Part 4

INNER DIMENSIONS OF THE PRAYER

salah) is someone whose heart does not conform to the statement made by his tongue declaring Allah is the Greatest. Having the heart in harmony with the tongue when saying that Allah is the Greatest will strip the heart from the attire of arrogance as such garment does not befit the state of his enslavement to Allah, Furthermore, it would prevent the heart from thinking of anything except Allah. This is because the rights of these two words; Allah is Greater than everything (+31), and the resolve to establish his servitude to Allah through the /a&bir protects the heart from the aforementioned defects (being occupied with something else other than Allah and wearing a garment that does not befit the servitude to Allah).

1.12 Servitude in al-Lstiftah [The Opening Supplication]

And when he says,

“You are glorified O Allah and praised! Your Name is Blessed”

And then glorifies Him and praises Him in repetition with what befits Him, he comes out of the state of heedlessness that stands as a barrier between him and Allah. Then, he greets and praises with expressions that befit His Kingship when someone enters upon Him, to glorify Him and as a prelude to his own needs and requests that he hopes the King to grant. This is why praising over and over again is considered from the etiquettes of express-

” SubbdnakAllabumma wa bibamdikea,

1.12 Servitude in al-Istiftah [The Opening Supplication]

ing one’s servitude to Allah and glorifying Him, and the means whereby the ‘abd receives the attention of Allah as well as His pleasure and approval to fulfill his requests.

1.13 The state of the abd in al-Qiraah and al-IstiGdbah

‘As he is about to recite the Qur’an, he precedes it by seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan who never spares any effort in his tireless endeavour, to bring about the downfall of the ‘abd (of Allih) - especially when the ‘abd is in a station of utmost honour (ie. salah) while secking to perform the single most beneficial deed for this life and the Hereafter. Hence, he (Satan) is fervently determined to prevent the ‘abd (of Allah) from praying by any means; failing to do so he wants to see to it that at the very least, his heart does not benefit from it (i.e. the salah) by casting into his heart all sorts of whispers and thoughts to distract it from fulfilling the duties of servitude to Allah. Therefore Allah has ordered His slave to take refuge in Him from Satan (before starting his recitation in salah) to assure the safety of his salah, so that his heart may be revived and illuminated by the understanding he acquires from contemplating the words of Allah as He is the Master in whose hand is the success, gtace and life of his heart. This also explains why Satan is keen to distract his heart from understanding the words of Qut’in when recited.

It is from Allah’s knowledge about the enmity and resentment of Satan against His believing slaves and their incapacity to face him that he ordained upon them to take refuge in Him from Satan so that He may suffice them against his evil and harm. It is as if He is saying to His slaves, you cannot win against this enemy;

INNER DIMENSIONS OF THE PRAYER

thus take refuge in Me and I shall protect you against him and safeguard you from his evil and harm.

1.14 Ibn Taymiyyah’s advice to Ibn Qayyim

Shaykh al-Islam, Ibn Taymmiyah, may Allah honour his soul and illuminate his grave, once said to me (explaining with a metaphorical example the purpose of seeking refuge in Allah from Satan): “If the shepherd’s dog ever barks at you attempting to attack you, then do not engage it in a fight. Instead, turn to the shepherd and seek his help for he will leash it and save you the trouble.” When a person takes tefuge in Allah from, the accursed Satan, He protects him and keeps away Satan’s harm and evil from reaching him. This shall free his heart to explore the meanings of the Qur’an and witness its fascinating, awe-inspiring wonders, and let him collect from its treasures and gems that no eyes have ever seen, no ears have ever heard, and no mind has ever conceived. It is only his base desires and Satan that stand as a barrier between him and all these wonders, because his base desires always incline towards the whispers and temptations of Satan. However, as soon as he distances himself from Satan and manages to expel him from his heart, the King takes over charge of his heart, holding it fast to the truth and reminding it of that which will assure its safety and everlasting happiness.

As the ‘abd (of Allah) starts to recite the Qur’an, he effectively begins addressing his Lord and invoking Him. Thetefote, he should beware of invoking Him while his heart is busy with something else, as this shall make him deserving of His Contempt and Anget; he will be like a man upon whom a king bestowed his favour and then granted him the permission to speak before him, but as the man started to speak to the king he turned his back towards

1.14 Ibn Taymiyyah’s advice to lbn Qayyim

the king, turning his face away from him, which made the king angry and furious. And if this is the case among mankind, then the contempt and Anger of the King, the Lord of all Worlds, the Sustainer of Heavens and Earth, shall be beyond imagination.

1.15 The state of the ‘abd in al-Fatibah

A person should pause a little at the end of each yah he recites from al-Fatibah to wait for the response from his Lord, as if he is waiting to hear Him to say, “My ‘abd has praised Me” when he recites;

“All Praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of all Worlds”,

and “My ‘abd has extolled Me” after reciting;

“The All-Merciful (a/-Rabmdn), The Most Merciful (a/- Rabimy”, and “My ‘abd has has glorified Me” after reciting; “Master of the Day of Judgement”

and “This is between Me and My ‘abd and My ‘abd shall have what he requested” after reciting;

INNER DIMENSIONS OF THE PRAYER

“You Alone we worship and You Alone we ask for help.”

Only the one who has experienced the true taste and sweetness of salah can realise that no other statement could ever replace the takbir and al-Fatibah in salah, just as how no acts can ever replace the standing, bowing down, and prostration in saléh. This is because each act and each statement in salah has a unique effect and comprises a distinctive experience, besides its representation of the worshippet’s servitude to Allah.

The statement of Allah; ro} = aes i Ever i “All Praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of all Worlds,”

confirms the perfection of Allah’s Names and Attributes, and declares His transcendence above every defect and shortcoming,

On the authority of Aba Hurayrah (radiyAllabu ‘anhi) who said that the Messenger of Allah (8) said, Allah, the Glorious and Exalted said, “I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant equally and My servant shall be granted what he asked for.” Therefore when the servant says, ‘All praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds’, Allah says, “My servant has praised Me.” When he says, “The All-Merciful, the Most Merciful,’ Allah says, “My servant has extolled Me.” When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgement,” Allah says, “My servant has glorified Me.” When he says, ‘You Alone we worship and Your aid Alone do we seck,’ Allah says, “This is between Me and My servant and My servant shall have what he requested.” When he says, ‘Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have favoured, not [the path] of those who have earned [Your] anger, nor of those who have gone astray,” Allah says, “This is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asked for.”

1.15 The state of the ‘abd in al-Patibah

be it in respect to His Names, Attributes or Actions. All His Actions comprise Wisdom, Mercy, Justice and Benefit, and all His Attributes are Perfect and Lauded, and all His Names are Supreme and Beautiful.

1.16 The meanings of a/-bamd

The praise entitled to Him fills up this worldly life and the Hereafter as does the heavens and earth and all that is between them and contained within them. The entire universe utters His Praise. The creation, its affairs, existence and non existence as well as its sustainability owe themselves to His Praiseworthiness. Truly, everything exists just to praise Him for it is the objective and purpose of every creature. Every object in existence attests to the praise that He is entitled to; the Messengers He sent and the Books He sent down entail that He be praised; the creation of Paradise and Hell calls for praising Him. Paradise inhabited with its people and Hell inhabited with its people testify to the praise He is entitled for.

The obedience and disobedience of mankind have not transpired except to testify to the praise Allah is worthy of. The leaves of trees would not fall nor would atoms move, had it not been for His praise. Exalted be He, is ptaised for His Essence even if none of His slaves had ever praised Him, just as He is the One and Only /iah even if none of His slaves had been monotheists - and He is the true Jah worthy of worship even if none of His slaves had believed in Him. He praised Himself through the tongue of His Prophet; as the Messenger of Allah (98) said, “Allah said on the tongue of His Prophet:

INNER DIMENSIONS OF THE PRAYER

“Allah Hears the one who praises Him.”?

Keeping this in perspective it is evident that it is actually He who ptaises Himself on the tongue of His slaves, because when a person praises Him it is only due to His permission that such ptaise is uttered by their tongues, and is established in their heart through his permission. Truly, to Him is all the praise and to Him belongs everything; in His Hand lies all goodness; He is the absolute controller of everything, all that is apparent or hidden.

This is only a brief glimpse of the countless aspects of setvitude to Allah included in this statement a/-bamd, it is only a drop of water out of the ocean of the knowledge of what servitude to Allah comprises and entails.