Inner Dimensions of Salat

Inner Dimensions of Salat

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui

March 1, 2013

MCA Santa Clara, CA

Inner Dimensions of Wudu

When we go to make wudu we turn the faucet on violently and the water starts rushing violently:

• First, we are wasting water. How can we begin a 'ibadah by making a sin?
• It brings a violent state to the heart instead of composure, sakinah.
• Try the opposite, open it slowly and just a little - so that the water will flow gently and create a calm effect inside of you, that sense of serenity. 
• Ali (RadiaAllahu ‘anhu) every time he makes wudu his face becomes pale. They asked him why. He said  ‘Do you know between who’s hands I am about to stand?’
• Wudu is a preparation to stand in front of Allah. 
• We need to be clean, not just in the worldly sense, but most importantly in the spiritual sense. 
• Taharah - an act of cleansing our hearts, souls, minds, from stains and dirt that is much worse than the dirt on our bodies, to prepare ourselves to stand in front of Allah.
• Hadith ‘He who performs wudu, like this wudu of mine, and does it beautifully, all his previous sins would be expiated and his prayer and going towards the mosque would have an extra reward.’ (Sahih Muslim)
• That is the ultimate beauty in performing an act of ibadah, to perform wudu like the Prophet (Salla Allahu ‘alahi wassalam). 
• We need to integrate this into our lives, and communicate that to our children, into the lives of our children.

Entering The state of Salah & Inner Dimensions of Takbiratul Ihram

• We cannot come to salat in a hurry. And be in a hurry to leave salat. We must not do that. 
• That is a strong indication of our mediocrity of our awareness of Allah and of Rasulullah (SAW). And mediocrity of our resolve and momentum towards Allah. 
• How can I be in a hurry to leave Allah when He allowed us to enter His presence.
• When a man/women enters salat, after takbirat al ihram, and the person begins to turn their gaze away: 

1. physical gaze: turn external eyes
2. spriritual gaze: emotions turn away from Allah

• Then Allah says: ‘ila ayna ya 3abdi ila khayran minnee. Where are you looking my servant? To something better than me?’
• Our job, family, my concerns are equal in importance to Allah, who is the Source of everything in my life. why? why do I allow myself emotionally to err in Salat. 
• If we have some love in our hearts for Allah, this is enough for me to begin to actively strive that I am focused in my salat. When I enter salat, literally everything is put aside. And I strive to stay in that realm. 
• That’s why we begin salat with Allahu Akbar - Allah is Greater. then open to every state that you may be in at the moment. If I am happy, Allah is greater than happiness. If I am down and hurt, Allah is greater than pain and hurt and suffering. If I am subjected to tyrannical words, Allah is greater than those. Allah is greater than any hal you are in in that moment. Free and liberate your heart and mind and soul from the restrictions and being attached to those things. 
• Allahu Akbar. Everything you were doing, now in salat, is not allowed. Can’t eat, speak, play. etc, because I entered the haram of Allah, the spiritual sanctuary of Allah, a holy space. 
• And if I entered that with my heart, then who cares about anything else.  A holy space of serenity and peace. Allah is greater that everything in my life, my family, my job. A spiritual joy.
• The person who finds spiritual joy from salat, they will not want to get out of salat. But when we have never experienced that, then we don’t know what we are missing. 

Inner Dimensions of Surat Al Fatiha

First we read Surat Al-Fatiha. 

• Alhamdulillahi rabbil 'aalameen. We begin our salat by praising Allah. It has beautiful meanings. 
• Tawhid. The beginning of existence is by hamd. lillah. Alhamdulillah for who He is.
• Rabbil 'alaimeen - then alhamdulillah for what He did. He is the ruler of all existence. Caretaker of everything that is of the world. The world of jinn, world of malaika, the Lord, the master of the worlds. 
• When you are down, and you say alhamdulillah in salat, you notice that Allah is in control - in this that I experience, there is good for me. In calamities we say why me. When overjoyed we forget alhamdulillah. No we should say alhamdulillah in adversity and prosperity. For He brought us from nothingness. It is an act of His rahmeh that we exist. We liberate ourselves from chains of pain, anxieties, and depression. When we are down, the best thing to do is to increase your salat. The most beautiful thing to do is to go in salat. Try to be in salat with spirit and heart. Allah will make it easy for us. 
• Hadith “I strove and struggled in my salat for 20 years, then I enjoyed for 20 years.”
• Hadith Rasulullah (SAW) said: “The refreshing coolness of my eyes is made in salat.” He uses this metaphor to say that salat brings him the utmost joy and happiness and serenity.
• Al Rahman Al Rahim, Maliki yawm ad-deen, and rest of Fatiha, (shaykh reads it slowly). Don’t you see brothers and sisters the difference when you read it like this, then reading it like this... (fatiha read fast). I think there is a big difference. 
• Hadith: Rasulullah (SAW) said “Allah said, I split the salat into 2 parts between me and my servant. When the servant says ‘alhamdullahi rab ‘alameen’ = Allah says ‘hamadani ‘abdi- my servant has praised me’. When we say ‘alrahman al raheem’ - Allah says ‘my servant has exalted me’.
• We all know that hadith. But what does this mean. Allah there is nothing comparable to Him, He is telling you that when you receite the Fatiha, He enters into a personal dialogue with you. It has a beautiful spiritual meaning and dimension. 
• Part of salat is to stand and the longer the recitation the better, because we are reciting the words of Allah, and that is the most beautiful means to draw towards Allah. like someone standing and serving the Master. It symbolizes your servitude to Allah lovingly. And through that we are connecting to Allah, swt. 
• And as we experience that standing then we recite His words, ‘ihdina sirat al mustaqeem: guide us to the straight path.’ You ask Allah, and Allah responds ‘my servant asked of me and my servant shall be given what he asked’ then you immediately start to say something from the Qur’an. 
• That’s how Allah is responding to your dua. The words of Allah are the way to the straight path. ‘Hudan lil mutaqeen. This Qur’an guides.’ This is the response of your Lord to you, and it goes into your heart, then it commands your tongue to move. The response comes immediately, Allah gave you that gift. Your heart is beginning to see and experience that divine presence, and the heart gets softer. 
• But if I am so overwhelmed with matters of dunya when I enter salat, and turn the gaze of my heart away, then I will not enjoy this. Where my heart is I shall be. 

Inner Dimensions of Ruku’

• Then the next Allahu Akbar comes. Transition. We go into bowing movement and say ‘subhana Rabbial 3atheem’ - 3 times. Here, the heart feels, if it’s connected. Allah shows us through those first moments of standing His greatness (al 3atheem). What happens when you are subjected to greatness? - you break down. Your back breaks! You are subjected to something powerful. The heart experienced emotionally the 3athama of Allah. So in that breaking - we say 3 times ‘Glory be to Allah the Great - Subhana Rabbil ‘Atheem.’
• Then Allah commands you to get up. Rasulullah (SAW) told us to stand up again - there is more you have to do. Then we say after standing ‘Sami’a Allahu liman hamida - Allah hears those who praise Him’. Then you express that gratitute to Allah - ‘Our Lord, praise be to You - Rabana wa lakal hamd’. 

Inner Dimensions of Sujud

• When I do that He shows me of his Highness, therefore I had to get up to show gratitute. What is the response to highness? Lowness of the creation. When you know you are low and your Lord is high, you show that - so we go in sujud and we say ‘How perfect is my Lord, the Highest - subhana rabbial a’la’. 
• High highness was manifest in my heart. I lowered my body and heart and soul and mind to Allah in sujud, because I desire Him. He willed that in that moment we are nearest to Him. This is Allah’s gift to us - his nearness. In the Qur’an Allah says: “Wasjud waqtarib - Bow down and bring yourself closer (to Allah)” (96:19). This is a reward from Allah. 
• Sometimes Allah gives spiritual knowledge to you in sujud. If you have worries, make salat and spend a lot of time in sujud. Allah will release you from your worry. 
• When Rasulullah (SAW) had a challenge, he goes to Salat. He was frequently in Salat - quality salat. So in sujud, increase your du’a - akthiru feehi min al dua. Beg Him and ask Him because He granted gifts to you in that time.
• Dua is the umbilical cord to Allah. Dua is the Ibadah. Dua connects your heart and soul to Allah. 
• Problems and difficulties are a rahmeh (mercy) from Allah to draw us nearer to Him. When people have prosperity they lose their hearts. ‘Oh Allah give me back those hard times, because in those times I had a heart.’ 
• Then we say Allahu Akbar again- Allahu akbar that I thought Allah is greater than my expectations and doubts. The heart ,qalb, experienced closeness to Allah. But Allah is greater than spiritual experiences. So you sit down. Because you’re in that state of nearness. Allah allows you to sit and enjoy this. You make a du’a in that state. 
• Then say Allahu Akbar for sujud again. You want that nearness again. 

Why we do several rak’ahs

• But then Allah commands you to get up - get up and do that again, you are the servant of Allah. We repeat it all again so that when you go outside salat, it would help you to stay conscious of Allah. 
• Salat - even when you are not aware it is doing good to you, it is. 
• We need to strive to be more focused and sincere in our salat. 
• If we do, meanings will come into your heart. Allah will put it. Not every knowledge is in books. Allah gives it to whom He pleases, to their hearts.

Inner Dimensions of Tashahhud

• In the last rak’ah, we say the Tashahhud - ‘At-tahiyyaatu lillahi - Greetings, prayers, and goodness belong to Allah.’ 
• It has beautiful meanings. After the heart experienced that which cannot be explained, now it says, while in that divine presence and state - ‘Assalamu 3laiyka ayyuhal nabiyyu, warhmatullahi wa barakatuhu - Peace be on you, O Prophet and the mercy of Allah and His blessings’. 
• Rasululllah (SAW) is in that divine presence. Your heart greats him directly. It is so emotionally powerful that you say 3alaika, like he is right there with you. What an honor. 
• When you say this, every righteous servant of Allah in the heavens or on earth receives it, if you say it with sincerity.
• Then you say ‘Assalamu ‘alaina wa’ala ‘ibadil-lahis-salihin - Salam be on us and on the righteous servants of Allah. It reaches that person. Now your heart sees. Assalamu Alaina - in that state, Allah orders you to go back: peace be on you, like I was there, I bring you salam from the Rasul. And also salam to all the righteous servants of Allah. Think deeply about this: you are saying Salam to all the sincere servants of Allah who are - you soul is now as if it is together with all your sincere brothers and sisters in Islam. 
• Therefore after this state, we re-affirm our submission to our Creator and our Prophet: we say ‘Ash-hadu an la ilahi illa Allah wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu - I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’ 

Usually we come to Salat without our hearts. we don’t care, don’t even mind, we don’t even try.

O Allah... let our hearts be in sujud to you.