30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World | www.30-days.net » saudi arabia http://www.30-days.net What Christians should know about Islamic background, history and culture. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:11:00 +0000 en hourly 1 Prayer in Islam http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/prayer/ http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/prayer/#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 12:32:12 +0000 TDI http://www.30-days.net/reveal/prayer/ Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day at specific times while facing the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim prayer is formal and ritualistic yet many Muslims do make every effort to be sincere and upright in performing their prayers. Muslim prayer is characterised by rules of respect and attitudes of politeness toward Allah. (Please note that all Arab speakers use this word for God – whether Christian or Muslim, though their ideas of God are significantly different.)

“Praying correctly and at the appropriate time is one of the greatest indications of (Muslim) faith and a great sign of true religion”. Prayer is to be done with heart and body cleanliness, with cleanness of clothing and in a ceremonially clean place. The washing of the hands, nose, face, forearms, ears, and feet in preparation for Muslim prayer is important.

The words

Muslims place very strong emphasis on the exact postures and the words of their prayers (which are always in Arabic). Almost all Muslim prayer is concerned with reciting specific phrases from memory. In the course of the five regular prayer times a Muslim will prostrate himself before Allah a total of 34 times and he will repeat the following phrases:

“Allah is greater”
“Praised be my mighty Lord”
“Allah hears the one who praises him”

He will also recite the “Al-Fatiha” or another text from the Qur’an 17 times, the “Shadada” (Islamic creed), and the greeting of peace to all Muslims.

Answered Prayer

Muslims can make requests to God privately after they finish their ritual prayers. However, this is not done as often as Christians typically make requests. Muslims do not believe that God binds himself to his people through covenants. This is a key concept for understanding their attitudes toward answers to prayer and their lack assurance of God’s steadfast love towards them. In addition, because of the fatalism of Islam, Muslims generally have little faith that their requests will alter their circumstances. They generally believe that Allah’s desires (for good or ill) will always be done despite their activities or requests. Trusting in God for specific responses to prayer in the Christian sense is not practised among Muslims. This is a huge difference between Muslim and Christian religious experience.

When Christians speak of prayer they mean direct two-way communication with God. Muslims never expect God to speak back to them directly at any moment and certainly not during prayer. The vast majority of Muslims will say that God only speaks through the Qur’an. Even Mohammed is said only to have heard from God indirectly through an angel. Christian prayer, on the other hand, is a combination of requests, thanksgiving and praise. The Bible says that we should “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and bless (praise) his name” (Psalm 100:4).

Let us Pray…

* Muslims need to come to know the Christ of Christian prayer. Pray that Muslims would come to believe that God Himself wants to communicate directly with them. Pray this specifically for any Muslims that you may know personally. Pray for the Muslims in your city, region and nation.

* Pray for newly-converted Muslims, that they may develop real confidence in God as one who keeps His covenants, makes promises and who hears and answers prayer.

* Christians need to share their prayer experience with Muslims in humility. Pray that God will give us wisdom when describing our Christian prayer experience so that God would be glorified and Muslims could understand Him better.

Video: Ever Wonder How

Prayer Intro from DanStevers.com on Vimeo.

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]]> http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/prayer/feed/ 20 Arafat Day – all Christians please pray http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/arafat/ http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/arafat/#comments Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:00:19 +0000 TDI http://www.30-days.net/reveal/arafat/ Arafat Day is an important occasion during the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah or Hajj

The 9th day of the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah marks a significant day for Muslims, yet it is a day not so well known or talked about in the rest of the world. The day is called the Day of Arafat.

Arafat Day and it’s Significance

On the first day of the Hajj Pilgrimage, Muslims sweep out of Mecca toward Mina, a small uninhabited village east of the city. As their throngs spread through Mina, the pilgrims generally spend their time meditating and praying, as the Prophet did on his pilgrimage. During the second day, the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims leave Mina for the plain of Arafat. The Prophet is reported to have asked Allah to pardon the sins of pilgrims who stood at Arafat, and was granted his wish. Thus, the hopeful pilgrims prepare to leave this plain joyfully, feeling reborn without sin and intending to turn over a new leaf.

Just after sunset, the mass of pilgrims proceed to Muzdalifah, an open plain halfway between Arafat and Mina. There they first pray and then collect pebbles to use on the following days. The next day begins the Eid holiday or Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice.

Why Arafat Day?

The Day of Arafat is the only day when Muslims gather together at Arafat Mountain in an act of unity to pray and fast for their religion and to offer sacrifices as they remember that Abraham offered Ishmael, not Isaac. It is called the Day of Repentance. It was from this site that Muhammad gave his famous Farewell Sermon in his final year of life.

The Day of Arafat is doubtless the most unified day of any Muslim event. Imagine Muslims gathered together at Arafat Mountain in unity, praying and fasting and stoning the devil whom they say tried to stop their father Abraham from offering Ishmael and offer Isaac instead. You see, Muslims declare that Ishmael is the son of the promise, not Isaac. Muslims offer sacrifices in remembrance that Abraham offered Ishmael as a sacrifice for sins, not Isaac! (Those who complete the Hajj are told all the sins before the journey are forgiven.)

Arafat Day comes 70 days after the start of Ramadan each year.

Prayer guide for Arafat Day:

1- Pray and fast through the day that the Holy Spirit will break spiritual deceiving and blindness over the eyes of the Muslims, declaring Isaac as the seed, not Ishmael.

2 – Gather as many groups as possible – either three to five believers or, in small meetings or overnight prayer events to offer the True God our sacrifices of praise.

3- Declare that the True God is known only through Jesus Christ the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not Ishmael, according to the Scriptures. Pray for truth to be revealed, that is, the truth of the real promise through Isaac in Jesus Christ to be known. Pray for Muslims to become the sons of Abraham and to know their rights to the promises which were through Isaac.

Video: About Arafat Day

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]]> http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/arafat/feed/ 18 About Islam and The Prophet Muhammad http://www.30-days.net/islam/history/prophet/ http://www.30-days.net/islam/history/prophet/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:45:58 +0000 TDI http://30-days.net/reveal/prophet/ The word ‘Islam’ simply means submission to god, and a Muslim is one who follows the laws of Islam. The revelation of Islam was given to Muhammad, who is revered by Muslims as the greatest prophet. ‘Muhammad’ is not just a name but a title which means ‘The Praised One’.

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad (Mohammed or Mahomet) was born around AD570 in Mecca, a city of Arabia. Mecca was already a shrine city where the Ka’aba (Cube) was located known as the “house of Allah”. (Allah is the Arabic word for god.) Ka’aba was full of the images of other gods and goddesses which Muhammad later banned.

Muhammad’s father died before he was born and he was a member of the Hashim clan of the powerful Quraysh tribe. Muhammad’s mother, Amina, died when he was only 6. Muhammad went to live with his grandfather, who was the guardian of the Ka’aba. Sadly, 2 years later his grandfather also died and from the age of 8, Muhammad was brought up by his uncle, Abu Talib, who was a merchant along the great camel trade routes.

Prophet Muhammad in his Teenage Years

As a youth, Muhammad grew up during a time of economic unrest and discontent concerning the vast difference between the very rich and the very poor. Pagan worship abounded in Arabia, as there were an estimated 360 gods and goddesses to appease, with over 124,000 prophets known at the time. Muslim historians record that even as a boy Muhammad detested idol worship and lived a morally pure life.

Muhammad’s Adult Life

Muhammad was employed by Khadija, a wealthy widow, to manage her caravan trade. He became known as ‘Al-Amin’, the trustworthy one, and was a prominent member of the trade guild of Mecca.

At the age of 25 he married Khadija and their marriage produced 6 children, although all of them died, except for the youngest daughter – Fatima. Muhammad and Khadija were married for 25 years. Later, after Khadija died, Muhammad endorsed polygamy and married several wives.

At the age of 40, he became very concerned about the state of his fellow countrymen and spent much of his time in meditation on religious matters. During his life, Muhammad had met many Christians priests and Jews. He often sought counsel from a particular ‘Jacobite’ monk who taught Muhammad many aspects of Jewish religious customs.

Ramadan

During the Arabic month of Ramadan, Muhammad often retreated to a cave on the slopes of Mount Hira, 5 kilometers or 3 miles from Mecca. It was during one of these times that Muhammad began to receive revelation and instruction that he believed were from the archangel Gabriel. These revelations form the basis of the Qur’an (Koran). In addition to the Qur’an is the book of ‘Hadiths’. The Hadith is the teaching of Muhammad and is an important part of the life of a Muslim.

The Qur’an (Koran)

Muhammad proclaimed that the (soon to be) Qur’an was the final and superior revelation from the One Supreme God. He banned the worship of idols, and taught that a Muslim’s life must be wholly committed to Allah with ritual washing before the 5 daily times of prayer facing Mecca. Friday became the appointed day for corporate worship at the mosque.

Muhammad’s Death

Muhammad died in AD632 in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

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