Topics
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 (pbuh) 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 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, 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 Quran:-
‘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, the greatest nourishment for one's character is Prayer. Allah declares in the Holy Qurān:-
‘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 Quran 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)
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.
