What do Muslims do when we go to our weekly sermon and
congregational prayer service on Fridays? If you are not Muslim, you probably have
no clear idea beyond the basic notion that we listen to a sermon by the Imam (the
Islamic equivalent of a minister) and then we participate in some form of
congregational prayer.
Talk radio host and Fox News
pundit Mike Huckabee (the former Baptist minister and Arkansas Governor) seems
convinced that most Muslims – especially those in the Middle-East – are only
going to the mosque to hear hate-filled sermons railing against the West, so
they can get all riled up, storm outside and start a riot. This was the gist of
his comments about the temporary closing of US embassies across the Middle-East
and North Africa on his syndicated radio show on Monday, August 5th.
Referring to Islam and Muslims, Huckabee said in part:
“…. explain to me why it is
that we tiptoe around a religion that promotes the most murderous mayhem on the
planet in their so-called ‘holiest days.’ …. You know that the most likely time
to have an uprising of rock-throwing and rioting comes on the day of prayer on
Friday. So the Muslims will go to the mosque, and they will have their day of
prayer, and they come out of there like uncorked animals -- throwing rocks and
burning cars.”
Huckabee said later he
doesn’t think ALL Muslims do that, but the fact he said it shows he has no
problem characterizing Muslims as “uncorked animals” or their faith as “a
religion that promotes the most murderous mayhem on the planet. . .”
And, if Huckabee and other
like-minded Islamophobes (professional and otherwise) are correct in their
belief that Islam promotes “the most murderous mayhem on the planet” and that
the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet (peace be upon him) are the root
cause of a Muslim’s angry, anti-Western worldview and violent behavior,
shouldn’t the entire world wherever Muslims reside be a scene of weekly rioting
and car-burning? Shouldn’t the jails in all Western nations be filled with
angry, rock-throwing Muslim men and women? There are tens of millions of
Muslims in Europe, Asia and North America, so where are they every Friday? I’ll
tell you. They are in their mosques praying to God and listening to their Imams
guide them in the peaceful, everyday living of their faith.
Now, there are 1.6-billion Muslims
in the world, with the vast majority of them praying five times a day as
required in Islam. These Muslims, along with a sizable number who may not pray
five times a day, will attend the Friday sermon on a regular basis. That’s a
lot of people praying. What are they praying for?
Some religious and political
leaders in the West criticize Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) using
insulting and derogatory attacks. They also make the false claim that most
Muslims believe in violent Jihad against all Western nations, and that it is
the duty of all Muslims to engage in this bloody Jihad against the “infidels.” This
is a blatant lie which no true, peace-loving Muslim believes in or supports.
I am grateful to live in
America where I am free to speak my mind and talk about my faith. But such freedom
does not mean a person should be free to cross all boundaries of moral and
civil decency as some religious and political leaders are doing. People should be
careful with their words because, as the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once said: “Guard
your tongue, for words are like arrows. Once you let them loose, there is no
calling them back.” All people should be free to express their opinions
politely without reservation, but all people should also be free from
hate-mongering, falsehoods and just plain evil attacks on their religious beliefs.
Those who most often raise
objections against Islamic beliefs or practices do so either in ignorance, with
little or no knowledge about what Islam actually teaches and what really goes
on at a typical Friday Prayer service, or else critiques of Islam and the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) flow from the pens and tongues of so-called “experts”
that are little more than thinly-veiled diatribes full of malice against Islam,
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Muslims.
I would like to explain what
normally happens – what’s supposed to happen – at a Friday Prayer service in
Islam. Let’s start with Chapter 62 in the Holy Quran, called “Al-Jumu’ah” – the
Arabic term for the Friday Prayer and sermon. (I invite Muslims and non-Muslims
to read Ch.62 with commentary at this link: www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/?page=1135®ion=EN)
Here’s what Ch.62, verses
10-11, says about the Friday Prayer:
“O ye who believe! When the
call is made for Prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave
off all business. That is better for you, if you only knew. And when the Prayer
is finished, then disperse in the land and seek of God’s bounty, and remember God
much, that you may prosper.” Notice there are no calls for civil unrest,
violent street protests or acts of terrorism. (These are all prohibited
elsewhere in the Quran anyway.)
On this holy day for Muslims,
after the first Azan (call to prayer), the faithful perform private prayers.
After the 2nd Azan about 20-30 minutes later, the Imam will start
the sermon, drawing the Muslims’ attention to the teachings of the Quran and
the example of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
After the sermon, which
usually lasts 45-minutes to an hour, the Imam will lead the congregation in a
short prayer (salat) composed of recitation in a standing position of a brief
portion of the Quran, followed by different postures that include bowing,
prostrating and sitting in a kneeling position. In each of these postures, a
Muslim recites specific phrases in Arabic that were revealed by God to the Holy
Prophet (pbuh) and have been an established part of the Islamic Prayer for over
1,400 years.
During the sermon, which
usually starts between 1:00 pm and 1:30 pm, it is common for the Imam to talk
about the beauties of Islam, to remind the congregation to worship only God, to
not commit Shirk (associating
partners with God) and to discharge their spiritual responsibilities to God
(such as performing the five daily prayers and seeking forgiveness for their
sins), and to excel one another in doing good works and helping their fellow
human beings. These are the fundamental duties and concepts in Islam and the
basis for most Friday sermons, in one form or another, which most Muslims will
hear when they go to the Friday Prayer.
This does
not mean there are no radical Imams preaching hatred and violence – there are,
in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and North Africa – but that is not the
entire Muslim world by any stretch. But clearly, if some Muslim Imams are
creating disorder among Muslims with their fiery, anti-Western sermons, is it
right to say that all Muslim Imams are doing this and therefore all Muslims are
being incited to create disorder? Either Muslims by the millions are disobeying
their radical Imams or the feared incitement to violence is not happening
everywhere as believed by those who are prejudiced against Islam.
So what are Muslims actually
taught by God in the Quran about what their expected behavior should be? The
answer is found throughout the Quran and in the word “Muslim” itself, which
means a person who is completely submitted to God and who has peace with God
and peace with his fellow human beings. A definition of a Muslim is also clearly
stated in the Quran in chapter 23 titled “The Believers”:
“Surely, success does come
to the believers, who are humble in their Prayers, and who shun all that which
is vain, and who are active in paying the Zakat [annual tax on unused wealth to
help the poor], and who guard their chastity . . . and who are watchful of
their trusts and covenants, and who are strict in the observance of their
Prayers. These are the heirs who will inherit Paradise. . . “ (ch.23, vv.2-6
and vv.9-12)
And the
founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), said: “Your worship is
meaningless if your character and behavior with the people are not good, and
you do not treat them with politeness and good conduct. Your worship will not
benefit you at all.”
Therefore on Fridays,
Muslims should be reminded of these teachings to improve their moral qualities
and change their bad behavior and habits into good behavior and habits. And they
should inculcate sympathy and love among themselves and for others.
Yes, there are many so-called
Muslim clerics -- especially in Pakistan -- who have abandoned this moral high
ground, and about whom in a well-known hadith the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once
said: “They will be the worst creatures under heaven. Disorder will come from
them and return to them.”
It should be that all
Muslims prove with their actions that Islam is a religion of peace and that
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a mercy to all mankind, who offered all kinds of
sacrifices for peace and justice.
In the 19th
century, in fulfillment of prophecies in the Holy Quran and by the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad (1835-1908), delivered this same call for peace and justice among Muslims
and between Muslims and all others. It is the same call I now repeat in the 21st
century.
I appeal to all Muslim who
deliver Friday sermons (and all Muslims who listen to them) to expound and
practice the true teachings of Islam so Muslims can be restored to their true
purpose – creating peace. Let all who believe in God demonstrate the truth and
goodness in our scriptures by living that truth and goodness. In this way, the
evil that harms us all can be eliminated and replaced with the love that heals
us all.
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[ with Imam Shamshad fro Asia Today and other weekly newspapers. Appeared in an abridged form in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's "From the Pulpit" religion column under the headline: "Imams preaching terror deny teachings" on Sat., Aug. 17th. 2013. Also appeared online at AhmadiyyaTimes.com on Aug. 18th, 2013 at this link: http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.com/2013/08/perspective-friday-prayer-time-for.html#more ]
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