The Language of Prayer A seminar organised by Sanad Arabic Language of Prayer Seminar Schedule Introduction to Sanad Arabic 9:30am - 9:40am Session 1 9:40am 11:10am Morning Tea 11:10am 11:30am Session 2 11:30am 12:40pm Lunch 12:40 pm 1:30pm Session 3 1:30pm 3pm 1
The Context و أ ق م الص ل ة ل ذ ك ر ي and establish prayer for My remembrance. و أ ق يم وا الص ل ة and establish prayer بني اإلس لم على خمس : شهادة أن ال إله إال هللا وأن محمدا رسول هللا وإقام الص لة... Islam is built upon five: the testimony of faith; establishing the prayer أق ام / ي ق يم To straighten, to make right, to put in order. straight, upright, erect ق و يم upright, straight, harmonious م س ت ق يم 2
Actions outside prayer 10/11/2014 Establishing the prayer The divine address is to establish the prayer, not just to pray. Allah has promised Paradise to those who do so. و ال ذ ين ه م ع ل ى ص ل و ات ه م ي ح اف ظ و ن And they who carefully maintain their prayers أ ول ئ ك ه م ال و ار ث و ن * ال ذ ين ي ر ث ون ا لف ر د و س ه م ف يه ا خ ال د و ن * Those are the inheritors. Who will inherit Paradise. They will abide therein eternally. How? Conditions Integrals (Obligatory and Necessary) Emphasised Sunnahs Actions within prayer 3
Actions outside prayer Actions outside prayer 10/11/2014 How? States of the heart Actions of the tongue Actions of the limbs States of the heart Actions of the tongue Actions of the limbs Actions within prayer How? States of the heart Actions of the tongue Actions of the limbs States of the heart Actions of the tongue Actions of the limbs Actions within prayer 4
Allah s name that encompasses all His most beautiful names. Allah is merciful and loving, mighty and just, perfect and above all imperfection, the self-sustaining, one free of need, upon which all creation subsists. 5
هللا أ ك ب ر Akbar) Al-Takbīr (Allahu Arabic: أ ك ب ر هللا (Allahu Akbar) Translation: God is greater Than everything in this world Than everything you consider great in this world and Presence of Heart هللا أ ك ب ر The takbīr is mentioned upon entering the prayer Presence of heart is essential to prayer The heart is naturally concerned about that which it considers great and important We affirm in the takbīr that Allah is the greatest and most important of all matters Presence of heart can be attained by: recognizing that our greatest concern is Allah It is related to the purpose of our creation and that every other concern in opposition to that is base and paltry. Especially in prayer. 6
and Presence of Heart هللا أ ك ب ر The takbīr is mentioned upon most movements in prayer Presence of heart is essential to prayer We are distracted easily so it serves as a reminder throughout prayer The takbīr in other contexts The adhān The first thing a child hears 7
We have now entered into the presence of our Lord (التعظيم) Reverence This is the nature of a relationship between God and creation, master and slave. Upon entering His presence, one is in a state of reverence, submissiveness and humility The slave wants to ask and seek help but cannot begin plea immediately The etiquette is to greet him with praise. This is the place of the opening invocation. 8
(الث ناء ) Opening Invocation س ب ح ان ك الله م و ب ح م د ك و ت ب ار ك اس م ك و ت ع ال ى ج د ك و ال إ ل ه غ ي ر ك Glory be to You, O God, and Your praise (belongs to You) and blessed is Your name and Your majesty is exalted and there is no deity but You. (سبحانك اللهم) Glory be to You, O God imperfections, to declare Allah free from all التنزيه deficiencies and attributes of created things. س ب ح ان ه ع م ا ي ش ر ك و ن التوبة: ٣١ Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)! ف س ب ح ان الل ه ر ب ال ع ر ش ع م ا ي ص ف ون األنبياء: ٢٢ Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne, from all that they ascribe (unto Him). 9
(سبحانك اللهم) Glory be to You, O God س ب ح Root letters are This root has the meaning of travelling quickly و ك ل ف ي ف ل ك ي س ب ح ون يس: ٤٠ And all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming. (وبحمدك) Your praise Ascribing to Allah all perfections and إثبات الكمال praiseworthy attributes All praise belongs to Allah الحمد هلل Praise: Saying something good in response to a good act All of these statements of praise are all rightfully His because He is their originator 10
Al-tasbīḥ comes before Al-ḥamd It is very important to acknowledge Allah s complete dissimilarity to creation before ascribing any attributes to Him. ل ي س ك م ث ل ه ش ي ء و ه و الس م يع ال ب ص ير الشورى: ١١ There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All- Hearer, the All-Seer. Purity is half of faith الطهور شطر اإليمان 11
Affirming all perfections Negating all imperfections (وتبارك اسمك) Blessed is Your name What is blessing? What is barakah? (الزيادة) is increase بركة The root meaning of Some effects of barakah: It multiplies small amounts Increases and causes good (الخير) to grow Removes afflictions and difficulties Turns the devil away weak and humiliated 12
الل ه بس م In the name of Allah?ب What is the meaning of the word To perform an action seeking assistance from something such that it would have been impossible otherwise From this it is derived the utter need of creation to Allah (وتعالى جد ك ( exalted Your majesty is { و أ ن ه ت ع ال ى ج د ر ب ن ا م ا ٱت خ ذ ص ا حب ة و ال و ل دا } And Exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: He has taken neither a wife nor a son. الجد might and power العظمة self-sufficiency الغنى This highlights Allah s perfect self-sufficiency and complete and total lack of need for anything Either out of His complete power over everything that necessitates this or his inherent self-sufficiency 13
(الث ناء ) Opening Invocation Affirming Allah s total and absolute self-sufficiency Acknowledging one s complete and utter need of Allah Affirming all perfections Negating all imperfections (وال إله غيرك ( You There is no deity but There are many things worshipped, but there is only one who is rightfully worshipped. A statement of tawḥīd focusing on Allah s attribute of being worshipped After listing all these attributes of: Completely free of imperfection All perfect attributes belong to Him All are in need of His blessed name He is the Almighty Self-sufficient Free of need Does anything else worshipped in this world compare? 14
(الث ناء ) Opening Invocation Affirming Allah s sole right to be worshipped Affirming Allah s total and absolute self-sufficiency Acknowledging one s complete and utter need of Allah Affirming all perfections Negating all imperfections 15