Jesus: Vain repetition in prayer is hypocrisy! Are Muslims doing just that in their prayers?
The sections of this article are:
1- Jesus: Vain repetition in prayer is hypocrisy! Are
Muslims doing just that in their prayers?
2- My Response.
3- Jesus did what he considered hypocrisy!!
4- Another incident that shows Jesus as a hypocrite.
An anti-Islamic Christian said the following:
"Jesus said: And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (Matt 6:7)
Prove to me that you do NOT use vain repetitions and many words in your RITUAL of prayer (exactly what Jesus warned about).
Jesus said:
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love
to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when
you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is
in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when
you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that
they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like
them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Matthew
6:5-8)
(1) Call to prayer
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
I bear witness that there is no deity but Alláh.
I bear witness that there is no deity but Alláh.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Alláh.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Alláh.
Come to Prayer.
Come to Prayer.
Come to your God.
Come to your God.
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
There is no deity but Allah.
Saláh is better than sleep.
Saláh is better than sleep.
(2) After the call, Muslims recite
O Alláh! Lord of this complete call and prayer of ours, by the blessing of it.
give to Muhammad his eternal rights of intercession,
distinction and highest class (in paradise).
And raise him to the promised rank You have promised him.
and bestow his intercession on us on the day of judgement.
Surley You never go back on your word.
(3) Second call to prayer
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
I bear witness that there is no deity but Alláh.
I bear witness that there is no deity but Alláh.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Alláh.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Alláh.
Come to Prayer.
Come to Prayer.
Come to your God.
Come to your God.
Alláh is the greatest.
Alláh is the greatest.
There is no deity but Allah.
Saláh is better than sleep.
Saláh is better than sleep.
The prayer has begun.
The prayer has begun.
(4) Prayer (Saláh)
Allah is the greatest.
O Alláh, Glorified, praise-worthy.
and blessed is Thy Name and exalted Thy Majesty.
and there is no deity worthy of worship except thee.
I seek refuge in Alláh for the rejected Satan
In the Name of Alláh, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
(5) Recite the opening Surah, Al-Fátihah
Praise be to Alláh, Lord of the worlds.
the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Master of the Day of Judgement.
Thee alone we worship and to thee alone we turn for help.
Guide us in the straight path.
the path of those whom You favoured
and who did not deserve Thy anger.
or went astray.
(6) Recite the following or any other passage from the Qur'án
In the Name of Alláh, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Say: Alláh is one and the only God.
Alláh, upon whom whom all depend.
He begets not, nor is He begotten,
and there is nothing which can be compared to Him.
(7) Bow
Allah is the greatest.
Glory to my Lord the great.
Glory to my Lord the great.
Glory to my Lord the great.
(8) Stand
Alláh has heard all who praise Him.
Our Lord: Praise be to Thee.
(9) Prostrate
Allah is the greatest.
Glory to my Lord, the most high.
Glory to my Lord, the most high.
Glory to my Lord, the most high. (at least 3 times)
(10) Knees
Allah is the greatest.
Glory to my Lord the most high.
Glory to my Lord the most high.
Glory to my Lord the most high. (at least 3 times)
This completes one raka'at of Saláh
Go back to (4). Repeat (4)-(10) etc etc"
My Response:
First of all, we must know that Jesus peace be upon him was referring to PRIVATE PRAYERS between a person and his GOD Almighty. This is the same in Islam:
"And do thou Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not thou of those who are unheedful. (The Noble Quran, 7:205)"
"So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their Prayers, those who (want but) to be seen (of men). (The Noble Quran, 107:4-6)"
It is important to understand that the Jews who prostrated to GOD Almighty during Jesus' times, they did it because they were following the Law. Jesus NEVER OPPOSED TO THE PRAYER ITSELF, BUT TO THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES! The Jews during his days were hypocrites who wanted "to be seen (of men)" as Allah Almighty in the Noble Quran also said about the hypocrites from the Muslims.
The Bible teaches it's followers to Prostrate to the One True Living GOD Almighty:
"Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD , the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Chronicles 29:20)"
"Then once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the LORD's sight and so provoking him to anger. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 9:18)"
"the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: (From the NIV Bible, Numbers 24:16)"
"When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!" (From the NIV Bible, 1 Kings 18:39)"
The prostration to GOD Almighty is not wrong. It is the right and perfect way to worship your LORD, because in it, you bring yourself down for GOD Almighty in humility. The Jews before Jesus used to and still prostrate to GOD Almighty because it is part of His Direct Command to them in the Bible:
Even Jesus bowed down to GOD Almighty in worship: "Going a little farther, he [Jesus] fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.' (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 26:39)"
If prostration to GOD Almighty is a show off, hence making you a hypocrite, then isn't Jesus in Matthew 26:39 also a hypocrite for deserting his very own commands, and for violating GOD Almighty's Prostration rules in the Bible's Old Testament?
As to the "repetition" that you mentioned, it is not part of our Prayer! This is the recitation before Prayer to all Muslims so the whole community can hear well the recitation and GLORIFICATION OF GOD ALMIGHTY. The announcing of Prayer itself is not necessary if everyone in your group at home (for instance) who wants to Pray with you is present. This announcement is only done through the Mosque's loud Micro Phone speakers to make sure that all people heard it well, and to let them know that it's time for Prayer.
Jesus did what he considered hypocrisy!!
A Christian friend of mine sent me this illustration of Jesus peace be upon him begging GOD Almighty before he was put on the cross:
This illustration was painted and sent to me via email by
Mr. Matthew Philleo; may Allah Almighty guide
him to Islam. Ameen.
Note: The illustration that Mr. Matthew drew is not really accurate, because Jesus did put his face on the ground and worshipped GOD Almighty:
"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed....(From the NIV Bible, Matthew 16:39)"
It is really interesting that Mr. Matthew chose to draw a picture of Jesus bowing to Allah Almighty. This rare and not so usual practice in Christianity is something we Muslims do 5 times every single day. What Jesus did during his most desperate times in trying to glorify GOD Almighty in the best possible way he can to grab GOD Almighty's attention and to show Him that he (Jesus) is giving Him (GOD) everything he can and is brining himself in the lowest possible humility for Him, we Muslims simply do it 5 times every day without being desperate to glorify GOD Almighty.
Very Important Note: Practicing Muslims do ask GOD Almighty in Prayer when their faces are on the ground during the 5-daily prayers. I was taught that this is the best position to ask Allah Almighty in. My point is that what Jesus did during his most desperate times, we Muslims do it every single day! It seems to me that any practicing Muslim glorifies GOD far more than what Jesus in the Bible did and will ever do.
The incident of Jesus bowing to GOD Almighty in worship is often ignored by Trinitarian Christians. I am surprised that Trinitarian Christians don't even have any problem with the seriousness of this incident. Let us look at few points here:
1- When Jesus bowed down to GOD Almighty only during his desperate times and not in any other time, this tells us that Jesus did not worship GOD Almighty properly during his normal times, because he immediately compromised the normal way that he taught his followers:
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (From the KJV Bible, Matthew 6:5-8)"
2- Jesus did not pray in secret to GOD Almighty. He prayed in a totally different and better way. Jesus contradicted his very own commands.
3- Jesus' incident was simply telling GOD: Listen GOD, I will not sit in my room and pray to you in secret as I commanded my followers. I will do even more to you. I will bow down to you and worship you in the maximum humility, and I pray that you save me from the pain that I am about to go through. This is my extra bonus prayer to you GOD! Save me!!
Another incident that shows Jesus as a hypocrite:
Jesus did not want his followers to repeat their prayers to GOD Almighty in a short time:
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. (From the KJV Bible, Matthew 6:5-8)"
So according to Jesus in Matthew 6:5-8, Christians should not ask GOD Almighty more than once about the same thing, because only the heathens (infidels) do that. Ok, let's look at what Jesus himself did when he started to pray to his GOD Almighty:
Matthew 16:36-50
36. Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called
Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
37. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be
sorrowful and troubled.
38. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of
death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My
Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you
will."
40. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men
not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
41. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is
willing, but the body is weak."
42. He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it
is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be
done."
43. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.
44. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time,
saying the same thing.
45. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping
and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of
sinners.
46. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
47. While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a
large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the
people.
48. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the
man; arrest him."
49. Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed
him.
50. Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for."
(From the NIV Bible, Matthew 16:36-50)
"So he left them and went away once more and
prayed the third time, saying the same thing. (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 26:44)"
How many times did Jesus pray over the same thing in such a small period of time? 3 times!!! Let us look at the following
verse:
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (From the NIV Bible, Luke 6:12)"
When Jesus prayed all night long in Luke 6:12, did he not repeat his prayers? His main focus was on GOD Almighty saving him from the crucifixion. Jesus' prayers all night long, which obviously were far more than just 3 times, were repetition after repetition after repetition!
Also, since we're speaking of hypocrisy here, isn't Jesus a double-faced hypocrite in
Matthew 16:46,50 for calling Judas "his betrayer", and then calling him
"friend" after that?
Was Judas really Jesus' "friend"? Isn't Jesus supposed to be the Creator of the Universe as the polytheist trinitarians claim? Then am I wrong for taking Jesus, my supposed perfect GOD, at his own words and exposing his faults?
Back to Learn how to Pray section.
Contradictions and proofs of Historical Corruptions in the Bible.
Jesus is a hypocrite for bowing down to GOD only during his desperate times. See another proof in the Bible that Jesus can not be the Creator of the Universe.