Allah bade him draw near to His throne, "_at the distance of two bows, or even closer_" (THE QUR'AN, LIII, 9), and after having confirmed the choice He had made in charging Mohammad to be the carrier of Good Tidings to His servants, He fixed the number of prayers--fifty in all--that each Believer should offer up daily to the Creator, in gratitude for His bounty.
When the Chosen One went down, Moses met him again and questioned him. 'O Prophet of Allah! what hath our Master ordered thee with regard to the number of prayers which His disciples should offer up?'--'Fifty prayers during the day and the night.'--'O thou, the best of created beings!' Moses rejoined, 'go back to our Master, and beg Him to lighten this burden, too heavy for the weakness and laziness of mankind.' So Mohammad went back several times into the presence of the Master of the Worlds, until he prevailed upon Him to reduce the number of prayers to five only.
This parable, which serves to decide definitively the number of daily prayers, also demonstrates admirably that an excess of devotion, in the Islamic creed, is considered to be an error. "_Allah desireth to make your burden light to you: for man hath been created weak._" (THE QUR'AN, IV, 32.) Why should the Almighty be in need of the prayers of mankind? "_We ask not of Thee to make provision for thyself--We will provide for Thee._" (THE QUR'AN, XX, 132.)
Allah has sent prayer to His servants as one of His most salutary favours. Five times daily, devotion brings absolute rest to Believers; that is to say, complete interruption of the feelings that stir them, whether an excess of joy leading to ruin in the aberrations of debauchery, or an excess of sadness causing them to perish in the madness of despair. Five times daily, prayer forces them by its accompanying ablutions, to call to mind the cleanliness of the body, at the same time as the purity of the soul.
The day after his vision, the Prophet, beaming with delight, was met by his mortal enemy, Abu Jahal, who addressed him ironically: 'O Mohammad! hast thou not one of those marvellous tales which we are used to hear from thee to tell us this morning?'--'Indeed I have!' replied the Prophet. 'Between yesternight and this morning I have been to Jerusalem and back.'--'Gather round quickly, O Quraish! Hasten and hearken to the wonderful adventure of the nocturnal journey undertaken by Mohammad!' shouted Abu Jahal.