SELECTIONS FROM THE REVITALISATION OF THE SCIENCES OF RELIGION Al-Ghazali’s Ihya’ Ulum al-Din The Mysteries of Prayer Chapter One Merit of the Call to Prayer (Adhan) The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said, “On the Day of Resurrection, three people will find themselves on a ridge of black musk. They will have no reckoning to fear, nor any cause for alarm while human accounts are being settled. First, a man who recites the Koran to please Allah, and who leads the prayer to people’s satisfaction. Secondly, a man who makes the call to prayer in a mosque, inviting people to Allah for the sake of His good pleasure. Third, a man who has a hard time making a living in this world, yet is not distracted from the work of the Hereafter.” According to other traditions, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “All that hear the call of the Muezzin, whether they are Jinn, human or whatever, will testify for him on the Day of Resurrection.” And: “The hand of the All Merciful is on the Muezzin’s head until he completes his call to prayer.” Commentators say that Allah was referring to Muezzins when He revealed the Koranic verse: “And who is better in saying than he who invites to Allah, does what is right and says: “Surely, I am of those who surrender.” Koran Ch. 41 verse 33. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, also said: “When you hear the call, repeat what the Muezzin says. This is the recommended practice, except that on hearing the two sentences beginning ‘come to…’ one should say: “There is neither power nor strength except in Allah.’ The response to ‘prayer has begun’ is: “May Allah establish it and preserve it as long as the heavens and earth endure.” At dawn, the call includes the sentence: ‘prayer is better than sleep” to, which we respond with: “You have spoken truly and veraciously and given good advice.” When the call to prayer is over, one says: “O Allah, Lord of this perfect invitation and firmly established prayer, endow Muhammad with favor, merit and exalted rank. Raise him to the glorious position You have promised him. You do not break Your promise.’ Sa’id ibn al-Musayyab said: “If a person performs prayer in a wilderness, an angel prays on his right and an angel prays on his left. If he also gives the call to prayer and the signal to begin, angels perform prayer behind him in rows like mountain ranges.” Merit of the Prescribed Prayers at Set Times (Salat) Allah, High Exalted has told us in the Koran: “… surely, prayer is timely written upon the believer.” (Koran Ch. 4 verse 103) The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “There are five prayers, which Allah has prescribed for His worshipers. For those who perform them, properly, without disrespectful omissions, there is a guarantee that Allah will admit them to Paradise. To those who do not observe them, however, Allah offers no such guarantee; He may punish them or He may admit them to Paradise, as He pleases.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, also said: “The five set prayers may be compared to a stream of fresh water, flowing in front of your house, into, which you plunge five times each day. Do you think that would leave any dirt on your body?” When they answered: “None at all!” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “Indeed, the five prayers remove sins, just as water removes dirt.” Other sayings of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, “The five set prayers are an expiation, for there is something amongst them by, which major sins are repelled.” And: “What distinguishes us from the hypocrites is our attendance at late night and early morning prayers, both of, which they miss.” “If a man meets Allah when he has been negligent of the prayer, Allah will pay not attention to his other virtues.” “Prayer is the pillar of religion; to neglect it is to prepare the downfall of religion.” “Prayer at the appointed times.” (In answer to the question ‘which action is the most meritorious).’” “If a man offers the five prayers, in a proper state of purity and at the times prescribed, they will be a light and a proof for him on the Day of Resurrection. But he who misses them will be resurrected alongside Pharaoh and Hamam.” “The key to Paradise is ritual prayer.” “After the affirmation of His Oneness, no duty Allah has imposed on His creatures is dearer to Him than ritual prayer. Had anything been dearer to Him than this, it would have become a form of worship for His angels. As it is (each of them performs part of the prayer) some bowing, some prostrating themselves, some standing upright and some sitting on their heels.” “Anyone who deliberately misses a prayer has forsaken his faith.” That is to say, he has virtually been stripped of faith, since its knot has been untied and its pillar has fallen. The (Arabic verb meaning) ‘has forsaken’ is used idiomatically, much as one might say that a man ‘has arrived’ when he is very near his destination. “If someone deliberately omits a prayer, he ceases to enjoy the protective custody of Muhammad, peace be upon him.” Abu Hurayra, said: “If someone makes his ablution and does it well, then sets out with the intention of performing the prayer, he is already in the state of prayer while on his way to it. With each two steps he takes, a good deed is added to his record and a bad deed is erased from it. So do not linger when you hear the signal that the prayer is beginning, for the one who is farthest from home will get the greatest reward.” They asked: “Why is that, Abu Hurayra?” and he said: “Because of all the steps he had to take.” According to Tradition: “Of all a man’s actions, the first to be examined on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayer. If it is found to be complete, it will be accepted of him along with the rest of the works, but if it is found wanting it will be rejected along with the rest of his deeds.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: about Hurayra, “Command your family to perform prayer, for Allah will provide you with blessings too numerous to reckon.” A scholar once said: “One who performs prayer is like a merchant, who does not start making a profit until he has recovered all his capital. In a similar way, one who performs prayer gets no credit for superogatory devotions until he has discharged his basic obligations.” Abu Bakr used to say: “When it is time for prayer, get up and extinguish the Hellfire you have kindled for yourselves.” Merit of Correct Performance (Ta’dil) The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “The prescribed prayer is like a pair of scales, whoever gives full measure will also receive in full.” Yazid al Riqashi said: “The prayer of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, was as even as if it had been perfectly balanced.” Traditions of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him,: “Two members of my Community may offer the prayer in such a way that their bowing and their prostration are as one, yet their prayers may be as far apart as heaven and earth.” (that is in respect to their humility) “Allah will have no regard, on the Day of Resurrection, for that worshipper of His who does not straighten his spine between bowing and making prostration.” “Is he not afraid; he who turns his face around in the prayer, that Allah may turn his face into that of a donkey?” “If someone performs his prayer at the proper time, makes his ablution correctly, does the bowing and prostration properly and observes due humility, that prayer will rise up, all bright and shining and will say: ‘May Allah take care of you as you have taken care of me!’ But if someone performs his prayer at the wrong time, without correct ablution, not bowing and prostrating properly and not observing due humility, his prayer will rise up all dark and gloomy saying: “May Allah neglect you as you have neglected me.” Then when it has reached wherever Allah wishes, it will be folded up like an old rag and he will be slapped with it in the face.” Merit of Congregational Prayer (Jama’a) The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “The merit of congregational prayer surpasses that of individual prayer by twenty seven degrees.” According to Abu Hurayra, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, once noticed that certain people were missing from the assembly. He said: “I considered appointing someone else to lead the prayer, while I went to show my disapproval of those absentees by burning down their houses.” According to another version, he added: “Any one of them would have joined the assembly if he had expected to get a marrowbone or a couple of knuckles.” According to Uthman, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said; “To perform the late evening prayer (Isha) in the assembly is equivalent to spending half the night in vigil, while to perform the dawn prayer (fajr) in the assembly is like keeping vigil throughout the night.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, also said: “To perform the prayer in congregation is to fill one’s throat with worship.” Sa’ad ibn al Musayyab said: “In all of twenty years, the call to prayer has always found me in the mosque.” Muhammad ibn Wasi said; “Only three things do I wish for in this world; a brother to set me straight if I go crooked; a livelihood for, which I do not have to beg; and a congregational prayer in, which I am relieved of absent mindedness and, which is recorded in my favor.” Hatim al Asamm said: I was once too late for congregational prayer and Abu Ishaq al Bukhari was the only one to commiserate with me. Had I lost a son, more than ten thousand would have offered me their condolences, for people find religious misfortune easier to bear than worldly calamity.” Ibn Abbas said: “If a man hears the crier (Muezzin) and does not respond, he does not wish for good and no good is to be expected of him.” Abu Hurayra said: “Better for a human being to have his ear filled with molten lead than to hear the call and fail to respond.” It is related that Maymun ibn Mihran once came to the mosque, only to be told that the people had all left. He quoted from the Koran: “Surely we belong to Allah and to Him is our return.” Then he said; “Truly the value of this prayer is dearer to me than the governorship of Iraq.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “If a man performs his prayers in congregation for forty days, never arriving after the “Allahu Akbar!” of consecration, Allah will grant him two absolutions, absolution from hypocrisy and absolution from Hellfire.” It is said that on the Day of Resurrection a group of people will be assembled, their faces shining like stars. The angels will ask them: “How did you conduct yourselves in life?” To this they will reply: “On hearing the call to prayer, we used to set about our ablutions, letting nothing distract us.” Another group will then be assembled, their faces like radiant moons. In answer to the same question they will say: “We used to make our ablutions ahead of time.” The next group to be assembled will have faces like the sun, they will say: “We used to hear the call to prayer inside the mosque.” It is related that early believers used to commiserate with themselves for three days if they missed the first ‘Allahu Akbar’ and for a whole week if they missed the congregational prayer altogether. Merit of Prostration (Sujud) The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said: “The worshipper has no better means of approaching Allah than prostration in private.” Also: “Whenever a Muslim performs a prostration for the sake of Allah, Allah raises him one degree and absolves him of one offence.” It is related that a man once said to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, “Pray to Allah that He may include me among those who enjoy your intercession, and that He may grant me your company in Paradise.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, replied: “Help me by making frequent prostration.” According to another tradition: “The worshipper is never closer to Allah than when he is prostrating himself in worship.” This is the meaning of the words of Allah: “…Prostrate and come nearer (to Allah). (Koran Ch 96 verse 19) And: “Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration..” (Koran Ch. 48 verse 29) Some say this refers to the dust that sticks to the brow during the act of prostration, while others say it is the light of humility, shining forth from within. The latter view is more correct. According to yet others, it is the radiance that will shine on their faces on the Day of Resurrection, as a result of their ablution. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “If a human being prostrates himself at an appropriate point in his recitation of the Koran, the devil withdraws, weeping as he says: ‘Alas! This man was bidden to prostrate himself and he obeyed, so Paradise is his. I was also commanded to make prostration, but I disobeyed and so Hell is my lot’.” It is told of Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn Abbas that he used to make a thousand prostrations every day. They used to call him the Great Prostrator (al-sajjad). It is related that Umar ibn Abd al Aziz never prostrated himself on anything but the bare earth. Yusuf ibn Asbat used to say: “Young men, take advantage of your good health, before you become infirm, for I no longer envy anybody except a man who completes his bowing and prostration in prayer, now that my own time is too short for that.” Sa’id ibn Jubayr said: “I look to nothing in this world for consolation except to prostration in prayer.” Uqba ibn Muslim said: “No quality in a man is dearer to Allah than the longing to meet Him. At no moment is a man closer to Allah than when he sinks down in prostration.” Abu Hurayra said: The worshiper is nearest to Allah when he prostrates himself in prayer, so that is the time to make many supplications.” Chapter Two States at Each Stage of the Ritual Prayer The Call to Prayer When you hear the call to prayer given by the Muezzin, let yourself perceive the terror of the Summons on the Day of Resurrection. Prepare yourself inwardly and outwardly to respond, and to do so promptly. Those who are prompt in answering this call are the ones who will be summoned gently on the Day of the Great Review. So review your hearts now; if you find it full of joy and happiness, eager to respond with alacrity, you can expect the Summons to bring you good news and salvation on the Day of Judgment. That is why the Prophet used to say: “Comfort us, Bilal! For Bilal was the Muezzin and prayer was the joy and comfort of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,. Ritual Purity When attending to ritual purity in the things that envelop you, do so progressively; your room, then your clothes, then your skin, do not neglect your inner being, which lies at the heart of all these. Endeavor to purify it with repentance and remorse for your excesses, and a determined resolution not to commit them in future. Cleanse your inner being in this way, for that is the place to be examined by the One you worship. Covering Private Parts You cover the private parts; i.e. prevent certain areas of the body from being exposed to human view. But what about the shameful areas of your inner being, those unworthy secrets of your soul, that are scrutinized only by Allah, the Almighty. Be conscious of these faults. Be discreet about them, but realize that nothing can be hidden from the sight of Allah, High Exalted. Only through repentance, shame and fear will they be forgiven. Facing The Qibla As for facing (not just the face but the whole body) the Qibla, in doing so, you turn your external face away from all other directions and toward the House of Allah, High Exalted. Do you then suppose you are not also required to turn your heart away from everything else, directing it towards Allah, the Almighty? What an absurd notion, since this is the whole object of the exercise! The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “When a man stands up to pray, directing his desire, his face and his heart towards Allah, he will come out of that prayer as on the day his mother gave him birth.” Standing Upright As for standing upright, it means holding oneself erect – in body and in spirit – in the presence of Allah. Your head, which is the highest member of your body, out to be bowed down as a reminder of the need to keep the heart meek and humble, free of arrogance and pride. Intention When forming the intention, resolve to be responsive to Allah by performing the prayer in obedience to His command, by doing it properly, by avoiding things that invalidate or mar it, and by doing all this sincerely for the sake of Allah, in hope of His reward and in fear of His punishment, seeking His grace and favor by His leave. Takbir As for the Takbir (the words: Allahu Akbar), your heart must not dispute the words on your tongue. If you feel in your heart that there is something greater than Allah High Exalted, though your words are true, Allah will attest that you are a liar. Opening Invocations When making the opening invocation be very wary of distinguished polytheism in yourself. It was concerning those who worship for the sake of human as well as Divine approval that Allah revealed in the Koran: “…Let him who hopes for the encounter with his Lord do good work, and not associate anyone with the worship of his Lord.” (Koran Ch.18 verse 110) When you say: “I take refuge in Allah from accursed satan,” you should be aware the devil is your enemy and that he is waiting for an opportunity to alienate you from Allah. satan is envious of your ability to commune with Allah, and to prostrate yourself before Him. Reciting the Koran Where recitation of the Koran is concerned, we can distinguish three types of people: (a) those who move their tongues unconsciously, (b) those who pay conscious attention to the movement of the tongue, understanding the meaning while listening as if to a person outside themselves; this is the degree of ‘those on the right’, (c) those who start from awareness of the meaning, then use the tongue to give expression to this inner consciousness. The tongue may act as interpreter for the inner feeling, or as its teacher. In the case of those nearest to Allah, the tongue is an interpreter. Bowing Down According to Ikrimah, Allah is referring to the postures of standing, bowing, prostration and sitting when he says: “who sees you when you stand and when you turn among those who prostrate themselves.” (Koran Ch. 26 verse 218-219) Bowing (ruku) and prostration (sujud) are accompanied by a renewed affirmation of the supreme great of Allah. In bowing you renew your submissiveness and humility, striving to refine your inner feeling through a fresh awareness of your own impotence and insignificance before the might and grandeur of your Lord. To confirm this, you seek the aid of your tongue, glorifying Allah and testifying repeatedly to His Supreme Majesty, both outwardly and inwardly. Then you rise from bowing, hopeful that He will be merciful towards you. To emphasize this hope within you, you say: “Allah hears those who give thanks to Him.” Acknowledging the need to express gratitude, you immediately add: “Grateful praise to You our Lord!” To show the abundance of this gratitude, you may also say: “As much as the heavens and earth contain.” Prostration Then you go down in prostration. This is the highest level of submission, for you are bringing the most precious part of your body, namely your face, down to meet the most lowly of all things, the dust of the earth. If possible, you should make your prostration directly on bare ground, this being more conducive to humility and a sure sign of self abasement. When you place yourself in this position of lowliness, you should be aware that you belong there. You are restoring the branch to its root, for of dust you were created and to dust you shall return. At the same time you should renew your inner awareness of the Majesty of Allah, saying: “Exaltations to my Lord Most High!” Repeat this to add confirmation, for saying it only once is not sufficiently emphatic. When your inner feeling has clearly been refine, be confident in hoping for the mercy of Allah. For His mercy quickly flows towards weakness and lowliness, not towards arrogance and vanity. As you raise your head, say “Allahu Akbar!” and ask for what you need, making the supplication of your choice, e.g. “My Lord, forgive and have mercy! Overlook my faults of, which You are aware!” You then make a second prostration, reinforcing your submissiveness. Sitting and Testifying When you sit to make the testimony (tashahhud), sit decorously. Declare that all the prayers and good works you perform are for the sake of Allah, and everything belongs to Him. Such is the meaning of al-tahiyyat. Be inwardly aware of the Prophet, and on his noble person, as you say: “Peace be upon you, O Prophet, as well as the Mercy of Allah and Blessing.” Be sure that your salutation will reach him, and that he will return an even more perfect greeting to you. Then salute yourself and all righteous worshipers of Allah. Then testify to the Oneness of Allah, High Exalted, and to the mission of Muhammad, His Messenger, on him be peace and prayers. By repeating this two-fold testimony, you reaffirm the covenant of Allah, and assure yourself of its protection. End of Supplication At the end of your ritual prayer, you should offer a traditional supplication, imploring and entreating with meekness and humility, confidently hoping to be heard. Let your supplication include your parent and the other believers. Salutation Finally, and with the intention of concluding your prayer, address your salutation (salam) to the angels and the others present. Feel a sense of gratitude to Allah, High Exalted, for having enabled you to complete this act of worship. Imagine that you are saying farewell to this prayer of yours, and that you may not live to see another like it. States Conducive to Perfecting The Life in Prayer These qualities can be expressed in many ways, but they are well summed up in six words, namely: awareness; understanding; reverence; awe; hope; shame. Awareness By conscious awareness we mean that state in, which one’s mind and feelings are in no way distracted from what one is doing and saying. Perception is united with action and speech. Thoughts do not wander. When the mind remains attentive to what one is doing, when one is wholeheartedly involved, and when nothings makes one heedless, that is when one has achieved conscious awareness. Understanding Understanding the meaning of one’s words is something that goes beyond awareness, for one may be conscious of making an utterance, yet not be aware of the meaning of that utterance. What we mean by understanding, therefore, is an awareness that also includes comprehension of the meaning of one’s utterance. People differ in this respect, not sharing a common understanding of the Koran and the glorifications. How many subtleties of meaning we have come to understand in the course of ritual prayer! Things that had never occurred to us before. It is in this context that prayer becomes a deterrent to indecency and mischief, for the understanding it brings is a positive obstacle to vice. Reverence As for reverence, this is something beyond both awareness and understanding. A man may address his servant in full awareness of his speech, and understanding the meaning of his words, yet without reverence, for reverence is an additional element. Awe As for awe, it is over and above reverence. In fact, it represents a kind of fear that grows out of the latter. Without experiencing fear, one will not stand in awe. There is an ordinary fear of things we find repugnant, like scorpions or bad temper, but this is not called awe. What we call awe is the kind of fear we have of a mighty king. Awe is the kind of fear induced by a sense of majesty. Hope As for hope, this is unquestionably something else again. There are many who revere some king or other, and who are in awe of him or afraid of his power, yet do not hope to be rewarded by him. In our prayers, however, we must hope for the reward of Allah, High Exalted; just as we fear His punishment for our faults. Shame As for shame, it is something additional to all the rest, for it is based on the realization of one’s deficiencies and the apprehension of sin. It is quite possible to conceive of reverence, fear and hope, without this element of shame. Chapter Three Internal Prerequisites of Prayer: Actions of the Heart The Need for Humility and Conscious Awareness Many Koranic verses and traditions could be cited in evidence of this, including the words of Allah, the Almighty: “…and establish the prayer of My remembrance.” (Koran 20 verse 14) The obvious force of the imperative is to make something obligatory. Since heedlessness is the opposite of remembrance, how can someone who is heedless throughout his prayer be performing it in remembrance of Allah? The Almighty warns us in the Koran. “…and do not be among the inattentive.” (Koran Ch. 7 verse 205) Here we have taken a negative imperative, with the obvious force of a prohibition. Allah High Exalted also says: “…until you know what you are saying”, (Koran Ch. 4 verse 43) This explained the reason for debarring those who are intoxicated from the mosque, but the term intoxicated applies extension to those who are wholly preoccupied with temptations and worldly thoughts. When the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “The prayer is nothing but submissiveness and humility…” he used a particularly definite and emphatic construction in Arabic. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “If a man’s prayer does not deter him from indecency and mischief, he gains nothing from Allah but remoteness.” Heedless prayer does nothing to deter a man from these vices. The heedless are alluded to in the Tradition: “Many of those who pray derive nothing from their prayers except weariness and strain.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “A man gets credit only for that part of his prayer of, which he is conscious.” This is confirmed by the Tradition: “When performing the prayer, one is conversing intimately with one’s Lord.” Speaking in a state of heedlessness is certainly not what is meant by intimate conversation with Allah, the Almighty. To clarify matters further, let us consider the contrast between ritual prayer, on the one hand, and Zakat (obligatory charity), fasting and pilgrimage on the other. A man may pay his Alms without being consciously attentive, yet the very act of parting with money runs counter to greed and is hard on the lower self. The case of fasting is similar; since it subdues the natural forces and breaks hold of the passions, which are the tools of satan, the enemy of Allah, its purpose may well be achieved in spite of heedlessness. As for Pilgrimage, it presents physical hardship and difficulty and involves painful struggle, whether or not its actions are performed in full awareness. In contrast to these other religious duties, ritual prayer consists only in remembrance, recitation, bowing, prostration, standing erect and sitting down. As for remembrance, it is proximity to Allah and communion with Him. If its purpose is not conversation and dialogue, it must be a verbal and vocal exercise, set to test the tongue in the same way as the belly and the genitals are tested by abstinence during the fast, as the body is tested by the ordeals of Pilgrimage, or as one is tested by having to part with beloved money on paying the Alms. Without a doubt, this latter supposition must be wrong, for nothing comes more easily to the heedless than idle tongue wagging. It cannot, therefore, be a simple physical exercise. The sounds produced are significant only when they form articulate speech. Articulate speech must be expressive of what is in the heart and mind, and this is not possible without conscious awareness. What is the point of praying: “Guide us to the Straight Path,” if one is in a state of absentmindedness? If it is not intended as a humble entreaty and supplication, why bother with the idle mouthing of the words, especially if it has become a habit? The purpose of Koranic recitation and expression of remembrance (at various stages in the ritual prayer) is undoubtedly praise and glorification, supplication and entreaty, addressed to Allah, the Almighty. But the veil of heedlessness screen the heart from Him. Far from seeing or witnessing Him, the heedless worshiper is not even aware of Whom he is addressing, as his tongue moves purely from force of habit. How remote this is from the purpose of ritual prayer, which was prescribed for the refinement of the heart, the renewal of Divine remembrance, and to secure the knot of faith! We have been discussing the case of recitation and remembrance, but our strictures in this matter are by no means relevant only to the spoken elements in ritual prayer, as distinct from the physical postures. As for bowing and prostrations, their purpose is definitely veneration. While one could be venerating Allah, through one’s action, although unaware of Him, one might just as well be unconsciously venerating an idol set before one, or even the wall in front. It then ceases to be an act of veneration and is reduced to mere movement of the back and head, devoid of any hardship that might make it a real test. Ritual prayer has been made the chief pillar of religion, the criterion for distinguishing between unbelief and Islam. It takes precedence over Pilgrimage and other forms of worship. It is unique in having capital punishment as the penalty for its abandonment. I do not believe that ritual prayer enjoys all this special dignity by virtue of its external motions, unless these are linked to the purpose of intimate communion with Allah. That is what has priority over Fasting, Zakat, Pilgrimage and so on; indeed, over sacrifices and offerings, which entail self-denial through financial outlay. As Allah High Exalted says: “Their flesh and blood does not reach Allah rather it is piety from you that reaches Him. …” (Koran Ch. 22 verse 37) What is meant here by ‘devotion’ is a quality that gains control over the heart, disposing it to comply with the commands it is required to obey. What, then, of the ritual prayer, if its actions are without purpose? You may say that I am going against the consensus of the jurists, if I make the validity of prayer dependent on conscious awareness, since they stipulate such attention only at the initial ‘Allahu Akbar’. But the jurists do not concern themselves with the inner life or the way of the Hereafter. Their job is to formulate the outer rules of religion, with reference to external physical behaviour. As for what is beneficial to the afterlife, this is beyond the scope of jurisprudence, since no consensus can be claimed. Sufyan al-Thawri, an early legal scholar, is reported as saying: “Without humility and awareness, one’s prayer is invalid.” It is related that al-Hasan said: “Any prayer performed without conscious awareness is a short cut to punishment.” According to Mu’adh ibn Jabal: “A man gets no credit for a prayer in, which he deliberately notices those on his right and left.” According to an authenticated Tradition, the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, said: “Though he performs the whole prayer, a man may be credit with no more than one sixth or one tenth of it. A man gets credit only for that part of his prayer of, which he is conscious.” If this had been transmitted on lesser authority, it would surely have become a dogma, so why should it not be taken seriously? Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd said: “The scholars are unanimously agreed that a man gets credit only for that part of his prayers of, which he is conscious.” According to him, there is actually a consensus to this effect. In short, conscious awareness is the very spirit of ritual prayer. Attentiveness to the initial ‘Allahu Akbar’ represents the bare minimum required to keep the spark of this spirit alive; of Allah we beg His gracious support! Medication Conducive To Inner Serenity As a believer, one must magnify Allah High Exalted, in fear and in hope and in humble awareness of one’s shortcomings. There can be no relaxation in any of this once faith has been achieved, although one’s intensity will depend on the strength of one’s conviction. Any slackness in prayer is surely caused by mental distraction, divided attention, failure to be whole hearted in communion, and a heedless attitude to worship. Random mental activity is the thing that distracts us from prayer; it must therefore be dispelled so that a feeling of serenity can be acquired. To remove the symptom we must treat the cause, so let us find out where it lies. Stray thoughts may be prompted by something external, or they may arise from within. As for external causes, our attention is caught by anything that happens to engage our eyes or ears. We begin to take an interest in it. Then one thought leads to another and the process goes on and on. Seeing gives rise to thinking, then one thought becomes the cause of another. Sensory impressions do not divert those who intention is strong and whose aspiration is lofty, but they inevitably distract the weak. The remedy lies in cutting off these causes by lowering the eyes, praying in a room, leaving no distracting objects in front of one, or reducing one’s range of vision by praying close up to a wall. One should avoid performing the prayer on the street, in places where there is artificial decoration and on colored carpets. That is why very devout people used to worship in a small dark cell, where there was just enough room for prostration, for it is easier to concentrate in such conditions. Those who were strong would attend the mosques, keeping their eyes downcast and confining their gaze to the place of prostration. They considered their prayers to be perfect when they were unaware of the people to their right and left. Ibn Umar would allow no object to remain in the place of prayer, not even a copy of the Koran. He would remove any sword he found there and erase any writing. Internal causes pose a more serious problem. One’s worldly concerns may be many and varied, so that the mind does not dwell on a single subject but keeps flying from one direction to another. To lower the eyes is then to no avail, for plenty of distractions have already got inside. The way to deal with this is to make a deliberate effort to comprehend the meaning of the words one is reciting in the prayer, concentrating on this to the exclusion of everything else. It is helpful to prepare for this before the initial consecration, by reminding oneself of the Hereafter and that one is standing in communion in the awesome presence of Allah, the Almighty, and under His scrutiny. Before consecration for prayer, one should empty the heart of all its cares, leaving oneself free of potential distractions. The Messenger of Allah praise and peace be upon him, once said to Uthman ibn Abi Shayba: “I forgot to tell you to cover up the cooking pots that are in the house, for there should be nothing in the house to distract people from their prayers.” This is a technique for quieting the mind. If mental agitation is not stilled by this tranquilizer, the only recourse is a putative that will strike at the roots of the sickness. That is to say, one must examine the distractions that prevent the attainment of inner serenity. These will undoubtedly be traced to one’s pressing concerns, which have become so important simply because of one’s base desires. One must therefore discipline the lower self by abstaining from those desires and by severing those ties. Anything that distracts us from prayer is the adversary of our religion; the army of satan is the foe. To hold it in check is more troublesome than driving it out, so let us drive it out and be rid of it. The Prophet praise and peace be upon him, once prayed while wearing a cloak with an ornamented border, a gift from Abu Jahm. He removed it when he had finished his prayers, saying: “Take it back to Abu Jahm, for it distracted me from my prayer. Bring me Abu Jahm’s cloak of course wool.” The Messenger of Allah Once had new laces put in his sandals. When their newness attracted his attention during the prayer, he had them removed and the worn laces put back. According to another tradition the Prophet praise and peace be upon him, once found himself admiring the beauty of a pair of sandals he was wearing, so he made a prostration and said: “I have humbled myself before my Lord, so that He will not be displeased with me.” Then he went out and gave the sandals to the first beggar he met. He then told Ali to buy a worn pair of tanned leather sandals, which he put on his feet. Before it was declared unlawful for men to wear gold, the Prophet praise and peace be upon him, used to wear a gold ring on his finger. As he stood in the pulpit one day, he threw this ring away, saying: “It distracted me, a glance towards it and a glance towards you.” It is related that Abu Talha once prayed in his garden where there were trees. He was attracted by the sight of a honey bird and he spent so long following its movements as it flew about seeking an opening in the foliage, that he forgot how many cycles of prayer he had completed. He told the Messenger of Allah about the temptation to, which he had succumbed, then said: “O Messenger of Allah I offer my garden as a charity. Dispose of it as you wish.” According to a different source, he was distracted by the pleasant sight of the bees, buzzing round the fruit as he prayed in the garden. He mentioned this to Uthman, saying: “I offer it as a charity. Use it for the sake of Allah.” Uthman then sold the garden for fifty thousand. Such conduct was intended to eradicate cause of mental distraction and to atone for deficiencies in prayer. This medicine tackles the root of the disease; it is the only effective remedy. As for the gentler measure we proposed, such as calming oneself and concentrating on understanding the words used in prayer, they may be useful when passions are feeble and cares are only marginally distracting. But it is useless to try and calm oneself when the pressure of desire is strong, for it will attract you and you will attract it until it gets the better of you. You will be cause up in this process throughout your prayer. Consider this analogy: There was a man beneath a tree. He wished to collect his thoughts, but the sparrows disturbed him with their chirping. He would chase them with a stick and then resume his train of thought, but the sparrows would come back and he would have to scare them away with the stick once again. Eventually someone told him: “This is like being a slave at the wheel, going round and round forever. If you want to escape the vicious circle, you should fell the tree.” So it is with the tree of base desire. Thoughts are attracted to its ramifying twigs and branches, just like sparrows to real trees. Flies are attracted by filth and chasing them becomes a full time occupation, for they just keep coming back. Random thoughts are like flies. Our base desires are numerous and human beings are seldom free of them. They all share a common root, namely, love of this world. That is the origin of every fault, the basis of every shortcoming, the source of all corruption. Filled with the love of this world, a person becomes so attached to it that he fails to make provision for the Hereafter. He then has no hope of experiencing the pure bliss of communion in prayer. Those who delight in this world can take no delight in Allah, nor in communion with Him. A man aspires to that, which gives him joy, so if his pleasure lies in this world, he will surely seek it there. Nevertheless, one must continue to strive, turning the heart back towards prayer and reducing the causes of distraction. This is bitter medicine, so bitter that we instinctively recoil from taking it. The sickness remains chronic and the disease becomes incurable. Great men have endeavored to perform two cycles of prayer without having any internal conversation about worldly matters, only to find themselves unequal to the task. No hope, then, for the likes of us! If only we may be safe from temptation during half of our prayer, or one third, so that our deeds are at least a mixture of good and bad. In short, the worldly and spiritual aspirations in the human heart are like water poured into a cup full of vinegar; as water goes in, an equal volume of vinegar inevitably goes out and the two can never combine. Chapter Four Stories of the Humble, (May Allah be Pleased with Them, and their Prayers) It should be known that humility is the product of faith and the result of conviction, brought about by the majestic power of Allah, the Almighty. Those blessed with it are humble not only in their prayers, but at other times also, even when they are on their own or when they need to use the toilet. For humanity is caused by the awareness that we are always in the sight of Allah, by awareness of His majesty and by awareness of our human failings. It is by consciousness of these things that humanity is engendered, so it is not confined to ritual prayers. There was once a man, we are told, who never held his head up to the sky in all of forty years; so great was his modesty and humility before Allah, the Almighty. Some people assumed that al-Rabi ibn Khaytham must have kept his eyes half closed. For twenty years he was a regular visitor to the home fo Ibn Mas’ud. When the latter’s maidservant saw him, she would say to her master: “Your blind friend is here.” Ibn Mas’ud used to laugh when she said this. Whenever she went to answer the guest’s knock at the door, she would see him with his head down and his eyes averted, Ibn Mas’ud would look at him and say, quoting from the Koran: “…And give glad tidings to those who are humble” (Koran Ch. 22 verse 34) Then he would add: “By Allah, if the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, had seen you he would have been so pleased with you.” (In another version of this story the wording is ‘he would have loved you,’ and in another: ‘he would have laughed.’) One day, he was walking with Ibn Mas’ud when they passed the blacksmith’s workshop he fell in a faint at the sight of the bellows and the fire blazing in the furnace. Ibn Mas’ud sat with him till the time of prayer, but he did not come round. He then carried him home, where he remained unconscious till twenty four hours after having fainted, so missing all five prayers. Ibn Mas’ud stayed close by him, saying: “By Allah, this is real fear!” Al-Rabi used to say: “When engaged in prayer, I never pay attention to anything, except what I am saying and what is being said to me.” Amir ibn Abd Allah was one of those who are humble in their prayers. He would sometimes pray while his daughter was playing the tambourine and women of the house were chattering freely, but he was quite insensitive to the noise and did not even hear it. They once asked him: “Does anything come into your mind during the prayer?” “Yes,” he said, “the thought that I am standing in the presence of Allah, the Almighty, and that I am bound for Paradise or for Hell.” He was then asked: “Do you get any worldly thoughts, as we do?” To this he replied: “I would rather be made a butt for lances than get that sort of thing in my prayer.” He was also in the habit of saying: “Even if the veil was lifted from the unseen, my faith could not be more certain than it is now.” Another of these characters was Muslim ibn Yasar, the one who did not notice the collapse of a column while he was praying in the mosque. One of these men had a gangrenous limb. Amputation was necessary, but it seemed impossible until someone said: “He will not feel anything while he is at prayer.” The operation was in fact successfully performed during the prayer. Someone said: “Prayer belongs to the Hereafter, to enter it is to leave this world.” Another was asked if he had any worldly thoughts during his prayers. “Neither in my prayers nor at any other time.” He said. Yet another was asked: “Do you remember anything during the prayer? He replied: “Is anything dearer to me than the prayer, that I should recall it while I am praying?” Abul Darda used to say; “The sensible thing is to attend to one’s needs first, so as to have nothing on one’s mind when approaching the prayer.” Some of them would keep their prayers short, fearing the whisperings of the devil. We are told that, on a certain occasion, Ammar ibn Yasir finished his prayer rather quickly. When someone commented on this, he said: “Did you see me skip any of the essentials?” The answer was; “No!” He then explained: “I was forestalling the distraction of satan. The Messenger of Allah said: “Though a man performs the whole prayer, he may get credit for half of it, or a third, a quarter, a fifth, a sixth or a tenth. A man gets credit only for that part of his prayer of, which he is conscious.” It is said that Talha and al-Zubayr were among a group of Companions who were particularly noted for keeping their prayers brief. They explained that they followed this practice in order to forestall the whisperings of satan. It is related that Umar ibn al-Khattab said from the pulpit: “A man’s whiskers may turn grey in Islam, without his having completed on prayer for Allah, the Almighty.” When the people asked him how this could be, he said: “Because he never achieves perfect humility, submissiveness and devotion to Allah in any of his prayers.” Abul Aliya was once asked about the words of Allah: “…who are heedless of their prayers ” (Koran Ch.107 verse 5) He said; “This refers to those who are heedless in their prayers that they do not know whether they have performed an even number of cycles or an odd one.” According to al-Hasan, it refers to those who heedlessly let the time from prayer slip by. Others say: “This is directed at those who are neither happy when they pray on time, nor sorry when they are late in praying. They see no virtue in promptness and no sin in delay.” Jesus said: “Allah, the Almighty says: “Through supererogatory devotions My worshiper draws close to Me’.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “Allah, the Almighty says: ‘My worshipper does not achieve salvation except by fulfilling the duties I have set him’.” It is related that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, once omitted a verse from the part of the Koran he recited in the course of a ritual prayer. As he was turning to leave, he said: “What did I recite?” Nobody spoke, so he repeated the question to Ubay ibn Ka’b who said: “You recited such and such a Surah, omitting a particular verse. We are wondering whether it has been abrogated or taken out.” The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said: “Good for you Ubayy!” Then he turned to the others and said: “What are we to make of people who come for their prayers, line up in their rows behind their Prophet, but do not know what he is reciting to them from the Book of their Lord? That is just how the Children of Israel behaved, so Allah, the Almighty spoke to their Prophet through inspiration saying: ‘tell your people: ‘You present your bodies before Me and you offer Me you tongues, but you keep your hearts from Me. What you are doing is futile’.” These stories and Traditions help to prove the fundamental elements in ritual prayer and humility and conscious awareness, and that merely going through the motions, in a state of heedlessness, has little value for the life hereafter, Allah knows best. We pray for His gracious help and guidance.