SALAT

 *SALAT IS BOTH PHYSICAL ( STAND, BOW AND PROSTRATION (RECITE QURAN VERSES ONLY) ) and DEEDS ( ESTABLISH the SYSTEM THAT FACILITATES the FOLLOWING ALLAH COMMANDS CLOSELY)*

Establish salat system following Allah commands closely 2:3, 2:177, 22:41, 94:7.

Physical salat of Timings: 17:78, 11:114, 24:58( privacy, Dawn and  Evening prayer) 

Second Meaning: The Salat that is offered by Allah and the angels cannot be an act of worship; Allah does not bow and prostrate for anyone, nor should the believers bow and prostrate to other believers. Such Salat must have a different meaning. 

This second type of Salat is what we read about in such verses as 33:43, 33:56, 9:103, and 2:157.

To arrive at the correct meaning of this second type of Salat, our starting point is 33:56. In this verse we learn that Allah and the angels offer Salat to the prophet, and by the same token, the believers are commanded to offer Salat to the prophet. 

In other words, the same act is done by Allah for the prophet, by the angels for the prophet, and by the believers for the prophet.

We must therefore search the Quran to find an act that is done for the prophet by Allah, as well as by the angels as well as by believers.

This search leads us to only one such act and that is to support:

1- Allah supports His messengers and supports all believers:

Most certainly, We will support Our messengers and those who believe, in the worldly life, and on the Day the witnesses rise. 40:51

2- The angels commanded by Allah to support the messenger and the believers:

You told the believers, "Would it not be sufficient for you if your Rabb was to reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down?" 3:124

3- Believers commanded to support the messenger of Allah:

It (spoils of war) is for the poor immigrants who were driven out of their homes and their possessions as they sought Allah favour and consent, and supported Allah and His messenger. Those are the truthful ones. 59:8

If you (believers) do not support him (the prophet), Allah has already supported him. 9:40

Those who have believed in him, honoured him, supported him and followed the light which was brought down with him; they are the successful ones. 7:157

It is also worthwhile to analyse the words in 33:43 and why they validate only one meaning for the word Salat in such verses, that being; to support.

1- The angels do not have the authority to bless the believers; all blessings come from Allah alone. The angels do not exalt any believers; only Allah is worthy of exaltation. The angels cannot grant mercy to any human; all mercy comes from Allah. The angels do not have the authority to forgive anyone; all forgiveness comes from Allah alone. All that the angels can do is support the believers, in accordance to Allah commands.

2- Similarly, Allah would not ask forgiveness for the believers; Allah is the One who forgives. Allah does not exalt anyone; He alone is worthy of exaltation. However, Allah supports the believers (prophet Muhammad included) to take them out of the darkness into the light.

3- Similarly, when the prophet offers Salat to the believers, as Allah commanded him in 9:103, or when the believers offer Salat to the prophet, as commanded them in 33:56, it is in the sense of offering help and support.

4- Finally, it is necessary to point out that the act of support, whether it is from Allah to the prophet, or from the angels to the prophet, or from the believers to the prophet, can only be done during the lifetime of the prophet.

The prophet is now dead, he is not able to support the believers (9:103), nor are the believers able to support him (33:56).

It is true that SAJDA MEANS obedience, submission to Allah law 16: 49. From this verse we should not necessarily infer that everything has a mind like humans. Even if we subscribe to such a fancy assumption, mental events too are physical events; they are the consequence of interactions of electrons. In fact, the prostration of all the creatures we perceive is physical. Any event that can be sensed by our five senses is a physical event. Atoms peacefully surrender to God's laws when they interact with each other. When water freezes it peacefully surrenders to God's law and expands; when it is heated to a certain degree it evaporates. When Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen atoms come together in a particular order they create bases called Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thymine; and when these bases join each other in a particular order, pre-ordained by God, they create DNAs that produce new qualities and events, including life. Every cell and organ in our bodies submits to God's law. These are all physical demonstration of SaJDa to God. No wonder, the entire universe is stated to have submitted to God (3:83; 13:15). Interestingly, in these two verses the same idea is depicted yet in 3:83 the verb aSLaMa (submitted) is used while in 13:15 the verb yaSJuDu (prostrating) is used. This is strong evidence that both verbs belong to the same semantic field. As we know, submission to God is not just a mental activity but also a physical action, such as working hard, delivering God's message, feeding the poor, etc.

The word SaJDa in some verses means ONLY mental (in quantum, electronic or neural level) prostration while in other verses it means ONLY bodily (atomic and molecular level) prostration. The prostration mentioned in 27:20 must be bodily, and the one in verse 77:48 most likely refers to mental prostration.

As for verse 22:18, it describes both mental and bodily submission to God. One might argue, "Has anyone ever seen any of these creations bow and prostrate on the ground (animals excluded)? Since all things in heavens and earth do not prostrate to God by casting themselves face down on the ground in humility, then we should not prostrate that way either." This conclusion is based on a false assumption that ALL creatures prostrate the same way. Every creature in the heavens and the earth glorifies God (24:41; 57:1; 59:1; 61:1; 62:1; 64:1). But we may not understand their glorification (17:44). We are also instructed to glorify our Lord day and night, not like birds or planets, but like humans, in our language and according to our natural design (3:41; 5:98; 7:206; 19:11; 20:130; 32:15; 40:55; 50:39; 52:48; 56:74; 69:52; 76:26; 87:1; 110:3).