The Spiritual Zone 16

The Spiritual Zone – Inner Dimensions of Salah

Sh Haroon Baqai
Day 1

Student Etiquettes
● Remember to be sincere, think of yourself (not other people who may do these
things)
● Listen/Read this course with your hearts, your feelings & your emotions; because
that matters in your Salah
● Add lessons/notes that you may learn for yourself and will implement for yourself
● This is not a fiqh courses → we will not deal with topics dealing with the
mechanics of Salah focusing on the feelings of the salah
o We tend to focus on a checklist when addressing issues
o Ibn Abas said: to sit and reflect for 1 hour, it is better than the qiyam of the
night
o Don’t fall into the trick of creating a checklist for your Salah, think and reflect
on matters of your salah

Importance of Salah

‫ت َأبَا‬ ُ ‫م ْع‬ِ ‫س‬َ ‫ل‬ َ ‫ َقا‬،‫ك‬ٍ ‫ن ُم ْد ِر‬ ُ ‫ي ْب‬ ُّ ِ‫خبَ َرنِي َعل‬ ْ ‫ل َأ‬َ ‫ َقا‬،‫ش ْعبَ ُة‬ ُ ‫ل َأ ْنبََأنَا‬ َ ‫ َقا‬،‫او َد‬ ُ ‫ح َّدثَ َنا َأ ُبو َد‬ َ ، َ‫ن غَ ْيال َن‬ ُ ‫ود ْب‬
ُ ‫م‬ ُ ‫ح‬ ْ ‫ح َّدثَ َنا َم‬
َ
‫ل‏"‏‬َ ‫ي صلى هللا عليه وسلم َقا‬ ِ ّ ِ‫ن ال َّنب‬ ِ ‫ َع‬،ّ‫ن بِي ذ ٍَر‬ ‫َأ‬ ْ ‫ َع‬،ّ‫ح ِر‬ ُ ‫ن ا ْل‬ِ ‫ش َة ْب‬ َ ‫خ َر‬ َ ‫ن‬ ْ ‫ث َع‬ ُ ‫د‬ ِّ ‫ح‬ َ ‫ ُي‬،‫ير‬ ٍ ‫ج ِر‬ َ ‫ن‬ ِ ‫م ِرو ْب‬ ْ ‫ن َع‬ َ ‫ُز ْر َع َة ْب‬
‫ابوا‬ُ ‫خ‬ َ ‫ه َفق َْد‬ِ َّ‫ل الل‬ َ ‫سو‬ ُ ‫م يَا َر‬ ْ ‫ه‬ُ ‫ن‬ ْ ‫ت َم‬ ُ ‫‏ ُق ْل‬.‫م‏"‏‏‬ٌ ‫َاب َألِي‬
ٌ ‫م َعذ‬ ْ ‫م َولَ ُه‬ْ ‫يه‬ ِ ّ‫ة َوال َ ُي َز ِك‬ ِ ‫م ا ْل ِقيَا َم‬ َ ‫م يَ ْو‬ ْ ‫ة ال َ يَ ْنظ ُُر اللَّ ُه ِإلَ ْي ِه‬ ٌ َ‫ثَالَث‬
‫ن‬ ِ ‫ل َوفِي ا ْلبَابِ َع‬
ِ ‫ن ا ْب‬ َ ‫‏ َقا‬.‫كا ِذبِ‏"‏‏‬ َ ‫ف ا ْل‬ِ ِ‫حل‬ َ ‫س ْل َع َت ُه بِا ْل‬
ِ ‫ق‬ ُ ‫م ْن ِف‬ ُ ‫ل ِإ َزا َر ُه َوا ْل‬ ُ ِ‫سب‬ ْ ‫م‬ ُ ‫ان َوا ْل‬ ُ ‫م َّن‬ َ ‫ل‏"‏ ا ْل‬ َ ‫س ُروا َفقَا‬ ِ ‫خ‬ َ ‫َو‬
‫يث‬
ُ ِ َ ‫د‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ى‬ ‫يس‬ ‫ع‬
َ ِ ُ َ ‫و‬ ‫ب‬‫َأ‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ َ
‫ق‬ ‫ار‬ ‫س‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ع‬ ‫م‬ ‫و‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ص‬ ‫ح‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ب‬ َ‫ان‬ ‫ر‬ ‫م‬ ‫ع‬ ‫و‬ ‫ة‬
َ ‫ب‬َ ‫ل‬‫ع‬ َ ‫ث‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ة‬َ ‫م‬ ‫ا‬‫م‬ ‫ُأ‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ب‬‫َأ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ة‬
َ ‫ر‬‫ي‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ي‬ ‫َأ‬
ِ َ ٍ ُ ‫س‬
‫ب‬ ‫و‬ ‫د‬ ‫و‬ ‫ع‬ ْ ‫َم‬
‫‏‬
. ‫‏‬ٍ َ َ ِ ْ ِ ِ ْ َ َ ٍ َْ ُ ِ ْ َ ْ ِ َ َ ْ ِ ْ َ َ ِ َ َ َْ ُ
‫‏‬.‫ح‏‬
ٌ ‫حي‬ ِ ‫ص‬َ ‫ن‬ ٌ ‫س‬ َ ‫ح‬ َ ‫يث‬ ٌ ‫ح ِد‬ َ ّ‫بِي ذ ٍَر‬ ‫َأ‬

Narrated Abu Dharr:

That the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said: "There are three whom Allah will not look at on the Day of
Judgement, nor will He purify them, and theirs is a painful punishment." We said: "Who
are they O Messenger of Allah ? For they have indeed failed and are lost!" He sai: "The
Mannan, the one whose Izar hangs (below the ankels) and the one who promotes his
merchandise with false oath."
[He said:] There are narrations on this topic from Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Hurairah, Abu
Umamah bin Tha'labah, 'Imran bin Husain, and Ma'qil bin Yasar
[Abu 'Eisa said:] The Hadith of Abu Dharr is a Hasan Sahih Hadith.

● The very first thing the slave will be asked for on the DOJ is Salah
● If the Salah is in order, than the person is successful
[And asking them], "What put you into Saqar?", They will say, "We were not of those who
prayed, Nor did we used to feed the poor. And we used to enter into vain discourse with
those who engaged [in it], And we used to deny the Day of Recompense. Until there
came to us the certainty." [Muddathir: 42-47]
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● In Surat Al Mudathir Allah swt will ask the people of the hellfire, what landed you in
the hellfire what landed you here?
o There is a gradual progression from not praying to disbelief, the point of
this course is to stop us at step one and perfect our salah

Salat is our primary defense against shaytan

[Satan] said, "Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your
straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on
their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You]." [ A’raf:
16-17]
● The Shaytan says to Allah swt “I will sit for them on the straight path” – He will not
try to stop us while doing haram, he will try to stop us when we are doing good

Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you
forgiveness from Him and bounty. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
[Baqarah:268]
● Salah is our primary defense against the whisperings of shaytan

Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer.
Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is
greater. And Allah knows that which you do. [Ankabut:45]
● Allah gives us the answer and that is reciting our Salah and that will help us in
remembering Allah and stopping from doing bad things

Person tells the prophet SAW that there is a person that prays at night and steals in the
morning
● The prophet SAW responds saying, his salah will prevent him from what he’s
doing
● Think well of people, don’t nitpick them, instead, make dua’a that their salah
stops them from doing the bad that they are doing

Take 3 Minutes to think of three weaknesses that you hope to fix after this weekend

Mine:
- Having the same amount of khushu in easy times as in hard times
- Not delaying my salah/looking forward to it (All the time)
- Not making lists of things/worrying about other things during my Salah

At Al Kauthar we strongly encourage that people not only learn but that they act bv
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● The point is to raise the banner of Allah swt and make sure his name is repeated
everywhere
● That is the point of dawah, and that is the point of Salah
● Allah swt says: “Iqamah al salatu la dhikri”
● The shaytan gives us the best ideas for our dawah work during our salah, but
remember our salah is a time for remembering Allah
o That is the trick of shaytan, he is trying to take our remembrance away
from Allah swt
o Remember before prayer you have to take a step back and remember
that you are doing all those things for Allah
● Ask Allah swt for protection and get him to help you ward off shaytan

The prophet SAW says that Salah will stop you from doing bad → if this is not happening
that means your salah is deficient

Challenges of Khushu
● Many times we here Khashya and Khushoo
o Khushoo is different than Khashya but many times Khushoo includes
khashya
o Khushoo includes tranquility, submission, fear of Allah, humility in front of
Allah swt
● Allah swt talks about the 7 qualities of people that enter Firdous in surat al
Mu’minum: 1-11
o The very first quality is that they have khushoo in their salat
o Later on he lists the last quality and he mentions salat again (they protect
their salats)
o Then he says the results: Those are the inheritors of paradise, and they will
inherit Firdous
o Notice the choice of words “Inherit” not “enter”
▪ You see inheritance, is actually a right of a person, and that right of
course can be removed, if they do something wrong
▪ Otherwise inheritance is your right – these people who really
embody these qualities, they will be the inheritors of paradise, that
is the status Allah swt gives them
o Those 7 Qualities are acronym for FIRDAUS
▪ Fearful in Slah
▪ Inappropriate talk
▪ Readily pay zakat
▪ Desist from evil actions/Dawn on the clothes of Modesty
▪ Always trustworthy
▪ Uphold your promises
▪ Safe gaurd your salah
● Khushu is a prerequisite to the acceptance of the prayer
o The person will come and pray their salah, and they will leave their salah,
and all that is recorded for them is 1/10 (Hadith of Prophet SAW)
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o The person does not get from their salah, except that for which they think
(if you can’t remember what they recited, then you should question your
reward)
o If you want, I will tell you the first piece of knowledge that will be raised from
the people is khusu (Prophet SAW)
▪ It is a knowledge that you learn
▪ He said “there will be a time, when you enter a masjid, and you will
not find in them one person that has khushu”
▪ In another hadith he told us “the first thing you lose in your deen is
amanah (trustworthiness) and the last thing is salah”
▪ Amanah is long gone, and you see how many people actually pray
▪ Imam al Qayim, said the khushoo, includes 3 things:
● 1. to humble one’s heart to the greatness of Allah swt (he is
“akbar” in our lives)
o Our pious predecessors used to say: don’t look at how
small of a sin you have done, but look at the greatness
of the one you have disobeyed
● 2. Feel a sense of humility in front of Allah
o Not a sense of shyness like we usually think, but the
idea of feeling ashamed in front of an authority figure.
o Think of how kids act when adults walk into a room
o “‫استحي‬ “ have shame
o If you feel like you want to commit a sin, do it on land
that is not for Allah swt, if you want to
● 3. To have one’s heart filled with the love and appreciation of
Allah swt
o The khushoo of hypocricy, is if someone looks humble
by his looks (looks submissive) but his heart is not
submissive, he does not believe in Allah swt’s
greatness
Analogies of Khusuu (from Ibn Qayim)
● The heart is like earth, and dhikr of Allah swt is rain
o When the heart soaks up the rain it produces earth
o When you are doing dhikr as lip service – it is like barren earth, they still get
the rain, but they do not benefit from it and reap fruit
● The body is like a tree, the remembrance of Allah swt is like rain it makes the
branches supple and flexible but if they are dry then they just snap and break
o But when it is dry, without dhikr, it becomes harder to get up for fajr, read
quran, memorize quran, remember Allah swt, etc
o The submissive body is like a supple fruit bearing tree – it is not just easy to
remember Allah, it is also FUN, it is awesome to go and pray! They can’t
wait to go to a lecture, to pray, to do dhikr, toread Quran, etc
o Uthman RA would stand up and recite the entire Quran in his Qiyam, and
he would say “if our hearts were pure we would not have enough of the
Quran”
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o When the remembrance of Allah swt is plenty we look forward to his

worship and have fun through worship of Allah

Take 3 Minutes to think of three most challenging commandments of Allah swt

Mine:
- Balancing all my responsibilities/acts of worship
- Not engaging in idle talk
- Wanting for my Muslim Brother/Sister what I want for myself

Write down what you can improve/reflect on throughout this course that can help you
with your 3 things

Connecting with Allah swt

o Prophet SAW said “When one of you gets up and prays, you are not but having a
very intimate and private conversation with your lord. Let each one of you look at
yourself, how you are having the conversation with Allah swt”
o Salah is our Silah (connection) with Allah swt
o Prophet SAW said “When you pray, don’t look around, because Allah swt turns
his face towards you in the Salah”
o As long as you don’t get distracted here and there
o That is why, it is so dangerous to break your salah
o You are standing in front of Allah swt because you need him, he doesn’t
need you! He is Al Samad, he don’t need you!
o When Allah swt turns his face towards us, how could we turn our face
away from him !
o In a hadith Qudsi, the prophet SAW says I have divided my Salah (referring to Al
Fatiha) into 2 parts, every time you read an ayah in surat al fatiha, Allah swt
responds:
o That is why one of the pious predecessors would pause after every ayah
(this is actually a sunah), people would ask “are you saying something” and
he said, no I just enjoy imagining that my lord is responding to me

Attitudes towards the Salat

o Rasulsallah Allahu Alayhi wa Salam when he would pray:
o In his heart you would hear a buzzing sound – like the sound that comes
from a cooking pot or a kettle → because he would cry in the salah
o One time he told his wife Aisha RA “leave me to worship my lord a little”
and Aisha responds full of love “I love to be near you, but I love what makes
you happy”. He stood up and made wudu, then he stood up and prayed,
then she said “he kept crying and crying until his lap became wet and kept
crying till the ground around him became wet”. Bilal came and asked for
his permission to call the adhan, and Bilal said “ you cry and Allah has
forgiven your sins. Prophet SAW said “should I not be thankful to Allah swt”
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o One time the prophet SAW was praying and he came upon an Ayah of
Surat Al Ma’idah
▪ “If you punish them Allah, then they are your slaves, and if you
forgive them then you are the Aziz and al Hakim” and Aisha said he
kept repeating this ayah until morning
o Umar RA
o He is a man that when he walked on Uhud, Uhud started shaking until the
prophet SAW told it to stop
o Umar who when he took a path, shaytan walked another way
o Umar who Allah promised him paradise on this earth
o It is said that one time he was passing by a man at night and he was
reciting Surat Al Tur and he heard him saying “verily the punishment of
your lord is coming, and when it comes no one can repel the punishment of
Allah” – Umare said “I swear by the Lord of the Ka’abah this is true”, and
then he fell ill for 1 month and no one knew what was wrong with him
o Umar was on one end of the masjid and Abdullah b. Shaddad man was on
another end of the masjid, and the man said he could hear Umar sobbing
in fajr from the other end of the masjid (While reciting the verse “I only
complain of my worries to Allah”)
o Other Pious Predecessors
o In battle, one of the Muhajirin layed down to relax, the other (Abad Ibn
Bishir ) got up and prayed, while he was praying an arrow hit him, so Abad
pulled the arrow out and put it to the side and continued praying (this
happened 3 times). When he was done he woke up the other man, the
other man said WHY did you not wake me up earlier, the man said, I was
reading a surah I liked and I did not want to cut off that surah
o Ali Ibn ul Hussain – one time he was praying and there was a fire in his
house, so people would call out to him, fire fire, and he was in his sajdah.
So what did he do? He stayed in the sajdah. When he finished and came
out, people were like WHAT WERE YOU DOING? He said “I was distracted
by the fire (jahanam)”
o When these people prayed, their levels of concentration did not allow
them to think about what is going on around them (That is how immersed
they were in the Salah)
o What are the things that distract you from the Salah? Ask yourself that, and ask
yourself, are those things worth it? Are they worth taking your attention away
from the dhikr of Allah swt

Virtues of Wudu
َ ‫ِإنَّ هَّللا َ ُيحِبُّ ال َّتوَّ ِاب‬
َ ‫ين َو ُيحِبُّ ْال ُم َت َطه ِِّر‬
‫ين‬
Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant
and loves those who purify themselves."
[Al Baqara: 222]
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o The Prophet SAW says that when we wash ourselves for wudu, the sins that our
body parts committed fall off → until he comes out, from his sins, absolutely clean
and pure

Take 3 Minutes to think in groups of 3 of sins that each of these 3 body parts commit

Eyes: Looking at someone lustfully, looking at someone with jealousy, watching

inappropriate content, spying on someone, reading something that doesn’t concern
you, using your eyes to read something other than the Quran (like Harry Potter lol)

Hands: Stealing, typing flirtatious texts, typing that gets you to inappropriate websites,
touching something that is not yours (forbidden), hurting someone (physical violence),
hand shaking with the opposite gender, accepting haram money, hand gestures

Feet: Walking to places that are haram, getting a foot massage from a non-mahram,
kicking someone, exposing your feet (as a sister), walking provocatively, walking into club
and showing off your dance moves,
Allah tells us we will surely be asked about the nia’am (blessings) of Allah swt; these body
parts are all nia’am. We will be asked about these body parts on the day of judgement.

One of the pious predecessors said, if someone gives you a gift, the least you could do is
not use those gifts to displease him
o That is an aspect of shukr/ gratitude

Think of the sins/cleaning them when you do your wudu, and your wudu will be different,
because you are putting feelings in your wudu and emotions into it

Hadith talking about how if you have khushu in salah, you will leave the salah in the state
like that which he left his mother’s womb (purified from sin)
o That is a process, you cannot get to khushu in Salah with a checklist. It is a
process; you cannot get it through quick fixes
o People would work on sincerity in Salah for 20 years if not more – doesn’t mean
you will not feel khushu throughout that time, just that you have to work
o When you say Bismillah Alladhi ata’amani hadha, that can be an emotional thing.
Allah swt in a Hadith Qudsi says “Each of you is hungry, except that for which I
have fed, so ask me to feed you and I will”
o The meaning is there, how much our heart soaks it up, depends on us
o When your heart is emptied of everything except for Allah, it brings an amazing
sense of courage, so much so that you say things that are right for the sake of
Allah swt and you are not scared to say it

Jibreel talked to Muhammad saw and used his first name, ‘Ya Muhammad, live your life
the way you want, ……. You’re going to leave it. Do what ever you want, because you’re
going to be rewarded for it.
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o Know very well, the nobility of a muslim, lies where …

o And his honour lies where he leaves people, not having the state of society in
his heart, but Allah Azza Wajal in his heart
o And he frees, he devotes his heart for Allah SWT

You’re washing your hands, your mouth, etc. feeling all the sins and hoping Allah will
cleanse you …
o What kind of mindset will you be in?
o Your mindset will be that you will stop looking at others and look at yourselves,
humility
o Allah will not change the state of people until they change themselves
o Now you come to the end of the wudhu and say ashhaduana la illahi illah ,
wahdahu la shareekah lah Allah and make the dua’a of wudhu

Umar bin Al-Khattab narrated that :

Allah’s Messenger said: ‘Whoever performs Wudu, making Wudu well, then says: (Ashhadu an
la ilaha illallah, wahdahu la sharika lahu, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan-abduhu wa
rasuluhu, Allahummajalni minat tawwabin, waj’alni minal mutatahhirin) ‘I testify that none
has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone, there are no partners for Him. And I testify that
Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. O Allah! Make me among the repentant, and make
me among those who purify themselves.’ Then eight gates of Paradise are opened for him, that
may enter by whichever of them wishes.”

o The point is to say it with feelings “Oh Allah make me of the tawabeen”
o Ibn Al Qayim, reflecting on this dua’a is because it cleanses the person in 3 ways:
o 1. From the biggest of impurities, Shirk
▪ Your nafs should not be your illah
▪ Allah swt says in the Quran, “Have you not seen the one who has
taken their own desires as their illah”
o 2. It cleanses you from the impurity of your sins. Asking Allah swt to make
him/her from those who repent.
▪ Allah swt loves tawbah so much, that when you do tawbah he takes
your sins and turns them to hasanat
▪ How do you do Tawbah?: 4Rs of Tawbah
● Feel a sense of remorse for what you have done, feel a sense
of regret, resolve in yourself that you will never do it again,
redress the rights of anyone that you have wronged
o 3. You are cleansing yourself from physical impurities
▪ You are facing Allah swt physically and spiritually cleansed
o Whoever says this dua’a with sincerity, Allah swt will open the eight gates of
Paradise for him and allow him to enter through whichever one he wishes
o Of the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW is to pray 2 raka’as after wudu
o The Prophet SAW asked Bilal RA “What is the best deed you have done”
o Why ? “Because I heard your footsteps ahead of me in Jannah”
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o Bilal Said “ I don’t do anything worth mentioning, except that whenever I

purify myself (aka make wudu), after that I pray whatever I can pray”
o The Prophet SAW said “The only one who safeguards his wudu, is a true believer”
o Scholars understand this as, a true believer always remains in wudu
o Other scholars say that they “perfect their wudu”
o Good Sunnah is to always renew our wudu

Physical Preparation for the Salat

o Adorn yourself
‫َيا َبنِي آدَ َم ُخ ُذوا ِزي َن َت ُك ْم عِ ندَ ُك ِّل َمسْ ِج ٍد َو ُكلُوا‬
َ ‫َوا ْش َربُوا َواَل ُتسْ ِرفُوا ۚ ِإ َّن ُه اَل ُيحِبُّ ْالمُسْ ِرف‬
‫ِين‬
o O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and
drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.
[Al Ar’af: 31]
o Approach your salat looking good, don’t wear PJs/undershirt when
approaching prayer
o We buy new suits/ties etc for a big job interview, but we dress like hobos
when facing Allah swt ?!
o Use Miswak/ Brush your teeth
o The Prophet SAW said, if I didn’t think it would have been too difficult for
my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the miswak (brush their
teeth) before every salat
o The Prophet SAW said “Whenever a slave stands up and prays, an angel
comes to him and he stands behind him and listens to the Quran, and
come closer, and he keeps listening to him and coming closer, until the
angel puts himself right in front of the mouth of the person reciting until he
gets to a point where he does not recite an ayah unless it is in the mouth of
an angel”
▪ Make sure you ain’t blowing gross breath into the angel’s mouth :P
o Avoid smelly foods before congregational prayer
o Whoever has eaten garlic or onions shouldn’t go to a congregational
prayer – why? Because “the angels are disturbed by the same things that
humans are disturbed by”
o Make sure to be respectful to the angels that are joining us in the masjid or
your brother and sisters praying next to you

Prayer in the Mosque

o Prophet SAW said, whoever leaves their home in a state of wudu, to go to the
mosque to pray an obligatory act is the reward of a haji in the state of ihram, and
whoever leaves to pray the remembrance of dhuha is the reward of someone
doing umrah
o Some scholars say this is meaning to leave it and pray in the masjid and
others say it means to leave your life behind and pray
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o A salah that is followed by another salah with no vain talk in between, is written in
‘iliyeen (where the good deeds of the pious people are recorded)
o The Rasul SAW, he teaches us in a hadith the following dua’a after leaving the
home towards the masjid
o allaahumma-j‛al fee qalbee noor-an, wa fee lisaanee noor-an, waj‛al fee
sam‛ee noor-an, waj‛al fee baṣaree noor-an , waj‛al min khalfee noor-an,
wamin amaamee noor-an, waj‛al min fawqee noor-an, wa min taḥtee
noor-an, allahumma a‛ṭinee noor-an

O Allah, place within my heart light, and upon my tongue light, and within
my ears light, and within my eyes light, and place behind me light, and in
front of me light, and above me light, and beneath me light. O Allah, bestow
upon me light.
o Imam Al Nawawi commented that the scholars say that the Prophet SAW
asked for light for his person and light to surround him and this refered to
asking for the truth, understanding it completely and being guided
towards it → therefore a person asks for light for his body, his actions,
movements and in his surrounding
o Then you go to the masjid, enter with your right foot and say “allaahum-maf-taḥ
lee abwaaba raḥmatik” - O Allah, Open for me the gates of Your Mercy.
o What more could you ask for? The prophet SAW was gifted with the talent
of short speech
o The Prophet SAW said, come to the Salah in “Sakeenah”, “Tranquility”, whatever
you catch, you pray and whatever you miss then redo it
o Yes, technically, you have caught that raka’a but you missed reciting surat
al fatiha, you missed having Allah swt face you and you missed being with
Him and Angel listening to your recitation
o Congregational prayer cleanses sins
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "The prayer offered in congregation is twenty-five times more
superior (in reward) to the prayer offered alone in one's house or in a business center,
because if one performs ablution and does it perfectly, and then proceeds to the mosque
with the sole intention of praying, then for each step which he takes towards the mosque,
Allah upgrades him a degree in reward and (forgives) crosses out one sin till he enters the
mosque. When he enters the mosque he is considered in prayer as long as he is waiting for
the prayer and the angels keep on asking for Allah's forgiveness for him and they keep on
saying: 'O Allah! Be Merciful to him, O Allah! Forgive him, as long as he keeps on sitting at
his praying place and does not nullify his state of purification (Bukhari: Hadith No. 477).
o One of the thing that expiates your sins is to sit in the masjid between the
salah – but instead how many times do we have time to go and sit and
reflect on the ayat of Allah swt
o Anas bin Malik narrated that :
Allah's Messenger said: "Whoever performs Salat for Allah for forty days in congregation,
catching the first Takbir, two absolutions are written for him: absolution from the Fire, and
absolution from the Fire, and absolution from hypocrisy." [ Jami’ At-Tirmidhi]
o Chellenge to do this, it is very difficult however the reward is immense
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Call to Prayer
o The status of the imam and the mu’adhhin
o The Prophet SAW in a beautiful dua’a said “The Imam is a responsible
person and the Mu’adhin is trusted, Oh Allah rightfully guide Al Aimmah
and forgive the mu’adhidhinin) – Collection of Abu Dawud
▪ One should not seek to be an imam, because of the responsibility, it
should be an appointed position
o Excellence of Calling to Prayer
o Prophet SAW said that the mu’athin is forgiven at the end of the Adhan;
and everything moist or dry hears him asks for forgiveness for him”
o Abu Sa’id Al Khudri said to his father, when you are herding your sheep
and the time comes to pray, call the adhan loudly, whether human, jinn or
anything else will bear witness in favour for you on the Day of
Resurrection” – Abu Sa’id added “ I have heard this from the Messenger of
Allah swt” – Bukhari
o Why do people feel depressed? Don’t they see that to Allah swt prostrates
everything in this world, the sun, and the moon and the mountains and the
sea and everything. How can someone feel lonely, when they go look at a
tree and says “Ohh You make sajdah to Allah too!”
▪ Know that everything around you will bear witness to you ,
everything and everyone makes tasbih to Allah swt in their own way
o Uqbah b. Amir reported “Allah is pleased with a shepherd who calls to
prayer on the mountain and then offers the prayer. Allah, the Exalted says
“Look at this servant of Mine; he calls to the prayer, offers it, and he fears
Me, so I forgive him and admit him to paradise” (Abu Dawud)
o The beauty of this iba’adah is that no one sees it but Allah swt, it is
between you and him

Adhan
o We say in the adhan: Allahu Akbar x4 (or 2 depending on school of thought)
o The translation of Akbar is “Greater…” leaving space for you to fill in the
rest, therefore he is greater than all things
o Ashadu Ana La illaha illa Allah
o What does that mean? There are certain conditions if you mean what you
are saying
▪ 8 conditions:
● Al Ilm - To know that nobody deserves to be worshipped but
Allah and repent to him
● Al Yaqeen – certainty, firm belief
● Al Qubool – Acceptance
● Al inqiyad – to submit and comply
● Al Sidq – meaning and truthfulness
● Al Ikhlas – sincerity to Allah
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o Say, "Indeed, my prayer, and my rites of sacrifice, and

my living, and my dying (are) for Allah, Lord (of) the
worlds. (Surat Al An’am: 162)
● Al Mahabbah – filled with love for Allah swt
● Al Kufru bi ahadin illa Allah – deny/ disbelief in anyone other
than Allah swt
o When you take into consideration these things when listening to the
Adhan, it will increase in your khushu
o wa Ashadu Ana Muhammadan RasulAllah
o Conditions to believe in Muhammadan RasulAllah:
▪ To believe that he is from Allah swt and all he speaks is having wahy
from Allah swt
▪ To obey him
● Allah swt says “Know by your lord, they will not truly believe,
until they take you, as an arbitrator between them and then
when they do that they don’t feel any sense of tightness or
frustration or regret regarding what you commanded and
they submit with total submission”
▪ They follow the Prophet SAW - By following his Sunnah
▪ They take him as the only role model in their life
▪ Whenever they hear his name they always send Salams on him
▪ They don’t exaggerate him as a man; they don’t give him qualities
that only belong to Allah swt, they do not transgress in appreciating
him (i.e bidah)
● Prophet SAW said “I don’t own any good, even for myself,
except what Allah gives me”
▪ Learn about him and learn about his seerah
▪ They love him SAW
o haya ‘ala al falah (Rush/haste towards that which is good)
▪ In the Quran, Allah swt says, race with each other to the forgiveness
of your lord
▪ Prophet SAW race to the Jannah that expands the skies and the
earth. A little boy, Umair Ibn Hamam Al Ansari, said “Jannah that
expands the sky and the earth” the Prophet SAW said yess, so the
boy said “Baghin Bagh (translates to like WOW)”. And the Prophet
SAW said why you saying that, he said I hope to be one of them. The
Prophet SAW said you are one of them. So the boy pulled out a bag
and started eating some dates and he said “If I am alive until I eat
these dates, then that is too long of a life”. So he ran into the
battlefield and Allah swt took his life
▪ Imam Al Nawawi said that the word falah is the most
comprehensive term that expresses about anything, that which is
good – through that Allah swt is telling us that that is the way to
rush towards all that is good
o Dua’as and Dhikr of Adhan
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▪It is the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW to say just what he says, and
then send salams on me, for whoever sends salams on me Allah
sends 10 salams for him and ask Allah for waseelah for me, that is a
status in Jannah that is only there for one slave of the slaves of
Allah, and whoever asks for my waseelah, will get my intercession
on the Prophet SAW
▪ Whoever says after they hear the adhan then say the dua’a of
Adhan, then for him it becomes incumbent on him My forgiveness
on the day of judgement
▪ Whoever says the adhan after the mua’dhin with his heart (not just
with his tongue), he will enter paradise
▪ Whoever hears the mu’athin saying the shahadah, and says
“radayta billahi rabah wa bil Islami deena wa bimuhammadin
salahAllah allayhi wa salam nabiyan wa rasullah” his sins are
forgiven - but ofcourse you have to mean it
▪ After you have heard the adhan and you are waiting for salah, that
is one of the prime times to make dua’a
● One of the main dua’as “Rabbi ja’alni min muqimeena al
salati wa dhuriati”
o Sa’od b. Musayyib, one of the tabi’in (pious predecessors) said: For the last
30 years, never has the mu’adhin proclaimed the adhan except that I was
anticipating it in the masjid

Starting the Salah

o If you have done all those things, from wudu, made the dua’a, listen/raise the
adhan then shayta’an is very upset and will try to distract you
o Start with Allahu Akbar
o Allah says in Hadith qudsi “O son of Adam, devote yourself to my worship,
and I will fill your heart with contentment, and I will remove your poverty;
but if you do not do that, then I will fill your heart with worldly concerns and
will not take care of your poverty” (Sahih Ibn Hibban)
o Rasul SAW says “Whoever’s main worry is the dunya, Allah will scatter his
affairs for him and he puts poverty between his eyes and he won’t get from
this world except what is written for him; and whoever focuses their
mindset on the hearafter, then Allah will put his affairs together, and Allah
will put contentment in his heart, and the dunya will come to that person
forcefully.”
o The first thing you need to do is to know this Allah that you are saying is
Akbar
▪ When you come to the salah preoccupied about worldly affairs and
poverty, know that Allah swt is Al-Razaq, just have trust in him
▪ Those who are worried about islamaphobia, know that your Allah is
Al Wakeel, the disposer of affairs
 The Spiritual Zone 16

▪ If you feel like you have no friends, no one you can connect with,
know that your Allah is Al Hafidh, the protector – to him belongs
countless amounts of angels that will protect you by
▪ If you feel lost/confused, your Allah is Al Hadi, the one who guides
▪ If you want a spouse/children etc, Allah is Al Wahad, he is the
provider
▪ Don’t let those thoughts occupy your salah, say Allahu Akbar, Allah
can take care of those issues
▪ For Allah it is a matter of two letters, kaf and nun (kun fa ya kuun)
▪ Allah swt says, each and every one of you is going astray, so ask me
for guidance and I will guide you
▪ Your Allah is Al Rahman, Al Raheem – You and I we sin day and
night, and he forgives us
▪ Rasul SAW said “Every single one of my ummah will enter Jannah,
except the one who refuses” and he was asked “who would refuse”
so he said “whoever obeys me will enter Jannah, and whoever
disobeys me has refused to enter Jannah”
▪ When your nafs brings forth thoughts in your salah, and you say
Allahu Akbar, think of the greatness of Allah, learn about the names
and attributes of Allah swt, it will sooth you, because you know he is
indeed Akbar than all your problems
▪ He says “Ask me and I will give you”, “if my slave asks you about me,
than I am near”,
▪ Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven every night when the last
third of the night begins when He says, ‘Who calls Me to answer
him? Who asks Me to give him? Who asks Me for forgiveness to
forgive him? (Sahih Bukhari)

Take 3 Minutes to think of some thoughts that preoccupy your mind when you come to
the Salah/Heard other people talk about

Then get into groups and think of a name of Allah that you can think and learn about to
ward off those thoughts

Think about job/money – Allah is Al Razaq

Past sins – Al Rahman / Al Ghafar / Al Ghafur
Safety of Family Members – Al Wali / Al Muhaymin
Boss/ Being fired – Al Malik
Self Esteem – Al Musawir (Shaper of Beauty)
World issues, death, evil things – Al Wasi (the Al comprehending), As-Salam (The source
of peace), Al Adil (the Just)
Marriage/ Children – Al Waddud / Al Razaq/ Al Wahab
Uncertainty about future – Al Hadi (the quide)
Hardship that other people are going through – Al Hakim (to understand) ,
 The Spiritual Zone 16

Tasks you have to do – Al Bari (the making of order)

Hopefully this activity has helped you realize that when you get to know Allah swt, it is
beautiful

Ibn Qayim said, when the flavor comes in the heart, by really getting to know The
Beloved One (Allah swt),

Most of the things that distract you from Allah swt, can be solved by internalizing a
name(s) of Allah swt and can be reiterated by saying Allahu Akbar

As Muslims, we derive our code of conduct, by emulating the meanings behind the
names of Allah swt
o When we learn about Allah swt we learn that he is Al Ghafur and Al Afo’u (he
forgives & wipes the slate clean) → Well that means we must emulate this quality
and be forgiving in our lives
o The incident of Ifq → hypocrites spreading rumours of Aisha RA committing
adultery
o One of those people that got involved was Mista’ah, a relative of Abu Bakr,
and Abu Bakr used to financially support him, and he said he wouldn’t
support him anymore, so Allah revealed Quran saying:
“And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth
swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, Al-Masakin (the
poor), and those who left their homes for Allah’s Cause. Let them
pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And
Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”
(Surat An-Noor:11-22)

o Had Allah held us accountable for what we do, there would not be a single living
creature on this earth – however , we keep sinning and he keeps forgiving
o When you say Allahu Akbar in the salah it should ward off straying thoughts but
also be carried into your life by trying to emulate his names