(17) Zuhr – The Midday Prayer
Ẓuhr means “noon” and is the name of the midday prayer which is to be performed at this time. Its root meaning is “to appear”, so it is the time when the sun appears at its highest. This is the time of the congregational prayer on Friday (jum’a; see post 5) when the sermon (khuṭba) is pronounced (see post 7).
From the same root comes the word ẓâhir which means that which is apparent or manifest. This term is used in reference to the interpretation of the Qur’an. The ẓâhir is the outer or apparent meaning of the text; it contrasts with the bâṭin, its inner or hidden meaning which may often be symbolic or allegorical.
These two terms al- Ẓâhir and al-Bâṭin are included in the Names of God, as the Manifest and the Hidden. They are found in the following passage of the Qur’an:
Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies God –H is the Almighty, the Wise. Control of the heavens and earth belongs to Him; He gives life and death; He has the power over all things. He is the First and the Last; the Outer and the Inner. He has knowledge of all things (Q 57: 1-3).
God is Manifest, since he can be known through creation, and yet he is Hidden, because being infinite he cannot be known fully. This respectful approach to God finds expression in the tradition of the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names. This is obviously 100 minus 1 - there is one Name missing, the Supreme Name, or the Hidden Name of God - a reminder that the Names given to God in human language can never fully convey the divine mystery (cf. AR 26).
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