I have a question about the five daily prayers. I know the story of the implementation of five daily prayers. Did the pagans pray five times a day to their gods (i.e. statues)? If I am reading the story right it would mean that the five daily prayers were first introduced to the Prophet Muhammad (sws), what about the prophets before him (sws)? Did they have a set number of prayers?<\/p>\n
Of course the prayer has been a necessary religious practice in all the divine religion. The following verses of the Qur\u2019an testify the fact: 14:37 and 40, 19:55, 11:87, 21:73, 20:14, 3:39, 19:31, 31:17, 5:12, 3:113.<\/p>\n
The Hadith literature and the bible are also replete with the proofs of the said fact.<\/p>\n
It is also known that the number of prayers has also been the same in the teachings of the previous prophets and messengers.<\/p>\n
The form of the prayer may be sometimes different but the basic components like standing and bowing and prostration has been common. There is also a remarkable similarity between the main recitations of the prayer.<\/p>\n
The number of daily prayers has always been five in the divine religions. Though today Jews pray only three times a day but in fact they have started praying two joint prayers as the Shia<\/em> Muslims do. Qur\u2019an and Hadith testify the fact that the pre Islamic Arabs would pray. They had with them the Abrahamic<\/em> traditions which contained the worship of the prayer. Since Mecca was religious center of the Arabs it is not surprising that they faced Ka`bah while offering prayer. I do not have in my access the book you have referred to so that I can see how the author substantiates the claim but on the basis of other sources I am certain that this report carries weight.<\/p>\n Answered by:<\/strong> Tariq Mahmood Hashmi<\/p>\n Date:<\/strong> 2015-01-28<\/p>\n