Islam allows to "combine prayers": Valeriya Porokhova

Honorary professor of Cairo University, Islam expert Valeriya Porokhova does not oppose closure of prayer rooms in Kazakhstan's public offices and explains that Islam allows to combine prayers. The best translator of Quran told Tengrinews.kz about Islamic rules and her meeting with the chairman of Kazakhstan Agency for Religion. "If the question is about administrative, political activities, solving some important state problems, Islam insists that they have to be fully attended to and there is a very serious term in Islam called “combining prayers”. This is when people miss afternoon prayers and do additional ones in the evening,” Valeriya Porokhova said about the regulation of Quran prescribing 5 compulsory prayers. Valeriya Porokhova's translation of the Islamic holy book became the only version canonized by the Islamic academy Al-Azhar that was studying it for 6 years. Mufti Akhmed Keftaru even announced Valeriya his daughter. "God sent us the law that covers all the aspects of human life. Of course, if one goes to work at 9 a.m. and finishes at 6 p.m., 2 or 3 prayers have to be done during working hours. It takes time. Not much time, but it is still time,” she said. Valeria Porokhova believes that a person should not be thinking about anything else and nothing should distract him during prayers. “You have to be fully concentrated on God. You go on a meeting with God, talk to him. But at the same time your head is filled with some serious political, social, financial problems and numbers. Frankly speaking, how can you be unprepared, when going on the most important meeting of your life? You are distracted. The significance of such prayer goes down a lot,” iman Valeriya Porokhova said. “Do not rush to repeat the prayers, until their meaning is in your head,” an active member of Liberal Arts Academy and UN International Informatization Academy cited Quran. The prayer requires spiritual preparedness, so that it is sincere, Valeriya Porokhova says. But it is barely possible to do it during a serious and eventful work day. “Speaking of strict limitations of the work day and business activities, as well as difficult trips, Islam allows to combine the day prayers in the evening. I think that from the point of God’s wisdom, combining prayers is also allowed for a work day. This is normal,” she said. Valeriya Porokhova also told about her meeting with the chairman of Kazakhstan Agency for Religion Kairat Lama Sharif, who made a good impression on her. “He is a very nice person. The most important is that he is very competent in Islam. It is absolutely terrible when ignorant people try to do everything. He is not this type. He is one of those people who know a lot. But he is very humble about his knowledge. This is wonderful. We discussed the agenda only and how the agency will work. I think we will make it. Inshallah,” she said. Valeriya Porokhova was born in Tsarskoye Selo (Russia), but moved to Damascus in 1985 after marrying a Syrian and adopted Islam. There she started working on translation of Quran. The translation of the meaning of the holy book was controlled by the scientists of Syria and other Arab countries. Famous Islamic experts note, that her translation of Quran is not only accurate, but is also made in poetical form. It is closer to the original than all the previous translations. The translation was finished in 1991 and submitted to the Islamic academy Al-Azhar for review. By Maksim Popov