Mukaddimah

Praise be to Allah who has revealed to the core of existence the secret of His specialty, the beauty of which circulates in the realms of mulk and malakut. May Allah bestow peace upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the mecca of the pure and noble souls who have no equal in the presence of Allah (al-hadhdrah adz-dzatiyyah), the realm of manifestation of Divine goodness, the starting point of all praise, the center of the light of Allah, upon whom all creation depends. May peace and blessings be upon the family and companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who are the reflection of his light, the stars around his full moon, and the messengers of his commands and prohibitions.

Wa badu

Prayer is the core of all acts of worship, and the essence of a servant’s relationship with Allah, and the deepest secret of creation since the beginning of time. It is through prayer that the light of divinity (an-nur ar-rabbaniy) that is covered by physical appearance is revealed. It is fitting that those whom Allah has enlightened their inner vision (bashirah) and purified the recesses of their souls (sarirah) from all impurities, focus on it and dispel all that hinders them from ascending to higher degrees, in order to drink (li yakraa) of its clear and refreshing waters.

Alhamdulillah, all praise be to Allah Swt who unites us all in the center of all deeds. Indeed, righteous deeds are an implementation of faith, and when they go hand in hand, they become a boat of salvation and a ladder to ascend towards closeness to Allah, His Paradise, and the company of His beloved.

We have gathered to learn what is contained in this great, noble and light-filled book. A book that comes from the heart of someone who knows Allah, who is always present with Him, who has the capacity to understand the will of Allah and the secrets of His revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in his position as the perfect heir of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

So we have gathered to learn a little of the meanings contained in this book with the aim of gaining mercy and expecting Allah’s favor to be showered upon us. This is because when mention is made of those who are close to Allah and their words are full of the light of realization and pure love for Him, we can taste a little of the secrets of Allah that they know. So remembering and learning about this fact is a means for us to reach out our hands in hope for the good that is with Allah and all that He bestows on those who are truly sincere in worshipping Him and those who are privileged and favored with His grace and mercy.

Let us consider what al-Imam Hasan ibn Saleh al-Bahr (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote in this book, which was written at the request of al-Imam al-Allamah al-Arif billah Abdurrrahman ibn Sulaiman al-Ahdal when they met in Makkah during the Hajj season. When al-Imam Abdurahman al-Ahdal saw in al-Habib Hasan bin Saleh al-Bahr such a vast ocean of knowledge and inner taste (dzauq), he asked al-Habib Hasan to write a treatise on prayer and this blessed book was born.

It was narrated by al-Habib Ali bin Muhammad al-Habsyi, that once when al-Habib Hasan was performing Hajj accompanied by al-Habib Ahmad bin Ali al-Junaid, they met al-Imam Ahmad bin Idris al-Maghribi and sat with him. Al-Habib Ahmad al-Junaid said: “I recited ar-Rasyafat in the presence of al-Imam Ahmad bin Idris, and al-Habib Hasan bin Saleh recited this book by him. When I recited ar-Rasyafat, al-Imam Ahmad bin Idris explained each stanza in full by mentioning verses from the Qur’an and Hadith. And when al-Habib Hasan recited his book, al-Imam Ahmad bin Idris enjoyed and marveled at what was written in it so much that he said: “Had the author of this book been alive today, people would have rushed to him: I was about to tell him that alHabib Hasan was the author of the book, but he prevented me from doing so.”

We find in the opening of this book that after he recited the basmalah – which will be explained in part in the discussion of al-Fatihah – he said:

“Praise be to Allah, the Almighty, who has revealed to the essence of wujud the secret of specialness.”

The word “wujud” in Arabic can mean anything that exists in nature or it can be a mashdar (root word), which when mentioned without any appendages following it, means Allah Swt alone. That is because the root word wujud when used without any other words attached to it refers to the ultimate being, the ultimate existence, which is not preceded by nothingness, has no beginning and no introduction. This kind of existence means none other than Allah, and everything other than Him was originally non-existent and then came into existence by the will of Allah, the Almighty.

The fact that everything other than Allah has a cause and He brings it into existence is a test for humans and jinn. This is because if these other things seize their attention and become their focus, then they will be cut off from Allah. Because that is when they position as if everything that exists other than Allah exists by itself. Whereas the beginning of it all is nothingness and can return to nothing at any time. So for those who have reached the essence of looking at everything with these glasses, this existing form is used as a vehicle that they ride to convey them to the majesty of creation and its attributes, until they reach the secret of the Creator that lies in His creation. Allah says: “We will show them Our signs in all directions and in themselves so that it will be clear to them that it is the truth” (al-Fushilat: 53).

If we understand this, then we will also understand the phrase “Nothing exists except Allah”, which means that nothing exists with true existence without the help of anyone, without any intermediary, except Allah. And when everything comes into existence by His will then it all seems to mean nothing. AL-Imam al-Ghazali said: “Nothing exists except Allah and His actions, because everything that exists other than Allah exists because of His actions that created it all.

However, how many intelligent people neglect Allah Swt as if He does not exist, and everything other than Him exists. This is an act of wrongdoing on one’s part and a form of denial of Allah. Allah swt says about such a person: “Verily, man is a denier of his Lord” (al-‘Adiyat: 6).

Allah swt specializes whom He wills with His mercy and bounty, and Allah swt is the possessor of vast bounty. Thus, the main groups of intelligent beings, namely humans, jinn, and angels, emerged, and those whom Allah chose were distinguished, as He said: “Allah chooses His messengers from angels and men” (al-Hajj: 75). This culminates in the Prophets and Messengers, then the Ulul Azmi from among them, up to the supreme leader of the Messengers, Muhammad (peace be upon him).

“Whose beauty circulates in the realms of mulk and malakut”

The beauty of this specialization and privilege moves, flows in the realm of mulk, which is the realm that is visible and can be reached by the five senses. While the realm of the malakut is the unseen realm. The realm of mulk is the realm that Allah Swt made accessible to the five human senses. While all that cannot be reached with the five senses is included in the realm of malakut. Therefore, the physical form of the sky that we see belongs to the realm of mulk, but the “ahasia events that occur there and the angels themselves belong to the realm of malakut. So the definition of the realm of malakut is everything that according to sunatullah, according to the will of Allah, cannot be reached by the five senses. Allah swt said about Prophet Ibrahim a.s when he was about to be shown the secrets of the heavens and the earth: “And thus We showed Abraham the signs of Our majesty in the malakut of the heavens and the earth so that he would be among those who are certain” (QS. al-AnAm: 75).

This is because Allah swt wants to show Prophet Ibrahim a.s the secrets stored in the heavens and the earth that cannot be reached by the senses.

The means by which divine beauty flows in this realm of creation is through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as some forms of selawat to him: “O Allah bestow selawat upon the Prophet Muhammad, Your light that flows in all creation (Nurika as-Sari).” So he is the center of all beauty and it is from his beauty that Allah swt created all other beauty. It is mentioned in a saying: “There is no excellence in nature except from the most excellent being, and there is no beauty that is spread out except from the most beautiful. There is no spring that gushes and flows except from its ocean.” So he is the center of all excellence and the core of divine choices.

And the author’s statement that this beauty flows and encompasses the entire realms of mulk (the visible) and malakut (the unseen) is an indication that Allah swt created everything in the best possible manner. It shows that in all that Allah has created, whether it is outward or inward, there is a diffused and radiant beauty that is witnessed by those whose hearts are enlightened. Al-Imam Abdullah al-Haddad said: “And witness the beauty whose light is radiating.” Where is that radiant light? He seemed to say: “If you have deep insight, have luminous inner eyes, then you will see that beauty in everything. In another expression it is said that in everything there are signs that reveal that Allah is the one god.

So beauty is scattered and visible in all creatures and creations. “(It is Allah) who created everything in the best possible manner” (QS. as-Sajdah: 7). This is something that should not be lost on the believers. The believers of today are confined by the five senses and the form of majasi and have forgotten the true form, which is Allah Swt. So if one of them is asked to define Allah, they will only answer that Allah is the name for the One who must exist and is entitled to all perfections.

“May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the qiblah of the pure and noble souls.”

Qiblah is something that is the direction to which one faces and becomes the goal and center of attention. Allah swt made for us the most glorious thing on earth, the Kaaba, as the physical Qiblah and stipulated in Islamic law the obligation to face towards it for anyone who wants to pray in His words: “So turn your faces towards the Masjid al-Haram and wherever you are, turn your faces towards it” (QS. al-Bagarah: 150).

The spirit with all the secrets contained therein is given to us by Allah Swt with His mercy without being preceded by any request. As for the phase of nutfah (semen) that develops into a clot of blood, then a clot of flesh, to then have bones which are then wrapped in flesh, is only the journey of the human body. Then Allah swt by His grace put the spirit into it. Allah says: “Say: The soul is the business of my Lord” (al-Isra: 85).

It is narrated in the Quran that when Allah created Adam from dry soil, He said: “So when I have perfected his creation and I have breathed into him My spirit, then bow down to him in prostration”. (QS. al-Isra: 29) We are all given this spirit by Allah, and all praise is due to Allah for this blessing.

The spirit, according to the course of its life, gets influenced by this realm of existence. It may become disconnected from Allah, the Almighty, so that it falls and does not deserve to be called a spirit that has the attributes of the heavens (the attributes of goodness), let alone a spirit that is arshiyyah (whose goal is Allah, the Almighty). This label is given to the spirit based on its purpose and where it is facing. Because basically all spirits come from the sky. It is narrated that at the time of mi’raj, Prophet Muhammad saw Prophet Adam a.s and on his left and right sides there were groups. If he looked to the right, he smiled, and if he looked to the left he cried. When the Prophet asked Jibril about the groups, Jibril replied: “They are the spirits of his offspring,” i.e. spirits that had not yet been born at that time. All of us, who were not yet born at that time, we are in that realm. It was explained that the group on the right are the people of Paradise and the group on the left are the people of Hell. So when he saw his offspring who were members of Paradise he was happy, and when he saw his offspring who were members of Hell he cried.

All spirits live in the heavens before they live on earth, but they are then confined in this body. If it is prevented from connecting with its place of origin and its high position because of its strong attachment to the world and views the world as something that exists intrinsically to the extent that it forgets its Creator and the one who rules over it, then such a spirit is characterized as a low and despicable spirit. Such a soul is one that does not know how to face Allah. It is a spirit that has no Qiblah except the lowly things of this world.

Whereas the spirit that is arshiyyah and ‘arsh is the Creation that has the highest position in this entire universe. This spirit is higher than Sidratul Muntaha which is higher than the highest heaven. This is the spirit that is equal to the ‘arsh in realizing the greatness of the Creator and in facing Him perfectly. And a spirit of this nature is oriented towards Muhammad, peace be upon him. If this spirit faces the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), it will reach Allah. Just as when a person prays facing the Qiblah, his prayer is valid and accepted. Allah swt says: “And if you obey him (Muhammad), surely you will be guided” (QS. an-Nur: 54). If you obey this Qiblah (Prophet Muhammad), you will be guided and reach Us. “And the Messenger has no other duty but to convey (the religion of Allah) clearly” (QS. an-Nur: 54) and he has conveyed very clearly. “Which has no equal in the presence of Allah Swt (al-hadhdrah adz-dzatiyyah).”

The dimension of divinity (al-hadhrahal-Ilahiyyah) includes the deeds, names, attributes, and Essence of Allah Swt. The dimension of action (hadhrat al-af al) – which is the dimension that is easier to understand, more likely to be studied, and more understandable to many people, – is the universe and everything in it that we are commanded to contemplate as well as what it holds. Allah says: “And do they not consider the kingdoms of the heavens and the earth and all that Allah has created” (alAraf: 185), Allah also says: “Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth” (Sūrat Yunus: 105).

In the above verse, Allah does not command us to look at the heavens and the earth; rather, He commands us to look at what is in them: to show us what the heavens and the earth are, what they signify, how they began, what they were made of, and so on. Allah says: “Have they not considered the camel how it was created, and the heavens how they were exalted, and the mountains how they were established, and the earth how it was spread out?” (al-Ghasyiyah: 17-20). Allah swt does not command us to look at the heavens and the earth, but to observe and contemplate them.

This is the dimension of action (hadhrat al-af al). By truly contemplating this dimension of action one will reach the dimension of name (hadhrat al-asma’) and the dimension of nature (hadhrat ashshifat). Since there is not a single part of the dimension of action unless it is connected to the dimension of the name and attributes of Allah Swt. So His act of creating the universe is connected to His name and nature as the creator (al-Khaliq), and His other acts are connected to His name al-Kabir, the Greatest, some are connected to His name the All-Knowing, All-Hearing, All-Seeing, All-Powerful, Mighty, and so on.

This entire universe is the dimension of action. If there is no One who has the attributes of Hearing and Seeing, then who among the creatures can hear and see?! There are different levels of hearing in creatures, some with sharp and less sharp hearing, connected to the name of the One Who exalts and humbles. There are also those who are afflicted with evil or derive evil from it, and there are those who benefit or derive benefit from it, thus leading us to the name of Him Who is the Bestower of Benefit and the Bestower of Evil (an-Nafi” wa adh-Dhar).

Allah says: “It is Allah who made us able to speak as He makes all things speak.” (QS. Fushilat: 21), so all speech of all kinds is realized from the secret of His name, the One Who Speaks, and so forth. Therefore, the dimension of actions is a reflection of the name and attributes of Allah Swt. This dimension of action has an essential side and an outward side, which is what the five senses are capable of capturing. The outward side is a mirror of the inward side, and the inward side of the dimension of action is a reflection of the dimension of names and attributes.

The dimension of names and attributes is the dimension that manifests the names and attributes of Allah Swt. Allah says: “To Allah alone belong al-asma al-husna (beautiful names) so invoke Him by them” (Sūrat al-Araf, 180). Allah also says: “Say: Call upon Allah or call upon ar-Rahman. By whichever name you call, He has al-asma al-husna (beautiful names)” (al-Isra: 110). If the noblest thing we read in the Quran is what connects us to the dimension of names and attributes, then the most majestic verse in it is Ayat al-Kursi which is full of names and attributes of Allah Swt. Similarly, there is a great virtue for reciting the last verses of Surah al-Hasr and a special reward for reciting the first verses of Surah al-Hadid as reported in many traditions. How did these verses acquire this virtue? Imam al-Ghazali said: “Because the main purpose for which the Qur’an was revealed was to call all creatures to Allah.” From it came the rules and teachings that safeguard the interests of creatures, explain the means and causes of life, and so on. But the most important purpose of the Quran is to show the creatures His name and invite them to Him. This is the dimension of names and attributes. Then comes the dimension of Essence (hadhrat adz-Dzat).

This is where the difference between wahid and ahad comes in. If we look at the dimension of names and attributes and the privileges that Allah swt has and there is nothing in this universe that resembles Him, then we say He is al-wahid. But, if we go a step further to understand Dzat, then the way to understand Him is to realize that we are completely weak and helpless. The more one realizes his helplessness, the more his understanding of Allah swt. will increase.

This journey from the dimension of actions to the dimension of names and attributes to the dimension of G-d is illustrated in the Prophet’s prayer: “I seek refuge with Your forgiveness from Your punishment, this is the dimension of actions: “and with Your pleasure from Your wrath,” this is the dimension of names and attributes, until he ascended to the dimension of Essence, “and I seek refuge with You from You” because everything is from Him and returns to Him. The Prophet continued: “Glory be to You, I am unable to count the praises for You. You are like the praises that You give to Your Essence.” The secret and core of makrifat goes back to the recognition of weakness. The same is reflected in the words of Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Sidig: “Helplessness in achieving perfect understanding of Allah is the essence of understanding itself.”

However, this weakness and helplessness opens the door to awe at the essence of makrifat. But there is a difference between the awe of a wise person (who has attained makrifat) and the awe of an ignorant person. The sense of awe and wonder felt by those who have reached this stage is the peak and the most sublime makrifat. Hence Ibn al-Faridh said: “Add to me an overflow of love for You that leaves me astonished” Al-Habib Ali al-Habshi also said in his poem: “And there is no end to what the eye will reach in uncovering the secrets of realization except amazement in awe wrapped in a sense of wonder” This is the level reached by the ahl al-kashf (those to whom the secrets of Allah swt are revealed). The awe and wonder they feel is the essence of makrifat that leads them to fana, merging into the power and love of Allah.

If we understand this, then we know that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the only one who understood the dimension of Deen so extensively. The meaning of his words in this book is that no one from the universe has come to the understanding of Allah Swt like the Prophet Muhammad, and no one from this universe has received the attention of the Divine Essence that the Prophet Muhammad received. With this meaning, it is appropriate to say that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the only one who has achieved such a deep understanding of the dimension of Essence, and all others are below his level. He encompasses all the degrees of perfection and no one can compete with him or equal him.

“The realm of manifestation of Divine goodness”

Allah Almighty engaged Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) in conversation on a hill called Thur (Tursina). At that place Prophet Moses was called by Allah: “Verily I am your Lord. So take off your sandals because you are in the pure valley of Thuwa.” (QS. Thaha: 12). So it was from the hill of Tursina and from the tree on the hill that Prophet Moses first spoke with Allah. Then when the promised time came for him to have a special conversation with Allah Swt, he was again ordered to come to the hill of Tursina in order to get that great glory. So this hill became the place where the secret and the realization of the Divine Speech, which is not a letter or a language or anything resembling the speech of creatures, was revealed to Moses a.s. This is the nature of Allah’s Speech.

This is the nature of Allah’s speech. Whereas our words and everything in this universe fall under the dimension of Allah’s actions. Therefore, the nature of the Divine Speech is not the same as the speech of creatures. His hearing is also not like the hearing of creatures, because the hearing of creatures is part of the dimension of action (hadhra, al-afal). And His hearing belongs to the dimension of attributes which is different from the dimension of actions. Although the dimension of action is a mirror of the dimensions of name and nature, the two dimensions, namely name and nature, cannot be reached in essence.

Just as Allah swt made the hill of Tursina the domain of manifestation of His words to Moses a.s, He also chose another “Tursina” as the domain of manifestation of His goodness to whom He willed from the beginning of creation. And the place of manifestation of His kindness is the first light created by Allah, namely Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is mentioned in a phrase: “You created him (Muhammad) when nothing had been created” Allah created the Prophet Muhammad and nothing was created at that time. The chair, the arsh, heaven, hell, earth, sky, stars, humans, animals, plants, everything had not yet materialized. There was only the light of Muhammad (peace be upon him) that He created. He was the only one. The one creator Swt and the one lover Saw. From that light then came other creations as al-Habib Ali al-Habshi said: “The light of the Beloved (S) is what first appeared in the universe, and from that light branched out the previous creations and those that came later.”

It is mentioned that a man saw signs of distinction in the persons of some people he met, because each individual is different in their appearance and traits. He then said: “There is no human being except you wherever you are. And no man is called a man where you are not.” This saying describes those who carry the secret and special value of humanity. He seems to be saying: “If you are absent, then they can no longer be called human beings. But when you are in their midst, human traits appear.”

It is said that there was a group of people chatting with each other while waiting for al-Habib Alwi bin Shihab to start the afternoon assembly. Suddenly al-Habib Alwi entered from the direction of the ablution place. Seeing him enter all those present were shocked and overwhelmed by his authority. All were solemnly silent. At that time ash-Shah Umar al-Khatib quoted the above expression: “There is no human being except you and wherever you are. And no one is called a human being in a place where you are not,” in order to illustrate how great al-Habib Alwi bin Shihab was.

If this is only a small part of the privilege, then what about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who collected all the virtues? A servant who was loved very sincerely and given the greatest honor by Allah SWT. So all the goodness and all the bounties that Allah Swt gives to His servants are through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is a center, and the embodiment of the vast Divine grace, Al-Habib Hasan continued by going back to the beginning that Allah Swt started all creation from Muhammad (peace be upon him) and said: “The point of departure of all praise, the center of the light of Allah Swt Who is the Foundation of all creation.”

Allah chose the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and only created him at that time, and rested on his light at a time when nothing else had been created. Then He created everything else. He is also the center of Allah’s light on which all creatures depend and rely, who has no son and no son.

“And to his family and companions who are the reflection of the Prophet’s light, the stars around his full moon, and the messengers of his commands and prohibitions.”

The family and companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are the pointers and guides of the path with the light they take from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). They are also the stars that reflect the light of his full moon just as the sun appears in the light of the moon. They are also our means of knowing the commands and prohibitions of the Prophet, and learning his methods, way of life, attitudes, and laws. We will find all this in them. It is not possible for anyone to say that he knows the laws of the Prophet Muhammad without going through his family and companions.

When Allah Almighty manifested the universe with this marvelous arrangement, He also made for this sacred legislation a person to carry it out. Those who were around this person, from the family and companions, eventually came under its radiance. Without them, it is impossible to reach the essence of the Shari’ah or the essence of revelation or the essence of the commands and prohibitions of Allah and His Messenger. This is described by Allah Swt in His words: “Those who were the first (to enter Islam) from among the Muhajirin and Anshar and those who followed them well” (QS. atTaubah: 100). Why does Allah say “followed them”? Because they were the ones who conveyed and best understood the commands and prohibitions of the Prophet Muhammad.

“Wa ba’du”

All the signs that have been mentioned before are in harmony with the secrets of prayer that he will explain after this. This method of presentation is called Baraat-ul-Istihlal, which means mentioning in the preamble the things that lead to what the discussion is about. When the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to discuss the secret of prayer, which reveals the secrets of the universe and is a means of connecting creatures with their Creator, he began his explanation with the preamble just described. And understand that his remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who is the only being who understands the dimension of G-d with deep understanding, is a hint of the dimension of G-d (hadhrat adz-Dzat). And his saying about the Prophet as the realm of manifestation of the goodness of Allah Swt is a hint to the dimension of names and attributes (hadhrat al-asma’ wa ash-shifat), while his saying that the Prophet is the starting point of all praise and the center of light is a hint to the dimension of deeds (hadhrat al-af al).

“And prayer, which is the center of all good deeds”

Prayer is the center of all good deeds and the means of drawing closer to Allah. This is why Allah chose it as a form of worship for His angels. Some of them bow, prostrate, and stand, from the time they are created until the Day of Resurrection. And it is said that Allah will gather for the true believer the secrets of the angels through a few minutes of prayer. If his prayer is accepted by Allah, he has joined the angels who bow, the angels who prostrate and the angels who stand. With just two rak’ahs before Allah, he has gathered all the virtues that are spread among the angels.

If this prayer is so important, then Muslims need to pay attention to it and fulfill its rights. It is narrated from al-Habib Abdullah bin Husain bin Thahir or al-Habib Ahmadbin Umar bin Sumaith that when people complained to him about very difficult living conditions, he said: “What happened was none other than because of the prayer. For the Prophet said that the prayer, if properly performed, will appear white and radiant and said: May Allah take care of you as you take care of me: And if it is not performed correctly, not completed bowing and prostration, it will appear jet black and say: May Allah waste you as you have wasted me: What happened to all of you is the cause of this prayer. You wasted the prayer, so Allah made your situation like this.”

This is an indication that a lot of success in worldly matters depends on the prayer if it is done properly and perfectly. The same applies to the Hereafter. This is because the first thing that will be judged from the many commands of Allah, after faith, is prayer. If the prayer is perfect, it will be accepted along with all his other deeds. So the success of the hereafter and the world depends on prayer. That is why it is mentioned in the Quran: “And command your families to establish prayer and be patient in its performance. We do not ask you for sustenance, rather We provide for you.” (Thaha: 132) It is as if Allah is saying: “Your duty is to fulfill this matter, which if you succeed in doing well then there is no need to worry about sustenance. Your sustenance is with Us.” Allah also praised Prophet Ismail in His words: “He (Ishmael) enjoined his family to pray and pay Zakat. And he was a righteous man in the sight of his Lord” (Maryam: 55). He played his role and carried out his obligations in the household. “And he (Ishmael) was pleasing in the sight of his Lord, because he fulfilled the role that many people abandon today, which is to direct and command his family to establish prayer and pay zakat.

We also witnessed the great attention that teachers and parents give to this issue of prayer in their children. Teachers teach them to pray, listen to their recitation, correct their movements. And at home their mothers and fathers do the same. It is said that one day al-Habib Muhammad bin Alwi bin Shihab was sitting in the Baalawi mosque on a program, and in walked al-Habib Husayn and his brother, al-Habib “Atthas al-Habshi, and they prayed. When al-Habib Alwi bin Shihab, the father of al-Habib Muhammad, saw how al-Habib Husayn and al-Habib Atthas prayed, how they bowed and prostrated, each time he called al-Habib Muhammad and said: “Look at how they pray. If you want to pray, pray like them.” How fortunate are the believers, those who are solemn in their prayers. Nowadays what happens is that people pray while they are moving around, their minds are lost in reverie and their hearts are negligent and they say “I have prayed” This is not what is called prayer. Prayer is the core of all good deeds, the spirit of all good deeds. The Prophet said: “And my solace is in prayer.”

It is said that when ‘Isabit al-Bunani was buried, there was one person whose goods fell into his grave. When he returned to the grave of ‘Isabit al-Bunani looking for his belongings, he lifted the board covering his body and he found ‘Isabit praying in his grave. This man was shocked to see that. He took his things, put them back as they were, and went to Tsabit’s sister and asked: “What did ‘Tsabit do before?”. ‘Tsabit’s sister said: “Why do you ask that?” he replied: “I just want to know what Tsabit used to do.” Tsabit’s sister insisted on knowing why she was asking and finally she told her what she had just witnessed. Tsabit’s sister then replied: “If that is the reason then I will tell you. Tsabit used to love prayer and was engrossed in it. And for 50 years I heard him praying every night: “O Allah, if you grant someone the ability to pray in his grave, then grant it to me: And Allah will not reject a supplication that continues for 50 years.

We are told that Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim in Jordan, who converted to Islam many years ago, studied religious knowledge with the wise man and jurist Shaykh Abdul Wakil ad-Durubi and also studied Sufism with Shaykh Abdurrahman ash-Shaghwuri from the Levant. I went to him in one place and he said to me: “Ask Allah to allow me to continue to worship Him, forever and ever. This is all I want from Allah.” This is an expression that describes the pleasure of worship. For one who has tasted the pleasure of prayer cannot afford to be negligent or lazy or distant from it. This is the meaning of the Prophet’s words: “And my solace is in prayer.”

“And the essence of the level of a servant’s relationship with Allah.”

It is narrated in a Hadith similar to this that prayer is the link between a slave and his Lord. If he abandons prayer, that connection is severed. And it is narrated that a group of tribes came to the Messenger of Allah and said: “We are ready to embrace Islam, but allow us not to pray.” The Prophet replied: “There is no good in a religion that does not have prayer in it. It is not possible for one to attain the essence of religion without prayer.

“And the deepest secret of creation since the beginning of time”

Allah swt says about the creatures He created: “And I have not created the jinn and mankind except to worship Me” (QS. adh-Dzariyat: 56). And the essence of worship is prayer. It is also what illustrates servitude to Allah, and He makes it the occupation of His angels. So prayer is the deepest secret of creation. So much so that Allah says of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “It is He who sees you when you stand (for prayer), and your movement among those who prostrate themselves.” (QS. ash-Shu’ara: 218-219).

“And through it, the light of divinity (an-nur arrabbaniy) that is concealed by physical appearance is revealed.”

Through prayer, its secrets, and the essence of prayer itself, the light of divinity will emanate. Where does the light of divinity (an-nur ar-rabbani) come from? From the Lord of all things. Therefore, the light of God exists and manifests in everything. Because everything is His servant and creation. However, this light is obstructed and closed. And what can open it is prayer. Improve your prayer, then you will see the light of God in all His creatures. In walls, stones, trees, air, bodies, and so on. In everything there is light, it is just that it is obscured by the physical appearance, the form of the body, which you can open with prayer if you really come to its essence. This is as Allah swt says: “And not all things but praise Him, but you do not understand their praise” (al-Isra: 44).

It is from here that the meaning of prayer will continue to linger for you. And you will understand the meaning of Allah’s words: “Those who continue in their prayers” (Sūrat al-Maarij: 23). Continuous prayer is not just about praying at the time of prayer, but if one has become one with the essence of prayer then he continues to be in a state of prayer even when he is silent and not in a state of prayer. This is the meaning of the Prophet’s saying: “You continue to be in a state of prayer as long as you wait for the time of prayer to arrive.” Those who have reached the essence of prayer will always see the majesty of prostration, seeing the divine light in everything. Such a person is always in a state of prayer. Allah says: “Each one has known his own mode of prayer and prayer beads” (Sūrat an-Nur: 41).

It is narrated that at a gathering of the great scholars, among them al-Imam Izzuddin bin Abdissalam, al-Imam Abu Hasan ash-Shadzili was present with them when he came from Morocco to Egypt. The scholars then asked him to give advice.

He then said: “What can I say in the presence of you scholars. They still insisted that al-Imam Abu Hasan ash-Shadzili speak. He then asked: “Have you prayed? They were astonished at this question, how could he ask this of such great scholars. Beliay continued: “I am not asking about prayers that are merely movements and recitations. I am asking about the continuity of the prayer. Have you not read the words of Allah: “Those who keep on praying” (Sūrat al-Maarij: 23)? Because the one who prays if he is connected to the essence of prayer, he continues in his prayer.” And he began to explain the meaning of his words. Izzudin bin Abdissalam then called out to the people: “O people, come to the words that have just come from your Lord (through inspiration)

“Properly those whom Allah has enlightened their inner vision (bashirah), and He has purified the recesses of their souls (sarirah) from all impurities.”

Bashirah (inner eye) is the opposite of bashar (ordinary eye), which is the inner light that Allah is referring to in His words: “Verily it is not the eye that is blind, but the heart that is in the breast is blind” (al-Hajj: 46). And as-Sarirah is the innermost part of the human spirit. The inner side of man, in the realm of spiritual discussion, is the heart. And the inner side of the heart is the spirit. And the inner side of the spirit is as-sarirah or as-sir. This sir or as-sarirah is where one witnesses the majesty of Allah Swt, and the spirit is the abode of love, while the heart is the container for makrifat. If a person has attained makrifat, he will love according to the degree of his makrifat and knowledge of Allah. And if love has settled in him, he will witness the one he loves. Al-Imam al-‘Aydrus said: “The heart is opened with Laa Ilaha Illallah. If you say that phrase a lot with a heart that is present, then the heart will open for you. While the spirit opens with the recitation of Allah. And the as-sarirah or sir opens with the phrase Hu (He is Allah).”

You cannot reach the spirit unless you reach the heart, and you cannot reach the as-sarirah unless you reach the spirit.

The thing that defiles the deepest recesses of the human soul (as-sarirah) is in the form of attachment to other than Allah, turning to other than Him and desiring other than Him. This is the filth of the soul. Said al-Imam al-‘Adni al-‘Aydrus: “The enjoyment of life is entirely with those who have the light of the inner eye. And no one will get the secrets of Allah Almighty except those who are pure in their souls.” Al-Imam Abul Hasan ash-Shadzili said: “Once I dreamt that I met the Messenger of Allah and he said to me: O Ali, purify your ‘garment’ from dirt, you will find Allah’s help with every breath.” Then I asked him about the garment he was referring to. He mentioned faith, love Islam, and makrifat. At that moment I understood the meaning of Allah’s words: And your garments so purify them: (“If the position of prayer is so great, then it is fitting that Allah Swt enlightens his inner vision (bashirah), and He purifies the recesses of his soul (sarirah) from all impurities.” He said.

“Concentrating on it and dispelling all that prevents it from continuing to rise to higher degrees, in order to be able to drink (li yakraa) of its clear and refreshing water.”

He used the term al-Kara’ to describe them drinking directly with their mouths from that pure source of water. Al-Kara’ also means fresh water that comes down from the sky. So the meaning of his words is that they get directly the secrets of Allah Swt which are likened to clear and refreshing water. With these words al-Habib Hasan wanted to tell us that we should pay great attention to this matter of prayer, so that we are able to overcome all obstacles and improve the quality of our prayers so that we can drink from clear water as the fruit of our prayers before we die. How much we will gain if we truly realize the nature of our drinking from this refreshing secret water source of Allah.

If Allah opens for us the door to a strong desire to be bound to Allah and a sincere will to realize the essence of what we learn, then there will continue to be planted little by little in our hearts the light that leads us to face Allah truly. So that we can perform the prayer as it should be performed. For if Allah swt sees that His servant wants to draw near to Him, He will help him. Ibn Athaillah said: “If Allah does not convey you to Him except after you are pure and perfect, then nothing will reach Him. But if you are sincere, He will be merciful to you and “give you His attributes until your humanity is gone. Then He makes you reach Him by His grace to you and not by the good you do to Him.”

The author of this book reminds us of the greatness of prayer, and that it is the arena in which we approach Allah, and what happens in it, as well as how one begins his prayer.

Takbiratul Ihram and Iftitah Prayer

After he has purified himself from all impurities and released all ties with others, he stands in humility and weakness before the authority of the Sovereign King and the majesty of the Willing One. He submits to the power of the Supreme while observing the Beauty of the Beloved. He prayed fervently and begged earnestly to be given the stability to stand before Him, then said:

He declares truthfully that there is nothing great in his heart but Allah. He removes everything other than Him in order to gain His pleasure, for He is the Lord of all things. Everything begins with Him and ends with Him. He must be careful not to let his own actions disprove his words, namely by still having goals or lovers other than Allah. If he is with the Most Great and Powerful, he should not be willing to settle for something lowly and trivial. He should give up all the desires that disturb him and witness the manifestation of His power over all things.

Iftitah Prayer

Then he reinforces what is in his heart by saying: I present myself: I present my heart and all my hopes with humility to Him, the Great and Majestic, a deep sense of need for Him, the Rich and Generous, enthusiasm for Him, the Merciful and Compassionate, and total surrender to the Strong and Powerful. To the One Who created the heavens and the earth. At that moment, the darkness that had enveloped him disappeared, and he saw the center of all generosity and grace. At that time he no longer has any purpose in either the heavens or the earth, for he realizes that both of them and what is in them came into existence because of His mercy and are suffused with His attributes.

 In a straight line, without turning to the right with hope in other than Him, nor to the left with fear of other than Allah.   And submitting oneself. Submission and obedience to Him. Making his desires what He desires without leaning and depending on other than Him, because nothing exists other than Him.   And I am not one of those who polytheists, hoping for something with Him, who are indecisive in loving. Him. How can one favor a lover other than Him when it is one of His gifts to him?! Or desires something that can only be realized by His will?!

  Verily, my prayer before Him is my link to His mercy by surrendering and humbling myself to Him.   And my worship (an-Nusuk) is my obedience to Him, my compliance with His rules, my patience in accepting His decisions, my gratitude to Him.   And my whole life.   And my death, which is the loss of my existence by witnessing Him, and the loss of my witnessing by the eternity of His existence.  Only for Allah, the One who placed me in this position and privileged me with it without any effort on my part.   The Lord of the universe who brings people closer and further away, makes people wretched or happy.

All obey His authority and bow before His might. He humiliates whom He wills and glorifies whom He wills. No one can resist His decrees, whether they be decrees or annulments, and there is nothing to help Him in creating or destroying.  There is no partner for Him, no one like Him in the attributes of divinity. For al-alamun who is the chosen creature of the entire universe, is His creation and servant whom He controls with His law and He governs with His knowledge.  With that I was commanded, and for that I was created. And I am a surrendered one (al-muslimin) who recognizes truly that the power and authority over everything belongs to Him, who kneels before His might, who hangs on to the curtain of His mercy: who is hindered by weakness to reach the essence of understanding Him.

He begins with an explanation of takbir and dog

iftah. He said: “After he has purified himself from all impurities and removed all ties with other than Him. He stands in humility and weakness before the authority of the Sovereign King and the majesty of the Willing One. 1, submits obediently to the power of the Supreme while observing the Beauty of the Beloved. He prayed fervently and begged deeply to be given the stability to stand before Him and then said: s | WI. He declares truly that there is nothing great in his heart but Allah. He eliminates everything other than Him in order to achieve His pleasure because He is the Lord of all things. Everything begins with Him and ends with Him. He must be vigilant lest his own actions belie his words, namely by still having a goal or lover other than Allah. If he is with the Most Great and Powerful, he should not be willing to settle for something lowly and trivial. He should give up all desires that disturb him and witness his power over all things.”

“Then he strengthens what is in his heart with Speech:   I present myself, i.e. I present my heart and all my hopes with humility to Him, the Great and Majestic, a deep sense of need for Him, the Rich and Generous, enthusiasm for Him, the Merciful and Compassionate, and total surrender to the Strong and Powerful.   At that time, the darkness that shrouded him was dispelled, and he saw the center of all generosity and grace. At that time he no longer has a goal in either the heavens or the earth, because he realizes that both of them and what is in them came into being because of His mercy and are covered with His attributes.” So there is nothing left for you to aim at either on earth or in the heavens except the Creator of both. It is the same if you are in the presence of a king, but you turn away and feel needy for one of his servants or soldiers and the king sees you. What do you expect from those people? Are you stupid?! The king is right in front of you, say what you need directly to him. Everything is under his power.

Similarly, when you go to Allah and you expect a certain company or group, are you not ashamed?! You are in the presence of the King who sees and watches you, how can you turn to anything other than Him. This realization removes all the deceit that surrounds you.

Straightly, without turning to the right in

hope in other than Him and neither to the left with fear of other than Allah swt.  And submitting yourself to Him in submission and obedience. Making his desires what He desires without leaning and depending on other than Him, because nothing exists other than Him.  And I am not one of those who polytheists, hoping for something with Him, who are indecisive in loving Him. How can one favor a lover other than Him when it is one of His gifts to him?! Or desire something that only exists by His will?!”

 Verily, my prayer before Him is the rope that connects me to His mercy by surrendering and humbling myself to Him.  And my worship (an-Nusuk) is a form of my obedience to Him, my compliance with His rules, my patience in accepting all His decisions, my gratitude to Him” whether in good or bad times. This is the essence of worship (an-Nusuk).

 And my entire life” with its highest and noblest meaning, which is my association with His attributes. Because basically I am nonexistent and dead, but if I hold on to the attributes of Him Who is the Most Alive, then I become alive. Al-Habib Ali al-Habshi said: “I am alive, only when it is mentioned about the beautiful relationship with Allah Swt.” This relationship with the Ever-Living and imperishable is life. Otherwise, what happens is that an inanimate object connected to an inanimate object has no value. But if something that is originally nothing and dead is connected to the Living One, then it becomes alive. This is what Allah swt says in His book: “O you who believe, answer the call of Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life (QS. al-Anfal: 24),” which is the true life that you will get by welcoming the call of Muhammad (S).

If a slave is truly attached to Allah, he will be freed from the shackles of attachment to this universe and he will understand the essence of life. Said al-Imam al-Aydrus al-Adni: “I die in Him and I become alive. All those who claim that they are alive but are not attached to Allah and do not attain this dignity are mortal.”

Allah swt says, when trying to explain that the essence of life is not seen in the activity of the body and death is not just the departure of the soul from the body: “And do not say that those who are killed in the way of Allah are dead,” because of the departure of the spirit from their bodies, “rather they are alive only you do not realize it (QS. al-Bagarah: 14)” you do not understand the nature of life and death. In another verse Allah says: “And do not think that those who are killed in the way of Allah are dead” (QS. Ali Imran: 169) Those who are killed in the company of My enemies, dying for the sake of other than Me are essentially dead. As for those who die in My way, do not say that they die. Those who die for the sake of Allah, the Ever-Living, cannot be called dead, “rather they live in the sight of their Lord in a state of abundant sustenance and are pleased with the bounty of Allah Swt upon them” (QS. Ali Imran: 169-170). They are not only alive, but they are alive and abounding in sustenance and happiness. Unlike what you feel from the life of the world, which only feels “alive” if there is sustenance and happiness, otherwise you will only be overwhelmed by anxiety and restlessness.

Don’t you see how kind and gentle He treats us? He opens the doors of goodness for us. He seems to say: If you want to reach a high degree, I will raise you there. If you want to become a better person, I will improve you. If you want to go to Me then I will also come to you” How gentle our Lord is even though He does not need anything from us. Even so, He still rejoices in His servant’s repentance more than one who loses an item and finds it again, more than one who is barren and finds offspring, more than one who is thirsty and finds water to quench his thirst.

 And my death, which is the loss of my existence by witnessing Him” I no longer see myself as I do not see the small universe of which I am a part. It is said in a saying that a person is veiled from understanding his true self because of the other beings around him, and if he manages to free himself from that veil then he will arrive at his true self. At that time, his lust becomes a veil between him and Allah. And if he manages to be free of his lust, then he finally reaches Allah. If you sacrifice your lust for His sake, He will be your solace. So the first obstacle on the way to Allah is the world and all that it contains, then the lust within. A person’s lusts, such as his ability, position, and so on, will prevent him from Allah until he is free from them.

“And the loss of my witnessing,” i.e. he no longer feels that he is a witness to Him. How does that happen? “By the permanence of His being.” That is, he comes to the conclusion that he is nothing at all. He is liberated from the universe, from himself, and from freedom itself so that he understands that he is just a manifestation of the Supreme Being. “And it is not you who throw when you throw but Allah who throws” (QS. al-Anfal: 17). It is astonishing that there are still people who consider this kind of speech as something exaggerated when the Quran itself states the same thing in more straightforward language as in the verse above. How do they explain “Allah throws”? The Prophet took a handful of sand and threw it at the enemy until it entered their eyes and Allah said: “And it is not you who throw when you throw but Allah who throws” (QS. al-Anfal: 17). Said al-Habib Abdurrahman Bilfagih: “It is not you who throw is the tharigah, when you throw is the shari’ah, but Allah who throws is the essence.” You are a servant who is overwhelmed by His power. He is the one who moves your hand to pick it up and throw it and deliver it where He wants, so it is the same as Him who throws, or in other words, there is nothing left of you and only Him.

Allah also said about the Companions during the battle of Badr, when they only numbered 300 people with 70 camels, 2 horses, and 8 swords but managed to win the battle and killed and captured many people from the enemy army: “So it was not you who killed them, but Allah who killed them” (QS. al-Anfal: 17). Allah did not attribute the victory to their faith or to the degree of their love, but He wanted to educate the companions that this was all from Me. In the first verse, which is addressed to the Prophet Muhammad, Allah says: “When you throw” whereas in the verse addressed to the Companions there are no words “when you kill” This shows that the Prophet Muhammad is the most perfect representative of Allah, because Allah seems to say: “You throw, with the essence of My throw, because I made you to be in that position as the executor of My throw.”

It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah once said something similar to this to a group of people from the al-Ashari tribe. At that time they saw the group of the Messenger of Allah’s troops and they wanted to join the battle but they did not have a vehicle. They came to the Messenger of Allah to ask for a vehicle for them. The Messenger of Allah said: “I have nothing else to transport you. By Allah, I will not give you a ride.” A short time later some camels came for the Messenger of Allah. He then told his companions to hand over the camels to the al-Ashari tribe for them to use as a vehicle. They set off happily. On the way they remembered that the Messenger of Allah had sworn not to give them a ride. Feeling bad for causing the Prophet to break his oath to fulfill their wishes, they went back to the Prophet and reminded him of his oath. The Messenger of Allah said: “It was not I who took you to the battlefield on this camel, but Allah took you there on it. And I do not take an oath about something and see something better than it, unless I cancel my oath by paying a fine to do that better thing.”

We hear al-Habib Abu Bakr al-Mashhur explaining about the Madrasa of Selfishness, which is the method of Iblis’ perspective that is enshrined in the Quran in His words: “I am better than him” (QS. alAraf: 12). However, the perspective of the righteous always returns everything to Allah, as in His words when recounting the words of Adam and Eve: “O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we shall surely be among the losers” (QS. al-Araf: 23). Those who belong to Iblis’ madrassa make themselves the center of everything and feel that they do what they do. They believe that they exist with Allah. Shaykh Ba Makhramah said: “I am not of those who say ‘because of my cause’ and ‘it is my right’. That is not really the way I am going. I am just something that has nothing, so, O Allah, give me Your grace without calculation.” That is, You improved my situation, gave me guidance and so on, whereas Umar Ba Makhramah was a nobody and had nothing to do. Ash-Shaykh Umar Ba Makhramah continued: “I climbed onto my bed, searched among my rubbish and junk for something of value and found nothing. O Allah, bestow your grace without calculation.”

“Only for Allah, the One who put me in this position and favored me with it without any effort on my part.” This is the same as when we finish eating we say: “Praise be to Allah who gave me this food without any effort on my part.” Don’t say that this is from my work, my hard-earned money, or because I went shopping for my needs and so on. All these things have been provided by Allah Swt based on His arrangements otherwise there would be no point in money, profession, and so on. Through the meal prayer the Prophet wanted to teach us this fact. And if we really understand it then as he said, the one who says the prayer will be forgiven his past sins. In another hadith it is stated: “Indeed, Allah loves it when His servant eats something and praises Him for it, or drinks something and praises Him for it.”

 The Lord of the universe who brings people closer and further away, makes people wretched or happy,” gives power to whom He wills and takes it away from whom He wills. How many people go to great lengths to gain power, torturing themselves and those around them, when all that will happen is what Allah Swt wants to happen. If you see a ruler, realize that it was Allah who gave him power. Similarly, if you see him stepping down from power, it was Allah who took away his power. They are the object of giving and taking away power, while Allah is the subject. He honors whom He wills and He humiliates whom He wills, and in His grasp is all goodness.

It is said that there was a man who preached on a pulpit to instill doubt in the faith of the people of a certain region. He said: “What is the meaning of Allah’s words: “Every day He is busy taking care of affairs?” (QS. ar-Rahman: 29). One of those present said: “Do you want to ask or answer? If you want to ask a question then your place is down here and not on the pulpit.” He went down and the other person climbed up to the pulpit. He repeated the question. And the one who was now on the pulpit said: “The matter that He has already decided and has only to be realized in the universe and not the matter that He has just decided!” The man asked again: “What business is He now engaged in?” The man on the pulpit answered: “He is honoring me by standing on this pulpit and humiliating you by sitting before me.”

“All obey His authority and bow before His might. He humiliates whom He wills and honors whom He wills. There is no one who can resist His decrees, whether they be decrees or annulments, and there is nothing that aids Him in creating or destroying.” He does what He wants.   There is no partner for Him, no one like Him in divine attributes. For all of nature (al-alamun)” i.e. jinn, humans, and angels, “who are the chosen creatures of the entire universe, are His creations and servants whom He controls with His laws and rules with His knowledge. His knowledge.   With that I was commanded and for that I was created.   And I am a surrendered one (al-muslimin) who acknowledges in truth that the power and authority over everything belongs to Him, who kneels before His might, who clings to the curtain of His mercy, who is hindered by weakness from reaching the essence of understanding Him.”

There is another iftah prayer, which is:

“O Allah put distance between myself and my faults as you put distance between the east and the west. Purify me from sins and mistakes as you purify a white shirt from stains and dirt. O Allah, cleanse me from sins and faults with water, snow, and cold water.”

You ask that all the sins and mistakes you have committed be taken away from you as far away as the east and the west so that not a trace of their disgrace and their ill effects remain on you. You ask Him to remove from you the darkness of sin and its bad consequences, as well as its ugliness and the doom and punishment arising from it in the future. Until it is erased from the memory of the angels and their records, removed from the earth where it was committed, erased from the memory of your own limbs so that it does not testify on the Day of Resurrection. In fact, if He wants to remind His servant of a sin that he committed, of sins that He has forgiven with this kind of forgiveness, He draws a curtain between Ja and His servant from the angels, so that they do not know what He is telling him. And when the servant thought that he would be harmed and punished, he said: “O Allah, will You forgive me?” Allah replied: “Of course. I covered your sins in the world and today I forgive you.” Then He removed the curtain and announced: “Enter heaven with My mercy.” No one knew what He was talking about before because He wanted to cover the sin of His servant.

Even more amazingly, He turns one’s sins into merit, badness into goodness, stench into fragrance. This is how Allah the Merciful treats those whom He loves. None other than Him is capable of this. His most gracious creature may forgive you if you do wrong to him, but how can he turn your bad deeds into good?! But Allah is able to do that because all things are in His power and all decisions are with Him. Allah says: “Those are those whom Allah replaces their evil with good” (QS. al-Furqan: 70). Likewise, He will keep you away from sins that you will commit in the future so that they will not cross your mind. You ask that not the slightest trace of sin be left on you.

Taawudz

Then he asked Allah for protection from the tricks of the devil, the leader of those who are negligent and turn away from Allah. He relies on the power of Allah from the tricks of the devil and his evil by saying: I seek refuge with Allah from the temptation of the accursed devil. The intention is also to seek refuge from everything that distracts, and also from the trajectory of lust and the bondage of desire.

“Then he seeks refuge with Allah from the tricks of the devil, the leader of those who are negligent and turn away from Allah. He relies on the power of Allah from the tricks of the devil and his evil by saying: I seek refuge with Allah from the temptation of the accursed devil. Intend also to seek refuge from all that distracts” from Allah, “and the trajectory of nafsh and the bondage of lust.” 

Praise be to Allah for giving us the opportunity to learn and seek this kind of understanding. May Allah swt realize in us the essence of attendance and gathering for His sake. We find that the author of this book has urged us to place prayer in its rightful place in our creed, our understanding, our consciousness, our taste (dzauq), our sensitivity (ihsas), and our love. We must place prayer in its proper position, which is a state that gathers you with your Lord. So, whatever you may think of its greatness, prayer is even greater than that. And no matter how much you know about its glory, it is far greater than that. And no matter how deep the secret of the glory of prayer your soul manages to understand, it is far more perfect than that. And no matter how bright the light and beauty of the prayer appears to you, it is far more beautiful than that.

Therefore, we must place prayer in its proper place according to our circumstances and our level of understanding of it. That is because all the powers and abilities given to us in the form of love, taste, sensitivity, intellect, and feelings, if we use them properly, will raise our status and purify our inner state as we ascend the degrees of closeness to Allah. They will also help us purify and cleanse ourselves, and gather and meet Him in the dimension of witnessing Him (hadhrat ash-shuhud) and drinking from His bounty.

All these faculties exist in all human beings, and if they are directed towards Allah, then they perform their functions properly. Otherwise, these faculties will only revolve around their limited and lowly world. He will only realize and feel superficial things such as knowing which objects are made of wood or earth or iron and so on. Or things related to air and space or oceans or cars or planes and so on. So his attention and focus are all centered on such trivial things and buried to the extent that he cannot reach the essence of eternal bliss and grace. If only he directs his feelings and intellect or sensitivity to something higher, he will begin to feel the secret of Allah’s revelation and the sweetness of the relationship with Him. He will begin to understand who he is, his position, his humanity, and the Creator’s generosity to him with various gifts. His senses and sensitivities will continue to be honed until the hidden realm of the physical realm is revealed to him, namely the malakut (metaphysical) realm.

If this is the case, then the human being is entitled to the essence of glory and exaltation from the Most Noble. He will be the secret receptacle of the specialty and privilege that is a gift from Allah Swt to that human being. Hence, whoever turns away from all this goodness has wronged himself and is among the wrongdoers. Allah swt explains this fact in His words: “Those who do not repent are the wrongdoers” (al-Hujurat: 11). Anyone who delights in committing sin is a wrongdoer.

When you see someone wronging others, know that he is wronging himself. Allah swt says: “Whoever does good, then (the good result) is for himself. And whoever does evil, it is for himself” (QS. Fushilat: 46). Allah also says: “If you do good, then you do good for yourselves. And if you do bad, then you do bad to yourselves” (QS. al-Isra: 7). Imagine if someone took so-and-so’s right and so-and-so’s right. It seems that he is wronging someone else, even though what he is doing to himself is far greater than what he is doing to that person. Because in essence he is wronging himself. He takes from people things that are insignificant, but forbids for himself things that are great and extraordinary. On the other hand, he is benefiting those whom he is wronging, especially if they are Muslims, with something so precious and a great and lasting pleasure. If you think about it further, you will find that he has not wronged anyone but himself. If that is the case, then all we have to do is make the best use of this gift from Allah Swt. We should not be willing to live like livestock or even worse than that. “They are like cattle, even more perverse than that” (QS. al-Araf: 179).

All that mankind does and all that they think is their virtue and glory is trivial in the sight of Allah, the All-Having. Think of all the advancements, tools, breakthroughs, thoughts, and ways of fulfilling worldly goals, but realize that they are nothing more than small things. What Pharaoh had was trivial. What the people of Prophet Hud had was trivial. What Namrud, the king at the time of Abraham a.s, had was trivial. What the disbelievers throughout the ages have had is trivial. Allah says: “Do not be deceived by the freedom of the disbelievers in this land” (al-Imran: 196). “It is but a meaningless pleasure,” and not only that, “then their return is hell and that is the worst of returns” (Sūrat Ali Imran: 197). They are wronging themselves. Therefore, it is important for us to save ourselves and understand freedom in the right way, by using the abilities and powers that Allah has bestowed upon us in the best way possible.

Surat-Fatihah

And say:   In the name of Allah, and realize truly that all is realized by His name, pervaded by His knowledge. And witness the essence of His divinity which is found in all that exists, which has wisdom in what has been determined, and what is brought near and kept far away.

And when you say the Most Compassionate and Merciful, then witness His vast compassion for the entire universe. Ar-Rahman (the Most Compassionate) in the form of creation, and ar-Rahim (the Most Merciful) in the form of help and assistance.

So convey your praise to the Most Praiseworthy by saying:   Praise be to Allah, with all the elements of praise. Realize that at that time you are the representative of all nature in receiving this generosity, because He made you the cause of the creation of all that exists and the outstretching of Allah’s help and bounty to whom He wants to get it, As for you as the cause of the creation of all that exists is the implementation of His words: “It is He who has created the seven heavens and the earth, and all things descend between them, so that you may know that Allah is over all things, and that He encompasses all with His knowledge” (Sūrat at-Thalag: 12). You are the cause of Allah’s bounty, as in His words: “And He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and the earth (as a bounty) from Him” (QS. al-Jatsiyah: 13).

And when the continuity of all that exists is by the radiance of His light, then the outward form of the body will not be able to bear it except after receiving the light of specialization witnessed by those whose hearts are brightly lit. The outward form of the privilege is a shower of rain and the inner side is the overflow of light hidden from the secret spring. Then stand under His majestic and glorious power, and continue to humble yourselves to the lowest point, then note that “no blessing is upon you except from Allah” (Sūrat an-Nahl: 53) and say:   The Lord of the universe.

Then notice how all of nature is under His dominion. It is subject to the Holder of all decisions. They are neither able to bring about good nor to repel evil. At that time you will find the pleasure of feeling inferior and dwarfed, then you return to the mercy of the Most Gracious and Forgiving, the Most Merciful and Covering of Wrongs. With all earnestness you lean and feel needy of Him with your words: , the Most Compassionate, who qualified you to stand before Him and allowed you to call out and talk to Him.   The Most Merciful to you with all your weaknesses, shortcomings, injustices and sins. His mercy has even reached you before you were created and formed.

Then remove any deceit that surrounds you and witness how His special compassion descends upon you, His guardian cloth covers you, and ‘immerse your entire consciousness in His kingdom by saying:   Lord of the Day of Judgment, when the beliefs are revealed (ain alyagin) and the real truth is apparent.

And if you have awakened to the enormity of Allah’s majesty, then rise up relying on your weakness and humiliation. Witness His beautiful power within you and say:   Only to You do I worship, as a token of Your mercy, kindness, gentleness, and grace.   And only to You do I ask for help, with full trust, confidence, steadfastness in Your majesty, and the fact of Your divine attributes.

At that time, your soul becomes calm and your hope increases. So ask Him for perfect Istikamah by saying:   Show us the straight path. Intend that what you are referring to is the spring of water that the Messenger of Allah (S) drank from, which is the spring of life in the form of the spirit of Shari’ah whose body is perfect Istikamah.

 The path of those whom you have favored with the delights of dialogue with you, the beauty of gentleness and closeness to you. And they are the prophets and the righteous whom You have chosen to obey You and You have favored with closeness to You. You fill them with the pleasure of witnessing You, and You enter them into heaven in a place that is very close to You.   It is not the way of those whom You have displeased by forbidding them from obeying You and deviating from Your path until You punish them later.   And not those who go astray, whom You veil so that they are unable to feel the pleasure of hearing Your words, nor are they intoxicated with pure drink. And say, in a state where you submit to Him, stand at His door, and are sure of His fulfillment: Amen.

Now we come to the recitation of al-Fatihah, which was said by the Prophet: “The prayer of one who does not recite al-Fatihah is not valid.” You begin by saying Bismillahi ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Al-Habib Hasan, the author of this book, explains that when you say Bismillah, by mentioning the name of Allah, realize that everything happens with the knowledge of His name. By whose power were the heavens and the earth created and sustained? By whose will did you materialize and become who you are today? By whose power can you see and feel? By whose power does the atmosphere survive? Who controls the waves in the ocean that roll over one another? By whose will do birds fly? Who holds it between heaven and earth? Who keeps the earth on which you stand stable? By the power of Allah. By His name, bismillah.

Everything exists by His name. Many people are amazed to see the name of Allah appearing on trees or human bodies. Why be amazed when everything is by His name, you just don’t see it. “This is Allah’s creation, so show me what your gods have created besides Him” (Sūrat Lugman: 11). Allah also says: “Do you see what you worship besides Allah so show me what they have created from the earth” (Sūrat al-Ahgaf: 4). Show me even an inch of the earth created by those who think they have power! We are not asking them to show us the continents or islands they have created, but to show us just one inch of what they have created on the earth. Not one iota. “Or did they have a hand in the creation of the heavens?” (al-Ahgaf: 4). Is there any place in the sky that they had a hand in creating? Is there any place in the sky that belongs to so-and-so’s company?!

This is the true state of the creatures. Allah seems to say to them: “Take pleasure in what I have given you” They then begin to be deceived, do whatever they want, lie in the name of Allah, and boast, when they have nothing at all.

“Say:   By the name of Allah, and realize truly that all exists by His name.” He doesn’t say “and know all existence by His name” because we all know that, but he invites us to really absorb and realize that. “Be overwhelmed by His knowledge.” Allah says: “And indeed Allah has covered everything with His knowledge” (QS. at-Thalag: 12). “And witness the essence of His divinity found in all that exists,” in everything because He is the Lord of everything and its Owner. Allah says: “And not all things but praise Him” (al-Isra: 44). This indicates that the essence of Allah’s divine nature is found in all His creations. Because He is the Lord of everything. You, the clothes you wear, the mat you sit on and the walls that enclose you, in all of them flows the secret of divinity. It is narrated that one man entered to see al-Imam Abdurahman Assegaf and he found him in dhikr. The man heard the words of dhikr from the mouth of al. Imam Abdurahman Assegaf’s tongue and from all his limbs, as well as from the clothes and mat he was wearing. This was also what was given to Prophet David (peace be upon him) when Allah swt commanded the mountains to join in the dhikr that David (peace be upon him) uttered. Allah says: “O mountains, join in the repeated glorification of David and the birds” (QS. Saba: 10). Allah also says: “Indeed We subjected to him (David) the mountains to join him in glorifying every evening and morning” (QS. Shad: 18).

Allah Swt has wisdom in every thing He hides, which He only reveals to whom He wills. As experienced by the Prophet Muhammad Saw when he put a stone in the palm of his hand and heard the sound of tasbih from the stone. He then gave the stone to Abu Bakr and he still heard tasbih from it. When it was placed in the hand of Umar bin Khatthab, the same thing happened. Then the Messenger of Allah put down the stone and continued his assembly. When he finished, the Messenger of Allah saw that some of the Companions were still holding the stone but no more beads were heard from it. In essence, the tasbih is still there and His secret is still manifest in everything, it’s just that there is a veil between them. But our faith makes us fully convinced of the truth of that. And as long as you remain in that belief and the news you receive about the tasbih is from Allah and His Messenger, then it is like hearing the tasbih. In fact if this is your situation, if this is your perspective, you are more than just hearing.

It is narrated that one day al-Fagih al-Mugaddam Muhammad bin Ali sent one of his sons, Alwi, to cut some plants. Not long after Alwi returned empty-handed. When asked what had happened he replied: “Every time I was about to cut the plant I heard it glorifying Allah so I did not cut it out of respect for His name” Al-Fagih al-Mugaddam replied: “You are in a spiritual state. Let someone else cut it.” On another occasion al-Fagih al-Mugaddam went out to his place of worship on Mount Nuair. Secretly one of his sons followed him to that place. When al-Fagih al-Mugaddam recited Laa Ilaha Illallah, the mountain, the rocks and the plants on the mountain recited the phrase with him. When he finished and was about to go out, he saw a person lying unconscious who turned out to be his son. When he woke up and was asked about his condition he replied: “I followed you and heard the remembrance of the mountains, rocks and plants until I became unconscious.” Al-Fagih al-Mugaddam replied: “Next time do not follow me except with my permission.” Eventually a mosque was built on the spot where his son fainted and to this day it is still known as the Ahmad Bilfagih mosque.

It is clear to us that the facts are indeed in accordance with what was reported by Allah and His Messenger. But why is it that we seem to be deaf and dumb so that news does not reach us from the most reliable source?! It is narrated that one of the pious in Basrah who had attained the essence of Basmalah was approached by a woman who asked him to write the recitation on a glass cup for healing. When he wrote it down, the glass shattered. The woman came with a second glass and the same thing happened. So she took a third one and the pious man said: “Even if you bring all the glasses in Basrah, the same thing will happen. Right now my heart is in the presence of the Owner of this name. Wherever I write His name it will be destroyed because it cannot bear it. Find someone else who is veiled from this feeling that is engulfing me and let him write it for you.”

The Prophet taught us to say this when entering and exiting, when eating, when drinking, when putting on clothes, when entering the bathroom, and so on. He also taught us to say when going to bed: “In your name, O my Lord, I put my body on the bed, and in your name I raise it up. So forgive me my sins” i.e. I put my body down by Your power and will and I also expect Your overflow of grace, mercy and compassion. And likewise I get up by Your power, for Your sake. Praise be to Allah who has brought me to life after putting me to death and to Him is the return.

If you have understood this, then you will also be able to understand the essence and know what is the reason for concealing this secret from most creatures. And how many things are hidden from one creature but revealed to another. This is like what happens to animals and livestock who are able to hear what is happening in the grave. The events in the grave are hidden from other creatures, but the animals can sense them, they hear the screams of the dead in the grave while being tortured. It is mentioned in the hadith that describes a corpse that is beaten if it is unable to answer the questions of the two angels: “That person will scream with a scream that is heard by all he saw a person lying unconscious who turned out to be his son. When he woke up and was asked about his condition he replied: “I followed you and heard the remembrance of the mountains, rocks and plants until I became unconscious” Al-Faqih al-Muqaddam replied: “Next time do not follow me except with my permission.” Finally, a mosque was built on the spot where his son fainted and to this day it is still known as the Ahmad Bilfaqih mosque.

It is clear to us that the facts are in accordance with what was reported by Allah and His Messenger. But why is it that we seem to be deaf and dumb so that news does not reach us from the most reliable source?! It is narrated that one of the pious in Basrah who had attained the essence of Basmalah was visited by a woman who asked him to write the recitation on a glass cup for healing. When he wrote it down, the glass shattered. The woman came with a second glass and the same thing happened. So she took a third one and the pious man said: “Even if you bring all the glasses in Basrah, the same thing will happen. Right now my heart is in the presence of the Owner of this name. Wherever I write His name it will be destroyed because it cannot bear it. Find someone else who is veiled from this feeling that is engulfing me and let him write it for you.”

The Prophet taught us to say this when entering and exiting, when eating, when drinking, when putting on clothes, when entering the bathroom, and so on. He also taught us to say when going to bed: “In Your name, O my Lord, I put my body on the bed, and in Your name I raise it up. So forgive me my sins,” meaning that I put my body down by Your power and will and I also expect Your overflowing grace, mercy, and compassion. And likewise I wake up by Your power, for Your sake. Praise be to Allah who has brought me to life after putting me to death and to Him is the return.

If you have understood this, then you will also be able to understand the essence and know what is the reason for concealing this secret from most creatures. And how many things are hidden from one creature but revealed to another. This is like what happens to animals and livestock who are able to hear what is happening in the grave. The events in the grave are hidden from other creatures, but the animals can sense them, they hear the screams of the dead in the grave while being tortured. It is mentioned in the hadith that describes a corpse that is beaten if it is unable to answer the questions of the two angels: “That person will scream with a scream that is heard by everything except humans and jinn. And if they hear it, they will fall unconscious.

“Who has wisdom in all that is determined” Allah says: “And with Us alone is the treasury of all things, and We have not sent it down except with a clear measure and calculation” (al-Hijr: 21). The various colors of our skin, our physical form, our health, our illnesses, our movement and stillness, the constituent elements of soil, rocks, trees, and so on are with a clear measure and meticulous arrangement from the All-Wise. “And in that which is brought near and kept far away.” You bring one thing near and another far away, favor one and disfavor another, help one and disfavor another. You create Your servants according to Your will, and Your knowledge encompasses children and the elderly. What You will must come to pass even if I do not want it to, but what I want cannot come to pass without Your will. 

What remains next is the level of faith that leads one to the level of dzauq and love and then up to the level of ilm al-yagin, until it leads to – din al-yagin. As for those who are at the degree of hag al-yaqin are the Prophets and Messengers and their chosen heirs.

At each level, a person will do everything very precisely while still doing the effort that must be done in accordance with his portion. So a person who is still at the most basic level, if he hears the sound of tasbih from a stone or his seat, he will certainly be surprised and frightened, but at the same time he is sure that all of it is tasbih even though he does not hear it. However, if the one who hears it is someone on a higher level, then he remains calm because he knows for sure that everything happens with the will and permission of the All-Wise One.

It is told that a pious man was walking. In the middle of his journey he wanted to spit and expel phlegm. As he was about to do so, he heard the ground praising, so he was embarrassed and aborted his intention. A pious person of a higher rank than himself passed by him and asked him about his confused state. He told him what had happened. The greater pious man spat on the ground and heard the tasbih from the ground and from the saliva he expelled. He said: “You only saw one part and left the other. Allah allows you to spit here and forbids you to spit in the mosque and spit on other people. Do what He permits because surely His secret is in everything.”

The Most Merciful and Compassionate? He has many names, but why did He choose these as the opening of our prayer? What is the reason that Ja chose these two gentle names for you to begin your prayer? Ja seemed to be saying: “Face me with these two names so that I may face you with their meanings” “Then witness His vast compassion for the entire universe. Ar-Rahman (the Merciful) in the form of creation, and ar-Rahim (the Merciful) in the form of help and assistance.” With His name, the Most Merciful and Compassionate, He creates and gives us help and grace. And He is the creator of all things. “So convey your praise to the Most Praiseworthy by saying:  “Praise be to Allah,” the One Who Realizes and Grants, “with all the elements of praise” because He alone deserves praise under any circumstances and with all the forms and meanings of praise. None of His creatures are entitled to praise except those for which He is the means of good. And hence, praise for the creatures is only figurative. Our gratitude to those who do good to us essentially goes back to Him because that goodness is also by His will.

We are a people who give thanks and praise to Allah.

That is our characteristic that is called in the book of previous nations, namely al-hammadun. So we need to explore and feel the meaning of praising Allah Swt, and thanking Him in every situation. Because Alhamdulillah will fulfill our scales of goodness in the future as the Prophet Muhammad SAW said. It is narrated that a pious man saw the gathering of people in Arafat and the majesty that surrounded it and said with full appreciation and sincerity: “Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah for the blessing of Islam and that is enough.” The following year he performed Hajj again. When he saw the majesty of Arafat and was about to give thanks and praise to Allah as he had the previous year, Allah revealed to him an angel who said: “Since last year until today we have not finished writing down the goodness of your words and now you want to say it again?” The angel’s words were not meant to prohibit him from expressing gratitude and praise, but to inform him of the enjoyment he was getting from it all and of Allah’s vast bounty. This is like the Prophet’s saying: “Whoever recites Surah al-Ikhlas eleven times, Allah will build for him a palace in Paradise.” Sayyidina Umar replied: “Then we will multiply our palaces” The Prophet replied: “Allah is more generous and better.”

“Realize that at that time you are the representative of all nature” in praise of the Creator of the universe. Then what has earned you this exalted position as the representative of the universe? It is because of the specialty and privilege that exists in human beings, and you are a human being. Learn, deepen the meaning of being human that you will not get from scientists. But through the secrets of revelation, knowledge, and teaching that Allah gives through the medium of His angels and messengers who reach us. We read the privileges of man in the Quran through His words: “And remember when your Lord said to the angels: Surely I will make a caliph on the earth” (QS. al-Bagarah: 30). “And when I have perfected him and I have breathed into him My spirit, then bow down to him in prostration” (QS. al-Hijr: 29). The essence and essence of the privileges that humans have in general ultimately return to the believers, then rise to the scholars, to those who know Allah Swt, then to those who reach the position of ashshiddiqiyyah al-kubra (the highest position), then continue to rise to the prophets, then the apostles, then Ulul Azmi among them, until the culmination of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. This is the true meaning of the person, which is this entire level. Because all glory begins with faith and continues to rise upwards.

As for those who do not believe, they nullify the privileges they have by their denial and disbelief in Allah. AL-Imam Abdullah al-Aydrus said: “The believers are the chosen ones. And the scholars are the chosen ones of the believers. And the wise (who have attained realization) are the chosen ones from the scholars. And the chosen of the ‘wise are ahl ar-ridha, those who have attained the essence of tawhid at the level of ash-shiddigiyyah al-kubra.” There is no one like those who have reached that level. So if we are going to talk about human exceptionalism, we must study it as a whole picture like this.

Although the center of all these privileges is in the highest position of this kind of human construction, these privileges are spread to all those who believe in Him based on their level of faith and relationship with Allah. Therefore, Allah, in His wisdom, ordained that the entire universe be created for man and be his vehicle to explore and discover his potentials. He also subjugated this world for man. This is all mentioned in the Quran in His words: “It is Allah who has created the seven heavens and the earth, and all things descend between them, that you may know that Allah is in control of all things, and that He encompasses all things with His knowledge” (QS. at-Thalag: 12). Through this verse, Allah elevates the degree of knowledge and the position of man. He created the heavens and the earth so that we humans can gain knowledge. This implies that man is the cause of the existence of the heavens and the earth. But remember, man is in his full image, in the system we have mentioned. And this virtue is gathered and apparent at the top of the human building.

Allah swt also subjected everything in nature to man as He said: “And He has subjected for you all that is in the heavens and the earth (as a bounty) from Him” (QS. al-Jatsiyah: 13). But never has the universe been subjected more than it was to Muhammad, the most special of human beings. The heavens and the earth revealed their secrets to him and even more than that. He is the leader of all humanity and we are part of the human structure as a whole. Hence we also get parts of the secrets and revelations that he got.

The author of this book says that we are the representatives of the entire universe to praise Him, the One who deserves the most praise. Why are we the representatives of nature?

“Because He made you the cause of the creation of all that exists and the extending of Allah’s help and bounty to whom He wills to receive it. As for you being the cause of the creation of all that exists is the implementation of His words: “It is Allah Who has created the seven heavens and the earth, and all things descend between them, that you may know that Allah is over all things, and that He encompasses all with His knowledge.” (QS. ath-Thalaq: 12), and you are the cause of Allah’s bounty being extended through His words: “And He has subjected for you all that is in the heavens and the earth (as a bounty) from Him” (QS. al-Jatsiyah: 13). So know how glorious your creation is and how great your Creator Swt. Therefore, “when the continuity of all that exists is by the radiance of His light, then the outward form of the body will not be able to bear it except after receiving the light of specialization witnessed by those whose hearts are brightly lit. The outward form of this privilege is the pouring of rain and the inward form is the overflow of the hidden light from the secret spring.”

After you have said Alhamdulillah “then stand under His great and glorious power and continue to humble yourself to the lowest point” in a state of submissive submission “and note that “none of the blessings that you have except from Allah comes (QS. an. Nahi: 53)” and say:   “The Lord of the universe,” their Creator, the one who manages all their affairs and their Owner. And alAlamin is the spirit of the universe, i.e. humans, jinn and angels who are privileged over the rest of nature. Then he said: “Then notice how the whole of nature is under His dominion. It is subject to the Holder of all decisions. They are neither able to bring about good nor to repel evil.” For they and all the means at their disposal are at the mercy of His will and law. Nevertheless, whoever does good among them will be rewarded with a gift from Allah. And whoever does bad will also be rewarded and punished with justice from Him. However, they, their rewards, and what they do are in His control. Nothing escapes His grasp. Therefore, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and books will eventually return to where? They return to their Lord. Allah says: “And if you had seen when the sinners bowed their heads before their Lord” (QS. as-Sajdah: 12). Why before their Lord? Because there is no place to lean on and return to other than Him. Whereas the believers are honored in the sight of their Lord. Nevertheless, their place of return remains one. Those who worship other than Allah do not return to their worshippers because their worshippers are incapable of anything. They do not return to their governments, nor to their parties. All return to Allah because the divine attributes belong only to Him.

“Then you will find the pleasure of feeling lowly and dwarfed,” which is the essence of your glory. “And you return to the mercy of the Most Gracious and Forgiving, the Most Merciful and Covering of Wrongs, earnestly leaning on Him and feeling your need for Him with your words: , the Most Merciful, who qualified you to stand before Him and allowed you to call out and speak with Him.” Yet who are you? A created being, a combination of spirit and body that came from semen, and He allows you to speak and call out to Him and stand before Him. That is all because He is the Most Compassionate. If not, then who are you to deserve all this good treatment?”   The Most Merciful, to you with all your weaknesses, shortcomings, injustices and sins. His mercy has even reached you before you were created and formed. Then remove all the deceit that covers you and witness how His special affection descends upon you, His guardian cloth covers you, and immerse your entire consciousness in His kingdom by saying: “Lord of the day of vengeance.” There are two readings of the word Maliki: lengthening the “Ma” and shortening it. Some ‘Qarifs prefer to read the long one in the first rak’ah and the short one in the second rak’ah to combine the two readings and also because the Prophet’s prayer in the first rak’ah was longer than the second.

“When it is revealed that belief is clearly displayed (ain al-yagin),” because at that time all will know the essence of the truth and come to belief. So is the person who disbelieves. He disbelieves and denies while in the world, but in the Hereafter when all is exposed before his eyes there is nothing he can deny. Allah says: “As for the froth, it will disappear into nothing. But that which benefits mankind remains on the earth, and this is how Allah swt makes parables: parables” (QS. ar-Rad: 17). The same applies to truth and falsehood. There is no more disbelief and denial and only the essence of truth remains. On that day, all people will believe because the truth is clearly displayed before them. However, “faith” is no longer useful.

And those who disbelieved while living in this world will still be condemned as disbelievers in the Hereafter even though they are now convinced of what they saw of the truth that they had denied. Allah says: “Then their faith will be of no avail to them when they see Our punishment” (QS. al-Mu’min: 85). Similarly, when Pharaoh believed when he was about to drown, he said: “I believe that there is no god but the God whom the Children of Israel believe in and I am among those who surrender (to Allah): Do you believe only now when you are about to drown?” (Jonah: 90-91). “And the truth is clearly evident” There is no more lying, deceit, or opportunity for evasion on that day because all things are clear and bright for all creatures.

“And when you have awakened from the greatness of Allah’s majesty, then rise up relying on your weakness and humiliation.” This is because those who humble themselves before Allah are in fact asking for the essence of glory in the right way, namely through the door that Allah opens for them. Those who are arrogant and conceited, on the other hand, want glory but by breaking the rules and not from the door that Allah has opened for them. In the end, they want to usurp the divine attributes from Him but end up being humiliated in this world and the Hereafter. On the other hand, those who seek glory through the right channels and by asking for it in the right way, they will humiliate themselves to Allah.

Because the level of glory of a creature of all kinds is according to the level of his humility to his Creator Why is this so? Because all glory belongs to Allah and He honors whom He wills. So whoever humbles himself to Him, He glorifies him and whoever feels he has glory in himself, He humiliates him. This is the standard rule that Allah has set in the universe. It has been narrated that if a mountain boasts about another mountain, Allah will crush the proud mountain. Because the glory is from Allah alone and belongs only to Him. And whoever claims glory for himself through the wrong path, then let him take his reward and all his lies and mistakes will be revealed. It is mentioned in the hadith: “Whoever is arrogant, Allah will humiliate him. And whoever is humble (tawadhu’), Allah will raise his rank.”

It was said by a pious person: “No one honors himself more than doing acts of obedience and humiliates himself more than committing sins.” “Witness His wonderful power in you and say:   Only to You do I worship.” He precedes the word Iyyaka, which is the object, to give a sense of specificity, i.e. to You alone. “As a token of Your mercy, kindness, gentleness, and grace” the Prophet said: “If it were not for Allah we would not have been guided. Nor would we give charity and pray. So send us tranquility and strengthen our footing when we meet the enemy.  And only to You do we ask for help, with full trust, confidence, certainty of Your majesty, and the fact of Your divine attributes.”

“At that time your soul will be at peace and your hope will increase” in your Lord, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, and the Master of this day of recompense, as well as the One who gave you the guidance to worship Him, “so ask Him for perfect steadfastness.” The best request is to ask that you be given the trait of istikamah. The best request is to ask for what He has commanded you, which is istikamah, “by saying: basil Show us the straight path. Intend that what you are referring to is the spring that the Messenger of Allah (saw) drank from, the most exalted spring of life “in the form of the spirit of Shari’ah whose body is perfect istikamah.” If this is the body, then what about the soul?!

The path of those for whom You have blessed them with the delicacy of dialog with You, the beauty of gentleness and closeness to You. And they are the Prophets and the Shiddigs whom You have chosen to obey You and You have favored with closeness to. You. You bestow upon them the pleasure of witnessing You and You admit them into Paradise in a place very close to You.” The path in question is the path of Allah and His Messenger. Allah says: “And indeed this is my straight path (QS. al-An’am: 153)” i.e. the path of the Prophet Muhammad. In another verse Allah says: “And surely you are guided to the straight path, which is the path of Allah” (Sūrat Ash-Shura: 52-53). But this does not mean that there are many paths: the path of Allah, the path of the Messenger, and the path of the favored. There is only one path. All paths are one. It is called the way of Allah from the point of view that He is the one who created and realized it. The way of the Messenger is from the fact that he is the leader of all people and the example for all of them. And the path of the blessed are those who are guided to it so that they can walk on it. This verse also teaches that our allegiance and inclination should be to those who are obedient and we disavow any inclination towards those whom Allah has angered as the next verse states. 

Not the way of those whom You have angered by forbidding them from obeying You and deviating from Your path so that You will punish them in the future,” including the Jews and all those who are prevented from obeying Allah and not taking His path, so they are among those who receive wrath.  And they are not the ones who go astray,” meaning not only the Christians but also “those whom You have veiled so that they are unable to feel the pleasure of hearing Your words, nor are they intoxicated with the pure drink,” which is the understanding of Allah. They are the ones who have gone astray. Even if he appears to be in a state of worship, as long as he is veiled from it all, he is lost, not reaching the essence. It is not the way of those whom He has displeased and led astray from among the disbelievers and sinners, nor is it those who show faith and good deeds but not with sincerity and steadfastness so that He does not remove the veil from them. So we should not be willing to take them as examples for us, our children and wives, models for our behavior. It is those who have been favored who are our role models.

“And say, in a state of submission to Him, standing at His door, and confident of His fulfillment: Amen,” i.e. grant it, O Allah.

When we are about to pray, as much as possible, let these things intercede for us so that Allah will continue to increase the presence of our hearts and grant us light from His side, so that we will be guided to be able to face Him in a manner that makes Him honor us. For the Messenger of Allah (saw) explained in his hadith: “If a slave stands up to pray for the sake of Allah, then Allah faces him,” to the extent that the angels fight over what comes out of his mouth in the form of recitation of the Qur’an and dhikr. That is why it is said that among the angels’ least favorite things are the remnants of food on the teeth of the praying person.

This is because the angels do not eat and are disgusted by it when they come to your remembrance and supplication to Allah. That is why it is recommended to use the tooth-stick to clean the mouth and teeth before starting the prayer. . Continuing the hadith, “if the servant turns away, Allah says: “O son of Adam, are you turning to something other than Me?! Are you turning to something better than Me?! If he turns away the second time Allah says: “Did you turn to something better than me?” And if he turns away the third time, then Allah turns away from him.” If this is the case then this kind of prayer is just a movement without spirit, without essence.

However, one of Allah’s favors to this Ummah is that when they pray in congregation, Allah has mercy on them because they gather to pray. And if He looks at the imam and sees goodness, then He accepts the prayer of the imam and all the people behind him for that reason. But if He does not find good in the heart of the imam, He looks at the congregation from the first row to the last. If he finds good in the heart of anyone in the last row, then he is the imam of the prayer, and everything is accepted on his account. And if He finds none at all He says: “They have gathered for My sake,” then Allah accepts the prayers of all of them.

May Allah bind us and the secret of tawajjuh to Him with a bond that will not be broken, and grant us perfect imitation in it of the Prophet of guidance who said: “Pray as you see me pray.” What al-Habib Hasan bin Saleh al-Bahr describes in this book is not all that he has. He describes some of what Allah gave him and still remains in him and from other things and secrets that have not been revealed. If this is the case, then what do you think of the Prophet’s prayer? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) encouraged you to improve the quality of your prayers by saying: “Pray as you see me pray” How do you imagine him praying, so pray like that. You have nothing to do but join him. And according to the degree of your appreciation of his words, that is also the degree of the secret meaning of his words: “Pray as you see me pray” that you will get.

Interpreting the Recitation of the Surah After Surah al-Fatihah

Then recite any surah. See Allah in every word and realize that your recitation is by His grace. Demand of yourself what He commands and forbids in it. Enlarge your hope in what He offers and promises you. Then you will find in every verse, even in every word, even in every letter, such marvelous meanings, such hidden secrets, and such sublime spiritual states.

After reciting al-Fatihah, which is repeated at every rak’ah of prayer, then recite any surah from the Quran. Al-Habib Hasar says in this book: “Then recite any surah,” that when you recite it, “witness Allah in every word. It is the speech of the Most Glorious Creator that reaches you through the medium of His Most Glorious creature, Saw (peace be upon him). If so, what a great share of glory you get. Allah said to Prophet Muhammad: “Then indeed We have made the Qur’an easy for you (Muhammad)” (QS. Maryam: 97). It is through his mouth and recitation that the Quran becomes easy for us even though it is the Kalamullah. “And realize that your recitation is by the grace of Allah.” Allah says: “It is Allah who made us able to speak as He makes all things speak” (QS. Fushilat: 21).

He made you able to say anything, but specifically with His words, He made you able to say them through the mouth of His Prophet. He also gave you the ability to recite His words and at the most appropriate time to recite the Quran, which is when you are standing in front of Him. Realize that you are reciting His words in His presence. You are speaking to Him with His words to you. You are praying to Him with the revelation that He has sent down. And the best thing that raises your status in His sight is what also comes from Him. He sent down the Quran to raise your standing with Him. That is why the Prophet described the Quran in his saying as a rope of Allah, one end of which is in His grasp and the other end is in our hands. Thus, nothing can lead you to Him without something that comes from Him. It has been said that the greatest futuh (spiritual revelation) achieved by a saint are those whose cause of futuh is the Quran.

Said some wise men: “I have read a hundred books of tafsir but my heart was not satisfied until Allah revealed His secrets to me through His words: It is He who determines the measure (of things) and guides: (QS. al-Ala: 3) and my heart was satisfied.” Al-Habib Abu Bakr al-‘Atthas said: “If I were to decipher the meaning that Allah taught me regarding His words: “It is He who determines the measure (of things) and guides (QS. al-A’la: 3) surely I would make all the writers in the world feel sick.” Imam ‘Umar al-Muhdhar also said: “If I were to describe what Allah swt revealed to me from the meaning of His words: “And We do not abrogate a verse or make people forget it, except that We will bring something better than it or something like it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things?” (al-Bagarah: 106) then I would write volumes of books that would be heavy for seventy camels to carry.” Al-Imam Al ibn Abi Talib also said: “If I were to elaborate on the meaning of the Basmalah, I would make seventy camels unable to carry it,” in another narration it was mentioned that it was a thousand camels. He also said, pointing to his chest: “There is so much knowledge in it that I wish I could meet the one who would carry it.” That is why al-Imam Abdul Aziz ad: Dabbagh mentions that Sayyidina ‘Ali was very hopeful of passing on all the knowledge that he got from the Prophet to al-Hasan and al-Husein before he died. And both of them from childhood until they reached adulthood were tempered by him until they were finally able to bear the mandate of this knowledge. It is mentioned that Imam ‘Ali was grateful that he was not immediately appointed as caliph at that time because he knew that he would not be in office except for four years so that his two sons would not have time to complete the process of taking knowledge from him.

This is in line with what al-Imam Ali Zainal Abidin said: “Indeed, I keep my most valuable knowledge tightly so that it will not be known to those who are ignorant so that there will be fitnah. How many gems of knowledge would people accuse me of being an idolater if I revealed them? And there will be Muslims who will avenge my blood and consider their actions praiseworthy. The same thing was done by Abul Hasan (al-Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib), as well as al-Husein, and had been previously bequeathed to al-Hasan.” It has also been told that when al-Imam ‘Ali was in a spiritual state while imparting knowledge, he then breathed out towards a well and suddenly the well water swelled because of the secret of his knowledge. And he really hoped that there would be a heart capable of understanding these sciences. Narrated by al-Habib Abu Bakar al-Masyhur that on the last pilgrimage of al-Habib Abdul Qadir bin Ahmad Assegaf to the city of Medina, he heard alHabib Abdul Qadir say to the Prophet while on pilgrimage: “The trust that you gave us we have handed over to those who are entitled and able to bear it, and the rest, which we found no one to bear, we returned to you.” May Allah qualify us for this great favor whose benefits will last forever. As for things that are perishable, they will one day perish and come to an end.

“Charge yourself with what He commands and forbids therein,” Are you not touched by your Lord’s kalan and do you not wish to raise your status with it? “Increase your hope in what He offers and promises you,” in the form of reward, grace, paradise and whatever He promises to those who do good. Al-Imam Jafar ash. Shadig said: “Verily, Allah is manifest to His servants in every word of His, but they do not see Him.” It is narrated that one day the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) repeatedly recited a verse until he fainted unconscious. When he woke up and was asked about it he replied: “I kept repeating that verse until I heard it directly from the One who spoke it.” That is why some people have their own way of reciting the Qur’an so that it is as if they are reciting it in the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him), then it increases until it is as if they are hearing it from the Prophet (peace be upon him), then it is as if they are hearing it from the Prophet (peace be upon him) when Jibril conveys the revelation to him, until finally it is as if they are hearing it directly from Allah.

Among the ways of reciting the Qur’an presented by Shaykh Mutawalli ash-Sharawi is what he calls al-Khatmah al-Ilahiyyah, which means that you do not recite the name of Allah or His attributes or pronouns that refer to Him unless you say in your heart: Subhanallah Wabihamdih, if a third person pronoun is used, or Subhanaka Wabihamdika, if a first or second person pronoun is used. After al-Khatmah al-Ilahiyah, continue with al-Khatmah an-Nabawiyah, i.e. you do not recite the name of the Messenger of Allah or his attributes or pronouns that refer to him unless you say in your heart: Shallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, if a third person pronoun is used: or Shallahu Alaika wa Sallam, if a first or second person pronoun is used. It is said that if there is a sentence or matter that you do not understand while reading a book of knowledge, then put down the book that you are reading, then perform ablution if you are in a state of impurity, and pray two rak’ahs. When you read it again after that, with Allah’s permission, you will understand it.

The author of this book himself was among those who were given a lot of knowledge and secrets of the Quran thanks to his earnestness and determination. It is said that in his early days of studying with full sacrifice and struggle against lust, some scholars of the city of Tarim, where he studied, said: “O Hasan bin Saleh, the knowledge you seek has been extinct for a long time.” Al-Habib Hasan replied: “Their words only increased my enthusiasm to seek it. He did not become lazy and idle. Eventually he became the leader of the Hadramaut valley at that time and possessed the secrets and knowledge of the Qur’an. In his youth, he was able to answer questions about the Qur’an that bothered the religious leaders at that time and explained the deep secrets of the Qur’an in a remarkable way. Among his customs was to pray two rak’ahs at night and recite the Qur’an once in the first rak’ah, and in the second rak’ah he recited Surah al-Ikhlas ninety thousand times. His son said: “One day my father suffered from a fever so high that his body heat penetrated three layers of blankets that he was wearing. He was so sick that he could not stand up. When the time for his evening prayer came, he removed the blankets covering his body and rose to his feet and began his prayer. He recited many volumes of the Quran in the first rak’ah and many thousands of Surah al-Ikhlas in the second rak’ah. When he finished his nightly prayer, he came down with a fever, and we covered him with three layers of blankets as before.”

He received all this glory after much struggle and hardship. It is mentioned in a saying: “Struggle, you will see the secret of your Lord and attain the guidance that Allah promised in Surah al-Ankabut.”? Said his disciple, al-Habib Abu Bakr bin Abdullah al-Atthas: “I saw one night as if heaven with its angels and palaces were brought to him and placed under his house. Then al-Habib Hasan bin Saleh went to the front of his house saying: My desire is neither angels nor palaces. My desire is the removal of the veil that hinders me from Allah, the Almighty.” The masters of makrifat said: “All the pleasures that Allah swt gives in the Hereafter, be it angels, rivers, palaces, and so on, are eternal by His will which makes them eternal. However, His pleasure is eternal with the eternity of His Essence. That is why when Allah talks about Paradise, He says: “Allah promises the believing men and women a Paradise in which rivers flow. They will abide therein and have good places in Paradise Adn. And the pleasure of Allah is greater, and it is a great good fortune” (QS. atTaubah: 72). May Allah make us all among those who achieve that great victory, and not exclude any of us and our families, children, family members, descendants, students, and friends because of their sins, shortcomings, and lack of teachings.

“Then you will find in every verse, even in every word, even in every letter, such a marvelous meaning, such a hidden secret, and such a great Spiritual state.” This happened to someone like al-Habib Hasan himself. Those of us who only read his descriptions are nothing like him. He has written and experienced what he has written, and has even gone beyond it. Otherwise, he would not have written this. Rather, we make our reading a means of asking for His mercy. Reading the words of those who have attained closeness to Him and being moved to attain the same as they have, is a means of inviting His love and mercy so that He will bless us on account of His lovers. If this were not the case, we would not be able to read their words as we do today.

Al-Habib Ali al-Habshi said in one of his supplications: “O Allah, unite me with every letter, every word, every verse and letter and do not let there be separation even for a blink of an eye” so that the secret radiance of His words appears in the heart, mind and spirit. Allah says: “Say: If the sea were ink to write the words of my Lord, the sea would run out before His words were finished, even if We were to bring back as many more” (QS. alKahf: 109). We are very grateful for the blessings of the Quran. Every day we find that the Quran is still there and has not been lifted up by Him, because there will come a time when not even one verse of it will remain. It will be taken back to Him from the pages of paper and from the chests of its memorizers. And until now we can still read it, so we are grateful for this pleasure. May Allah make us ahlu al-Ouran (relatives of the Quran)’. Approach it as a friend and then you will become a relative. The Prophet said: “Read the Quran because it will come on the Day of Resurrection to intercede for its readers (ashabihi)” This is the friend of the Quran. Then regarding the relatives of the Quran (ahl al-Quran) he said: “Those who are close to the Quran or the family of the Quran (ahl al-Quran) are those who are very close to Allah (ahlullah) and His chosen ones.” The companions of the Quran intercede with the Quran, while the relatives of the Quran intercede with the Quran.

Rukuk

Then bow down in submission and shame to Him for allowing you to enter His presence. Say Takbir, glorifying the greatness of His majesty and the greatness of His might. Realize that all things are subject to His authority, humble to His might, obedient to all His decrees. Then say:   Glory be to my Lord, the Great, and to Him be all praise. Make your tasbih a form of purification for Him with shame, for you speak to Him when He is so great and glorious while you are so lowly and weak. Fill your soul with happiness because of Him and joy because of closeness to Him, because He regards you as His servant. He qualifies you to stand before Him. So praise Him to the best of your ability. Remember all His pleasures, closeness, and gifts. 

“Then bow down to bow with full submission and shame to Him for allowing you to enter His presence. Glorify the enormity of His majesty and the greatness of His might. Realize that all things are subject to His authority, humble to His might, obedient to all His decrees.” Join the universe in bowing and outward submission and witness that all is subject to His authority. “And say:  Glory be to my Lord, the Great, and to Him be all praise,” i.e. along with my praise of Him, I also purify my Lord from everything that resembles Him and from that which is similar to Him, and from all that is unworthy of His majesty. My Lord is the Holy and Great God, of whom no one understands all His attributes. And I am indeed very fortunate to have such a Lord. The Prophet said when the verse was revealed: So glorify the name of your Lord, the Great (QS. al-Wagiah: 96): “Make it a recitation in your bowing.

Repeat this recitation three times. And if you are the imam with a limited number of people and they are all willing to pray a long prayer or you are praying alone, then increase it to five, seven, nine and eleven times. And include the remembrance of bowing:

“O Allah, to You I bow, to You I believe, and to You I surrender. All my hearing, my sight, my mind, my bones, my sinews, and all that is supported by my two feet are obedient only to You, Lord of the Worlds.”

This includes the dhikr of bowing as well:

“Glory be to the Lord of might, power, greatness and majesty.”

Still included in the bowing dhikr:

“Glory be to the Lord of the angels and the spirit (Gabriel)” This also includes the bowing prayer:

“Glory be to You and to You be all praise I testify that there is no god but You. I ask forgiveness and repent to You.”

Or: 

“Glory be to You and to You be all praise. O Allah, forgive me.” The Prophet recited these last two supplications while bowing and prostrating after the verse was revealed: “So purify your Lord by praising Him and ask Him for forgiveness. Indeed, He is the recipient of repentance” (QS. an-Nashr: 3).

“Make your tasbih a form of purification for Him with shame, because you speak to Him when He is so great and glorious while you are so lowly and weak. If it were not for His disregard of all that, then who are we to be worthy of His name? What do we say His name with? Words are limited. But He accepts our saying tasbih which means nothing to Him, even with that He will also mention us in His sight. Allah says: “So remember Me, and I will remember you” (al-Bagarah: 152). In the hadith it is mentioned that a person who wakes up should say: “Praise be to Allah who revives me after killing me and to Him I return. Praise be to Allah who wakes me up in good health and allows me to remember His name.” If not with His permission, then what can you say in the presence of His majesty? But He allows you to say what you can, and He accepts it from you, even mentioning you in His sight.

“Fill your soul with happiness because of Him and joy because of closeness to Him” Allah is the One who brought you to this level, whereas if He wanted He could throw you to so-and-so who distracts you from Him. But He invites you close to Him and He takes care of all your affairs. So you are filled with happiness. This is what the Prophets carry, namely the happiness of Allah. And the essence of worship lies in joy and happiness in its place. But the problem is, if people prefer to be happy with their lusts, their wealth and possessions, and temporal things, then the end result will not be good. Allah, however, guides us to rejoice with what is real in His words: “Say: With the bounty and mercy of Allah should they be happy. That is better than what they have accumulated” (Q. Yunus: 58). Similarly, the things that we are commanded to be sad about, such as what is happening to Muslims today, are basically based on joy and happiness, because in the end it will result in good and keep bad things away. In essence, all the teachings of this religion are based on happiness.

Everything that appears to be sadness is basically a means to ultimate happiness. All the things in religion that seem to be fear are the only things that will lead you to true security. You fear Him and you will have security. But if you fear other than Him, what will give you security? Until the ‘wise ones say: “Glory be to You! Whoever fears someone will run away from him. But whoever fears You, fingers seek safety in You.” So all the things in Shari’ah that are outwardly wrapped in fear are magnets that attract real security. But fear outside the scope of Shari’ah is a problem and a prolonged exhaustion. That is why Allah swt denounces those who force themselves to laugh and seek joy in this world in the wrong way. They bring in people who tell funny stories, take drugs, in order to find happiness and forget their fatigue and worries. But this will not bring them the essence of happiness. They just want to escape the reality of their lives by any means. Allah says about them: “As for those to whom the Book of their deeds is given behind their backs, they will cry out: “Woe is me!” and he will enter a burning hell. He was once happy among his people” (al-Inshigag: 10-13). He tries to seek happiness in this world with worldly things and sometimes by disobeying until he forgets and is far from Allah swt. It is enough that the false happiness in the world and he does not get the essence of happiness in the hereafter.

As for the group that feels true happiness, Allah says: “And those to whom the record of their deeds is given with their right hands, they will be judged with an easy reckoning and return to their families (who share the same faith) in a state of joy” (QS. al-Inshigag: 7-9). This is because the happiness that he seeks through the righteous path is connected to that ultimate happiness, and all the sorrow that he feels is the cause of the greater and lasting happiness that he will receive in the Hereafter. Allah says about the dwellers of Paradise: “And Allah will give them radiant faces and a sense of joy” (al-Insan: 11). Allah is pleased to see His servant facing Him in a happy, joyful and hopeful state, knowing before whom he stands and to whom he prays. So Allah will also face him in such a state.

“For He has characterized you as His servant.” There is a saying that comes from Sayyidina Ali who said: “The thing that adds to my pride and happiness – so much so that I could step on the Morning Star with my two feet is that I am included in your call ‘O my servants’ and you made Ahmad (peace be upon him) my prophet.” Or in another narration: “And You made the best of creation my prophet.” It is also mentioned in the prayer: “And with the blessing of the Qur’an make our happiness and joy on the Day of Resurrection everlasting,” on a day that is so terrible and worrying. “He has made you fit to stand before Him, so praise Him to the best of your ability. Remember all His pleasures, closeness, and gifts.”

I’tidal

Then rise to your feet with joy at your nearness to Him and pride in His love. And say:   Allah hears whoever praises Him. Hearing in the form of accepting and responding to the praise, and being pleased with it. For He hears everything. In fact, He is closer to the one who praises Him than the one who praises Him. More than that, He is even closer to him than himself. At that time speech ceases, gestures become silent, and the secret of the Beloved is revealed. Then say O our Lord. Intend with that plural pronoun the entire universe in general and al-‘alamin in particular.   To You be all praise with all the elements of praise that equal all Your favors and all the additions You give. And see that all praise for other than Him is just a figure of speech, because only for Him is the real praise. For all praise ultimately leads to Him, comes from Him, and is His gift.

Say with full appreciation that “no one is able to praise You but You. No one can truly be grateful to You except You. I praise You with Your own praise for Your Essence.” Yet He allows you to praise Him and accepts it from you. So present your heart while saying: “To You be all praise like the praise You give to Your Essence, which corresponds to the nobility of Your position and the greatness of Your power from Your servants as many as the number of atoms in the universe multiplied by the number of breaths, times, silences, desires, trajectories of hearts, words, good, bad and letters that are eternal with Your endless and imperishable and limitless eternity.”

Intend for your speech: to fill the heavens and the earth and whatever You will besides them, so that your praise will truly be that much. And intend after the heavens and the earth, things other than them, namely the arsh, the seat, and all creatures, as well as the “endless universe of monotheism.

Then say:   O owner of all praise, i.e. the One who praises Yourself, because all that praises. Your praise is due to Your guidance and bounty and Your kindness and mercy and glory. And there is no glory for other than You. Anything praiseworthy other than You is Your creation and servant.   The most appropriate and appropriate words to be uttered by a servant whose servitude is complete, whose human nature is gone, and whose indictment and gaze on himself are gone with the light of specificity.   And we are all Your servants who are inwardly and outwardly at Your disposal. You truly assign divine attributes to Him in your every movement and movement. You attach to yourself all the despicable attributes while witnessing all the noble attributes that exist in Him.   Nothing is able to hinder what You give because there is no power other than You. So nothing exists except Your Essence and there is no witnessing except by Your light.   And no one is able to give what You do not want, because no one interferes with Your decision regarding who You hinder and keep away. Similarly, only You have the knowledge of who You will make happy and who will be harmed.   No one benefits those who are noble, from You is all the glory. No benefit will come from one to another unless it is from You and by Your will.   

“Then rise up with joy because of your closeness to Him and pride in His love. And say:   Allah hears whoever praises Him. Hearing in the form of accepting and responding to the praise and being pleased with it. For He hears everything. In fact, He is closer to the one who praises Him than the one who praises Him. More than that, He is even closer to him than himself.” He hears the path of your heart, the footsteps of ants, and so on. But what we expect is that He hears with all the acceptance, response, pleasure, and delight in the praise we offer. O our Lord,” even if you are alone but say our Lord, “and intend with that plural pronoun the entire universe in general and al-alamin in particular.” i.e. humans, jinn, and angels.   To You be all praise,” i.e. myself as a representative for all of them praising You, “with all the elements of praise” encompassed by Your knowledge, “which equal all Your favors and all the additions You have given. And see that all praise for others is only figurative, while only for Him is true praise. For all praise will ultimately lead to. It is His, it comes from Him, and it is His gift.” For as we have said that the good deeds of a person are His creation and by His guidance. Likewise, the reward for such good deeds and the realization of them are also based on His guidance. And no one praises Him except by His will. So only He is entitled to all praise.

“Say with full appreciation that ‘no one is able to praise Yourself except You. No one can truly be grateful to You except You. I praise You with Your own praise for Your Essence.’ Yet He allows you to praise Him and accepts it from you. So present your heart while saying: “To You be all praise like the praise You give to Your Essence, which is in accordance with the nobility of Your position, and the greatness of Your power of all Your servants, as many as the number of atoms in the universe multiplied by the number of breaths, times, silences, desires, trajectories of hearts, words, good, bad and letters that are eternal with Your endless and imperishable and limitless eternity: Intend your speech:  It fills the heavens and the earth and whatever You will besides them so that your praise may be truly that much. And intend after the heavens and the earth, things other than them, namely the arsh, the seat, and all creatures, as well as the “endless universe of tawhid.” It was said by some wise people: “If the ‘arsh was allowed to climb higher, surely ja would continue to climb that universe of monotheism without end” And there is nothing greater and vast than the “universe” of monotheism to Allah. For Ja is the Most Expansive.

“Then say:   O owner of all praise, that is, the One who praises Himself, for all that praises You is due to Your guidance and bounty and Your goodness and mercy.  And there is no glory for any other than You, and no glory for any other than You. And there is no glory for other than You. Whatever is praised apart from You is Your creation and servant.   The most appropriate and appropriate words for a servant, whose servitude is complete, whose human nature is gone, and whose indictment of himself and his gaze on himself are gone with the light of specialness.   And we are all Your servants whose bodies and minds are under Your control. You truly assign divine attributes to Him in your every movement and movement. You attach to yourself all the despicable attributes while witnessing all the noble attributes that exist in Him.   Nothing is able to hinder what You give because there is no power other than. You. So nothing exists except Your Essence and there is no witnessing except by Your light.   And no one is able to give what You do not want, because no one interferes with Your decision regarding who You hinder and keep away. Similarly, only You have the knowledge of who You will make happy and who will be harmed.   No one benefits those who are noble,” who have wealth, power and position. There is no one who can benefit them because from You is all glory. Benefit does not come from one to another but it comes from You and by Your will.” Although You make Your creatures the means by which the benefit reaches them, the giver of the benefit is You alone. May Allah make us a means of benefitting His servants so that we become a source of benefit to the ummah and a source of much good for the ummah, and He is pleased with us. May Allah gather us with the righteous and their leader, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the best of those who praise Allah and His most praiseworthy servant. His banner on the Day of Judgment will be called the banner of praise (liwa’ al-hamd). So, O Allah, make us under that banner in the future and make us people who are always grateful and praise You in every situation.

Al-Habib Hasan explains that when you do i’tidal you witness His power over you and His closeness to you. This state is known among the wise as al-fana, which means that you are not in your current position except with Him, because He is the One who gave you the ability to do so. It is said that the ordinary Muslims have the perspective that they are praying for the sake of Allah, and the privileged among them have the perspective that they are praying by the will of Allah. Whereas a person of higher status said: “Allah created the prayer, then He gave me the guidance to perform it, and after that He judged it as if it was established by my effort.” For if it were not for His guidance, who would have made you able to pray! We will not be able to properly thank Him for the blessing of His permission for us to pray. This is a great favor that He grants to His servants.

After you have bowed before His authority and you see that everything else is bowing to Him, you stand up again and bow to Him. You stand up again by His power and will. This is what is called magam al-Fana if you actually experience it. You no longer witness the existence of any power over you and, instead, you witness that you and all that is with you proceeds according to His will. For you are in your current position by His power, His will, His favor and His goodness. If you experience this and you no longer witness yourself and other than you, then He will raise you to the degree of alBaga through prostration.

The first level is hudhur (presence of the heart), then ash-shuhud (witnessing the attributes of Allah), then arriving at al-fana. In this state all your bad qualities, your attention to other than Allah, and your witnessing of other than Him disappear. After that is the level of albaga, where your praiseworthy qualities settle and you realize that you and everything you do and experience is by His power and will. The difference between al-fana and al-baga is huge. In the beginning you know with certainty that all that is with you is by His will but not with the knowledge that has reached the pure essence. After that you enter the state of fana. If you have become mortal from your self and attributes and there is the light of His attributes shining on you, you return to al-baqa, but not as before. You return as Allah’s perfect representative (khalifatullah), and with His great care and an even greater state than before without any contamination. Allah said to His Prophet, the leader of those who had reached the degree of alfana and al-baga: “Be patient (O Muhammad). And your patience is not except with the help of Allah” (QS. an-Nahl: 127). Likewise, His words that we have touched on before: “And it is not you who throw when you throw but Allah who throws” (QS. al-Anfal: 17).

Prostration

Then prostrate before Him. I’tidal is a testimony of His power over you and His closeness to you, because you are so dominated by His attributes that you no longer witness yourself because you witness Him. This is the position of al-fana. Then comes the flash of albaga, which is the realization of how far you are from Him and how close He is to you. You see His height and majesty and His closeness to you and His compassion, then prostrate. For the meaning of prostration is that you place yourself like a corpse that has been stripped of the signs of life.

And when you have been emptied of the attributes of your I-ness and the meaning of closeness appears to you in His words: “And prostrate and draw near (to God)” (QS. al-‘Alag: 19), then say:   Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, and to Him be all praise. You, with your utterance, purify Him of the attribute of your closeness to Him while relying completely on His attribute that encompasses you. It is then that you will be immersed in the universe of oneness.

For people in this state there are several states: some of them have warid in the form of makrifat, some in the form of love (mahabbah), and some in the form of authority (haibah). If the warid they get is makrifat, then their souls will travel in the realms of mulk (visible) and malakut (unseen) and be revealed to them hidden secrets and great ahwal (inner states). If his warid is love, it will reveal to him the intimacy and welcome and closeness of the Beloved. And if his warid is authority (al-haibah), it will be revealed to him al-jabarut and he will prostrate himself upon bahamut.

As for those who are encompassed by His attributes and have the light of His Essence shining in their hearts, then they become tana with His Essence and baga with His attributes. So once he witnesses the attributes of ar-Rahabut, he runs towards the attributes of ar-Rahamut. He then says:   I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath. And when he witnesses the attributes of wrath and might, he flees towards the attributes of forgiveness and mercy and says:   I seek refuge with Your forgiveness from Your punishment. And when the light of Essence shines in his heart, he transcends all names and attributes, and ascends to the highest degree and says:   I seek refuge with You from You. Then there is no longer at that time anything that exists, and nothing that he witnesses. He punishes everything that exists with transience, and he denies his witnessing, so that nothing remains except the One who must exist and exist.

“Then prostrate before Him. I’tidal is a testimony of His power that is in you and His closeness to you, because you are dominated by His attributes. So that you no longer witness yourself because you witness Him, this is the position of al-fana.” Said al-Imam Abdullah al-Haddad: “And I have a wish far beyond all this, which is that I want to return and draw near to my Beloved and witness Him so perfectly that I disappear from this distant universe with Him Who is the Nearest. Until I ascend to al-Baga, indeed I am happy because of the abundance of my portion.” And at the degree of fana there is what is called al-jamu and at the degree of baga there is what is called al-farqu. Those who have reached the degree of al-baga are no longer veiled with the creatures of Allah and vice versa. He places everything in accordance with the position that Allah gives without any interference from lust or goals other than Allah, but as a complete servant, who places everything according to its position that Allah has determined. This is the kind of person Allah hints at in His words in a hadith gudsi that he sees, hears, speaks, and acts with the help and guidance of Allah.

“Then there flashes the light of al-baga, that is, with the realization of how far you are from Him and how close He is to you.” And far (al-budu) is an attribute for creatures. It cannot be an attribute of Allah, because Allah is closer to something than it is to itself. Allah says: “Indeed We have created man and We know what his heart whispers and We are nearer to him than his own neck” (Qaf: 16). What is the distance between you and your neck? His closeness to us is a divine closeness that is not limited by distance and cannot be described in thoughts and imaginations. It is the nearness of His power, His knowledge, and His majesty. He does not say that His nearness to you is like the nearness of your neck because there is no one like Him. He says that He is nearer with the meaning of the greatest nearness. So far (al-budu) does not come from Him but from you in the form of your negligence, your turning away from Him, your burrowing in what He forbids openly or secretly, and your relying on others. So draw near to Him so that you attain closeness to the Most Near. And the closest servant to Him is His beloved and beloved, Muhammad (peace be upon him). No one can know the greatness of his closeness to Him except Allah.

Allah says: “And prostrate and draw near (to God)” (Sūrat al-Alaq: 19). Once a teacher (murabbi) saw his student prostrating. He said: “O my son, what you are doing is merely prostrating on the ground. Prostration should be with the essence and secrets contained therein. If you prostrate with a heart that is present and witnesses the majesty of Allah, then that is the prostration that will bring you close to Allah. But if you prostrate with an inattentive heart, it is merely prostration and where is your process of drawing near to Him (aligtirab)?!” Because the main purpose of prostration is to draw near to Him.

Allah says to the Prophet: “It is He who sees you when you stand up (for prayer), and your movement among those who prostrate” (Sūrat Ash-Shuara: 218-219). The verse is interpreted to mean those who prostrated before him, after him or his contemporaries. The verse can also be interpreted to mean that he moved from the sulbs of those who prostrated from the time of Adam a.s. to his parents, but this is only one of many interpretations. His prostration with his companions is included in the meaning of this verse. And all those who prostrate to Allah need someone to point them to Allah. And that person is the best of those who prostrate, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). So in every person who prostrates, there is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in it according to the quality of his prostration. If Allah opens to you the pleasure of prostration and its essence and meaning, you will fall in love with prostration and do it a lot. The Prophet said to a companion who asked to be with him in Paradise: “Help me to make that happen for you by prostrating more.” It is said that al-Imam Ali Zainal Abidin would pray a thousand rak’ahs every night while his eyes would water until there were two black lines on his face where his tears flowed. What did he cry for? He did not weep for the wealth that had escaped him or for illness. He cried because of the feelings in his heart, longing, love and realization. Allah says: “Their eyes shed tears for what they know of the truth” (QS. al-Maidah: 83). So it is with you. If you knew what they know, you would cry like them. If you had the love that they have, you would cry like them. The scholars said: “Among the highest levels of martyrdom are those who love and long for Allah so much that they cut off their heart and die. I do not know which is more honorable, the one who dies because of an enemy attack or because of his intense love and longing for Allah.” Hence it is mentioned: “Shahidul Mahabbah, those who die out of an overflowing love for Allah are the highest level of martyrdom” Among them was Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddig (peace be upon him), who was martyred at the same time because he was poisoned. The effect of the poison and the overflow of love in him was the cause of Sayyidina Abu Bakr’s death. It is mentioned by historians that one of the causes of Abu Bakr’s death was deep sadness because of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Similarly, when love had peaked in the heart of Fatima az-Zahra, she died six months after the death of the Messenger of Allah. And this has been reported by the Prophet in his words on the eve of his death to Fatima:

“You are the first of my family to follow me.” No one from the Prophet’s family died until the death of Sayyidah Fatimah six months after the Prophet’s death.

“You see His height and majesty and His nearness to you and His compassion, then prostrate yourself. Because the meaning of prostration is that you place yourself like a corpse that has been stripped of the signs of life. And if you have been emptied of your selfhood,” that is, by replacing your mindset of thinking that you are something that has power and so on with the realization that Allah Swt is the One who created the universe and you are a small dot in that universe. He created you, your spirit and body, and wants you to bow down to Him. Get rid of your sense of entitlement. You are nothing. You don’t deserve to bow down with that feeling. Your spirit and body were nothing in the beginning and He brought them into existence, and now you feel like you have power?! When you were still semen, how did you make yourself develop into a clot of blood and then a lump of flesh?! By what power did you do that?! You are a nobody. When you realize this, then you are empty of your lustful qualities. “And there appears to you the meaning of nearness in His words: “And prostrate and draw near (to God)” (QS. al-‘Alaq: 19)”

Only those who fully surrender to Allah can approach Him. As for those whose lusts constantly challenge the glory and sanctity of Allah, it will not be possible to feel the essence of closeness to Him.

The story is told of a man who learned a lesson from a slave he bought in the market. When the master and the slave met, the master asked: “What is your name?” The slave replied: “Whatever name you give me” The master continued to ask: “What do you do?” the slave replied: “Whatever you tell me to do.” His master asked again: “What do you own?” The slave replied: “What a slave owns, including himself, belongs to his master. The master then thought: “He is a slave, just as I am a slave. His submission to me is so perfect. Whereas I am busy with what my Lord swt has not commanded, I name myself not by the name He gave me, and I claim to have something for myself. I am but a servant before Him.” Hence al-Imam Abdullah bin Alwi al-Haddad said: “A person will attain all perfection, without exception, if he places himself before Allah like a slave before his master.

Today many people relate to Allah in a way that even the head of a company would not accept if it came from a subordinate. If we don’t protest much against the decisions of our superiors, why question the decrees of Allah! O foolish one, you are not dealing with a company leader. He is Allah, the Creator of all things. He is not questioned about what He does. What exactly does God mean to you?! How wrong it is for that person to believe his empty daydreams that keep whispering that you are a reasonable, free person, and inviting to criticize and question everything. Your lust whispers to you to criticize your Lord, the Prophet, the scholars, the saints and so on. But when he wanted to criticize the government regulations he was immediately prevented. When he questions the law, he is told to keep quiet because it is the decision of the highest court. When it comes to God, prophets, religion, ja glorifies reason and freedom of thought. If he were truly a man of reason, he would know that it is more important for him to know the boundary between himself and his Lord than these worldly matters.

“So say:   Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, and to Him be all praise. You, with your utterance, purify Him of the attribute of your closeness to Him while relying completely on His attribute that encompasses you. It is then that you will be immersed in the universe of oneness,” i.e. you will truly dive into the fact that there is only one creator, one who manifests everything, one provider of sustenance, “and your Lord is the One God” (QS. Al-Baqarah: 163). With regard to what is commonly mentioned by some deviant groups, such as wahdatul wujud, al-hulul, al-ittihad and so on, this is all nonsense. And the furthest beings from such things are the lovers of Allah and those who have attained the state of realization. Hence it is not possible to interpret the words that come out of their mouths with these false and low meanings that cannot even be accepted by a person with very limited knowledge whose intellect is safe from such lies. The principle is that Allah does not reside in anything and nothing resides in Him, but nothing comes out of His power, His will, His decision, His arrangement, His establishment: His power, His will, His decision, His arrangement, His formation, His decree, His vision, and the scope of His knowledge. So it is wrong for one to understand the words of the lovers of Allah who have such a high position with what is said by those who are lowly in the sight of Allah. Allah said through the mouth of His Prophet when he was in the cave of Tsur: “Do not grieve, Allah is with us” (Sūrat al-Taubah: 40). Does this mean that Allah resides in the cave? That is the understanding of those who have lost their minds. Allah was with them in the cave without the need to occupy something (al-hulul) or merge with something else (al-ittihad).

“For people in this state,” who are in the universe of oneness and see no other than Allah, “there are several states: some of them have warid in the form of makrifat, some in the form of love (mahabbah), and some in the form of authority (haibah).” That is based on the most powerful manifestation (tajalli) they feel. “If the warid they get is makrifat, their souls will travel in the realms of mulk (visible) and malakut (unseen).” They look closely at the widespread and obvious signs in the realm of manifestation that point to Allah, “and are revealed to him the hidden secrets” in the wisdom of Allah, which is stored in all that exists, “and the great inner state” by witnessing the majesty of Allah, in all His creations. He is the Sustainer of all things, the Lord of all things. That is your Lord whom you prostrate to. So great is your position with your prostration to Him. Those who have this kind of warid will witness the secret of divinity in His servant and the secret of the Creator in His creation. How far this is from those who when prostrating are still attached to lowly things such as spectacles, cell phones, or the world from its bad side and not from the side of the great secrets that are in it. For this world has two sides: the side of darkness, which is a veil and a barrier from Allah swt, and the side of light and guidance. Those who are negligent and disconnected from Allah see from the side of darkness so that it becomes a veil between themselves and Allah. Those who constantly remember Allah, on the other hand, see from the side of light, so that everything increases their faith and submission to Him. For them, this universe is like a glass that does not obscure what is behind it. And behind every element of creation is the power of Allah the Almighty, His might, His will, and His strength. But if you are on the dark side, you will find this nature to be a veil that prevents you from your Creator. And the worst and stupidest of minds are those that are preoccupied with creatures to the extent that they prevent them from the Creator.

Others are possessed by love (mahabbah). They prostrate themselves in another extraordinary condition. “If the warid is love, it will reveal to him familiarity and welcome and closeness to the Beloved.” He will find additional closeness to his Lord in the state of prostration. He will feel such a sweet and beautiful feeling. Said al-Habib Abdullah ash-Syathiri to his students: “I find in prayer and prostration a sweetness that if it were not for the fear of the person behind me I would not get up from my prostration. And the heart also has prostration, which if it performs it will not move from it forever. O Allah, bless our hearts with the blessings of the owner of the prostrating heart.

“And if his warid is authority (al-haibah), it will be revealed to him al-jabarut,” which is a dimension of the unseen world in which the attributes of Allah’s power and might are seen, and the effects of these attributes. Al-Jabarut is the understanding of the essence of His name al-Jabbar. Al-Jabarut is the submission of all things before the majesty of Allah the Creator. Al-Jabarut is the expanse of the majesty of Allah’s will and power, as well as the secret of divinity and the acknowledgment of all things that they are subject and obedient to Him and have nothing before Him. “And prostrate themselves upon the bahamut,” which is a reference to the lowest realms of nature, namely livestock and animals which are the lowest kind of creatures. What is meant is that he prostrates himself to Allah in humiliation.

“As for those who are encompassed by His attributes and have the light of His Essence shining in their hearts, then they become fana with His Essence and baga with His attributes. So as soon as he sees the attributes of ar-Rahabut,” i.e. the attributes that represent punishment, retribution, expulsion, keeping away from mercy, and inflicting punishment, “he runs to the attributes of ar-Rahamut,” which are closeness, forgiveness, mercy, forgiveness, forgiveness, covering disgrace and shortcomings, and so on. “He then says:   I seek refuge in Your pleasure” which is a form of the attribute ar-Rahamut from Your wrath” which is the attribute arRahabut. Because the attributes of ar-Rahabut, such as punishment, torment, being kept away from Allah, etc., are within the wrath of Allah. The same applies to hell. It is a form of the attribute of ar-Rahabut that falls within the scope of His wrath. Whereas all forms of the attribute of ar-Rahamut and its highest form stem from pleasure. And Paradise, which is a form of the attributes of ar-Rahamut, is also within the scope of ridha. If it were not for His pleasure, there would be no pleasure in Paradise. If we suppose, but this will not happen, that Allah Swt is pleased with one of the inhabitants of hell, he will certainly taste the sweetness and pleasure of hell. We see the angels, for example, enter and see hell and its inhabitants, but they are not harmed by hell at all. This is because the Lord of Hell is pleased with them. If, however, Allah swt is angry with one of the inhabitants of Paradise, he will certainly feel pain and torment, because all pleasure is a branch and fruit of pleasure just as all torment is a branch of wrath.

“And when he witnesses the attributes of wrath and might, he saves himself towards the attributes of forgiveness and pardon and says:   I seek refuge in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. And when the light of Essence shines in his heart,” where wrath, pleasure, forgiveness and punishment are branches of Essence, namely Allah, “he transcends all names and attributes and rises to the highest degree and says:   I seek refuge with You from You. For all that I fear is from You just as the salvation I hope for is also from You. You are what I fear, but You are also what I hope for. In Your hands are all my troubles as in Yours is my ease. “Then there was no longer at that time anything that existed, and nothing that he witnessed. He punishes everything that exists with transience, and he denies its witnessing, so that nothing remains except the One who must exist and exist,” namely Allah Swt who rules over all things in the universe, even the smallest ones. The air, plants, inanimate objects, animals, colors, limbs, trajectories of thought, hearts, and everything is by His arrangement. Plants do not grow, nor is there thirst and satisfaction except by His arrangement. And without Him, all would not exist. Nothing escapes His supervision and arrangement. He takes care of everything whether it is big or small, good or bad, near or far, everything is in His arrangement. And this supervision and arrangement is something that only belongs to Allah Swt.

A human being can make something, but on one occasion someone breaks it, destroys it without him knowing. That is because he does not have the arrangement, the organization, the supervision that Allah Swt has. As for Allah, everything that He has created He has complete control and control over. Sickness, health, life and death, favor and misery, entry and exit, height and shortness are all in His control. Nothing happens except by His permission. Not a single hair grows except by His permission, nor is it cut except by His permission. Even the scissors that cut it are in His arrangement. Long before that, He was the one who moved people to make iron, and He was the one who orchestrated the idea in a person to create scissors. He is also the one who moves the hands and fingers that hold the scissors and He regulates the movement of the scissors themselves. There is no power and effort except with Allah. No finger moves, no ear hears, no eye blinks, no bird flies, no plant grows, and no butterfly moves its wings except with Allah.

It is narrated that one of the preachers had a wife who always took care of his needs. One day his wife said: “It is actually I who preach, not you.” Her husband said: “How can that be? Don’t talk nonsense” His wife replied: “If you don’t believe me I will prove it in due time.” Until the feast day came and the wife took care of everything as usual. When the husband was about to go out to give the Eid sermon, the wife said: “How can you go out to give the sermon when there is no feast day flour in the house for us to eat.” Whereas in her area flour is a staple that must be present, it is impossible if on the feast day she let her house not have flour. Worried, he went out to the mosque, led the Eid prayer, and stood up for the sermon. Every time he spoke a little his mind suddenly drifted and he muttered “flour for the Eid”, then he came to his senses and continued the sermon, and so on. Every time he spoke his mind would think of flour, and he would say “flour for the feast day” Finally he decided to go home. His wife asked:

“How was the khutbah today?” Her husband replied: “What kind of sermon are you asking about. I can’t preach today” His wife said: “Because I was the one who preached, not you” Her husband asked: “How can that be?” Her wife replied: “All this time I have taken care of all our needs and never asked about the flour and everything else at all until you could preach well. But today, I am occupying your mind with flour, even though it is in our house. Her husband said: “Indeed you have been the one preaching. This is just an example of organization in the realm of worldly causes.

Any one of us who sees someone doing something is bound to think: “Who is behind his deeds and successes? It can’t be from himself. There must be someone behind it.” Whereas me, you, the sun, the moon and the universe, who is managing us? Who is behind our actions? Don’t stop at the cause because there is more behind it. For if your Lord had not willed, those people would not have been able to do anything. Therefore, don’t stop, see to the end what is behind it all. Al-Imam al-Ghazali supposes that there is a fly that is given reason and understanding and lands on a paper that is originally pure white and has scribbles written on it in black ink. Seeing that, it becomes angry and goes to the ink and says: “How could you defile that white paper!” Ink replied: “I have no power because I only follow the pen.” He then flew to the pen and scolded it, but the pen replied that it was just wood that could not move unless moved by the fingers that held it. He then went to the finger and protested to him that he had made the pen dirty the white paper. The finger replied: “Be quiet! Behind me there is a hand that moves me” He then went to the hand and the hand replied: “Behind all this is the brain which is the center of movement of the whole body. I only move according to its orders” He approached the brain in anger and the brain replied: “I am being ordered by Allah Swt who wants me to do this.” Sometimes a person feels that he has become a great philosopher by asking what is behind everything. Does he not know that?! Even your words asking “who is behind all these things is also who is behind you making you ask that?! Allah swt. Who organized the Prophet’s journey during Hijrah and said: “Do not grieve, Allah is with us” (QS. at-Taubah: 40)? He said: “O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two people and Allah is the third?” Who was behind him who said that Suragah would be dressed in the regalia of kisras and emperors and that it was true to his words?

But when most people attribute everything that happens to its cause, they are unable to understand the state of the pious who have detached themselves from dependence on creatures until the one behind all their actions is the Creator. Those people no longer believe in the appearances of the pious. They thought it impossible that everything the lovers of Allah did was purely for His sake. For they themselves are still bound by low goals whereas the salihin have very high goals. And the difference between the two is great. Allah says: “They forgot Allah, then Allah made them forget themselves” (al-Hasr: 19). It is Allah who is behind the righteous with His help and support. Just as He is also behind the disobedient with His punishment, His decree, the favors He bestows and His delay from inflicting punishment on them until a certain time. “And do not think that Allah is unmindful of what the wrongdoers do” (Ibrahim: 42).

Sitting between two prostrations

At that time the gesture became numb, speech was silent. He returned feeling weak and broken, despised and in need. He threw himself on the expanse of humiliation and desolation. At that point he knew how inferior his attributes were and he depended on the great attributes of his Lord. He then sits down and says: O my Lord, while witnessing His providence over him, His arrangements and mercy even before he was formed. O my Lord, while witnessing His providence over him, His arrangements and mercy even before he was formed, forgive me my sins and faults that You know and love me, the distressed and broken, and cover and perfect me from all my weaknesses and humiliations, and raise me from my lowest state to the height of Your secret presence that flows in all that exists. and give me sustenance in my hardships and distresses. and guide me from my misguidance and confusion. and give me ‘afiyah, salvation from my control over my own affairs and my choices. And do all that has been mentioned before in each rak’ah. 

“At that moment the gestures became slurred, the speech silenced. He returned feeling weak and broken, despised and in need. He threw himself on a bed of humiliation and despair. At that point, he knows how inferior his attributes are and he depends on the great attributes of his Lord.” He was filled with the secret of al-baga in prostration. “He then sat down and said: 55, O my Lord, while witnessing His providence over him, His arrangements and mercy even before he was formed” who cares for and takes care of me, forgive my sins and faults that You know of.” Why does he say “that You know of”? Because we have sins and faults that we do not know of because they are obscure in our sight so we do not realize them. However, He knows them all. In the hadith it is mentioned: “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from associating anything with You that I know, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do not know.” “TN and have mercy on me, the distressed and broken.” This is the essence of mercy. If He grants you a feeling of desperate need for Him and a feeling of humiliation and brokenness before Him, then He will always be with you and His mercy will flow upon you. It is narrated that Prophet Moses asked Allah: “Where will I find You, O Allah?” Allah replied: “Among those whose hearts are broken for My sake”, and cover and perfect me from all my weaknesses and humiliation, and raise me from my lowest state” of animalistic desires, “to the height of Your secret presence that flows in all that exists” as You treat Your privileged servants. So choose me as You chose and pay special attention to them. You said to Moses a.5: “And that you may be kept under My care” (al-Thaha: 39) and “And I have chosen you for Me” (al-Thaha: 41). You also said to Your most noble beloved, peace be upon him: “Indeed, you are under Our supervision” (Sūrat athThur: 48). If we gather the angels and great poets and say: “Praise the Prophet Muhammad (S) with a tenth of the meaning of His words: “Verily, you are in Our custody”, they would not be able to do so. No one has been able to praise him with this kind of praise. and provide me with sustenance in my hardship and distress, and guide me from my misguidance and confusion?” Allah says: “And it is Our duty to guide” (Sūrat al-Lail: 12). In the gudsi hadith He also says: “O My servants, you are all lost except those whom I guide. So ask Me and I will guide you. Even during times of great chaos, ask Him for guidance and He will give you His guidance and direction. Allah said to the Prophet: “Indeed We know that your heart is narrowed because of what they say, do not grieve, We are with you, and your duty is “praise your Lord and be among those who prostrate” (QS. al-Hijr: 97-98). Allah also said to the Prophet: “Let not their words make you grieve. Indeed We know what they conceal and reveal” (Sūrat Yasin: 76).

I am the Lord of them all, don’t mind what they do, I am with you. And how many incidents we witness today, even between the strong and the weak. Sometimes we see how injustice occurs and rights are taken away from those who are weak, but when we look at the end of all these events, we will see the meaning of His words: “Indeed We know what they conceal and declare” (QS. Yasin: 76). No one can resist if He wants to help and win someone. Such is the case in life, whether at the level of family, company, work, government, country, and so on. Although it may take years for His help to be revealed, in the end all will know the end result as He wills. and give me ‘afiyah, salvation,” with all its forms, both bodily salvation and so on that are well known. But what is meant here is the essence of ‘afiyah, which is one of the greatest forms of salvation, namely salvation “from my control over my own affairs and my choices.” Because when you rely solely on your own abilities and choices, the results you will get will not be smooth, the bad consequences you will receive will be unavoidable, and in the end you will be in trouble. Therefore, we ask O Allah give me afiyah and make my choices and affairs in accordance with Your laws, as loved by Your Prophet, and full of submission to You. Do not leave me alone. For if You leave me to myself, then it is the same as You leaving me to weakness, helplessness, and lack. What will be the result of a person who leaves his affairs to such attributes?! Make my choice to be what You want for me, and all that remains for me is to carry out Your commands. Let You be the one to manage all my affairs and choose everything for me. Like the well-known istikharah prayer: “O Allah, I ask that You choose for me according to Your knowledge, and I ask for strength with Your strength, and I ask for Your great bounty. Indeed You are all-powerful and I am helpless. You are also omniscient and I am ignorant. And You are the Knower of the unseen. If You know that what I want is good for me, then ordain it for me. And if it is bad, then keep it away from me” O Allah, You are the place where I depend and lean on, and Your continuous pleasure is the peak of my hope. And there is nothing more beautiful than Your pleasure. Your pleasure, O Allah, and forgiveness for all that we have done. What is the state of one who sleeps at night and Allah is pleased with him? He is in the peak of happiness and is extremely fortunate. “And do all that has been mentioned before this in each rak’ah.”

Tashahhud

Then, after prostration, he sits for the initial tashahhud in the iftirasy position while realizing that he is in the presence of his Lord. He sits only briefly and briefly because of the authority of Allah. Iftirasy is the trait of a person overwhelmed with authority who sits with great adab and will immediately rise again.

Realize that you are sitting in His presence and His closeness to you is greater than anything else. Fill your heart with reverence and shame for Him and say:  bring to your mind that all things adore Him for all His gifts and graces, and ask from Him mercy and pleasure. And when you say so bear in mind that He is the exalted and the exalted at the same time. And when you say, remember the honor of those who are close to Allah and the speech of His lovers. And say, all the pure goodness, which is not mixed with the darkness of any lust, which moves in a holy presence and is filled with the light of happiness because nothing exists there except Him, only for Allah S.W.T. At that time you disappear (fana) from all other than Him and drown in the sea of His light.

Until when the eyes of your heart have been adorned with the flash of light, you see the center of all light and secrets, namely the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. You realize how Allah has spared him from all the flaws and blemishes that no one has had from the past to the future. and also His mercy and blessings, namely His special mercy for you and His blessings that overflow to you to cover the holy places to the entire world of mulk and malakut. And you send peace upon us and all the righteous servants of Allah, in the form of forgiveness and pardon, mercy and pleasure, and glad tidings and feelings of security. And present the prophets and saints of Allah who are branches of the presence of the Prophet Muhammad.

Then turn your attention from the creatures to the Sovereign King and say I testify that there is no god but Allah. And at that time do not present anyone in His presence except al-Musthafa Muhammad (peace be upon him), and say, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

Then remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the intermediary who brought you to this great presence, so ask for a good reward for him from Allah, the Most Gracious, whom you are currently in the presence of by saying, O Allah, bestow peace upon Muhammad (peace be upon him). Then get up to stand and do the next rak’ah as described.

And if you have reached the final tashahhud, present your heart and realize that you have been allowed to sit. Sit down with great happiness. Ask Him for all your needs and desires that He has promised. Ask Him for protection from all your fears that He has warned you from. Admit your weakness and helplessness from achieving your hopes or saving yourself except with His help. It is then that you discover the incomparable delicacy of the pleasure of talking with Him and the softness of His Qur’an, until you find it hard to leave this great pleasure. You do not want to come out of it and end it except under duress.

O Allah, make us Your chosen ones whom You privilege with closeness to You in a state of full enjoyment. Make us intoxicated with the drink of Your pure love, and do not make our prayer a mere gesture and movement of the tongue, indeed You are the Most Gracious, the Most Generous. O Allah, cover our disgrace with Your forgiveness, guide us in every matter with Your gentleness and kindness, and make our return place in the future a paradise full of glory and pleasure. O Most Merciful of those who are weak, Most Forgiving of those who slip, and Most Accepting of those who repent. And may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his family and companions. Alhamdulillahi Rabb al-‘Alamin.

This blessed treatise, entitled: Ithaf Khawash al-Mu’minin bi Shalat al-Mugarrabin alMudimah al-Jadzl wa al-Hubur bi Qurbi Rabb al-Alamin and entitled: Munadamah al-Muhibb Maa al-Mahbub bi Maa Huwa al-Magshud wa al-Mathlub.

Wa Alhamdulillahi Rabb al-Alamin. Wa Shallallahu Ala Sayyidina Muhammad wa Aalihi wa Shahbihi wa Sallam.

The author of this book explains to us the conditions that a person experiences in his prayer until we finally reach the sitting of tashahhud. The four Rak’ahs of prayer have two tashahhuds: the initial and the final. The sitting position in the initial tashahhud is called al-iftirasy, which is setting the sole of the right foot while bending the fingers and sitting on the sole of the left foot, while in the final tashahhud it is called at-tawaruk, which is setting the sole of the right foot and taking the left foot out from under the right foot and pressing the buttocks to the ground. These two positions are what has been reported from the Prophet in prayer. And the four imams of the madhhab in dealing with these two positions have a stance: strengthen one of them or combine them. Imam ash-Shaf’i and Imam Ahmad took the position of combining the two narrations in this matter. Whereas al-Imam Malik and Abu Hanifah favored the attitude of tarjih (strengthening one of the two narrations).

According to Imam Abu Hanifah, the narration of sitting iftirasy is the stronger of the two. Therefore, he was of the opinion that all sitting in prayer should be in that position. Imam Malik, on the other hand, upheld the narration of at-tawaruk as the sitting position in prayer. Imam ash-Shafi’i, combining the two reports, said that all sitting in prayer is al-iftirasy except in the final tashahhud before the greeting. His ruling is that all sitting in prayer in which there is movement afterwards is in the position of iftirash, while all sitting in which there is greeting afterwards is in the position of tawaruk. Imam Ahmad said that there are certain circumstances in which tawaruk is used and other circumstances in which iftirasy is used, and if there is no clear text in a situation then the sitting position is al-iftirasy.

The author of this book also provides a new perspective on this issue, which is that sitting iftirasy is the sitting position of a person who is overwhelmed with reluctance and is about to get up. Whereas tawaruk is the position of one who sits comfortably and for a long time. This is because the feeling of happiness and calmness comes at the end of the prayer. And at that time is also the time to convey all wishes and prayers. It is different from the initial tashahhud which ends with the invocation of the Prophet and his family and then rising to one’s feet.

“Then, after prostration, he sits for the initial tashahhud in the iftirasy position. While realizing that he is in the presence of his Lord swt. He sat only briefly and briefly because of the authority of Allah swt.” And most narrations mention that the Prophet shortened the sitting of the initial tashahhud, although there are a few narrations that say otherwise. In fact, the Companions described the shortness of the Prophet’s initial tashahhud as if he were sitting on hot coals. “Because iftirash is the trait of a person who is overwhelmed with authority who sits with great adab and will immediately rise again.”

“Realize that you are sitting in His presence and that He is closer to you than anything else.” Even the closeness of your neck is nothing compared to His closeness to you. The same applies to all those who are close to you besides Him. He is the closest without being measured by distance and without being able to be imagined and described. It is closeness to His most sublime and elevated essence. “Fill your hearts with reverence and shame towards Him.” Start by paying homage to the divine presence as the Prophet taught “and say: i.e. all forms of honor, exaltation, and glorification are only for You. “Bring to your mind that everything worships Him for all His bounties and graces, and seek from Him mercy and pleasure. Dansaatka said: i.e. whose goodness is numerous and ever-increasing and eternal. This honoring that you do is also a form of His kindness and bounty, “so see that He is the one who glorifies and the one who is glorified at the same time.” For you will not be able to glorify Him except with His permission and guidance. “And when you say: , remember the honor of those who are close to Allah and the speech of His lovers,” the meaning of ash-Shalawat is that all forms of worship and prayer are only for You and do not deserve anything other than You. “And say: all pure good, not mixed with a speck of darkness of lust,” i.e. all good, clean, and pure things belong only to You and only You are entitled to them. The Prophet said: “Allah is good (thayyib) and accepts nothing but what is good.” This tashahhud is the form chosen by al-Imam ash-Shafi’i because it corresponds to the Quranic verse: “The honor (tahiyyatan) of Allah is full of blessings (mubarakatan) and goodness (thayyibah)” (QS. an-Nur: 61). This narration alone mentions al-Mubarakat, in contrast to the other narrations regarding the recitation of the tashahhud. “Who moves in the presence of the pure and filled with the light of bliss because nothing exists there except Him.” And all these things are only for Allah. At that moment you vanish (fana) from all other than Him and drown in the sea of His light.” with respect and praise to Him that came from the mouth of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH on the night of Isra and Miraj. This is a great pleasure for us and a means to gain His sight and mercy.

“Until when the eyes of your heart have been adorned with the flashes of light, you see the center of all light and secrets, and the first being that He showed His majesty to, “namely the chosen Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).” Then you greet him. You salute Allah and then His Prophet. More than that, Allah has prescribed for us to greet the Prophet using the second person, whereas anyone other than him, of all creatures, if we say something to him using the second person then our prayer is invalidated. Except for this man, Muhammad bin Abdullah (peace be upon him). In fact, we are obliged to use the second person to him in prayer. It is as if Allah is saying: “Speak to him in My presence and you will not come out of My presence” “You say:

 peace be upon you, O Prophet?” And this is the greeting of Allah to His Prophet. So you greet him as Allah greeted him. And Allah has denounced the hypocrites in His words: “And when they (the hypocrites) come to you, they greet you not with the greeting that Allah gives you” (Sūrat al-Mujadilah: 8). As for the believers, they greeted the Prophet with the greeting that Allah gave him. We find Allah Swt glorifying, honoring and praising the Messenger of Allah, so we should do the same. The Prophet does not need our greetings, nor does he need our respect. Moreover, Allah Swt Himself has already greeted and praised him. What does our greeting mean compared to the greeting of Allah?! But we are the ones who benefit and gain from our respect for him. “You realize how Allah spared him from all defects and blemishes” in all their meanings and forms and from all sides, and distinguished him with the greatest purification “that no one has received from before or since.” Thus he is the cleanest and purest of Allah’s creatures.

Then we notice how we address him with the words “O Prophet”, as Allah uses when addressing him in the Quran. Whereas if we observe, Allah swt calls other prophets by their names such as “O Adam”, “O Moses”, “O Jesus” and so on. But when it comes to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he says “O Prophet”, “O Messenger”, “O one covered with a blanket”, and so on. “and also His mercy and blessings, that is, His special mercy for you.” If the other mercies that Allah gives to His creatures stem from the special mercy that He gave to the Prophet, then imagine how great that special mercy is. “And His blessings overflowing upon you to cover the sanctuaries to all the realms of mulk and malakut,” i.e. the real and unseen realms.

How many lovers of Allah have tasted the pleasure of greeting the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said: “No one will greet me until the Day of Resurrection unless Allah returns my soul until I answer his greeting. And many of those who were pious heard the Prophet’s response to their greetings. Among them was al-Imam ‘Ali Khali’ Qasam who, when he greeted the Prophet, in or out of prayer, would repeat the greeting until he heard the Prophet’s reply. What is even more remarkable is that sometimes the people around him would also hear the Prophet’s response, to the extent that some people would deliberately pray with him just to hear the Prophet’s response. Al-Imam alHaddad relates this in his poem: “He who says the greeting of peace in prayer, so that the Messenger answers his greeting while saying “O Shaykh, how great is he who gathers all glory?” That is, the Messenger responded to his greeting by saying: “Peace be upon you, O Shaykh,” and with the blessing of the Prophet’s words he truly became a true Shaykh.

We are also told that Imam Abu Ishag ash-Shirazi wrote a book of jurisprudence entitled Al-Muhadzab which is full of blessings and its benefits are widespread. He would not write a chapter unless he prayed two rak’ahs near the Ka’bah and prayed that what he wrote would benefit him. He was also one of those whose prayers were answered quickly. When he finished his book, he dreamed that he met the Prophet and brought his book to him. The Prophet took the book and flipped through the pages. The Prophet then returned it saying to al-Imam ash-Shirazi: “What you have written is my Shari’ah, O Shaykh.” From then on, al-Imam ash-Shirazi was very proud and happy with the title of shaikh that the Prophet gave him.

After that “you say: peace be upon us and all the righteous servants of Allah” because they were the ones who followed and had a strong relationship with the Prophet. In fact, greeting them is a form of the Prophet’s affection for his Ummah, when during the Isra and Mi’raj Allah swt greeted the Prophet, he then said this greeting in the presence of Allah swt, wishing greetings to the salihin. In the past, the Companions understood that they should greet the chosen ones of Allah and those who are close to Him. They would say in prayer: “Peace be upon Jibril, Mikail, so and so.” When the Prophet heard this, he said: “Say: Peace be upon us and the righteous servants of Allah. If you say that, then your greetings will reach all the righteous servants of Allah in the heavens and the earth.” Notice, however, that we do not greet them directly. We are greeting them in the third person. Because khithab (speaking in the second person) in prayer is only permissible for the Prophet. And in greeting the salihin there is a lesson that remembering them and mentioning them is praiseworthy. If we mention them in prayer, how much more so outside of prayer. And when they are mentioned, it brings peace to the anxious heart. The greetings are “in the form of forgiveness and pardon, mercy and pleasure, as well as glad tidings and a feeling of security. And present the prophets and saints of Allah who are branches of the presence of the Prophet Muhammad.”

After that ascend to a higher level of shuhud (witnessing). “Turn your attention from the creatures to the Sovereign King and say: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah”, as you renew the covenant of faith between yourself and Him. For in the spirit world, He took an oath from you and it is at every tashahhud that we renew that oath. “And at that time do not present anyone in His presence except al-Musthafa Muhammad (peace be upon him) and say: and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” There is another saying in the tashahhud that has been narrated, which is Asyahdu An La Ilaha Illallah Wa Asyahdu Anna Muhammad Abduhu Wa Rasuluhu and in another narration Asyahdu An La Ilaha Illallah Wahdahu La Syarika Lahu Wa Asyahdu Anna Muhammad Abduhu Wa Rasuluhu. “Then remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the intermediary who brought you to this great presence” by teaching you the prayer. “Then ask for a good reward for him from Allah, the Most Gracious, whom you are now in front of by saying: O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad” and also on Muhammad’s family. This is the initial tashahhud. “Then get up to stand and do the next rak’ah as described.”

As for the final tashahhud, what we recite is the Ibrahimiyyah prayer, which has been narrated in 17 forms. The Ibrahimiyyah invocation as we know it and often use it:

“O Allah, bestow peace upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You bestowed peace upon Abraham and the family of Abraham. And bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, only You are the Most Praiseworthy and Noble in the entire universe.

And there is a version that is also saheeh and longer, which is:

“O Allah, send blessings on Your servant and Messenger Muhammad, the ummiy Prophet and his family, his wives, and his descendants as You sent blessings on Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. And bless Muhammad, the ummiy Prophet and his family, his wives, and his descendants as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, only You are the Most Praiseworthy and Noble in the entire universe. “And when you have come to the final tashahhud, present your heart and realize that you have been allowed to sit” in His presence and you are at the end of your prayer. “Sit with great happiness. Ask Him for all your needs and desires that He has promised. Seek His protection from all your fears that He has warned you from” as mentioned in the hadith:

“O Allah I seek refuge with You from the punishment of Jahannam and the punishment of the grave, as well as from the trials of life and death and the trial of the Dajjal, and from debts and sins. O Allah, forgive what I have done secretly or openly and all my sins which You know better than me. You are the Foremost and the Last and there is no god but You.” It is also reported that Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddig asked the Prophet to teach him the supplication to be recited during the final tashahhud, so the Prophet said: “Say:

O Allah, indeed I have wronged myself by overstepping my limits and no one is able to forgive sins except You.” See the Prophet’s upbringing of his companions in this prayer. Abu Bakr, who was among his foremost companions, he taught to say this supplication, admitting that he had wronged himself a lot. Then what about us if this is what Abu Bakr said?! “And admit your weakness and helplessness from achieving your hopes or saving yourself except with His help. It is then that you find the incomparable delicacy of the pleasure of speaking with Him and the softness of His Qur’an until you find it hard to get out of this great pleasure. You do not want to come out of it and end it except under compulsion.” You end your prayer in fulfillment of Allah’s command, even though deep in your heart you don’t want to leave it. May Allah make us people who are able to feel the essence of prayer.

The author of this book ends his description by praying: “O Allah, make us Your chosen ones whom You have favored with closeness to You in a state of full enjoyment. Make us intoxicated with the drink of Your pure love and do not make our part of the prayer mere iqauan and verbal gestures, indeed You are the Most Gracious, the most generous. O Allah, cover our faults with Your forgiveness, guide us in every matter with Your gentleness and kindness, and make our future return a paradise full of glory and pleasure. O Most Merciful of those who are weak, most forgiving of those who slip, and most accepting of those who repent. And may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family and companions. Alhamdulillahi Rabb al-Alamin.”