly abode. He continued through the heavens until he reached the highest heaven and had a conversation with God. God instructed the Prophet Muhammad that his followers should pray fifty times a day. After the audience, the Prophet Muhammad began his descent through the heavens, and encountered the Prophet Moses (PBUH), who asked him about his conversation with God.
“God has instructed that my followers pray fifty times a day,” the Prophet Muhammad said.
“That is too much. Your people won’t be able to perform 50 prayers each day. I tried the people before you and it was very difficult for me. Go back and ask God to reduce the number of prayers.”
The Prophet Muhammad went back; God reduced the prayers to forty. On his way back, he ran into Moses again.
“What is the number?” Moses asked.
“Forty.”
Moses asked him to go back and ask for a reduction. He went back; God reduced it to thirty; Moses sent him back again; and the back and forth continued until God reduced it to five daily prayers, saying that this was His final number.
“Five is too much. Go back,” Moses said.
“I am too shy to go back. God said this was his final number.”
So five it was and five it has remained.
As a child, I was fascinated by this story; as an adult, I am struck by its message of unity of the Abrahamic faiths. In particular, Prophet Moses mentoring the Prophet Muhammad!
The next morning, the Prophet Muhammad narrated this experience to his companions. A majority of his companions believed that the journey was a physical occurrence i.e. he was carried bodily to Jerusalem and then to the heavens; but a minority—his wife Aish’ah among them— were convinced that it was a spiritual experience. Whereas only God knows the truth, one cannot dispute the lasting impact of Isra-Meeraj: the practice of five daily prayers, in the same manner, with the same script.
The Prophet Muhammad had seen the angels pray, and he incorporated their ritual, making prayer a physical act: standing, sitting, bowing, and prostrating in ultimate humility and submission. He established the timings of the prayers to align with the movement of the sun. Hence, every morning at daybreak, we offer the Fajr prayer—as early as 4 am in the summers; Zuhr or noon prayer is offered when the sun is directly above or when our shadow is shortest; Asr, or the afternoon prayer when our shadow is the longest; the maghrib evening prayer at sundown; and the fifth prayer—Isha—at night fall.
Five times a day, I press the Pause button in my life, and stand in awe of the Creator. At any given time, someone, somewhere in the world is saying their prayer; at one place it could be morning prayer, and at another place, night prayer; all keeping in contact with the cosmos. No matter where, everyone is prayer is reciting the same opening chapter of the Quran: the Fatiha, asking God for His guidance; and ending the prayer asking for God’s blessings for Prophet Abraham and his progeny. In today’s times, they are all praying for protection against the coronavirus.
Yesterday I spoke to my cousin in Pakistan. “I am praying for all of humanity,” she said, “not just for my family, not just for my country, but for everyone in every part of our world.”
Under normal circumstances, those of us who have difficulty keeping up with five daily prayers, would often say: ‘Thank you, Prophet Moses—if it wasn’t for you, we would be praying fifty times a day’—however in these troubled days, we are praying in ‘overtime’, saying optional nafl prayers, beseeching God to spare us from the COVID-19 affliction.
On this night of Isra-Meeraj, which falls on the 27th day of Rajab—the 7th month in the Islamic calendar—I will join 1.6 billion Muslims around the world as they raise their hands in prayer for this pandemic to end as quickly as it spread, for the afflicted to heal, and while it lasts, it brings our communities together to fight this scourge. Amen.
Stay in good health.
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