Salat = Nimaz = Du'a

How Far do the Ismailis follow the Salat? What do they mean by Salat. 

Salat means Namaz (ritual prayer), du’a ( prayers ), rahmat (blessings), and durud (benediction). However, wherever,  the word Salat is used, in the sense of du’a, rahmat and durud, there arises no question as to its sense; but wherever it is used in the sense of Namaz it also means the kind of Namaz in which there is no ruku (genuflexion) and sujud (prostration), such as Namaz i Jinazah (funeral prayer  IX:84) and the prayer of the birds (XXIV:41). Thus where Salat means Namaz we have established it not only in the past, but also in the present; its practical example, fruit and wisdom of tawil (esoteric interpretation) exist in our faith and where Salat is used in the sense of du’a, this we always recite in the Jama’at Khanah. In other words, Salat means Namaz as well as du’a, in the same way that the worship and devotion (ibadat u bandagi) which we practice in the Jama’at Khanah is on the one hand du€ and on the other hand Namaz. For ibadat u bandagi contains the spirit and ultimate purpose of Namaz perfectly.

(For further information see “Gulistan i Hadith (The Garden of Traditions)", by Mawlana Ja'far Shah Phulwarwi.

b) For how long can the spirit and purpose of Namaz be maintained ? To understand this one should study the Qur'anic verse (I I:239):

"If you fear, then pray standing (i.e. waking) or riding."

Now in this form of Namaz it is obvious that the originality reality and purpose of Namaz remain the same,  albeit almost all the formal manners Namaz are done away with, for in pray standing or riding neither the condition qiblah (direction of the kabah)is fulfilled are the conditions of genuflexion and prostration, etc. fulfilled. Yes, indeed here is no doubt that this is Namaz i Khawf (prayer of fear), of which it can be said that this is in the case of compulsion. but in fact it is not compulsion, but rather, a form of ease in the practice of religion. Further, it is also a proof of the fact that Namaz is of various kinds and the main part in all these kinds is du’a and dhikr i ilahi (remembrance of God), wherein lies the spirit of worship and the essence of the attainment of the goal. This is the reason for which in the Namaz i Khawf all those things without which the spirit and purpose of Namaz can be maintained, are removed. Now the form of such a Namaz is almost just like du’a, tasbih (glorification of God] and dhikr i ilahi (remembrance of God), and therefore I have said that worship (ibadat) in Jama’at Khanah is not only du'a but is also a kind of Namaz.

The fact should always be kept in mild that Allah, the Most High, desires for Muslims ease and facility and not hardship and difficulty. As He says: "Allah desires for you ease; He does not desire hardship for you." (II:185) But then arises the question that if God, the Most High, desires for us ease and facility and does not like any difficulty in religious matters (dini ahkam) then what can hinder the actualization (Zuhur i Fil) of His will and power (Mashiyat u Qudrat)? And what should His servants do to receive such a great mercy? The answer for this question can also be found in the Qur'an, in this command of God:

'And whosoever fears Allah, He will make his course easy for him." (LXV:4)

You should not forget that this guidance was given during the time of prophet hood {zaminah -i nubu'at), and there are glad tidings in it that those who in complying  with religious commands observe the fear of God will be provided in the future with ease and facility in religion: for the purpose of the difficulty, austerity and hard ship which accompanies ibadat (religious services) and muamalat (transactions) is nothing but the fear of God (taqwa), and the fear of God is everything. In connection with the explanation and illustration of this purpose it is said:

"Allah will vouchsafe after hardship, ease." (LXV:7)

That is to say that God will reveal tariqat from the depth (batin) of shariat, and haqiqat from the depth of tariqat, and He will introduce the wisdom of tawil (esoteric interpretation) after tanzil (revelation). For this is the greatest ease and facility, and proof of this greater facility is those minor facilities which every pious Muslim can experience in his daily life, such as to feel ease after difficulty in fulfillment and regularity of every kind of devotion (ibadat), austerity (riyadat) by the help of God, and to remain gradually more attentive towards goodness and fear of God and son.

c) I like most of by Mawlana Ja'far Shah Phulwarwi views. In h book, “Gulistan i Hadith (The Garden of Traditions)" he says, on p. 5 under the caption, “Chand Kalimat i Namaz (A few words on Namaz), that:

"We usually understand that Namaz a cut-and-dried (bandhi taki) thing whose words are determined and movements are fixed. There is no doubt that the best way for the performance of Namaz is that which the Prophet has taught, but it is not right to say that the other ways are wrong' for not only from Adam until Jesus Christ (peace be upon them) but until Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), all those prophets who used to perform Namaz differed in their ways, but they said the same Namaz”.

That is to say that the form of the Namaz they said was different, but the spirit of all of them was the same, and in fact, the main aim and object of the. Namaz is the spirit and not the form. When this Namaz is performed in a congregational form, then the order and discipline requires necessarily that there should be uniformity in the Namaz of all, but if in an individual Namaz ecstacy and rapture overcome the usual way (formal way) of the performance of Namaz, it is not harmful in fact, sometimes a minor difference is not harmful even in the congregational Namaz.