Prayer: The Difference Between the Believer and the Muslim

What is the implication of the verse: “Indeed, the prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times” (4:103)? Let me tell you. This verse refers to the prescribed ritual prayer (ṣalāh) as an obligation tied to specific times [a day], mandated upon the believers (al-mu’minīn), who represent the first nation of Islam (Ummah al-Ba‘th al-Awwal). However, this is the nation we live in today, during its final days. This nation was instructed to ascend from the level of belief (īmān) to the level of submission (islām), as indicated by the verse: “O you who have believed, be pious towards Allah as He requires of you, and do not die except as Muslims” (3:102).
Failing to achieve this, the command was adjusted to suit their capacity: “So be pious towards Allah as much as you are able, and listen and obey and spend [in the way of Allah]; it is better for yourselves” (64:16). Yet, the directive for evolution, progress, and elevation from the “Nation of Believers” to the “Nation of Muslims” (Ummah al-Muslimīn) remains in place.
The need today is for the emergence of a Muslim nation from the current nations, which have spent nearly fourteen centuries engaging in rich human experiences within the realms of material and intellectual life. Despite their distance from religion in all its forms, these nations represent a new form of ignorance (jāhiliyyah), one far superior to the ignorance of the first nation of Islam. This new ignorance is what we referred to earlier in this message as the “modern, mechanized, Western civilization”, that we all live under, describing it as a coin with two faces: one bright, and the other ugly.
We have noted that this modernized world now fervently seeks peace, and must inevitably adopt Islam to fulfill its need for peace. The conversion of modern Western nations to Islam is inevitable. Their journey into Islam will begin at its foundational level, progress to the rank of belief (īmān), as embodied by the first nation of Islam, and then ascend through worship practices and interactions, culminating in prayer, until these individuals elevate themselves to the rank of islām, which has only been realized by a select few individuals since Adam's time, with even some prophets falling short of achieving it. Every Muslim must traverse the stages of the believer, progressing through deeper faith and knowledge, until reaching the stage of certainty (īqān), which has three levels: The Knowledge of Certainty (‘Ilm al-Yaqīn), The Essence of Certainty (‘Ayn al-Yaqīn), and The Truth of Certainty (Ḥaqq al-Yaqīn).
The Quran states: “No Indeed; did you know with the knowledge of certainty, you shall surely see Hell? Again, you shall be questioned that day concerning true bliss”. (102:5-8). Regarding Ḥaqq al-Yaqīn, the Quran says in Surat al-Wāqi‘ah (The Inevitable): “Indeed, this is the Truth of Certainty. So exalt the name of your Lord, the Most Great” (56:95-96).
This is a reference to “it is surely a noble Qur’an in a hidden book” (56:77-78), mentioned earlier in the same passage. Thus, Ḥaqq al-Yaqīn is identified as the Qur’an itself.
The rank of Islam cannot be attained before reaching the stage of Ḥaqq al-Yaqīn (the Truth of Certainty), as previously mentioned. With every increase in knowledge, certainty also grows, allowing the self to find tranquility and the heart to find peace. This leads to contentment (riḍā) and ultimately to Islam. Faith (īmān) continues to shine its light ahead of the seeker in their ascension through the stages of Islam. Every rank attained and realized today was once a matter of faith yesterday, and it does not become a domain of certainty until faith is elevated to encompass a new area that was previously beyond consideration.
Thus, faith (īmān) is the precursor to certainty (īqān), or, metaphorically, it is the blind man’s cane with which he feels the ground for his next step until he moves forward with clear vision. Ritual prayer (ṣalāh) is the practice that elevates both faith and certainty through the various ranks. This is affirmed by the Qur’anic verse: “To Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it” (35:10).
The verse “Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times” (4:103) takes on a particular significance for the Muslim who is still traversing the stage of faith, the stage of the first nation. For such a person, the prescribed prayer is a mandated act to be performed at specific times.
However, if they excel in performing their prayer by mastering their imitation of the Infallible, and ascend through the stages of certainty (īqān), from ‘Ilm al-Yaqīn (the Knowledge of Certainty) to ‘Ayn al-Yaqīn (the Essence of Certainty), and finally to Ḥaqq al-Yaqīn (the Truth of Certainty), their heart will find tranquility, their self will become serene, and they will fully submit (aslama). At this point, they will discover the deeper meaning of the word muwqūt ("decreed") in the verse “Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.”
For them, muwqūt signifies that the prescribed prayer has a time limit, it applies only until the seeker ascends to the rank of originality (aṣālah), where they are addressed with independence from imitation and become ready to receive their individual prayer directly from their Lord, following the example of the Prophet.
At this stage, prayer does not cease to be obligatory for them, but the imitation (taqlīd) is lifted. By God’s grace and through the perfection of the Prophet’s transmission, the greatest veil, the prophetic veil, is removed, leaving them in direct communion with their Lord.
Islam, in its essence, is not a religion in the conventional sense of religions; rather, it has a stage of belief (‘aqīda), which is a transition to the scientific stage of Islam. The stage of law (sharī‘a) is a transition to the [higher] level of truth (ḥaqīqa), where individuals rise from the collective laws to the individual laws, which represent a part of the truth that each individual possesses. The collective law is preserved and upheld for the benefit of conduct, education, and the organization of the human community, which evolves every day, and strives through experiences to ascend to these higher levels.
And those who ascend to the ranks of individual laws are the true Muslims, the truly free, as previously mentioned in this discussion. These are the [select] individuals who have achieved absolute individual freedom, restoring unity to their thoughts, speech, and actions. They think as they wish, speak as they think, and do what they say, ensuring that the outcomes of their actions are always beneficial and compassionate towards others.
Such individuals can live above the collective laws of the community because they bind themselves to their personalized Divine law (sharīʿah fardiyyah), which surpasses the communal laws in refinement, excellence, benevolence, and transcendence.
"Islam is the religion of innate nature (fiṭrah)," meaning it is a science of the self (‘ilm al-nafs). It will guide humanity, regardless of color, language, or ethnicity, towards its long-sought goal. Islam will guide every individual to their true self because, as we said, it is a “science of the self”. At this scientific level, Islam will triumph in the age of science over traditional religions, fulfilling God’s promise: “It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religions, even though the polytheists dislike it” (61:9).
"With guidance" refers to guiding souls, as He says: “Whoever is guided is only guided for his self” (17:15). "And the religion of truth" means the religion of knowledge.
We shall not elaborate further here, as this subject is reserved for a dedicated book titled The Golden Age of Islam is Ahead of Us.