Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was commanded to follow the religion of Abraham. Had the religion of Abraham not known to him, we would not expect God to command him to follow it:
Regarding Daily Prayer or Salah...
"Then we inspired you (O Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham, monotheism; never was he an idol-worshiper." [16:123]
"These are some of the prophets whom God blessed. They were chosen from among the descendants of Adam, and the descendants of those whom We carried with Noah, and the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and from among those whom We guided and selected. When the revelations of the Most Gracious are recited to them, they fall prostrate, weeping." [19:58]
"After them, He substituted generations who lost the Contact Prayers (Salat), and pursued their lusts. They will suffer the consequences." [19:59]
Qur'an confirms that Salat was lost after some generations for the People of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians). Losing it involved changing it in every aspect. The Salat as practiced today by most of the Jews and Christians is different than what was given to their prophets. Very few Jews and Christians have maintained the inherited Salat.
In a book entitled, "To Pray as a Jew", I found a lengthy explanation of the Prayers as done by the ancient Jews and few of the contemporary Jews. In this book the author put diagrams showing the movement and positions during the prayer. One look at these illustrations is enough for Muslims to realise the similarity of the prayers of the Jews with Salat as practiced by the Muslims.
Traditional pray/worship in Judaism is almost identical to Islam
In his comment about these positions, the author wrote: "In most contemporary congregations very few people keep to the tradition of falling prostrate. Sometimes it is only the Prayer leader and the rabbi who does so. In more traditional congregations, however, some worshipers, men and women, will join the Prayer Leader and rabbi in the act of prostrating themselves. In Israeli synagogues, the practice is more widespread than in synagogues elsewhere. Since this is a position that we are unaccustomed to, one who has never done this before might very well demur. But once accomplished, the experience provides such a spiritual uplift that one looks forward to repeating it. Those willig to try this ancient ritual form on the rare occasions that call for it might welcome the following diagrams of the correct procedure."
It is also interesting to learn from this book that the prayers of the Jews involve wash before the prayers (like Wuduu or ablution for Muslims) and the call for Prayers (like the Adhan for the Muslims) (1).
Ramadan is very “Jewish.” In Ramadan, we have a practice that promotes monotheistic worship in the world while employing practices that are specifically endorsed by Jewish tradition (prayer, fasting, charity and ethical restraint). The continuity of Ramadan with previous Jewish practice is actually acknowledged by the Qur’an itself. Even the Qur’an says it’s very “Jewish.”
O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God. - 2:183 (Muhummad Asad trans.)
The dedication of the Jewish month of Elul as a period of repentance and spiritual focus and the standard Sephardic practice of doing special early morning selichot (“forgiveness”) prayers for the 40 day period from the beginning of Elul until Yom Kipppur is a clear parallel to the Muslim practice.
That this period corresponds to the period in which Moses received the Torah is paralleled by Ramadan’s commemoration of the receiving of the Qur’an.
Similarly there are fasting practices associated with this period in the Jewish year for the 10 days of repentance. There is even a kabalistic custom quoted in Yedid Nefesh by Rav Yechiel Bar Lev to refrain from food during the daytime for the entire 40-day period (Shabbat and Rosh Hashana exempted). The Qur’an’s comment that the practice of Ramadan is based on previous practice can and should be taken at face value. Ramadan has Jewish roots.
Ramadan also supports Jewish values. Perhaps most important is the intention of Ramadan as laid out in the Qur’an “the awareness of G-d.” It is precisely the awareness of G-d which the Tur explains is the absolute purpose of the entirety of Jewish practice. There is no worthier goal for a human being and it makes sense that we would support others in their attempts to achieve it through prayer and fasting, means which are so clearly approved by our own tradition.
Ramadan also has a deeper ethical dimension. A hadith relates this as follows.
Abu Huraira related that the Prophet said: If a person does not avoid false talk and false conduct during the fast, then Allah does not care if he abstains from food and drink (Bukhari, Muslim).
Indeed the great Muslim theologian Imam al-Ghazali divides fasting into two dimensions: ordinary and special fasting.
Ordinary fasting means abstaining from food, drink and sexual satisfaction. Special Fasting means keeping one's ears, eyes, tongue, hands and feet -- and all other organs -- free from sin.
Ramadan is a time for developing emotional and impulse control. In accordance with this, Muslims use this time to focus on all their behaviours as well as increasing charity to the poor and caring for others....Ultimately, Ramadan is part of a process of repentance (taubah / teshuvah) of facing oneself, altering ones behavior and facing G-d to ask for forgiveness of sins from G-d in His infinite mercy. It is all about returning to G-d after our own self-imposed alienation knowing that he will accept us if we are sincere.
In a well-known hadith (Saying of Mohammed) relates G-d's address to mankind,
O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it. Hadith Qudsi 34 (Tirmidhi , Sahih)
The message of the greatnesses and far-reaching consequences of this return to G-d is again familiar enough to Jews. The Talmud (Yoma 86b) in a beautiful litany of the greatness of repentance writes:
Rav Meir used to say Great is repentance, that because of an individual who repents, the entire world is forgiven, as the verse says (Hoshea 14:5) I will rectify their waywardness, I will love them gratuitously, for My anger has turned away from them.
In a broken world, desperately in need of redemption, I don’t know whose repentance is going to tip the scales. If my warm “Ramadan Kareem!” or my warm “Ramadan Mubarak!” or my little e-card encourages a moment of genuine return to G-d, if it inspires a Muslim friend to be good and to do good, I make myself into a partner in their holy endeavor. As a result, all of us, Jews and Muslims reap the benefits of a more peaceful world that better reflects the glory of the One true G-d.
1) Title: To Pray as a Jew: a guide to the prayer book and the synagogue service. Author: Donin, Hayim. Publisher: New York: Basic Books, c1980. Paging: xxii, 384 p. : ill.; 25cm. Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
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