Salat: The Me’eraj of Mumin

One should make a point of perfecting their prayer, and then take other active and practical steps towards achieving true submission to Allah (swt), and implementation of the path of the Ahlulbayt (as). Unless the first step, i.e., perfection of prayers is completed, it would be hard to move on to the next stages. The question that arises here is: "what constitutes a perfect prayer?"

Imam Al-Sadiq(a.s) narrates some conditions that might lead to perfection of prayers

• Salat will not be complete till a person performs the ablutions (Wudhu) completely and prays without any   shortcomings.
• Unawareness, hypocrisy and deviation should be totally discarded.
• He should recognize Allah(swt) and stand before Him with total cognition.
• A feeling of humility and modesty should encompass him.
• He should find himself between complete hope and absolute despair, patient as well as anxious. That is, he should stand as if Allah’ promises will be fulfilled for him and that His threats will be actualized against him.
• He should put aside his own honor and dignity.
•  His aim and goal should be right in front of his eyes.
• He must submit his heart to the Almighty and tread on His path.
• He should not be distanced with his prayers to such an extent that his relationship with his Lord is totally severed. Remember, he is standing before Him who is his aim and brought for Him his own gift, and at the same time, hoping for His Help, Assistance and Grace.

Ref:Salat (Prayer): The Mode of Divine Proximity and Recognition By Ayatullah Mirza Mahdi Isfahani 

Another question that might come up is: "how do you stand before Allah(swt) with full recognition?" We can only love someone if we understand their attributes and personality, so how can we expect to love Allah(swt) when we don’t know anything about Him? Therefore it’s important to read/understand Quran and recognize His greatness and magnificence. Ayatollah Khorasani in one of his lectures stated that one should complete a Quran every month and dedicate it to Imam Zamana(ajtf). After a year on Shab-e-Qadr when Imam(ajtf) will look at our deeds file he will see how we have read Quran for his sake. You can imagine how happy he will be and what the reward for that could be. If we love the AhlulBayt(s.a), Allah(swt) has promised to love us. Once this mutual love develops, our prayers can truly become our Meeraj.

To see an example of what happens when this level of worship is reached let’s look at another example from the life of the sixth Imam(a.s). Sayyid Ibn Tawus(r.a) in the Falah al-sa'il, states:

Imam(a.s) was once reading Quran in his salat. He went into a swoon, and when he emerged from it he was asked, "What was it that led you into that state?" He gave a reply, which meant, "I continued repeating verses of the Qur'an until I reached a state wherein it was as if I heard them directly from Him Who had sent them down. And it is beyond human power to witness Divine glory.

This is the kind of Prayer we should aim for, where we actually start feeling as if Allah(swt) is talking to us. This can’t be possible unless we strive day and night and beseech Allah(swt) for help with the intercession of Ahlulbayt (a.s.).

Baby Steps

“O you who believe! Enter into submission one and all and do not follow the footsteps of Shaitan; surely he is your open enemy."

[Surah Baqarah: 108]

We must try to implement the lifestyle of the Ahlul Bayt (ع) in all aspects of our lives, from the way we pray to the way we preach, from the way fast to the way we eat, from the way we entered this life to the way we will leave it, both with a clean slate Insha'Allah. The question then is how to fully implement the lifestyle of the Ahlul Bayt (as). It is easy enough for one to adapt changes into their lifestyle every now and then, or to cherry pick what one perceives as lifestyle changes which are convenient enough. The verse stated above however asks those who have believed to follow the religion in totality, with perfect belief and conviction, not selective submission so to speak.

In order to achieve such perfection, there are many steps which one can take. One way is through following the Ahlulbayt (as). Imam al Baqir (as) gives us a valuable insight into how to become true ‘followers’ of the Ahlulbayt (as). He is reported to have told Jabir:

"Is it enough for a person to (merely) embellish (oneself) as a Shi'ah (follower) by professing love of us, Ahlul-Bayt? Nay! By Allah, a person is not our follower except the one who fears Allah and obeys Him. O' Jabir! Our followers are not recognized save by humility; submission; honesty; praising Allah abundantly; fasting and prayers; filial devotion; attending to the poor, needy, debtors, and orphans who live near him; saying the truth; reciting the Qur'an; withholding the tongue from people except for benediction; and being trustworthy for relatives in any affairs..." [Al Kafi]

So it is easy enough to say: We are followers of the Ahlulbayt! We believe in wilayah, and are ready to sacrifice our lives for the sake of Allah (swt) and the ahlulbayt (as)! A close examination of this statement through looking at our actions and deeds shows that this is not the reality on the ground. How can one claim to love Lady Fatima (as), yet have no or little regard for modesty? We often cry when we remember how Imam Ali (as) was struck while in prayer, but do we have true regard for our prayers?

Taking it a step further, so we pray five times a day, but do we give our prayers the due attention to detail, and seek to perfect our prayers? After all, in a narration from Imam al Baqir (as) he is reported to have said:

“On the reckoning day, the first thing that a servant will be made to reckon for is the prayer, therefore, if it is accepted, the rest of his good actions will be accepted, otherwise his other good deeds will not avail him.” [Bihaar al Anwaar]

Ayatullah Naraki gives us a beautiful lesson on the importance of detail and perfection in prayer. He describes salah using the analogy of a human body and says: Of what use is a body without a soul? It is dead, and therefore incapable of anything. Similarly, in salah, the soul of our prayers is khushuu’ i.e. concentration through keeping the mind and heart attentive to every moment during the salah, not straying in and out. [Khudhuu on the other hand refers to keeping the limbs/body attentive during the prayer and not making movements that are not part of the prayer]. He then goes on and describes a body which lacks all vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, liver, or any of them. Again, survival of the body without the vital organs is practically impossible. Similarly, in prayer, the ‘vital organs’ are the pillars/rukn of salah, and their presence and perfection is necessary for the ‘survival’ of salah. He then looks at other parts of the body, which though not vital organs are useful to the body, and to having a quality life, such as the limbs. In salah, the ghayr rukn are these limbs/non-vital organs. Sure, not having them does not “kill” the prayer, but they certainly reduce the quality of it. The body also has extra parts which function mainly for the added beauty of the body, and which though not vital to its survival, make for a beautiful form, such as a flawless complexion, or having beautifully shaped eyes. The perfecting/beautifying aspects of prayer are the mustahibaat/recommended acts of prayer, such as the prolonged sujoods and qunoots (Greater Sins).

One should make a point of perfecting their prayer, and then take other active and practical steps towards achieving true submission to Allah, and implementation of the path of the Ahlulbayt (as).