Dr. Hassan al-Turabi (1932-2016) was a leading twentieth century Islamic thinker and  leader of Sudan’s National Islamic Front. He was a hafiz of the Qur’an, and after a traditional Islamic education in his homeland, completed a PhD from Sorbonne. He served Sudan as Speaker of the parliament, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Deputy Prime Minister, but was dismissed by President Bashir in 1999.

The scholar-activist Ashur Shamis, in his translation of Turabi’s Salat notes, “In this study, Turabi has produced a formidable dissertation that goes deep into the heart of the subject of salat, which represents the clockwork inside the structure, activities and actions of Muslim life, and whose woeful neglect is the greatest loss facing the people of Islam”. Turabi writes,

“The most striking outcome of observing and managing time, and enhancing and purifying it frequently through salat, is by harnessing the power of remembrance of Allah and cohering it into the rest of the day. For, salat, in essence, is a form of evocation of Allah Almighty. It is a glorification, an exaltation, and attestation to His oneness, monotheism. It is a call to the obedience of Allah, and to the fear of, repentance to, and trust in Him. It guides Muslims along the way to worship Allah properly, with a clear and clean conscience, and with the right approved ritual, and the correct actions. It is the greatest facility for the evocation of Allah. Its perpetual sequence is the most evident grounds for remembering Allah, day and night. The Quran says: “[Prophet], keep up the prayer at both ends of the day, and during parts of the night, for good things drive bad away– this is a reminder for those who are aware” (Hud: 114); “[Prophet], recite what has been revealed to you of the Scripture; keep up the prayer: prayer restrains outrageous and unacceptable behaviour. Remembering Allah is greater: Allah knows everything you are doing” (Al-Ankabut: 45); “Prosperous are those who purify themselves, remember the name of their Lord, and pray” (Al-A’la: 3).
 
Consequent to that, the salat, with its sequential order, as an obligatory (fardh) or discretionary (nafl) form, and by permeating the whole time of the day and interweaving with all other tasks, it inspires in the worshipper the concept that life itself, in whatever condition, is an arena for the remembrance and worship of Allah Almighty. The timing of these acts of worship cannot be disturbed, or put off their specially ordained time. Nor can one ordinarily absolve oneself from this system of managing time. Life cannot be shared between devotion to Allah, and entirely reserved for worldly matters, because people do not discharge their religious duties at certain times or seasons, without devoting the rest of their time to other pursuits.
 
However, whatever times people would wish to devote to salat and invocation of Allah, the five daily salat (prayer) permeate through the day. They go hand-in-hand with the other tasks people spend their time on, earing their daily living. But once the two, the religious duties and the living necessities, harmonize together the spirit and meaning of religion, penetrating the whole of a person’s life.
 
Salat is purely a function of worship and devotion. It inspires in the human being, by sheer necessity, the feelings of genuine religious faith. Once it overwhelms their actions all through the day, it fills them with the spirit of devotion. The person who maintains the salat, and whose whole day is revived with such consecutive ritual, that embodies the meaning of their faith, pursues all their actions with such an approach, and builds them on genuine intention and a clear conscience, seeking the consent and pleasure of Allah Almighty. Was it not for this recurrence of the salat, man would stray further and gradually become oblivious. The maze of conflicting priorities, from the daily necessities of life, would take him farther and farther away, and he would be confused and besieged by the things to do now, and things he would soon have to do, that he would end up preoccupied with trivial matters of life, instead of consistent focus on what this life’s priority is.
 
Combining salat with other tasks of the day that do not, at first glance, carry a religious strand, may appear in the first instance, to be slightly demeaning of the meaning of worship in salat. It might alert us to its religious dimensions, or to its function as an element of testing and responsibility. Once man proceeds with his actions in this fashion, his intentions and aims, his shortcomings and manners would be put on the ‘straight path,’ because his conscience becomes his own watchman, effectively adjusting his ends and organising his means, to coalesce with the moral values of Islam. Through the observance of salat, this state becomes a second nature to him all day long, and will stay with him for the rest of his days.
 
Salat, from this perspective, relates to the function of remembrance (dhikr). This function, in relation to different actions and situations, aims to revive man’s religious consciousness and permeates it into his life. Thus, when a Muslim invokes the name of Allah every time he embarks on any action, saying: bismillah ar Rahman alrahim (in the name of Allah the most merciful, the most compassionate) and thanks Allah, saying: Alhamdulillah (thanks be to Allah) at the end; and when he asks Allah’s forgiveness, or seeks His presence when the unexpected happens, he is in fact re-awakening and reviving his spiritual faculties, in order to bless all his actions and situations, and envelop them with an aura of the faith, and give them a sense of religious meaning. He, thereby, transforms his whole life into a form of worship of Allah. While facing the ups and downs of life, going about life striving to do the normal everyday chores, he nurtures and purifies and refines his own self. He earns creditable deeds and tenders every action as an altruistic action. He does the allowed deed with the intention of worship, and desists from vile deeds, out of his fear of Allah Almighty [. . .]
When the worshipper stands up for salat, turning his face towards the qiblah, and ready, inwardly and outwardly, for worship, his first act is to raise his hands declaring the greatness of Allah saying: Allah-u-akbar (Allah is the greatest). Hands are instruments for earning, for cultivation and for violence. They are equally used for good as well as for evil. Man relies on the power of his hands for everything. Through this first action, he surrenders them to Allah, indicating weakness and helplessness before Allah Almighty. He raises them to his shoulders, with open palms, away from the potent gesture, as a sign of complete powerlessness and surrender, without resistance, and a demonstration of full obedience to Allah Almighty [. . .] Then the worshipper descends to the ground, putting down his forehead and his face, the mirror of his inner self, which he is keen to save in order to protect his dignity before all but God Almighty. As he reaches down, with the highest part of his body at the lowest point, the nadir point, allowing his forehead and nose to touch the ground, then he would be in perfect surrender to his Creator, who made him in the best fashion. In that position, the worshipper has the privilege to evoke his Lord most high, saying: “Glorified be my Lord most high” (Bukhari & Muslim). He can communicate directly with Him, saying: “O Lord! I prostrate myself before You, I believe in You, I surrender to You. My face prostrates before the One who created it and fashioned it, and granted him hearing and sight. Blessed be God, the best of creators” (Abu Dawood).[. . .]
Etymologically, salat means dua’a. It is not surprising, therefore, that the meaning is extended to include the worshipper making dua’a to his Lord in various other ways. He has the opportunity to make dua’a at the opening of salat, and the dua’a of qunout (obedience) on special occasions. He has the chance to make dua’a between the two sajdas, after the testifying and following the salutations, tashahud. The worshipper has the privilege to choose from a vast collection of dua’a, but the dua’a given in al-Fatiha (…’keep us on the straight path’…etc.) and that recited by the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The dua’a is the absolute quintessential essence of worship. The more dua’a a Muslim recites, the closer and more longing he would feel towards his God. His hopes and expectations with God are reinforced by dua’a, and the more established the bonds become with Him. Salat is the vehicle that transports man closer and closer to God because, it is the supreme expanse allocated and provided for the most sincere and genuine dua’a.[. . .]
“Rows in assembly salat are very symbolic. They reflect the idea that Muslims are but one universal community, ummah. Their physical closeness reminds Muslims with their closeness in spirit, as well as belief, a’aqeedah. They are called upon to maintain that unity and closeness at all times.. Muslims ought not to deviate from the Community, just as they should not break away from the rows in salat. Women, too, must not be isolated, cocooned in a small world, and left behind the rest of the ummah.
The mosque is the framework that incorporates the ranks of the community in the assembly salat, and it should be universal and all-inclusive.”

Extracts from ‘An Appreciation of Salat’ by Dr Hasan Al-Turabi. Translated from the Arabic by Ashur Shamis. Published by Elsiddiq Elturabi, P. O. Box 1515, Khartoum, September 2024.

His essay Al-marra bayn al-talim wal-Islam wa adaat Muslimeen was first published in 1973 – using a ‘Gestetner’ printer – with the title . Women between Islam and customs of Muslim society (1973) Click here… It was written in a period when Sudanese society was contesting the issue of women’s right to vote and be elected to parliament. This essay was a contribution to the debate of that epoch. The Islamic Movement took a progressive stand, perhaps influenced by the earlier decision of the Jamaat Islami in Pakistan to support the candidature of Fatima Jinnah, in preference to General Ayub Khan, in the country’s presidential elections of 1965. The traditional Sudanese religious circles were in tune with such developments, with the Chief Qazi, Mohammed el-Gizouli himself appointing a woman justice in a Shari’a legal system in 1972.