Praise
be to God, the Lord of the Creation, the all-merciful, the
all-compassionate! Ruler of the day of reckoning!
"Thee we worship, and Thee we invoke for help. Lead us in the straight
path - the path of those upon whom thou hast been gracious, not of
those that are the objects of wrath or that are in error."
The Moslem faithful pray five times in the twenty-four hours: in the
morning before sunrise, at noon, before sunset, after sunset, and
before the first watch of the night: and that these observances were
not originally instituted merely that their prayers might be seen
before men, would appear from the injunction which lays down that
"what is principally to be regarded in the duty of prayer, is the
inward disposition of the heart, which is its entire life and spirit,
the most punctual observance being of no avail if performed without
devotion, reverence, attention, and hope."
Prayer was held by Mahomet to be the "pillar of religion" and the
"key of paradise," and in the performance of it, his disciples are
enjoined to lay aside their ornaments and costly habits, and all that
might savour of either pride or arrogance.
Its observance, however, at five stated times appears to be nowhere
mentioned in the Koran, although the custom is now an essential part,
and the most noticeable and characteristic feature of Mahomedanism.
Saints and sinners join equally in the form. A crime just committed,
or one in immediate contemplation, in no way interferes with the
"five-time prayers," and the neglect of them amounts to an abnegation
of the Faith. The summons to prayer was originally only one sentence,
"To public prayer." Mahomet, however, afterwards bethought himself
that a more elaborate and striking call would be an improvement,
and the present "Azzan," or call to prayer, was introduced.
While the matter was under discussion, Mahomet being unable to decide
upon any suitable form, a certain Abdallah dreamed that he met a man
arrayed in green raiment carrying a bell. Abdallah sought to buy it,
thinking it would just suit the Prophet for assembling together the
Faithful. The stranger, however, replied, "I will show you a better
way than that; let a crier call aloud -
"Great is the Lord! great is the Lord!
I bear witness that there is no God but the Lord;
I bear witness that Mahomet is the Prophet of God!
Come unto prayer, come unto happiness -
God is great! God is great! There is no God but the Lord!"
Mahomet, learning the particulars of Abdallah's dream, believed it to
have been a vision from on high, and sent his servant forthwith to
execute the Divine command. Ascending to the top of a lofty house,
this first of established Muezzins, on the earliest appearance of
light, startled all around from their slumbers with the newly-adopted
call, adding to it, "Prayer is better than sleep!
