Al-Muqaddimāt al-Mumahhidāt - Ibn Rush al-Jadd - (1/138)

Al-Muqaddimāt al-MumahhidātIbn Rush al-Jadd

the funeral prayer is called a prayer because it is a supplication for the deceased, even though it contains neither bowing nor prostration? Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Never pray over any of them who dies, nor stand at his grave.” [Al-Tawbah: 84]

It has also been said that salāh derives from the salawān, two veins in the buttocks that bend during bowing and prostration, and that this is why salāh is written with a wāw in the Quranic text. Others say that its name derives from the expression meaning “I straightened the stick,” because prayer leads a person to uprightness and restrains him from disobedience. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Indeed, prayer restrains one from indecency and wrongdoing.” [Al-‘Ankabūt: 45]

Others say that it derives from silah (connection), because it connects the servant to his Creator, meaning that it brings him closer to His mercy and leads him to His bounty and Paradise. The first explanation, however—that salāh takes its meaning from supplication—is the well-known, widely recognized view.

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Linguistically, salāh means supplication. In Islamic law, it denotes a particular supplication at prescribed times, accompanied by prescribed actions.

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There is disagreement concerning the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:

“Indeed, prayer has been prescribed for the believers at appointed times.” [Al-Nisā’: 103]

The same disagreement concerns similar occurrences of the word salāh in the Quran. One view holds that these expressions are indeterminate: their intended meaning cannot be understood from their wording alone, and they require clarification from elsewhere. They therefore cannot be used as evidence for the manner of performing what they prescribe. This is the apparent meaning of Mālik’s statement in Ibn al-Qāsim’s transmission in the Book of Hajj: “Hajj is all set out in the Book of Allah, whereas prayer and zakat are not explained in the Book of Allah. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained that”—or, in another version, “laid that down as Sunnah.”

Another view holds that these expressions are general in scope and may be used as evidence for that purpose. They must therefore be understood in their general sense, encompassing everything denoted by the term among the various kinds of

الصلاة على الميت لما كانت دعاء له سميت صلاة وإن لم يكن فيها ركوع ولا سجود. قال الله ﷿: ﴿وَلا تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَاتَ أَبَدًا وَلا تَقُمْ عَلَى قَبْرِهِ﴾ [التوبة: ٨٤]. وقد قيل: إن الصلاة مأخوذة من الصلوين وهما عرقان في الردف ينحنيان في الركوع والسجود، ولذلك كتبت الصلاة في المصحف بالواو. وقيل: إنها مأخوذة من قولهم صليت العود إذا قومته؛ لأن الصلاة تحمل الإنسان على الاستقامة وتنهى عن المعصية. قال الله ﷿: ﴿إِنَّ الصَّلاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ﴾ [العنكبوت: ٤٥]. وقيل: إنها مأخوذة من الصلة؛ لأنها تصل بين العبد وبين خالقه، بمعنى أنها تدنيه من رحمته وتوصله إلى كرامته وجنته، والأول هو المشهور المعروف أن الصلاة مأخوذة من الدعاء. فصل فالصلاة في اللغة عبارة عن الدعاء، وهي في الشرع واقعة على دعاء مخصوص في أوقات محدودة تقترن به أفعال مشروعة. فصل وقد اختلف في قول الله ﷿: ﴿إِنَّ الصَّلاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًا﴾ [النساء: ١٠٣] وما أشبه ذلك من ألفاظ الصلاة الواردة في القرآن. فقيل: إنها مجملة لا يفهم المراد بها من لفظها وتفتقر في البيان إلى غيرها، فلا يصح الاستدلال بها على صفة ما أوجبته، وهو ظاهر قول مالك في سماع ابن القاسم من كتاب الحج، قوله: الحج كله في كتاب الله، والصلاة والزكاة ليس لها في كتاب الله بيان، ورسول الله ﷺ بين ذلك وسن ذلك في أخرى. وقد قيل: إنها عامة يصح الاستدلال بها على ذلك، ويجب حملها على عمومها في كل ما تناوله الاسم من أنواع