# Why does the guest's prayer have no fixed number of units, and what counts as wudu? *Summing up the guest's prayer: duration not numbers, the meaning of salah, wudu from the Quran* - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/19/ - Date: 2025-10-18 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Br Muhammad MFG | Quranist Only Belief - A Dialogue | MindTrap #82 - Mufti Abu Layth (1:36:54–1:42:01) - Status: latest answer on its topic; a view quoted in order to be discussed, not a position held - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONzjD7XMDhE&t=5814s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/ **Topics:** Prayer; Purification; Quran-only movement **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The guest's prayer is about duration and connection rather than numbers of units, with an imam supplying structure only in congregation; prostration, kneeling and standing are components without a set order, and wudu is as 5:6 describes it, without the tradition's additions. ## Longer summary Mufti Abu Layth sums up what he has understood: the guest prays in the moment according to his state of faith and commitments, perhaps one rak'ah one day and four another, with the numbers irrelevant, and everyone else prays their own version; the guest agrees that it is about duration. Asked whether a community does not need structure, the guest says that is why congregations have an imam, but alone with one's Lord no structure is needed. Mufti says psychology teaches that habit and routine are essential; the guest asks how he lacks a routine and asks what the word salah literally means, to which Mufti answers 'to pray', with some linking it to following or to dua, and the guest concludes that there is no reason to structure the conversation with God beyond what he has given. He says the emphasis on physical actions over the spiritual concept means many Sunnis who perform every action perfectly and then go out to obscenities did not pray at all; the components of prostration, kneeling and standing are part of the prayer and bring one closer, as in the command to prostrate and draw near, but there is no set order. He adds that wudu is clearly described in the Quran, washing the face and hands and wiping the head and feet, and that the tradition adds things not found there. Mufti then turns to Ramadan. ## Sources and names cited - Br Muhammad (MFG, MuhammadFromGod channel) - Quran 5:6 (wash your faces and hands, wipe your heads and your feet): https://quran.com/5/6 - Quran 96:19 (prostrate and draw near): https://quran.com/96/19 - salah - wudu ## Transcript (machine tier, 1:36:54–1:42:01) [1:36:36] but you can read somebody's intention God tells us you will know them by the tone of the voice you know you could see so there's certain things that we can read now there is okay so the reason just There is a point there is a point that I want to Travis that you can pray like the Sunnis as well. You can stand and pray the Sunnis exactly how the Sunnis pray. There's absolutely no problem that there is some words that you shouldn't say because it's not from God. [1:37:03] Okay. Sure. Now just to clarify the reason look anybody can look Muhammad Auna Muhammad look on last week we spoke and the whole basis of this is for me to allow you to steal man your case uh this is something we said last week this is something I said as I preface today's discussion this is you know everybody has questions about Quranist only so it's saying look steel man your case you know you present it in the best possible way that's why salah is an important one and from what I understood from what you said and what people can obviously is [1:37:41] that you did say look listen it's in the moment not on the day in the moment arbitrarily but in the moment based on your iman and your kind of engagement so you know if you if you're in a in a heightened iman stage you might pray more if you're in a less let's say not not so much or you've got other things to do, work commitments, you might just pray one raka, maybe some days you pray four, but you don't really care because the numbers are irrelevant. [1:38:10] And the duration, yes, it's about the duration. And that is how you pray. And everybody else prays their own version and they're entitled to pray their own version. And you don't see the the the kind of element of chaos in that that like that's a a question that people will put to you that you don't see as a community. How could you have the need for structure as a community? Is that not essential? [1:38:36] So the need for structure of a community. Yes. And that's why we have an imam to lead the prayer. But in your house by yourself with you and your lord, there is no need for that structure. That's the whole narrative. So are we talking about congregation or are we talking about me praying? So when I told you in do you not feel even you as a person like me as a person not just me as a person psychology teaches us that habit is essential to the human being. [1:39:03] It is isn't it because like if you don't have a structure you this is why routines get people to places because they have a routine. How do I not have a routine? No no you probably do. So I was asking that is it just arbitrary in the moment? So if everything is done on the day in the morning, how are you how are you going to overly structure your conversation with God? Because what what is the word salah? What what is the what is the uh literal meaning of the word salah? [1:39:30] Sure. Tell us what you tell. You're you're the Arabic teacher, right? Yeah. I mean it means to pray. Linguistically it could mean some people have said to come second. Some have even linked it with things like an element of sorry dua of dua. Yeah to pray that's what I said to pray is dua right so so perfect so why would I structure other than what god has given me so in regards to the Quran giving us verses that are very clear about the prayer god is giving us the tools that we need so this overly structure and this emphasis on the actual physical [1:40:08] activities that people do in their prayers and they're not focusing on the actual spiritual concept those individuals are not praying so we have a lot of sunnis we have a lot Sunnis that do all the actions perfectly. Yeah. As soon as the conversation is done, they're out doing obscenities and immoralities and thus they did not pray. So it's not about the structure and it's not about the physical content of the prayer. It is about that connection and what God is giving us in the physical structures which is the prowing, the kneeling and the staining. [1:40:39] Is that necessary? It's there to amplify and to bring you closer. That's why God says for example prostrate and get closer. Okay. It's not just to clarify it's and so I've understood it correctly. The structure within salah like sujud and is that necessary or is that is that recommended? [1:41:03] It's there's no structure. These are components of the prayer that needs to be done, but it's not structured where there's set one, two, three. God is telling, but are they necessary? They're part of the prayer. They're part of the prayer when God. Yes. So God is telling you what. So just like how washing before your prayer isn't necessary. God clearly tells us how to wash in the Quran. Wash your face is is necessary. [1:41:27] So wash your face, wash your hands, wipe your head, and wipe your feet. So but then we when we look at the tradition there's things that are added in there which are not part found in what okay so what about things like in that sense in Ramadan then how do you uh do the same thing is it like like what violates a fast and what doesn't and how do you arrive at the say eating and drinking and sexual intercourse will invalidate your fast because that's what you're fasting from. [1:42:00] So that's a very good push back question. So when God is telling you you can't eat, drink and uh approach your wives or spouses during your fasting, you just to clarify like which verses are you referring to? This is in chapter two. Yeah, bring them up. Let's see. Because the reason I'm asking is because if we're just going by the understanding of the verse, I understand and I don't disagree with you because these are the rules that everybody agrees on that you know that you don't eat, you don't ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment ONzjD7XMDhE/s/19. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/onzjd7xmdhe/s/19/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.