Part 8

the believers, then, at the turn of the thirteenth year after the revelation had started, He rebuked them.’

Allah, Most High, says,

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“It is the believers who are successful: those who

are humble in their prayer...”'*

Linguistically, &hush#‘ means sinking, subservience, and still ness. Allah, Most High, says,

‘Voices will be humbled before the All-Merciful and nothing but a whisper will be heard.”

ive. stilled and humbled. In this respect, the earth has been described as having &busha’, i.e. its being dry, bare, and low and not being elevated with plant and vegetation. Allah, Most High, says,

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“Among his Signs is that you see the earth laid bare and then when We send down water on it, it

' Suyiti, a/-Durr, vol. 14, pg. 277 who references it to ibn Abi Hatim and thn Mardawayh.

93 al Mu'iminun (23): 1-2

(Technically), &husha‘ refers to the heart standing before the Lord in submissiveness, subservience, and focusing on Him.

It is also said that AAushu‘ is to submit to the truth, however (the truth is that) this is one of its results. Therefore, amongst the signs of susha‘ is that when the servant opposes the truth and is reminded of it, he accepts and willing returns to it.

It is said that &Ausha‘ is the abating of the flames of lusts in the servants’ breast and the dissipation of their smoke; replacing in their stead the blaze of the greatness (of Allah) in the heart.

Junaid said, ‘Khushi is the humbling of hearts to the One who knows the unseen.’

The Prophet (4g) said, “Zaqwa'*’ is here,” pointing to his breast,

05 Fussilat (41): 39 6 Tt was ruled mawdi‘ by Albani, a/-Daifzh #110 and a/-Inwa’ #373

57 Taqwa: to ward off evil.

Talq ibn Habib said upon being asked about /agwa, ‘That you perform the obedience of Allah upon a light from Allah, hoping for the reward of Allah. You leave disobedience to Allah upon a light from Allah, fearing the punishment of Allah’

Lon al-Qayyim on Khushi‘

and he said this three times.'"*

One of the Companions, Hudhayfah, would say, ‘Take retuye with Allah from hypocritical khushi’ When asked what it was, he replied, ‘That you see the body humble and submissive while the heart is not.”

“Umar (radiyAllabu ‘anhu) saw a person with his neck bowed in prayer and said, ‘O such-and-such raise your head for khushi‘ lies

Recorded by ibn al-Mubiarak, a/-Zuhd #473 with a sahih isnad.

His saying, ‘upon a light from Allah’ points to the first foundation which 1 faith. His saying, ‘hoping for the reward of Allah’ points to the second founda tion which is shtisab.’

* Muslim #2564 on the authority of Aba Hurayrah.

not on the neck but in the heart.’

‘Mishah (radiyAllabu ‘anhd) saw some youth trying to walk with an air of quietude, so she asked, ‘Who are they?’ Her colleagues replied, ‘Ascetics.’ She said, “When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab walked, he walked rapidly; when he spoke, he was heard; when he struck someone, it hurt; when he fed (the poor), he made sure they ate to their fill; he was the true ascetic!”

Fudayl ibn ‘lyad said, ‘It used to be disliked for a person to display more Abusha‘ than was in his heart.’

Hudhayfah said, ‘The first thing you will lose of your religion will be Asusha‘ and the last thing you will lose of your religion will be the prayer, and it is well possible that there is no good in a person who prays, and soon will come a time when you shall enter a large Masjid and not see a single person with khushi?

Sahl said, ‘The person whose heart has kasha‘ will not go near Shaytan.”'”

' Tbn al-Qayyim, Madani al-Salikin, vol. 1, pp. 417-418

Ibn al-Qayyim on Hypocritical Khushi’

The difference between (true) &bushu‘ engendered by faith and the hypocritical &husha‘ is that the former takes place in the heart to Allah and is conduced by veneration, magnification, sobricty, dignity, and shyness. The heart breaks for Allah, combining dread, bashfulness, love, and shyness with the perception of Allah’s blessings and one’s own transgressions. This necessarily engen ders khushi‘ in the heart which is then followed by Ahusha‘on the

Hypocritical khushi’, on the other hand, appears on the limbs; it is a mere pretence, the person affecting something that is not there since the heart is void of khushaé. One of the Companions would say, ‘I take refuge with Allah from hypocritical khushi’, When asked what it was, he replied, “That you see the body hum ble and submissive while the heart is not.”

The one who has Ahushi‘ for the sake of Allah is a servant, in the breast of whom the flames of desires have abated and their

! Ahmad, a/-Zuhd, pg. 142 and ibn al-Mubiarak, a/-Zuhd #143 on the authority of Abii al-Darda’.

smoke has dissipated, replacing in their stead radiance. The blaze of the greatness (of Allah) has been ignited, and the lusts of the soul have died in the face of fear and sobriety which have, in turn, stilled the limbs and quietened the heart. The heart is content and at peace with Allah, and it remembers Him; engulfed in the effusion of tranquillity descending from its Lord, it becomes meek and humble (wukhbit). The heart which is meek is the heart which is at peace and rest for the land which is muk&hbit is land which is low-lying to which water flows and settles. The same applies to the heart: when it is ww&hbit, i.e. it has achieved khusha’, it becomes like this piece of low-laying land to which water flows and settles.

The sign of such a heart is that (its owner) will prostrate before Allah out of magnification and abject humility, broken before Him, never (desiring) to raise his head till the day he meets Him. This is the Abusha‘ engendered by faith.

The arrogant heart, on the other hand, heaves and swells in its arrogance like a fast flowing river. It is like an elevated portion of the land at which water never settles. This is hypocritical khushi’ the person feigns quietude and affects stillness of limb by way of ostentation. In reality, his soul is raging with lusts and desires; outwardly he displays khushv, but inwardly the valley serpent and jungle lion lurk between his shoulders, waiting to pounce on the prey.'”

The Ruling of Khushu‘ in Prayer

may Allah have mercy upon him.

The Ruling of Khushi‘ in Prayer

Shaykhu’l-Islim ibn Taymiyyah said:

Allah, Most High, says,

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“...but that is a very hard thing, except for the humble.”"?

This signifies the censure of those who do not have khushi‘. Similar statements indicating censure are,

“We only appointed the direction you used to face in order to know those who follow the Messen-

"Ss al Bagarah (2): 45

Lon Taymiyyah on The Ruling of Khushi‘ in Prayer

ger from those who turn round on their heels. Though in truth it is a very hard thing - except for those Allah has guided.”

BASIE EN ES “What you call the polytheists to follow is very hard for them.”"*

The Book of Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, shows that whoever finds what Allah loves hard to bear is blameworthy in the religion and receives Allah’s displeasure. Censure and displeasure only come ones way when an obligation is left or a prohibition is committed. Therefore if those who do not have &hushii‘ are censured, its obligation is proven.

It is known that the reference to Abushi‘ in His saying,

“..but that is a very hard aoe except for the humble.”

must incorporate Abushi‘ in the prayer, otherwise the meaning becomes nonsensical, since it would mean that sa/zh is hard except for one who has Ahusha‘ outside of it and not in it, as such it would mean that it is hard for those who have Ahusha‘ in the prayer but not hard for those who have it outside of the prayer!

\ q-Bagarah (2): 143

6 al Bagarah (2): 45

The verse would then become pointless. As such, this verse then proves that AAushu‘ is obligatory in the prayer.

The obligation of having &Aushi‘in prayer is also proven by His saying, Dipset piesa Oye sii BALMS 22 Aig sis Che Hip LO cya

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MPS ANS ace S55 pall “It is the believers who are successful: those who are humble in their prayer; those who turn away from worthless talk; those who pay the alms-tax; those who guard their private parts - except from their wives or those they own as slaves, in which case they are not blameworthy; but those who desire anything more than that are people who have gone beyond the limits - those who honour their trusts and their contracts; those who safeguard their prayer; such people are the inheritors who will inherit Firdaws, remaining in it timelessly, forever.”'””