SALAT AND HAJJ:
          THE LOST LEGACY OF ABRAHAM IN THE WEST

Hajj  - The pilgrimage to Mecca required of every Muslim at least once in
        his life

Haji  - 1. A Muslim who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca
        2. In the Near East, a Christian who has made a pilgrimage to the
        Holy Sepulcher at Jerusalem

(The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary)
 

To many in the West, the formidable sight of millions of Muslims converging
upon the Ka'ba in Mecca to observe the hajj pilgrimage, or their bowing and
prostrating in unison during the salat prayer, evokes the imagery of a
foreign religion.  Muslims who live in the West have often encountered the
stares of common folk, who wonder out loud as they stumble upon them during
salat, be that in the privacy of their own offices or in public places.
As for the hajj pilgrimage, there is simply no parallel for it today in
Judaism or Christianity.

Salat prayer and hajj pilgrimage of course are only two of he five pillars
of Islam,  as these religious practices are traditionally called. The others
are the declaration of faith in the oneness of God (shahadah), the
purification charity (zakat) and the fasting (seyam) during the month of
Ramadan. Although not exactly household words (with the exclusion, perhaps,
of charity), these practices nevertheless are not foreign to the Western
mind set. Notwithstanding the specifics, the concepts of the oneness of God,
charity and fasting still exist in Judaism and Christianity in one form or
another. The declaration of the oneness of God, the exemplar of which is
found in the Quran 3:18, is also found both in the Jewish and the Christian
Bibles (see Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:37). The concept of zakat still
exists in the Bible as almsgiving/charity and tithing (Matthew 6:1-4,
Malachi 3:7-12, Exodus 30:16). Fasting is also found in its various forms,
for example see Matthew 6:16-18, Acts 13:2.

However, salat and hajj are generally viewed in another light. To many in
the West, these two practices are the most visible and telling `differences'
that sets Islam apart from their Judeo-Christian heritage and traditions.

But are they really?  Are salat or hajj truly  practices unique to the
Muslims?  Or, are they actually ancient universal practices common to
Judaism, Christianity as well as Islam, the religions of Abraham's
descendants?
 

The Quranic Perspective
 

The Quran is very clear on the fact that Abraham was the founder of Islam
(Submission). He called himself a muslim (submitter), and asked God to teach
him the rites and practices of the religion. God taught him how to work
righteousness, and to observe salat prayer and zakat charity (2:128, 22:78,
21:73). Abraham, together with his son Ismail, founded the ancient shrine
known as the Ka'ba in today's Mecca (2:127). The Quran continues:

We appointed Abraham to establish the shrine, you shall not idolize any
other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate. And proclaim that the people shall observe the hajj pilgrimage... (22:26-27).

It is curious that the concept of hajj pilgrimage is no longer known in the
Western Judeo-Christian traditions, although as pointed out by the
definitions quoted at the beginning of this article, a pilgrimage with a
similar name is still practiced by the Eastern Christians.  We shall see in
the second article of this series what the Bible has to say on this subject.

The Quranic verses at the head of this article tell us that generations who
came after Abraham and Israel lost the practice of salat. The mention of
Israel (a.k.a. Jacob, Abraham's grandson from Isaac) here is significant.
It is those who received his heritage (the people of Judeo-Christian
traditions) who generally consider the salat as a `foreign' practice.
This is in contrast to their prophets and messengers of old who, according
to the Quran (e.g. 20:14, 19:31, 3:43) practiced salat as a regular form of
worship, as salat is also a commandment upon all children of Israel
(2:43, 83, 5:12).  We shall see later that this notion is supported by the
Bible as well.

The Quran also mentions salat in connection with the idol worshipers. By
definition, idol worshipers also believe God, but they ascribe partners
and associates with Him. There are six verses in the Quran asking the idol
worshipers this rhetorical question and showing, despite their belief in
God, how they still deviate and go astray:

If you ask them, who created the heavens and the earth? they will say,
God. Say, why then do you set up idols beside God?..  (39:38)
 

It is a significant Quranic fact that the idol worshiping enemies of prophet
Muhammad, who invented Allaat, Al-`Uzza and Manaat as `the three daughters'
for God, also practiced the salat:
 

Their salat prayers at the Sacred Shrine were no more than a mockery and
a means of repelling the people... (8:35)
 
 

History Or His Story?
 

Although the Quran's position on the origin of Islamic religious practices
is clear, average Muslims are ironically unaware of this. For example, many
Muslims erroneously believe that salat originated during the prophet
Muhammad's night journey (Isra' and Mi'raj).  During the process, he went
back and forth to God (with the prophet Moses' urging) to have the number of
daily salat reduced from the original 50 to five!  The available records from
the vast Islamic heritage show that this is but one of the many versions of
what happened that night, according to narration.

A more plausible version (because it agrees with the Quran) has it that the
prophet Muhammad stayed in his cousin's house, Umm Hanni - the daughter of
his uncle Abu Talib, during the night in question. It continues that after
the night prayer (salat al-isha), the prophet went to bed. The following
morning, after praying the dawn (salat al-fajr) together with everyone in
the house, the prophet told the story of the incredible journey he went
through that night (A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, a translation of
Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah, Oxford University Press, 1967, p.184.
Ibn Ishaq was an 8th century AD historian / 85-151 H, who lived well before
the hadith were codified). This version is more likely, not only because it
does not have the exaggerated tone of the others, but it also contains an
important observation which agrees with the Quran.  Namely, that the daily
prayer (salat) was a well known practice among the people even before
prophet Muhammad's night journey.

The Muslim masses over the centuries have been indoctrinated with the hearsay
and exaggerations of medieval story tellers. These are full of drama but
short on facts. Needless to say, the most reliable source from a Muslim's
perspective is the word of God in the Quran.  Historical records also support
the Quranic assertions that the concept of one God, as well as the salat,
hajj, fasting and charity practices of Abraham were apparently preserved by
his descendants from Ismail. This could have been one of the reasons, and
certainly God planned everything, that the Final Testament - the Quran - was
sent down to complete the religion of Abraham through Muhammad of Arabia,
who came from Ismail's line.

What about the older scriptures?  What insights can they provide us
regarding this subject?  It turns out that even a quick study of the Bible
is able to reveal some astonishing facts.

Salat Is Not Just A Prayer

The salat can best be described as he contact prayer  (the root word sila
means to make contact).  Strictly speaking, it is not the same concept of
prayer that people in the West understand when they say, "Oh, we pray to
God all the time," usually upon learning that Muslims 'pray five times a day.'
This is supplication, the act of asking God for whatever needs one has at
the moment. Indeed, people who believe in the Creator, including Muslims,
do this all the time.  But salat is a daily ritual of making regular contact
with God, facing a certain direction, using an ancient formula which begins
with washing to purify oneself, and includes the specific acts of bowing,
kneeling and prostration to symbolize total submission to Him.
 

Biblical Perspective: Washing
 

Both the Old and the New Testaments mention many specific aspects of the
contact prayer. For example, the act of washing to purify oneself before
facing God in prayer is mentioned in Exodus 30:17-21, 40:3032, Psalm 26:6
and James 4:8, among others.

(Moses, Aaron and his sons) washed their hands and feet whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approaching the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses...
(Exodus 40:32)

The New Testament mentions Jesus' symbolic washing of his disciples' feet,
whereupon Peter objected and said he wanted Jesus to wash `not just his feet,
but his hands and his head as well.' Jesus answered that a person who has had
a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean (John 13:9-10),
which brings to mind the Quranic rule on washing. Baptism with water, another
practice in Christianity (see for example 1 Peter 3:21) may have something in
common with this ancient Jewish practice. The practice of wiping the hands
and face with water as one enters a Catholic church today is also worth
mentioning.
 
 
Posture Of Humility In Prayers
 

References to kneeling and prostration to express one's humbleness before
the Almighty abound in the Bible, practiced by such notables as Abraham,
Moses and Aaron, Joshua, Elijah, Solomon and Jesus (Genesis 17:3, Numbers
20:6, Joshua 5:14, 1 Kings 18:42, 1 Kings 8:54, Matthew 26:36-39, Acts 20:30).

   Moses and Aaron fell facedown at the Tent of Meeting... (Numbers 20:6)

   (The people) fell prostrate and cried, he Lord, He is God!  The Lord, He
   is God!....Elijah bent down to the ground and put his face between his
   knees... (1 Kings 18:39,42)

   (Jesus) fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My Father, ..."
   (Matthew 26:39)

Prostration in prayer is still practiced by some members of the Russian
Orthodox Church, and some Catholics still maintain kneeling in prayer. In
contrast, Baptists and other Christian denominations have abandoned kneeling,
and the Jewish liturgy has eliminated it altogether. The only exception
perhaps is the Samaritan Jew, whose prayer is similar to the Muslim's salat,
but for the language.
 

Regular Prayer Time And The Qiblah
 

The concepts of regular daily prayer times and the direction (qiblah) faced
during prayer still exist in the Bible as well.  Acts 10:2 mentions a
God-fearing person by the name of Cornelius at the time of Jesus, who prays
regularly. In Acts 10:30 he is described performing his usual afternoon
prayer. The afternoon prayer, as well as the noon prayer, also are described
elsewhere:

One day Peter and John (two of Jesus' apostles) were going up to the
temple at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon  (Acts 3:1).

About noon the following day as they are approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray  (Acts 10:9)

The Old Testament, which is derived from the Jewish Bible, also mentions
several interesting facts about salat.  In his prayer of dedication of the
Temple that he built for God in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 8:22-53),
Solomon stated several times that servants of God, the people of Israel and
foreigners, pray toward the city He has chosen (i.e. Jerusalem) and the
temple he has built there for God's Name; thus the concept of qiblah. In
Daniel 6:10 we read about Daniel, one of the Jewish prophets during the time
of exile in Babylon, who used to pray three times a day, facing the direction
of Jerusalem. In so doing, he was following the examples of Solomon and his
father David. The Psalms give a clear example of the three daily prayer times
practiced by David:

Listen to my prayer, O God....... As for me, I call upon God, and the
Lord saves me.  Evening, morning and noon, I cry out in distress and He
hears my voice...  (Psalms 55:1,16-17)

The above list of Biblical verses is certainly not exhaustive, yet it is
astonishingly clear that the act of salat still exists both in the Jewish
and the Christian scriptures.  From this perspective, it is hard to imagine
people from Judeo-Christian backgrounds who do not view the Muslim's practice
of salat as their own heritage that has been `lost' over time.
 

A final note on this subject:  In her book Muhammad, A Biography of the
Prophet, Harper, 1992, pp. 148 and 163, Armstrong mentioned - without quoting
sources - that the Arabs during the time of Muhammad also practiced three
daily salat prayers similar to the Jews, i.e. morning, noon and evening.
In Quran 11:114, three salat prayers are described at oth ends of the day,
and at night. However, the Quran also lists all five daily prayer times, 

Transfer interrupted!

It has been widely acknowledged that these translation and retranslation
processes are fraught with loss or change in the meanings of words and
idioms. This is especially true if the translators are not familiar with the
Semitic customs and manners of the time, in which the scriptures were
recorded originally. There are many other sources of error in translations
of this kind (discussed for example in Kenyon, 1958, Our Bible and the
Ancient Manuscripts;  Lamsa, 1968, The Holy Bible from the Ancient Eastern
Text; Lisa Spray, 1992, Jesus: Myths and Message, and others).
 

Hajj And Hag: A Parallel
 

What has this to do with the subject of hajj?  We have to start with the
word itself, and its root h-j. The investigation of the original meaning of
the root h-j goes no further than hypotheses. The Arabic lexicographers give
the meaning to betake oneself to or towards an object of reverence;this
would agree with pilgrimage although this meaning is clearly denominative.
According to Gesenius' A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament,
the Hebrew equivalent is ag(Hebrew script here). The verb means to make a
pilgrimage or to keep a pilgrim-feast(see for example Moses in Exodus 5:1,
10:9).

In the noun form it has the same meaning; additionally, the hag also refers
to the Feast of Booths, to which we will come back later. It is also possible
that the root oog(Hebrew script here = to go around, to go in a circle)
in North as well as South Semitic languages is connected with it. (One may
recall that circumambulation, or tawaf - going around the Ka'ba, is an
important part of the hajj).

It is a common practice among the Jews to perform circling (hoog) in the temple's sanctuary during the hag. It is interesting that the verb agcan also refers to circling in the sacred dance.Keeping in mind that Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic the scriptural languages of Abraham's descendants have a common Semitic root, we can easily see that the Arabic characters ha and jim are the equivalent of the Hebrew heth and gimel. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Arabic speaking Egyptians also make the same substitution. For example, they use `gabal' instead of the standard Arabic `jabal' for mountain; thus, they also say
`hag' instead of `hajj.'

Let us compare the following passages, which contain the word `pilgrimage,'
from the Quran and the Bible:

He said (to Moses),  wish to offer one of my two daughters for you to
marry, in return for your working for me for eight pilgrimages;
if you make them ten, it will be voluntary on your part... (Quran 28:27)

Pharaoh asked him, how old are you? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.  My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers. (Genesis 47:8-9, NIV Bible)

In both cases, the word `pilgrimage' alludes to the same meaning, i.e. year,
indicating a well known fact that pilgrimage is an annual event.
Other translations of the Bible use the word `sojourning' and `wayfaring'
in place of `pilgrimage' (The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication  Society,
1916 and The New American Bible, Catholic Book Publishing, 1977 respectively).
They may have kept the same understanding (i.e. `year') but in doing so,
they have inadvertently obscured the fact that pilgrimage already was a well
known annual event during the time of Jacob and the Pharaoh.
 

An Old Semitic Custom
 

According to E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1916
(Vol.III, pp.199-200), pilgrimage to a sanctuary is an old Semitic custom,
which is prescribed even in the older parts of the Pentateuch as an
indispensable duty. Three times a year shall you celebrate for Me a hag.
 
 

Gatut S. Adisoma, Ph.D.