Inner Dimensions of Salah #01
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Channel: Navaid Aziz
File Size: 53.85MB
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And then hamdu lillahi Nakamoto who wants to know when to stop? When other below him in Cerulean fusina woman sejati Medina, Maja de la forma de la De Luca de la, or San Juan de la la la whoa la sharika Hashanah Mohammed Abu Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa and he was, he was seldom at the Sleeman kathira, Allah Medina, Medina, Illa lantana alumni and partner 1000 Lb Magnum Turner was in Maya Kareem.
I need to start off with a
story before we get into the actual class itself. I was approximately, I think, 13 years old, 13 or 14 years old, at this time. And it was at that time where I learned, you know, the importance of praying. And what had happened was, I was in high school. And we had an MSA in the school like a Muslim Student Association. And I would see these guys all the time, but we wouldn't interact much. And as you know, one day time for the hurricane. And no one had taught me the importance of praying vote, like we in our house, we used to pray like Muslim regularly, and he shall regularly but you know, when you're at school, it's like, you know, it's something that is pardoned and forgiven. So I
remember one of these lunches, a brother came up to me, and he's like, Do you want to come and pray and I'm like, pre white. And then he's like, you have to pray there. And I'm like, really, and I'm like, you know, I have an exam coming up or had an assignment that was due that I needed to do, like, you know, inshallah, another day, and he's a brother, if you don't pray, you could become a disbeliever. And at that time, we, you know, it really, really shook me up, it really, really shook me up, I was externalize it that severe that, you know, if I don't pray that I could become a disbeliever. Now, as you learn the book of Salah, you learn that, you know, that is the statement of
the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but it needs to be taken in, in its proper context, that just because you miss one slide doesn't mean that you're kicked out of the fold of Islam automatically. But that really shook me up. And it was at that time where, you know, I made the intention in my heart, that I don't want to miss a laughter this that regardless of what happens, I don't ever want to miss a salon. Now the initial stages of Silla for those of you that have, you know, have had to start praying, you know, in the middle of your life, rather than from your young age, you'll notice that it's a very difficult experience in going from not praying at all, to start
praying five times a day, it requires a tremendous amount of change inside of your heart inside of your life, in terms of your mindset. And that is the you know, thing I wish I knew when I first started to pray that, you know, it's not going to come easily. When you look at some of the statements of our predecessors, they said that it took them 20 years of their life, for them to actually start enjoying their Salah mean that for 20 years, they're just completely struggling with it, you know, really pushing themselves forcing themselves to pray till the day came where they're actually starting to enjoy their purse. So now a question that wants to that should arise at this
time is what actually takes place when a person starts enjoying their prayer. And that's what I want to focus on tonight within the heater Allah. So now that having been said, I want to give a small introduction to the importance of salah and what I want to push this from, is from the state of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam. And from the state of the companions or the Allah on home. When you look at the life of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his real demise in terms of his sickness, it began in the month of robiola with the very beginning of our the end of suffering, that's when it's actually began. And in the last five to six days of the life of the Prophet
salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he would come in and out of consciousness. And as he's coming in and out of consciousness, one of the things that he would constantly ask for, is has my congregation prayed? I mean, he has the Muslim community prayed. And when he would find out that, you know, they've been waiting for the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he would get up, make window and then try to go, and particularly in one of these incidences, he tried six or seven times to get up and go and lead the Salah, but the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would keep falling unconscious. That's how sick the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was, and he shows us
the prophets of Allah why you suddenly had this huge, immense concern. That was his oma praying or not. Now I want to take you to the last day of the life of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. unecessarily Allahu anhu. he narrates that on the last day the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in the morning. He had a window that looked out into the masjid, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he had begun smiling. You know, after days of going through agony and pain, he began to smile. And when he started to smile, we want to look at two things. One, how did the Sahaba de la jolla understand this? they interpreted this smile as he's going to get better now. Everything's
going to be fine, because he was smiling at that time. From the aspect of the province of Allah why Lipson and why is he smiling? He's smiling, because at fudger time, the rows are packed. The rows are full. People are ready to
Pray their Salah, and this is what's making the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so happy that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam knew that as he was passing away, that his alma would still continue to pray. And that made the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam happy, and this ties in directly to the very last piece of advice. The Prophet sallallahu Sallam gave us he gave his oma, so not the last words he spoke with the very last advice he gave to his oma was a Salah, Salah Amalekites a monocle, that the prayer the prayer and that what your right hand possesses. So the Messenger of Allah sallallahu Sallam is telling us no my look as my farewell piece of advice, my
farewell words to you that the last thing, the most beneficial thing I can tell you, is hold on to your Salah, if you were to do it, you will be successful.
Now let's move on to the state of the companions or the lavon home. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he describes to the companions or their loved one whom, what the final days on this earth will look like. And he says that, you know, one day will last as long as a week and one day will last as long as a month and one day will last as long as a year. Now, at this time, the professor sometimes told them about the judges told him about all the fits and all the trials that are going to take place. But the very first thing that comes to their mind is Oh, messenger of Allah, if a day is going to be that long, how will we pray on that today?
How will we pray on that day, and that showed the immense amount of concern that they had from law. You know, it wasn't about saving yourself from all the trials. It was about on that day.
How will I pray
and the Sahaba the Allah on home, took their prayers very, very seriously spy on law, that you regardless of what was happening in their lives, that even when they were they were on the battlefield, the province of allama, New Zealand had taught them how to pray, even though when they were so sick, they were on the verge of their death. departments are seldom taught them how to pray laying down some of them even just with the movement of their eyes. That is how seriously they took their Salah, and they knew that as long as they were establishing their Salah things would have been Alright. Now it is with this introduction, I want to move on to the next part. Whereas the Muslim It
is very important that you understand what are you trying to achieve from your Salah? What are the goals that you're trying to establish from the Salah itself. And I want to share with you three main goals there are many goals of the salon, but there's three goals that need to be highlighted.
The first goal of the salon is to establish the remembrance of Allah subhanho wa Taala Allah subhanho wa Taala he tells us in Surah Taha Aki masala today victory and establish the salah in order to remember me. Now, you'd find that very circular in nature because isn't the Salah a form of remembrance of Allah subhanho wa Taala itself? Yes, definitely it is it is definitely a form of remembrance of Allah subhana wa Tada. But what Allah subhanho wa Taala is telling us over here is two things. Number one, is the greatest form of remembrance of Allah subhanho wa Taala is the Salah, meaning that if you're not performing your Salah, then any other form of Vicar is pretty much futile
and useless not completely, but pretty much futile and useless. Number two, we learn from this objective, that in order for one to remember Allah subhanaw taala meaning that in order for one to be aided and helped in constantly remembering Allah subhanho wa Taala the Salah plays a huge role in that. Now people might ask how can I increase myself in Vicar I will return that to one of the best ways to increase yourself in Vicar is to establish the salon. How So, you'll notice that the salon is set five times a day. And when it's said five times a day means you have to pray at those given times you have windows to pray in between but that is those times that you have to establish the
summer. Now with the Salah, at the end of every Salah is Vicar, the saying of Subhan Allah and Allah Allahu Akbar Allah Allah Allah Allah, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu Sallam taught us that and that is the best form of Vicar that will be taught and can be said by the slave of Allah subhanho wa Taala That is why the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he, he tells the poor companions and Subhanallah it's such a beautiful narration, that the poor companions that came to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and they said the rasulillah, the hub of the foodie Buju that the rich companions that we run away with all of the rewards. He said, How so? They
pray, just like we pray, they fast just like we fast, but they given sadaqa that which we cannot give. So the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he tells Shall I not tell you if you were to do something, it would make you even better than what they do. They said, Of course, he understood Allah. He said at the end of every Salah, say Subhan Allah 33 times sin hamdulillah
33 times say Allahu Akbar 33 times and then other 34 times, and no one will be better than you on the Day of Judgment, except the one that did this and did more. So they come to the Messenger of Allah Azza wa sallam after some time in this era. So Allah, the rich companions found out that secret that you told us, we need something more tell us something more to do. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he summarized at that time, Valley cafard Lola, your team Anisha that is the favor of Allah subhanho wa Taala he gives to whomever he pleases, meaning the individual that uses all of his resources to worship Allah subhanho wa Taala then he is the most victorious he's the one that is
earned that favor from Allah subhanho wa Taala. So the one that remembers a lot that one that gives sadaqa the one that prays the one that fast, then he is the one that use all of his resources to worship Allah subhanho wa Taala and this is purely a favor from Allah subhanho wa Taala. So that is objective number one. Objective Number two, is that the messenger Allah subhanho wa Taala he tells us in a solid 10 handle fashion,
that indeed, the Salah prevents us from doing evil and lewd deeds the Salah prevents us from doing evil and lewd deeds. This is directly tied in to point number one. The first point was that Salah helps us remember Allah subhanho wa Taala so now the slave of Allah that is constantly in a state of remembrance. When and how is he going to find the opportunity to disobey Allah subhanho wa Taala it's not going to happen. If you're constantly worried about your Salah, you're constantly worried the next prayer The next question, the next prayer, when will you find an opportunity to disobey Allah subhana wa tada and it doesn't happen. And that is why some of the predecessors that used to
say that if you find you know that you're committing a lot of sin, the look at the state of your prayer in meetings, that you're doing something wrong in your prayer, and that it needs to be fixed. So that is the second objective of the Salah is that it should prevent the slave of Allah from doing evil and wicked and lewd deeds, because he's constantly in a state of reminded remembering Allah subhana wa tada and he doesn't find an opportunity to do so. And number three, the third objective on the Salah is to attain forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala is to attain forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala How does this forgiveness actually come? As we discuss this today you'll
notice that each and every stage of the Salah from the time of waiting for the Salah time to come to the act of making wudu to the act of saying Allahu Akbar, to the act of going to loco and sujood. All of these phases of the Salah are ways to be forgiven by Allah subhanho wa Taala waits to be forgiven by Allah subhanho wa Taala so now it is with these three objectives that the slave of Allah should approach each and every Salah that I'm approaching my Salah, so that it will help me remember Allah subhana wa tada and I can establish the greatest form of remembrance. I'm performing the Salah, so that this Salah will help me stay away from the evil and bad inclinations of my soul. And
from the whispers of shaitaan I'm performing this Salah, so that I will be forgiven by Allah subhana wa Tada. Now you can already start to see that the slave of Allah when he approaches the Salah with these three things in mind, it's already begun to transform the way he appreciates his Salah. So now as we actually begin the text, with the book we're going to be discussing tonight is called the inner dimensions of the prayer, the inner dimensions of the prayer by time rahimullah, this book is available for free download actually shared the link on my Facebook page. So after the class is over, you guys can download it for free and Sharla. From there, number two, the second thing I want
to mention is the schedule briefly for tonight. So we're going to be breaking this down into two sessions. session number one is going to be running from now all the way till 720. Then we'll have the other end and we'll pray share at 730. And then we will re resume again at eight o'clock we'll resume again at eight o'clock. And then from eight o'clock till nine o'clock we'll go straight again, another one hour session. Now, in terms of questions, I want us to save them for the second half inshallah. So the second half from around 830 or so that's when we will be doing the q&a. So if you have a question, write it down with the lights on if people need paper. Is there anyone that
would like paper and pens, because I see a lot of people are taking notes and I was getting frustrated at that. Because if people truly want to benefit they need to be taking notes. So if there's someone that wants paper and pen, Rizwan Can you just grab some paper from inside the office just grab the the printer paper and grab some of the pens from there. And whoever wants paper and pen you can give it to them and Sharma so everyone's paper and pen just speaker is one and he'll hook you up in Sharla.
Number three,
it is very important that when you approach any subject matter, you approach it with a state of humility, meaning you approach it in such a way
that yes, I know something. But there's always room for improvement in my understanding on particular tool, particularly with what we're approaching tonight. The key distinguishing factor between a Salah that changes someone's life and a Salah that is completely futile and useless is the state of humility in the slave of Allah subhana wa Tada. The slave that has no humility will not benefit from his Salah. But the slave that has the utmost humility, even though he has only a little bit of knowledge will immensely benefit from his Salah. And that's what I want to remind myself and all of you today, that regardless of how much we think we have in the know of Salah that is opposed
to subject matter with humility, and accepting the fact that all of our souls can be improved. For some of us, it may be our recitations were so mostly it will be our standing. For some of us, it will be our sooner prayers, it will be a different perspective for each and every single one of us. But coming in with that perspective, I'm here tonight to learn how to improve my Salah.
So that we begin In the name of Allah subhanho wa Taala, seeking His help and his mercy, and asking Allah subhanaw taala to make this a gathering of forgiveness and mercy, a gathering with which Allah subhanho wa Taala makes us consistent with our prayers as a gathering with which Allah subhanho wa Taala mix of those that love and enjoy their prayers. I mean,
so if not Abraham Allah who is the author of this book, and I'm not going to go into the biography of him because he needs like a couple of sessions just on that, just to discuss his biography. You can read his biography, when you download the book, inshallah, he starts off with giving a parable Give me an example of how the heart is like a piece of land, how the heart is like a piece of land. And he says, Allah subhanho wa Taala has given each and every one of us a piece of land. And what we do with this land, is going to differentiate between those that enter the highest ranks of Paradise, versus those that just grape scraped through, versus those that are rejected from Paradise all
together. And he says that this piece of land that Allah subhanho wa Taala has given us, it requires water, it requires sunlight, it requires someone to look after it, it requires someone to plant things in this piece of land, in order for it to become a luscious, and beautiful garden. And he starts off by saying that the water for this piece of garden, and that which is planted in this garden, is the Salah within of itself. It is the Salah with no of itself. So now that Allah subhanaw taala has given you this land, when you want to plant something in this land, and you want to make it into a luscious, beautiful garden, then approach it in such a way approach it in such a way that
with each Salah, you're watering this piece of land, and something is going to be planted there from which you will reap the fruits of it. He also mentions that what happens to a piece of land when it doesn't receive water, it becomes completely dry and completely barren. And he says this is what happens to the heart of the slave. When he's not remembering Allah subhanho wa Taala it will become completely dry and completely barren. Now when the line becomes completely dry and completely barren, completely deprived of any nutrients, what happens to that piece of land it dies. And in order to revive that piece of land, you actually have go through you have to go through a lot of
struggle to revive it. So he says the damage that is done to the land is in direct correlation to the level of heedlessness, meaning how forgetful and how careless a person becomes with their Salah. So the more heinous a person becomes, the more damage is done to the line and the more time it will need in order for that lines to be repaired. Now, how do you tie this into your own life over here? What this means is a person may think to himself, you know what if I miss one Salah, it's not that big of a deal. In fact, it's a huge deal. It is an absolutely massive deal to miss Salah without a valid reason. It's as if you're lighting that piece of land on fire. That's literally what you've
done. You let that land on fire and you miss multiple servers, then you liked it even more. Because if you're destroying it yourself. Now imagine the time comes where Subhanallah you've been eating this all this time and you think to yourself, you know, Why is my heart so hard? What is my doing wrong? You know, it seems like I'm a good person. Why don't I have that tranquility and serenity and peace in my life. What's happened is that piece of land that Allah gave you completely destroyed. Now just like it took you a long period of time to destroy that piece of land, to revive your heart to bring your heart back to life is going to take just as long it's going to take just as long and
this is why it is so important that people have patience when it comes to their Salah. You know people always ask why is it that I can't become consistent in my prayers.
Some
takes time My dear brothers and sisters, it will take like I mentioned some of the predecessors 20 years for them to begin to enjoy their Salah. For some people it may be more some people it may be less, but the lesson being you have to be patient and you have to have faith in the system that keep doing it and believe in Allah subhanho wa Taala that a day will come where you will enjoy your Salah. And on that day you will recognize that all the struggles that I went through, to perfect my Salah to learn about the Salah to increase myself in horseshoe and the Salah. It was all worth it. Because someone that has tasted the sweetness of Salah he knows that it is one of the sweetest
moments of his life, he knows that it is from the sweetest moments of his life.
Now, beginning with the Salah itself,
the secret and essence of the Salah emoto. He goes on to say the secret and essence of Salah lies in the inclination of the heart towards Allah alone and focusing attention on him while praying. Consider the case of a person whose heart is engaged in one's own thoughts and worldly affairs. He is like a person who visits the king intending to apologize for his own mistakes and shortcomings, but fails to do so but fails to do so. seminal claim or himolla he starts out by sharing the first secret of Salah, the first inner dimension of salah and that is how you actually come and approach the Salah itself.
He highlights over here that when the slave of Allah comes to the salon, his utmost focus should be on Allah subhanho wa Taala at that time, so anything that can possibly distract him, he should have removed from his life already he should have removed from his life already wanting to serve the law. Now let us look at what are some of the things that will distract someone as they're approaching the Salah. Some examples you've given from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself directly that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu Sallam he says that if food is being served, and the time for Salah comes, then eat the food before you go for the Salah, eat the food before you go for the
Salah. Right? So a person is feeling hungry, he should take care of that hunger. Number two, a person needs to go to the bathroom. as well. This happens with my kids in particular, you can tell they need to go to the bathroom. They're like clenching their legs together, doing whatever. But a lot of time comes, they're like, okay, I'll pray. I'll go to the bathroom. And then you see them jumping around in the sunlight itself. And it's like, why won't you just go to the bathroom before the summer comes? Now that's such a valuable lesson. Because as adults, we have better control of our bodies we have a better, you know, I guess self restricted in in how we portray that. But it is
very bad in terms of the the slave of Allah that He asked to go to the bathroom. And he holds it in the whole time. While being completely distracted. He's literally waiting, let the Imam say Salaam so that he can run back to the bathroom. There is no sin upon this Dave if he goes to the bathroom, and he ends up missing part of his Salah, this is part of human life. And people have this really weird thing, or I don't want to make will do again, is making wudu really that big of a hassle. You know, unless Iota is made, it's so easy that you don't even have to wash your feet, you can wash over your socks, don't even take your socks off SubhanAllah. And if you truly understood the value
of Voodoo and what it actually entails, we'd want to make wudu over and over again. So number two, if you have to go to the bathroom, doesn't matter. Go use the bathroom equal door and come and pray. So at least that you'll be in peace. Number three, anything to do with technology. This is always the big ones panela every single salon, I make it a habit, tell the people to turn off their cell phones put it on silent. Someone always always has their cell phone on, or like their vibration is so loud, that it starts vibrating and everything starts shaking this final law. And that's the reality of it that we live in a very technologically engaged world. So if someone's having an
important conversation on WhatsApp, telegram or text message, deal with that conversation first. I understand work is very hectic. Everyone's jobs are on the line. Deal with it first before you approach the salon. No one's telling you you have to completely abruptly stop, deal with it and then come to the salon. Anything that's on your mind that is very urgent deal with it before you come to the salon. You know you had something on your mind. You're looking up, look it up before you come to the salon, because if you don't, you want to be distracted in it in the Salah. Now how does that actually work? The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he tells us that shaytaan runs
through our bodies, just like our bloods does. What does that actually mean? This doesn't mean that there's like small shaped bonds going through our blood vessels. What this means is that shaytan knows our weaknesses. He knows what's on our mind. He knows how we emotionally feel, and he's going to take advantage of all of those things in the Salah.
shaytaan recognize the fact that he wouldn't be able to pray to Allah subhanho wa Taala. Because he denied himself that right. So he made it his mission that anyone that submits to Allah, He is going to use whatever he can to stop them to pray. If he can, if he can't, then at the very least you'll distract them in their prayer. So anything that can be used as a distraction will be used as a distraction. So part of your work of protecting yourself from shaytaan is eliminating all of those things, eliminating all of those things. Number four, urgent matters that need to be dealt with urgent matters that need to be dealt with something that's happening at work, something that's
happening at home, deal with those matters before you start to pray. Again shaitaan will emotionally blackmail you with those things in the salon, he will emotionally blackmail you with the Salah. So the first secret to Salah is eliminating all of the distractions in your life before you approach the seller. Number two the second secret of Salah is actually waiting for the Salah itself is actually waiting for the Salah itself. You'll notice a lot of the times the way that we remind ourselves of Salah is that we'll have an app on our phone, or we have you know the event that goes off that will remind us of salah and this is great. This is really really great. When a person is
extremely busy. They need a reminder, those are great functions to use. However, on your day off on your day that you know you're not extremely busy. Should you just depend upon the app in the event to remind you of salah and the answer to that is no you have to start anticipating the time of Salah you have to start looking towards the time of Salah Why is this the case? Because this is the first stage of forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala when it comes to the Salah, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says the person that is waiting for Salah is like the one that is engaged in Salah the person that is waiting for Salah is like the one that is engaged in Salah. So
you're waiting for the Salah time to kick in so that you can pray. This is the first stage of forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala already Allah subhana wa tada is already forgiving some of your sins. And this is an opportunity that a lot of us you know skip on we it just skips us by the we no longer wait for the select to come in rather than you know rather we just wait no to receive a reminder. Okay, it's a lot of time now. Let me go and pray. So you want to start to develop a habit where you anticipate looking for the Salah. Now, how do you develop that mindset? It starts with understanding how this is a period of forgiveness for the slave of Allah subhanaw taala Can you
imagine that you will be busy studying, you will be busy working, you will be busy doing something. And while you're doing that act, you're being forgiven by Allah subhanaw taala how so because you're waiting for the salon time to kick in, so that you can actually pray that Salah. So that is the second secret of Salah, develop that frame of mind, where you wait for the satellites as if you're anxious for the slot to come. So that when the time comes, you're excited you go and pray the seller. Now you'll notice that this particular is no secret that he mentioned, this is perhaps one of the things that I love the most is because just this point alone will completely completely
change the way you approach the salon. Because anything that you're excited for you look forward to and you can't wait to perform. But anything that you'd have in the developed that anxiety for when you approach it, it's like doing a chore and say doing like labor work. Where's the enjoyment in that, where's the passion than that? It's not going to be there because there's no pre you know, event anxiety, there's no pre event type that's there. And that is the second secret of Salah builds that anticipation for Salah where you're waiting for Salah so that you can perform it and that'll change the way you perform your Salah.
Now, it will claim he mentions a footnote over here, where
he gives an example of there's a spiritual world and then there's the physical world. The physical world is what we're busy with in our day to day lives. The spiritual world is when they're actually engaged in Salah. And he says over here that when a person disengages from the spiritual world, and he comes back to his worldly life, that is when he becomes heedless, that is when he committed sins that is when he you know his shortcomings become apparent to him. So the reason why Allah subhanaw taala established five prayers throughout the day is not because Allah subhanho wa Taala needs those prayers. It's because the slave of Allah subhanaw taala needs to be reminded of the hereafter at
least that many times throughout the day. It's because the slave of Allah needs to be reminded of the hereafter at least that many times throughout the day. So he says in order to extend
perience the true value of prayer, it has to be done on a consistent basis. we're engaging and disengaging, engaging and disengaging. And this is just like going to work that you'll notice if a person works like eight hours straight with no breaks, eventually he breaks down and he can't function properly, he won't be able to work properly. Whereas if he works 15 minutes, takes a 10 minute break, his 10 minute break, 1510 minutes break, then he works and engages at a much higher level, his level of productivity is much, much higher. And that's what Allah subhanho wa Taala wants us to achieve in life, that you disengage from this life and spiritually engage so that when you
come back to this life, you engage at a much higher level. Likewise, you disengage from the life of the Hereafter, to come back to this life, to realize how wretched this life is, and how much we need our prayer that you pray at a much higher level as well. You know, as one of my teachers put it, you pray hard and you play hard. And this is the way it should be work hard, play hard, and that is the way you should approach your Salah. And this is something that even came to him Allah is highlighting as a footnote. Now he goes on to the discussion of Voodoo, the discussion of widow.
She starts off by saying that Allah subhanho wa Taala has created Voodoo as symbolic act he has created will do as a symbolic act, symbol symbolizing what exactly? The first thing it's symbolizing, is the concept of purity itself is the concept of purity itself. Meaning that Allah subhanho wa Taala loves those are those that are pure, and those that purify themselves. So cleanliness is a huge element of our faith. So it's emphasizing and symbolizing that purity and cleanliness. Number two, the second thing it is symbolizing is the hosel that takes place before death, before burial before burial. So when the slaver will not passes away, and before He is
buried, the body is to be washed. So it symbolizes that washing of the body. And as Finally, you can imagine that that each time you made will do you're thinking about death at that time span. Like what if this is the last time I'm making wudu the effect that's going to have on you at that time span Allah number three, it symbolizes the act of sins falling off. So you notice once you make will do, the drops are actually falling off your body. And that is why the scholars actually recommend that unless there's a need to wipe dry your body, you should actually let the drops fall off. Why? Because when each drop that falls off, sins are actually being forgiven. So now you're in really
cold climate you've just made will do you're gonna get sick, if you just keep that water on you dry it off. There's nothing wrong with that. However, if there's no need to let the water drip off, because with each drop of water that falls off of you, sins are being forgiven. And that is the second step of forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala the second step of forgiveness from Allah subhanho wa Taala. Number four, the wet body parts are not like the dry body parts. And what that means is that on the Day of Judgment, the body parts that we made will do with they're going to shine they're going to gleam they're going to you know make us stand out as if something is like
shimmering from us. And that is the the virtue of Voodoo itself that Allah subhanaw taala makes those body parts shine on the Day of Judgment. Now why is it important to shine on the Day of Judgment, on the day of judgment, they're going to be many instances where there's absolute pitch darkness, absolutely pitch dark. And one of the scariest moments of the Day of Judgment is when you are crossing over the Sirat. You're crossing over that thin bridge that is as thin as an eyelash as sharp as a sword. And you have to cross it in absolute complete darkness. The two things that we want to help you the most on the crossing of that bridge is your Salah that will be the greatest
form of light, that the hypocrites in the disability world the hypocrites in general will be coming to attach themselves to the believers because they don't have the light of Salah with them. So they want to hold on to the believers hoping to cross the Surat due to the light that the believers have from their prayer. But that's when they end up falling into the Hellfire at that time. Then the second form of light that people will have is from the activity itself when people are shining and gleaming that the actor will do it grieves that light on the Day of Judgment. Now
reflecting on verses and Hadith pertaining to this, Allah subhanho wa Taala he mentioned the circle Baccarat verse 222 in the law how you hibou Toby know your Hebrew motto hearing that Allah subhanaw taala loves those that repent and he loves those that purify themselves. Related to this verse is the daughter of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam after he would pray.
He will do, he will make mark to Allah subhanho wa Taala Allah john Luminato been with Johnny mama Papa hidden, that Allah making me of those that repent to you, and make me of those that are purified make me of those that are purified. And this goes back to the symbolism of the act of Voodoo itself, that it is not only manifesting physical purity, but it is manifesting spiritual purity as well that sins are being forgiven. And this shows us that the act of physical purity and spiritual purity need to go hand in hand, there is no point in taking multiple showers a day, if your heart is internally corrupt. And Allah subhanaw taala teaches us the opposite as well, that you
can have a heart as pure as gold, if you want to call it that. But if your body isn't pure, meaning you're not performing well do you're not performing whatsoever, then that internal purity is of no value either. Both of them have to come hand in hand. So the point the body needs to be pure and clean, and the heart needs to be pure and clean as well. Now, what is the greatest form of purification that takes place in Moodle? It is the purification of one's heart. And how exactly does that take place? A person the slave of Allah will only perform Voodoo in order to do an act of meaning you're about to pray, you perform Voodoo, you're about to read Koran, you perform Voodoo,
you're about to perform tawaf, you perform Voodoo, all of these acts, require will do to be performed. Now, it is the first stage of submission, the first stage of that activity, by the way and of itself, that is performing will do. And that is why the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he says in such a beautiful Hadith, that whoever says at the end of his will do I testify that there's no one worthy of worship except Allah. And that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is prophet and messenger and that Allah is worthy of praise and glory and he is capable of all things. He will be called on the Day of Judgment, to be entered from any door that he wishes from any door
that he wishes you will be entered into on that day. And this shows us the direct relationship of the oneness of Allah subhanho wa Taala as it manifests itself in Voodoo, that the greatest form of purification is purifying the heart of any association that the heart may have with other than Allah subhanho wa Taala whether it be to this life, whether it be to one's job, whether it be to money, whatever it may be, completely separating that from yourself, as you're engaged in Salah as you engage in Salah.
The next step that MLK Abraham, Allah mentions, he talks about establishing the Salah, in congregation, particularly in the masjid, particularly in the masjid. Now this I believe is something that needs to be, you know, reignited in this oma when we go back to the death of the Prophet salallahu alaihe salam, we said that the reason why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam became so happy was that at first your time the machine was filled, jam packed, people are praying. And he also said I knew that the oma was in a good state, if that is the state as far as your time. Now, when you look at the state of our massages today, I believe there's a lot of reasons why people
aren't coming in. Right, you call for a budget, you come for the holiday come for us. I think 5g and Aster are the two big ones in particular, people generally don't like to come to the budget for budget and also for some reason. The other prayers people who generally show up, when we need to understand is that as men, we need to be praying in the masjid as much as possible as much as we possibly can. You know, it was considered a sign of hypocrisy during the time of the Sahaba if people weren't praying in the masjid. Now we understand the times are different now. masajid are are very far from us. We don't live right next to the most of our houses that are built, you know, with
the machine being the central focal point of the community, things are different. So I'm not saying you know,
exclude your your life from everything and just come in and live in the masjid. That's not the message I'm saying. What I'm saying is try to come to the machine as much as you can part of being a man part of our manlihood or manliness is coming and praying in the machine. That's what truly makes you a man. Now smile. Now the wisdoms behind this are so so many honestly, you can't even count them. But let us begin with some of them. Number one is your Salah is automatically magnified. Number two, the level of who shoe you will have in the masjid is much much greater than the level of a shoe that you will have by herself. Number three, it is an opportunity to interact with your
brothers and sisters in Islam. People that you don't get an opportunity to interact with. You get to meet people that are like minded that Allah is a priority in their life. That's why they're in the masjid number four. It gives you time away from the dunya whether it be from your job, whether it be from home, and the other problem you're having none of that enters into the masjid when you enter the machine during this time.
Have Allah subhanho wa Taala. Number five is that your heart will naturally be more attached to Allah subhanho wa Taala that as you enter the masjid, you're saying Allah, the Hanna Barbera Matic that Oh Allah open for me the doors of your mercy. And as you leave the masjid, you're saying, Oh Allah open for me the doors of sustenance, the doors of benevolence from you, your heart will naturally be more touched, touched to Allah, entering and leaving the masjid. But let us focus on the greatest symbolism behind coming to the masjid. The symbolism behind coming to the masjid number one is the concept of leadership itself. Right? That when we come to the masjid, there is leadership
that there's a person leading us in Salah, showing us the importance of having good authentic leadership that no one should just be you will left to their own devices, and everyone just lives their own individual lives. But at the end of the day, we're a community that lives together. We're a community that will strive and function together. And we need that leadership. Number two, it eliminates all racism, it eliminates all classes. It eliminates all socio economic factors that we devise amongst ourselves. That whether you are black, whether you're white, whether you're Pakistani, or whether you're rich or poor, it is the one that comes to the masjid first that gets to
pray in the first line. It is the one that knows the most Koran, regardless of where he may be from, regardless of how much money he has, regardless of what type of job he has, that gets to lead, the Scylla suit eliminates all of these divisive things that we've put into place in our communities, it eliminates our hearts from them, that regardless of whether I like you or not, I may have personal beef with you. But when the time for Salah comes, I have to squash that beef, put my foot next to your foot, my shoulder next to your shoulder and pray next to you. That's what brings unity to the online, then if you can't pray together, you're not going to stay together. And that established
that is established in the machine itself. Number three, it is a reminder of the Day of Judgment. Yo my Akuma NASA they are behind me that on that day when people will stand up and straight in their lines. Well, john, Rob bukovel, mircosoft and Safa that the Allah subhanho wa Taala will come on that day, and the angels will be lined up row by row. And that is what the rows in line signify. Standing in front of Allah subhanho wa Taala that that day of judgment where we're going to stand, these are the people that you want to be standing next to you don't want to be standing next to you know, some pop idol or some pop culture superstar or some YouTube celebrity you want to be standing
with the people who used to pray in the masjid. So it's as if that is what is being simplified or symbolized that the people I want to be raised with is are the people that I'm praying next to in the masjid. So that's the symbolic nature of praying in the masjid.
Now I will claim Rahim Allah, he actually starts off with the salon now. And he moves on to the secret of the tech beard. The salvage of saying Allahu Akbar. Now from this point on the symbolic nature isn't as important as understanding what you're saying and why you're saying it is. And this is what I'll highlight the most, that one of the most transformative acts that you can partake in for your Salah me to transform your Salah completely, is develop an understanding of what you're saying. One of the greatest disservices we've done to ourselves is that we will approach the Salah without understanding what we're saying and why we're saying it. So now we all know that we begin
the Salah with the statement of Allah Akbar, we begin with Allahu Akbar, Allah is the Greatest. So the first question we should be asking is why did Allah subhanho wa Taala choose this statement, as opposed to an hamdulillah as opposed to Subhan Allah as opposed to La ilaha illa Allah, Allah Allah, Allah, Allah is the heaviest thing that will come on the scale on the Day of Judgment. Why don't we begin with La ilaha illa Allah? Shouldn't we begin with that? The answer is no. We begin with Allahu Akbar, not only because Allah subhanaw taala told us to do so. But because it is the most befitting statement to begin with. Let us look why.
When the slave of Allah starts his Salah, he starts off by saying Allah Akbar, Allah is the Greatest. This is symbolic in nature, not even symbolic. It is used as a reminder, we're the slave of a lot that time, that there's nothing more important in my life right now. Other than Allah subhanho wa Taala. And this is the statement that he will remind himself of time and time again in the salon. So before he goes into the core, he's saying Allahu Akbar, before it goes down into such that he's saying Allahu Akbar, getting off from such that he is saying Allahu Akbar Khan.
constantly reminding himself that there's nothing more important in my life right now. Then Allah subhana wa Tada. And this goes hand in hand with eliminating all of the distractions, that once you've eliminated all the distractions, you now have an opportunity to fill your heart with something. And that is focusing on the saliva itself, that you fill your heart with the love of Allah subhanho wa Taala with the fear of Allah subhana wa Tada. Now, the predecessors they use various tools to engage in this frame of mind for the Salah, that as they said, Allah walkabout, their mind is thinking that what if I was standing in front of Allah? And what if I was, you know
that the Hellfire was behind me whatever the angel of death was, to my right, and the angels that are taking herself or to my left. So these are some of the tools that they used, develop to develop that frame of mind that Allah subhanho wa Taala becomes the most important to them. So understand the statement that when you say Allahu Akbar, you're testifying to it with your tongue, you want to make sure that your heart is testifying to it as well. And that will only be done after you've eliminated all distractions, after you've eliminated, eliminated all distractions. Number two,
is that as you're saying, Allahu Akbar, you're not just facing any random direction, you're facing the direction of the Qibla, the direction of Allah subhanho wa Taala, that Allah subhanaw taala chose this direction. And this is to show that you know, when you're having a conversation with someone, it's very impolite that as you're having a conversation with someone, you turn away from them, right, or you face in another direction while you're speaking to them. So we face the Qibla because we're engaging in a conversation with Allah subhanaw taala when we discuss the fact you have you understand this, so that you face the cabinet to show that my pure attention is to you and you
alone, Allah subhana wa Tada. And as promised, I said, I'm in giving advices on my he says that when one of you is about to start his Salah, then pay very close attention, because you're about to engage in the conversation with Allah pay very close attention, because they're about to engage in the conversation with Allah subhana wa Tada. So their heart should be focused on facing towards Allah, I know it's Allah. And that is why you face the Qibla as you're about to say that to Kabir as well. Now,
the third reminder of Allah who acaba
I want you to think about something, I highlighted something I said that there's one key attribute that the slave of Allah must have, in order for him to benefit from his Salah what was that key attribute? Who remembers one key attribute that you must have, in order to benefit from yourself? We'll call that fantastic that you must have humility. What is the role of humility in the statement of Allah Akbar? When you say Allahu Akbar, you are reminding your nerves, that as great of a businessman you may be as great as an athlete you may be as great of a father, parent, your child, you may be, there is one that is greater than you the one that created you, and that is Allah
subhana wa Tada. So that even if you have the smallest amount of arrogance in your heart, before you start the salon, it is impossible for it to exist when you say Allahu Akbar, because you realize that compared to Allah, you are absolutely nothing. You are very finite, you are mortal. You cannot even control when you eat or go to sleep or have to go to the bathroom. In fact, what we control from our life is very, very little. So as a creation, we have no reason to be arrogant and proud. And that is why with the statement of Allahu Akbar, our focus of that statement should be to eliminate any pride and arrogance that the slave may have, as they begin the Salah, to eliminate it
all, so that the slave of Allah can truly benefit from his Salah can truly benefit from his Salah.
The next thing that is not valuable to him, Allah He goes on to, is to talk about the drought if DITA the dwad that we make, before we start the prayer, I'm actually going to be skipping that section. Because the data that we begin with the prayer with, there's various devices that a person can go through, and there various benefits that can be derived from it. So I'm going to leave that up to you guys to read for yourselves in sha Allah. The thing the next chapter that I'm not going goes on to is the importance of saying are also Billahi min ash shaytani r rajim. Because at this point, you're about to begin your recitation of the Quran you're about to begin your recitation of
the Quran. So before you begin the recitation of the Quran, Allah subhanho wa Taala. He commands us that before you begin the recitation of the Quran, then seek refuge in Allah subhanho wa Taala before you begin the recitation of the Quran. Now what is the importance of seeking refuge in Allah subhana wa tada before you start reading the Quran, you have no claim to him and he puts it very, very
eautifully and this is what I want to share with you. He says, It is as if he is saying to his slaves, you cannot win against this enemy, thus take refuge in me, and I shall protect you against him and safeguard you from his evil and his harm. And that is why before you engage fully into the recitation of the Quran, you begin seeking refuge in Allah subhanho wa Taala. That it is as if you have the sanctuary with Allah subhanho wa Taala that Allah subhanaw taala is going to protect you from shaitaan when you say I will do Billahi min ash shaytani r rajim. Now why is this relevant and important? As I highlighted shaytaan deprive himself of worshipping Allah subhanho wa Taala. So he
made it his goal than any slave of Allah, he will try his utmost ganz best to get him not to pray. And if he can't do that, then at the very least he will use his utmost power to distract the slave of Allah in His Salah as much as he can to distract the slave of Allah subhanho wa Taala in his Salah as much as he can. So it is as if you're anticipating that she is going to come and attack you. And you're saying, Oh Allah, I cannot Ward them off by myself, that even if you've completely taken away of anything that can distract you in Salah. He will find a way to make you careless and reckless in your Salah. And this is a challenge, an open challenge. I want you to try to pray. Not
one Salah just one the rocker in any prayer, where you're completely focused just on the seller, completely focused just on the seller and open challenge. See if you can actually do this. And you will see that it is next to impossible. shaytaan will always find something you're looking at the ground you'll start wondering why is the carpet gray? Why is that gray line? There you are okay, fine. Let me move my eyes away from the carpet. Or look at what's in front of me look at the person in front of you. Or this person is wearing a multicolored shirt on those colors nice. And then one by one she dawn uses whatever's there to distract you. So you're like, Okay, let me close my eyes
and Salah, I'll get concentrated in Scylla you start getting sleepy and select that time. And Satan is added he's had it planned out for ages. He knows what he is doing. And that is why the statement is so relevant that you begin by saying I owe the Billahi min ash shaytani r rajim. That O Allah, I need your help against shaytaan I need your help. I can't do it without you. And that is why you begin with all the Billahi min ash shaytani r g. Now he has a very nice section over here called the advice of Ibn taymiyyah to ignore him. Now he will say me I was a teacher of have no problem. And this advice that he actually gave him. Sybil tinio Rahim Allah, He tells him now
that if you're walking by a farm, and you notice a dog starts barking at you. Rather than trying to deal with the dog itself. Call the master of the dog and tell him to leash it up and tell him to take care of it. Now he gives this befitting example to give the example of shaitaan that Allah subhanho wa Taala created Sheikh Dorner, she found is actually worse than the dogs Pinilla that just continuously works. That rather than confronting the dog and try to defend yourself from the dog itself, seek the help of Allah subhanho wa Taala seek the help of Allah subhanho wa tada and that is why it is so important that you say I owe the Billahi min ash shaytani r rajim. Before you actually
start reciting, to eliminate all those whispers that shaytaan can potentially bring to you.
Now we begin with Surah Fatiha and so the fact behind is the large or the largest part of our discussion, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu I do send them I'll read the Hadith to you. He calls shortall fatty have a conversation with Allah subhanho wa Taala on the authority of Abu huraira with Allah one who, who said that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Allah, the glorious in exalted, said, I have divided the prayer between myself and my servant equally, and my servant shall be granted what he asked for. Therefore when the servant says all praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the world. Allah says, My servant has praised me when he says the All
Merciful and the Most Merciful. Allah says My servant has extolled me. When he says, Master of the Day of Judgment. Allah says, My servant has glorified to me. When he says, You alone we worship and your aid alone do we seek? Allah says, This is between my servant and I, and my servant shall have what he requested, when he says, Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not the path of those who have earned your anger, nor of those who have gone astray. Allah says, This is for my servant, and my servant shall have what he asked for. So now what you want to focus on over here is that how many of us actually perceive our Salah as a conversation with Allah
subhana wa Tada.
That each and every statement in Surah Fatiha that we make Allah subhana wa tada is responding to each and every single statement that we make. So that when we say Al hamdu, lillahi Rabbil aalameen. Allah is telling us and it's telling the angels, look at how beautiful and amazing my slave is, he has praised me. Wouldn't that completely change the dynamic of your salon, knowing that you are in the conversation with Allah? Wouldn't that completely change the pace of your recitation? This is something I personally struggle with, you know, when I recite Quran, in Salah it's, it's very robotic in nature, like it's purely, you know, what, let me just recited with his proper ruling to
the best of my ability so that I can get it done and over with, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fear and pressure of making a mistake. You know, when you're leading Salah that fear and pressure of I don't want to make a mistake in that recitation. It's a very strong pressure, especially if you're, you know, your your health or your memorization isn't very good. That is what harms your recitation of the Scylla the most that you start thinking, let me just get it done and over with so I can move on to the next phase of a summer. But now when you understand that this should not be the case, you know, when you're in the conversation, and someone's speaking extremely
fast, how do you feel in that conversation? You feel overwhelmed, you're like brothers slow down. Why are you talking so fast? There's no need to talk so fast. Now imagine you're in a conversation where Allah subhana wa tada is compensating you for being there. Not only is your awarding you is forgiving your sins. Why are you doing it so quickly, brother, this slow down, take a time to breathe, and Subhanallah Ramadan time comes, it's the worst. You know, it's really, really sad that part of our humorous, humorous experience of Ramadan is watching videos of Imams and how quickly they recite. So we've seen that Turkish the mom the column, the first Imam, he recited so fast that
the people beat him up after the Salah. They're like this, you can read like that. You can even understand what he's saying. Then you know, another couple times you find other emails that we're sending so fast, you can make out the words. Is that really how you want to be speaking to Allah subhanho wa Taala Obviously not. So it is better to have quality in your Salah, than to have that quantity. You might finish the whole Quran in one night. But if no one can comprehend what you're saying and it isn't affecting your art, what is the point of it, focus on the quality of the Salah focus on the quality of the Salah. So at this point we'll take our first break for Salah inshallah,
and in the second session we'll go through the Fatiha and the remaining aspects of it. So like I said, if you guys have any questions, please write them down and inshallah in the second session we will address your questions. So if I can get someone to make the point and anyone that needs to make wudu or get ready for silicon do so inshallah, try focusing on the things that we mentioned. Anything that can potentially distract you eliminated any text messages, you need to check in sent, get rid of them from now, so that as we approach the salon, you know, we're completely focused on Allah subhanho wa Taala Allahu Allah Azza wa sallahu Cinema Baraka and Amina Mohammed while he was
happy with Salah