Voices of Islam (75 page)

The Importance and Meaning of Prayer in Islam
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when the world is asleep, but the lovers and seekers of God (
al-‘ibad
) are awake and traveling toward reality and their divine destinations. It is under the veil of the night that the plane of consciousness is clear from the chaos of worldly affairs, for it is a time when the mind and heart operate most effectively.

Prayer before midnight, whether supplicatory or ritual, is very slow; after midnight, it is very fast.

In one of the first revelations, God ordered His Messenger:

Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night, half of it or a little less. Or a little more; and recite the Qur’an in slow, measured rhythmic tones.

(Qur’an 73:2–4)

And the Messenger of God said:

Two cycles of prayer in the late hours of the night are more valuable than all the riches of this world. But for fear of overburdening my followers, I would have made these obligatory.

Salman, a renowned Companion of the Prophet, in describing the observance of the night vigil said:

The man who considers the darkness of night and people’s unmindfulness a boon, and stands up and says the prayer till the morning, he is a man for whom there is all gain and no loss.. .adopt those medium-type of supererogatory pray- ers (
nawafil
) which you may put up with perpetually.
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The Prophet’s wife ‘A’isha related:

I used to stand with God’s Messenger throughout the night. He would recite
Surat al-Baqara, Surat Al ‘Imran
and
Surat al-Nisa
[i.e., the four longest chapters of the Qur’an].
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It is related that the third caliph, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, would recite the entire Qur’an in one prayer during the night.
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A renowned contemporary Sufi saint, and my teacher and guide on the spiritual path, Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, says:

The last third of the night is the best of times to pray at night because God the Most High is looking therein at His servant. Our master ‘Abd-Allah al-Daghestani, may God always elevate his stations, used to invite me to his association during the last third of the night because it is the time of heavenly manifestation. He would say that, in this time, there is no veil between God and His servant. So, each of you should awake in the third

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Voices of the Spirit

part of the night to pray and be present in the hour of heavenly manifestations. Oh God, make us among those who stand in prayer at night, seeking the vision of Your Face.

There is no possibility to receive sainthood without the night vigil. The night vigil is ordained for the Prophet, also for the Friends of God it is considered obligatory and, as related to the community, it is a strong practice (
sunna
). Without a doubt, the servant will not receive the station of sainthood if he is not connected to God. And a token of the one who is connected with the Lord Almighty is the night vigil. This is the greatest means of sainthood, by which God adorns His servant with the secret of sainthood during the last third of the night. Therefore, be awake at this time of the night, whether engaged in your prayer or in something else, so that nothing will obstruct you from being present in this time for which you will obtain this special mercy.
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The renowned Egyptian Sufi Ibn ‘Ata Allah as-Sakandari said:

Two cycles of ritual prayer before God during the night is better than thousands of cycles of prayer during the day, for the Messenger of God says:

‘‘Keep to observing the night prayer for it is the devotion of the righteous before you, it brings you closer to God, it wipes away offenses, replaces sins and wards off illness from the body.’’
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Without a doubt you do not pray two cycles in the night except that you will fi its rewards on your scales on the Day of Requital. Is a servant purchased for any reason other than to serve? Do you see a servant who is purchased merely to eat and sleep, who does not perform his duties? You are nothing more than a servant that God has brought into existence for His worship. He created you for His obedience; your purchase is for His service:

‘‘Lo! God hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because for them is Paradise’’ (Qur’an 9:111).

We conclude this section with the words of Shaykh Abd Allah al-Fa’iz al-Daghestani, may God preserve his sanctity, who said about the night vigil:

Even if a servant rises in the time of heavenly manifestations and he is a non- Muslim in faith, and he does something in that hour, because of that he too would obtain the level of belief before passing from this life. He will be guided and safe because he was awake during the hours of heavenly manifestations, and he would consequently receive that special mercy. It is not possible for anyone who receives even a drop from that mercy, to remain wretched or to remain in unbelief. He is safe even if a tyrant; in time he will turn back to God, and if he is a sinner, he will repent. There is no ambiguity that this mercy will change his state.

The Importance and Meaning of Prayer in Islam
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THE PERFECTION OF PRAYER

In reality, prayer is a state of heedfulness that must be kept constantly and perpetually throughout the day. Those committed to this path seek to maintain a state of mindfulness in each breath, not forgetting their Lord for even a single moment.

The perfection of prayer means to be aware of God’s Presence, ‘‘as if you see Him,’’ and to demonstrate one’s devotion and servitude to Him. God said:

I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me. No Sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me.

(Qur’an 51:56)

God initially commanded the Prophet Muhammad’s followers to observe 50 prayers a day, but with His mercy this obligation was reduced to 5. In the Divine Balance, the 5 prayers are thus considered as 50. Calculating the time required to observe 50 prayers, it would require all of a worshipper’s waking hours, including one’s time to eat and make ablution. Thus, those who observe the five prayers perfectly, with complete submission to God and complete presence before God, will be in fulfillment of the above verse. For those, God will provide sustenance without their needing to work, for they are fulfilling the Divine Directive properly.

The Summit of Worship

Ritual prayer is known as the ‘‘summit of worship,’’ for it contains the essential aspects of all five pillars of Islamic worship: the testimony of faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage.

The first pillar, the testimony of faith (
al-Shahada
) is observed in each ritual prayer, when one bears witness to the Oneness of God and the Prophethood of Muhammad during the sitting phase.

Charity (
Zakat
), the third pillar consists of giving 2½% of one’s wealth to the needy for the sake of God. Ritual prayer encompasses this pillar in the sense that the most important thing that one possesses is the body and spirit. In ritual prayer one give one’s whole person and time to God.

The fourth pillar, fasting (
Sawm
) is accomplished immediately on entering the prayer, for one must withhold oneself from all worldly actions, including eating, drinking, relations with others, and, even more stringent than the ritual fast, one may not converse except with the Lord.

The last pillar of Islam, the pilgrimage (
Hajj
) is encompassed when the worshipper directs himself or herself to the Ka‘ba, the focal point of the pilgrimage.

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Prayer is Ascension to the Divine

The Prophet said:

Ritual prayer is the ascension (
mi‘raj
) of the believer.

The Prophet therefore had, according to Islam’s esoteric scholars, not just one, but 24,000 ascensions during his life.

When the worshipper begins a sincere prayer, saying ‘‘God is Greatest,’’ the ascension begins. If one is truly observant of the rights and duties of the prayers with their perfection, this will be apparent, for as soon as you enter the prayer inspiration of Divine knowledge will begin to enter your heart along with increased yearning for the Divine Presence. If these secrets are not coming to you, it signifi that your prayers are not ascending to the Divine Presence and that you are falling into Satan’s traps.

Sayyid Haydar Amuli writes:

His [the Prophet’s] words, ‘‘I have been given coolness of the eye in prayer,’’ refer to nothing else but the contemplation of the Beloved by the eye of the lover, who draws near in the stillness of the prayer
...
. On seeing the Beloved, the eye too becomes stilled and it ceases to look at anything other than Him in all things.
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Thus, the worshipper attains the state, related in the Holy Tradition:

...
My servant shall continue to draw nearer to Me by performing the supererogatory acts of virtue until I love him; when I love him, I become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hands with which he grasps, and his feet with which he walks; if he were to ask of Me, I will grant his request, if he were to seek refuge in Me, I will protect him.
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As to the Messenger’s state during prayer, his wife ‘A’isha reported:

He would weep continuously until his lap became wet. He would be sitting and keep weeping until his auspicious beard became drenched. Then he would weep so much the ground became wet.
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Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the first caliph after the Prophet, would stand in prayer as if he were a pillar. Commenting on this, one of the early trans- mitters of traditions, Mujahid, said, ‘‘this is the fearfulness (
khushu
‘) in prayer.’’

The Prophet said, ‘‘Pray as you see me pray.’’
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He did not say, ‘‘Pray as you have heard I prayed,’’ nor ‘‘Pray as I taught my Companions.’’ This hints at something very profound. The vision of the Prophet is something that is

The Importance and Meaning of Prayer in Islam
43

true, and has been witnessed by countless Friends of God. Thus, the Proph- et’s saying, ‘‘Whoever saw me in a vision, in truth saw me,’’
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to the Sufi commentators carries the meaning, ‘‘Whoever saw me in a vision will see me in reality.’’ For Sufis, the first level of witnessing (
mushahada
) is to sense the Prophet present before them. The final stage of witnessing, which is ‘‘to worship God as if you see Him,’’
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was achieved by the Prophet during the Ascension when he was brought to the station of Nearness (
qurb
), ‘‘two bow’s lengths or nearer’’ (Qur’an 53:9) to the Divine Presence. The Sufi affi that true prayer brings the worshipper to the state of witnessing God and His Prophet, thereby attaining true unity with the Beloved. For this reason, prayer is compared to the union of marriage,
wisal.
Indeed, they explain the two salutations of peace, made to end the prayer, as a return from extinction, to greet the world as a new person.

It is said of the Prophet’s fourth successor, his cousin ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, that when he prayed, he was utterly oblivious to his surroundings. Once he was injured by an enemy arrow, which penetrated his foot. It could not be removed without causing immense pain. He said, ‘‘I will pray, at which time remove it.’’ They did as he directed. Upon completing the prayer he asked his companions, ‘‘When are you going to remove the arrow?’’ ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say, ‘‘Even if the Veil were lifted, it would not increase my cer- tainty,’’ referring to his state of witnessing the Divine Presence.
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We conclude with a story, related about the great Sufi master Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili.

The scholars of Alexandria came to him to test him and he read what was in their hearts before they spoke and said, ‘‘O pious scholars, have you ever prayed?’’

They said, ‘‘Far be it from any of us to leave prayer.’’ He then recited the verse:

‘‘Lo! man was created anxious, Fretful when evil befalleth him, And, when good befalleth him, grudging, except those who (really) prays’’ (Qur’an 70:19–22).

‘‘So,’’ he asked, ‘‘do any of you pray like this?’’ They were silent. Then the shaykh said to them, ‘‘Then, none of you has ever prayed!’’

The real prayer is performed purely for the pleasure of God, conversing with Him in variations of delight, humbleness and awe which is void of hypocrisy and repute. No doubt it brings about the remembrance of God and the heart inherits awe of Him.
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CONCLUSION

Prayer as Divine Service

While the ritual prayer we have just examined in detail is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, in reality all of Islam is essentially a form of prayer. For the

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Voices of the Spirit

meaning of prayer is worship, and the essence of all worship is to seek God. Seeking the Face of God is the goal of Islam, and the means are the Divinely prescribed forms of action as well as voluntary forms of bringing the worship- per closer to the Divine Presence.

God says:

And to Him prostrate all that is in the heavens and on earth; willingly or by compulsion.

(Qur’an 13:15)

And to God prostrate all that is in the heavens and the earth.

(Qur’an 16:49)

And there is not one thing except that it glorifies with God with His praise.

(Qur’an 17:44)

These verses indicate that all of creation, regardless of form or substance, are in fact in a state of prayer, for prostration and glorification are the essence of prayer. They cannot be other than that—even those who disobey, in their disobedience—are in fact submitting to the ultimate Holy Will of God and the Destiny prescribed for them.

However, the key to the Lord’s Bounty is to seek Him and submit willingly with one’s entire being. To become a Muslim means to say, ‘‘O God! I admit that You are the Creator and I am your slave.’’ This is the first level of submis- sion, slavery, but it is not servanthood. Servanthood is higher.