How to be earnest in salat – Part 3

Peak of salah – sajda.

This is something very important to understand. Westerners think this

is a position in which you are degrading yourself. On the contrary we
learn that when we go into sajda saying subhana rabbiyyal aa’laa-
purified or pure is Allah or perfect is Allah, the most exalted, this is like
a physical and verbal declaration that Allah you are the highest, and I
am the lowest of the low.

You are the creator, you’re the giver, you’re the sustainer, and I am a
beggar before you and Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa
sallam said ‘the closest that a servant is to his Lord is when he is
prostrating so make much supplication’. Its not a degrading position.
This is a position in which you are receiving love, mercy, and
tenderness from Allah swt.

And there is the story of the companion who when he was pouring
water for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam in an excess
of love he said to him ‘ask and you will receive what you want’. If it had
been us, we probably would have said ‘Oh I am going through some
financial problems and…’. He said ‘I want your companionship in
Jannah.’ Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam said ‘Help
me, against yourself by many many sajdahs.’

Sajda is the key to gaining Allah swt’s love. Now Rasoolullah sallallahu
alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam used to recite a dua in sajda aswell –
subhanakallah humma wa bihamdika rabbana alhummmaghfirlee

The same dua you can also read for ruku

that Allah you are perfect, and you are pure and with your praise Allah
forgive me.

When you sit, before you go into the second sajda there is a dua – dua
we should learn and read.

Allahumma maghfirlee, wahdeeni wajburne, warzuqni warfaane,

wa'afaani
Translation: O Allah, forgive me, guide me, protect me and provide me
and exalt me and grant me wellbeing
Again and Again, our demands go on and on – after we have repeated
one more sajda and we have sat back that’s one rakah that’s
complete. In the second cycle we sit down and read attahiyyaat.

The background of attahiyaat is so sublime that if we were to

remember the history of attahiyyaat every time we read it, our salats
would be dynamically different.

Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam on the occasion of

visiting the seven heavens was taken up finally to Sidratul-Muntaha –
the lote tree of the uttermost boundary and that was the supreme
moment and there Jibrail AS left him said that even I am not allowed to
go beyond this place and he entered and he was the physically closest
that any human being has been to Allah swt. He could not see Allah
swt but he was the closest anyone has been to Allah swt. And Allah swt
asked him ‘What have you brought me?’ and he said ‘Attahiyyaatu
Lillahi Was Salawato Wattayyibatu…’. All gifts are for Allah.

Attahiyyaatu lillah is like saying the best is for Allah.

And we need to ask ourselves that when we say these words

before Allah swt, do we mean them. There are people who will
not pray and they will read all their prayers in one go at the
end of the day saying ‘this was the only time we found’. How
then can we read attahiyyaatu lillah …We have not given him our
best, we have given him the worst. Do we give him the best of
our time, the best of our life, the best of our talents, the best
of our energies, or do we keep the residue for Him, that this is
for my dunya and whatever is left, Allah swt is welcome to
that. That is not Attahiyaat.

Attahiyyaatu lillahi is that Allah my best is for you

Was Salawaato – and all prayers

Wattayyibatu – and all pure things

Allah swt replied and said ‘Assalamu Alaika Ayyuhannabi’o’ – peace be

on you O messenger

Warahmatullahi Wabarka’tuhu – and Allah’s mercy and His blessings.

And when we read this, think of all that he did for us. Think of the
nights that he prayed for us. Think of the times that he wept for us - his
beloved ummah. Have we ever thought of him? Have we ever even
done something for him as in done something for the deen that he
brought? He pleaded with us – ‘Don’t disgrace me on the day of
judgment’. Have we thought of that? Have we tried to find out what he
loved? And then the very we can do is at least read one dua with
sincerity, with concentration.

Now at that moment, imagine the scene if you can, that Rasoolullah
sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam, the best of mankind, stands
before his creator, receiving this astonishing mercy and love, and at
that point he remembers other. This shows his nature, this is really the
essence of his nature; that he gave to people, he shared.

We are so selfish, no-one likes to share the limelight, but Rasoolullah

sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam says at that point, ‘assalamu
alaina’ not that yes let peace only be on me, - peace be on all of us

‘Wa’ala’Ibadillahis Sa’liheen’ – and on all of Allah swt’s righteous

slaves.

And then we read the tashaahud; which is the inevitable declaration

after you think about all that you have read in salat.

‘Ash’had’u'un La ilahaillallaha’ – this is our creed, this is what we live

by, this is inshaAllah what we will die for.

‘Wa Ash’hadu Anna MuhammadunAbd’uhu Wa Rasooluh’ – I bear

witness that there is no God but Allah. Muhammad (saws) is his
messenger and his slave. Now after this, even then his right is not
fulfilled so we read durood. And when we read the durood, think to
yourself of all that he did for you. This is the moment where you should
imagine Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam and all his
favours upon us and then once we have read the durood, durood-e-
Ibrahimi, and this is very significant that Ibrahim AS is also mentioned
because he too was Allah swt’s friend and after saying that we have a
choice of 12 or 13 duas which Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi
wa sallam used to read.

And of course one of the most beautiful is Rabbi jalni muqimas salati
wa min dhurriyyati rabbana wa taqabbal dua Rabbana aghfirli
waliwalidaiyya wa lil mu’minina yawma yaqumul hisab

Allah make me one who establishes salat - you’re reading salat but
even then you are asking for this quality to be sustained.

And for my children accept my dua, forgive me, forgive my parents

and forgive all the believers on the Day of Judgement. That’s all we
have done in salat – ask Allah swt again and again and again.
And you turn to the right saying as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi
wa barakatuhu. This is like saying I am a Muslim and my creed is
peace. My tongue, my hands, my actions, will contribute towards
peace.

Right and left we repeat the same message and our salat is over. Now
what do we do the moment salat is over. We start bellowing out ‘Just
go and answer that phone right now, what were you doing. Why didn’t
you come when I was calling you and I was waiting for this…?’. And the
minute salat is over we are bellowing out these instructions and the
beautiful dream is over and we are back to reality with a vengeance.

This is one of the biggest traps of shaytaan. That the minute you finish
your salat he starts reminding you of things you needed to be doing so
you need to get up, you don’t have time to read the tasbeehaat, we
don’t have time to read Ayatul Kursi. He tells you, you can read it in
the car, but by the time you reach the car you have already forgotten.

Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam taught us that when

you are emerging from this beautiful reverie that you were in, when
you are emerging from this spiritual experience don’t do it abruptly.
You need to come out of it gradually otherwise the impact of salat will
be totally lost upon you.

So we find that the first thing you say is Allahu Akbar one more time.
You began salat with it, and you are ending salat with it. Allahu Akbar
once. And three times Astaghfirullah – Allah please forgive me for the
inevitable shortcomings, for the inevitable defects, Allah please forgive
me

And then you read Ayatul Kursi. The advantages of reading Ayatul Kusi
constantly are that you are granted a grateful heart and a
remembering tongue and a reward like that of the Prophets and the
martyrs but it has to be done constantly. And this is shaytaan’s
favourite game. Ok, you have read salat and he couldn’t stop you in
that but now he is going to make sure that you mess it up some way or
the other.

And after reading Ayatul Kursi you read your tasbeehaat. If you ever
timed yourself it takes exactly 1.5 minutes or not more than two
minutes to read subhanallah 33 times, alhumdulillah 33 times and
Allahu Akbar 34 times but shaytaan just convinces us it is too long, I
don’t have time I can read it later on.

There is a narration in which we learn the angels pray in favour of you

so long as you remain in the place where you performed salat in a
state of wudu. The angels say ‘O Allah forgive him, have mercy upon
him’.

Remember that the point of salat of aqimas salaata li dhikrihi –

establish salat so you can get to know me. The moment where you are
starting to confide in Allah, the moment where the worker is collecting
his wages, why do we let shaytaan delude us into running away? So
instead of collecting our wages we return with nothing.

There are some beautiful duas that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa

Aalihi wa sallam used to read, such as

Rabbi a'inee 'ala dhikrika, wa shukrika wa husni ibadatik – Allah help me

to thank you, help me to remember you, and thank you and help me to
worship you beautifully

There are prayers that you read and you really tried hard but still it just didn’t
work, it just didn’t click, you just didn’t feel that connection so then pray to
Allah, ask his help and you will see the difference.

Then La ilaha ill-Allahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul

hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shai-in Qadeer wa la' hawla wa la' quwwata
illa' billah

There is no God but Allah. He has no partners. His is the Kingdom. His
is all praise. He has power over everything. There is no strength or
power except with Allah. And this is awesome. Before you return to
your worldly routine take these words of power back with you.

And Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam would also read,

right at the end of salat

Subhana Rabbika Rabbil izzate amma yasifoon. Wa Salaamul alal

Mursaleen Wal hamdu lillahi Rabbil Alameen

Glorified is your lord, the lord of dignity and honour, from what they
ascribe, and peace be upon the messengers and all praises are for
Allah lord of the universe.

The thing which makes salat so important and ironically the thing
which makes us relaxed about salat is that its happening five times a
day; its not like hajj which is once a lifetime compulsory, and not like
Ramadan which is once a year so when it happens once a year or once
a lifetime you are thinking, its only going to come once so I better do it
right this time.
Because salat is 5 times a day, every day of your life, shaytaan tricks
you into thinking ‘so what if you didn’t pray today, you can always pray
tomorrow.

told us, and this is a very important hadith ‘the first of man’s deeds for
which he will be called to account on the day of judgment will be salat.
If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful but if it is
imperfect he will be unfortunate and a loser. If any shortcoming is
found in the fard salat Allah swt will command to see if his slave has
offered any nafl (voluntary salat) so that the obligatory salat may be
made up by it.

(so its not a good idea to keep on reading fard without Sunnah’s and
nafls. )

‘…then the rest of his actions will be treated in the same manner’

Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam explained to us that

the difference between a mu’min and a hypocrite is salat or the
difference between Islam and kufr is salat. Between a man and
disbelief and paganism is abandonment of salat.

‘Whoever protects his salat it will be for him a light and a shield and
salvation on the day of judgment. Whoever does not protect it, it will
not be a light for him, nor a shield, nor salvation and on the day of
judgment, he will be with Pharoah and Harman (Pharoah’s Military
Advisor) and he will be with Uday bin Khalaf, one of the notorious
enemies of Islam. Firaun who is considered one of the arch villains of
the Qur’an, mentioned again and again because Pharoah also felt that
he did not need to bow down. Pharoah also felt that he did not need to
obey.

One final warning is that Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa

sallam was shown a vision in which he saw a man lying down and
another man smashed his head open, crushed his head with a boulder
then the boulder would fall to one side, the first man the one who
threw it would go and pick it up by which time the second man’s head
would be restored to its original shape. This kept on being repeated.
When he asked who this was he was told that there were two vices,
which result in such a punishment.
1. That he had learnt the Qur’an and then forgotten it
2. That he was a man that used to remain asleep at the times of
salat

This is what people say – ‘Oh I can’t get up for fajr’ so be careful
The blocks/excuses/ justifications we have made in our mind for not
reading salat, or for not reading salat properly

o If you are in surroundings which are not conducive to salat, when

you’re at a wedding for instance no-one else is praying and you
don’t want to look conspicuous.

What is the justification – ‘Oh people will think I am showing off –

Astaghfirullah, I don’t want that. I’ll go home and pray my good
little prayer alone. This is the way, because shaytaan wants us to
feel good about ourselves so we won’t even think of the enormity
of what we are doing. We’re justified in our minds.

o I’m not well today – well enough to watch television, well enough
to do what you want to do. When it comes to salat you’re
exhausted or not well.

o I’ll pray when I’m ready for it. When I pray I can’t concentrate so
there’s no point in my praying. I’d rather pray when I’m
absolutely focused and directed. That day is not going to come
when you wake up and you have a little halo around your head
and you float on the prayer mat. So lets wake up from this
pleasant little dream.

o Wudu – wudu is too difficult, I can’t do wudu.

o I don’t need to pray because I don’t hurt people’s feelings. I’m

busy doing social work so I’m so good anyway that Allah swt
doesn’t need me to become better.

All of these blocks, and there are many more aswell, all of these are
like the foam on a swiftly flowing river. It seems like it’s a lot but
there’s no substance to them whatsoever. And they can all be solved
by one simple method taught to us in the Qur’an. Allah, whenever he
tells us about prayer he says ‘Aqimas salat’ – establish salat.

Aqimu – this is the word that teaches us how to pray successfully.

Aqimu – iqamat lets understand it. Lets think of a very simple everyday
image – that of building a house. When you build a house, whats the
first thing you do? Foundation, you lay the foundation, and in the same
way before you start saying ‘oh I can’t pray because I can’t
concentrate or I can’t pray because its too difficult, remember you
need the foundation within your heart. And how do you get that
foundation of imaan; through the Qur’an. The more Qur’an you listen
to, the sort of people you hang out with, all part of your foundation of
your salat.

Then whats the second thing you do after laying the foundation. Then
we raise the walls, we raise the pillars and this is your knowledge on
salat. This is the way you improve your salat and this is the way you
overcome these barriers.

The first thing you need to do is improve your imaan by reading the
Qur’an, especially verses to do with salat, and the second is improve
your knowledge on salat. Read up on the Sunnah. Find our how you are
supposed to pray Sunnah’s, which surah’s he used to recite in the
different rakah’s and every bit of knowledge you get will be like the
wall you are adding onto.

Finally, you’ve laid the foundations, you’ve raised the walls, now what
comes on top, the roof, that protects you and that shelters the house
and this roof would be dua. Pray to Allah swt. Ask for Allah swt’s mercy
so He covers you. He encompasses your building of salat with his
mercy and He protects it. He protects it from the storms of shaytaan
and He protects it from falling down or collapsing.

And once your house is ready, only then do you buy the furniture and
the ornaments and the little nik naks you put up in your house. People
who do not have any knowledge on salat, who’ve never bothered to
read up on the Qur’an can’t complain ‘I can’t read salat because I find
it boring’. That’s like going out and buying ornaments for your house
when you haven’t even laid the foundation. So its all part of a process,
and it’s a process that takes sometimes a lifetime but the reward at
the end is so immense that there cannot be any two ways about
considering whether we should do this or not.

Extract from Jeffrey Lang’s book, Even Angels ask in which he

describes his first prayer:

‘On the day I converted to Islam, the Iman of the Masjid gave me a
manual on how to perform salat. How hard could it be to pray I
wondered. That night I decided to start performing the five prayers at
their appointed times. Much of what I was saying was in Arabic so I had
to memorise the Arabic transliterations and English interpretations. I
pored over the manual on salat for a couple of hours before I felt
confident enough to attempt my first prayer.

I walked into the bathroom and opened to the section describing how
to perform wudu. Like a cook trying a recipe for the first time, I
followed the step by step instructions, slowly and meticulously.
Standing in centre of the room then, I aimed myself in what I hoped
was the direction of Makkah. I glanced back over my shoulder to make
sure that I had locked the door to my apartment. Finding that it was I
then looked straight ahead, straightened my stance, took a deep
breath and in a hushed voice I pronounced ‘Allahu Akbar’.

I felt a little anxious. I couldn’t rid myself of the feeling that someone
might be spying on me. So I stopped what I was doing and went to the
window. I glanced around outside to make sure no-one was there. Then
I carefully pulled the curtains closed and returned to the middle of the
room. Once again I stood straight and whispered Allahu Akbar. In a
barely audible tone I slowly and clumsily recited the first surah of the
Qur’an and another short surah in Arabic. I then bowed with my back
perpendicular to my legs. I’d never bowed to anyone before and I felt
embarrassed. I was glad that I was alone. I stood up and recited Sami
'allahu liman hamidah and then I felt my heart pounding and anxiety
mounting as I called out another Allahu Akbar. I had arrived at the
moment when I had to perform a sajda. Petrified I stared at the area of
the floor. I couldn’t do it. I could not lower myself to the floor like a
slave grovelling before his master. It was as if my legs had braces on
them that would not let me bend. I felt too ashamed and humiliated. I
could imagine the sniggers of friends watching me make a fool of
myself. Poor Jeff I could hear them saying. Please, please help me do
this I prayed. I took a deep breath and forced myself to the floor. Now
on my hands and knees I hesitated for a brief moment and then I
pushed my face to the carpet. Ridding my mind of all other thoughts I
mechanically pronounced three times subhana rabbiyyal aa’laa

Allahu Akbar I called and sat back on my heels and put my face again
to the carpet. I was determined to finish this no matter what. Allahu
Akbar I called and lifted myself from the floor and stood up straight.
Three cycles to go I told myself.

I had to wrestle with my emotions and try the rest of the prayer but it
got easier with each cycle. Finally I recited the tashahud and then
ended the prayer.

Spent, I remained on the floor and reviewed the battle I had just been
through. I felt embarrassed that I had to struggle so hard to get
through the prayer. With my head lowered in shame I prayed ‘Please
forgive me my arrogance and stupidity. I have come from very far and
I have so very far to go’. At that moment I experienced something I
had never felt before. A wave of coldness swept through me which
seemed to radiate from within some point in my chest. It was intense
and it was much more than a physical sensation. It was as if mercy had
taken on an objective form and was now penetrating and enveloping
me. I cannot say why, but I began to cry. Tears began to run down my
face and I found myself weeping uncontrollably. The more I cried the
more I felt the embrace of a powerful kindness and compassion. I
remained on my knees crouched to the floor, with my head in my
hands, sobbing for some time. When I finally stopped crying I was
completely exhausted. But one thing I realised; I needed Allah and
prayer desperately. Before getting up from my knees I made one last
dua – ‘O God if I ever gravitate towards disbelief again then please kill
me first, rid me of this life. It is hard enough living with my
imperfections and weaknesses but I cannot live another day denying
you.

Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam’s last exhortation was

for salat. The last moments of his life, when he was so ill, three times
he got up and he said ‘Have the Muslims prayed?’. Aisha Radi Allahu
anhu said ‘No they are waiting for you’. He would bathe and then he
would faint. Three times this happened and finally he appointed Abu
Bakr Radi Allahu anhu to lead the prayer but that final moment when
Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam went out supported
by two men for the zuhr prayer when Abu Bakar Radi Allahu anhu saw
him he started to move back but the Prophet Rasoolullah sallallahu
alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam indicated to him that he should not move
back and he said to the two men ‘sit me at his side’.

They sat him down beside Abu Bakr and Abu Bakr prayed standing.
And the people prayed following the prayer of Abu Bakr. And amongst
the last words of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa Aalihi wa sallam were
‘as salat, as salat (the prayer, the prayer)’ and ‘fear Allah with regard
to the slaves your right hands possess.

This is Islam; haqooq Allah and haqooq-ul-ibad

Hadith Qudsi – I accept the salat of one who humbles himself during it,
to my greatness and who does not perform the salat just for show, and
who does not spend the night in disobedience to me. And who spends
the day remembering me and who is merciful to the poor, the traveller
and the widows. And who is merciful to one who is suffering from a
disease. He has a life like the light of the sun; I protect him by my glory
and the angels guard over him. I give him light in darkness and dignity
in the presence of ignorance. And his example in my creation is like
firdaus in Jannah.

Wa akhiru dawana anilhamdu rabbil alamin

Subhanaka allahumma wa bi hamdika wa tabara kasmuka wa ta'ala
jadduka wa la ilaha ghairuka

Rabbana taqabbal minna– Allah please accept from us

innaka antas Sameeaul Aleem – You are the all hearing all the knowing

wa tub 'alayna 'innaka 'antat-Tawwabu-Raheem – You are the most

relenting, the repeatedly merciful

Allah grant us all the tawfiq to read all five prayers with sincerity, with
fervour and with conviction only for you. Allah beautify our salat, make
it beautiful in your eyes, beautify our ruku’s, beautify our sujood’s,
beautify our qiyam and beautify our duas and accept it from us, and
make our hisaab easy.

Subhanakallahumma wa bi hamdika laa ilaha illa anta, astagh-firuka

wa atuubu ilaik