(C) Promotion of Equality & Brotherhood
Islamhasalsoinstitutedcertainritualsthatpromotethesenseofequality
among the followers of Islam.
Oneimportantway ofpromotingbrotherhoodamongtheMuslimsis
thesalātin both forms:furāda(individual prayer)
andjamā`at(congregational prayer).
Inthefurādaprayer,youarerequiredtorecitesurahal-Fatiha(thefirst
chapterofthe Qur'ān).If youreadthe meaningof thissurah,you will
notice that half of the surah uses plural pronouns. For example:
“Only You, WE worship; and only You WE ask for help.”
“Guide US to the straight path... ”Youhavetosaythesesentenceswithpluralpronounsevenifyouare
prayingfurāda,onyourown.Youhavetosay“We...We...”evenwhen
you are praying alone. Why?
Firstly, becauseAllahwants youto realize andfeelthat youare not
alone;thatyouarepartofabrotherhoodknownas“theIslamicbrother-
hood”; that you belong to a community known as “the Islamicummah.”
Secondly,Allah wants us tothinkof the Islamic ummah even when
we areall alone.Islam isnot apersonal religion;itisa socialreligion.
ThinkingaboutotherMuslimswillsurelypromotethesenseofbrother-
hood among the followers of Islam all over the world.
Althoughthedailyprayerscanbesaidindividuallyaswellasincon-
gregation;however, to say the daily prayers in congregation has been
highlyrecommendedbecauseitpromotesthefeelingofbrotherhoodand
equality in Islam. How?
Firstly,allstandinlinesregardlessofanydifferenceofrace,tribe,col-
our, language or wealth. It often happens that a poor person will be
standinginthefrontrowwhileawealthypersonwillbestandinginthe
secondrow.Andthismeansthatinthepositionofsajdah(prostration),
theheadofthewealthypersonwillbeatthefeetofthepoorperson!This