Focus (Opinion) Of the Week - Issue 51

51 - Dec 18th thru Dec 24th 2000, Vol X

What Exactly is Islam? II/IV

COMMON SENSE
By: Hassan Al-Haifi
While the overriding element in Islam centers around the faith in the absolute monotheism of the Divine (see the previous Common Sense article), it goes without saying that among the Five Pillars of Islam (The Five pillars of Islam are: the attestation that “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah; the Five Daily Prayers; Fasting the Month of Ramadan, the Zakat, or religious duty tax; and the Pilgrimage to Mecca), four represent the ritualistic rites that are regarded as the compulsory proscribed rites, that fulfill the faithful’s full allegiance to Allah and the submission of the believer to His will and ordinances. We have discussed the First Pillar in detail in the last article and we continue now with the discussion of the Second Pillar: the Five Daily Prayers in detail also because of the compulsory nature of the rite and because of the continuous opportunity it provides for the believer to remain in direct contact with the Lord Al-Mighty.
The Five Daily Prayers are the most ritualistic physical as well as spiritual rite that fully demonstrate the true faith of the believer and which must be adhered to without fail. Even where the lack of full soundness of health and physical ability could prevent the worshipper from conducting the prayers in a normal manner, the worshipper is still compelled to find some means of symbolically carrying out the prayers, even if it entails just the movement of the eyes, if all other parts of the body are unable to carry out any movements. The Five Daily Prayers are set for certain times of the day as follows: 1) the Dawn Prayer, which is to be carried out within the time period between Dawn and sunrise (two full prostrations); 2) the Noon Prayer, which is to be carried out between Noon and Mid-Afternoon (four full prostrations); the Afternoon Prayer, which is to be carried out between the Mid-Afternoon and Sunset (four full prostrations); 4) The Sunset Prayer, which is between sunset and the break of darkness (three full prostrations); and the Evening Prayer, which is to be carried out between the break of darkness to Midnight (four full prostrations). As far as timing is concerned, the earlier the better. It is also preferable to conduct them communally with other worshippers and even more so if they were carried out in the mosques. An important pre-condition to carrying out these prayers is that the worshipper must carry out the ablution after having become purified from all impurities (excretory waste, blood, etc.), which entails the washing of the mouth, face and limbs – the hands to the elbows and the feet to slightly above the heel. In the event water may be harmful to the worshipper, then the worshipper should use sifted clean clay, by patting the clay with the palms and gently having the palms go over the face and the arms to the elbows leaving as much of the clay as reasonably can be left accordingly. In addition the worshipper must be dressed in purified clothing and for the males the clothing must cover all promiscuous parts – as a minimum, for the male it is from the navel down to the knees and for the female, all parts of the body except the face.
Each prayer consists of a defined set of full prostrations, which involve a proscribed number of physical body positions, with the worshipper facing towards the Holy City of Mecca throughout the prayer. The prayer enters the prayer by declaring God is Supreme (“Allahu Akbar”). This is also uttered every time there is a change of position except for one change, and the closing of the prayer, as will be seen later. The believer remains in a standing position, almost at attention (some Moslem sects insist on having the hands overlap across the chest, while most of the Shiites and the followers of Malik Ibn Anas put the hands at the sides). While in this standing position the worshipper is expected to recite the Opening Surah of the Qur’an and at least three verses of another Surah of the Qur’an throughout the prayer. However, in keeping with the practice of the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), most Moslems recite the Opening Surah of the Qur’an and a minimum of three verses of other surahs of the Qur’an in the first two full prostrations, while in the standing position and just the Opening Surah in each of the prostrations beyond the first two full prostrations. Then the worshipper utters “Allahu Akbar” and bows on a right angle position with the face looking down on the ground, through which the worshipper utters silently “Glory to Allah the Supreme” three times and then rises to the standing position, uttering “God listens to whoever praises Him”, or if he is praying singly, or as the Imam of a congregation of worshippers praying together, “Our Lord, to You is All Praise” if praying behind an Imam. After that, the worshipper prostrates to the ground, uttering the change of position “Allahu Akbar”, while in the prostrating position the worshipper silently utters “Glory to Allah the Greatest” three times. In this prostrating position the believer touches the ground with both palms – elbows slightly raised, the nose and both knees and the bottom of the toes bent outward. The worshipper then rises, while stating Allahu Akbar, to a sitting position on the lower portion of the leg, bent at the knees, with the body resting on the feet, one of which is at right angle to the ground and the toes are bent outward and the other foot is laid down sideways. This may seem somewhat taxing to the beginning Moslem or to one with rheumatism, but over time, one becomes accustomed to it. Then the worshipper repeats the prostrating position and the utterance of “Glory to Allah the Greatest three times. Then the believer rises to the standing position or to a sitting position, as the case may be, if he has completed two full prostrations. If the prayer is the Dawn Prayer (2 full prostrations), then the worshipper rises to a sitting position after the second full prostration and recites the declaration of faith, “I testify that there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah” and then prays for the Prophet Mohammed and his clan and then faces to his right stating the greeting “Alsalmu alaikum” and then to his left likewise. If he still has to complete the number of prostrations required for the prayer, he rises after the declaration of faith to complete the rest of the prostrations and at the end of the final prostration states takes the sitting position and terminates the prayer as in the dawn prayer.
Of course, to the ill-informed, this may seem to be a time consuming endeavor and compelling to the hasty individual, but the compulsory nature of this ritual cannot be overemphasized and to the believer, surely it is easy to note the gratification that is felt at the end of every prayer. In addition the prayers represent daily and regular communications with the Lord Al-Mighty, for which there can be no other means that can provide such almost continuos contact with His Grace. Of course, this is justified by the mere fact that one is devoting scant moments of his daily life, in gratitude to the Provider of such a life and all the bounties that mankind has been endowed with to make that life meaningful and pleasant. It is an essential rite, which provides the worshipper daily rapport with the Al-Might and keeps the worshipper spiritually awake at all times. It is nothing when considering all that Allah has done for us and as means of securing protection and immunity from the wrath of the Al-Mighty, in this life and in the hereafter. Furthermore, in view of the greater benefits of conducting these prayers in communion with other worshippers, it encourages greater social integration and communal activity among the faithful as well as helping to solidify their brotherhood and their social equality, notwithstanding their standing in the community. It is not for the Lord that the worshipper, carries out these prayers, for the Lord Al-Mighty is not in need of anything, nor does it add anything to his Omnip. It is a blessing for man that the Lord prescribed these prayers to keep the lines of communications between the faithful and the Divine open continuously and to remind the worshipper that only through the devotion of the worshipper of his life and all his means to the cause of Allah there can be no greater gratification, whether in the rewards of life and all its amenities, or in the eternal bliss of Paradise. May we be successful in being showered with his mercy and blessings and may He guide us to the path that leads us to being among his truly faithful believers. After all what are we living for?

Female Education,
when will it really happen?

Jalal
Al-Sharaabi
Yemen Times
Though we have already entered the third millennium , the Yemeni society is considered one of the most discriminating societies when it comes to female education. Despite tangible efforts exerted by the ministry of education, yet frightening statistics give a dangerous indication of how critical the situation is. About 80% of the female population has been deprived of primary, let alone higher education.
It’s not only the cultural heritage that stands against girls’ education, it’s also financial and to an extent systematic reasons.
Most of female illiteracy is detected in the countryside and suburbs. In those regions females are most of the time the only supporter for the families where males usually migrate to other countries for better earning such as the Gulf, or even to the cities. Leaving behind their wives and children with no supporter, many times never coming back. In those areas, due to lack of facilities, the woman spends most of her time either bringing water from wells, gathering fire-wood or taking care of the house and children.
The cultural heritage being the social rules that govern societies, does not allow women to go to other villages seeking education, or to study at a co-educational school. The over-protection men impose on their women forbids them from studying, especially if it meant their being outside home for some time.
The distribution of schools in remote areas in Yemen is unfair. Also the availability of reliable teachers and qualified staff is another shortcoming in the education system in Yemen.
Not only that, but the crimes taken place at medicine faculty of Sana’a University were another drawback in girls’ education. The disappearance of medical female students from college and finding their mutilated corpses later on certainly does not encourage families to send their daughters to universities, especially with the media extensive coverage that accompanied the incidents when were discovered. Another incident which happened a month ago, was an armed force attacking a girls school in Sana’a and threatening it’s principal. The incident resulted in the closing down of the school for a week and left psychological effects on the minds of the students.
Mrs. Fouziya Numan Head of the Woman’s Illiteracy Eradication Council, in an intellectual gathering last Tuesday; said that the Illiteracy Department at the Ministry of Education is trying hard , but the efforts do not give the required results because of the lack of systematic organization in this field, and most importantly financial reasons. She said that illiteracy fighting teacher’s salary does not exceed one thousand and a hundred and fifty rials, then how do we expect him or her to perform well.
Many of the educational intellectuals and specialists are still urging the ministry to update the courses and syllabus taught in schools and universities. Mr. Abdul Karim Al Iryani emphasized on the same in a scientific conference which took place three months ago in Hadramaut.
There are more than 3500 private educational institutions in Yemen, yet they seem to be unable to perform the way they should. There is no coordination between different organizations. Not only that, but also women associations seem to be unable to criticize or take a neutral role due to their official attachment to the government.
“We want good education and an educational foundation where we feel safe”- that was the plea of students who have been affected with the current situation of female education in Yemen. UNESCO has presented suggestions and funds to help and improve the level of female education in Yemen. Still there is a long way to go, and we hope something materializes before it’s too late, so that Yemen can catch up with other countries in their strife against illiteracy.

The British-Yemeni Society’s Delegations impressions about their Visit to Sana’a

Prof. Abdulla A. W. Nasher;
May I thank you and the Yemen-British-Friendship Society, and, I suspect, Abdulwhab Thabit in particular, for their overwhelming hospitality just prior to our leaving the Yemen after our most successful tour.
As I think we said at the time, we met nothing but friendliness and a great welcome wherever we were in the country, and from all levels of society and from persons of all ages. Whatever political problems may be affecting British/Arab relations elsewhere in the world, they were certainly not evident in the Yemen!
As you will know, the average small boy is a very good barometer of public feeling should ever discord arise. At no time did we find anything other than the friendliest of greetings. We made no attempt to disguise our origins and we all wore our BYS badges in Arabic and English for ready identification.
We noted particularly the very high degree of cleanliness in Sana’a and in many other towns, and aesthetics apart, I am sure that this can only be an encouraging example in other health areas.
From the security point of view, we were especially impressed by the marked improvement in efficiency amongst the various security organisations. Checkpoints had become alert and efficient; guards at various sensitive points were effective; and the roving police patrols gave the impression of being well briefed and in control, without being obstructive.
There are all points that we shall be bringing to the attention of our Foreign Office in our attempts to have the “Travel Advice” amended to show what we believe to be the true position in the Yemen, where subject to common sense and to the heeding of current advice, travel is no more a threat than elsewhere in the world. Indeed, we would suggest that it is a lot safer than many other places, perhaps even including the UK!
I do not have Abdulkhader’s fax number, so I would ask that you would be kind enough to let him know how grateful we are. Perhaps you would also be kind enough to pass on those remarks concerning security to fellow Ministers.
Alan D’Arcy