Muharramat, Salah

Khushu’ or humility in the prayer, is of utmost importance and integral to the validity of one’s prayer.  We rush through the prayer eager to get it over and done, as though it is a heavy burden weighing down on our backs.

How can our worries end, if we don’t communicate with Allah properly? We stand before the greatest of all kings, the king of all kings, yet we do not give Him his due attention. We stand on the prayer mat for a few short minutes, yet somehow manage to go shopping, browsing through the isles, we even pop into the bank, check our accounts, do the washing up and clean our houses all whilst we stand before our Creator. Are we not ashamed?!

I’m not saying Khushu’ is easy to achieve. No. Even the most righteous of our salaf struggled to attain Khushu’, but they put the effort in, and they were rewarded, by tasting the sweetness of iman. May Allah reward them for their devotion. Khinzib and his associates work tirelessly to distract us from our Salaah, he has been assigned specifically for the task and he does not give us a break. Nevertheless, we should take pride in our Salaah and enjoy every moment of it.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘prayer was made the coolness of my eyes.” (Ahmad and An-Nisa’i) In Salaah one finds peace and tranquility; it is a break from the rat race, from the rushing to and fro.

One who does not observe his prayers with the correct etiquettes, is referred to as stealing from his prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “‘the worst type of thief, is the one who steals from his prayer.’ The people asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how can one steal from his prayer?’ He said, ‘by not doing ruku’ and sujood properly.’” (Ahmad 5/310, Saheeh Al-Jami’ no 997)

When one prays he should allow his bones time to settle with each move he makes. When he bows (ruku’) he should ensure that his back is flat and leveled, such that one is able to put a glass of water without it spilling over. He should hold his position long enough for him to recite the recommended supplications without rushing them. Similarly, when one prostrates in Sajdah, he should be sure that the seven parts of his body required to touch the ground do so, and he should pause long enough for him to supplicate Allah.

Posture is one of the pillars of the Salaah, and the Prophet warned us severely when he said, “a man’s prayer is not good enough until his back is straight in ruku’ and sujood.” (Abu Dawud 1/533, and Saheeh Al-Jami’ number 7224)

The Prophet compared one who bows and prostrates hurriedly to a crow pecking. Abu Abdullah Al-Ash’ari reported that the Prophet led his companions in prayer, then he sat with a group of them. A man came in and began praying, but made his movements rapid. The Prophet commented saying, “do you see this? Whoever dies having done this has died outside the community of Muhammad and his prayer is like a crow pecking blood. The person who bows and then pecks in his sujood is like a hungry man who eats no more than one or two dates; what good will that do to him?”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) disassociated himself from one who prays as such!

However, posture is not limited to ruku’ and sujood. Your posture throughout the entire Salaah has to be in accordance with the Sunnah.

Brothers and Sisters, many of us have a busy day scheduled, and we rush our Salaah. I urge you to take heed; plan your day and chores around your Salaah, not your Salaah around your day. Don’t squeeze in your Salaah, like it is an inconvenience. We were created for, and our sole purpose is to worship Allah, and Salaah is the core of that worship. Pray like you mean it. I’m sure we want to be amongst the Ummah of Muhammad, and we love him dearly, but what good is love without action? Pray as the Prophet taught us to pray with Khushu’. Ramadaan is here, and through the Taraweeh we stand long hours. So why not carry on that good, by keeping up Salaah with beautiful recitation and increased concentration?

I leave you with one last point, The Prophet once saw a man praying hurriedly. The man completed his prayer and approached the Prophet. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “go back and repeat your prayer, for you have not prayed.’ The man again prayed, and came to Rasoolullah, the Prophet repeated his instruction, and again the same thing happened. (Bukhari and Muslim) The Prophet was not shy to tell the man to repeat his prayer, due to the defects in it, because he rushed.

My question is, what would the Prophet say to us if he saw the way we prayed? How many times would he ask us to repeat our Salaah?