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Prayers
The second pillar of
Islam is Prayer (Salah). Allah prescribes five prayers every day for a
Muslim during his whole life, beginning from the he attains puberty.
Remember, Salah is
an obligation. Whether your heart is attentive or not, it must be
performed. You cannot give up Prayer because to you it appears
useless. There is punishment for a Prayer not performed
satisfactorily. It will be a witness against you rather than a witness
for you on the Day of Judgment. Don't give up the obligation but try
to infuse it with the purpose it seeks to serve -
remembrance of Allah.
It is important to
remember the saying of the Prophet (pbuh): "If a man performs two
rakas of Salah without the distraction of any worldly thought, all his
previous sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari.)
Today we have indeed
come to treat the Prayer (Salah) as something insignificant in our
lives. Very often we hear our elders say, "I will start praying when
the time comes." Others, specially the younger Muslims, do not find
much comfort, and joy in their Prayers. Due to our treatment of Prayer
as a burden, our love and passion for the Prayer has vanished. Our
hearts have become hardened, and we have become a depressed and
defeated people. As a result, many are searching for 'cures and
remedies' to the distress in our lives, through any means available,
but are unable to find any because they have ignored the greatest
medicine - Salah!
If we look deep into
our daily lives and diagnose the causes of our spiritual, social and
psychological illnesses, we will realize that probably something as
uplifting, revolutionary, and empowering as Salah is missing. If we
realize the potential role of Prayer in changing our lives and as a
constant source of hope, we would regret missing even a single Salah.
The Role of Salah
in Changing our Lives
The whole purpose of
Salah is to be ever conscious of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of
all things. Salah is indeed, one of the most comprehensive forms of
Dhikr (Remembrance). No wonder, Allah states in a hadith qudsi: "Out
of all the ways through which My servant gets closer to Me, Salah is
the dearest to Me." (Bukhari) It is unfortunate, therefore, that we do
not always take full advantage of this gift.
We may compare the
obligatory Salah to bathing five times a day. If after such frequent
bathing, your body still remains dirty, then we may question the
usefulness and efficacy of such bathing. Similarly, if after regular
observance of Prayer your heart remains unmoved and your morals remain
corrupt, we may question the usefulness of your Prayer. If you enter
into Salah and come out of it the same person, then you have missed
something great.
How can you improve
the quality of your Salah? Remember, first and foremost, that as soon
as you commence your Salah, Shaytan makes it his duty to fill your
mind with anything and everything but thoughts of Allah. He tries
ceaselessly to disengage your mind and heart from such remembrance. It
is this state of absentmindedness that destroys the quality of your
Prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said: "God does
not accept the Prayers of an individual until his heart achieves in it
what his body has achieved." [Al-Ghazali in Ihya-Uloom ad-Deen]
The ability to
concentrate in Prayer may be improved by undertaking adequate
psychological, mental and physical preparation before the Prayer and
by utilising certain techniques during the Prayer.
This is not 'just a
good thing' but an obligation on every Muslim male. According to the
Prophet, if we knew the good in praying in jama'ah we would not miss
it even if we had to crawl to the masjid!
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR
PRAYER (SALAT)
Here are few
practical ways to improve and benefit from our Salat:
General
Preparation
-
Avoid praying in a
state in which you are mentally and physically fatigued.
-
Keep your mind
free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.
-
Plan what verses/duas
you are going to recite.
-
If you do not
understand Arabic learn the meaning of what you recite in your
Prayer.
-
Remind yourself
that engaging in Prayer offers you an opportunity to release
yourself from the tensions of this world. The Prophet has said that
in Prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes. Therefore cherish the
opportunity to remove the burdens of this world from your shoulders.
-
Use your Prayer to
remain focused on your mission in life, which is to bring your
entire being to serve only Allah.
-
Use your Prayer as
a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm for your life and
activities.
Physical
Preparation
-
Fulfill all your
personal needs before you commence your Prayer, for e.g., thirst,
hunger and calls of nature.
-
Pray in a pure
physical state. Perform your wudu with care and perfection.
-
Although the whole
earth is a masjid or a place of worship, choose a place that is
clean.
-
Pray in an
environment free of noise and one where there is no distraction.
-
Adorn yourself
with clean and respectable clothes.
Performing Your Prayer
-
Assess
your mental readiness for Prayer before its commencement, during the
various postures, after each raka and ultimately at the end.
-
Pray
with humility both in your mental state and in your physical manner.
Pray with hope and awe.
-
Remind
yourself continually that you are talking to the most important
'One' in your life - your Creator and Sustainer. He is in front of
you. You are facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him.
-
Commence your Prayer by seeking Allah's help and protection from the
influences of Shaytan.
-
Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physical
environment to distract you. Anas related that the Prophet said: "My
dear son, be sure to avoid being distracted during Prayer, for, to
greater concentration and awareness.
-
Adopt a whispering technique in your recitation in order to remain
focused on what you are saying, and not distract others.
-
As you recite the Quran, translate it into your own language so that
your attention is held. As you ponder upon the meaning and
implications of the words, insha-Allah, all worldly thoughts will
disappear.
-
On each occasion that you recite the Sifat or attributes of Allah in
ruku and sajda, consider how indebted you are and how grateful you
should be to Allah and express your true emotions.
-
Utilize the occasion of sajda to make additional dua to Allah. The
Prophet said: "A servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajda,
so increase your supplication when in sajda." (Muslim.)
-
Make your Prayer of moderate duration so that you do not become
physically and mentally tired but be aware that while in Prayer you
must take your time praying.
-
Give due regard to the proper performance of all the physical
postures. Do not 'peck like a crow' when doing rukus and sajdas as
every posture in Salah, even the rests, are important.
-
Pray as if it is your last Prayer. The Messenger of God said: When
you stand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your
last...' (Ahmad)
Performing your prayer in a satisfactory manner should
lead to a radical change in the way you lead your daily life. Salah
must be as the Quran states: Surely, Salah prevents indecency and evil
[al-Ankabut 29: 45.] Your improved and more disciplined life will in
turn help the quality of your Prayer to increase even more. The two
should continuously reinforce each other.
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