Islam, Salat, and Repetition
Niloofar Haeri states “in fact repetition undermines the stiffness and rigidity associated with formality. It potentially removes one of the hindrances to creativity.” (Haeri. 2013.). Haeri goes to argue against that repetition becomes meaningless when it comes to the formulas of the rituals when it comes to performing the Salat prayers in private (Haeri. Pp. 5. 2013.). What I believe is I can see why people become so interested in other people’s lives when it comes to private religious rituals. Is John Doe performing his Salat prayers correctly while in front of his Wife? Is Jane Doe performing Salat prayers behind her Husband?
These questions come up as Salat prayers become irrelevant should a man perform his Salat prayers behind a female, including his Wife. Haeri visits Tehran to interview women about their practices regarding the Salat prayers and this made her revisit some of her debates regarding the rituals (Haeri. Pp. 5. 2013.). I will say, regarding a TikTok video, I saw a Muslim man performing Salat while handcuffed in the street (people were getting arrested due to protests against Israel’s genocide and apartheid). Performing Salat prayers in public has been seen a lot more than people think. I also saw a TikTok video of a Muslim man performing Salat on the sidewalk off to the side and a man brought him a few napkins and lied them down as he brought his head up quickly. The napkins were brought to ensure comfort as the man was performing his Salat.
The public performance of Salat can have symbolic and political demonstrations (Haeri. Pp. 6. 2013.). I do agree with this statement as I said above of the public demonstrations regarding symbolic of the man on the sidewalk and the man arrested during a political movement. The only required surah to cite is the a-Fatiha before performing the Salat (Haeri. Pp. 7-8. 2013.). In times of distress, you will cite the al-Falaq surah (Haeri. Pp. 8. 2013.). When you are feeling impatient and need patience you will cite the wal-Asr surah (Haeri. Pp. 8. 2013.).
The performance done during Salat is to bend forward with your hands on knees (Rukku), prostrating (sujuud), and sitting (Haeri. Pp. 8. 2013.).
References
Niloofar Haeri. The Private Performance of Salat Prayers: Repetition, Time, and Meaning. Anthropological Quarterly, Volume 86, Number 1, Winter 2013, pp. 5-34 (Article).
