Five Pillars of Islam (5)

Ritual Prayer (3)
Friday is the one day when attendance at a mosque for group prayer is required (though many who consider themselves Muslims attend irregularly, if at all). The Koran says, “Believers, when you are summoned by Friday prayers, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and cease your trading” (62:9). Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God and therefore the choice of Friday was dictated by God himself. Phillip Hitti suggests that Muhammad made the choice for reasons more mundane than spiritual.
Angry at the Jews who rejected his message, the Prophet prescribed that shops should be closed at midday on Friday because that was when Jews were stocking up for the Sabbath. Muslims countries generally observe Friday as the weekly official holiday, though practice varies. Since Friday is not ordained as a day of rest, it is not a religious requirement that Friday be a work holiday. Until recently, in Algeria, the weekly holiday was observed on Sunday, a relic of French colonial days. Egypt, which has a large Christian minority, state-owned banks and shops, state factories, and government offices are closed on Friday, but privately owned shops are usually open on Friday and closed on Sunday, even if their owners are Muslims. In Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, a few shops are open on Friday mornings, but no official business is transacted. Even in those countries, however taxis and other public services operate and newspapers are published on Friday. It is not the same as Saturday in Israel, when public transit halts, restaurants close, and newspapers do not publish. Muslims also have prescribed prayers to be said on holidays, while traveling, and on special occasions such as funerals, the most common occasion for group prayer aside from Friday gathering.
Believing as they do in resurrection of the body, Muslims bury their dead reverently and quickly, treating the bodies with care and respect. When death occurs, the body is washed and shrouded and buried as soon as possible, preferably within a day. The standard prayer for this last journey is, “Gratitude is due to God. Prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of God. O Lord! He (the deceased) was indeed Your worshipping servant, and the son of your servants. He witnessed that there is no God but You; You alone; there is no partner for you. And that Muhammad was your servant and messenger. And indeed, you know him better than we. O Lord! If he was a doer of good, please increase the reward of his deeds. If he was misbehaving, please forgive his misdeeds. O Lord! Deprive us not of his reward. And let us not be misguided after him. And forgive us and forgive him.” Though the service for the dead is standard, with minor variations according to the practices of various schools, burial customs vary. In Saudi Arabia, the body of the deceased is laid in a shallow grave scooped out of the desert. In Egypt, the body is sealed in a coffin and entombed in a mausoleum. The tombs of some wealthy Egyptians are among Cairo’s most prominent architectural landmarks; some of them are so elaborate that poor families have taken up residence in them as squatters.
The ritual prayer gives oral expression to the believer’s submission to God; its spiritual value is negated by misconduct or inattention. Talking, clearing the throat, moaning, laughing, and movements other than those prescribed by tradition are to be avoided, and in fact Muslims may never be more discipline and orderly than when they are gathered for communal prayer. In Cairo, the biggest and most turbulent city of the Islamic world, where overcrowding in the mosques forces worshipers to conduct Friday prayers on the sidewalks, the men at prayer—undistracted by tourists or the whizzing traffic—perform their devotions with a deep concentration that bespeaks their sincerity.