Abdullah Oduro – Lesson #30 The 5 Levels of People in Prayer
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AI: Transcript ©
Now Ibn Al Qayyim continues on and speaks
about the 5 types of people in the
prayer when he, after mentioning
the actions
are of 2 types and we talked about
the action or the prayer,
its acceptances of 2 types. He moves on
to talk about people
of hammaratuh bin kamsa. There are 5 levels.
The first of them he mentions are him
Allah Ta'ala,
He said this first type with respect to
the prayer
is the one who has wronged his own
soul. The one who has wronged his own
soul and is negligent and he is the
he is the one that reduces from his
wudu and the time from its wudu, the
prayer, and also the timings
and the limits and the requirements. So there's
someone that probably doesn't even offer it or
they're very, very negligent in doing so
and he says
He says the second type
is the one who keeps its times. It
preserves its times and its limits and its
pillars
and its wudu meaning it meaning the prayer.
He said that he
lost the struggling of his self,
that he was not victorious in the
struggle that he had against his self
because it went with the waswasa the waswas
the whisperings of Satan
overpowered him or influenced him more than the
Mujahideh fighting himself. Fathahabaamal
waswasi walafkar. So he goes along with the
whispers of Sheyitah the whispers of Satan
and the Afkar. If you remember earlier, Ibn
Al Qayyim was talking about the Afkar. Remember
when he said Satan will come to him
in 2 ways and from them is that
he will try to make him totally negligent
of even praying or negligent within praying.
The second type when he said negligent within
praying is where he mentioned
it was a thought that you tried to
you tried to retrieve that thought before the
salah
and you couldn't remember so you went and
prayed, but during the prayer, that thought comes
back to you which causes your heart to
be in that thought
and takes you away from the
takes you away from being busy with thinking
about what the prayer,
is supposed to do, which is the dhikr
of Allah
When Allah
told Musa
lidikri. When He revealed Himself to Musa, He
told him, Worship Me. Verily I have chosen
you as a prophet.
He said that, Verily
I am Allah
so worship Me and then what?
For what reason?
For my remembrance
for my remembrance. So remembering something else other
than Allah's beautiful names and attributes and its
manifestation
in your life is that which is from
the Alafkar, these thoughts. And they don't have
to be haram thoughts.
So this is the 3rd type, and this
is a higher level. He said it is
the one that preserves
its limits, its pillars,
and he fights himself
in the fights against the whispers of Satan
and of those fleeting thoughts.
So this individual
is busy
with fighting
the enemy.
So the enemy doesn't kidnap his prayer,
doesn't steal from his prayer,
doesn't
take him on a a trip with those
thoughts
that he has or that has come inside
of the prayer. Notice
that the afkar
these thoughts are there.
They will come. This is how Satan will
try to affect you. You sometimes, we think
that since we've we've entered the prayer chalas,
Satan has no way of coming into the
prayer.
No. Satan can still come and try to,
Yezlik Salatak. He will try to steal or
take from your attentiveness
in the prayer
and rob you of your prayer.
And then he concludes this third type by
saying,
so this individual
is consistently in a sacred combat during the
prayer, and this can happen a lot with
those that are coming back to salah, that
are coming back to the prayer and they're
in their stages of trying to be their
best, but so many things are coming back
to them because you just made a huge
attempt to change your life and to try
to be better and to do an action
that requires
undivided attention, but Satan is trying to come
to you and influence that little amount of
struggle
that it took a long time for you
to obtain. Or you had a moment that
brought you to this moment
to where you made it. You said Allahu
Akbar. Many things on your way to the
Masjid,
turning the television off, getting off the phone,
you made it to the salah, but within
that, you're struggling
because you're trying to erase your thoughts, bad
thoughts, or it's even good thoughts that you
realize is distracting you. Satan was still trying
to come. So you're still trying to tojad
nafsak. Literally, in your salah, you're saying.
Or in your mind, you're thinking of that
television show, you're thinking of that person, you're
thinking of that location that you were at
or what you were supposed to buy from
the store or whatever it may be, and
you transition back to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala,
how he saved you from that person, how
he saved you from, doing these things. You
remember a name of Allah, that he is
a razzak. He provided you with this iman,
and you made the right choice. So that's
the mujaharah. That's the struggle, and Allah loves
the struggle.
And then he
mentions
He says,
the one that establishes
or stands in the prayer and completes
its rights, its pillars, and its limits.
And then he says
the the the the the taking care of
the prayer or taking care or taking into
high consideration
those limits and its rights
is that which
overpowers his heart and fills his heart. He's
so concerned with doing the right thing.
He's so concerned with fulfilling the essential elements
in his limits to where his heart is
absorbed and safeguarding
the prayer.
And then he says
to where nothing is lost. He doesn't,
he's not neglecting any reward or any action
or thought
that can take away from that reward. He's
very diligent in this. And then he says
he
says rather his whole concern,
his entire concern becomes
performing the prayer
as it should be
as it should be and with completely
and perfectly.
That is his concern.
This is a high level and this is
a level that we should strive to get
to. Now know that know that, you know,
you may be at level 1 or may
have been at level 1 when you weren't
practicing, and now you're at level 2. Hopefully,
you're at level 3 aiming to get to
level 4. So we see the distinction
is that this individual,
his primary concern in the prayer is trying
to do it perfectly and completely
to where your heart is filled.
So his heart is completely concerned with the
prayer
and his servitude of Allah and this is
what is beautiful
that his heart
is totally filled with
the affair of the prayer,
number 1. And then he says
and his servitude
of Allah in it. And this is what's
interesting.
Shatnu Salah here could be the affair of
the prayer meaning that He fulfills
the pillars and
the actions that are non obligatory.
So for example, they say SubhanAllah
more than 3 times or more than once
in some in some of the schools of
thought
when he increases himself
in these certain supplications and invocations in prayer.
You know that there are sunnahs of the
Prophet
when he would say, Allahu Akbar, Subhanakkalahu.
Let
glory to Allah.
Glorified is your name.
That your name is blessed
and your authority
is exalted. So When you are saying that
before even reciting Fatihah,
it is a way to prepare you mentally
which can ultimately transcend and fill and enrich
your heart to keep your attention
undivided undivided.
So this adhikar
is that which causes your heart to be
enriched and full of remembrance.
So when one does that, that is when
they reach this 4th level. That is a
way of memorizing what the prophet
said and the additional acts outside
of the arkan, the obligatory acts. Then he
mentions here,
So he says, the 5th one is that
he does everything in the 4th,
but Mahadeh, in this situation,
he took his heart and placed it in
front of Allah
He placed it in the hands of Allah,
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And then he says here,
now looking at him with his
heart, vigilant before him,
filled with love and glory. And that's when
he says here,
that his heart is filled with monitoring
and being aware of Allah's presence
and it's filled
with his love and glory.
He says Allahu Akbar.
He's he's he's he's diligent of what's obligatory.
Fine. He's he's diligent of the general servitude
that I'm supposed to do this because Allah,
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, wants me to, and I
love the fact that I'm doing it and
my I'm trying my best to do it
completely and perfectly. But this level, it's all
of that, but his heart is totally broken
and,
for lack of better words, given
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to where
his attention, it is far from being undivided
to the degree that he may not even
be aware of what's around him.
That's how deep this prayer becomes to him.
It is going to be
very hard for something to distract him away
from this state.
Recognizing the glory of Allah, the greatness of
Allah, the the the the bounty of Allah,
and again, one of the strongest ways of
doing this is to recognize His names and
attributes, the beautiful names that He has. So
when you say Arrahmanir Rahim Bismilaharmah
Alhamdulillah
Allah is Al Hamid.
He is Praiseworthy
for all things. What He has given for
me for my family, for my intellect, my
health, my wealth,
and He can easily take it away.
He's praiseworthy because of that. Not praiseworthy for
what He has given me, and what he
has taken away. Alhamdulillah. No problem. No.
I praise him for every single thing that
I encounter
because He wants what's best for me, therefore
He deserves praise. So that is when the
heart becomes full and you think of the
greatness of creation and know that Allah is
greater than it or the greatness of a
situation
and know that Allah Subhauta'ala is the one
that put it there for divine wisdom and
you trust in that wisdom and you ask
a subur to make you patient if it
is something that has trialed you. This is
how your heart becomes full
with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His greatness.
Then he says
and it's as though he sees him and
he witnesses him.
So
these whispers of Satan
and
fleeting thoughts have vanished.
And what's so beautiful about Ibn Uqaym is
in his writing, it is as though he
is telling you the process
like this will happen and because this, this
will happen. So
everything in the 4th has happened. You come
into prayer, you're attentive,
you are trying your best to do it
perfectly and attentively
and completely and completely
but then you reach a point where your
heart is full, you start to think of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
It is as though you see his greatness.
Have you ever looked at something like a
mountain
or a situation and your heart is just
filled with
the
grand event,
the moment,
like you remember the smells at that time,
you remember what you were wearing, that is
you encapturing the moment
and being present at that moment. That's what
he's talking about. You're encapturing the greatness of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'la at that moment.
When you reach this level, there is no
room for whispers of Satan.
There's no room for any fleeting thought.
That's the euphoric state, some would make may
call it. He says,
and the veil is lifted between him and
Allah.
Glory be to him.
And he
says,
He says, so this situation between
this individual
and the other individuals,
maybe the other four
levels,
in this situation of prayer is greater
than the distance between
the heavens and the earth,
showing this is a high level.
This is the top level.
He says,
For He is occupied only with His Lord
the Almighty in prayer in which He finds
His source of gladness.
Ness. So this is beautiful from Ibn Uttayim
when he mentions
these types of people in their prayer and
then he kind of sums it up altogether
when he says
He says here, of the 5 persons, the
first will be punished,
the second admonished,
the third redeemed,
The 4th, rewarded,
and the 5th, brought near to his lord.
He says from an,
brought near to his lord, for his source
of gladness has been placed in the prayer.
And then he says here, and whoever is
gladdened by the prayer in this world will
be gladdened by his nearness to his Lord
in this world and the next, and that
is so important
because remember, Ibn Uqayim was talking about those
that find a burden
in the prayer.
They find their or their their means of
tranquility outside of the prayer to where the
prayer in and of itself
can serve as a distraction
from that
which they find peace in.
And SubhanAllah, this is a huge test
for those
that may find
their tranquility in drugs,
in drinking,
in the voice
of a loved one, a person,
in a device,
in a place to where when they are
told that they have to
divert their attention from that to something
that requires
their utmost attention,
it becomes a distraction and this ultimately
goes back to
what is your allegiance and love truly to
what?
This is why understanding and knowing Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala
is paramount
because this type of situation,
these are examples
of that which branch off from that Aqida,
that belief, that Tawhid.
And that's what he mentions here, SubhanAllah, whoever
finds gladness in this
will find gladness with Allah
in the next life. وَالَدَا بِيمِينِي بِيمُمْ بِيمِي
بِيمِيمِيمِيمِيمِي بِالحِيمِيمِيمِيمِيمٌ
and
in others.
And then he also said here:
Whoever finds the gladness by the nearness of
his Lord in this world and the next,
he who finds gladness in god, gladness in
others in return. But whoever does not leaves
the world
as a loser. And that's what he
says.
He will leave this world in in no
gladness. He will leave this world, SubhanAllah,
as one of those that are the losers.
So, again, this serves as the ultimate foundation.
Now one way to say, okay. I find
gladness in in in things, but, I mean
and I don't pray.
Well, we say that that gladness is something
that is temporary
that you may face in this life. Because
make no mistake,
the ultimate source of happiness
is your connection
with your Creator.
And struggling to find that connection
is struggling to maintain
the richness
of
contentment,
which could be synonymous with happiness.
The richness richness of contentment,
which which could be synonymous with happiness. And
I think contentment is much more of a
befitting
word to use. Why?
Because when your grandmother passes away,
when your young child passes away, you're not
exactly happy and elated and glad,
but you are content at the moment.
You are content and that contentment
is the anchor and source for your happiness
because that contentment
will make you pleased
with what Allah has predestined
to where when you look at a photo
of Him or someone mentions his or her
name,
you are happy. Why?
Because you eventually
have had closure
and you realize that that child, that person,
is with their
Lord. Their nafsul mutumah inna,
their tranquil soul has returned to Allah, pleased
with him and him being pleased with it.
May Allah make us of those that are
pleased with the predestination
and may he make us of those
that preserve our prayer
and that are attentive
to his greatness
and that allow us to be of those
that worship Allah as though we see him,
though we do not see Him, know that
He sees us.