Spiritual Solution

The purpose of salah (also known as namaz/ prayer) is to develop spirituality, gain consciousness of Allah and attain His closeness. Do we experience this increase in spirituality and the coolness of our eyes in our prayers? These prayers are a “gift” given to us by God to reach out to him, to have our problems solved, have our lives purified and converse directly with him. The spiritual journey of salah begins from the time of performing wudhu (ablution). We must purify our outer-body before standing in front of Allah, The Most Pure, to purify our inner-body. How can we stand in prayer and present our sinful ears, eyes, tongues, feet and hands in front of Allah, the Giver all these bounties. We should thus, when performing ablution, supplicate to Allah, The Pure, to forgive the wrongdoings committed and imagine our sins are falling off with the droplets of water. Prophet (peace and salutations be upon him) said:

“When a believing servant makes wudhu and washes his mouth, the sins committed by his mouth are washed out. When he cleans his nose, the sins are cleansed from his nose. When he washes his hands, the sins of his face are washed off, even from under the eyelids. When he washes his hands, the sins of his hands are washed off, even from beneath the nails of his hands. When he wipes his head, the sins from his head come off, even from his ears. When he washes his feet, the sins of his feet are washed off, even from under his toe nails. Then his walking to the Masjid and prayers are rewarded separately”.

When an individual commences salah, he should condition his mind that he is in front of Allah or, at the least, have conviction that Allah is seeing him. Only the honoured guests are greeted well and welcomed in the home by a host. The prayer mat is a palace; Allah is our host and we are his guests. Allah is not in need of our prayers; we are in need of Him. If we want to see how close Allah is to us in His mercy, then we must see how close we are to salah in our yearning and concentration.

We should focus on the majestic presence and powers of Allah and proclaim the opening takbir “Allah is the greatest” from the deep recess of his heart with the concentration that indeed Allah is the greatest. Not only is a person raising his hand when proclaiming the takbir, but he is, in fact, shunning the world and all its thoughts and temptations behind him, expressing his weakness and emptiness before Allah, asking Allahto rescue him from the ocean of sins, and submitting himself to the will of Allah. A person should be feeling grateful of being honoured the privilege of talking to his Creator. Each prayer of a person should be observed as his last prayer and that perhaps he may not live for the next salah. The heart, soul, mind and all the limbs should be attentive to communication with The Almighty.

The individual must concentrate on the purity, majesty and glorification of Allah when reciting thana. If a person is unaware of the meaning of surah fatiha and the surah joint, he must at least concentrate on the words and their pronunciation and acknowledge that he is conversing with Allah and that ‘this is the speech of my Lord`. God is responding to us at the end of the verses of surah fatiha. The Qur`an is blessed and God only gives the opportunity of its recitation to whomsoever He wishes by His ultimate mercy. The opportunity to spread the prayer mat and to stand before him is a sign of His willingness to accept us and forgive all our sins. When performing salah behind an imam, especially in an inaudible salah, if one cannot keep concentration and fears the mind wondering about, recite “Allah, Allah” in one`s mind to be able to concentrate.

When bowing down into ruku, the person should demonstrate total humility and express his need and dependency on the Lord of the universe. One should with utmost love and sincerity proclaim whole heartedly “My great Lord is pure and free from all weaknesses and defects” (this is the translation of the Arabic). When prostrating into sajdah, the individual must condition the mind that each limb from forehead till toes is in servitude, beseeching and glorifying his Master. Once again proclaim “Pure is my Lord who is the highest of all”. Every rak`ah (unit) should be read with such devotion, concentration and consciousness of the omnipotent and omniscient presence of Allah.

When sitting in tashahhud and reciting the attahiyyat, ponder on the spiritual and amazing night-journey of Mi`raj (the ascension) undertook by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) wherein he made a heavenly declaration of submission. Salah is the Mi`raj of a believer. Extend salutation on Prophet (peace be upon him) with love and invoke Allah for his ultimate mercy and acceptance. When making salam to the right and left, make intention of greeting the angels. Upon completion of salah, ask for forgiveness from Allah for not being able to fulfil the rights of Allah and supplicate, ‘Oh Lord, accept my salah and make the coolness of my eyes in salah.

The ideal level of concentration and consciousness will require an effort. A person may begin performing shorter voluntary salah but with full concentration and then gradually increase the length of the salah. As the standard of concentration increases, so will the spirituality of the heart revive and provide contentment and support in all aspects of life.

 

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Posted in Uncategorised on 23rd Jan 2016 by Our Imam | 863 Views