prayer but in the course of the public service as well, the worshipper is at liberty to pray to God in his own tongue, after or during the recitation of portions of the Holy Qur’ān in a standing posture, or after utterance of words of Divine glory in that of bowing down or prostration. In the public service such prayers would undoubtedly be limited, since the worshipper must follow the Imām, but in the private portion they may be of any length.
The question, however, assumes a different aspect when the public service itself is considered, for, unless the public service is conducted in a language which is common to all Muslims, there must again be a failure in achieving the great end for which prayer is instituted. As already stated, the unification of Muslims through prayer is as much an end and object of prayer as to bring man into communion with God. It is prayer that daily gathers together persons of different callings and different ranks and positions in society, under one roof, and on a perfect status of equality, and these homogeneous units are again united by the more extensive gathering for the Friday prayers, or the still larger assemblies at ‘Īd prayers, culminating in that mighty assemblage at Makkah of all nations and all races on the most perfect status of equality — European, Asian and African, king and beggar, all clad in one dress — the annual concourse of the pilgrims from the farthest corners of the earth. Now all these various gatherings, from the great gathering of all nations at Makkah down to the smallest gathering in a village mosque, are expressly for Divine worship, and if there were a babel of languages prevailing in these gatherings, the object of unification of the human race through Divine service — an idea unique to Islām — would fail altogether. The bond of a common language is one of the greatest factors towards unification, and this bond Islām has established by the use of a common language at the Divine service. This language, it is evident, could be none other than Arabic, the language of the Holy Qur’ān. Anyone who realizes the grand object which Islām has set before itself of unifying the human race through Divine service, will at once appreciate the necessity of having that service in Arabic.
It is only short-sightedness, intensified by ignorance of the wider issues of unification, that makes some men think that the Divine