SALAT – THE “KHUSHOO” BANK

I have read many articles on this very important subject of “khushoo”. People have also asked me several times on how to develop a great khushoo and so I briefly tell them to hold the issue of their salaat seriously. This answer is of course a good one but that mere saying is not sufficient as the question in other words is how can I take salaat seriously. So it is obvious that I am providing the question as the answer. Today in sha allah, we would we would be reading about the road to the central bank of khushoo and how to withdraw khushoo from it. Salaat is the most important building block in Islaam after Imaan. On the day of resurrection, if your salaat is good, the rest of your deeds would be overlooked (saheeh) in sha Allah.

The following steps are provided to help us in developing great khushoo’ in our salaat. The steps would in sha Allah be in series. We would provide some few steps and then later on add some more till we come to the end of the topic. So bookmark this blog on your browser and check back later for updates or simply provide your email address in the comment box and in sha Allah I will contact you when we update the topic. Read on……….

THE FIRST STEP:

Know the meaning of Salaat

Salaat is an Arabic word that is commonly translated as prayer. The meaning of salat would be conveyed more explicitly when defined as a programming towards righteousness. In salaat, apart from praying, we praise Allah, we redefine our believe in non else than Allah, we seek refuge in Allah from misguidance, we receive guidance from Allah (s.w.t), e.t.c. 

SECOND STEP:

Knowing how to perform salaat

There is this popular sahih hadeeth that the prophet said: PRAY AS YOU SEE ME PRAY. So when the question comes; how do we pray? Or how are we supposed to pray? The answer would be; we pray as the prophet pray and we are supposed to pray as the prophet prayed respectively. There is this book that describes how the prophet prayed – providing hadeeths as proof for all the steps. The book is called “siffaatu-ssalaatun-nabiyyi minat-takbeeri  ilat-tasleemi ka annaka taraaha” by Sheikh Nasiruddeen Al-Albani (Rahimahullah). Honestly, I haven’t seen the translation of this book in English but it is very possible that there is one which I don’t know of currently. So I would translate the name of the book to the best of my knowledge to aid the English speakers when they perhaps want to get the book for themselves. It goes like this “The detailed procedure of the prayer of the prophet from the beginning to the end as though you are seeing it been done” I recommend this book for anyone who wants to try and read his salaat like the prophet (pbuh). You can google it up too. You might get the pdf and in sha Allah, if I get the pdf, I shall upload it on the blog.

THIRD STEP:

Be constant in your Salaat

There are many verses of the Qur’aan where Allah says “establish the salaat and then bring forth the zakaat”. The Arabic word used in the verse is ‘aqeemu’ which is derived from ‘qiyaam’ which is derived from ‘qum’ or ‘qaama’ which generally means establish. It also entails that what is referred to should be done frequently. So performing the salaat at the prescribed time is very important. It is an error to think that there is still time when the imam is already praying. Some say there is still time even after the tasleem has been made. Subhanallah this is not correct and not befitting for one who submits his will to the will of Allah. The command of Allah should be your utmost priority. It should be above any other thing in this world.

FOURTH STEP:

Knowing what you say in Salaat

Knowing the Arabic terms you use in your daily salawaat is very important as this would bring you closer to Allah. We say Allahu akbar, we should know that it means Allah is the greatest and not Allah is great. Allahu akbar. We say sami’allahu liman hamidah, we should know that what we are saying is : Allah listens to one who praises Him, etc. This is what we are supposed to be doing with our internet time; seeking knowledge. But NO, we log on these social media chatting with non mahraams - People we have not seen before. I am not saying been on facebook is haraam please don’t misunderstand or misquote me as there are wonderful Islaamic pages there in.

FIFTH STEP:

Knowing what you say in salaat

You might be wondering why I repeated this step. Here, I mean know the correct meaning of the verses you recite, or the verses you hear the imam reciting. One may ask; the imam does not read a particular chapter or specific verses every day so where do I start from? I say start from anywhere you want to start from. Let’s assume you start from the first chapter of the Qur’an - suratul fatihah since it is the commonly repeated chapter. The imam recites it every day in every salaat. If you make this part of you and you read the verses along with their meanings every day,  let’s say maghrib to ishaa instead of engaging in idle talks, you would soon realize that it’s fun to know what the imam is saying. The method I use for myself is that as I read these verses along with their meanings, I try to know what some, if not all of the meaning of each word used in that verse. I have been doing this for some time and now Alhamdulillah, I find that if the imam is reading a surah I perhaps have not gone through the meaning, I understand what the ayah is saying because I know the meaning of a great percent of the words in the verse. Allahu akbar. You can try this. Wallah it’s not so difficult to read the Qur’an with its meanings for a couple of minutes if we can read novels for hours each day for an exam for example. 

In sha Allah, we shall continue next time. FEE AMAANILLAH!

ASSALAAMUN ALAIKUM WA RAHMATULLAH