Welcome to the University of Sufism's Ramadan reading of Rosina Fawzia Al-Rawi's book,
The Call of Allah,
A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.
Today I will be sharing day three about prayer,
Otherwise known as Sadaat.
Al-Mukhira bin Shu'aba narrated,
The Prophet used to pray so much that his feet would become swollen.
And when he was asked as to why he prayed so much,
He would say,
Shall I not be a thankful slave to Allah?
One day,
Imam Ali asked,
Which verse of the Quran gives you most hope and trust?
One man in the congregation said,
Verily,
God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside him,
Although he forgives any lesser sin unto whomever he wills.
Imam Ali answered,
It is a good deed,
But this is not the one.
Another man spoke,
Yet he who does evil or otherwise sins against himself and thereafter prays God to forgive him shall find God much forgiving,
A dispenser of grace.
Imam Ali answered,
It is a good deed,
But this is not the one.
A third man spoke,
Thus speaks God,
O you servants of mine who have transgressed against your own selves,
Despair not of God's mercy.
Behold,
God forgives all sins.
For verily,
He alone is much forgiving,
A dispenser of grace.
Quran 39.
53 Imam Ali answered,
It is a good deed,
But this is not the one.
Another replied,
And who,
When they have committed a shameful deed,
Or have otherwise sinned against themselves,
Remember God,
And pray that their sins be forgiven.
For who but God could forgive sins?
Quran 3.
135 Once again,
Imam Ali answered,
It is a good deed,
But this is not the one.
The congregation fell silent.
Why are you so quiet?
Asked Imam Ali.
We have nothing to add,
Came the answer.
Then Imam Ali spoke,
I heard my beloved prophet,
Alayhi wasalam,
Say,
The verse of the Quran which gives most hope and trust is the one where Allah tells us,
And be constant in praying,
At the beginning and the end of the day,
As well as during the early watches of the night.
For verily,
Good deeds drive away evil deeds.
Quran 11.
114 This touching narrative shows us how essential prayer is for us human beings.
This daily connecting and embedding,
And how it builds the core of our faith.
All the pillars of faith are reflected in the salat.
While we pray,
We repeat the shahada.
While we pray,
We step out of the world of activity,
Of making a living,
And we give of our time,
Which corresponds to the zakat.
While we pray,
We fast,
Because we abstain from all food or drink.
While we pray,
We turn to the Kaaba,
Our spirit and our heart on pilgrimage,
Our bodies facing towards the Kaaba.
While we pray,
We unite our faith in both inner and outer orientation.
In Arabic,
The ritual prayer is called salat.
And salat comes from the root slw,
Which means invocation,
Compassion,
Connection,
And union.
Ablutions,
Wudu,
Carry the act of separation,
Separation from the outer world.
Whereas the ritual prayer salat carries the act of union,
Union with the divine reality,
Al haq.
Ablutions,
Wudu,
Purify the body and the senses from the outer worldly activities in order to consciously prepare them for the union.
Imam As-Siddiq said,
The action most beloved of Allah is salat,
And this is the final instruction given to us by the Prophet,
Alayhi wasalam.
When Allah says in the Qur'an,
For we are closer to him than his neck vein,
Qur'an 50,
16,
This means that salat is not meant to take us closer to him,
But to make us more sensitive,
To open our hearts,
And to remind us how close to his presence we already are.
Salat lifts us out of the ephemeral treadmill of everyday life,
Elevating our consciousness to the eternity of our soul.
Salat embeds us into the natural movements of the universe.
When we pray,
We are connecting ourselves with the continuous praying of all creatures,
Thus experiencing Allah's eternal kindness and mercy.
When we prostrate,
Sujood,
For the first time,
Humbly laying our head on the earth,
We remember that we came from dust.
When we prostrate for the second time,
We remember that we will die and return to dust.
And when we lift up our head again,
We are reminded that we shall be resurrected in a future life.
The deep meaning of salat is to set ourself aside and to open our heart to an intimate dialogue with Allah.
It is consciously stepping into Allah's mercy and explicitly making a space for our soul.
If we were to enter into a flowing stream five times a day,
Would there be any dirt left on our body?
Salat is akin to this cleansing stream.
It purifies us of our transgressions,
Our forgetfulness,
And our attachments.
God does not need us to pray for him.
Through our prayers and salat,
We are granted support and stability,
Awareness and energy,
Protection for our souls,
And vigilance over ourself.
For behold,
Prayer restrains man from loathsome deeds and from all that runs counter to reason.
Quran 29 45.
Time and time again,
Salat reminds us that we,
Of what we truly are and why we are here.
Salat delivers us from the burns of life,
Relativizes our attitude to life,
And steadies us in a constantly changing world.
Is our connection with Allah,
Our intimate dialogue with Allah,
Not the meaning of our existence?
Have we not been sent to this world out of love in order to find our way back through love?
Our beloved Prophet,
Alayhi wasalam,
Said,
Allah,
Glorious is his praise,
Has made the pleasure of my eye in salat,
And has made me to love salat like food is made lovable to the hungry and water to the thirsty.
And surely the hungry one,
When he eats,
Is satiated,
And the thirsty one,
When he drinks,
He is quenched.
But I am not satiated from salat.
Practice suggested for today.
Resolve today that whatever happens to you,
Whatever you are told,
Whatever you do,
You will say,
Alhamdulillah,
Allah be praised.
While inhaling deeply,
Let these words flow over your thoughts and feelings like refreshment.
As if every time you say Alhamdulillah,
You are saying,
I love you,
Allah.
Thank you for joining us for day three.
Have a blessed day.
