Sikander Hashmi – Tune Your Salah KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters, my young friends,
You
are following the prophet
into the Masjid.
You start
offering your salah.
You start offering your salah in the Masjid
of the prophet
and he
is present.
After you offer your salah, you go up
to him to greet him.
And the prophet
returns your greeting. He says
to you. And then he says,
Go back
and pray for you have not prayed.
And you're thinking, I just offered my salah.
But because the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam is
telling you to go back and offer your
salah again because you have not prayed even
though seemingly you prayed,
you go back
and
you offer your salah again.
And then you return.
And, again, you
say to the prophet
and he responds to you. And once again,
he says,
Go back and pray for you have not
prayed.
And then you go back and you do
it again.
And the same thing happens again.
At that point, you give up.
3 times you went and you did your
salah and the prophet
saw you and he told you that you
did not offer your salah, go back and
offer your salah. So after 3 times you
give up and
you say,
by him
who has sent you with the truth, meaning
by Allah,
I cannot offer the prayer
in a better way than this because that
is how you have learned to offer your
salah. That is how you are accustomed to
offering your salah, and you have tried your
best.
Please teach me how to pray.
So then the prophet
says, when you stand for prayer,
say it Akbir,
say Allahu Akbar,
and then recite
from the Quran
of what you know of the Quran by
heart
and then bow
till you feel at ease.
Then you raise
then raise your head and stand straight.
Then prostrate.
Make sujood till you feel at ease during
your prostration.
Then sit
with calmness
till you feel at ease.
Do not hurry
and do the same for all of your
prayers.
My brothers and sisters,
this is what happened
to a companion by the name of Khulad
bin
bin Rafi'a
He was
fortunate
that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
saw his prayer
and corrected him.
But what about us?
Was in the presence of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam.
He was from his companions,
and he was offering salah to the best
of his ability.
Yet the prophet
told
him, go back
and offer your salah again
because you have not offered
your prayer.
You see my brothers and sisters, before a
long drive, before we go out on an
important journey,
what are we encouraged to do?
We are encouraged to get a checkup,
a tune up
for our vehicle
to make sure
that all the maintenance is done and that
it is in good working order. Why?
So that we don't
fall into trouble during the journey.
So that our journey goes
as planned in the best way possible without
any surprises.
And now with about 20 days left
till the month of Ramadan,
this is the time
before that great journey
for us to fine tune our greatest tool
to connect with Allah
which is
our salah.
When I was young,
I had a a shortwave radio,
and I would enjoy
trying to catch,
you know, different radio stations from around the
world.
And as I would
scroll down the dial,
you know, some of them would sound like
like little blips
when I scroll scroll through the band. Right?
You're scrolling through. Of course, it was the
it wasn't that long ago, but it was
the old days, I guess. You turn the
the dial on the radio.
Right? And when you pass through, there's a
radio station. Some of them will be so
weak. You just hear a little blip.
And then, you know, when I would carefully
adjust the dial, you know, fine tune it,
then I would actually be able to catch
the signal. But if there was a slight
diversion, you know, either way, if I wasn't
right on on the dot at the, you
know, the the frequency of of that broadcast,
then the sound would become wavy,
you know, would often become unintelligible. I wouldn't
be able to make out what was being
said.
Similarly, my brothers and sisters, if we don't
fine tune our salah before Ramadan,
our reception of Allah's mercy
and the benefits of
Ramadan could actually be limited by our lackluster
salah
and our weak.
The prophet said
that a man
may finish from his salah,
may complete his prayer,
and all that is written for him
in terms of his reward
is 1 tenth of it
or 1 9th
or 1 8th or 1 7th, 1 6th,
1 5th,
1 4th,
1 3rd, or 1 half.
So a person offers their salah,
he completes the prayer, he or she completes
their prayer, but what is actually written down
by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, what is recorded
for that salah,
is a fraction, a portion
of the actual salah. Radha Prophet
and
his companions,
they had power in their salah.
Their salah was
powerful.
They prayed
and things happened.
They offered salah in times of need
and Allah
responded.
They offered salah
in, you know, critical situations,
in life and death situations,
and there was a response.
They felt
the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They
experienced the relief coming from Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. Today my brothers and sisters, we find
ourselves in a state of chaos as an
ummah.
Nothing seems to be going our way. May
Allah
help all of those who are suffering and
who are in trouble.
But perhaps
this is one of the reasons
or perhaps one of the main reasons.
I think I mentioned this before when I
was a kid, I wouldn't get it. I
would go to a gathering of elders, scholars,
and they'll talk about, you know, all the
problems in the world and say you have
to fix your salah. Focus on your salah.
I'll be honest, I didn't get it at
that time.
I'm like, what does it have to do?
Like like all this stuff that's happening to
us, all this oppression and all these challenges
and struggles,
how are we gonna solve this through salah?
Like, you're just standing on on on a
prayer mat, on a sujada, and you're you're
offering your salah which is important, of course,
but, like, what's the link? I wouldn't be
able to understand.
But our salah
is
our connection with Allah
And if we truly believe
that help comes from none other than Allah
and our connection with Allah
is weak,
right, then you can start making sense of
that.
The triumphs that came at the time of
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Right? The way that the Muslims
overcame struggles and challenges
was first and foremost
a result
of spirituality.
The means were secondary. The physical means were
secondary. We see that over and over and
again in the sayna of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam.
That's not to say that the physical is
not important.
That's not to say that, you know, we
don't need
those tools and those resources. We do.
But the foundation of it was their strength
of their of their relationship with Allah
They had that strong connection which was
illustrated through their salah or which was exemplified
through their salah.
And then when they made efforts even if
they were small,
they got the they got the help from
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Ibn al Qayyim
he
writes in his book, Asrar al Salah, that
devotion in salah, in prayer is of 3
levels.
Firstly, the devotion of the heart.
This level, he writes, safeguards the heart and
rectifies its affairs from the sickness
of desires
and the whispers of shaitan
as well as all the thoughts that may
nullify
his salah or lessen its reward.
Okay. So the the first level says is
the level of the devotion of the heart.
The person's heart
is in their salah
that will have these benefits for them and
this is gonna be the state of their
salah.
Secondly, he says the devotion of Ihsan. So
the first one is the devotion of the
heart. The second one, devotion of Ihsan.
And this level is when again, I'm quoting
from the book, the translation of the book.
This level is when
the servant, the slave of Allah is mindful
of of Allah
in his salah to the degree
that he becomes as if he worships him
while seeing him.
So the first one is devotion of the
heart.
2nd is the devotion of Ihsan.
So of course the heart is already engaged
but in the second level, it is at
the level of Ihsan. As we know the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was approached by Sinajibreel
Alaihi Salam in the form of a man,
of a human being, and he asked them
the famous hadith of Jibril. He asked them
a number of questions, and one of them
was
informed
me, tell me about Hassan and the prophet
said famously,
it is that you should serve or worship
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
as though you could see him, for though
you cannot see him, yet know that he
sees you.
So having this feeling, this presence,
and uh-uh in front of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala and feeling the presence of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. So
he says that this is
the second level.
And the third one
is the devotion of understanding.
Yeah. So person has his heart,
has her heart in their salah,
It's at the level of
and on top of that they have understanding.
This level, he writes, is reached when the
slave of Allah reflects upon
and comprehends
the meanings of the words of Allah
that he recites.
And when he contemplates the details of the
worship,
meaning salah in order to pay, it's due
right in humility and tranquility.
So these are the three levels
of devotion of salah that he mentions. So
first one, the heart. 2nd, devotion of Ihsan.
And the third one, the devotion of
understanding.
If the slave, he writes, successfully reaches these
three levels,
he will have truly established
and performed
his salah in the most perfect manner, and
in return,
he will receive the full attention of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
It's not a one way street.
It's not a one way street.
If a person is able to improve and
perfect their salah,
then in return,
the response from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will
be likewise.
So he will receive
the full attention of Allah
My brothers and sisters, who doesn't want the
full attention of Allah
especially in the month of Ramadan?
Is there anyone who says, no, I don't
want the full attention of Allah
Of course not. Right? Everybody wants it. So
we may, you know, very well be offering
salah with jama'am in Ramadan especially which is
wonderful,
long, you know,
which is beautiful.
But we may only be getting a portion
of the potential reward.
Right? And even that is good. It's not
bad. Right? It's better to have 1 tenth
or, you know, 1 fifth or 1 fourth
or, you know, a half of the benefit.
The no benefit, of course, right, is better
than nothing,
but shouldn't we be aiming higher?
Shouldn't we try to
move ahead
and get more from Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allah tells us
in the beginning.
Successful indeed are the believers.
These verses, especially this first line, should make
us happy.
Allah says
successful indeed are the believers.
Right? So if you're going through challenges and
struggles and we all are,
right, know that because of the fact Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has granted you iman,
there is success written for you insha'Allah.
But Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala then gives us
some of the qualities
of the and this is where we have
to ask ourselves, where do we stand?
Right? We ask ourselves. You don't have to
ask anyone else.
Those who are during their prayer, humbly intent.
Right? They have in their prayers.
Now, this
connotes
a a a restfulness
of heart and humility
arising out of the awareness of the majesty
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and of one's own insignificance
in comparison to it.
Having
mindfulness,
being in a state of mindfulness, and being
mindful of
the, the majesty of Allah
and at the same time being aware of
one's own insignificance
in comparison to the greatness and the majesty
of Allah
This is
how we can describe perhaps
in in a long sense and in a
short sense, you can say sincere,
submissive,
humility.
What is?
Sincere,
submissive,
humility in front of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Now the question is, how do
we attain? Right? This is the big question.
Everyone understands the importance of having in our
prayers.
So firstly, let's look at
something that Allah
says in the Quran.
Allah tells us in Surah Al Baqarah
that he addressed the Bani Israel and he
told them something. And whenever Allah is telling
us in the Quran about something he told
the Bani Israel,
right, as a command.
Right? And it's not something it's not an
incident that happened in the past but it's
something that, you know, he he has commanded
the Bani Israel as a general rule and
it is in the Quran, then it is
understood that in most cases it will apply
to us as well. Right? Because Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala is mentioning
it in the Quran
for our benefit as a command to us
as well that this is something which was
commanded to previous the previous nations as well.
So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says in that
in in that context,
and seek help through patience and prayer.
Indeed,
it is big, it is heavy, it's a
burden except
for the It
is a burden except
for the for those who are humble, and
Allah gives us equality
of these people or two qualities of these
people. Those who are certain
that they will meet their lord
and to him they will return.
K. So there's a little hint here.
The focusing on meeting with Allah
and
our return to him
Right?
If we focus on the if we focus
on the time when we will actually stand
in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
On the day of judgement.
Sort of like how we're standing in salah
but of course in a in a very
very different situation.
Right? That is one of the keys
of attaining the state of sincere submissive humility
in front of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Generally,
it translated as the hereafter. You know, they're
certain that they will meet, that they will
meet their lord but they can actually
can also be understand
or understood rather
as
meeting in each salah with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala. So, it's not something that is necessarily
in the future because
is already referring to returning to
Allah.
So the meeting
can be understood also as each time that
they offer their salah. They believe that they
are meeting Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They are
standing in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
and they are thinking about
the ultimate return
to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Now, it may not be possible to get
into a state of mindfulness
as soon as you enter salah.
Especially if you're doing something beforehand.
That was
devoid of the remembrance of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. Right? Let's say you were really busy
about in something, you were consuming something, you
were watching something, listening to something, you were
busy, you were talking, whatever it was, right,
it it would did not
entail or did not contain the remembrance of
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So, it may be
difficult to switch all of a sudden, right?
If you just go from doing something and
boom, you enter
right? Your mind needs some time, right? To
adjust. You can't go from one thing to
the other and not, you know, have what
you were doing previously carry over,
right? It's very difficult to do that.
So, secondly, my brothers and sisters,
let us try to prime ourselves with the
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. You know, when
it's cold outside,
right? Nowadays, they say you don't have to
warm up your engine too much, right? But
still, right? If it's really cold, it's minus
30, it's minus 40 outside, right? And you
get into a car and you crank the
engine, you start it, and then you start
driving. You know, I've done that a few
times, rushing for salah. But, you know,
it's really cold. The car doesn't respond.
Right? Takes time. Right? The fluids, like, everything's
all cold. You know, it takes a few
seconds at least. It takes some time for
it to warm up.
Right? So we're gonna try to warm ourselves
up, warm up our spiritual engine, and try
to pack away our other thoughts and preoccupations.
One thing I wanna mention very quickly, you
notice the and
the
They consist of the of Allah
Right? Could it just been
a few times?
It would have served the purpose.
No? It would serve the purpose. Come for
salah. Come for salah. Come towards success.
It would have served the purpose. But no
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
surrounded that call
with Tabeer and Tahleen.
He surrounded it with the glorification of Allah
Right? With the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So this wakes up our souls.
We also come to the masjid. What are
we supposed to encourage to do? It's offered
to a masjid. Right? It's a dry run.
Before you offer the 1st prayer,
you have a warm up.
Right?
Very quickly, number 3, understanding of what is
being recited.
And, you know, people who don't understand Arabic
will say, well, yeah, that's that's really hard.
But even those who understand, it's one thing
to understand, but it's another thing to pay
attention to what is is being recited and
what is being said.
Okay. So knowing that when we are reciting
something from the Quran, when we are hearing
the recitation of the Quran, when we are
reciting ifkar,
it is something which is powerful and meaningful.
For example, when we recite
Surah Al Fatiha, Allah
is responding
to you.
For the worst words, Allah says,
You know, my servant has praised me when
you say
and so on.
Ask yourself that do you remember Allah
in salah? Because Allah said
in his conversation with Islam
established salah for my remembrance.
So, is there any remembrance of Allah in
our salah?
And how much is there? Because and this
is the scary part. Allah
tells us about the characteristics of the
when they stand for salah, they don't stand
for salah, the
They did stand for salah.
But they stood for salah half heartedly, lazily.
Only to be seen by people.
And hardly remembering Allah
at all. So, this is an opportunity my
brothers and sisters
for us to examine the state of our
salah. How much we remember Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala?
How distracted are we in our salah or
if we are not and
to try to offer our salah calmly
in this state of mind because what it's
telling us, all of this is telling us
that salah
is actually a mindset.
It signals the state of our relationship with
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If it's not happening,
then perhaps there is a
deficit. Perhaps, there is a
deficit.
So, we have an opportunity my brothers and
sisters here. Now, with 20 days left to
try to strengthen our salah
before
we enter the month of Ramadan so that
we can attain the full spiritual benefits of
salah.
Especially in the blessed month.
May Allah
grant us
true in our prayers. May Allah
make us our children, our future progeny for
amongst especially
in salah. May Allah forgive us for all
of our shortcomings and our prayers and really
make us those
who truly benefit
fully
from their salah and who can strengthen their
relationship with him. I mean,
if I can please ask the brothers to
move forward and please fill in all the
gaps.
We'll take a few moments. Inshallah. Welcome to
me.