Amjad Tarsin – Having Divine Reverence Khushu & Presence of Heart Hudur AlQalb in Prayer
AI: Summary ©
The importance of finding one's presence in a prayer and finding one's heart to be at the center of one's life is emphasized in Christian faith. Prayer properly and finding one's presence in the mind are also key elements for achieving faith and satisfaction. It is also emphasized that distractions and distractions in the heart can affect one's actions and thoughts, and that it is important to avoid distractions and be present with Allah subhanahu wa. The importance of finding small and polished areas and avoiding distractions is also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
So Inshallah, in this session, we're going to look at reverence
hushore and presence of heart in no salah, and we're going to look
at Imam Al Ghazali section on the merit of reverence, of having
khushur. And it's important to understand a little bit of the
context of the ahria alum din and that people did not really before
Imam Al Azali, one of the amazing contributions that he gave this
ummah is that he was able to really merge people's
understandings of the outward and the inward sciences. And as Shaykh
Yahya said previously, that really this is a science because of the
systematic way that he actually details the spiritual path and
explains it in a way where he's able to break down, you know,
various elements and sub points that are all interrelated. So one
of the things that's important is that people were focused on the
outward validity of the Salah. Is that if the Salah is valid,
according to the fuqaha, which is important, then the Salah is
considered valid. And Imam Al Ghazali is highlighting for us
that if the whole purpose of the Salah is to draw close to Allah
subhanahu wa taala, and as we're going to see what Alima salad Ali
vikkiri, the first verse that he mentions is that Allah subhanahu
wa taala says in the Quran and establish the prayer for my
remembrance is that the prayer is not actually truly established, if
it does not contain the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa
taala. So he says, if someone is in the prayer and they don't know
what they're saying and they're not, they don't have this
reverence. They don't have khushwar and presence of heart and
the various inner states that Imam Al hazali mentions that Shaykh
covered in session two, then really it's just movements and
emptiness internally, and that's not what Allah subhanahu wa taala
wants from us. So he's also speaking to certain people who
might not consider hushore and presence of heart as a condition
for the validity and acceptance of the Salah. So he's coming at it
from this angle. And I think for our purposes, we already
understand the importance of that. So he begins with the verse that I
mentioned, walis establish the prayer for my remembrance is to
remember Allah subhanahu wa taala, and the goal of all acts of
worship and the goal of all that we do in order to seek nearness to
Allah subhanahu wa taala is to have presence of Heart.
So if we are in Salah, you know we want to have presence of heart,
because that really is the indication of coming closer to
Allah subhanahu wa and truly remembering him. When we avoid
what is haram. We do so because we have presence of heart, and we
have an awareness of Allah subhanahu wa and that he sees us
and has forbidden us from that thing. So we avoid it. When we
engage in charity, or we seek knowledge, or we attend the
gathering of dhikr, the goal in that is to have presence of heart.
What Salat Ali dikkiri establish the prayer for my remembrance and
Allah subhanahu wa taala says in another verse of the Quran, what a
takum min al Rafi and do not be of those who are heedless and
neglectful.
Do not be of those who are heedless and neglectful. So Imam
Al Ghazali says, If someone makes an oath that they're going to
speak to the king, or they're going to engage in a particular
verbal statement, I swear that I will say this particular thing.
And then while they're asleep, they actually talk in their sleep,
and they say what they swore that they were going to say. He says
they actually haven't fulfilled their oath because they were not
conscious of it. So even though they might have said unconsciously
what they swore that they would say, because they were not
conscious when they did it, it doesn't count. So the same can be
said about the Salah
and Allah subhanahu wa taala says in another verse of the Quran,
letter Quran
to do not approach the prayer while you are intoxicated until
you know what it is that you are saying.
And Imam Al Ghazali, he says, How many a person who's engaging in
the.
ADA has not has not consumed alcohol, or is not intoxicated,
but does not know what they are saying in the prayer.
So he says, okay, that part about while you are drunk or while you
are intoxicated does not apply to the generality of believers and
people avoiding that act that is haram. But then he says, the
condition that's associated with it still applies
until you know, you're aware of what it is that you are saying. So
Imam Al Ghazali says, if a person is praying and they're unaware of
what they're saying that applies to presence of heart and
understanding that Shaykh Yahya covered in the previous session.
Then,
you know, then they, they still fall within this category. Do not
approach the prayer in that state. So you have to be aware of that
the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa sallam, he said in the Hadith
mansala, Raka, a tiny LEM, you had this nefsa Who finima, beshem in a
dunya, rufir, ALA, Huma, takadem, Amin dembi, whoever prays two
rakats and their nefs does not. You know you are not. You are not
listening or giving the opportunity to your nefs to speak
to you about things of the world. The reward for having that level
of presence in the Salah is that Allah forgives your previous sins.
So
once again, Imam Al qazali is saying this is critical for the
prayer to be accepted, to be of those people that Allah, subhanho
wa taala, when they establish a true prayer, they're transformed,
and they avoid al FAQ in decency and wrongdoing by being present in
The Salah, by not giving into the insinuations and the internal
conversations of the nafs that take us into the dunya. And what
we're going to look at shortly is how to identify those outward and
inward distractions and how to deal with them. We'll get to that
inshaAllah to Allah. But if a person has that level of presence,
their previous sins are forgiven.
The Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa ali, he was a Muslim. He also said
In another Hadith,
in nama 40 salatu wa Umi, Rabbi * wa tawafi wa Asha, ratil
Manasi, kuli, imati, dikillah, Gita, Allah, the Prophet salallahu
alaihi wa sallam, said, in a hadith Narrated by Abu Dawud and
at Allah, subhanho wa taala, made the prayer and obligation and
commanded the Hajj and The circumambulation and the various
rites of worship associated with the hansh, for what purpose, in
order to establish the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted,
in order to establish the remembrance of Allah the Exalted.
So that's an indication, once again, that the hushuar is the
life of the prayer. The hushuar is the life of the prayer.
And Imam Al Ghazali then gives us another, another very useful way
of understanding how we get into that mindset.
The Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wa salam we might sometimes hear,
sometimes the Imam, when leading the prayer will say this, pray a
farewell prayer.
Let the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu, alayhi wa sallam, he's
the one who said Wahid al salata, more muddying if you pray, then
pray the prayer of someone who is bidding farewell. And Imam Al
Ghazali says there are many layers of meaning to this farewell. What
does it mean to bid farewell? Imam Al Ghazali then says this is not
part of the Hadith that a person is saying farewell to his own
nafs, farewell to your insinuations and your desires and
your love of the world. Farewell to the nafs, farewell to one's
passions. They're not thinking about those things in the Salah,
ideally. And then he says farewell to one's life.
They say that, as if you're bidding farewell, that this is the
last prayer that you will pray before you meet your Lord. And if
that was the case, that would be a transformative prayer
if someone knew, let's say, for example, may Allah protect us that
there was someone oppressive who said, you know, I'm going to
execute you and take your life. You have one last prayer that you
can pray. What would be the state of that prayer before you know
that you're going to meet Allah subhanaw?
I want to add, it would be full of khushu and full of hope and full
of fear and asking ALLAH SubhanA khair for the most important
things and not being distracted by anything Allah, there is nothing.
What am I going to think about the world for when it's done?
So the messenger of Allah swt is telling us that when you have that
mindset, that is the way you are supposed to pray.
That's how you truly access the
hoshallah, ILAHA, illAllah.
Now I'm one of the highest predecessors, and this relates to
what Imam Al Azari said previously. He said, Adam, Oh, son
of Adam, oh human being. Either she had be ready. Isn't in the
* if you want to enter into the presence of your Lord without
permission, without a formal invitation, you know the kings of
the world, special time, special you have to talk to the right
person you have you might have to pay people some bribes to might
owe some favors and all of that type of stuff in order to get to
the people of the dunya. If you want to get to Allah subhanahu,
he's saying, if you want to enter his presence without even a formal
invitation or permission, you can do so he said, How so said, you
make your wudu and you enter into your mihrab,
and then you enter into the presence of your Lord without any
formal permission, and you get to speak to him without any
translator,
like it's that level of nearness and intimacy you
know someone will at least have a representative, or someone who's
going to keep the time you can only speak for this Long in these
formal settings of the people of the dunya, Allah subhanahu wa TAS
left the door open whenever you want,
in dua inswala, in turning your heart to Him, the door is always
open,
as Sayyida Ayesha Radi Allahu anha, she's telling us here about
the state of the Prophet, salallahu alaihi wasallam, and how
this relates to khushwar, the complete focus and priority he
would give the salah that she said, and you know, she's the wife
of the Prophet saw him, so she knows, you know, some of these
private details and intimate details that Maybe other people
might not have been privy to or might not have witnessed. So he
says, the Messenger of Allah Ali, he said, when he was at home, he
would speak with us, and we would speak with him, that we would have
these family conversations, and he would listen to them, and they
would say things about what was interesting to them, or their day,
or what they were going through, and the Prophet would listen, and
then he would also talk to them. And there's actually a beautiful
sunnah that not many people are really aware of, is that the
Messenger of Allah, SWT, he would speak to the Sahaba about whatever
they wanted to talk about. It's all Messenger of Allah, you know,
my camel is kind of not feeling well, you know. Oh, really, what?
How, what's going on? And he would, he would engage and
entertain whatever was important to them, sallAllahu, alaihi wa and
his heart is with Allah subhanaw taala. But look at the mercy, you
know. And there are many, many beautiful examples of that, you
know. And I'm reminding myself, and all of us, especially with,
you know, these devices and kind of being having our attention
always, you know, scattered, is that when you're with someone,
it's a sunnah to give them your full attention, and even
physically, the Messenger of Allah SWT. And when he would turn to
someone, he would turn to them at the entirety of his body to give
them that full attention, if that is the consideration that he gave
to other created beings out of His mercy and His noble character.
Imagine when it's time to stand in the middle.
Imagine when it's the time that he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam yearns
for the most to be with Allah subhanahu wa taala. So say that,
saying that he would talk to us and we would talk to him for
either habla at this salah, but when the time for the prayer
entered, the Adan goes off. It's time for Salah, Faka and nahula
arifu. It's as if he didn't know us and we didn't know him. There
was nothing else in the world except responding to the call of
Allah subhanahu
wa and just imagine that he was a Bihar.
Give us, bring the what brings us comfort. Give us what brings us
comfort. Oh, Bilal, and that was the Adan, because it was the
initiation, or the beginning of entering into the salah.
The Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasalam said, la yamulla Hu ILA
Salatin, la Yani,
that Allah does not look at a prayer in which a person.
Heart is not present with their body.
And what does that mean? It means that they're present in the Salah
when they say that you know your heart is present, like, where are
you? Someone might be here. Say, where are you? Because their heart
is somewhere else, their mind, their imagination, is somewhere
else. You have to be here with Allah that your heart is present
with the rest of your body. It's not just the movements in the
Salah, which is once again an indication of acceptance from
Allah. SubhanaHu wa
mentions that Prophet Ibrahim Al khalila Ali his salaam, he said
when he would enter, when he would stand up to pray, they could hear
the intensity of his heartbeat from two miles away,
that his heart would beat with such power, and there was a
reverberation from his heartbeats that people could hear it from two
miles away Because of the the magnitude of standing before
Allah, Subhanahu wa,
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa Alam, he saw a man.
He saw a man playing with his beard in the Salah.
Man playing with his beard in the Salah. And he was praying, just
kind of going and the Prophet said, kind of going on the
parasite. If this man's heart had reverence and this all before
Allah, his limbs would follow suit and be in awe of Allah subhanahu.
I remember hearing our teacher, habibi Amar, commenting on people
sometimes they have, like, if you have, like, a ADAL or a Shma. And
he said, every couple of seconds, a person's fixing what's on their
their head gear, and they're moving things around. He said, you
know, how can someone do that while standing before Allah
subhanahu wa so you
have to, you have to be careful, even to the extent that they say,
if you're wearing, for example, like it's a sunnah to wear, arida
to wear, like a shawl for you know that when a person is praying, if
they feel that it's going to move around and fall around and flap
around, that they put it on the ground in front of them so that it
doesn't distract them,
right? So, you know, if a person's heart has khulshu, the limbs will
follow suit. And it's not something that is kind of this,
you know, this synthetic, like this manufactured, fake way of
having where a person just goes like this, and they kind of, you
know, overdo it physically, no, but it's, it's a balance.
Everything is a balance. And it really is, yes, if your heart is
present with Allah. Maybe there might be an impact on the way that
you stand or the way that you move, but the aslid is to begin
with the heart and to have just the Sunnah balanced way of
standing and having moderation in all things. And then if someone
feels a particular verse, I remember one of the most amazing
things I ever experienced. And I was young. That was, like, 22 at
the time when I first was blessed to go study in habur, amote, in
Yemen, Abda, Al Mustafa, and it was Ramadan. And there were just
so many things that happened where it was like, Wow, this, deen is
real. Like, you know what's but then there's like, things that
happen with this. Deen is real, you know, you see, it lived at
that level. It's different. So I remember it was salatu tarawier,
and we're talking about prayer. And this is really, you know, this
is just kind of a beautiful example, especially in today's
world, there are people like that today,
where I remember is the first night of Ramadan. If I'm not
mistaken, it happened multiple times on multiple nights, but the
Imam was, was reciting the Quran and Salah to tarawier. And it was,
it was very majestic, the way he recited the first night of
Ramadan. It felt like you really, we always, we always feel it.
Alhamdulillah. Many people really notice that when Ramadan comes in,
there's like this shift in the cosmos. Something has changed. So
it was intensified, because being in the company of such people. And
then there was a man that I heard, you know, somewhere to the left or
behind, wherever he was standing. And as the Quran was being
recited, and it was intense, he said, and
he passed out,
you know, and I'm praying, I'm just kind
of like, what, what? Like, I can't look back and see who I never I
never saw who it was, and just SubhanAllah. And I was like, this,
deen is real, like you hear about the Sahaba being bedridden for
days and weeks from the Quran,
you know, and, and it's like the Quran here is not just some
somebody with a nice voice who recites it, and there's inshallah
good in that.
But it was like, this is the Quran, that you realize, if it was
revealed to the mountain, the mountain would would crumble
underneath the weightiness of the Quran, like there are people whose
hearts you know are present with Allah subhanahu wa, and once
again, you can't fake that level of presence with someone of a
special state with Allah subhanho wa taala, but it goes to show that
there are still people experiencing these Really powerful
realities of the Salah,
masha Allah.
And then Imam Al Ghazali tells us a few stories of people who had
such a high level of hushuar in the Salah that they were totally
unaffected by their surroundings, right? But that's a very high
level. And as Imam Al Ghazali is going to tell us shortly, when he
talks about the way to have presence of heart. That is a very
select few of people who attain that level, where, for example,
Sayyidina Ali Zana al Abidin was praying, and one of the pillars in
the masjid broke, and there was a large sound and a crash that
happened when it took place. And after he was done with the Sada,
they asked him, did you you were in the masjid when the pillar
broke and it and he didn't hear anything.
And there was a Sahabi who had to have his leg amputated. They said,
you know when he is going to be intense, it's painful. He said,
amputate my leg when I'm in the sada.
These are the realities that the Sahaba had a RadiAllahu, anhu, and
they amputated it, and he became aware of it after he finished his
prayer. Now, these stories are not meant to make us feel like, Oh,
I'm so terrible. I can't even do 1% of that. But it's a it's it
shows us the potential and the possibility. And when we hear
about these great people, it is meant to encourage us and inspire
us, not the other way around. Like, oh, I'm never going to be
like that. I might as well, you know, pack my bags and just like,
I'm useless, I can't do that. No, that's not what we want see.
Inshallah, the one who gave to them can also give to me
Subhanallah, the one who chose those people to be of the people
of nearness to him. Can choose me inshaAllah to be of those people,
each and every one of us inshaAllah. And the fact that
Allah has brought us together to study on how to pray properly is a
sign that Allah has extended his mercy to us, and we ask him for
Tow fear not Ali abuna,
Abu Talib, Abdi, Allahu, Anhu akar Ramah to Salah yet as El zaloo,
wala ya Tala, when wachu Sayyidina, Ali and Abi Talib, may
Allah be well pleased with him and ennoble his countenance. When the
time for prayer would enter, he would start to shake and his face
would change color. They said, Malaka Yamir al meaning, so what's
going on, O commander of the believers. And he said, The time
has come to fulfill the covenant, the trust that Allah presented to
the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they refused it and
were in fear of it, and we are the ones who took it on,
indicating that that Amana that Allah, Subhanahu wa Taala mentions
in the Quran, is the Salah. So he the level of reverence, the level
of hushuar and presence of heart, of recognizing, once again, the
significance of what we're about to engage in and stand in.
And then we'll end with this narration. It's a really beautiful
narration
Inshallah, on the this is a statement of hat im al Asmaa, one
of the great pious predecessors of Ali Allahu Anhu. And someone once
asked him about his prayer. So he said, when the time for prayer
enters, Asmaa Tulu wudu, I performed the wudu Well, fully
covering all the limbs and doing it with presence of heart and
intentionality and recognizing that this is the key into the
prayer. And I came, and I come to the pray, the place where I am
going to pray, and I actually sit there. We're going to talk about
this shortly. I sit there until I am collected,
that I become collected, then I stand to prayer. So then I place
the karda. This is a way of using our imagination in a way that is
useful and beneficial. Especially.
Spiritually is to use the faculty of imagination for things like
this. He says, Then I place the Kaaba before my very eyes,
imagining. It says, If I'm standing right in front of the
Kaaba and I place the srira that goes over hellfire, the traverse
that goes over hellfire, I place it at my feet. It's as if I can
see it at my feet. And I imagine paradise to my right, and I
imagine the fire to my left, and I imagine the Angel of Death
standing behind me.
And I think and ponder deeply that this will be my final prayer.
Then I stand and pray, and I am between the state of hope and
fear. So I begin the prayer, and I say Allahu Akbar, and I recite the
Quran with tarti Full recitation, giving each of the letters it's
right, and reciting properly and with reverence. And then when I go
into rukur, the bowing position, I do so with humility. And when I go
into prostration, I prostrate with reverential fear, with this push
or and you know, when I sit in the position,
I do so with sincerity, and when I try to have sincerity of heart,
and when I finish the prayer, I do not know, has it been accepted
from me or not?
Even after all of that, I still remain in a state between hope and
fear. Is it accepted or not?
And Sayyidina, Abdullah ibn Al amahistani, muktaslidatani,
feetrun, minkayami, lahilatin, well, albusa in he says, two
rakais that you perform with, you know well that you're not rushed
and hasty and completing that, but even muktasi, that is that they're
not very long, and they're not rushed, just even two moderate
rakais that are not very long, that you pray while you are
reflecting and pondering what you're reciting and thinking about
your state with Allah subhanahu wa and all of the things associated
with their prayer is better for you than standing up the entire
night in prayer and your heart is heedless. Just two brief, moderate
rakais with reflection are better than an entire night where your
heart is heedless. So we have to have now the Great slalihim. They
have quality and quantity.
But for us, sometimes people think that quantity alone is sufficient.
No, but you want quality. We want quality. And when we have when we
focus on that, then when we start to access the real fruits of the
Salah, then we want more of it, and quantity starts to become very
naturally, accessible and desirable to us.
So now moving on to the section on the distractions, and how we have
presence of heart in the face of these distractions, the outward
and inward distractions. So Imam Al Ghazali, he says beautifully
here, he talks about the inner states of the prayer that shayf
covered, that a believer has to be in a state of reverence for Allah,
the mighty and majestic, in fear of him, hope and having hope in
Him, Having this Haya, this shame before him for one's own
shortcomings, and that these states, they are never totally
separated from the believer according to the degree of his or
her certitude and faith, that there are people who are at higher
levels and people who might Experience it from time to time,
but it is never totally separated from a believer,
he says, and that's their state outside of the Salah. So then it
is only taken away from them, or it is only absent in the Salah due
to Al khawat or al warrida a sharila, these passing thoughts
that come that busy a person.
So if a person in the Salah is not having these states that very
naturally a believer should have, and does have, if they are, you
know, not present as they should be in.
Salah, it's due to these passing thoughts for the wall be who a
different so the treatment, in order to have presence of heart,
is actually rejecting and repelling these passing thoughts.
What a good for Shay who elabid. And this is where Imam Al hazali
is very systematic. He says you cannot repel something or deflect
that thing or push it away, except by finding its root cause. You
have to get to the root of it and deal with that in order to truly
do so. Alam Sababa, so you have to come to know the reason behind
them. And the reason is that it could be either an outward cause,
or it could be something within the person, internally, inwardly.
So then he breaks down both as for the outward
as for the outward. He says that these are the things that pass
through the thoughts and what a person sees, some Asmaa, these are
the things that a person might hear or see when they're in the
middle of the Salah. You know, like you're in the middle of the
prayer. You know, we all have this and there's like a loud sound, or,
you know, your kids, like, start crying, or they're hitting each
other, kind of, what's going on? It takes up your thoughts, the
Hawa that are now coming, the passing thoughts are not, who hit
who? Whose fault was it? You know, and you start to go through that,
those various thoughts that are all interconnected and associated
Imam. Or you see something, you know, oh, that person parked again
in that parking spot, right, you know. And you start to be affected
by those things. For inadvertent, totally fool him. Had to get
Barrow that can then take a person's focus and take them to a
totally different place, okay? And that it just keeps going, you
know, it's like, down the rabbit hole. There's just another passing
thought that leads to another passing thought that leads to
another passing thought. And before you know it, you're like,
how did I How was I even thinking about, like, where did this
thought come from? Why am I thinking about this really random
thing, especially in the middle of my salah. And I don't even know
how I got there.
Come on.
Okay,
none. So then he says, The treatment for that is alter Hadi
al Asmaa, bien Yad, Baba, Sara. So the way to treat that is that you
cut off all of these kind of internal stimulations by being in
a place where your your sight is covered,
that you're praying in an area that is closed off, such that
you're not seeing things from the Outside world that would then
distract you, or that a person prays in their house and it's very
dim or dark, such that they're not looking around and seeing other
things may usually do his set, or he doesn't have something in front
of him that would attract his senses of this. For example, Imam
Al Ghazali mentions that having a very colorful prayer rug that
could be distracting, having a very ornamented, designed prayer
rug can be distracting. And in the commentary that it, Hafez said of
Imam as zabidi. He says that one of the worst innovations is these
extra ornate masajid with all these etchings everywhere and very
overly ornamented. He says one of the worst innovations that has
taken place, and it's actually not befitting for having presence in
maslada, and it's the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallam. This is a
beautiful example to actually just have things very simple in the
masjid. And some of the most amazing masajid that I've ever
been to are very outwardly simple. They're still beautiful. They're
very beautiful, but they're simple. You know, there's just,
it's just white walls, simple, a prayer carpet. And that's it.
Place for the most half place for the copy of the Quran. And that's
it. And you go in there and say, subhanAllah, there's just a
presence that the place, there's it brings you to be present with
Allah subhanahu wa. Then you go to
another place, and it's got all of these million dollar chandelier
and, you know, imported all of these things, and it's overdone.
Now, beautifying places is a good thing, but it's really about
having presence of heart.
And oyak minha says or that you pray close to.
A wall so that you're not able to see anything beyond the place of
your prayer, that you just look at the place of your sujood or you're
not distracted. You can't see anything outside of where you are
praying. No when he then he can. And what I be doing, abuna, and
this is why the people who dedicated themselves to worship,
they would often do so in a very small space that was dimly lit.
And if you've ever visited the khalwah places of many of the
salihin in many Muslim countries, you can find places where great
ulama and great saliheen would engage in a bad and they're
usually very tight. They don't have all these windows and all
these things coming in. They're usually, or if there is a window,
it's kind of covered with a, you know, like a wooden covering or
something, just to get a little bit of light in. And they're not
distracted by anything of the world's very simple, and it's
almost kind of, you know, cramped. And how many people would actually
go and read Quran? And, you know, we hear of the Salah who would dig
their own grave and read, do Huttons of Quran in their graves?
Why? Because it helps you have presence of heart. This is, this
is I'm not distracted by anything in the world, in a place like
this, or in a moment like this now. So you found that many people
in this ummah of the great Sally, they would engage in their Ibadah
in a very small and dimly lit place that was only big enough for
them to actually engage in Sulu kejmad in him. So because that
place helped actually collect all of their focus and remain focused
and determined to only be present in the prayer while Abu ya Minh
hum and those who were had a strength and a great ability, Janu
Yan al masajid wa ya Rabun al Basar, even when they would attend
the prayer in the masjid, they would still keep their sight in
the place of their sujood. They wouldn't look around even those
who had a certain level of experience and steadfastness in
their ibadah. Even then, to be care, they would be careful not to
risk losing their presence of heart
while your own a Kamala Salat, if he Allah Amini Mulligan and the
great Sally Hein, they would consider it from the completion or
the perfection of the prayer, is that you are so present in The
Salah and that you are not distracted by anything around you
to such an extent that you don't even know who prayed to your right
or to your left.
Like, let's say you know the person. But once the Salah is
done, he said, Oh, that was you. Wasn't focused on that. That
person was present with Allah subhanahu wa. So this, these are
the outward causes and the treatment, the treatment is
simple, is that you just minimize your distractions. And even Imam
Al Ghazali mentions, and he's going to mention this in the
inward distractions that we have to find ways of collecting
ourselves before we enter into the salah. And that's one of the great
wisdoms of even having these Sunnah prayers and superrogatory
prayers before the Father prayer, so that we are continuing to
deepen our level of presence and prepare ourselves to stand before
Allah subhanahu wa, and that we say the you know, AYATUL, kursi
and various and various invocations before we enter into
the salah to help collect ourselves and to be present with
Allah subhanahu wa.
So those are the outward distractions, and how to deal with
them and the treatment for them as for the inward distractions, Imam
Al Ghazali says, fahiya Ash, this is even more difficult than the
outward. Outwards. Just turn off the lights. Be present, turn off
your phone, don't think about anything else and just pray. But
the inward, he said, is more difficult for in the mantasha. But
oh, dear to dunya lemian has so whoever's concerns are taken
through the valleys of the various channels of worldliness, they
won't just be thinking about one thing alone, person might if they
see something. So what's that noise? And they think about that.
But if a person has an internal distraction, they can be taken to
all different types of places. But lie azariot that their their
thoughts are flying from one area to the next.
In terms of, you know, vastly different halal and passing
thoughts that might not come to them. And Imam Al ghazari is
saying, if a person, even if they're in a place where there are
no outward distractions, that they're in a small room and it's
dark, that that doesn't prevent them, that doesn't save them from
these types of inward distractions. Okay, so he says, so
the way to deal with that is and ya Rudin NAFSA, me Ma Ya Kara u
fadhi wa Yu shrilu Ha be he ang lady that the first thing is to
force, and this is a really a beautiful and powerful word. One
of the names of Allah subhanahu is Al qahhar, the one who is
overpowering and dominating Subhanallah, that this is the word
that's used here, and yet that a person dominates and forces the
nafs to return back to contemplating and understanding
the words that are being recited in the Salah, okay, and to focus,
and to force it to focus on that over all other things. And what
helps a person do that is that they prepare before they enter
into the prayer, and that they remind themselves of the
Hereafter, and that they will stand before Allah, Subhanahu wa
and the result of that judgment is, is significant, is so
significant and dangerous that they need To think of that in the
moment of the Salah, okay, that it is such an intense Allah.
SubhanaHu wa Tah says that the disbelievers on that day,
subhanAllah, I just learned the meaning of this ayah recently,
that the disbelievers on that day, they when they see the scales, and
when they see the judgment, they will be in such terror that they
will look up and their eyes will be in such horror that they'll be
wide eyed and they won't even be able to blink.
For how many years will they be experiencing that where it will be
so intense that they won't even be able to blink? So you remind
yourself of that in the Salah. What would I be like if I was true
and I am but if the veil was lifted and I'm standing before
Allah subhanahu wa what kind of adab and presence would I have? So
your remind your nafs of that
what you ferrit Looking to look enough see sugar. So this is a
really practical and beautiful reminder that Imam hazadi gives
us. And he says another practical thing you can do before entering
the prayer is that if you have any anything that you're doing and you
want to tie some loose ends, you know that you're you have
something on the in the oven, you have, you know, something that
you're waiting for. There's something going on that is
occupying your thoughts, that you actually finish doing those things
and that comes to an end before you engage in the prayer, because
then he's, oh, my alarm is going off. It's still not it's going to
burn. I'm waiting for this important phone call. A person's
constantly going to be thinking about those things in the Salah
that you try your very best to, you know, tie all those loose ends
so that when you enter into the Salah, there's nothing on your
mind.
You know, one of the things that we have to do is, you know, put
our phones on silent, maybe even put it in a totally different
room, and just enjoy this
when we meet Allah, Subhanahu, Wadah,
you know, we will not regret, oh, that phone call I missed, or that
text message I missed, and whatever it may have been for
those moments that we are with Allah subhanahu wa.
So just having, you know, practically taking the means
available to us, anything that's, that's, oh, I have to write this
email. Oh, it's extremely do that and then engage in the prayer with
presence of heart.
So Imam Al Ghazali says, This is how you actually calm yourself
from all of these various thoughts. Okay? And then he says,
How do you deal with it at the root? So this is he's saying, this
is helpful for just having these passing thoughts that are coming
through to kind of deal with them in the moment. But then he says,
How do you deal with it at the root? And he says, You have to
look at these things that are occupying your mind that busy you,
and you have to say, where is the source from which they're coming
from? And Imam Al Ghazali says, the things that busy.
See you are the things that you find important. You're not going
to think about things that are not important to you. So he says, and
then you realize that those things that are important to you, if
they're distracting you in the Salah,
and they're they seem more important in that moment than what
you're actually in. He says that those stem from your desires.
Those thoughts stem from what's important to you, what's important
to you, if it's getting in the way of your Salah, it stems from your
Shah. What stems from your desires for you are Ali Mina, Sahu Binu,
keshawat Wala. So then the way that a person disciplines the nafs
is by cutting off those attachments, is really trying to
uproot those desires and cutting off those attachments. And really
that is freedom,
you know, now, even in a material sense, people are talking about,
you know, minimalism and things of that nature, you know, what you
own, owns you, and not living like like that anymore, but actually
realizing that there's so many more meaningful things, even in a
worldly sense, more than all of these things that occupy us. So
you have to get to the root of it and cut that out fakulam Society
for who will do dini? Because everything that distracts that
person in his Salah is contradictory to his Deen,
and it is the soldiers of Iblis and one of his the Muslims enemies
for him, Saku, who Allah ralem, so holding on to that thing. And he
mentions the story of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And
this is for us to learn that the Messenger of Allah had a ring. And
he's when he was giving the he delivered the Khutba, and he would
look at his new ring, salallahu alayhi wa alay wa sallam. And then
he said, This ring has distracted me, and he gave it away. SalAllahu
alayhi, salam to teach us how you break those attachments.
And if this is getting in the way, I'm going to give it away. I don't
need it. And that way I will be light before Allah subhanahu wa
and then finally,
he tells us a few stories of some of the Sahaba so about Salafi,
haitu fi shaja, the Abu talaha, he was praying in an enclosed place
where he had some trees there. So as he was praying, he saw a little
bird that flew from the trees, and he was impressed by the beauty of
the bird, so he said that his eyesight followed the bird.
So when he was done, he mentioned to the Messenger of Allah the
tribulation that he was afflicted with.
Look at the level of the saham. It's a bird flying the tribute.
But he's this God in the way of my salah. So this is one of my
enemies, and one of the things that is harming my Deen. So then
he said to the Prophet salallahu, alayhi wa sallam, I give away that
those trees in that area that I was praying in, that I own, I give
it away sadaqah for the sake of Allah subhanahu. I don't want it
anymore. He let go of it,
and another, another man did the same thing, and he gave it to
Sayyidina Rahman ibn Affan. And Sayyidina Rahman ibn Affan sold
that garden for 50,000
dirhams or Dinas that he sold it for 50,000
it was very valuable. He got rid of it
because it got in the way of his name.
So we have to really Imam Al hazadi. He's going deep. If you
want to uproot the tree that is bearing rotten fruit, you have to
uproot it.
If I can only get a they did that so they could cut off the source
of all of these passing thoughts, and also as an expiation for their
shortcomings in the Salah. So this is the medicine. This is the
treatment. And it is bitter, it is difficult, but this is the
treatment, because what we mentioned about forcing your nefs
to listen to what's being said in masala, that's a temporary, easier
approach, and it won't solve the problem long term.
Okay, so he says, and that works for weak desires, but if someone
loves the world, then they won't be able to do that. And then
finally, he gives us this, this example. He says it's like a man
who is trying to focus, and he just wants to reflect, and he's
sitting under a tree, and he just wants peace of mind.
And every so often, a bird comes and starts chirping above his head
and flying in the branches, and just takes a branch and.
Hits the bird and it flies away, and
then it comes right back.
It's the bird and it flies away. Now I can think the bird comes
right back. He hits it again. And
then someone tells him, you got to cut down the tree. You got to
figure out a way. You know, we're not now when we're, you know, more
environmentally conscious people don't like that. But he's saying
you have to cut down the tree of the desires, so that the bird of
these passing thoughts has nothing to come back to, and then you can
actually sit and think and be present
in
Allah. And he said, all of these desires, if you really get to the
source of it and the heart of it. It is love of the world, and you
have to really strive and struggle against that.
And he says, Nobody is perfect. He said, there are very few people
who can have, you know, a prayer that is completely filled with
presence of heart with Allah subhanahu wa says lamat mafihili
am 30. Now that's from his humility, someone like us doesn't
have hope in that. Walay Tahu, salaam swas, and even for us just
to have half of it, or a third of it, safe from these insinuations
and these whisperings, even, that's an improvement. Even,
that's an improvement. He said, at the very least, we'll have mixed
some good with our shortcomings. But what he's telling us here is,
once again, not to make us lose hope, but rather to say that we
have to work hard, and we have to do better. So he says it's like
the love of the world and having presence of heart, it's like one
vessel. Your heart is like one vessel, and love of the world is
like vinegar,
and presence of heart with Allah is like water. So the two are not
ever going to mix. But he said, The more water you pour in, the
more it will eventually push out the vinegar and fill it up, which
gives us hope to say that wherever we are, we just strive to do a
little bit better and then a little bit better and a little bit
better. And it's about consistency and really seeking Allah subhanahu
wa taala, assistance and support. We ask Allah, Subhanahu wa tawhi
Sayyidina, Muhammad wa ala Ali. He was a mihi Ajman, Hamdi, dahira,
Amin, jazaka, malahu, khairan, and Inshallah, we'll transition
shortly to Session Four, the inner meanings of prayer. And this is
really beautiful, please. This is kind of well. Everything is
leading to a Shabbat jazakam.