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Chapter 33, The Resonance of Allah How the Body of Prayer Acquires Life Only God will know the glory of God. Only God will know His power and His creation. Amin. Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate Qalallahu ta’ala: “Aqimus-salata bidh-dhikr.” Allahu ta’ala(1) says: “Establish prayer through dhikr.” (2) Allah has commanded, “You must pray In that prayer, you may be thinking of Me or you may be thinking of things other than Me. When you pray thinking of Me, you must pray in such a way as to draw Me in with your breath, with undisturbed purity in dhikr (remembrance).” The Prophet (Sal.) said that when one is praying, if his heart is present (hudur), that prayer will be recorded in his favor as a purposeful prayer. On the other hand, the prayer in which his heart is not present (it is distracted or inattentive) will not be recorded in his favor.” Any prayer in which one’s heart is not present can result in torment to the one who is praying. So said Hasanul-Basri (Rad.)(3). Whoever prays without an inner fear-all the prayers of such a person will be rendered worthless. So says Suiyan ath-Thauri (Ral.). Words of grace of our noble Prophet (Sal.) in Ihya’ ‘Ulumid-Din (4). At the time of prayer, even though one’s physical body may be cleansed and present, his heart may not be cleansed of other thoughts, thus allowing it to be filled with only the thought of God. Such a prayer will not be acceptable to Allahu ta’ala. If one becomes heedless while he is praying and allows another purpose to cross his true prayer, the prayer that results will be an offering of a mixture of good and evil to Allahu ta’ala. For in the beginning, true prayer was the intention. My brethren! Prayer is a body. The life, or ruh, for that body is the presence (hudur), of the heart within the prayer—the completeness that comes from certitude of faith. This life is the nourishment for the various parts of the body of prayer, and it is made to circulate throughout that body by means of the remembrance of God, the dhikr. When the body of prayer, through absence of the heart during prayer, is no longer receiving its natural food (which is the light of the remembrance of God), then the arms, legs, and mouth of that body of prayer are deprived of their nourishment and suffer the same agonies a plant suffers when it is deprived of water. Countless numbers of people go to their graves in this lifeless state. Those who fail to draw in the vibration of Allah on their breath (seeing only Him in their eyes, smelling Him alone in their nose, hearing Him alone in their ears, and knowing Him alone in their hearts), those who lack this connection, those who lack the awe and the yearning that arise from absolute certitude of faith-such beings end up existing without His light, deprived of the soul that would take them to akhirah, the hereafter. But even if the body of prayer has been allowed to shrink due to heedlessness (absence of the heart) in prayer, it can still be revived. For, since the mim (5) was impressed in that body when it was formed in the very beginning, faith will always be present. Thus, even if one’s heart is not present in his prayer and he allows other thoughts to come in, his original faith and certitude can still be reawakened. When the presence of the heart is re-established through remembrance of Allah (dhikr)—if one remembers even a fraction of his original good intention-the body of prayer can be revived. (6) Then, if one can discard all other thoughts and keep his intention fixed on Allah alone—fixed on that one place—that prayer will attain life (hayat). At this stage, the body of prayer surrenders itself in the station of one-pointed faith and certitude in Allah, the station of takbirut-tahrimah.(7) The prayer of one who has eliminated all except that station-in which the heart is perfectly immersed in God-will come alive (attain hayat) and be free of all agitation. Amin, Ya Rabbal-‘alamin. As-salamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu kulluhu. May it be so. O Lord of the universes. May all the peace, the beneficence, and the blessings of God be upon you. 1) Allahu: Almighty God, the beautiful, undiminishing One; ta’ala: the One who exists in all lives in a state of humility and exaltedness; Nayan: the Ruler, who protects and sustains; Lord; Master over everything. 2) The constant remembrance of God. 3) [Considered the patriarch of Islamic mysticism. He was said to have been steeped in sadness and fear, as if hell-fire has been created exclusively for him.] 4) [See Ihya’ ‘Ulumid-Din by Imam al-Ghazzali, page 157.] 5) Mim represents Muhammad (Sal.). 6) For instance, when one passes a place of worship, he will stop to pray at least for a short while. When he happens to hear words of wisdom, he will stop and turn his ears toward those words. This is because that remembrance is always present within his body of prayer. 7) [Takbirut-tahrimah: To say, “Allahu akbar: Allah alone is great. Nothing else is.” This is the initial takbir, or exaltation of Allah, at the beginning of prayer (salat). It is said standing, with hands raised to the ears, palms forward, while saying, “Allahu akbar,” then placing right hand over left on the abdomen. After this, the worshiper must give himself up entirely to worship. Tahrimah is from the root harama. The idea is that one is in a sacred space for the duration of the salat and should not pay attention to or interact with the world.] Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship Family Newsletter Spring 2007.
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Muhaiyaddeen, Bawa. The Resonance of Allah. Philadelphia: The Fellowship Press, 2001. pgs 681-683. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen- a Sufi mystic, can best be remembered for his efforts to bring unity through understanding to the faithful of all religions. If you would like more wisdom quotes and articles that will help you in your life, marriage, job, and prayers that give you peace of mind visit us at www.wisdomarticles.com.
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