People Have Reduced a Living Spiritual Act to a Ritualistic Motion

Oh this seems to be a hot topic of late and a question I’ve found myself asking over the last few months I’ve been absent but with more enquiry as to why as after all Qur’an 47:24 – “Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?”

Therefore I shall begin: Bismillah

Many Muslims today ask, “How many rakʿah should I pray?” This question, repeated so often, points to a deeper issue: a failure to read and understand the Qur’an in its entirety. The Qur’an itself provides guidance on prayer, detailing when to pray, how to pray, and how to purify oneself, without ever specifying a fixed number of rakʿah for any prayer.

The Qur’an clearly identifies prayer times:

   •   Fajr (dawn) – Q 24:58, Q 17:78

   •   The middle of the day – Q 2:238

   •   Night prayer – Q 11:114, Q 17:78

It describes the movements: standing (qiyām, Q 3:39, 73:1–2), bowing (rukūʿ, Q 3:43, 22:26), prostrating (sujūd, Q 96:19), and reciting what is manageable (tilāwah, Q 73:20). Ablution is prescribed: wash the face and arms, wipe the head, and wipe the feet (Q 5:6). Everything necessary for worship is there.

Nowhere does the Qur’an mandate a fixed number of rakʿah. And the Prophet ﷺ, whose role the Qur’an makes clear was to convey and exemplify the message of God, never instructed a specific number of cycles. His purpose was to deliver the Qur’an, to live its ethical guidance, and to show mercy and humility—not to invent or codify rigid ritual forms. Following the Qur’an fully is therefore not contrary to following the Prophet; it is precisely what his mission was about.

Some argue that to disregard hadith is to disrespect the Sunnah of the Prophet. However, the Qur’an itself defines his Sunnah as his example in transmitting the revelation and embodying its moral and spiritual teachings (Q 33:21). Honoring him means following this example, living his teachings, and acting with humility, patience, and sincerity. It does not require uncritical adherence to posthumously compiled reports, particularly when they prescribe details absent from the Qur’an.

The hadith literature, compiled 200–300 years after the Prophet, records various numbers of rakʿah for different prayers. While these narrations reflect historical practices, they are not definitive proof that the Prophet mandated specific ritual units. Differences in transmission, memory, and regional practice make them unreliable as absolute law. Yet today, many treat them as binding, believing that repeating these numbers guarantees correctness and reward, and that failing to follow these prescribed numbers—or ignoring hadith guidance—puts them at risk of punishment in the Hereafter, of burning in Jahannam. In doing so, the focus shifts from sincerity, presence, and reflection—the very essence of prayer according to the Qur’an—to rote performance.

The Prophet’s guidance further illustrates this. When companions tried to follow him in his private night prayer, he told them to pray in their homes, showing that external imitation was not required; sincere, conscious devotion mattered most. This example aligns with the Qur’anic principle that true worship is about the heart and intention, not ritual repetition.

Ultimately, the obsession with counting rakʿah reflects a misunderstanding of worship. The Qur’an provides all the instructions needed: know the times, stand, bow, prostrate, purify, recite what is manageable, and focus your heart. Sincerity, reflection, and presence are the core. Everything beyond this—the fixed numbers, the formalized sequences, the reliance on later narrations—is human interpretation, not divine prescription. Respecting the Prophet means returning to the guidance he was sent to deliver—the Qur’an itself—while embodying his ethical and spiritual example.