keeping it real in the prayer

8/3/2019 Keeping It Real in the Prayer

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Its probably one of our most common, and indeed biggest, individualproblems that we face in our alh/Namz/prayer every day, and thatis to actually know what youre doing, where you are, what youresaying, whats going on, feeling the presence and making it a real actof worship.

And by keeping it real, I mean keeping it real. Not false. Not a waste oftime. Proper. Correct. Benecial. Rewarding. In sh Allh.

There is not a single person on this planet that is safe from this tnahand very effective tool ofshayn and, indeed, weakness of our nafs: tomentally wander anywhere but within the domains of the prayer itself.

I was recently reading something benecial on this subject from thelate Shaykh al-Uthaymn (raimahullh) who used to mention that one

of the great benets of utilising all the various different Sunnah wird/du/dhikr that has been narrated from the Prophet (allallhu alayhiwasallam) in the different parts of the prayer is that it leads to url-qalb i.e. makes your heart feel more alive and present in the moment.

This increased awareness and presence of the heart and thus the mindstems from changing our normative behaviour in any action, let alone

the prayer. For example, when you stand for prayer and have madeyour niyyah and then say Allhu Akbar, the rst thing that happens toall of us (except that lucky one upon whom is the mercy of Allh) is thatwe go into cruise control.

We slip through the gears as if setting off from the trafc lights, into2nd, then 3rd and into 4th, as natural as you like. We take the foot off

the clutch with Subnaka Allhumma wa biamdika and then make


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taawwudh, and then slip into the basmalah, and then smoothly into al-Ftiah and then we slow down because there is a potential hazard inthe road: the need to choose a srah.

So, we choose that srah and then let the car do the driving for youuntilhold upwhats this? Oh, into ruk we go, up again, yep, I knowthis route like the back of my hand

And this really is the reality behind our prayers as they become themonotonous acts of ritualism they sadly turn into.

Except if we change it up a little here and there and start to feel morealive and with it.

There is only so much benet that learning the meanings of what youre

saying will bring you. There is only a limited amount of benet thatseeking refuge with Allh from the whisperings ofshayn will produce.There is only so much help that your dus for greater presence of mindwill grant you.

The one thing that is really a great tool in your hand is the ability to mixit up, to utilise new supplications, to utilise the immense and beautiful

variety that has been narrated in the tradition.

Its amazing when you say Allhu Akbar at the beginning andautomatically start Subnaka Allhumma wa biamdika and thensuddenly you stop and say, Hold on! I dont want to say that today.Actually, lets have an Allhumma bid bayn wa bayna for once.

Your presence of heart and mind during your new du (or maybe


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your well-known du, but the rst time youve used it today) will beincredible. Try it. And dont tell me how great it was. Been there, buzzedoff it.

You see, the problem isnt just that Subnaka Allhumma wa biamdika becomes attached to the opening takbr, but its that Qul huwallhuaad becomes attached to mn and Subna Rabbiy al-Ambecomes attached to the takbrof the ruk and so on etc. until the wholeprayer just turns into a blur of eeting moments and pauses, untilpossibly you pause for thought at the end of Innaka amdumMajdand suddenly think, Right, what now? and then you choose a du if

youre lucky (or you dont if youre an Asian and you just ow straightinto Rabban tin or Rabbijaln) and then salms and then youthink, Wow. Thats another alh that bites the dust.

I wont patronise anyone here by saying this is unacceptable, because itisnt. It is totally unacceptable. And we have to nd our own solutions.And fast.

So, just as you found that a new du for istift (when you say SubnakaAllhumma wa biamdika ) was great for waking you up in the prayer,try some of the following:

1. Change the position of your hands slightly, a little bit up or a littlebit down. Physical changes like this, within the range of legislatedacceptability, have a marked effect on ones mental state as well.

2. Change the exact height of where you raise your hands to whilstmaking the opening takbr, i.e. from your thumbs being level with

your ears or touching them to the nger tips being level with the ears


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instead. Both are acceptable and authentic derived understandings.

3. If youre struggling learning some new istift dus, leave out yourcurrent istift on a very rare occasion, just to show yourself that itis not an obligation and shock you into a change of routine, and alsoto instill its importance in you the next time you recite it and realisehow beautiful a wisdom it is to be able to praise Allh in the mostexcellent manner before you are about to beg Him for salvation inal-Ftiah.

4. Change the taawwudh/istidhah (saying Adhu billhi) byseeking refuge from the additional tricks ofshayn.

5. Learn a different qirah (such as Warsh, Qln) ofal-Ftiah.

6. Study a tafsrofal-Ftiah. Youll wish you never recited anythingelse in the prayer after that.

7. Learn some new srahs, and chop and change regularly. Practise thenew ones in the prayer as well, knowing that you can always fallback on something you know if you get stuck.

8. Instead of saying takbrand going down for ruk, stop. Add anothersrah to the one you just recited. Which one? Any one, especiallyal-Ikhl, but others are ok too.

9. Just getting into your rapid three some of Subna Rabbiy al-Am?Well, make it a single for the sake of reminding yourself that onlyonce is an obligation. In the next ruk, make it a 9 or 11. Sorry.

Those numbers have been politically imprinted on my heart, so that


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my whole Deen must revolve round them, right?

10. Add a bit of spice. The du s for the ruk are many, and althoughnot taking the place of Subna RabbiyalAm, they make a greataddition such as Subbun, Quddsun

11. In your standing position again, change your dua bit, add a bitas well and make it a nice long standing of contemplation as youpraise Allh azza wa jall with Milassamwti

12. The next time you get up from ruk, go straight down with no timewasted. Youll appreciate the previous time more and youll lookforward to using your new duagain next time.

13. Well, now that youre all the way down here, you might as well add

some new du and dhikr in your prostration. There are loads tochoose from - its open house down here minus the reciting of theQurn.

14. And open house means your own personal dus. Plenty of it. Andheres a gift from my school and their scholars: whilst youre learningthe Arabic equivalent, you can make your personal supplication in

your own language so that you can really feel the moment. Dontover abuse this though because youll just get greedy!

15. Whilst sitting between the two sajdahs, try learning one or twosupplications for this position.

16. Back into the next sajdah, why dont you do the exact opposite of

what you did in the rst one. Make it long and personal if it was


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a quick one the rst time, or do the opposite. At least youll knowwhere you are and your prayer will be anything but monotonous.

17. The Tashahhud has also got various versions that can help bring itto life. Learn them.

18. You see that nger? Use it. If you dont believe in moving it allthe way from the beginning, make sure you take great spiritualstrength from the very moment you do when you declare thatthere is nothing worthy of worship except Allh. Feel it. Live thatwitnessing, and dont let it just be a ick of the nger.

19. And if you do have a trigger nger, then use it to good effect asthe scholars would mention, using it to make supplication with andmaking sure that it keeps shayn at bay. Concentrate and focus

on that nger as it ows your spiritual energy and words into aphysical servitude of itself to its Lord.

20. The sending of salutations upon our Prophet (allallhu alayhi wasallam) should be a great moment, not just because we can changethe versions between those authentically narrated but also becausethose who are too lazy or forgetful to do this outside the prayer have

a real opportunity to focus and pick up a bargain right here duringyour obligatory prayer. May Allh grant our beloved Messenger thevery highest station in Paradise, mn!

21. You want to change the ritual? Youve come to the right place folks.The moment just before the salm giving is a treasure trove for thosewho know how to dig. Utilise this moment to express yourself with

a huge variety ofduand dhikr, even that which youd normally say


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outside the prayer. Bring them in from the cold and let them giveyou company in your nice and warm house!

22. You need more ways on how to chop and change in the prayer?!Give over! This list really could go on and on, but the point is thatalthough we might know all these variations and versions ofdu,know all ofshayns armoury, know how much we like to wander inthe prayer, know how easy it is to fall into the routine and get the

job over and done with - although we know all this, we all need toincrease our presence of mind in the prayer and these are just somesuggestions to help us all do that in sh Allh.

And if you think youve benetted from this little piece, then spare athought for the immense grief we suffered and great loss to myself andthousands of other students when perhaps one of the greatest teachers

in modern times, Shaykh Muhammad b. li al-Uthaymn who passedaway in January 2001 and left us nothing but his wisdom through thewritings of his students, may Allh have mercy upon him and grant himal-Firdaws.

mn.

keeping it real in the prayer

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