Chapter Seven THE VARIOUS POSTURES OF THE PRAYER 31

An Explanation of What should be Present in the Heart Duringevery Pillar and Moment from the Actions of the Prayer

And these are the Call to Prayer, purification, covering ones awrah,facing the qiblah, standing, the intention, the takbeer, seekingrefuge, the basmalah, the recitation of Faatihah and another soorah,the rukoo, sujood and tashahhud.

The Call to Prayer (Aadhaan) When you hear the Call to Prayer then make the terror of the call onthe Day of judgement present in your heart and prepare yourselfexternally and internally to respond and race towards it. Those whorace to answer this call are the ones who will be called out withbenevolence on the Day of Judgement. Remember also the descriptionwhich Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, has given to the Hypocrites whenhe said:

And when they stand for the prayer they stand without earnestness(lazily). [Soorah an-Nisaa (4):142].

The description of the Believers is the opposite of that. They standfor the prayer whilst rejoicing and with eagerness and liveliness,turning themselves towards Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.

The Purification Then you purify yourself in your home which is the furthest place (fromthe place of prayer), then your clothes which are your nearest coveringand then your skin which is your lowest and innermost covering do notforget to purify your heart with repentance, remorse, firm resolutionnot to return to sins, and avoiding injustices (to others). Thepurification of the inner self precedes the purification of theexternal form.

Covering One’s Awrah Its meaning is that you conceal the undesirable parts of the body fromthe creation, but bring to mind along with this the ugly traits andcharacteristics and the scandals of your inner self. Try to bring aboutmodesty and feel shameful in front of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic,from Whom no secret is hidden, as it is not possible to cover it.

Facing the Qiblah This is turning your face away from all other directions to thedirection of the House of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. Know that itis also obligatory to turn the heart away from all other things towardsAllaah, the Mighty and Majestic. Thus there occurs in one of theopening supplications of the prayer, “I have turned my face towards theOne Who Created the heavens and the earth, sincerely.” The purpose isthe turning of the heart towards Allaah and its sincerity towards Himafter the body has been made to face the House of Allaah.

The Standing This is making the body and the heart stand erect, upright in front ofAllaah, the Mighty and Majestic. Bring to mind along with this thestanding in front of Allaah on the Day of judgement for questioning andtry to feel and sense the Might of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.Prepare yourself to stand in front of Him (in prayer) in such a waythat it will lead you to safety on the Day of Judgement.

The Intentions Fill your intention with sincerity to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic,hoping for His reward, fearing His punishment and loving His nearness.Train and nurture yourself to recall this sincere intention along withevery speech and action and know that none will be saved on the Day ofjudgement except the sincere ones. Every action which has a desire forother than Allaah is adulterated and obscured. Allaah, the Mighty andMajestic, said regarding this:

And We shall turn to whatever actions they did and make them intoscattered dust. [Soorah al Furqaan (25):23].

The Takbeer When you declare the takbeer with your tongue it is desirable that yourheart does not treat it as having lied. If there is something in yourheart which is greater than Allaah, the Sublime, or if your whim anddesire is greater to you than Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and youare more obedient to it than to Allaah, the Exalted-then you have takenit as a god and you will have declared its greatness. So your saying,”Allaah is Greater,” will have been but a mere expression of the tongueand the heart will have refrained from supporting the tongue. If it hadnot been for repentance, seeking forgiveness and harbouring goodthoughts about Allaah’s generosity and forgiveness, this would havebeen one of the greatest dangers.

Seeking Refuge Know that this means seeking a sanctuary with Allaah, the Mighty, fromSatan, the Rejected and Accursed-the one who lies in wait for you,jealous of your private conversation with your Lord, the Mighty andMajestic, and of your bowing and prostration to Him, together with thefact that Satan did not agree to or offer a single prostration to Him.He has made it his concern to prevent you and cut you off fromconversing privately with your Lord by his whisperings about theconcerns and affairs of the world and its engagements and occupationsuntil he prevents you from the honour of secretly conversing withAllaah, its blessing and its reward. He also tries to cut you off fromyour Master, whose love and secret conversations make the hearts happy,and from gaining nobility in this life and the Hereafter by Hisremembrance and beautiful worship.

The Basmalah When you pronounce this, intend to receive blessings by the name ofAllaah along with which nothing in the heavens or the earth can causeharm, He is the All Hearing the All-Knowing. When you sayAr-Rahmaanir-Raheem, recall in your heart His various benevolences sothat His Mercy becomes manifest to you and hope arises in your heart.

Recitation of the Faatihah Remember the saying of the Messenger (PBUH), that he has narrated fromhisLord, “I have divided the Prayer between Myself and My servant into twohalves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When theservant says:

All praise belongs to Allaah the Rabb of all the Worlds. Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, “My servant has praised Me.” Andwhen he says:

The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, “My servant has extolled Me.”And when he says:

Master of the Day of Judgement. Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, “My servant has glorified Me…”and on one occasion He said, “My servant has submitted to My power.”And when he says:

You alone do we worship and from You alone do we seek help. He says, “This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall havewhat he has asked for.” And when he says:

Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You havefavoured, not of those upon whom is Your anger, nor of those who areastray. He says, “This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what hehas asked for.””

An-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, “The scholars havesaid, ‘And the meaning of the word ‘prayer’ (in this hadeeth) is theFaatihah.’”

(His saying), ‘I have divided it …’ is in terms of its meaningbecause the first half of it contains praise of Allaah, Hisglorification, extolling Him and submitting (one’s affairs) to Him andthe second half contains a request, an imploration and a need.

Al-Qaasimee (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, “These meanings arerelated to the levels of understanding and the levels of understandingare related to the abundance of knowledge and the clarity of the heart.The levels and degrees of this (amongst people) cannot be comprehended.The prayer is the key to the hearts. Within it, the secrets of thewords (which are recited) are uncovered. This is the right of therecitation and is also the right of the remembrances, and theglorifications. Then the worshipper should observe and maintain awe andfear of Allaah during his recitation by reciting with slow rhythmictones (Tarteel) as this makes it easier to reflect.”

The Bowing and the Prostration Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, “Try to feelmodesty in your bowing and humility in your prostration because in sucha position you have placed the soul in its proper place. In prostrationyou have returned the limbs to their place of origin-upon the dust fromwhich they were created. Understand also the meaning of theremembrances with inclination and zeal.”

Al-Qaasimee (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, “It is desirablethat you renew the mention of the Greatness of Allaah, the Sublime,during them, that you strive to soften your heart, renew your khushoo’and that you sense and realise the power of your Master and Histranscendency, then your own lowliness and insignificance. Seek helpfrom Allaah to establish all of that in your heart and upon yourtongue. Glorify Allaah (above all defects) then give testimony for HisGrandeur and that He is Mightier than every single thing. Repeat thisso that it is confirmed and established (in your heart).

By saying, “Allaah listens to the one who praises Him…” whichmeans He will respond to the one who is grateful to Him, you raise yourhead from the bowing with certain hope. Then follow that withadditional gratefulness by saying, “O Lord! To You belongs all praise.”Then fall into prostration which is the highest form of submission andyielding oneself (to Allaah). Place and fix the noblest of your limbs,the face, upon the lowest of things, the dust. Along with this renew inyour heart the greatness of Allaah and say, “Glorified is my Lord theHighest,” then raise your head while declaring His greatness and askingHim for your need by saying, “O Lord! Forgive me and show mercy to me.”Confirm your modesty and humility by repeating this a number of timesand then return to the prostration for a second time.

This then, is the explanation of the prayer of the khaashi’een thosewho are humble and submissive in their prayers, the ones who guardtheir prayers, the ones who are constant in offering them, the ones whoconverse with Allaah to the extent that they are able to becomeenslaved to Him. Let the worshipper turn himself to this prayer, lethim rejoice to the extent to which it has been made easy for him andlet him be grieved to the extent that the prayer has passed him by, andlet him strive to find the cure for that.

As for the prayer of the inattentive and heedless, it is very risky,unless Allaah covers him with His Mercy and Allaah’s Mercy is vast andHis Generosity is abounding. We ask Allaah that He covers us with HisMercy and that He showers us with His forgiveness as there is no wayfor us except to admit our incapacity to perform His obedience.31 Risaalah Ta’dheem Qadr is-Salaatof Ahmad Fareed, pp.69~77.