How Can We Live With Payer

How can we live with prayer

Written by: Dr. Yasser Ibrahim Eloksh

Translated by: Muhammad Mahdi Al-Sharif

Copyright © 2015 Dr. Yasser Ibrahim Eloksh

Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, KSA

[email protected]

[email protected]

Copyright and translation rights reserved.

Any Muslim person may have the right to reprint and distribute it provided that he should make no changes in or intend profiteering from the book.

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Acknowledgement

I am deeply indebted to

Shaima Faisal Abdel-Aziz

Translator: Muhammad Mahdi Al-Sharif

In the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful,

the Especially Merciful

{for Faith has not yet entered your hearts (even though faith is expected from you).}

Introduction

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Grand, the Great, the Most High, Who has protected us with His mercy, poured over us out of His bounty, and never entrusted our affair to anyone other than Him: He is the Most Supreme God. Allah’s blessing and peace be upon Muhammad, His Prophet whom He sent to us as a Messenger so that we would copy his guidance and take him as an example to follow. To proceed:

Since I was in the secondary school in the early 1990s, I have been thinking of how faith enters the hearts in a way that could produce good manners which change the human character, just as it entered the hearts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar [Allah be pleased with them].

The manners of Muslims now are in a very bad state because there is a deficiency in the fundamentals, or say in the rootage of faith in their hearts, and, consequently, a deficiency in the call to Allah. During the Khutbah on one Friday the imam, one of the duly leaders of Da’wah whose lessons were attended by thousands of praying men from all governorates,, said from above the pulpit that he had received a message talking about a deficiency in the Islamic Da’wah, due to a strong deficiency in the manners of the Muslims. Having been angry from this letter, He replied that there was no deficiency in the Islamic Da’wah because it was fruitful and did needn’t any modification nor was affected by the doubt of the doubters. But on the coming Friday, in the wake of a sound of crackling as a result of the passage of strong air current on unfixed aluminum tablets beside the masjid, thousands of praying men got frightened by it during the Friday Khutbah and ran away from the courtyard of the masjid as men run away from a merciless machine-gun, trampling on one another and were about to kill one another during their flight, and many of them lost their belongings. On that the same sheikh shouted from above the same pulpit that there was really a clear deficiency in the faith of those whom we assumed to be the heads of Islamic awakening; and it seemed that the advocates of reforming the course of Da’wah were true.

From this moment on, I started looking for the way the early believers were brought up on faith and how they were thus established in religion and noble manners; and behold! They were brought up with nothing but prayer, giving in charity, listening to the Makkan revelation from the Prophet [peace be upon him], calling the closest relatives to Islam, and keeping patience on all of this. I looked for the meanings and mysteries of prayer, assuming it to be the greatest on which the early Muslims were. The idea of this book budded with me in the early years of the third millennium. But two years ago I read James K. Van Fleet’s Hidden Power of the Subconscious Mind; and in spite of its deviation in some aspects, the benefit it has in the human development has been added to this study.

This study is but an attempt to understand one of the mysteries of prayer and worship of Allah with His best names, so that the today’s Muslims would be brought up with it just as the early Muslims of the Companions [Allah be pleased with them] had been brought up with faith; and perchance faith would enter our hearts as clear, strong and fruitful as it entered the hearts of the Companions before us.

The methodology I have followed in the section of Allah’s best names is to study the root of each name in the linguistic books; to know the explanation of the Qur’anic verses pertinent to this name in the books of Tafsîr; to study the name in the books written about Allah’s best names; and to effectuate all this on the prayer’s Adhkâr and movements, and life affairs. In each Qur’anic verse or Prophetic hadith I quote, I have bolded the part on which focus should be made due to its relevance with the subject in issue.

The sources of the study include:

Linguistic sources:

• Tâj Al-‘Arûs;

• Al-Mu‘jam Al-Wasît;

• Mu‘jam Al-Furûq Al-Lughawiyyah;

• Maqayîs Al-Lughah;

• Lisân Al-‘Arab;

• Mu‘jam Al-Mustalahât Wal-Alfâth Al-Fiqhiyyah, Dr. Mahmûd ‘Abd-Ar-Rahmân ‘Abd-Al-Mun‘im.

Sources of Allah’s best names:

• Tafsîr Asmâ’ Allah Al-Husna, As-Sa‘di;

• Sharh Asmâ’ Allah Al-Husna, Al-Qahtâni;

• Al-Mawsû‘ah Al-‘Aqadiyyah Ad-Durar As-Saniyyah;

• Mafhûm Al-Asmâ’ Was-Sifât;

• Sifât Allah Wa-Athariha Fî Îmân Al-‘Abd;

• Al-Murtaba‘ Al-Asna Fî Riyâd Al-Asmâ’ Al-Husna;

• Al-Asna Fî Sharh Asmâ’ Allah Al-Husna Wa-Sifâtih, Al-Qurtubi;

• An-Nahj Al-Asna Fî Sharh Asmâ’ Allah Al-Husna, An-Najdi;

• Al-Maqsid Al-Asna Fî Sharh Asmâ’ Allah Al-Husna, Abu Hâmid Al-Ghazâli;

• Asmâ’ Allah Al-Husna Ath-Thâbitah Fî Al-Kitâb Was-Sunnah, Mahmûd ‘Abd-Ar-Razzâq Ridwân.

Sources of Qur’anic Tafsîr:

• Mukhtasar Tafsîr Ibn Kathîr, As-Sâbûni;

• Tafsîr Al-Jâmi‘ Li-Ahkâm Al-Qur’an, Al-Qurtubi;

• Tafsîr Al-Jalâlayn;

• Ma‘âlim At-Tanzîl, Al-Baghawi;

• Website of the Forum of the men of Qur’an: www.4quran.net

Further sources:

• Asrâr As-Salâh Wal-Farq Wal-Muwâzanah Bayna Dhawq As-Salâh Was-Samâ‘, Ibn Al-Qayyim;

• Ma‘na Ar-Rubûbiyyah Wa-Adillatiha Wa-Ahkâmiha Wa-Ibtâl Al-Ilhâd Fîha, Dr. Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Ar-Rahmân Al-Juhani;

• At-Taqwa Fî Al-Qur’an - Dirâsah Fî At-Tafsîr Al-Mawdû‘i, Sheikh Muhammad Ad-Dubaysi;

• The Hidden Power of the Subconscious Mind, James K. Van Fleet;

• The hadiths are reported on the authority of:

• Website of Ad-Durar As-Saniyyah: www.dorar.net;

• Website of the Forum of the Men of Hadith: www.ahlalhdeeth.com.

• Other websites concerned with explanation of Allah’s best names;

• Fiqh Al-Ad‘iyah Wal-Adhkâr, ‘Abd-Ar-Razzâq ibn ‘Abd-Al-Muhsin Al-Badr;

• Mukhtasar Al-Fiqh Al-Islami Fî Daw’ Al-Qur’an Was-Sunnah, Muhammad ibn Ibraahîm ibn ‘Abdullâh At-Tuwayjiri;

• How to Take Pleasure in Prayer Program, Mashaari Al-Kharrâz.

Now, how can we live with prayer as did Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and the other Companions, [Allah be pleased with them]? Those words may change your life entirely. So, pay attention to them as closely as you speak them to yourself, and recite them again and again till their meanings are deeply settled in your heart.

The Hidden Power of the Subconscious Mind and Psychophysical Programming

The Hidden Power of the Subconscious Mind, written by James K. Van Fleet in which the author discusses the mental/psychophysical programming, is one of the fundamental books in human development, and addresses the idea that man is what is going within himself.

What you repeat to yourself or is repeated to you by others when you are clearheaded determines your future interactions with all events you encounter, be they internal (psychological and physical), external (with other human beings and animals), or universal (earthly or heavenly).

In order to program yourself on what you repeat, you should repeat it with clear and positive, rather than unspecific and negative expressions, when you are clearheaded and free from any internal or external distractions. The best time fit for this is the early morning before getting involved in the daily occupations, and in the evening after the mind has been so fatigued along the day that it is more susceptible to accept what is dictated to it without the least resistance. The mind will be helped to do so too if it is made to think of anything other than life with its businesses, troubles and events, such as Paradise, Hellfire, and the perfection of the Lord Almighty: this puts the mind to rest so as to function at the alpha level in which it is more programmable.

Unless one programs himself correctly, clearly and positively, interacts with the events through such internal programming and perseveres all events he is to encounter out of faith in it rather than replaces it with negative programming, he will not be able to change his interaction with external events and effects, nor will he have a high goal he seeks to achieve, nor will he have control over his body systems - given that many have so full control over their bodies that they manage even their feeling of pain, heart beats and intestinal movement - nor can he have mastery over his responses, nor will he be of importance.

If one does not program himself, he will give way to external effects and other people to program his own self as they like, turning it to be in disorder, subordinate and depressed, simply because it does not follow the right way which purifies it.

Similarly, if one programs himself mistakenly, it will be a victim of worry, sickness and dismay, like the deluded man who repeats to himself when he is clearheaded only his good attributes and deeds, and the mistakes and shortcomings of others, thus programming himself to highly appreciating his own self and holding the others in contempt. The erotic person repeats to himself when he is clearheaded nothing but the way he takes pleasure in his desires and the worldly temptations, thus programming himself to the body language and following his desires and inclinations. The failed repeats only his defects, points of weakness and failures, thus programming himself to accepting failure, weakness and easy surrender. The successful repeats only the expressions and meanings of success because failure has no access to him; and so forth.

It should be known to you that the TV set is one of the riskiest means which program your self to dictates given to you unconsciously esp. at the time you are relaxed, where it, with the help of its colors, motions and sounds, draws your attention and separates you from what is going around you, and repeats to you certain ideas in so various ways that your self is programmed to them unwillingly. For this reason, you should take heed of this. The lord of the house may return home to see in his wife and children behaviors to which he is not familiar and on which he has never brought them up because he dislikes them; and types of interactions and disobedience for which he has aversion, and wonders whether he has mistaked in bringing up his family, forgetting that he has left them victims of the TV set to program them in opposition to what he likes, and share him in their upbringing, with its falling actor, wicked director and an impious singer/songstress. So, choose from the TV only what is beneficial, and forbid yourself and your family from what is harmful in response to Allah’s saying (what means): {O you who believe! Guard yourselves and your families (by keeping to Allah’s limits) from a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels harsh (and) severe, who do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded.} [At-Tahrîm 6]

The first step to program yourself correctly is to find sound, positive and clear expressions to repeat in the affirmative rather than in the negative, when you are clearheaded, put them to practice in your life, and exercise yourself on them patiently till they are repeated all automatically.

It is just like the tennis player who is trained to play tennis and programs his body to playing automatically and skillfully without suffering. At first, he gathers all necessary data about the game and then goes on training. In the beginning he does not observe the ball nor can he manage his motions in terms of the ball’s directions, strength and speed. But by training, and with the help of repetition, his nervous and muscular systems are so programmed that it will be easy for the eye to observe the ball and he will involuntarily catch it strongly and quickly, direct it perfectly, return it with the bat to his opponent enjoyably and easily. The same is true of programming the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is part of the body, just as the muscles are, and both are governed by the same laws of the body. So, train it regularly to raise it up to the desired level by repeating sound, clear and positive expressions to yourself at such preferred times as the early morning and evening - and let us add the night prayer which is more effective on the self where the night is quiet and the soul is pure and closer to the Lord Almighty; and it is this closeness which really honors the believer - and think of anything other than the worldly affairs, so as to bring your mind to the alpha state or clear-headedness.

After this, you can interact with events because you are but what you repeat in yourself, and patiently persevere this out of faith in it so that none else should creep into yourself, putting in mind that in order to be successful in what you do, you should have a good visualization of, and live it within yourself before doing it, such as to imagine yourself successful, strong and rich.

Taking this deep-rooted principle from the human development for benefit, it should be known to you that the best, the most correct and the clearest meanings to use in programming yourself are those centered on the principles of faith - that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad [peace be upon him] is the Messenger of Allah. The rules of Islam on which it is based, esp. prayer, are the best to use in programming yourself on those meanings.

Allah Almighty says (what means): {And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and in awe, without loudness in words, in the mornings and in the evenings, and be not of the heedless.} [Al-A‘râf 205] Do you not look at this Qur’anic verse which not only talks about prayer but also includes all those principles of programming the self: remembrance of Allah within oneself when one is clearheaded, thereupon the soul is submissive and humbles itself to Allah every morning and evening, i.e. the best times fit for this? Consider also the times of Dhikr and the command given to you to remember Allah regularly within yourself even after the prayer is over, rather than anything else of your own self or the worldly desires and enjoyments:

• {and celebrate the Praises of your Lord, before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting.} [Qâf 39]

• {When you have finished the (congregational) prayer, remember Allah standing, sitting down, and (lying down) on your sides, but when you are free from danger, establish the prayer. Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.} [An-Nisâ’ 103]

Consider also the following Qur’anic verse which tells about the superiority of standing at night in prayer (what means): {And in some parts of the night establish Tahajjud prayer with it (the Qur'an), as a voluntary deed for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to a station of praise and glory.).} [Al-Isrâ’ 79]

Reflect also upon this hadith to see the effect of the night prayer. It is narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullâh ibn ‘Umar [Allah be pleased with them] that he said: Whenever a man saw a dream during the lifetime of The Prophet [peace be upon him] he would narrate it to him. Once I wished to see a dream and narrate it to The Prophet [peace be upon him]. I was young, unmarried, and used to sleep in the Mosque during the lifetime of The Prophet [peace be upon him]. I dreamt that two angels took me and went away with me towards the (Hell) Fire, which looked like a well with the inside walls built up, and had two sidewalls like those of a well. Therein I saw some people whom I knew. I started saying: I seek Refuge with Allah from the (Hell) Fire, I seek Refuge with Allah from the (Hell) Fire. Then another angel met the other two and said to me: Do not worry. I narrated my dream to Hafsah who related it to The Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him], and he said: What an excellent man ‘Abdullâh is if he only performs the night prayer. Sâlim said: "‘Abdullâh used not to sleep at night but very little hence forward (because he spent most of it in prayer)([1])."

According to another version of the hadith on the same authority, Ibn ‘Umar [Allah be pleased with them] said: I used to spend the night in the masjid since I had no wife yet. One night I saw in a dream as if I was taken to a well…([2])

After prayer, one has to live with the things with which he has programmed his mind and soul, and go on remembering Allah within himself in order to live with faith in all his affairs: {When you have finished the (congregational) prayer, remember Allah standing, sitting down, and (lying down) on your sides, but when you are free from danger, establish the prayer. Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.} [An-Nisâ’ 103]

He has to use the same approach of repeating the sound, clear and positive expressions at times his mind is almost free from distractions. By so doing, he can, possibly, change his wife for the better and bring up his children. He should persevere till he gathers the fruit, using the sound ways of upbringing to educate those under his guardianship with the help of prayer.

One of the ways of modern upbringing is to clarify, again and again, the thing or merit on which you like to bring up others (for instance, remind somebody of the aspects of prayer, or samples of the prayer of those upon whom Allah Almighty conferred His favor so that he would increase in love for it). Then look for any action pertinent to this very thing or merit, done by the targeted person, no matter how simple it might be, and evoke it to his mind and remind him of it again and again (such as to say, remember when you performed such and such prayer, such and such a thing has happened to you; or, by your prayer you will get such and such a reward, the same as attained by so and so, and so and so, of those who preceded to faith; or, I have seen you one day performing a wonderful prayer; and so on) to convince him that he can do this act perfectly and with high competence. Then describe the targeted person with the same and clear attribute repeatedly (what a strong Muslim prayer to Allah are you), doing your best to find a psychological motive or excitement for which he becomes glad, such as to say this in the presence of somebody whom he loves), showing your admiration for this merit, or to link it with a good thing he will attain if he does it perfectly. You should be patient in doing this till he has been programmed on the very thing you like to educate him on. By time he will come to do it easily, gladly and perfectly: {And enjoin prayer on your family, and be patient in offering it. We ask not of you a provision (for yourself or for others): We provide for you all. And the good end (i.e. Paradise) is for the righteous.} [Tâ-Hâ 132]

Beware of your self-talk and take heed of it because it is of great influence on you, and you will be taken to account for it: {To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and whatever (evil) in yourselves you disclose or conceal, Allah will call you to account for it. Then He forgives for whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And Allah has power over all things.} [Al-Baqarah 284] Have a good assumption of Allah Almighty, and know that as good as your assumption of Allah is while standing facing him in prayer, your share of faith in Him will be so firm as to produce all good manners. Allah Almighty says (in a Qudsi hadith): "I am just as My servant assumes of Me: if he has a good assumption, it will be for (the benefit of) himself; and if he has an evil assumption, it will be for (the loss of) himself([3])."

It should be known to you that one of the indisputably established facts in the human development is that if you regularly do a thing every day for a month and strive yourself in doing it, you will get accustomed to it, and after the month is over you can do it easily. Taking this, look at the month of Ramadân and your regular performance of Qiyâm and Tahajjud prayers, and the effect this may have on programming yourself with faith. Not all men who catch up with Ramadân succeed, by virtue of Allah, to obtain a fiducial momentum after the month is over.

And now, have you known that faith is not attained by wishes only?

Faith will, by no means, enter your heart only by wishing for it and sitting in expectation for it to be sent down upon you from heaven. You’d, rather, do your best to program yourself with it, in order to exchange your negative established beliefs for fiducial, positive and fruitful ones, supplicating Allah Almighty to let faith enter and be deep-rooted in your heart since in no way does Allah change the condition of anyone till he first has changed what is within himself: {For him (each person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of Allah (From the evil of men and jinn). Verily! Allah will not change the (condition of a people till they have changed their state themselves. But if Allah intends to punish a people, there is none to repel it, and they will find besides Him no protector.} [Ar-Ra‘d 11]

Change your negative established beliefs for fiducial and positive ones and program yourself on them perchance Allah would inculcate faith in your heart, putting in mind that unless you regularly take care of faith within yourself, and see the negative meanings that may, possibly, infiltrate into yourself, vis-à-vis the principles of faith, to replace them with fiducial (positive) ones, faith will be worn out within you just like the threadbare dress. So, you should regularly take care of your established beliefs and program yourself well, and ask your Lord to renew your faith: "No doubt, faith is worn out inside anyone of you just as the dress is: so, ask Allah Almighty to renew faith in your hearts([4])."

Prayer, with its inexhaustible treasures of meanings, is the best way to program, change, and bring your self up on the principles of faith. It recurs at all time day and night, and is in itself an act of worship to Allah. It is the support pillar of Islam, and the believer’s honor, light and provision, in which one honors and exalts Allah Almighty with His praises. In your standing for prayer, after coming up to the degree of clear-headedness or the state of alpha, you think about your Lord Almighty to Whom you shall return, and the act of worship due on you which you are going to perform, seeking the aid of the supplications of assuming the prayer, and the supplications of bowing and prostration. While standing for prayer, think about yourself and declare repeatedly ‘Allâhu akbar’ (Allah is the Most Grand). While bowing, think about yourself and declare repeatedly ‘subhâna rabbi al-athîm’ (Exalted be my Lord, the Great). While prostrating, think about yourself and declare repeatedly ‘subhâna rabbi al-a‘la’ (Exalted be my Lord, the Most High).

The Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] used to have a short pause of silence between Takbîr (glorification of Allah) and recitation of Qur'an. I said to the Prophet [peace be upon him]: May my parents be sacrificed for you! What do you say in the pause between Takbîr and recitation? The Prophet [peace be upon him] said: "I say: O Allah! Set me apart from my sins (faults) as the East and West are set apart from each other; and clean me from sins as a white garment is cleaned of dirt (after thorough washing). O Allah! Wash off my sins with water, snow and hail([5])."

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘îd Al-Khudri [Allah be pleased with him] that he said: Whenever the Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] stood for (supererogatory) prayer at night, he would exalt Allah and say: Exalted be Allah, and with Your Praises (I Exalt You). Blessed be Your Name, and Exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god (to be worshipped) but You. He then would say: There is no god (to be worshipped) other than You thrice; Allah is the Most Grand (and I exalt Him) with much grandeur thrice: "I seek refuge with Allah, All-Hearing, All-Knowing from Satan, the outcast, from his evil suggestions, inspirations and whispers([6])."

It is reported from The Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] that whenever he stood for prayer he would say: {Indeed, I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not of those who associate others with Allah. Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.} O Allah! You are the Sovereign, there is no deity except You. You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself and confessed my sin. So, forgive for me all my sins as none save You can forgive sins; and guide me to the best of manners, as none save You can guide to the best of manners; and divert from me the worst of manners, as none save You can avert from me the worst of manners. Here I am responding to Your call, and all happiness be to You, and all good be in Your Hands and I cannot approach You through evil. All of my (entity, power and success in this World) is due to You, and I turn to You (for help). Blessed be You, and hallowed be You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn in repentance to You). Whenever he bowed, he would say: O Allah! It is to You that I bow. I believe in You and submit to You. All of my hearing, my eyesight, my marrow, my bone and my sinew submit humbly before You. Whenever he rose (from bowing), he would say: O Allah, our Lord! All perfect praise be to You (as much as) filling the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, and anything that You desire afterwards. Whenever he prostrated, he would say: O Allah! It is to You that I prostrate, and it is in You that I believe, and to You I submit. My face has submitted to Him, Who created and shaped it, opened its (faculties of) hearing and seeing. Blessed be Allah, the best of Creators. He also used to say, as his last statement, between Tashahhud and Taslîm: "O Allah! Forgive me the earlier and later (sins), what I commit openly and secretly, and whatever transgression I make, and what You know better than me. You are the One Who bring (some people) forward and bring (others) backward. There is none worthy of worship except You([7])."

If you, therefore, at the time you are clearheaded and in seclusion, repeat the worldly pleasures, desires and enjoyments, no doubt, the love of this world will be inculcated in your heart and be the basis on which your mind will be programmed; not to mention your thinking about this during your prayer, fasting and ‘umrah: what a corruption!

It should be known to you that all our affairs in this life are but worship to be done to Allah.