Ismaili Prayer or Ismaili Dua

Method of Ismaili Prayer

Ismailis do not recite the usual salah offered by either the Shia or the Sunni Muslims. Instead, their version of the prayer is called the "Dua" which is unique.

Since the daily prayer is something which all Shia and Sunni Muslims offer in congregation, Ismailis are sometimes confronted with the question that why do they not offer the prayer ('namaz' in Urdu or Persian) with other Muslims in congregation. Their usual reply is that the word 'namaz' appears nowhere in the Quran and that they offer their own version of the Salah in their place of worship or the Jamatkhana, and that they do not call it 'namaz', but call it the 'Dua'.

Three Prayers, Twice Daily  instead of Five Prayers, Five Times Daily

Little do the Shia or Sunni Muslims know that not only the Ismailis' method of prayer is completely different then the Shia and Sunni Muslims, but they also do not offer five prayers. Instead Ismailis only offer prayers twice a day - one "Dua" in the morning and two consecutive "Dua's" in the evening.

Time for Prayer Not Connected to Sunrise or Sunset

The time for the Ismaili Prayer, or Dua is neither connected to sunrise, nor sunset. It has been a long-time practice in South Asian countries like India and Pakistan to have the morning prayer fixed at 5:20am (even in the winter when the actual time of sunrise is much later than 5:20am) and the evening prayer fixed at either of the three times of 6:30pm, 7:00pm, or 7:30pm. The evening prayers might or might not be after the sunset.

Format of Ismaili Prayer

The usual Muslim prayer contains 'Raka' or 'Units' of prayer, with Fajr, Duhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha prayers having 2, 4, 4, 3 and 4 compulsory (fard) units of prayer with each of them having additional units for Sunnah and Nafil prayers.

The Ismaili Prayer has no concept of fard, sunnah or nafil. Each of their prayer is same and contains six units of prayer. Within the Ismaili community, each unit is either called "Paat" (traditionally) or "Part".

Position of the Worshiper

Muslims face the direction of the Qibla while praying. However, Ismailis may face any direction during their prayer. In fact, the person leading the prayer is always facing the worshipers.

Content of the Ismaili Prayer

The usual Muslim prayer begins with al-Fatiha (The Opening) which is the first chapter or the Holy Quran, followed by another Chapter or a few verses. The person offering the prayer then assumes the bowing position (ruku), follwed by two prostrations (sujood). This is repeated for each unit of prayer until the prayer is concluded with Tashahud, Durood and a supplication from the Quran.

The Ismaili prayer is nothing like this. The first of the six "Parts" does begin with al-Fatiha, but then is followed by several Arabic phrases which appear nowhere in the Quran or authentic Hadith literature, and this content is scotch-taped with some verses of the Quran, taken out-of-context. A classical example of this is verse 12 of Surah al-Yaseen, the following part of which is mentioned in the Ismaili Dua :

 وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ

Transliteration: Wa kulla shay-in ahsaynahu fee Imamin Mubeen

Translation: And We have vested (the knowledge and authority of) everything in the Manifest Imam

Taken into context, the complete version of the above verse is as follows:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا وَآثَارَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ فِي إِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ

Transliteration: Inna nahnu nuhyeealmawta wanaktubu ma qaddamoo waatharahumwakulla shay-in ahsaynahu fee imamin mubeen

Translation: Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register.

It is evident from the complete verse that Allah is mentioning the deeds of the humans and is emphasizing that none of the deeds are hidden and that the deeds are "recorded" ("Naktubu" in Arabic) in a clear book or register. However, the earlier part of this verse is ignored by the Ismailis and only the last seven words are taken out-of-context and read as a part of the Ismaili Prayer.

For a complete audio of the Ismaili Dua, please click the following link:

https://soundcloud.com/akberally-meherally/ismaili-prayer-or-ismaili-dua

Further Reading

For further analysis and full transliterated content of the Ismaili Prayer, visit http://www.mostmerciful.com/dua-one.htm