Inner Dimensions of the Ettiquette in Prayer

Al hamdulillahi Rabbil Aalameen. On conclusion of our basic course on "Tafseer of Salaat", it was made fair-seeming to me that I should share with you a recent relevant translation of a text that we (my teacher and our study group) had been translating prior to my return to Pakistan (in 2005). I have personally touched up the translation to gain more readability and now feel that, by Allah's Grace, at least this segment of the book is good for public consumption.

The following excerpt is from: “An entrance for the people of legal theory and linguistics to [the field] of [Divine] love and acquaintance” by Abu Abbas Ahmed bin Ibrahim al-Wasitiyy al-Hazzamiyyeen (d. 711 AH). This translation was conducted under the supervision of Abu Abdullah Kehlan al-Jabouri, at the Bukhari Centre in Manchester, UK.

About the Author and the original text: Ibn Rajab, in his "at-Tabaqaat-ul-Hanaabilah", writes, “Taqi-ud-Din ibn Taymiyah would speak highly of him and hold him in much esteem. He would say regarding him, 'He is the Junaid of his time.' He wrote a letter to him from Egypt which he began with the words, 'To our Shaikh – the Imam, the knowledgeable, the fine example, the one who is on the path…'." Ibn Al-Hazzamiyyeen was initially a follower of various unorthodox Sufi orders until he met with Ibn Taymiyah and as a resulted, changed his approach to a more orthodox following of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore, in his choice of prose, ibn al-Hazzamiyyeen (may Allah be Merciful with Him) attempts to bridge the Sufi'istic vocabulary with a more orthodox setting. The following excerpt constitutes "Priniciple No. 6" in trying to educate those who have only seen the technical side of studies in Islam in reaching a more higher-level acquaintance with Allah.

The Hidden Manners in the Prayer

The prayer is a yardstick for "the inner conditions" and the hearts. In it the actual condition of the slave and his position with respect to his belief is revealed: whether he is one who loves, who fears, who hopes, who is mindful or who is connected to Allah – the effects of that will become manifest in the prayer.

And whoever is overwhelmed in the prayer by the whisperings (of the devils) so much so that he does not understand what he recited in it; and he does not find the delight of being in the presence of and engaging with Allah in it; and he does not undergo anything nor does he reach a status; and his prayer is the prayer of the common people; he prays with his body and his heart is wandering amongst the thoughts of the world and how to manage its affairs; then he is not directing himself to Allah (the Mighty and Grand) with his heart, and he has not obtained the humble submission that is necessary for success. As Allah the Exalted stated: “Certainly will the believers have succeeded: they who are during their prayer humbly submissive; and they who turn away from worthless action” [Qur’an 23:1-3]. So he did not keep his thoughts away from that which is worthless, although his tongue is reciting, and his body is bowing or prostrated.

As for the special ones, the people of Allah (the Mighty and Grand), when one of them turns towards the mosque, then he intends to visit Allah (the Mighty and Grand) in His house in response to an invitation – issued by the caller to the prayer - he considers him to be a caller of Allah. And he intends to establish the obligation of Allah, and to be present right in front of Allah. So when he says “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest), then he will not find in his heart anything greater than Allah that should engage him in whispers. Thus, he will stand before Allah with an ever-present heart, knowing full well that Allah (the Mighty and Grand) watches him, sees his position, listens to his secret conversation, is aware of his purpose and intention with respect to his conscience. Then he says: “All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds” [Qur’an 1:2] in secretly conversing by that with his Most Generous Lord. So when he reaches “You alone we worship…” [Qur’an 1:5], he is present in a different state of presence that is more special than the first one; for verily that is an address to the One Who is present by those who are present [Translator: at this point, the speech transfers from the third-person (e.g. “He”), to the second-person (e.g. “You”)].

Subsequently, he recites the Qur’an with contemplation and comprehension. He understands from Allah (the Mighty and Grand) what He desires of him, as if he is reciting directly to Allah; or as if he listens to it directly from Him. Thus, he will be alert to the promising of Allah and His threatening, and His instilling with fear and His cautioning. For indeed, with Allah (the Mighty and Grand) every single word possesses a meaning that demands from His slaves a specific kind of slavery; from fear, or hope, or remembrance or affirming belief, or reflection, or love, or yearning, or wanting, or fearing, or proximity, or connection. So he will understand from Allah (the Mighty and Grand) what He wants and he will establish what that meaning demands from him from slavery. Therefore, he will be in that as Allah (the Mighty and Grand) stated: “They recite it as is its true recital, they are those who believe in it.” [2:121]

And amongst them are those who seek from the verses manifestation of the true meanings of the Speaker’s Attributes.[1] By that he acquires the witnessing by his heart. For indeed He, Glory be to Him, speaks with a speech of One Who is Supreme, Merciful, a Compeller and a Subjugating King. So, for the heart of the well-acquainted, in every single verse the quality that the Speaker manifests himself by in that meaning will become clear. Thus, the prayer, the recitation and the understanding from Allah (the Mighty and Grand) will all be brought together for that well-acquainted slave, and he will verify by his inner-self the Greatness of the Attributes of Allah, the Mighty and Grand.

The Groups of People in terms of their Prayers
And know that the people in terms of their Prayer can be divided into four:

The first group: are the one who pray the prayer of the heedless. They are “the people of recurrent whispering and of fascination by worldly thoughts”. The thoughts attract them to this world, so these people will not have from their Prayer except that of it which they were conscious of.

The second group: their hearts are absent so they demand from their hearts presence but they run away. Every time they flee to the valleys of this world, away from Allah, they bring them back. This is the prayer of the disciples[2], the Mujahideen, the ones who battle with their enemy and their inner-selves. And of them is one who is at one time victorious and he is defeated at another. At one time they are able to attract their inner-selves to The Divine Truth whilst at another time their inner-selves attract them to other than Allah.

The third group: indeed, their hearts become fine and gentle and they are released from the prison of their inner-selves. Thus, it is in fact these hearts that are praying, reciting, comprehending and engaged in secret conversation. They are the ones that are speaking by the Takbir and the Faatihah. The tongue is merely an interpreter for what already resides in the hearts. This is in contrast to the ones before, for verily, they recite with their tongues while demanding from their hearts to be subservient and their presence is by their tongues. Whereas these, their hearts are the speakers and the tongues articulate on their behalf.

The fourth group: when they enter the Prayer they vanish. This is because of what is revealed to their hearts from the effects of the Divine Attributes - out of awe, reverence and glorification. And so their hearts and spirits are abducted; the lights of glory are what abduct them. Thus, what remains is the secret conversation and insight in the place of the untainted and purified self; because their inner-selves are now in the place of the heart, and the heart is in the place of the spirit, and the spirit in the place of the proximity. So that is the Prayer of the nearest ones. May Allah make us of them – Amen.

Then examine yourself, O you who are the seeker, from which of the four groups are you? And treat your heart and ascend from the lower ranks to the higher ranks, but gradually. And expose your desperation to Allah the Exalted in this matter. You will reach, by the Will of Allah the Exalted.

And such is the slave when in the state of bowing: drooping and hanging before the Divine Truth (Mighty & Grand), submissive and diminutive with this heart and mould. Let the heart be attributed with a spiritual bowing – where it is the image of humility and submission – like the exterior is already attributed with the nominal bowing. So then, his apparent will be in congruence with his hidden and what he keeps secret will be equivalent with what he announces. As opposed to the person whose body is leaning forward and bent nominally, but he did not submit with his heart spiritually. So it is as if half of his self is bowing and his other half held back from bowing, he bowed by his body in the seen world, but not with his heart which is from the unseen world.

So let him be in prostration like that and in the tashahhud: present before Allah (Mighty & Grand) in conversation with him, begging him. And when bowed down, his inner-self should not tell him to stand as his hearts is happy with it and delighting in it. And the same with the prostration, for that is surely from the perfection of the features of the Prayer and its secrets and its realities.

And the sign of that who prays with his heart and mould, he will stay after the Prayer for a while to regain consciousness due to the perfection of his immersion and presence in Salah.
So whomsoever Allah gives the opportunity to pray the five prayers upon this description, it is expected that he will remain in the light of every Prayer till the next Prayer; his day and night are immersed and submerged in glimmering lights, submerged outwardly and inwardly in the presence of the Compelling King (Al-Malik Al-Jabbaar).

[1] This marks a transition from reflecting about one’s own slavery to understanding the Master Himself.
[2] Literally: the Murid, i.e. the disciple who receives instruction from a Shaykh