Plenary, 14 Feb 2007

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Official Report 436KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Imam Arif of the Central Scotland Islamic Centre in Stirling.

In the name of Allah, most merciful, most beneficent, may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon us.

In Islam, prayer is the fundamental aspect of the believer's religious life. The Prophet Muhammad—peace be upon him—once said,

"Prayer is the essence of worship."

Prayer lies at the heart of a man or woman's relationship with God. It is the acknowledgement of God's divinity—ilahiyya—and mastery over creation—rububiyya.

In Islam, prayer assumes four basic forms: the formulaic prayer or Salat; personal prayer or Du'a; meditational prayer or Dhikr; and communion or Munajat. The first type—Salat—combines the latter three with the ritualistic bodily movements of standing, bowing, and prostration, with which many people are familiar. This type of prayer is also the central liturgical act in Islam, although it is not confined to the liturgy and, like the other three types, can be done privately and away from the mosque.

One way in which we can view the four types of prayer is that the first type is our undertaking an act that God demands of us, while the latter three types provide us with an opportunity to ask God for his blessings, grace, favours or gifts. They all provide one with an opportunity to praise, adore, thank and glorify God.

Every act of the formulaic prayer or Salat has deeper spiritual significance. For example, the great theologian, Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali—may Allah's mercy be upon him—says:

"When the servant says at the beginning of the Salat, ‘God is Infinite', he removes from his heart the thought that anything is greater than God. When he subsequently says, ‘I orient myself towards God,' he focuses completely on his Lord, and orients himself away from any worldly distractions."

Invocations, supplications and communion are usually all expressed in personal terms, but the best prayers are those learned from the Prophet Muhammad—peace be upon him—himself. One well-known prophetic invocation is as follows:

"O God! I ask you to bless me to do only good, and to leave all bad. I ask you that you grant me love of the poor, and that you forgive and have mercy on me. O God! I ask you to grant me your love, and the love of those who love you, and the love of those actions that draw me close to your love."

That is a brief summary of prayer in Islam. It is my prayer that we can all do our part, in our respective ways, to work for a safer and more just world.