My dear brother, since you do not accept any book other than the Quran, and you claim the Quran has all the details, tell me then how to pray from beginning to end. Knowing that the Quran supposedly does not contain these details, as I told you before, how do we know the method of prayer from the Book of Allah?
I pray exactly as the Messenger of Allah prayed. The difference between me and you is that you look for the Messenger of Allah outside the Book of Allah, to see and hear what "so-and-so" said about him through "probabilistic" narrations or how "someone else" taught you through "mass-narration" (tawatur).
Meanwhile, I look for the Messenger of Allah in the Book of Allah—the Book in which there is no doubt, and which falsehood cannot approach from before it or from behind it, and which is definitive in its proof and meaning.
Fine then, tell me how you perform the prayer that the Messenger of Allah used to perform, as you claim.
The physical method of prayer is mentioned in the Quran, specifically in verse 102 of Surah An-Nisa.
Because the subconscious of the Muslim has been programmed to believe that the Quran does not detail how to pray, and that the Hadith books are what detailed the prayer, this was believed and accepted without research or reflecting upon the Book of Allah.
Allah says: (And when you are among them and lead them in prayer...).
If you are gathered among the companions who are traveling through the land, and you want to lead them in congregational prayer as their Imam.
This is a direct address from Allah Almighty to our noble Messenger.
(...let a party of them stand with you...)
Let them divide themselves into more than one group, and let the first group stand to pray with you.
(...and let them take their arms.)
Let the groups that are not yet praying hold their weapons and be ready for any emergency due to the state of fear they are in from the treachery of those who disbelieve.
(And when they have prostrated...)
When the group praying with you has prostrated.
(...let them be [in position] behind you...)
Let the groups protecting the prostrating ones take their positions and place the prostrating ones behind them.
Here is an indication of the second movement in prayer, which matches our current prostration (Sujud) that reached us through tawatur; for the one in prostration has his vision obscured, unlike the one standing.
(...and let another party come that has not [yet] prayed and let them pray with you...)
After the praying group finishes their prostration, their prayer ends, and the Messenger of Allah remains an Imam for the other group that has not yet prayed, so they may pray with him.
There may be more than one group.
(...taking their precaution and their arms.)
Let the process of exchanging protection among the companions continue, and the alternation continues until all groups have prayed.
And thus, the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, in which he was the Imam personally leading his companions, ended.
Is that how it ends?! How? Where is the bowing (Ruku)? Where is the Tashahhud? Where is the Tasleem (salutation at the end)?!
This is the complete prayer as the Messenger of Allah performed it according to the Quranic text: it is (Standing + Prostration). This is, of course, during fear; but if the fear ends, then more than one prostration is performed.
The prayer performed by the Messenger was:
1️⃣ Standing (Qiyam).
2️⃣ Prostration (Sujud).
3️⃣ Standing again.
4️⃣ Prostration.
5️⃣ End of prayer (there is no mention of what is called Tasleem).
How can prayer consist only of standing and prostrating? Is there anything that strengthens your argument other than the verse you mentioned?
Of course, there are many verses that confirm this.
Allah says: (Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, 👈prostrating and standing👉, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord...) [39:9].
And: (And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord 👈prostrating and standing👉) [24:64].
And: (...among the People of the Scripture is an entire community 👈standing👉, reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and they 👈prostrate👉) [3:113].
We notice in all the previous verses (Standing + Prostration).
But some claim that prostration is merely a metaphorical surrender and submission, denying its link to any physical movement!!
Of course, this claim is inaccurate. It relies on the prostration of angels to Adam, the prostration of trees and stars, and other creations of Allah, and projects this meaning of their prostration onto all verses of Sujud.
We tell them: Yes, prostration is a spiritual surrender to the will of Allah, but we cannot deny or ignore the indications of verses showing that there are physical movements associated with expressing that feeling. In fact, Allah called these people "The Bowing and Prostrating" (Al-Rukka' al-Sujud).
Allah says: (When [the verses] are recited to them, they fall down upon their faces in prostration) [17:107].
What is the meaning of "falling down" (Yakhiroon)?
Falling down (Al-Khuroor) in the Book of Allah means falling from top to bottom.
Allah says: (...Allah came upon their building from the foundations, so the roof fell (Kharra) upon them from above them, and the punishment came at them from where they did not perceive) [16:26].
So, they fell from top to bottom (Yakhiroon), which is a physical movement.
(When it is recited to them, they fall down (Yakhiroon) to their chins/faces in prostration).
He described that falling to the ground and the proximity of the chins to it as "prostration," meaning they performed this movement while surrendered to Allah, not programmed, showing off, or hating it.
(And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them except that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger and that they come not to prayer except while they are lazy and spend not except while they are unwilling) [9:54].
Therefore, there is a match between the movement of the prostration of the companions who prayed behind the Messenger as their Imam and those who "fell to their chins in prostration," because the one who falls on his face to the ground necessarily has his vision blocked, as the verses showed when Allah asked the other groups to be behind the prostrating ones, taking their weapons and precautions to protect them.
And what about placing the hands on the chest or letting them hang at the sides?
My dear brother, do not exhaust yourself or complicate matters with things that Allah did not detail. If you want to let them hang or place them on your chest, you have the freedom to choose. Do not treat this as a priority of prayer. No one can condemn you whether you place your hands on your chest or hang them, for these complications are only found in heritage books to distract people and make them care about these things—like the "pillars" of prayer, its "disliked acts," "Sunnahs," "recommendations," and "obligations." All these terms were not mentioned by Allah, so why should I care about them? Whoever says your prayer is invalid, disliked, or deficient must bring evidence from the Book of Allah.
But brother, where is the bowing (Ruku) in prayer!? There are many verses where Allah mentions bowing!
First, you must distinguish between the meaning of "Ruku" and the bending movement we perform and call "Ruku."
The bending movement has no basis in the Book of Allah!! Meaning there isn't a single verse describing the movement of bending at a right angle!!
But what about the verses of (The Bowing and Prostrating)?
The most beautiful verse describing bowing (Ruku) in the Quran is Allah's saying: (...And David became certain that We had tried him, so he asked forgiveness of his Lord and fell down bowing (Raki'an) and turned in repentance) [38:24].
The verse shows that David thought Allah had tried him, so he entered a state of deep regret, seeking forgiveness from his Lord because he believed Allah intended to test him.
When he felt he was wrong in his thought about Allah, he fell to the ground (on his knees), seeking forgiveness, submissive and humbled to Allah's command, and continued seeking forgiveness.
That is, he fell on his knees in a sitting position, feeling regret voluntarily, in submission and humility to Allah.
I understand from this that bowing is not the 90-degree bending movement we do in our prayers!
Exactly. You cannot fall to the ground and at the same time remain standing while bending your back at a right angle.
Rather, it is a "psychological" state of humility, submission, and compliance to Allah, accompanied by a physical movement, as happened with the Prophet David.
Alright, then what is the meaning of (The Bowing and Prostrating)?
It means that these prostrating ones prostrate in submission (Ruku') to Allah, not for show, laziness, or hypocrisy. This is how the prayer of the Messenger of Allah was, and all the Prophets without exception.
This is strengthened by His saying: (Your ally is none but Allah and [therefore] His Messenger and those who have believed - those who establish prayer and give zakah, while they are bowing (Raki'oon)) [5:55].
If bowing were bending, how could we establish prayer and give Zakah *while* we are bending!
What about the number of units (Rak'ahs)?
If you searched the entire Book of Allah, you would not find the word "Rak'ah" or "Rak'ahs." Prayer is counted by the number of prostrations, not the number of bowing units. The terms "Rak'ah" and "Rak'ahs" are from Islamic heritage, not Quranic terms.
Fine, and what do we say in prayer?
We recite the verses of Allah. Prayer is for the remembrance of Allah; it is a conversation between the servant and his Lord.
Allah says: (...And establish prayer for 👈My remembrance👉) [20:14].
And: (O you who have believed, when [the advent of] prayer is called for the day of Jumu'ah, then proceed to the 👈remembrance of Allah👉 and leave trade) [62:9].
So the main goal of prayer is the remembrance of Allah, and the best remembrance of Allah is reciting verses from the Book of Allah. If I want to perform my prayer, I do the following:
1️⃣ I begin the prayer by standing.
2️⃣ I seek refuge in Allah from Satan and mention Allah's name (Basmalah). There is no problem if I say "Allahu Akbar." There is nothing that forces us to read Al-Fatiha at the start; rather, we can read what is easy for us from the Quran.
3️⃣ Then I fall into prostration, submissive and humbled to Allah; again, no problem if I say "Allahu Akbar."
4️⃣ I glorify Allah (Tasbih), supplicate to Him, and ask for His forgiveness with any prayer I want.
5️⃣ Then I stand again and recite the Quran.
6️⃣ Then I fall to my chin prostrating and submitting to Allah again, to converse with my Lord through Quranic verses, saying for example: (Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire) [2:201].
There are many verses in the Book of Allah in this context, or I supplicate with whatever I wish.
7️⃣ Then I sit to recite verses from the Quran, and with that, I have finished the prayer.
And if I want to increase the standing and prostration, I can do so.
What about the Tashahhud and the Abrahamic Prayer (Salat al-Ibrahimiyyah)?
They have no basis in the Quran. As I told you, prayer is for the remembrance of Allah, and not for the remembrance of anyone else. It is not permissible for us to mention prophets or others and associate them with Allah in His prayer, unless they are Quranic verses. The Tashahhud and the Abrahamic Prayer are mere heresies from the heresies of the clerics; I do not know where they got them from!
I read the correct Tashahhud that came in the Holy Quran:
(Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise) [3:18].
(Our Lord, indeed whoever You admit to the Fire, You have disgraced him, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous. Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, You do not fail in [Your] promise) [3:192-194].
This is what I read in the Tashahhud or any verse from the Book of Allah.
And why don't you end your prayer with the Tasleem?
If the Tasleem were a fundamental part of the prayer, Allah would have mentioned it to me in His Book. Upon searching the Quran, I found no basis for Tasleem in prayer. If Allah wanted me to say "Salam," He would have taught me that. But the matter is easy; I can say that Tasleem is like an alarm if the prayer is in a group, so the worshippers know it has ended. Whereas when it is individual, there is no need for it.
So is the prayer we pray now invalid?!
No one has the right to say it is invalid. Rather, it is valid. As long as it is for the remembrance of Allah, Allah will accept it. The prayer that people perform now is valid, but I have mentioned to you the prayer as it appeared in the Book of Allah.
What is the truth about the five daily prayers?
The five daily prayers were mandated in the story of the Night Journey and Ascension (Isra and Mi'raj). Upon researching the origin of the "Ascension" (Mi'raj), we find it is a myth from the myths of the clerics; in fact, the Quran categorically denies it. In this story, the five prayers, the Tashahhud, and the Abrahamic prayers were imposed!!
And must we perform Wudu (ablution) for every prayer?
Yes. I am talking here about only three prayer times, as they appeared in the Quran. Therefore, we must perform Wudu for every prayer, in compliance with Allah's command, because the three prayer times are far apart.
Allah says: (O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles...) [5:6]. From this verse, we understand that we must perform Wudu when we rise for prayer.
This is the prayer and its method as the Messenger of Allah performed it and as Allah mentioned it to us in His Book.