Dr. Kashif Khan

SALAAH “صلاۃ” Is Not Contact Prayer or "Namaz"

It is wrongly asserted that the صلاۃ (Salaah) mentioned in the Quran is a contact prayer or “Namaz” which consists of pre-Islam polytheist pagan rituals of standing in front of deities, bowing down to them and prostrating to the earth deity, and facing towards the stones.

The Quran is Allah’s supreme word and a source of guidance to mankind revealed in straightforward Arabic language. Therefore, its relationship with general Arabic language has made the word of Allah as easy to understand as people speak Arabic language in their daily life to understand each other and to deal with everyday matters. Hence, both the Quran and the general Arabic language are synonymous with one another.

As a result of a lack of understanding, many people neither study the Quran nor ponder over its verses. Many argue that a study of the Quran is time consuming and that such study is not viable due to other commitments of life. However, throughout our life we attempt to read and understand many things. We always attempt to gain a better degree of understanding from each and every book throughout our schooling.

We study various languages and books on various disciplines to pass our exams but we do not bother to study and understand the book of Allah to prepare ourselves for our final exam that is going to be held before Allah (SWT). All we do is choose a scholar or a school of thought of our choice and follow him blindly thinking that the preparation of our scholars is sufficient to get us through in Allah’s exam. Do we really think that following our teachers blindly is sufficient to get us through in our exams without putting in our own efforts and self-study? We do not leave it to our teachers to study and understand the text books on behalf of us. We individually dedicate our time in seeking, learning and studying not only the contents of our study material but we also enhance our analytical and demonstration skills and intellectual abilities to pass our exams.

The Quran provides life skills and gives us an essential training of mannerism, etiquettes and humanity together with other useful traits. The study of the Quran increases our comprehension ability, and seeking a deeper insight into its verses enhances our analytical ability.

Also understanding the Quran is an obligation, and Quran cannot be understood except by correctly understanding the Arabic language. Whatever it takes to complete an obligation is in itself an obligation.

“صلاۃ”SALAAH AND ITS ROOTS

The definite noun “الصَّلاَةِ” is derived from the proto root ص – ل (Sad & Lam). You can also find it in triliteral root word of root letters ص - ل - ل (Sad - Lam - Lam) but the elementary proto root of which is the same ص – ل (Sad & Lam) which is also used as a verb in Arabic language. The primary meaning of صل (Sal) are: connect, link, circuit, cling, to meet, meeting, relation, communication, join, joint, arrive to meet, network ,attachment, liaison, linkage, linkup, union, gather, unitedness, following and shadowing. Proto root ص – ل (Sad & Lam) or the Prime Root صل (Sal) or root word "صلل" has never been used for pray or worship in Arabic or its mother language the Hebrew or in the Semitic languages of the earlier scriptures of God. However, “صلاۃ” (Salaah) was made compulsory in every revelation of God and it was also revealed in the Quran. God made it compulsory for everyone following His practice (Allah’s Sunnah), which has never been changed since inception.

سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا (48:23).

Practice of God that has been maintained since ever before and no change is made to His everlasting practice” (true translation according to the Arabic text of the above verse 48:23)

If we believe in the Quran in which it is clearly mentioned that Allah’s tradition or Allah’s practice or Allah’s laws, which He has made ever before, are never changed. Furthermore, the Quran also states this is the same “صلاۃ” (Salaah) that was given to the Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) and to all earlier prophets (pbut).

Therefore, if “صلاۃ” (Salaah) was a contact prayer (Namaz) given to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) being the same as it was given to all precedent prophets then all nations of the earlier prophets would be practicing it today, especially the people of the Books. However, no contact prayer (Namaz) is ever seen among the people of the Books but was found in the pre-Islam polytheist pagan culture and at present it is practiced in the Zoroastrian religion, the only difference being that the Arab pagans used to offer their 5 times contact prayer facing towards the deity of moon god whereas the Zoroastrians face towards their Sun deity. However, the rituals and timings remain the same in both. In addition to unavoidable evidence of Middle East archaeology discovered by world famous educational institutions and displayed in the world history museums including the British Museum the following authentic books also confirm the same as mentioned above in relation to the rituals of pre-Islam polytheist pagans:

Reference Material:

Mizan al-Islam by Anwar al-Jundi, page 170,

The Book of Idols (Kitab Al-Asnam), by Hisham Ibn-Al-Kalbi, 819 CE page 14 English translation by Nabih Amin Faris, 1952,

Encyclopedia Britannica - Arabian Religions, page1059 published in1979,

The Encyclopedia of Islam (edited by Eliade) Page 303, Bowker, John,

The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, page 763-764, published in 1997,

GAHS (prayers for each period of the day) by Joseph H. Peterson

Avesta Zoroastrian Archives and many more books on the History of Arabs.

In Arabic a door “hinge” is called صل (Sal) which makes a link between the door and the door frame. Popular Arabic word “اتصالات” (Itti Salaat) is also derived from the same root and a whole ministry or a department of communication is called “الاتصالات” (Al itti Salaat) in all Arabic countries including Saudi Arabia, the functional name of this ministry or institution is “مواصلات” (Mawa Salaat) that is also derived from the same root of صلاۃ (Salaah) .

The above mentioned institution “الاتصالات” (Al itti Salaat) and its constitutional functions “مواصلات” (Mawa Salaat) or “اتصال” (Itti Sal) have nothing to do with any contact or ritual “Prayer”, “Worship” or “Namaz” but in fact the role of this department is “installation and administration of all communication networks”, making road ways, establishing transport links, junctions and conjunctions”. Communications, connecting, connections relations, telecommunication, traffic, circuit and connectivity come under the Arabic word” اتصالية” (Itti Salyah) from the same root.

Tawasil (تَوَاصُل) is another popular word from the same root that is used for: communication; connection; contact; intercommunication; relation; getting in touch (with); association; bearing; correlation; interpenetration and tie. The use of derivations of the proto root of صلاۃ (Salaah) did not change its primary meaning even in modern Arabic. At present Computer or GPRS connection is called “توصيل” (Taw Seel). The word Itti Saal “اتصال” is still used in Arabic to establish a “call” from phone, computer or tablet.

Arab establishment still uses the word Itti Saal “اتصال” to liaise with the bureaucracy and to keep in touch with other political departments. Login and logon are quite modern terms of establishing internet connections, to connect with the server, to connect, to join or to go to email and social networks like facebook or LinkedIn etc. Arabs still use the same word Itti Saal “اتصال” for “Login” or “Longon”. Dialling a telephone number is still called Itti Saal “اتصال”. Generally speaking all kind of connectivity is called Itti Saal “اتصال” in Arabic.

The derivatives of صلاۃ (Salah) are extensively used in our daily life. Practical applications and use of the derivatives of صلاۃ (Salah) can be observed in connections of flights, train, bus service or transportation, legal, finance, medicine, science, technology, engineering, education, tourism, business, leisure and household, even “focal point” is called” نقطة اتّصال” (nuka itti saal). In Military terminology “connecting trenches” is called” خنادق اتصال” (Khandaq Ittisaal). Trunk is called” خط اتصال” (Khat Ittisal) both in military and finance. Also terminologies “solution of continuity” عدم اتصال and “liaison group” فريق اتصال are used in finance and politics. They are all derived of the same root word of صلاۃ (Salaah) as mentioned in the beginning of this article.

However, during the early Islam conspiracy the interpretation of the Quran was made essential for Muslim nations, even for Arabic speaking people, ignoring the fact that the Quran was revealed for them in their own language which they were already speaking in their daily life. The nexus between defeated Persian agents and the political power of polytheist pagans set up the formulisation of deriving the meanings of the words of the Quran from purposely fabricated “Root Words”. Most of these “root words” were outside the linguistic rule and were not ever used in Arabic language but they were introduced to interpret the Quran alone. The same words were used in the fake literature of Islam and falsely attributed to the exalted Prophet of God, Muhammad (pbuh).

In the mentioned fake literature they put severe blames on Allah (swt) and the Prophet (pbuh) that can be seen in the books of traditions known as Ahadith. They used their power and resources to circulate their invented fake literature among the Muslim nation together with the fabricated interpretation of the Quran and made Arabs familiarised with their alterations to Islam. These polytheist pagans hijacked Islam and turned it into paganism of modern time.

To achieve the above stated goal almost every verse of the Quran is wrongly interpreted to accommodate paganism in Islam. They have used sneaky skills in the translation to sabotage the actual meaning of all verses of صلاۃ (Salaah). They did their best to fit the pre-Islam pagan prayer (idol worship) in the verses in which the derivatives of proto root صل (Sal) were revealed and interpreted صلاۃ (Salah) to mean “Namaz” or contact prayer. However, there are still some verses of the Quran where they could not fit their pagan “contact prayer” in their translations despite their best efforts. This is because they were unable to fit the concept of their invented ‘contact prayers’ (Namaz) with the rest of the words in these verses. Had they used صلاۃ (Salaah) to mean contact prayer in these verses their conspiracy would have been disclosed instantly because of the translations of the verses.

Had they inserted صلاۃ (Salaah) to mean ‘contact prayer’ (Namaz) in the following verses their translations would have looked like the example below:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (33:56)

“Allah and His angels offer contact prayer (Namaz) to the Prophet, those who believed offer contact prayer (Namaz) on him (the Prophet) and offer their salutation to him (the Prophet).

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ (33:43).

‘He (God) is who offers contact prayer (Namaz) towards/on you and His angels too.’

As you can see, if صلاۃ (Salaah) was taken to mean contact prayer (Namaz) in the translation of the above verses it would sound illogical and would go against the beliefs that Allah does not bow or prostrate to anyone nor does He pray on or towards anyone.

Also, please pay your attention to the following verses and understand why they did not use the derivatives of صلاۃ (Salaah) to mean 'contact prayer' or 'Namaz' in the following verses?

جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا فَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ (38:56).

‘Hell is there where they offer their contact prayer (namaz) that is an evil resting place.’

If صلاۃ (Salaah) is inserted to mean contact prayer (Namaz), the translation would be as mentioned above.

Here are a few more examples:

جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا وَبِئْسَ الْقَرَارُ (14:29).

‘Hell is where they offer their contact prayer (namaz) what an evil establishment/place to stay.’
وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ - يَصْلَوْنَهَا يَوْمَ الدِّينِ (82:14 & 82:15).

‘And the wicked will be in Hell fire-they will offer their contact prayer (namaz) therein on the Day of Judgment.’ لَمْ يُصَلُّواْ فَلْيُصَلُّواْ مَعَكَ (4:102).

‘So they should offer contact prayer (namaz) with you.’

To deal with the contradictions as shown above they played another evil game and invented two different “root words” to derive the meaning of “صلاۃ” (Salaah) from these fake root words. This forgery enabled them to take the meaning of their own choice so that they can betray people further. Therefore, in the translation of some verses the Quranic word “يَصْلَوْ” (Yasallu) is derived from a fake root word “صلّی” (Salli) that is made up from the root letters ص - ل - ی (sad-lam-ya), and used in the translation of the following verses:

(جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا فَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ (38:56.

‘They will be sent to Hell that is an evil resting place.’

جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا وَبِئْسَ الْقَرَارُ (14:29)

‘They will be entered Hell, what an evil establishment/place to stay.’

وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ - يَصْلَوْنَهَا يَوْمَ الدِّينِ (82:14 & 82:15).

‘And the wicked will be in Hell fire-they will be thrown therein on the Day of Judgment.’

In the above translations and in the translation of so many other similar verses of the Quran the meaning of Quranic word “يَصْلَوْ” (Yasallu) have been changed outside the linguistic rules. However, the Quranic word “يَصْلَوْ” (Yasallu) that was translated in the above verses to mean “sending”, “entering” and “throwing” people to the Hell Fire” is taken to mean “blessing” in the interpretation of the following verses:

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ (33:43).

‘It is He who blesses you, and His angels too.’

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (33:56).

‘God and His angels bless the Prophet. O believers, do you also bless him, and pray him peace.’
Have you seen how the word “يَصْلَوْ” (Yasallu) has been translated in some verses to send wicked people to the Hell fire, but on the other hand Allah and His angels are shown bestowing their blessing on people using the same word “يَصْلَوْ” (Yasallu)?

I understand that the words have different meanings but they do not deviate from their core meaning nor do they stand opposite to each other from “throwing someone to the Hell fire” to “blessing someone” as seen in the above translations.

To keep this article short I have presented only few examples verses of the Quran in which the present form of صلاہ (Salaah) is revealed so that you can understand the universal linguistic rule that the same word cannot be derived from two different root words and cannot be interpreted differently, especially in opposite meanings such as the blessing and throwing to Hell. As we all know and firmly believe, the blessing of God is not Hell and it cannot take someone to Hell so the meaning of صلاہ (Salaah) and its verb forms and other derivatives are potentially wrong and misleading in all translations of the Quran.
To change the meaning of صلاہ (Salaah) into "contact prayer", worship or Namaz, they derive the same present verb يُصَلُّواْ from another fabricated root word of صلاہ (Salaah) in so many other verses of the Quran. You can see these verses throughout the Quran however, due to the length of this article I am only referring you to the following verse in which the same present verb of صلاہ (Slaah) is used but its meaning are taken from the different root word صلو (Sallu) invented from the letters ص - ل - و (sad-lam & wao):

لَمْ يُصَلُّواْ فَلْيُصَلُّواْ مَعَكَ (4:102. Translated to: “So they should offer contact prayer (Namaz) with you”.

So, in the current translation of the Quran the same verb of صلاہ (Salaah) is taken to mean “throwing the wicked to the Hell fire” then “Allah and His angels’ blessing” is mentioned with the same word and then the same word is translated to mean contact prayer, worship or Namaz. If we read the translations of these verses all together we overall conceive that “the Hell fire is the blessing of God and His angels and people will offer their contact prayer (Namaz) in the Hell fire”. These nonsense and absurd translations of the Quran give opportunities and reasons to non Muslims to propagate that the Quran is not a true book of God and it is full of contradictions. Muslims must grow up to rectify the misleading interpretations of the Quran and convey the true message of the Quran to the whole world and prove them wrong from the words of the Quran. If we are true Muslims it is our duty to bring out the true message of the Quran and circulate it throughout the world to remove blame from Allah and His exalted holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and get Islam released from the occupation of polytheist pagan hijackers, who have reverted us to paganism in the name of Islam.

The Quranic word صلاۃ (Salaat) is a prime noun of the same Arabic root word that is used to derive the popular words of general Arabic language “الاتصالات” (Al itti Salaat) and “مواصلات” (Mawa Salaat), and linguistically صلاۃ (Salaat) is a synonym of Arabic words “اِرْتِباط” (Irti baat), which has the primary characteristics of “اتصالات” (Atta Salaat) and “مواصلات” (Mawa Salaat).

So, being a prime word and as an integral part of “اتصالات” (Itti Salaat) and “مواصلات” (Mawa Salaat), the Quranic word صلاۃ (Salaat) is actually used to mean: attachment ; conjunction ; connectedness ; connection ; junction ; liaison ; link (age) ; linkup ; union ; unitedness; accompanying; occurring; going; being with; escorting; attaching; the fact of being situated near or next to something; action of associating or being associated; being in somebody's company; friendship; alliance; partnership; get together, union; combination; bond; correlation; good fellowship; being together with another or others, persons with whom one spends one's time, group of persons or guests, or number of persons united for business or activity; coexistence or accompaniment; agreement in opinion; union , connection; (state of) joining; associating in occurrence or action; uniting with others (by family or working relationships etc.); state of having a mutual relation, bringing into such a relation; companionship, friendliness; communication; social relations; a point at which two or more things are joined together; a place where two or more railway lines or roads meet, unite or cross; the act or instance of joining; communication or cooperation; relationship in which one is caused or affected by the other; relationship between two or more people; link or tie; act or instance of uniting or the state of being united.

The same word صلاۃ (Salaat) with the definite article الصلاۃ (As Salaah) refers to connect, to reach out, to join, to unite, to communicate, to make relation and to get together for the special purpose given by Allah (swt) following Allah’s commandments and His guideline.

If you replace the fake meaning of صلاۃ (Salaat) from the contradictory translations of the above mentioned verses you will see yourself the correct, logical, sensible and understandable meaning of these verses as mentioned below.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (33:56)

“That Allah and His angels join/communicate/connect/reach out to the Prophet, O those who have belief they join him (the Prophet) and they accept an extradite/a surrendering/a submitting/a deliverance (correct translation of 33:56)

جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا فَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ (38:56).

“Hell connects/joins them that is an evil resting place.” (correct translation 38:56)

جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا وَبِئْسَ الْقَرَارُ (14:29).

“Hell connects/joins them and what an evil establishment/place to stay/settlement.” (correct translation 14:29)

وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ - يَصْلَوْنَهَا يَوْمَ الدِّينِ (82:14 & 82:15).

“Indeed the licentious/impure/indecent/immoral/filth/unfriendly/aggressive/ antagonistic/ inimical/unwelcoming across/are into Hell – are put them together on the submission day/dwelling period of time.” (correct translation 82:14 & 82:15)

لَمْ يُصَلُّواْ فَلْيُصَلُّواْ مَعَكَ (4:102).

“Indeed they join/ become connected/communicate with those who got together with you.” (correct translation 4:102)

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ (33:43).

“Who is communicating to yourselves and his properties (angels)” (correct translation 33:43)

According to the grammar “الَّذِي”(Allazi) is an Adjective Clause (الْمُرَكَّبُ الْوَصْفِيُّ) that is also known as a relative pronoun or a pronoun which refers or relates to some noun preceding it and it is important to note that the following conditions must be met in order to translate الذي (Allazi) correctly:

Rule 1. In Arabic, a verb usually follows الذي (Allazi). This may not always be the case in English, but it is in Arabic. It is possible to follow الذي with a pronoun, but it’s usually regarded as redundant.

Example sentence to understand the following rules:

“هذا هو الفستان الذي انا شتريته امس” This is the dress that I bought him yesterday.

Rule 2. The verb that follows الذي (Allazi) must refer the direct object such as “I bought him a dress or gown (الفستان). In this example, we will use a verb form شتريته (I bought him, referring to the dress) instead of just شتريت (I bought) because it must refer back to the dress (الفستان)

Rule 3. The object before الذي (Allazi) must be a definite object, as in it must have the ال prefix. In this case, it is الفستان or the dress.

A relative pronoun is a pronoun which refers or relates to the definite noun preceding it e.g.:

This is Muhammad who has passed هَـٰذَا مُحَمَّدٌ الَّذِي نَجَحَ

This is the door which is in front of the mosque هَـٰذَا الْبَابُ الَّذِي أَمَامَ الْمَسْجِدِ

This is the cat that has sat هَـٰذَا الْقِطٌّ الَّذِي جَلَسَ

In the above sentences, the noun Muhammad that is a proper name of a personality, the door and the cat are the definite noun. They are called antecedents and the words who, which and that refer to them respectively. In Arabic however all these three words (who, which and that) are represented by a single word الَّذِي (Allazi) that is their relative noun (الاسْمُ الْمَوْصُولُ) such as:

“اللهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الإِنْسَانَ” Allah who has created the human.
“الطَّالِبُ الَّذِي فِي مَدْرَسَةٍ “ The student who is in a school.
“الْقَلَمُ الْجَمِيلُ الَّذِيعَلَىٰ مَكْتَبٍ لِلْمُدَرِّسِ” The beautiful pen which is on a desk belongs to the teacher.
“السَّرِيْرُ الَّذِي فِي غُرْفَةِ خَالِدٍ مَكْسُورٌ” The bed that is in Khalid’s room is broken.
“الطَّالِبُ الَّذِي هُوَ جَالِسٌ مِنْ إِنْدُونِيسِيَا” The student who is sitting is from Indonesia
“الطَّرِيقُ الَّذِي عِنْدَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ مُزْدَحِمٌ” The road that is near the school is crowded.

In all of the above examples, ‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘that’, are exactly where you would slot in the word الذي (Allazi) and translate it into other languages accordingly.

Please see the use of الذي (Allazi) following the definite noun المبلغ (Almubligh) in the popular Arabic Phrase which is used in the finance and insurance industries to define “insurance”

“المبلغ الذي يؤمن شيء عليه” The amount that it believes in something.

If the verb that follows الذي (Allazi) has a conjunction after it, you will still need to include the conjunctions after the verbs. For example, in the following sentence you will see that referring back to the object (the chair) does not happen at the verb itself, but at the conjunction عليه , where ” ه” (haa) at the end refers back to the chair.

“هذا هو الكرسي الذي تجلس عليه” This is the chair that she is sitting on.

After explaining the Quranic word صلاۃ (Salaah), presenting the correct translations of selected verses of the Quran and explaining correct grammatical rules to translate the Quran I would like to address, in the light of the Quran, a very common problem which is the usual excuse for non-Arabs who don’t want to understand the Quran. This problem is that these people think Arabs are not ignorant to the language of the Quran because they have always had learned scholars in them and since Arabic is their own language they do everything right and follow the Quran correctly. According to these people Arabs understand the Quran better than anyone else. However, the reality is that Arabs don’t follow the Quran at all and their current religion or faith is solely based on traditions and . jurisprudence.

Allah Himself addresses these questions in the verse 9:97 of Surah “Tauba”. Although the traditional translations of this verse have been slightly modified to satisfy the Arabs, however it still serves the purpose of explaining the issue raised above.

“الأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًا وَنِفَاقًا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلاَّ يَعْلَمُواْ حُدُودَ مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ” (9:97)

‘The Arabs of the desert are the worst in Unbelief and hypocrisy, and most fitted to be in ignorance of the command which Allah hath sent down to His Messenger: But Allah is All-knowing, All-Wise.’ (Translation by Yusuf Ali).

The above translation is not even a proper translation but it still answers the question of those who reject the clear message of the Quran by following the pagan Arabs.

Yusuf Ali added the words “of the desert” after the word “The Arabs” whilst most scholars have deleted the word “the Arabs” from their translations out of blind faith in Arabs or to simply escape from their anger. Some scholars have even replaced the Quranic word “the Arabs” with the “villagers” or “Badduins”.

However, the Quran is very clear in its statement and uses the plural definite noun “الأَعْرَابُ” to mean “The Arabs” which cannot be replaced by any other word in the translation.

In conclusion, we should understand the Quranic word صلاۃ (Salaah) and its derivatives in their correct meaning and true spirit instead of blindly taking them to mean contact prayer or Namaz which clearly does not fit into all verses of the Quran.