And Jesus said,
And God has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has commissioned me Salat and Zakat as long as I am alive. - The Qur'an 19:31
The term Salat is a multi-dimensional term in Arabic which encompasses the following meaning all together:
Communion
Communication, Connection, Link
To follow closely
To follow God's commands
By implication, Salat also means:
Commitment (to God)
Duty
To observe God's command
All of the above meaning are the broad / abstract meaning of Salat.
Salat in terms of context specific can also mean Prayer, Petition, Supplication.
If we study the Qur'an while paying special attention to all the context where Salat is used, we will come across both broad meaning as well as the specific meaning.
Now going back to the 19th Chapter of the Qur'an which is titled Maryam, the blessed mother of Jesus. Whenever Qur'an introduces Jesus, it uses the term, Jesus son of Mary, linking Jesus and Maryam together. In describing Jesus and his blessed status, in the voice of Jesus himself, the Quran mentions that Jesus was blessed wherever he has - and we know from his life history as much as it survived from various sources that he traveled far and wide. He was always on the move, never staying in one place for long. This is both before he began preaching as well as later on.
Perhaps referring to his traveling nature, it is mentioned that wheresoever he may be, he is remained always blessed by the blessing of God.
Then it is mentioned that Jesus was commanded to commit to God (Salat) as well as Charity (Zakat).
In the Bible we do find references of Jesus praying. Since he was coming from the Jewish tradition which recommend at least three times a prayer a day, its very much possible that Jesus was doing the same. We find that he prayed in the early morning as well as during night.
From the description of Jesus and his disciples, we find the following references of Jesus praying and their corresponding time:
Mark 1:35, Jesus got up very early in the morning to pray.
Acts 10:9, Disciples prayed about noon.(Zuhuri prayer) U make it?
Acts 3:1, Disciples again went to the a temple at the time of prayer around 3 pm
Matthew 14:23, Jesus went to pray when evening came.
Mark 14:33-39, Jesus said to his disciples, sit here while I pray. He fell to the ground & prayed. It was during night.
When Jesus was asked how to pray, Jesus was inspired to teach them a particular prayer, known as Lord's prayer which can be attributed as Salat of Jesus.
The Lord's prayer in original Aramaic, the mother tongue of Jesus are the following:
Abwoon d’bwashmaya | Our Father in heaven |
Nethqadash shmakh | Hallowed is Your Name |
Teytey malkuthakh |
Your Kingdom comes |
Nehwey tzevyananch aykanna d’bwahmaya aph b’arha |
Let Your will be done just as in heaven so on earth |
Hablan lachma d’sunqanan yaomana |
Give us our bread of need this day |
Wahboqlan khaubayn (wakhtahayn) aykanna daph khnan shbwoqan I’khayyabayn. |
Forgive our wrong doings as we forgive those who wronged us |
Wa la tahlan l’nesyuna Ela patzan min bisha |
Do not bring us into trial but deliver us from the evil |
Metol dilakhie malkutha wa hayla wa teshbukhta l’ahlam almin. Ameyn |
For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever and ever. Amen. |
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