okay, now where, where do i start, where do i start????
what thanks can i give to you that shows my appreciation and how much this site you posted means to me and will inshallah help me?
no matter what i say it will not be enough.
no matter what dua i make for you or what rewards i ask Allah to give you will not be enough.
so i ask Allah, to reward you greatly and wipe ALLL your sins away because you have sent me a site that will guide me to the right and best path.
i ask Allah, to never leave you, to always guide and bless you and reward you in this world and in the world after.
i am making summarised notes out of this inshallah because its so many serious i dont want to forget what i read.
i have read through 2 serious and i'd like to share my notes, these notes are only so i can read them and over them oftern and when praying, remember these points inshallah.
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Khushoo - It is a state of mind that contains serenity, tranquility, dignity and humility during prayer, which springs from one’s heart standing in front of Allah in humility and submission.
remember the guard from Muhajiroon who was hit by a mushrik by 3 arrows while praying and he never cut off his salah because of a surah he loved to read and didn’t want to cut the surah off.
Say we spend ten minutes in each prayer. That equals fifty minutes a day, so not even one hour. The rest of the twenty-three hours are for our dunya (this world). Can we give these fifty minutes solely for Allah, or do we have to turn them into dunya as well?
Think of this before you start your prayer, so that your nafs (self) doesn’t tell you that it is too hard to concentrate
Remember that the sweetness of being in front of Allah far supersedes the sweetness of whatever dunya distracts you.
Truly understanding what you are reciting, and contemplating it
There is a greater depth, and that is understanding. Truly understanding what you are reciting, and contemplating it. Mishary Al-Kharaz stated: “Let me introduce you to one of your biggest competitors in the salah.” Do you know who he introduced?
One of the pillars in the masjid. Any pillar, whether you are at home, work, or the masjid, is your competition. Why?
Because if you stand in prayer, it stands longer. When you are in your sujood, it is in sujood longer. You do your tasbeeh, it does its tasbeeh for longer.
Do not say, “But I can’t!” How can Allah ask you to have khushoo’ in salah and then make it impossible for you? Even if
A lot of people when they pray, they have no feelings, no emotions. Yet if this person were to meet their friend, they would probably feel emotions of joy, and when they depart they would feel a sense of sadness, and if they stay away then they start missing him.
Raja means - Coming to Allah while you desire and hope for His Mercy
The more you know Allah, the more rajaa you have of Allah
All you have to do is think well of Allah, and He is as you think of Him. If you think of Him as Merciful and Forgiving, then He will be that to you.
You feel Raja if you know Allah. The more you know Allah, the more rajaa you have of Allah. Allah has more mercy towards you than your own mother. All you have to do is think well of Allah, and He is as you think of Him. If you think of Him as Merciful and Forgiving, then He will be that to you. It is as simple as that—because Allah has said it of Himself. The Prophet (saw) said, “Allah has said, ‘I am as My servant’s opinion of Me, so let Him think of Me as he pleases.’”
If we contemplate over these meanings before our prayer, then something in us must move and affect the way we think of our prayers. Ibn Al-Qayyim has said, ”Allah does not have any grievance against you that it will heal if He punishes you.”
Meaning that Allah has no grievance towards you and He does not want to punish you. How, when He has said that His mercy supersedes His blame, that He has written mercy on Himself? Allah has said:
كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ
“Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy” (Qur’an, 6:54).
Believe with certainty that Allah wants to forgive you, pardon you and have Mercy on you. Believe and have so much hope in Him that He will enter you into Paradise, and not just that, but that you will be the neighbor of the Prophet (sal Allahu `alayhi wa sallam – peace be upon him).
Rajaa is all of the above feelings that we mentioned, but accompanied with work and striving. ‘Amany’ is those feelings, but without striving on your behalf—hoping for Allah’s Mercy, but deliberately doing things that you know He despises. Allah
Subhan’Allah- a lioness took care of a baby antelope. Who put this mercy in her heart, even though it is against her very nature?
Allah has divided His mercy into 99 parts, and given one part of His mercy to the earth. This one part is so strong that it has transformed the animosity of a lioness towards something that should be her prey, to love. So what would His Mercy, the other 99 parts, be like on the Day of Judgment? If Allah has said that His Mercy encompasses all things, how would it not encompass you? It has encompassed those whose actions are worse than yours, like the man who killed 99 people and then killed one more person making them 100, and Allah has forgiven him. How could He not forgive you and have mercy on you?
So how can you be the recipient of Allah’s Mercy? Ask for it in your prayer.
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it was so easy for me to understand. especially when breaking it down.
but the only part i dont understand what it means is the part i highlighted below:
If we contemplate over these meanings before our prayer, then something in us must move and affect the way we think of our prayers. Ibn Al-Qayyim has said, ”Allah does not have any grievance against you that it will heal if He punishes you.”
Meaning that Allah has no grievance towards you and He does not want to punish you. How, when He has said that His mercy supersedes His blame, that He has written mercy on Himself? Allah has said:
كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ
“Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy” (Qur’an, 6:54).
what exactly does this mean?
as for the 2 parts i read so far, its beautiful. thank you again. thank you so much.
Assalammualaikum sis!
I was very happy when I read your post to this thread - it really brightened up my day so much! Thank you so, so very much for your kind words and dua's, I am truly touched at your sincerity and kindness. In return, I will pray for you to benefit as much as possible from whatever you have learned and keep it up always. May Allah Bless you always. Amin~
You don't have to thank me for anything, though. As Muslims we are entitled to helping out one another, and to make our prayers better together is definitely a wonderful place to help with. I just hope whoever who has managed to read the series above will benefit as much as possible as I did in my prayers. I am truly blessed, alhamdulillah, to have crossed paths with such a beautiful, awe-inspiring series, a one that I am trying to incorporate in my prayers very much, insha'allah, as I hope for you as well.
The above notes you have highlighted really hit the mark! I have done that myself so that when I am praying, I will think of these things. I especially love the long section about Allah's love, I hope you have read it! I let myself cry during that part. I have always heard about Allah's love, but when I read it, I saw for myself how great this love is! It was overwhelming.
They say Islam is a religion that doesn't have love. I think they're dead wrong, don't you think?
I would love to share my notes as well.
Ibn Al-Qayyim says, “Since ‘there is nothing like unto Him’ (42:11), there is nothing like experiencing love for Him.”
Ibn Al-Qayyim says in his book Tareeq Al-Hijratain that Allah loves His Messengers and His believing servants, and they love Him and nothing is more beloved to them than Him. The love of one’s parents has a certain type of sweetness, as does the love of one’s children—but the love of Allah far supersedes any of that
Khushoo’ in prayer increases as our love for Allah increases. Think of meeting with someone; when you meet with someone you love, what you feel in your heart is different than when you meet with someone you don’t love.
Look at Allah’s dealings with us. He has given us all of our faculties which we take for granted: eyes, nose, ears, tongue… Then we use it for what He has forbidden and He does not punish us. Rather, He is forbearing and gives us chances to return to Him. When we do return to Him and ask forgiveness, He erases that sin and it is as though we did not even commit it.
Yet, for most of us something plagues us. Yes, we love Allah and fear Him, we have hope in His mercy, but we just can’t seem to concentrate. Random thoughts pop into our mind: we remember where we put the key we lost, we start daydreaming about saving the world or what to have for dinner. All of this happens as soon as we raise our hands saying “Allahu Akbar (God is Great)” to commence our prayer. And these thoughts come to an end when we end our prayer. Why?
How? At that point, we feel as though we are talking to someone and we are waiting for a response. This brings our heart and mind to the prayer, and this is when we taste the sweetness of prayer.
The secret key? Three simple statements:
Talk to your Lord
Address your Lord
Converse with your Lord
One could say that those were the people of old. No one feels this way anymore. But this isn’t true; one only has to realize the importance of prayer, and unlock the secrets of khushoo’ to taste this unique sweetness. Then the prayer becomes your refuge; the remover of your distress; something that you look forward to; and something that you wish would never end.
So remember that you can. Strive, and you will achieve it insha’Allah (Allah willing). Remember that Allah is Generous, more Generous than we can even imagine. If you take one step towards Him, He is the One that comes to you at speed. Allah says:
وَٱلَّذِينَ جَٰهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَمَعَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
“And those who strive for Us— We will surely guide them to Our ways.” (Qur’an, 29:69).
Remember that the athan is a calling; it is a most beautiful calling because it alerts you to meeting your most Beloved. When we are about to meet someone we love, the feelings of excitement and longing come before the meeting. They begin when someone tells us, “They begin when that special someone tells us “I’ll meet you in ten minutes” or “I’ll see you in a few.” This implies that the person that is telling you that he or she will meet you is a special someone, which brings upon feelings of happiness.
And so much more, including the ones you've given!
Oh yes, I read that ayat you provided me, and a Sahih International translation of the verse goes like this :
Sahih International
And when those come to you who believe in Our verses, say, "Peace be upon you. Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy: that any of you who does wrong out of ignorance and then repents after that and corrects himself - indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful."
Muhsin Khan
When those who believe in Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) come to you, say: "Salamun 'Alaikum" (peace be on you); your Lord has written Mercy for Himself, so that, if any of you does evil in ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds (by obeying Allah), then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Hope that clears it up.
