Blindspot!
From Issue: 742 [Read full issue]
Liberation
All Revelation reached the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the course of his earthly experience, with the exception of the verses that establish the fundamental pillars of faith (al-iman) and the duty of prayer (as-salat). The Prophet was raised to heaven to receive the teachings that were to become the foundation of Islamic worship and ritual, al-aqidah and al-ibadat, which require that believers should accept their form as well as their substance. Unlike the field of social affairs (al-muamalat), which calls for the creative mediation of people's intellect and intelligence, human rationality here submits, in the name of faith and as an act of humility, to the order imposed by Revelation: God has prescribed requirements and norms that the mind must hear and implement and the heart must love. Raised to receive the injunction of ritual prayer, the Prophet and his experience reveal what prayer must in essence be: a reminder of and an elevation toward the Most High, five times a day, in order to detach from oneself, from the world, and from illusions. The prayer enables us to liberate our consciousness from the contingencies of space and time, and fully comprehend the meaning of life.
Compiled From:
"In The Footsteps of The Prophet" - Tariq Ramadan, pp. 73, 74