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[quote]In continuation……………..

Q:- The religious rites and rituals instituted by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sws) are almost the same as those included in Abraham’s tradition of faith.

R:- How many times Prophet Abraham offered SALAT in a day???

Some believe that the practices that were given to Abraham, were preserved and were practised at the time of Muhammad.

If we stick to Quranic evidence we would quickly realise that this claim is totally unfounded.

1-   We are told in the Quran of various groups of people at the time of the revelation of the Quran. God mentions the Jews, also the Nasara (Christians) in various verses.  God also mentions the idol worshippers who worshipped stone idols (e.g. Allaat and Al-Uzzah …. See 53:19).  In all the Quran, there is never a mention of ANY group of believers at the time of Muhammad who followed the pure practices as given to Abraham. To claim that the practices given to Abraham were practiced in their purity at the time of Muhammad is thus an unfounded claim that has no Quranic support whatsoever.

2-  We are told in the Quran repeatedly, how the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) have corrupted the scripture given to them (see 4:46, 3:78, 2:75, 5:41). In that light it is hard to see how they could have had a preserved scripture to represent the pure practices and laws that God decreed.

3-  We are also told that the rituals, and specifically the prayer, were lost by generations that followed one another …. The claim that the rituals, and specifically the salat, were preserved and passed down generation to generation contradicts the Quranic evidence:

"After them (the prophets of Israel), He substituted generations who lost the Contact Prayers (Salat), and pursued their lusts. They will suffer the consequences." 19:59

Thus the claim that the rituals were preserved and practised at the time of Muhammad is totally without Quranic evidence.

4-   We are told in the Quran that although there was some kind of prayer observed by various factions at the kaba (at the time of Muhammad) yet that prayer was totally corrupt:

"Their Contact Prayers (Salat) at the shrine (Ka`bah) were no more than a mockery and a means of repelling the people (by crowding them out). Therefore, suffer the retribution for your disbelief." 8:35

Obviously , a prayer that is described by God as being full of mockery and a means of repelling the people, could hardly be the same Prayer that was given to Abraham.  This prayer could not be regarded in any sense as a testimony to the preservation of the salat since Abraham.

Moreover, verse 35 and the verses before it speak specifically about the idol worshippers. Hence the reference to their prayer could not be used to imply that the correct prayer was practised at the time of Muhammad. How could the prayer of idol worshippers be a correct prayer?  Yes, it can be said that the Quran informs us that there was some kind of prayer being practiced by the idol worshippers, but in no way does this Salat constitute evidence to justify the notion that Muhammad had access to the uncorrupted Salat as given to Abraham from those around him.

One last comment on 8:35. This verse has always been interpreted to be referring to the time of Muhammad fourteen centuries ago.  However, with some analysis, it can be seen that this verse applies as much today as it did fourteen centuries ago.  It is a fact that the salat today at the kaba is full of idol worship and glorification of Muhammad, but more important the words in the previous verse (8:34) give us some important clues:

"Have they not deserved God's retribution, by repelling others from the Sacred Masjid ......" 8:34

We can see how these words apply today to the authorities who prohibit the believers from observing their Hajj during the four months decreed by God for Hajj (2:197), and instead they restrict the time allowed for Hajj to the first ten days of the month of Zhu Al-Hijjah

[i]to be continued...[/i][/quote]

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