Muslim Devotions: A Study of Prayer-Manuals in Common Use

by Constance Evelyn Padwick

Drawing on a wide range of sources, Muslim Devotions traces the stages in the evolution of Islamic theological thought from the first century of Islam to the present day.

Genres: Islam

344 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 1996

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Constance E. Padwick is certainly not a stranger to the idea that religion as manifested in the world of forms is full of symbols which point to a universal essence. These symbols at the level of daily life become crystallized in our religious rites which take on a permanence after centuries of evolution and practice. The acquired meanings these rites attain in our collective consciousness carry with it a transcendent meaning that feels almost blessed by the divine presence from the simple fact that we ourselves infuse them with conscious meaning during practice and prayer. It's this consciousness that taps into the essence which we seek to honor, and which makes the rites "orthodox", even if they're not specifically prescribed in original scriptures such as the Qur'an. Of course in Islam all rites must at least be in agreement with the Qur'an or Hadith if they're not specifically stated therein.

With these thoughts serving as a foundational aspect to Padwick's writing, she sets out to see how Islam "looks" in daily practice and contemplation. To do this, she researched popular prayer books found in the Muslim world from North Africa to Indonesia. As the Islamic faith looks a bit different according to culture and region, one of Padwick's objectives was showing a unity through diversity and her goal is achieved. Not only is she able to show differences in dhikr rituals, prayers of meditation and the calling of blessings on the Prophet (to name a few), she is able to show a common thread back to the core of Islam through the foundation of the Qur'an. However in contrast, she also shows how some traditions would seem to overstep originally intended boundaries of Qur'anic limitations to take on a life of their own. She leaves these types of practices open for judgement to the individual reader as to their efficacy and/or orthodoxy.

Padwick extends the transcendent idea of unity into other faiths, particularly in comparisons of Islam to Christianity. It's obvious the book is addressed in part to Western readers from a Christian background, but it's also invaluable to new converts to Islam - like myself - who might be lacking in a good source for basic theological information, information that many Muslims take as a given. This is highly recommended as a way for Muslims to increase their knowledge of their faith, and for Western readers to familiarize themselves past the media and into the transcendent pure spirituality of the Islamic faith practice.

[Umar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend literary study, especially if you are Muslim. Will definitely enhance your spirituality and relationship to God- especially in an era of dry, dogmatic religion. I saw this book as a celebration of the human spirit since the prayers are so touching- the Shia prayers are especially moving, for me personally as a Sunni, found them amazing.

Interesting to see how Muslims and Christians borrowed prayers from each other. Prayer is universal, no doubt.

[Jutta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a study of prayer manuals that are considered popular in Muslim countries today. The author collected more than 100 of these booklets commonly sold. The first part gives detailed information on the different Arabic words that are connected to Muslim devotions. The second part explains the preparation for prayer. The third part is the main central chapter of the book and analyzes the content of two Rak'as and the different parts included in most devotional material. The fourth part is about different topics generally related to Muslim devotions.
This study gives deep insights into the hearts of devout Muslims and their concerns expressed in prayer. The author who probably comes from a Christian background sometimes added additional comments to avoid misunderstandings for Christians when similar concepts are used in different ways.