Prayers Of The Prophets
All Prophets Of Allah
Were Muslims!
(M. Javed Naseem)
“Surely this is a Reminder.
Let him who will, then, take a
straight path to his Lord.”
(al-Quran 73:19)
Prayer is an act of worship. It is a direct connection between man and God, between the creation and the Creator. There is a saying (Hadith) of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) that when a person prays, he whispers with Allah. There cannot be a more beautiful and precise definition of prayer (Salaat).
Islam is complete submission to Allah – both physical and spiritual. The physical part being your heart/mind and body; and the spiritual part is done by your soul. So, it is the combination and coordination of the two basic elements – body and soul. Philosophers or physicians can divide these elements into three or four (heart, mind, body and soul) but body is nothing without a heart and a mind; similarly heart and mind are nothing without a body. They can’t function or even survive separately. Therefore, let’s stay with two elements – physical and spiritual.
An act of worship (prayer) demands total submission and coordination of these two elements. An Islamic prayer involves some visible physical actions. For example, when we supplicate or ask/beg Allah for something, it is called ‘Dua’. We are asking Allah for something to survive in this world. Therefore, we raise our hands toward the heavens because we believe that Allah maintains His throne (up) in the heavens or even above. But this raising of hands is not new. It existed since the time of Adam. Humans started raising hands up toward the heavens when Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise and sent down to live on earth.
Apart from ‘Dua’, the main act of prayer involves some physical actions like standing respectfully upright like a servant (Qayam); bending or bowing down (Ruku); and bowing down in prostration (Sajdah). Those are the principal actions of prayer. Again, these actions are not new to Islamic prayer. They existed in the heavens and they came down with Adam and Eve to the earth and spread through their offspring.
All prophets and their respective nations were prescribed some physical actions as part of their prayer to the Lord. All of them used to fall ‘on their faces’ on the ground. We call it ‘Sajdah’ (bow down or fall in prostration).
On his website “search4truth.com”, the author, Abu Aasiya, has posted some very informative articles based on good research. His findings confirm my belief that all prophets prayed to Allah in a similar fashion, physically bending and bowing down in prostration – ‘falling on their faces’. Here are some references from the Bible supporting the Muslim prayers.
Prostration & Bowing down:
“I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them nor serve them …” (Deuteronomy 5:6-9)
The very fact that God is instructing His messenger and the people not to ‘bow down’ to idols or to humans, means that bowing is a valid form of worship.
Jesus Christ falls in prostration (Sajdah):
“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt”. (Matthew 26:39).
Jesus kneels down to pray:
“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed”. (Luke 22:41).
Solomon’s prayer:
“And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven”. (I Kings 8:22).
David’s prayer:
“And David said to all the congregation, now bless the Lord our God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped the Lord, and the king”. (I Chronicles 29:20).
David fasts and lies on the ground:
“David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth”. (II Samuel 12:16).
Elijah sits on the ground with his head between his knees:
“So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of (Mount) Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees”. (I Kings 18:42).
Peter kneels down to pray:
“But Peter put them all forth, and knelt down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise”. (Acts 9:40).
Daniel knelt upon his knees three times a day:
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he knelt upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime”. (Daniel 6:10).
Paul kneels down in prayer:
“And when he had thus spoken, he knelt down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him”. (Acts 20:36-37).
Paul and others prayed on shore:
“And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city; and we knelt down on the shore, and prayed”. (Acts 21:5)
God speaking to Isaiah (‘Every knee shall bow’):
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear”. (Isaiah 45:22-23).
Paul confirms bowing of knees:
“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God”. (Romans 14:11).
Abraham falls on his face:
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and three, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations”. (Genesis 17:1-4)
Bowing and kneeling (Psalm 95:6):
“O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker”. (Genesis 17:1-4)
This verse of Bible confirms the physical actions of ‘Ruku’ and ‘Sajood’, the way Muslims pray to Allah.
Falling down before Lord
“Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I fell down the first; because the Lord had said He would destroy you”. (Deuteronomy 9:24-25):
Angels fell on their faces
“And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, Amen; Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelations 7:11-12)
Joshua falls to earth on his face
“And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast Thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!” (Joshua 7:6-7)
Moses & Aaron fell upon their faces
“And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with the all of the congregation?” (Numbers 16:20-22)
Moses and Aaron fall in prostration
“And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces; and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them”. (Numbers 20:6):
Conclusion: We saw Abraham, David, Elijah, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Jesus and his disciples, and angels in the heavens – all bowing down in worship of Allah. And finally, here is Allah’s command to all believers, including the followers of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), to bow down their heads in worship. That’s the proof that the manner of worshiping One True God was the same in every Prophet’s time. The same manner of worship means the same faith or religion. And that faith/religion is called Islam in the Arabic language.
“And be steadfast in prayer; practice regular
charity; and bow down your heads with those
who bow down (in worship).”
(al-Quran 2:43)
And once again I would like to remind you of the same verse from the Holy Quran, in which Allah confirms that Islam is the only religion acceptable to Him. Islam means total surrender (submission) to the Will of God. Different nations might have called it by different names in different languages and in different eras but it is still the same Islam preached by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be upon all of them).
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam,
it will never be accepted of him, and in the
Hereafter he will be one of the losers.”
(al-Quran 3:85)
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