How would you answer the claim that the word salah mentioned in the Quran does not mean daily prayers?

How would you answer the claim that the word salah mentioned in the Quran does not mean daily prayers?

Dear Brother / Sister,

- First of all, it is necessary to know that the terminological meanings not lexical meanings of the commands and prohibitions in Islam are essential. Lexical meanings can be used to clarify issues. 

Otherwise, a word has several lexical meanings. Which meaning shall we act upon? For instance, one of the important meanings of “salah” is “dua” (prayer, supplication). Can supplication replace daily prayers? It can’t. It has other meanings, too. Which one shall we prefer?

Our method here is the sunnah of Hazrat Prophet. We will look at how he performed prayers. As a matter of fact, in all fiqh books, the form of prayers is taken from the following hadith: “Perform prayers in the same way as you see me.” (Bukhari, Kitabu’l-Adhan, 18; Darimi, Salat, 43; Ibn Hanbal, 5/52)

- The meaning of the wordhajj is to intend to do something, to orientate toward something. If someone says, “I intend to perform hajj”, will he regarded to be a hajji?  The Prophet said, while performing hajj, “I might not come to hajj again; I may die; I might not meet you here again. Therefore, learn the worship of hajj from me.” (Kanzu’l-Ummal, h. no: 12302)

- All of the words that are used to express commands and prohibitions have both lexical and terminological meanings. What is essential is the meaning put forward by the Quran, Sunnah and the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah.

A person who denies that 17 rak’ahs of prayers, which are fard every day and which have certain parts, exits Islam because there is no other issue that has been presented as clearly as daily prayers for fourteen centuries.

There is nothing hidden about the principles, rak’ahs, prostrations and similar parts of the prayer that Hazrat Prophet performed every day and thousands of people performed together and millions of Muslims performed every day throughout history.

- The best  answer to the question is as follows: "If anyone contends with the Messenger even after guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that becoming to men to Faith, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell,-what an evil refuge." (an-Nisa, 4/115)

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