Ukuthandaza Ngenkile - Matewu 26:39

Mathewu 26:39 Waya phambili kancane, wawa ngenyawo, wathandaza, ethi, "Baba, uma kunokwenzeka, khipha kule ndebe yanga. Kodwa musa ukwenzeka kwami, kodwa kwako."

Isimo

In Islam, one prays in using various positions including bending their heads toward the ground (by this we mean bending at the waist and having one's face looking toward the ground). Muslims pray a ritualistic prayer called salah or salat in Arabic, facing the Kaaba in Mecca, five times a day. Islam asserts Jesus taught/demonstrated this method of prayer in Matthew 26:39 (Islam 101 - Muslim at Prayer and How to Pray).

First, in Matthew 26:39 and Mark 14:35, we are told Jesus fell with his head (face) toward the ground and he prayed. However, does Scripture reveal other ways God's people prayed?

Kneeling - 1 Kings 8:54; Daniel 6:10 (and prayed three times per day); Acts 7:60, 20:36; Ephesians 3:14; Philippians 2:9-11.
Standing - 2 Chronicles 20:5.
Facedown - Numbers 16:22, 20:6; Joshua 5:14; Revelation 7:11.
Hands Raised - Psalms 134:2, 141:2.

Isikhathi sokuthandaza, uma uJesu wathandaza ngale ndlela akusho ukuthi uhlala enjalo. UThixo unomdla kakhulu enhliziyweni eguqukile kunaye umzimba oguqukile. Moreover, when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:5-15 he did not specify any posture at all.

Isikhathi

Although in Islam one may pray anytime, there are specific times one "must" pray: Fajr (pre-dawn), Dhuhr (noon), 'Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and 'Isha (evening). However, in the Bible God does not give his people specific times to pray, i.e., the hour, the minute, the second, etc. We find Jesus and the disciples praying at different times of the day. The prayer of Jesus in our text is around midnight and beyond (it was already night when he began - John 13:30).

UJesu akathandazanga njengamaMuslim

Jesus addressed, "his Father" in Matthew 26:39, which is not from any Islamic traditional formula of prayer. Allah's 99 names do not even include God as Father. "There is nothing like male Allah or female Allah. Allah has no gender. If you add the word 'father' to 'God' it becomes 'God-father'. God-father means someone who is a guardian. There is no word like 'Allah-Abba' or 'Allah-father'" (Naik). Allah also has no son - "Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe [concerning Him]" (23.91).

UJesu akathandazanga uthandazo lweMuslim. Jesus prayed to his Father, not Allah or Muhammad.

UJesu wafundisa abantu bakhe - iBandla lakhe - indlela yokuthandaza:

UMatewu 6:5-15 Futhi uma uthandaza, musa ukufana nama-farize, ngokuthi bathanda ukuthandaza nika emasinagogeni, nasekhoneni lasezitaladini, ukuze babonwe ngabantu. Impela ngiyanitshela, bamkele isabelo sabo. Wena, kodwa, uma uthandaza, ingena ekamelweni lakho, uvale umnyango, uthandaze ku Yise, oyengabonwa. Futhi Yise, oyakubona okwenziwa ekhweletini, uyakuklomipha. Futhi uma uthandaza, musa ukhulume njengama-pagani, ngokuthi acabanga ukuthi uyakuzwa ngenxa yamagama abo amaningi. Musa ukufana nabo, ngokuthi Yise wenu uyazi lokho okudingayo, ngaphambi kokuba nimcele. Yise wenu oyasezulwini, igama lakho libe lihloniwe, umbuso wakho ufike, uthando lwakho lwenziwe, emhlabeni njengasezulwini. Sinike namuhla isinkwa sethu sesikhathi. Futhi sintethele izikweletu zethu, njengoba nathi sesintethele abakweletayo. Futhi ungasisisi ekulingweni, wondle ekhandam. Kungenxa yokuthi uma nifaka abantu ekukhuberisaneni, Yise wenu oyasezulwini uyakukhululela. Kodwa uma ningabaxoleli abantu izono zabo, Yise wenu akayikulungiseleli ukukhululela izono zenu.

Please see Christianity and Islam Contrasted.

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Reference

Naik, Zakir. Islam 101 - Concept of God in Islam, www.islam101.org.