khalid-latif-The Mechanics of Prayer

The Mechanics of Prayer

Imam Khalid Latif

The Islamic Center at New York University

Opening

"(I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.)"

"(In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.)"

"(All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.)"

"(There is no power nor strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.)"

"(And peace and blessings be upon the most honorable of prophets and messengers, and upon his family and all his companions.)"

"(And we bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, alone, with no partner.)"

"(And we bear witness that our Master, our Master Muhammad, is His servant and Messenger.)"

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, the Master of the Day of Judgment. I bear witness and testimony to the oneness of Allah. To His magnificence, His omnipotence, His might, His glory. To His being the Creator and Sustainer of all things. The Giver of life, the Guider of hearts, the Master of the Day of Judgment.

I bear witness to the fact that Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, is His servant and final Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and upon all those who choose to tread in his path until the last day.

The Companions' Love of Prayer

It is said that in the first generation of Islam, the Sahabis of the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, they used

to love to pray. That at any given point in time, at any given occasion, that at every hour of the night, these men and women, whenever they had the opportunity to lay their heads prostrate to Allah Zawjal, they would seize the opportunity and do whatever they could.

Knowing that that Sajdah was the closest opportunity for them to get closer to Allah. Forgetting their five daily prayers and the steadfastness to which they held them. Going to pray them in the Masajid, going to pray them in congregation. Going to pray them hour upon hour, going to pray them with the greatest of Khushu.

These men and women, they went even beyond that to pray their supererogatory prayers. Standing in the late hours of the night for Salatul Tahajjud. Doing everything that they could do, knowing it inwardly, outwardly, every single aspect of it.

The Hadith: "Go Back and Pray"

And so it is said on one occasion, Abu Hurairah, he is in the Masjid with the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And it is said that a man comes into the Masjid and he begins to pray the Tahiyyatul Masjid. He prays two Raka'ah upon entering the Masjid and upon completion of these two Raka'ah, he comes past the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.

And the Nabi of Allah, Alaihi Salam, tells him to go back and pray, you have not prayed. And he comes now again, he goes and again prays these two Raka'ah. And again he comes back to the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. And again the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, tells the man to go back and pray, for you have not prayed.

And it is said that this happens three times and after the third time the man says to the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam: That Ya Rasulullah, I don't know any better than this, teach me about it, teach me about my prayer.

And the Prophet, Alaihi Salam, says that when you rise to make your Salah, when you rise to make your prayer, begin with Allahu Akbar. And then recite a portion of the Quran that is known to you. And then when you go into your Ruku, when you go into your bowing, stay in your bowing until you are comfortable in your Ruku.

And then from your Ruku, go into your standing as such that when you are standing, you are standing up straight. And then after your standing, go into your prostration until you are comfortable in your Sujood. Then from there, go into your kneeling until you are comfortable in your Jaloos. And then from there, go into your prostration until you are comfortable in your Sujood. And make your entire prayer just like this.

The Lesson: Focus on the Mechanics

This is how the Prophet, Alaihi Salam, responds to the individual when he is telling him that there is something deficient in my prayer. I don't know what it is, Ya Rasulullah, teach me about it. Tell me what is there that I am

lacking.

And the Prophet, Alaihi Salam, does not speak to him in terms of anything that goes from an inward aspect. But he is telling him from a purely outward, from a purely external manifestation: That work properly on the mechanics of this ritualistic practice that is said to be the thing that you will be taken into account for firstly, when you stand in front of Allah Azawajal.

And so for us today, we have to ask ourselves: That what is the state of our ritualistic practice? What is the state of our prayer? What is the state of our Ibadah, our worship that we are presenting to Allah Azawajal?

That when we stand to pray in front of him, do we know the mere mechanics of it? That when we place our hands in a certain position, when we leave something and forget it, do we understand the prostration of forgetfulness? When we are praying in congregation, or perhaps even if we are fortunate enough to be the one that is deemed to be the leader of the entire Jama'at and responsible for everything that happens behind him, do we really know what is taking place? Do we understand these mere mechanics of it?

The State of Our Worship

What is the state of our worship? How often do we ponder upon what we are doing? How often do we analyze and seek to understand that this is the means by which we will get closer to our Rabb? The uttermost intricacies of it. The uttermost details of it. If we perform it to perfection, all it is going to do is benefit us on an individual basis and no one else.

But we seek to rush through our Salah. We seek to rush through our worship. That when we fast in the days of Ramadan, we sleep until after the Dhuhr prayer and spend mere hours awake until the Maghrib time comes when we can eat again.

That when we would go for our Hajj, it is only after we have spent decades upon decades traveling the rest of the world. And then in our old age we would say that now when we don't even have the strength and the energy to walk through the blessed seats of Mecca, we need to sit in a wheelchair to do it. Now I'm going to go and make my pilgrimage to Mecca.

What is the state of our worship? What is the state of our Ibadah? How is it qualified when we present it to Him and say that: Ya Rabbi, judge me upon these actions. Judge me upon this worship. How will we rank amongst those who actually sought to beautify their worship?

The Story of the Prophecy

It is said that during the time of the Prophet, the Muslims found themselves in an instance where they were in a battle. That people were coming into Medina and so they had to dig a ditch around the place of Medina. And

when they were digging this ditch, they come upon a rock that they were not able to move.

And so they asked the Prophet: That Ya Rasool Allah, what will we do about this?

And so the Prophet, it is said that he takes the tools that they were using to break apart these boulders. And he strikes against the boulder himself. And while he is striking against the boulder, it is said that sparks come out of it. And he looks into the sparks and he tells the people who are around him:

That I see within these sparks the kingdoms, the castles of Kisra and Qaysera, and those of the Persians. And he says that this means that Allah Azawajal is telling me that my Ummah, my community, will eventually expand into these lands.

And the people of that time, they are stricken with war. They are stricken with poverty. They are hungry, they don't know what is going on. They are trying to establish the Islamic State. And they can't understand how the Prophet Alayhi Salaam is saying that they as a people are going to eventually be taking on the superpowers of the world. And they can begin to ridicule the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.

The Fulfillment: Three Daughters of Persia

But years later it is said that during the time of the caliphate of Umar Radiyallahu Anhu, these same people, these same sahabis who are standing there digging the ditch with the Prophet Alayhi Salaam, they are now amongst those who are sitting in those castles after the Muslim Empire has expanded into those lands.

And so Umar Radiyallahu Anhu, that when he is there as the caliph of the Muslim Empire of Iran today, and the king of that empire, has said that he runs away from the place. He runs away taking everything that he has in terms of his worldly possessions. Taking everything he has in his belongings. Taking everything that is in the place.

He takes his servants. He takes his wealth. He takes whatever he can. But he leaves behind his three daughters and his three children because they are not on his mind. In comparison to his wealth and possessions.

And so when the Muslims come into the place, when they come into this place and they take control of the land, they take custody. They take care of these three women that that king of Persia was unfortunate enough to leave behind because they were not on his mind in comparison to his wealth and possessions.

And now it is said that these three women, they come into the Muslim Empire. And so too they have the opportunity to be taken in full force. The first one is paired with Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr. The second one is paired with Abdullah ibn Omar. And the third one is paired with Hassan ibn Ali.

The Story of Zayn al-Abideen

And Hassan ibn Ali it is said that he and his wife, his new woman that is in his life, in the 38th year after hijra, they bear a child that he names after his own father. And he calls him Ali ibn Hassan ibn Ali. But this man becomes to us more prominently known as Zayn al-Abideen.

That his state of worship, the manner in which he worshipped Allah, his prayer, his adherence to his ritualistic practice, was so beautiful, was so intent that the people of that time, the likes of Imam Malik, the likes of Hassan al-Basri, these individuals who are known to us as the revivers of our Islamic Deen, these people are giving him the title that you are the one that is beautifying all of our worship as worshippers.

That Imam Malik rahimahullah, it is said that he would say of this man that they were so beautiful in a given day and they were so beautiful, they were prayed with such perfection that this man it is said of him that when they passed away, when he passed away from the world, they said that he epitomized and personified the idea of giving with the right hand so that the left hand would not know of it.

Because when he was there living, it is said that there was hundreds of homes. When they would wake up in the morning and they did not have food, when they went to sleep at night, they would find sacks of food. And in the morning now after the passing of Zayn al-Abideen, no longer would they find these sacks of food because he had passed away. And they deduced that he was the one that was leaving it for them in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep.

Zayn al-Abideen's Focus in Prayer

That this man Zayn al-Abideen, that he would do so many things, that he would engage so intently in his worship. He would strive to become perfect in his relationship with Allah azawajal.

That on one occasion it is said that he is standing in prayer and he is engulfed with flames. And he is becoming, standing in that place that he is being surrounded by flames. And the people come to put the fire out. And when they come and they find him there and the flames are gone, they ask him:

Ya Ali, why were you not moving away when the place was set on fire?

And he said: I had no idea that there was any flames around me. That I was in my prayer. That I was standing in front of Allah azawajal and I was not thinking of anything else but to stand and try to perfect his prayer.

This was the way he understood his worship. That he as an abid was given the title of Zayn al-Abideen: The one who was beautifying the worship of the worshippers. And all he is doing is seeking to focus on it on an individual basis. Most outwardly and then from an inward aspect.

Our Commitment to Prayer

And so for us we have to understand that while we are trying to strive and develop that relationship between us and Allah azawajal, and what we are doing become of the utmost importance.

When we are told to pray the fajr prayer at that designated time, there is a specific reason for it. There is a specific barakah in it. We cannot be content sleeping through it and then praying it after we have woken up after the sun has gone beyond the horizon.

We are not amongst those people. We are not amongst those individuals, InshaAllah, who will be committed to and content and complacent with the fact that we are putting forth but a mere minimum of that which is obligatory upon us and go into the supererogatory.

Do we believe that any of the companions of the Nabi alayhi salam missed their five daily prayers at any given point in time? Do we believe that they sought to look for excuses and reasons as to why they would miss the fast of Ramadan? Do we believe that they were hesitant and negligent in the giving of their zakah? And if they had the means and the modes by which they could make a pilgrimage to the blessed city of Mecca, do we think that they would not jump and strive for it?

And these are but the basic pillars of our deen. These are but the basic pillars of our Islam. This is the thing that the prophet Alayhi salam has said that we are actually building our understanding of our faith upon. It is a mere foundation. And that which goes beyond it is something that we are not even at a point that we can begin to comprehend or fathom in our daily lives.

Who Will Give Us a Title?

What are we giving up and why are we giving it up for? Who will give us a title? Who will give us any indication of what our worship is?

That has anybody ever said that look at how beautiful that man's prayer is? Look at how beautiful that man's salah is?

That a time would come when the people, when they would look upon our prayer, when they would hear the words of the Quran, it is said that even the mushrikeen of Mecca, upon hearing the verses of prostration, regardless of the fact whether they had any iman or not in their heart, the utter recitation of it caused them to fall prostrate to Allah.

And the rest of you and I, when we read it today, claiming that we are in fact followers of the deen of Muhammad alayhi salam, we don't prostrate at all. We have forgotten about it.

What is the state of our worship? How do we dignify it in the course of our daily lives? How do we adhere to it?

Prayer is the First Thing We Will Be Asked

Our salah is the first thing that we will be asked about when we stand in front of Allah azawajal. He will ask us of it. He will question us of it. And if it is not good, then everything after it will be judged accordingly as well.

What are we putting forth to him? What are we presenting to him? The creator and sustainer of everything. The cherisher, the giver of life. The one who has guided our hearts to the deen. And surely the one who has the ability to take it away from us if we are not treating it with the respect that it deserves.

Prayer as Protection from Fahsha and Munkar

Allah azawajal he tells us in the Quran in surat al-ankaboot:

"(Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing.)"

That indeed our prayer, indeed our prayer is a protection for us against that which is fahsha and that which is munkar.

And when the mufassireen define these words, the word fahsha is that which is considered to be vile, that which is considered to be wretched, that which is considered to be treacherous amongst all peoples, regardless of whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim.

And the munkar is that which is defined by the jurists, the fuqaha, as being that which is not lawful or haram in accordance with our law, in accordance with our sharia of Islam.

And if our prayer is getting us to a point where we seek back and think about our lives and we find ourselves lying, and we find ourselves cheating, and we find ourselves backbiting, and we find ourselves being people that no one can trust, and we find ourselves being people that no one can put their faith in, we find ourselves being people that no one would want to associate with in our ritualistic practice, perhaps it is because they're a shortcoming in those mere pillars of our deen that we don't even understand. And we need to go back and look at it so we can protect ourselves from these vile acts, from this fahsha and this munkar.

If our salah is not doing that for us, we need to go back and look at it and see what is our deficiencies.

The Best Generation Needed Correction

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is telling one of his sahabis, is telling one of his companions, a member of that generation that is the best generation of Islam, that is the best generation of prayer: You need to go back and do it a little better.

If somebody at that point in time and somebody at that generation needs to go back and look and analyze what they're doing in terms of this basic thing of salah, how can the likes of you and I say that we don't need to go back and look at it ever?

What is the condition of our salah? What is the condition of our prayer? How are we in fact doing it?

And if we look at this hadith where the man is told to go back and pray for you have not prayed, upon completing it, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is then posed a question. He is said that: Ya Rasool Allah, I can't do better than this. Will you teach me?

We Must Seek Knowledge

And so for us, we cannot rely on ourselves to have the understanding in this thing. It is too important. It is too important. It is something that has too much of value. We should not rely solely on people who don't know how to do it. We should be humble enough to go and ask somebody that:

Please teach me how to do it. Please teach me. Please give me an understanding. Please I'm reaching my hand out to you. Please convey to me something about this because I understand the importance of it in my life. It is the first thing that we will be questioned about.

And so we need to take ourselves into account of it before we are taken into account.

Closing Dua

May He bless us with knowledge that benefits us. May He bless us with the tawfiq to understand and implement that knowledge into our daily lives. And may He guide and bless us all.

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End of Lecture