The Light of Prayer

When the time to pray has arrived, we leave the world behind. Prayer is the time to open our hearts up to Allah. It is a time when the world around us should seize to exist. When all our worries and our anguishes have been put on hold. When all our thoughts leave our mind. Prayer is a certain period of time when we have disconnected from the dunya, and we attempt to connect to our Lord, not because Allah  needs us to but because we need him. I think we must ask ourselves the following: What is Prayer to us, and could we describe it in one word?

Prayer is not just an act of worship. It establishes a connection, and builds one’s closeness to their religion and their Lord. It is an indicator of faith and belief, which is why all the religions in the world have a specific way to participate in prayer.

But what distinguishes Islam from any other religion is the way we participate in our prayer. We all turn to the direction of the Holy Qaba, which is millions of kilometers from our step. We align ourselves on our prayer mats, and tell Allah that we stand in front of him with the intention of praying. By doing so we are participating in an act of devotion and obedience where our minds, our hearts and our bodies are in full submission.

In the book The Cardinal Principles of Islam, ‘Abdur Rahman I. Doi describes prayer as:“…the first, highest and most solemn phenomenon and manifestation of religion and [that it] is the absolutely necessary activity of the religious life.”Prayer is so necessary in our lives as Muslims because without it we would forget about Allah.

So, I ask you: when you have missed your prayer because you have forgotten about it, did you realise that you have this feeling of emptiness within your heart? Followed by the feeling of regret? This is because you feel that you have lost the connection or bond you have with your creator, Allah.

It is during these times when we forget about our prayer that begins to worry us, why? Because as Muslims our lives revolve around a schedule of prayer.  Even just missing one of our five daily prayers affects us because of how necessary we feel it is in our lives and because we feel as though we have forgotten our creator, which is why regret overcomes us.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

1. The meaning of the word Salat is “spontaneous submission” to Allah - prayer is a natural form of submission.
2. Prayer is something more than earning a “merit of honour” or simply showing “appreciation” to Allah.
3. Performing the action of bowing down is not related simply [to] the recognition of Allah but submitting to him through devotion and obedience.
4. The world is your prayer mat – you could pray on grass, dirt or a rock.
5. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Similar is the case with five (obligatory) Salah (prayers). Allah eradicates all faults as a result of performing them.” (Bukhari, Mawaaqit, Muslim, Mesaajid 283)
6. Did you know that the Prophet Ibrahim, use to say: “My Lord make me one who performs the prayers – and my descendants.” (The Holy Qur’an, 14:40)

 Allah  says in the Holy Quran:

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”

(Surat Adh-Dhāriyāt, 51:56.)

Our worship to Allah not only shows our devotion or obedience, but that we fear him. Fear for the love we have for him. Through our fear we confess our love for our Lord five times a day through our prayer.

‘Allama Yusuf ‘Ali who was a brilliant commentator of the Quran, he summed up the meaning of prayer as follows:“Prayer is the heart of religion and faith but how shall we pray? What words shall convey the yearning of our miserable ignorant hearts to the knower of all? Is it worthy of Him or our spiritual nature to ask for vanities, or even for such physical needs as our daily bread (as in the Lord’s Prayer in Christianity)? The inspired One taught us a prayer that sums up our faith, our hope, and our aspiration in things that matter. We think in devotion of God’s name and His nature; we praise Him for His creation and His cherishing care; we call to mind the realities, seen and unseen; we offer Him worship and ask for His guidance; and we know the straight from the crooked path by the light of His grace that illuminates the righteous.”(The Cardinal Principles of Islam, ‘Abdur Rahman I. Doi, p. 109)

Through our prayer we show Allah  our devotion to him and that we are seeking a connection with him and that this comes from the love we have for him. This love isn’t like the love we have for our parents, siblings, relatives or our friends it is deeper in all its essence.

In other religions there is a system of supplication or invocation where there is a middle man. But in Islam we are able to open our hands to Allah first and foremost and seek help in the affairs of our lives, especially when we are going through difficulty or discomfort.

 Allah says:

“Seek help through patience and Salah (prayer).”

(Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:153)

 The Prophet Muhammad (saw) when faced with a challenge or problem would go to Salah. And, we should try and implement this Sunnah ourselves, even if you have completed your five daily prayers,go and pray 2 rakahs. This not only reminds you of Allah, but also allows you to seek comfort through prayer.

Salah has the power to strengthen and soften our hearts because when we are faced with a tribulation or calamity we turn to Allah. Our response to any tribulation or calamity should be prayer because prayer has the ability to remove the weaknesses within our hearts, and allow us to achieve patience because we leave the issue to Allah.

Salah is more than an act of prayer. We don’t simply supplicate or confess our sins through it, we bond with Allah through our remembrance and submittance to him. We establish a connection, and it is not a simple connection but one where we share our joys, sorrow, and we ask for the forgiveness of our sins.

Prayer in Islam defines a Muslim, it defines the characteristics of Islam.When we pray we don’t simply use our hands in devotion to Allah. We use the whole of our body, our mind and our hearts.If you place your heart, mind and your body into your Salah then you will find that you will not be able to live without it.