Reprinted By Request from the January 15, 1963 edition of Muhammad Speaks Newspaper
After the cleansing of his body, he now stands ready for prayer. Like a soldier, he stands at attention with his face and body toward the rising Sun; in the direction that the earth is rotation and all the planet, in the direction of the east.
(6.) He lifts his opened hands with his thumbs pointing towards his ear lobes. He says: "Allah is the Greatest." (Twice). "I bear witness that none dserves to be worshipped besides Allah ; ( Repeated twice) and that Muhammad is His last Apostle," (Twice) The regular prayer Caller in the minarets of the Mosque calls the prayer from four (4) directions: East , West, North, and South. He repeats "Allah is the Greatest " four times.
(7.) He begins his prayer by saying: "Surely I have turned myself to Thee being upright to He who orginated the Heavens and the earth and Iam not of the polytheists. Surely my prayer , my sacrifices , my life and my death are all for Allah ,the Lord of theWorlds. No associate has He, and this am I commanded. Oh Allah , Thou art the King , there is no God but Thee. Thou art my Lord , and I am Thy servant.
THE MEANINGS First the cleansing of the body before asking prayer to the Most Honored and Wisest Person in the Universe , the Lord and King over all , none is His equal shows respect for Him and he desires to show (in words) in his prayer that his words are clean and coming from a clean heart. Should not that clean heart be in a clean body? If one is offered clean water in an unclean oter surface of a glass, will he accept it? This is so with a Muslim, he believes in cleanness internally as well as exterally.
THE DIFFERENT POSITIONS TAKEN IN PRAYER Standing erect to address our Superior is proper, and again it shows respect and honor. The rising of the hands with the palms open in the same direction shows an act of surrender to the King of Kings and Lord of the Worlds, and is coming before Him with clean and emptied hands.
The hands the most active members of our bodies, play the part of evil and good for the body. They sometimes bear witness for, or against us. The Muslims declare that there is only One God, and none deserves to be worshipped besides Him. This is true. Most all religious persons acknowledge that there is but one God who made the heavens and the earth. The Muslims declare in one of their prayers that he worships Allah (God) in the best manner, in the direction (East) in which He turns himself----towards the holiest of places and one day the whole of the people of earth will be just as holy. I would say holier.
This position also has another meaning, it refers to the lost and found people of Islam. Before their return they must turn in this direction with clean hands and hearts, bow in submission to the Will of Allah alone with the righteousness that they may be welcomed to take their place again among their own people. This shall soon be made clear to my people here, that if holy war be declared, no so-called Negro could return to his native land and people unless he or she accepts Allah as their God and Islam as their religion.
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