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3^rd day of Ramadan

ṢALĀT

PRAYER

Al-Mughira bin Shu‘ba narrated: “The Prophet used to pray so much that his feet would become swollen, and when he was asked as to why he prayed so much, he would say, ‘Shall I not be a thankful slave to Allah?”¹⁰

One day Imam Ali asked, “Which verse of the Qur’an gives you most hope and trust?”

One man in the congregation said, “Verily, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin unto whomever He wills.” (4:48)

Imam Ali answered, “It is a good deed, but this is not the one.”

Another man spoke, “Yet he who does evil or [otherwise] sins against himself, and thereafter prays God to forgive him, shall find God much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.” (4:110)

Imam Ali answered, “It is a good deed, but this is not the one.”

A third man spoke, “[Thus speaks God:] ‘O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God’s mercy: behold, God forgives all sins – for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!’” (39:53)

Imam Ali answered, “It is a good deed, but this is not the one.”

Another one replied, “and who, when they have committed a shameful deed or have [otherwise] sinned against themselves, remember God and pray that their sins be forgiven – for who but God could forgive sins?” (3:135)

Once again, Imam Ali answered, “It is a good deed, but this is not the one.”

The congregation fell silent. “Why are you quiet?” asked Imam Ali.

“We have nothing to add!” came the answer.

Then Imam Ali spoke: “I heard my beloved Prophet say, ‘The verse of the Qur’an which gives most hope and trust is the one where Allah tells us: ‘And be constant in praying at the beginning and the end of the day, as well as during the early watches of the night: for, verily, good deeds drive away evil deeds.’” (11:114)

This touching narrative shows us how essential prayer is for us human beings, this daily connecting and embedding, and how it builds the core of our faith.

All the pillars of faith are reflected in the ṣalāt. While we pray, we repeat the shahāda; while we pray, we step out of the world of activity, of making a living, and we give of our time, which corresponds to the zakāt; while we pray, we fast because we abstain from all food or drink; while we pray, we turn to the Ka‘ba, our spirit and our heart on pilgrimage, our bodies facing towards the Ka‘ba. While we pray, we unite our faith, both inner and outer orientation.

In Arabic, the ritual prayer is called ṣalāt (in Turkish and Farsi: namaz) and ṣalāt comes from the root ṣ-l-w which means invocation, compassion, connection, union.

Ablutions, wuḍū’, carry the act of separation – separation from the outer world – whereas the ritual prayer, ṣalāt, carries the act of union – union with the Divine reality, Al-Ḥaqq.

Ablutions, wuḍū’, purify the body and the senses from the outer, worldly activities, in order to consciously prepare them for the union.

Imam as-Sadiq said: “The action most beloved of Allah is ṣalāt and this is the final instruction given to us by the Prophet .”

When Allah says in the Qur’an, “for We are closer to him than his neck-vein” (50:16), this means that ṣalāt is not meant to take us closer to Him, but to make us more sensitive, to open our hearts and to remind us how close to His presence we already are.

Ṣalāt lifts us out of the ephemeral treadmill of everyday life, elevating our consciousness to the eternity of our soul. Ṣalāt embeds us into the natural movements of the universe. When we pray, we are connecting ourselves with the continuous praising of all creatures, thus experiencing Allah’s eternal kindness and mercy.

When we prostrate, sujūd, for the first time, humbly laying our head on the earth, we remember that we came from dust; when we prostrate for the second time, we remember that we will die and return to dust; and when we lift up our head again, we are reminded that we shall be resurrected in a future life.

The deep meaning of ṣalāt is to set our self aside and to open our heart to an intimate dialogue with Allah. It is consciously stepping into Allah’s mercy and explicitly making space for our soul.

If we were to enter into a flowing stream five times a day, would there be any dirt left on our body? Ṣalāt is akin to this cleansing stream, it purifies us of our transgressions, our forgetfulness and our attachments.

God does not need us to pray for Him; through our prayers and ṣalāt, we are granted support and stability, awareness and energy, protection for our souls and vigilance over our self, “for, behold, prayer restrains [man] from loathsome deeds and from all that runs counter to reason.” (29:45)

Time and time again, ṣalāt reminds us of what we truly are and why we are here. Ṣalāt delivers us from the burdens of life, relativises our attitude to life and steadies us in a constantly changing world.

Is our connection with Allah, our intimate dialogue with Allah not the meaning of our existence? Have we not been sent to this world out of love in order to find our way back through love?

Our beloved Prophet said: “Allah, glorious is His praise, has made the pleasure of my eye in ṣalāt, and has made me to love ṣalāt like food is made loveable to the hungry and water to the thirsty. And surely the hungry one, when he eats, he is satiated and the thirsty one, when he drinks, he is quenched, but I am not satiated from ṣalāt.”¹¹

PRACTICE SUGGESTED FOR TODAY

Resolve today that whatever happens to you, whatever you are told, whatever you do, you will say alhamdulillah (Allah be praised) while inhaling deeply, and let these words flow over your thoughts and feelings like a refreshment. As if every time you say alhamdulillah, you were saying,

“I love You, Allah.”

DID YOU KNOW…

How precious and essential ṣalāt is, can be seen from the fact that it is the only pillar of Islam which was given to the Prophetby Allah directly, without the intermediary of the angel Gabriel. In the Laylat al-Mi‘rāj, Muhammad’s ascension, Allah took the Prophet to Him and entrusted him with the ṣalāt which the Prophet then conveyed to the Muslims.