Prayer is a practice that takes
a person closer to his soul. When a person is acquainted with the knowledge of
his soul it becomes clear to him that it is Allah Himself who is guiding him.
Just think what our life would be like if Allah Himself was guiding us and just
how close we would be to Allah. Truly, with this course of conduct our every
movement would become based upon Allah's movement.
If
we contemplate on the psychological depths of this course of conduct we find
that whenever we do a good deed for Allah's sake, we find great satisfaction
and happiness in it. That happiness penetrates deep within and illuminates
every part of the soul. With that happiness the soul becomes so light that it
forgets about its physical body. If we look into the lives of saints we realise
that they spent their lives in the same way as an ordinary person spends his
life. The only difference is that they were acquainted with the pleasures of a
good course of conduct whereas we are not. How is it not possible for every descendant
of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam to achieve what was possible for the saints?
Certainly it is possible for us all but we are careless and ignorant. The
saints, after acquainting themselves with this pleasure and with the blessings
of real Prayer managed to gather people to perform congregational
Prayer. The congregational Prayer of those few people managed to change the
condition and structure of the whole world. But when Muslims stopped performing
Prayer in the way it should be performed and turned this sacred alchemic
worship into a ritual, as a punishment nature took all kinds of leadership and
authority away from us. There was no warmth left in our hearts. We became
deprived of softness, passion, humility, modesty, tolerance, knowledge,
intellect, understanding and a healthy mind. While Praying, if there is no
presence of concentration and softness of the heart, and we do not get to know
our soul and do not manage to befriend Allah then this Prayer is a similitude
to a body without a soul. If we perform our Prayers in the manner prescribed by
Allah and His Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam then why would our Prayers not be Prayers? How could they
not? Why are we bereft of the blessings and rewards that our forefathers were
blessed with?
According to the declaration of
Allah and His Holy Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wasallam Prayer is the cure to all our sadness and grief, is
an ointment to heal all the hurt inside us and is a remedy for our pain. But
because we have changed Prayer to suit us according to the time and occasion,
we have left no stone unturned in making this blessed deed lifeless.
All the prophets that have come
to this world promoted the worshipping of Allah and good deeds. They are those
holy and pure beings that Allah has favoured and those who have been chosen to
favour others. But those who were disobedient and unfortunate did not take on
board the teachings of these virtuous messengers sent down by Allah and instead
overlooked them. Allah states in the Holy Qur‘ān:-
‗But after them came a later
generation who were disobedient who lost the reality of Prayer and followed
their carnal desires. But they will meet deception‘
(Surāh Maryam, 59)
The meaning of this auspicious
verse is that Prayer is the ‗jewel‘ of worship, in other words, the essence. If
we remain unaware of the reality of it then all our Prayers will go to waste.
If we contemplate upon the
knowledge of ethics we come to realise that the most effective way to develop
is through the character of oneself, and the complete picture of the character
is made from the postures and movements of Prayer. According to the declaration
of the Holy Prophet,sallallahu alaihi wasallam the greatest nourishment for one's character is Prayer.
Allah declares in the Holy Qur‘ān:-
‗Establish Prayer and pay the
poor due. And whatever good ye send forth for your souls before you, ye shall
find it with Allah: for Allah sees all that ye do‘
(Sūrah Baqara, 110)
In another place Allah
declares:-
‗O ye who believe! Seek help
with patient perseverance and Prayer: for Allah is with those
who persevere‘ (Sūrah Baqara,
153)
These are the two forces
through which we can free ourselves of our troubles, trials, pain, dishonour
and disgrace. If Muslims gather these two forces within them, the crown of
kingship of the world would be placed upon their heads. They would never become
failures in any religious or worldly affair.
Prayer
is the fountainhead of spiritualism. Prayer is a fort that protects us from an
army of wrongdoing. Prayer keeps us away from sinning. To just complete the
movements of Prayer is not called Prayer. It is necessary to possess the
knowledge of the purpose of Prayer. The Qur‘ān does not give us the order to
perform the ritual Prayer, it gives us orders to fulfil all the fundamental
pillars of Islam properly and completely. It clearly states that without mental
concentration and the presence of the heart, Prayer is not Prayer:-
‗Recite what is sent of the
Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer, for Prayer restrains
from shameful and unjust deeds, and remembrance of Allah is the greatest
(thing in life)
without doubt. And Allah knows the deeds that ye do‘ (Sūrah Ankabūt, 45)
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