I just found out that an interesting conversation once occurred between Moses, Mohammed and Allah. When the Archangel Gabriel appeared before Mohammed and carted him off to Heaven on the mighty horse Buraq (touching down once, possibly for the additional thrust upwards) at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem), the prophet was pleased to see all the fathers of the faith before he met the Lord. He had fascinating discussions with the likes of Abraham and Moses and Noah, and possibly Jesus as well.
Following his meeting with Allah, the prophet was en route to Earth when he was waylaid by Moses who asked him what gifts he was taking back with him.
"Allah told me to order the faithful to pray fifty times every day", said Mohammed.
"What!" said Moses. "That's too much! It's not practical! Go tell Him to reduce the number by ten."
The bargaining between the Big One Upstairs and the prophet went on several times until Mohammed - ashamed of the back and forth stream of requests - decided that five prayers daily would do it. And indeed Allah, conciliatory and loving as ever, said that these five prayers would have the effect of fifty.
So there you have it. When the merchant meets the Lord, some astute bargaining (abetted by a Jewish prince) is always on the cards.
(As an aside, this is not a story that you'll find in the Qur'an. There does not appear to be - in the holy book - any mention of the exact number of prayers. It's part of the Hadiths, or the sayings, of the Prophet. But for all that, it has the force of law. Check this out:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Vol1/7c.html - Section 3. This is part of a book by a Christian evangelist seeking deeper knowledge of Islam in order to rebut its assertions and bring the Muslims into the True Faith. Ah, these battles over religion. If they didn't have such horrible ramifications, they'd be fairly entertaining.)
Following his meeting with Allah, the prophet was en route to Earth when he was waylaid by Moses who asked him what gifts he was taking back with him.
"Allah told me to order the faithful to pray fifty times every day", said Mohammed.
"What!" said Moses. "That's too much! It's not practical! Go tell Him to reduce the number by ten."
The bargaining between the Big One Upstairs and the prophet went on several times until Mohammed - ashamed of the back and forth stream of requests - decided that five prayers daily would do it. And indeed Allah, conciliatory and loving as ever, said that these five prayers would have the effect of fifty.
So there you have it. When the merchant meets the Lord, some astute bargaining (abetted by a Jewish prince) is always on the cards.
(As an aside, this is not a story that you'll find in the Qur'an. There does not appear to be - in the holy book - any mention of the exact number of prayers. It's part of the Hadiths, or the sayings, of the Prophet. But for all that, it has the force of law. Check this out:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Gilchrist/Vol1/7c.html - Section 3. This is part of a book by a Christian evangelist seeking deeper knowledge of Islam in order to rebut its assertions and bring the Muslims into the True Faith. Ah, these battles over religion. If they didn't have such horrible ramifications, they'd be fairly entertaining.)
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