41
Chapter Four
THE PRAYER AND ITS EFFECT UPON ABANDONING SINS
AND DEVELOPING THE SOUL24
Allaah, the Sublime said:
Indeed prayer restrains from the obscene and evil deeds.
Soorah al-Ankaboot [(29:45)].
Allaah has explained in this aayah that a correct prayer, performed
with humility and submissiveness (khushoo’ ) undoubtedly prevents
its performer from obscene and evil deeds and leads him to
goodness. Therefore, you will see that the people of the mosque are
the most superior of mankind and the best amongst them. The sins
and shortcomings of others are many times more than the sins and
shortcomings of these people.
If the prayer does not prevent us from obscene and evil deeds then
it is necessary to carefully scrutinise the deficiency within it and to
correct it. There is no escaping from correcting one’s prayer and
there is no fleeing from bringing about khushoo’ within it. So let us
look at the causes and let us strive to treat them with the cure, just
as we treat our bodies for their diseases. However the treatment of
the souls is more appropriate and comes first, and this is what will
help us to understand the saying of the Messenger (ρ), “The first
thing for which a servant will be held to account is his
prayer. If it is correct and sound, all the rest of his actions
will be correct and sound, and if it is corrupt then all the rest
of his actions will be corrupt.” [Reported by at-Tabaraanee in
Al-Awsat and Ad-Diyaa from Anas (τ). It is also in Saheehul-Jaami
no. 2570].
So in the correction of the prayer lies the correction of all the other
actions. The position of the prayer (relative to all the other actions)
is like that of the head to the body. This is because the servant is
24
From As-Salaat wa Atharuhaa fee Ziyaadatil-Eemaan wa Tahdheebin-Nafs, of
Husain al-Awaa’ishah, with slight additions and modification.
42
nearest to his Lord during his prayer. He calls upon his Lord and
seeks forgiveness from Him. He returns to Allaah and cries to Him,
the Sublime.
The prayer cannot be corrected except with the correction of the
creed, being observant of Allaah, having fear of Him, bringing
oneself to account in front of Him, and trembling out of fear of His
Fire. When he finishes his prayer and is put to trial with sins and
disobedience, he finds strength in his heart to repel them. This is
because he looks at the temporary and vanishing pleasures and
then at the bliss and joy which never ends and the happiness which
is never cut off. So he puts the good which will remain (and last
forever) ahead of that which is only transitory and vanishes.
The prayer of the servant is corrupted due to lack of the careful
observance of Allaah and weakness in taqwaa.25 A person is,
therefore, not able to produce such awe as will come between him
and his acts of disobedience.
There also occurs in the hadeeth, “Indeed, there is in the body a
morsel of flesh, if it is sound and wholesome, then the whole
body will be sound and wholesome and if it is corrupt, the
whole body will be corrupt. Indeed it is the heart.” [Reported
by Bukhaaree, Muslim and others from an-Nu’maan ibn Basheer
(τ)].
In the correction and purification of the heart lies the correction of
the whole body and in the corruption of the heart lies the corruption
of the whole body. If the heart is corrected, the hand will be
corrected so that it does not steal or strike anyone or commit zina
by touching what is unlawful. The feet will also be corrected so that
they do not walk towards what is unlawful. The ears will be put
straight so that they do not listen to musical instruments, slander or
backbiting. The situation of the tongue will improve so that it does
not speak except what is good. If the heart is corrupted, the whole
25
The taabi’ee, Talq ibn Habeeb was asked to define taqwaa. He said, “Taqwaa is to
act in obedience to Allaah, hoping for His Mercy upon a light from Him. And taqwaa is
to abandon acts of disobedience to Allaah, out of fear of Him upon a light from Him.”
Reported by Ibn Abee Shaibah in his Kitaabul-Eemaan, no. 99. Ibn al-Qayyim (may
Allaah have mercy on him) explained the phrase, “… upon a light from Him …” to mean
pure and correct faith, that nothing but pure faith initiated the servant to perform the
action. [Transl. note]
43
body becomes corrupt and the limbs will not depart except towards
evil conduct and mischief.
The matter of the heart is either set aright or corrupted by the
prayer. If the prayer is good it is an indication that the heart has
benefited and that it is sound and wholesome. If it is not good, it is
an indication of the heart receiving little benefit and of its
corruption. Evil deeds then become manifest and overtake the
limbs.
Know that every prayer which is performed with awe and humility
enlivens the heart and stimulates it to do good deeds and also
makes it adapt to good deeds, just as every good action which is
performed outside of the prayer increases ones khushoo’ within the
prayer. In a hadeeth there occurs, “Upon you is the Night Prayer
(Tahajjud) as it was the habit of the righteous people before
you. It is a means of nearness to Allaah, the Exalted, a
prevention from evil deeds and an expiation for sins.”
[Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad, at-Tirmidhee and others. It is
also in Saheehul-Jaami, no. 3957].
The Messenger (ρ) has made it clear that the Night Prayer is a
prevention from sins in that it stops the one who performs it from
evil deeds and incites him to do good deeds. Therefore, it is
necessary for us to establish the prayer and to increase in it.
Likewise we must perform the Night Prayer, standing awestruck,
humble and submissive to Allaah, the Sublime, our hearts weeping
over what we have neglected and fallen short of while hoping for the
mercy of our Lord. We seek nearness to him by calling Him by His
Names and Attributes, asking Him by them that he establishes us
(upon His path) and that He gives us benefit from our prayer and
standing at night.
It was said to the Prophet (ρ), “So and so prays the whole of the
night, yet when he reaches the morning he steals!” He (ρ) said,
“What you say (i.e., about his prayer) should prevent him
from that…” or he said, “His prayer will prevent him (from
that).”26
26
Reported by Ahmad, Bazzaar and others. Shaikh al-Albaanee declared it authentic
in Silsilatul-Aahaadeeth ad-Da’eefah, vol.1, p.16, in relation to the false hadeeth,
44
When the prayer of the servant reaches its goal in preventing him
from sin and disobedience it is written for him in Iliyyeen as is
mentioned in the hadeeth, “If a prayer is performed after
another prayer and there is no foolishness (vain talk)
between them, it is written in Illiyyeen.” [Reported by Aboo
Daawood and others. It is also in Saheehul-Jaami, no.3731].
Therefore, the performance of prayer with earnestness and bringing
together the elements of love, fear, hope, awe and reverence, all of
which are constituents of khushoo’ is a necessary and vital matter.
As is well known, the difference between an accepted prayer and a
rejected one is khushoo’. Ibn al-Qayyim mentions in Al-Madaarij,
“Two people pray in the same row, behind the same Imaam-and the
difference between the prayers of the two is like the distance
between the heavens and the earth.” And this is because in one
heart is khushoo’ and in the other heart-which is dead and has
found more pleasure in escaping to the valleys of the world-there is
the darkness of heedlessness.
“Whoever is not prevented by his prayer from committing obscene and evil deeds does
not increase except in distance from Allaah.”