Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c7.s3.9

c7.s3.9

The Prophet was a strict disciplinarian, and a watch was kept on the Faithful about the observance of namaz. One who neglected namaz for three Fridays without reason, was marked out by Allah.¹¹⁸ Even children were to say namaz. For boys it began at the age of seven, at 10 they were to be beaten up if they avoided it.¹¹⁹ When there was Jihad, namaz was to be said in parts and by rotation.¹²⁰ It was inculcated in the minds of the Musalmans that the difference between a Musalman and a Kafir is that of namaz. There is a vow of namaz among the Muslims. One who renounced it did *kufr*, did *shirk*.¹²¹ So far as the congregational prayer was concerned, attendance was compulsory. Compulsion inculcated a sense of awe and raised the number of devotees. People "could refuse this invitation or call at their peril, spiritual and physical. As his followers became more powerful, the peril became increasingly more physical."¹²²