THE SPIRIT OF SALATH (PRAYER)
Purification
ACCORDING to a verse in the Quran, in the Hereafter those who are cast to Hell will be asked: “What has brought you into the Fire of Hell?” and they shall reply, “We were not among those who prayed.” (74: 42-43)
In order to understand the Quran, it is important to bear this rule in mind: Some verses of the Quran help clarify other verses. Therefore, to understand the above verse, consider another verse of the Quran, which says: “Paradise is for those who purify themselves.” (25: 76).
This means only those people will be held deserving of Paradise who undertake the purification of their personalities in this world. This process of purification is called tazkiya.
Salath (Prayer) Helps in Tazkiya
When we reflect on both these verses, we realize that salath which does
tazkiya of the believers, and not merely a spiritless salath is what will
take one to Paradise. If one performs salath with spirit, only then will
one’s salath serve to purify one’s inner being. If salath is performed
merely as a set of rituals, it will certainly not have any impact on a
person’s character or personality. What actually is the spirit of salath
or salat?
To understand this we need to consider what is recited during the fivetime daily prayer that Muslims are required to observe.
Three phrases are recited often. These are: Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, Allahu Akbar and As-salam alaikum wa rehmatullah. These three phrases represent the spirit of salath, and they can be rephrased as: Hamd (praise of God), Takbir (glorifying God) and Salamati (peace and security). A believer who incorporates these three in his life, in the true sense, will be able to purify his personality such that he may be held deserving of Paradise.
Praise of God
When we offer prayer, in every unit of prayer we read Surah Fatiha,
which is the first chapter of the Quran. The Surah Fatiha begins with the
words: ‘Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen’ meaning, ‘All praise be to God,
the Lord of the universe’. Generally, people have translated hamd as
‘praise’. However, the best meaning is given by the scholar Hamiduddin Farahi as shukr. Thus, in the very beginning of salath, a worshipper
acknowledges that all gratitude is for God alone.
Our entire life is full of things which call for thankfulness to God, we could begin with our own faculties of speech, hearing, thinking etc. Hearing for example is possible because of the presence of air, which acts as a medium for the transfer of sound waves. In the absence of air, sound could not have travelled and we would have not been able to hear.
For further thankfulness one could remind oneself of modern means of communication, which has made it possible to be heard and to hear others from distant locations. Both these phenomena are a source of offering of gratitude to God. It implies that God not only provided air to enable communication between people who are near to each other, but also made nature in such a manner that we could develop technology through which the entire globe can potentially listen to what one has to say. Even kings in earlier times did not have the luxury of speaking and being heard by all: they had access only to people physically near them.
Those who truly believe that God is the greatest will have an outburst of thankfulness for Him and will mention His glory and greatness when they speak, instead of speaking about the complaints they have of others.
Since the twentieth century, Muslims kept lamenting about the loss of the Abbasid, Ottoman and Mughal Empires. The focus of Muslims since these empires collapsed has been to regain their lost glory.
But in reality, they could not regain what they had lost. A more grave aspect of this tendency in Muslims was that as a result of their desire to get back what they lost, they started living in a sense of deprivation.
Instead of living a life of gratitude and thankfulness to God for what they already have, Muslim psyche came to be marred by the feeling of loss and deprivation.
So although Muslims observe salath, and utter the phrase Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, in reality they do not live with the spirit of true gratitude.
A person who yearns after something he does not have and fails to regain it will naturally lament over it and become sorrowful, instead of living with the feelings of thankfulness to the Creator. Though Muslims perform the prescribed five-times salath, in truth their lives are devoid of the spirit of thankfulness or shukr.
The Prophet had predicted this scenario of the Muslim community. He had once said: “A time will come when mosques will be full [of people], but devoid of guidance.” (Mishkat al-Masabih)
When the worshippers live in a sense of loss, how can they at the same time also have feelings of gratitude for the Creator?
Glorifying God
During salath the phrase Allah Akbar is repeated several times. It means
‘God is Greatest and His Glory is foremost.’ In reality, however, Muslims
do not live in the glory of God. Often Muslims are heard saying: ‘Israel
and America are oppressing us. Or so-and-so is conspiring against us’.
Those who utter these words are considering ‘Israel’ or ‘America’ to be greater than God.
The greatest harm done by the feeling of loss is that it makes one devoid of the glory of God. While the complaint that one has is apparently against a human being, in reality the one who complains is silently declaring that he is bereft of the acknowledgement of the glory of God. Those who truly believe that God is the greatest will have an outburst of thankfulness for Him and will mention His glory and greatness when they speak, instead of speaking about the complaints they have of others.
Paradise is a place where we will get to see and talk to God. Paradise is a place to meet God.
Peace and Well-Wishing for Others Salath ends with the worshipper turning to his left and right and uttering the words: As-salam alaikum wa rehmatullah (May peace and the blessings of God be with you!) Who are we saying this to? The worshipper says this to all human beings who reside on earth. The worshipper addresses all mankind: ‘O people! May there be peace and mercy on you! My heart is full of well-wishing for you!’
But again if you read the articles penned by Muslims or attend any of their meetings, you will realize that their speech is filled with the hatred for other human beings. In mosques, Muslims call down God’s curse on others—an act which is entirely and highly un-Islamic.
Therefore it is only salath performed in the right spirit that will take a person to Paradise. This is the salath which inculcates in the worshipper true thankfulness to God, makes him live in the glory of God, and lastly develops in him feelings of peace, compassion and well-wishing for fellow human beings.
Salath—A Training Course in Character Development
When Umar was the second Caliph and the Muslims had to engage
in battle with the Sassanid Empire, there was a covered area for
holding prayer in congregation. On one of the days before the battle,
Caliph Umar led the prayer of all the Muslims present in this hall. The
Iranian General at that time was Rustam. When he saw the Muslims
offer prayer, he remarked: “We cannot win against Umar, because he
teaches character and discipline to his people!” Rustam realized that
salath was something that inculcated high character in those who
observed it. This is the true salath, while the one that is performed only
as a set of rituals and which does not impact one’s real life cannot be
the salath that takes one to Paradise. Salath initiates a process in one’s
life which leads to the development of such character and personality
which make one worthy of inhabiting Paradise.
According to a hadith: “One who observes the morning (fajr) prayer will come under the guarantee of God.” (Sahih Muslim). What is the meaning of this hadith? How can one who prays in the morning be guaranteed God’s protection?
The fact is that fajr salath is the beginning of the process of character building. When you read salath in the morning it is like taking a pledge to instil the spirit of salath in yourself. You take a pledge to follow this spirit during the rest of your day. You decide to live in gratitude for God, undertake the process of tazkiya, aiming to purify yourself of negativities and becoming a positive person.
Then the prayers offered during the day—Zuhr and Asr—are meant as mid-day reviews of the pledge you had undertaken in the morning. In companies and organizations, there is an annual review system in which they make an analysis of the profit or loss they may have incurred during the year. God has instituted a mid-day review system so that during the day a believer can review what he had promised to God in the morning.
Salath is not about repeating empty rituals or forms, rather it is meant as character-training for the individual.
At the end of the day, when one prays at night (Isha), one engages in introspection. The night prayer is meant for the believer to introspect and understand whether he really spent his day in the spirit of salath; whether he adhered to the lessons he had learnt in the morning prayer. When the believer wakes up in the morning on the next day, he observes the same course. Thus, salath is not about repeating empty rituals or forms, rather it is meant as character-training for the individual.
What is Paradise?
A verse in the Quran tells us about the people of Paradise: “Whoever
obeys God and the Messenger will be among those He has blessed:
the messengers, the truthful, the witnesses, and the righteous. What
excellent companions these are!” (4: 67). Paradise is a society of people
of the best character from the whole of human history. The present
world is meant for training in the development of a character that
makes one deserving of Paradise.
At one place in the Quran it is said that Prophet Moses urged God in these words: “My Lord, show Yourself to me so that I may look at You.” (7: 143). These words of Moses speak of the desire of every human being. Moses said these words on behalf of all humanity. Every person has the deep yearning to see God, the Creator who created them. Just as a father longs to see his son, similarly a human being has an even greater wish to directly observe and speak to the One who created him. Paradise will be the place where this desire in every human being shall be fulfilled. The Prophet said that the people of Paradise will be enjoying the blessings God bestowed on them. Then God will manifest Himself and on beholding God’s glory and majesty, they will forget all the blessings they had been enjoying.
Paradise is a place where we will get to see and talk to God. Paradise is a place to meet God. This is a place where people will meet God, reside in His neighbourhood and have the companionship of the best people from all of human race. This is why the Quran says: “And vie with one another for your Lord’s forgiveness and for a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared for the God-fearing.” (3: 133)
Paradise has been promised to a person who prays (salath). We should know that if our prayer has to make us eligible for the Paradise described above, it has to be a prayer which elevates the person to the loftiest level of character befitting to be in the neighbourhood of God.