‘What is in this Muslims’ prayer?’

In the name of the Almighty, the Beneficent, the Merciful
“O! Ye who believe, seek help in patience and in prayer, for this, indeed, is difficult except for the pious.” (Quran 2: 153)

Yes! What is in the Muslim prayer? The above question was posed by a compatriot and Professor to one of our teachers in the campus here close to a decade ago.

The Professor in question, an adherent of the other faith, was wondering what exactly the genuflections, the standing up, the bowing down and the rising up again all of which constitute the ‘chemistry’ of the Muslim prayer, otherwise known as salat signified.

In other words, brother, to some, the Muslims’ prayer is an enigma. It is like a palimpsest. The more it is plumbed and explored, the more inexplicable and mysterious it becomes. This situation is usually complicated by some among our brethren. These are Muslims who say Allah Akbar inside the mosque and shout “Nothing is greater than money” in the market place and in their offices. They usually give the impression that the only place where the presence of the Almighty is felt and experienced is inside the mosque.

In other words dear sister, whenever the believer enters the mosque, or sets up the prayer mat on the assumption that he desires to worship Allah, the assumption becomes inevitable that, like an investor, he desires to reap some dividend from the endeavour.

But we usually commit an error of forgetfulness. We always forget that the non-Muslim neighbour who observes the Muslim daily routine, the person who hears the constant eulogy of the name of the Almighty Allah, the one who observes the standing and bowing down, the proclamation of the salutation of peace, is equally a stakeholder. He expects a direct and an indirect dividend from the successful ascension of the Muslim worshipper to the celestial grace; an ascension which should fructify on the terrestrial realities of human life when the Muslim worshipper is seen as a subject who is imbued with piety, transparency and honesty.

When your prayer does not dissuade you from engaging in illicit conduct, either in the open or in the secret, then your affiliation to this faith and your association with the rows of the worshippers is duplicitous and dubious. This could be for many reasons including the following:

First is knowledge. Unlike other religions, knowledge is key to the Muslim prayer. The worshipper who would derive maximum benefit from his prayer should know the object of worship, namely, Allah and how to worship Him. Knowledge of Allah includes the recognition of our nothingness in relation to His mightiness; it includes our awareness that by worshipping Him through the medium of Salat, we are actually serving ourselves.

Knowledge of how to worship Allah also includes knowing exactly what to say, how to say it and when to say it. For example, the Muslim worshipper who does not know how to recite the first chapter of the Qur’an correctly wastes his time each time he postures as if he is in Salat.

Knowing what we say in Salat means understanding the implication of each move we make in the process. In other words, the Muslim who says Allahu Akbar while in prayers but still fears some earthly principalities inevitably finds himself in the hiatus of belief and un-belief. How could she say “Allahu Akbar” in the mosque only for her to say to her husband at night: “without you my life is nugatory and useless.”

Aside from the above, the second condition for the Muslim prayer is cleanliness. The Muslim prayer is invalid once the worshipper is physiologically unclean, when his cloth is unclean and when the place in which the prayer is to be observed is uncouth. The Prophet (upon him be peace) says “Allah is clean; He would not accept anything except that which is clean.”

What about the element of concentration? This, according to Al-Ghazali, refers to “that state in which one’s mind and feelings are in no way distracted from what one is doing and saying. Perception is united with action and speech. Thoughts do not wander. When the mind remains attentive to what one is doing, when one is wholeheartedly involved, and when nothing makes one heedless, that is when one has achieved conscious awareness.” The Prophet, while underscoring the importance of this element, says: “the worshipper shall have no reward except for that part of his Salat in which he is conscious.” I “asked” Muadh b. Jabal, that famous companion of the Prophet for his opinion on this. Brethren, I had to pause and take a deep breathe when he ‘said’ to me: “A man gets no credit for a prayer in which he deliberately notices those on his right and left!”

Thus this is the Muslim prayer – the connector between the worshipper and his Creator; the nullifier of intermediaries between the Creator and the created. This explains why there are no monks in Islam. Brethren, how could a monk intervene between me and my Creator when the former is equally a subject, a “manufactured product”?

The Muslim prayer equally reminds the worshipper of her origin; it awakens him to his ultimate end. When we raise our hands up at the beginning of the prayer and say Allahu Akbar, we are indirectly saying we affirm the poverty of our being; that we acknowledge that we came to the world with nothing; that we shall leave with nothing when death comes except with our piety and good works.

When the worshipper bows down in prostration and proceeds to bring his forehead to the ground, he is affirming the earthly nature of his being; that from the earth he was created, that he shall be returned to the earth.

Let me reiterate again, dear Brethren. One critical advantage Muslims enjoy when they observe Salat in the right way is the speed at which their supplications are accepted. Thus the Prophet advise us that when we are in the last sajdah posture, when our forehead is still on the ground, we should increase our supplications to Him- of what use is all other efforts once we enjoy divine succour and protection.

Al-Ghazalli, the renowned Muslim philosopher and theoretician says: “When you hear the call to prayer given by the Muazzin, let yourself perceive the terror of the summons on the Day of Resurrection.

Prepare yourself inwardly and outwardly to respond, and to do so promptly. Those who are prompt in answering this call are the ones who will be summoned gently on the Day of the Great Review. So review your hearts now; if you find it full of joy and happiness, eager to respond with alacrity, you can expect the summons to bring you good news and salvation on the Day of Judgment. That is why the Prophet used to say: “Comfort us, Bilal!” The Prophet used to say that because Bilal was the Muazin of the Muslims in Madinah. Each time he did the call to prayer, Muslims of that era used to experience indescribable joy; in prayer (salat) they found joy; in prayer they found comfort.

I wish to close by quoting this statement of our leader Prophet Muhammad: “If a man’s prayer does not deter him from indecency and mischief, he gains nothing from Allah but remoteness.” In other words, our prayers are worthless when it fails to add any value to our earthly life; when we say “AllahuAkbar” inside the mosque and act “Allahu Asgahr” outside, then we have lost the essence of our being.

I seek Allah’s protection from such a calamity. (08122465111 for texts only)