ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A General Look At Rites General Outlooks of Rites If we cast a general look at the rites we have observed in this book, comparing them with each other, we can then derive some general outlooks of these rites; here are some of these general outlooks:- The Unseen in Explaining Rites We came to know previously the important role worship performs totally in man's life and that it expresses a fixed need in his civilized march.

From another aspect: if we scrutinize and analyse the particulars which distinguish each worship from the other, we often are able, in the light of advanced science, to be acquainted with the pieces of wisdom and secrets Islamic jurisprudence expresses in this regard and mod- ern science has been able to discover.

This wonderful agreement between the out- comes of modern science and many particulars of Islamic jurisprudence, and whatever rules and regulations it decided, expresses a dazzling support for the position of this jurisprudence, deeply emphasizing its being God-inspired.

In spite of all this, however, we quite often face unseen points in worship, i.e., a group of details whose secret cannot be comprehended by the person practising worship, nor can he interpret them materialistically; for must sun- set prayer be three prostrations (rak`ah) while the noon-time prayer more than that?! And why should each rak'ah include bowing down once instead of twice, two prostrations instead of one?! . . . beside other questions of this sort which can be put forth.

And we call such an aspect of worship, which cannot be interpreted, "unseen." We find this aspect, in this manner or that, in most rites brought forth by the Islamic jurisprudence. From here, we can consider obscurity in the meaning we have already mentioned as a general phenomenon in rites one of their common characteristics.

This obscurity is linked to the rites and to their imposed role jointly, for the role of rites, as we have already come to know previously, is to emphasize the attachment to the Absolute and deepen that practically. The bigger the element of submission and yielding in a worship is, the stronger its effect in deepening the link between the worshipper and his Lord.