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It has
been mentioned that one of the meanings of Prayer
is blessings. In other words, Prayer is
a source of attaining Allah's blessings. It is spectacular work of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) that he has devised for the followers of his faith (Muslims), and for other human
beings, a method for attaining Allah's blessings that combines all the
movements which occur in one's life. The purpose of it is so
that in every situation and in every movement of life one stays connected with Allah's
blessings. When we study and analyse the movements contained within Prayer it becomes apparent that there is no movement in human life that the Holy Prophet has not
included in Prayer e.g. lifting the
hands, raising them, moving them,
tying them, touching the body with the hands, standing up, bending, lying,
sitting, speaking, looking, hearing, moving the head around to determine directions. Thus, Prayer includes every state of life. The purpose of it is so that no matter what a person is doing,
his mind stays established with Allah and this should become a habit. When this becomes a trait
encompassing every moment and breath of one's life one develops a strong
connection with Allah.
When we
make intention (niyat) we raise our hands up to the ears and touch them, and
then saying Allāhu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) we tie our hands. Before
starting Prayer it is our intention that we are going to perform this act for
Allah. Intention is related with the brain i.e. first we mentally present
ourselves in front of Allah.
From the
beginning of creation up until now
all the inventions and developments that have came into existence are firstly
related to the brain and then with the hands. When we lift ours hands for
Prayer and declare Allah's greatness we are forming
a relationship between Allah and all our mental abilities and all the developments produced by using
these abilities. In other words, all the inventions that mankind has invented
and the ones still to be invented in the future are all related to the abilities that Allah has
granted us. When we recite Subhāna kallāh humma (O Allah, all glory is for you) we are declaring Allah's glory
and confessing that the abilities present within us that enable us to speak, think and understand are actually
the attributes of Allah and a favour
bestowed upon us by Him. When reciting Sūrah Fātiha we are negating ourselves
and declaring that all praise is for
Allah only and that He is the one
who grants us guidance, and only by earning His kindness and favour are we able
to walk along the straight path.
After Sūrah
Fātiha we recite any other Sūrah from the Holy Quran e.g. Sūrah Ikhlās. When reciting this Sūrah we are confessing
that Allah is One (Single) and His
creation is not. Allah is not in
need of anything, but all else
is in need of Him. None is born
of Him nor is He born. Allah is Unique, the One, Single, Eternal,
Absolute, and there is none like Him. While declaring Allah's greatness we
bow down and then stand up again. After standing up we go into such a position
which is close to lying
down (prostration). We then
get up into a sitting position. Next, we prostrate again. We then stand up. In the last rakat we sit down in peace for
quite a while and then looking in both
directions we salute (say Salām).
It sure is a remarkable fact worth contemplating
upon that the Holy Prophet has incorporated every single moment that exists in human life
into Prayer. The purpose of it is so that whatever a person is doing, whichever state he is in, whether he is sitting, standing, bending, saying
something, looking here or there, moving the hands and feet, thinking about
something, in every situation there
remains a mental link with Allah. Wherever Prayer is mentioned in the
Holy Quran Allah has ordered us to ‘establish
Prayer’ or ‘those who establish Prayer’
etc. It is important to contemplate
about the wording here. In the Holy Quran we have been given guidance to establish
Prayer, not to read Prayer.
KHWAJA SHAMSUDDIN AZEEMI
Mehrāj means to enter the world of the unseen. When a believer attains Mehrāj through prayer, Angels appear in front of him. He travels through the Heavens, and through the blessings of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) he comes to know his Lord.
