Has Prayer Lost Its Power
Creator: Syed Abul-Ala Maududi
Date: 2007-07-25
Format: text
Identifier: http://www.islamworld.net/plp.txt
Language: en
Subject: prayer
Title: Has Prayer Lost Its Power
Created on: Wed Jul 25 21:19:52 -0400 2007
Updated on: Wed Jul 25 21:19:52 -0400 2007
Version: 1
Abstract: ... ts face. In order to fasten together different parts of the clock, screws and small pieces of metal have been used. SimilarlY, to join all the parts of Islam together, there is an arrangement called the Jama'ah or organization. Muslims should organize themselves, and have leaders equipped with proper knowledge and endowed with taqwa; the brains should help them and the limbs should obey them, as they all strive to live under God. When all the parts have been brought together and properlY assembled, regular winding is necessary to set them in motion and to continue their movement: Salah which is offered five times a day provides that winding, creating the energy which sets an Islamic life in motion. Cleaning this clock is also necessary: fasting observed for thirty days a year cleanses hearts and morals. Lubrication, too, is required: Zakah is like the oil which is applied to its parts once a year. Then it is also necessary to overhaul it periodically: Hajj is that overhauling which should be performed at least once in a lifetime. And the more often it is done, the better. Abusing the Clock The processes of winding, cleaning, lubricating and overhauling are of use only when all the parts are present in the frame, when they are linked in the order designed by the clock-maker, and when all are so trained that immediately on winding they start moving and begin showing results. Alas, today the situation has become very different. For a start, the very Jama'ah, the organizational structure, which was supposed to link the parts of the clock together has ceased to exist. The result is that all the fittings have come apart, each has gone its own way. Everybody does whatever takes his fancy. There is nobody to question anything. Everyone is autonomous. If someone wants to follow the Islamic code, he can; if he does not want to, he need not. Since even this so-called freedom has not satisfied you, you have pulled out many parts of the clock and in their place put anything and everything: a spare part from a sewing machine, perhaps, or from a factory or from the engine of a car. You call yourselves Muslims, yet you render loyal service to Kufr, yet you take interest, you insure your lives, you file false law suits, your daughters, sisters and wives are forsaking Islamic manners and your children are being given secular materialistic educations. Some have become disciples of Gandhi; others are following Lenin. Which un-Islamic gadget is there that you have not fixed into the frame of the clock of Islam? Despite this, you expect the clock to work when you wind it! And you suppose that cleaning, lubricating and overhaul- ing it will also be of use. With a little reflection, however, you should see that in the condition to which you have reduced the clock you can wind it, lubricate it, and overhaul it, for the whole of your lives without any effect. Nothing will happen until you remove the parts brought in from other appliances, replace them with the original parts, and restore the original priorities. Then, and only then, will the winding and so forth produce any results. Why Worship Rites Are Ineffective This state of affairs is the real reason why your Salah, Sawm, Zakah an... [Full Article...]
