Syed Abu'l Ala
Mawdudi Has the Prayer Lost its Power ? Brothers in
Islam! Undoubtedly you often ask yourselves: Why is
it that the Prayer, good and beneficial as it is,
seems to make no difference to our lives? Why does
it neither im- prove our morals, nor transform us
into a force dedicated to Allah? Why do we continue
to live disgraced and subjugated? The usual answer
will be that you are not offering the Prayer
regularly or in the manner prescribed by Allah and
the Messenger. Such an answer may not satisfy you. I
shall therefore try to explain the matter in some
detail. Parable of the Clock Look at the clock fixed
to the wall: there are lots of small parts in it,
joined to each other. When you wind it, all the
parts start working and, as these parts move, the
result appears on the clock face outside it which
you observe. Both hands move to denote each second
and each minute. The purpose of the clock is to
indicate correct time. All those parts which are
necessary for this purpose have been fitted together
and the winding system has been made so that each of
them moves as required. Only when all the parts have
been assembled cor- rectly and the clock wound up
properly will it begin fulfilling the purpose for
which it is made. If you do not wind it, it will not
show the time. If you wind it but not according to
the prescribed method, it will stop or, even if it
works, it will not give the correct time. If you
remove some of the parts and then wind it, nothing
will hap- pen. If you replace some of the parts with
those of a sewing machine and then wind it, it will
neither indicate the time nor sew the cloth. If you
keep all the parts inside the case but disconnect
them, then no part will move even after winding it
up. The presence of all the parts will not serve the
purpose for which the clock is made because you will
have disrupted their arrangement as well as their
connection. In all these situations, both the
existence of the clock and the act of winding it
become useless, although an observer from a distance
cannot say that it is not a clock or that you are
not winding it. He will surely consider that it is a
clock and will expect it to be useful as a clock.
Similarly, when from a distance he observes you
winding it, he will take it as a genuine effort on
your part to do the job, hoping to notice the result
which comes from winding the clock. But how can this
expectation be fulfilled when what looks like a
clock from a distance has in reality lost its
'existence'? Aim of Muslim Ummah Imagine Islam like
this clock. Just as the purpose of the clock is to
indicate the correct time, so the aim of Islam is
that you should live in this world as the
vicegerents of God, as witnesses of God unto mankind
and as standard-bearers of truth. You must
yourselves follow the commandments of God and bring
all other people under Him: You are indeed the best
community brought forth for mankind: you enjoin the
doing of right and forbid the doing of wrong, and
you believe in God (Al Imran 3: 11O) . And thus We
have made you a just community, that you might be
witnesses unto mankind (al-Baqarah 2: 143). God has
promised those of you who believe and do righteous
deeds that He will surely make you to accede to
power on earth (al-Nur 24: 55). And fight them,
until there is no rebellion [against God], and all
submission is to God alone (al-Anfal 8: 39).
Wholeness of Islamic Teachings To fulfil this
purpose, various parts as were required, like those
of the clock, have been brought together in Islam.
Beliefs and principles of morality; rules for
day-to-day con- duct; the rights of God, of His
slaves, of one's own self, of everything in the
world which you encounter; rules for earnmg and
spending money; laws of war and peace; principles of
government and limits of obedience to it - all these
are parts of Islam. As in a clock, they are linked
to each other in such a way that as soon as the
winding is done, every part starts moving and, with
the movement of all these parts, the desired result
is obtained. Rule of Godss law in the world, domina-
tion of Islam, start manifesting just as, with the
movement of the parts of the clock in front of you,
the time appears on its face. In order to fasten
together different parts of the clock, screws and
small pieces of metal have been used. SimilarlY, to
join all the parts of Islam together, there is an
arrangement called the Jama'ah or organization.
Muslims should organize themselves, and have leaders
equipped with proper knowledge and endowed with
taqwa; the brains should help them and the limbs
should obey them, as they all strive to live under
God. When all the parts have been brought together
and properlY assembled, regular winding is necessary
to set them in motion and to continue their
movement: Salah which is offered five times a day
provides that winding, creating the energy which
sets an Islamic life in motion. Cleaning this clock
is also necessary: fasting observed for thirty days
a year cleanses hearts and morals. Lubrication, too,
is required: Zakah is like the oil which is applied
to its parts once a year. Then it is also necessary
to overhaul it periodically: Hajj is that
overhauling which should be performed at least once
in a lifetime. And the more often it is done, the
better. Abusing the Clock The processes of winding,
cleaning, lubricating and overhauling are of use
only when all the parts are present in the frame,
when they are linked in the order designed by the
clock-maker, and when all are so trained that
immediately on winding they start moving and begin
showing results. Alas, today the situation has
become very different. For a start, the very Jama'ah,
the organizational structure, which was supposed to
link the parts of the clock together has ceased to
exist. The result is that all the fittings have come
apart, each has gone its own way. Everybody does
whatever takes his fancy. There is nobody to
question anything. Everyone is autonomous. If
someone wants to follow the Islamic code, he can; if
he does not want to, he need not. Since even this
so-called freedom has not satisfied you, you have
pulled out many parts of the clock and in their
place put anything and everything: a spare part from
a sewing machine, perhaps, or from a factory or from
the engine of a car. You call yourselves Muslims,
yet you render loyal service to Kufr, yet you take
interest, you insure your lives, you file false law
suits, your daughters, sisters and wives are
forsaking Islamic manners and your children are
being given secular materialistic educations. Some
have become disciples of Gandhi; others are
following Lenin. Which un-Islamic gadget is there
that you have not fixed into the frame of the clock
of Islam? Despite this, you expect the clock to work
when you wind it! And you suppose that cleaning,
lubricating and overhaul- ing it will also be of
use. With a little reflection, however, you should
see that in the condition to which you have reduced
the clock you can wind it, lubricate it, and
overhaul it, for the whole of your lives without any
effect. Nothing will happen until you remove the
parts brought in from other appliances, replace them
with the original parts, and restore the original
priorities. Then, and only then, will the winding
and so forth produce any results. Why Worship Rites
Are Ineffective This state of affairs is the real
reason why your Salah, Sawm, Zakah and Hajj make no
impact upon your lives. First, there are so few
among you who perform these acts of worship. Due to
the dissolution of Islamic Jama'ah everybody has
become autonomous. Whether you fulfil your
obligations or not, there is nobody to care. Nor do
those who do apparently carry out their obligations
do so in a proper manner. They are not constant in
attending the congrega- tional Prayer. People are
selected to lead the Prayers in the mosques simply
because they are fit for no other work: people who
exist on the free bread doled out to mosques, who
are uneducated, who lack moral calibre. How can
congregations led by them turn you into the leaders
of mankind? Similar is the situation regarding your
Fasting, Almsgiving and Pilgrimages. Despite all
these facts, you may argue, there are nonetheless
many Muslims who do discharge their religious duties
conscientiously. Why does that make no difference?
But, as I have said, when the parts of the clock
have become unhinged and numerous foreign bodies
have been inserted in it, it makes no difference if
you wind it or not, clean it or not, lubricate it or
not. From a distance it does look like a clock. An
outside observer may say: This is Islam and you are
Muslims. But what he cannot see is how badly its
inside machinery has been tampered with. Our
Deplorable Condition Brothers! You understand why it
is so that you pray and fast and yet remain trampled
under the heel of cruel tyrants. But, should I tell
you something even more distressing? Although most
of you no doubt regret this situation but, I would
say, 999 people out of 1000 are not prepared to
change their situation. They have no urge in their
hearts to assemble the clock of Islam again
properly. They are afraid that any such
reconstruction would mean that their own favourite
im- ported parts would be thrown out, and this they
are not prepared to accept. They are afraid that any
tightening of various parts would mean that they
will have to discipline themselves, and this they
are not willing to undertake. Instead, they prefer
that the clock remains a piece of decoration on the
wall for people to be shown and told how wonderful
Islam is, what miracles it can perform. Those who
are supposed to love this clock more than others
would like to wind it repeatedly and zealously and
to clean it most laboriously; but they want to do
nothing to reset its parts properly or tighten them,
nor will they seek to get rid of the extraneous
parts. I wish I could endorse your attitudes and
behaviour, but I cannot say anything which I believe
is wrong. I assure you that if, in addition to
praying five times a day, you were to offer Tahadjud
(pre-dawn), Ishraq (post-sunset) and Chasht
(mid-morning) Prayers, read the Qur'an for hours
every day, and observe, over and above Ramadan,
extra fasts for five and a half months in the
remaining eleven months, you would still achieve
nothing. What is needed is to restore the original
parts to the clock and fix them firmly. Then even
the little necessary winding will make it work
smoothly; and the minimal amount of required
cleaning and lubrication will be needed. Wa ma 'alayna
illa 'l-balagh There is no responsibility on us
except conveying the truth.
