Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Soaring to the Only Beloved

This concise treatise is aimed at making us realize the necessity, possibility, and methodology of attaining this vital spirit of prayer (Salat).

Author(s): Abu Muhammad Zaynu'l 'Abidin

www.alhassanain.org/english

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH

Table of Contents

Dedication 5

Preface 6

Notes 7

Introduction 8

Sections Covered 8

Note 8

Part 1: The Necessity of Attention in Prayer 9

Rational Evidence 9

Qur'anic Evidence 10

Notes 13

Part 2: The Possibility of Attention in Prayer 14

The Possibility of Concentration In Prayer 14

Evidence From the Qur'an And the Holy Narrations 15

Notes 15

Part 3: Levels of Attention in Prayer 17

Levels of Detailed Attention 18

Notes 18

Part 4: Hurdles on the Way To Attention in Prayer And their Removal 19

Causes of Distraction 19

The External Elements 19

The Internal Elements 19

Notes 21

Part 5: Suggested Methods of Achieving Attention In Prayer 22

Realization of The Importance of Prayers 22

Finding Unoccupied Time And Unoccupied Heart 24

Notes 24

Part 6: The Effect of Maintaining Attention in Prayer 25

Notes 26

Part 7: The Meaning of Prayer 28

Niyya (Intention) 28

Takbiratul Ihram 28

Qiyam (Standing Upright with no movements) 28

Qira'a (Qur'an-Recitation) 29

Suratu' l Fatihah 29

Surat at-Tawhid 30

Ruku' (Bending In Utter Humility) 30

Sujud (Prostration) 31

Note 31

Part 8: Heavenly Stars Memoirs & Anecdotes of the God-Wary 32

1) Spiritual Ablutions 32

A) Imam Khumayni Regularly Renews his Wudu' 32

B) Imam Khumayni closes the water tap between the acts of wudu' 33

C) 'It is not the time for an interview now.' 33

2) On Prayer 33

A) A youth extremely observant of prayer time 34

B) What imam al-Sadiq (`a) actually meant 34

C) Prayers in Times of Great Difficulty 34

D) Indeed Such Are Moments When the True Believers Are Clearly Deciphered 35

E) In Front Of All the Reporters Love Of The Beloved Gives Him No Respite 35

F) Imam is Informed of Martyr Rajai's Decision 36

G) What Kind Of Lover Was This Who Even In That State Never Forgot The Only Beloved 36

H) 'It should not happen that the sun rises and I have to pray qada'.' 36

I) Who is this angelic figure who is so particular of the time of meeting his only beloved? 36

J) Regaining Consciousness by The Mention Of Prayer 37

K) How can you snatch the cup of divine love from the intoxicated? 37

L) 'Take back the food, so that I perform prayer.' 37

M) Great Stations Attained By Praying at the Beginning of Prayer Time 38

3) The Hereafter 38

A) I Have No Action to My Credit 38

B) The Task is Very Difficult 39

4) Extreme Chastity 39

The Late Ayatollah Mar'ashi's Extreme Chastity 40

Notes 40

Bibliography 42

Dedication

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

O Allah, I humbly present this short treatise to our beloved guide, Imam Ali (`a)- Imam al-Arifin (the doyen of the saints), whose total attention to the Only Beloved in prayers was not deterred even by the removal of an arrow that had pierced his blessed foot.

Qum al-Muqaddasah

In the close Neighborhood of the ever resplendent lady, Fatima, named by her brother- Imam Ali al-Rida (`a), as al-Ma'suma (the infallible one) may Allah imbue our hearts with intense love for her, and may He emancipate us by her intercession. Amin

Preface

In the Name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Ever Merciful

The Holy Qur'an says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحاً فَمُلَاقِيهِ

O Human being,

Surely you are striving

Towards your Lord

Laboriously,

And you shall meet Him1

Addressed to the Human being.

The Human Being is struggling on a path

The path leads to His Lord

The struggle is laborious

He would meet His Lord

Rumi in his celebrated masterpiece, Mathnawi metaphorically and in a beautiful style begins by narrating the speech of the human soul who is at pain and yearns to return back to his dwelling of peace:

Hearken to the reed-flute2 , how it complains,

Lamenting its banishment from its home:

"Ever since they tore me from my osier bed,

My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears.

I burst my breast, striving to give vent to sighs,

And to express the pangs of my yearning for my home.

He who abides far away from his home Is ever longing for the day he shall return.

The abode of the human being and his true home is somewhere else. He is a stranger in this world in the true sense of the word and his place is the proximity and nearness of the only Beloved. So long as he resides in the straits of this realm, the pain of separation has always to remain. It is by the wings of knowledge and action that the bird of his spirit can leave the cage of material attachment and fly to the realm of the Beloved. But he needs to know the way and style to soar to the abode of peace to which the Beloved himself invites him:

وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى دَارِ السَّلَامِ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ

And Allah continually Invites

To the abode of peace

And continually Guides whosoever

He wants

To the straight path3

As long as he has not deciphered the true path, which the Holy Qur'an calls "sirat al-mustaqim" (the straight path), he should never dream to migrate to his hometown. The Beloved, who yearned that his lovers return to His neighborhood where their homes lay, sent His messengers so that they may guide the birds of perplexity to their destination.

Among the fundamental methods that these guides of the human being taught was prayer. Salat - a Divinely inspired mode of prayer taught by the Holy Prophet (s)- is a method and an opportunity to fly and soar to one's destination. If the human being utilizes this opportunity that comes 5 times a day, his journey would undoubtedly commence.

Why should he allow several opportunities during his life time to go to waste? Doesn't he yearn deep in his heart for the company of the Beloved? Doesn't he realize that it is high time he should go back home and enjoy the neighborhood of the only Beloved who intensely loves his company?

Those who have tried to seek help by this vehicle of spiritual ascent may complain about its ineffectiveness, since it has not yet made them reach their destination. To them must be said that 'No imaginary vehicle can transport you to your destination.' If the human being prays observing the outer as well as inner etiquette of prayer he surely will attain success in comprehending his much longed abode. It is the negligence of the heart in prayer that makes the prayer devoid of its spirit and destroys the opportunity of the human being.

As we shall see in this small treatise, the presence of heart (huduru'l qalb) is one of the most fundamental conditions of prayer, without which the prayer lays a negative or no effect on the supplicant. Appreciating its importance, one should try to observe the same and always struggle in this noble venture. Obviously the task is challenging and difficult in the beginning, but with continual struggle and steadfastness in bridling the faculty of imagination of the human being and detaching the human soul from temporal inclinations, one can slowly and gradually attain the state of complete absorption in prayer.

This concise treatise is a humble attempt aimed at making us realize the necessity, possibility, and methodology of attaining this vital spirit of prayer. May Almighty Allah enable us achieve the same, so that we can join the flocks who are busy soaring to the realm of their Beloved and are very anxious to meet Him. If we show laxity in this sublime aspiration, 'the state of perpetual regret' in the Hereafter would be of no use to us.

All praises solely belong to Allah-the Absolute Perfect Being,

The Lord of the World of Dependent Existence.

Utterly destitute to Almighty Allah,

Abu Muhammad Zaynu' l `Abidin

Holy Proximity of Bibi Ma'suma (`a) - Qum-al-Mugaddasa

Notes

1. Holy Qur'an, 84:6

2. Reed Flute is a metaphor for the Human soul- See commentary of Mathnawi by H'aj Mulla Hadi Sabzawari- the great Shi'ite mystic-philosopher, vol. 1, p.17

3. Holy Qur'an, 10:25

Introduction

إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ حَنِيفاً وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ المُشْرِكِينَ

Surely I have turned my face to Him

Who originated the heavens and the earth, being upright;

and I am not of the polytheists.1

Attention is the concomitant of conversation. Every sound human being enjoys attention when transmitting his thoughts to his addressee. Such attention neither requires laborious thought processes nor any kind of exertion for the control of the movement of the mind. When one wishes to convey something, the mind translates it to its respective words and the tongue reveals the same. One, however, would need to bridle his tongue to avoid uttering all what is forbidden or futile.

Most of the speech in prayer is from a Divine source, and hence bridling does not make any sense. Instead, the musalli is required to ensure that his attention is continuously focused on the act of worship or the Worshipped One, and that the words of his prayer originate from the depths of his heart and the heights of his mind.

This is where many are overcome by the bird of imagination, which has habituated itself to fly from one branch of the tree of material attachments to another. Consequently, the worshipper gets deprived of the progress and spiritual development he could acquire through this most effective means of attaining God's proximity.

It is difficult for one to immediately achieve and maintain this praiseworthy and necessary state of attention in prayer. One has to cross certain levels of attention before enjoying a natural conversation with the Beloved.

In the present treatise we shall briefly try to discuss the following vital issues concerning attention in prayer:

Sections Covered

1. The necessity of attention in prayer

2. The possibility of attention in prayer

3. Levels of attention in prayer

4. Hurdles on the way to attention in prayer and their removal.

5. Suggested methods of achieving attention in prayer.

6. The effect of maintaining one's attention in prayer.

Note

1. Holy Qur'an, 6:79

Part 1: The Necessity of Attention in Prayer

How can the attention of the heart and the expression of humility not be the spirit of the prayer and (how can) the perfection of prayer not depend upon them, while the musalli in his prayer and supplication whispers to his Lord?

- Mawla Narraqi

The Holy Qur'an says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّى تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ

O you who believe

Do not near prayers in the state of intoxication

until you know what you say1

The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said:

ايها الناس ان المصلي اذا صلى فانه يناجي ربه تبارك وتعالئ فليعلم بما يناجيه

O mankind

Surely when the worshipper (musalli) prays,

He whispers2 unto his Blessed and Almighty Lord

Therefore he must know that with which he whispers.3

Rational Evidence

Prayer is a kind of worship taught to the human being by his Lord through Revelation to enable him attain His proximity. It consists of a set of actions and expressions, most of which clearly declare the immaculate nature of God.

A set of expressions, therefore, form an important part of the daily prayer. And clearly, the act of expression cannot really be known to be so if the heart is oblivious of what the tongue utters. Therefore, attention is a necessary concomitant of expression, and hence is also necessary in prayer.

Mawla al-Naraqi in his ethical opus, Jami' al-Sa'adat says:

وكيف لا يكون حضور القلب والخشوع روح الصلاة ولا يتوقف كمال الصلاة عليه, مع ان المصلي في صلاته ودعائه مناج ربه؟ ولا شك ان الكلام مع الغفلة ليس بمناجاة, وايضا الكلام اعراب عما في الضمير, ولا يتاتي الاعراب عما في الضمير الا بحضور القلب, فاي سؤال في قوله: (اهدنا الصراط المستقيم) اذا كان القلب غافلا؟ ولاشك ايضا ان المقصود من القراءة و الاذكار الثناء والحمد و التضرع و الدعاء, و المخاطب هو الله - تعالي-, فاذا كان القلب العبد محجوبا عنه بحجاب الغفلة , ولا يراه ولا يشاهد, بل كان غافلا عن المخاطب , ويحرك لسانه بحكم العادة , فما ابعد هذا عن المقصود با لصلاة التي شرعت لتصقيل القلب وتجديد ذكر الله

How can the presence of the heart and the expression of humility not be the spirit of the prayer and (how can) the perfection of prayer not depend upon them, while the worshipper (musalli) in his prayer and supplication whispers to his Lord? There is no doubt that speech along with absent-mindedness is not the act of whispering.

In addition, speech is an expression of what is in the heart or mind, and this is impossible save by means of the attention of the heart; for what (really) does the supplicant ask when he says: 'Guide us on the straight path' while the heart is inattentive? And there is no doubt also that the purpose behind Qur'an-recitation and invocations (adhkar) is the act of laudation, praise, the expression of one's humility and supplication while the addressee is the Almighty Allah.

If the heart of the servant, therefore, was veiled from Him by the curtain of inattentiveness, and did not see or witness Him, but rather was inattentive of the addressee, and he moved his tongue out of (mere) habit, how remote then, is this, from the purpose behind prayer­ which was legislated for the refinement of the heart and renewal of one's remembrance of God...4

Qur'anic Evidence

In addition, the following verse implies that the reason behind the prohibition of prayer in the state of intoxication is the worshipper's ignorance of what he utters:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّى تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ

O you who believe,

Do not near prayers in the state of intoxication

Until you know what you say5

Hence were he to pray in that state, he would utter statements the meaning of which he is oblivious.

An Etymological Discussion

Were we to reflect carefully on this verse, we would come to realize its universality: the word سكارئ (sukara) is the plural of سكران (sukran) and the word سكر etymologically means:

... هو الحيلولة في جريان طبيعي بحيث يتحصل جريان خلاف ماكان...ومنها السكر الحاصل في جريان التعقل التفكر

"...interruption in a natural process, such that a course contrary to it follows ...and of its extensions is intoxication (سكر (sukr)) that comes about in the (natural) process of thinking and intellection..."6

The late mystic-scholar Sultan 'Ali, in his Qur'an commentary Bayan al- Sa'ada Fi Maqamat al-'Ibada says:

والسكر من السكر بمعني السد ويسمي الحالة الحاصلة من استعمال شيء من السكرات سكرا لسدها طرق تصرف العقل في القوي وطرق انقياد القوي للعقل, ولا اختصاص لها بالخمر العينبية المعروفة بل كل مايحصل من تلك الحالة شربا او اكلا او تدخينا او غير ذلك فهو خمر النفس سواء حصل منه السكر المعروف كا الفقاع والمعصيرات المتخذة من غير العنب وكالبنج و الجرس والافيون او لا كالحرص و الامل والحب و الشهوة والغضب و الحسد و البخل و الغم و الفرح والنعاس والكسل الغاليه بحيث يغلب مقتضاها علي مقتضي العقل بل الحالة الحاصلة المانعه من نفاذ حكم العقل وتدبيره سكر النفس من اي شيء كانت ومن اي سبب حصلت

The word 'sukr' stems from the word 'sakr' meaning 'encumbrance;' and the state gotten by taking an intoxicant is known as 'sukr' because it encumbers and closes the channels of the intellect's influence on the other faculties of the human being and (hinders) the paths of their subordination to it.

And intoxicants do not specifically relate to the well-known brandy (for example); rather, all those things through which the state of intoxication is attained, whether by means of drinking, eating, smoking or other than that, are called the intoxicants of the nafs, no matter whether the common intoxication that comes about through the intake of beer and extracts gotten from other than grapes and the usage of narcotics and opium, is attained thereby or not.

An example of the latter is when intoxication comes about through overwhelming greed, hope, love, desire, anger, jealousy, stinginess, sorrow, happiness, slumber or laziness, such that the requisites of these characteristics overpower the dictate of the intellect; rather (any) state gotten that hampers the execution of the intellect's command and control is sukrun nafs, regardless of its entity and cause7

`Abd al-Razzaq Qashani in his Qur'an commentary presents the following explanation for the verse under discussion:

) لا تقربو الصلاة) اي لا تقربو مقام الحضور والمناجاة مع الله في حال كونكم (سكارئ) من نوم الغفلة او من خمورر الهوئ ومحبة الدنيا (حتئ تعلموا ما تقولون) في مناجاتكم ولا تشتغل قلوبكم باشغال الدنيا وساوسها

(Do not near prayers): Do not near the station of presence and secret conversation with Allah when you are (intoxicated) by the sleep of negligence or the intoxicants of mundane desire and love of the world, (until you know what you are saying) in your whisperings and do not occupy your hearts with the occupations of the world and its insinuations8

Having known the roots of سكر (sukr) we come to realize that the commonly understood intoxication is just one of its examples which the masses seem to be most familiar with. Other extensions (masadiq) can also be comprehended. Commentators of the Holy Qur'an mention a tradition of Imam al-Sadiq (`a) that implicitly endorses this contention.

He (a) says about verse (4:43) that, of the examples of sukr is the سكر النوم 'sukr of sleep'. "This statement," says the Mawla Kashani in his 'al-Safi', "manifests universality."9 He means that 'sukr' (that interruption that comes about in the natural process of thinking and intellection) has various extensions. In a tradition from Al-Kafi, Imam al-Baqir (`a) is reported to have said:

لا تقم الئ الصلاة متكاسلا ولا متناعسا ولا متثاقلا فانها من خلال النفاق وقد نهي الله عزوجل ان تقوموا الي الصلاة وانتم سكارئ, قال سكر النوم

Neither stand for prayer in the state of restlessness, or slumber; nor while you are over satiated; for verily (all) those are of the characteristics of hypocrisy; and indeed Allah has forbidden you to stand in prayer while you are intoxicated; and by intoxication He means 'the intoxication of sleep'

Furthermore, the reason for the prohibition of prayer in the state of intoxication, as indicated in the verse under discussion, clearly reveals the necessity of attention of what one expresses in prayer.

Other verses of the Holy Qur'an also reveal, although implicitly, the necessity of attention in prayer. For example, verse 14 of chapter Taha clearly tells us that prayer is a means of remembering Allah:

اقم الصلاة لذكري

Keep up prayer

For remembering Me.10

Can remembrance ever be possible when there is no attention and concentration in prayer? Obviously not.

Evidence From The Traditions

The following traditions too prove the necessity of the presence of heart in prayer:

1. The Ahlul Bayt (a) are reported to have said:

ليس لك من صلاتك الا ما احضرت فيه قلبك

You have no share from your prayer

Save that portion in which you maintained the attention of your heart.11

2. The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said:

لا يتقبل الله صلاة عبد لا يحضر قلبه مع بدنه

Allah does not accept the prayer of that servant of his

Whose heart is not present along with his body.12

3. Imam al-Baqir (`a) is reported to have said:

اذا قمت في الصلاة فعليك باالاقبال علي صلاتك فانما يحسب لك منها ما اقبلت عليه

When you stand up in prayer,

You should pay attention towards it,

For verily only that portion of it shall be taken into account

In which you paid attention.13

What The Muslim Jurists Hold

According to Muslim jurists (fuq'aha), however, the presence of heart is not obligatory in prayer. For not all men can achieve and maintain attention throughout their prayer. It would also require time before one has complete control over his imaginations in prayer.

Hence, according to the Islamic jurisprudence the state of continual concentration is not a condition the absence of which invalidates prayer. Nevertheless it is considered as highly recommended, such that some jurists allow the prayer to be delayed within the framework of the prayer time for the sake of achieving the state of the heart's attention (iqbal).

Therefore although the prayer of one who does not observe attention is correct and sufficient in absolving him from his obligation, it would not transport him spiritually. The overt actions of prayer would only relieve him from disobedience. For him, however, to soar to the Divine and undergo a transformation would require attention and concentration.

Notes

1. Holy Qur'an 4:43

2. There is subtle point implied in this holy narration. The musalli 'whispers' and not merely engages in any kind of communication with His Rabb (Lover, Creator, Possessor, Sustainer and Trainer). The act of 'whispering' refers to a special kind of conversation, where the secretive feelings of the heart are expressed near the beloved, and a sense of amity is experienced. Who is this Omnipotent Beloved to Whom every element is dependent at every moment of its existence, and who knows all the misdeeds of His sinful slave, yet He permits him to whisper to Him several times a day?

3. Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal, Musnad Ibn Hanbal, v.2, p.483, tr. 6135, Dar al­Fikr, Beirut, 2nd ed.

4. Mawla Muhammad Mahdi Naraqi, Jami' al-Sa'adat, vo1. 3, p. 325.

5. Holy Qur'an, 4:43.

6. Mustafawi, al-Tahqiq, vo1.5, pp.160-161

7. Mulla Sultan 'Ali, Bayan al-Sa'adah, v.2, pp. 21-22.

8. Ibn `Arabi, Tafsir Ibn 'Arabi, vol. 1, p. 143

9. Mawla Muhsin Fayd al Kashani, Tafsir al-Safi, v. 1, p.453

10. Holy Qur'an, 20:14

11. Ibn Fahd Hilli, Uddat al-Da'i, p. 168

12. Abu Ja’far al-Barqi, al Mahasin, v.1, p. 406.

13. Thiqat al-Islam al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, v.3, p.299

Part 2: The Possibility of Attention in Prayer

...This (trend) made many scholars conjecture that maintaining the bird of imagination and rendering it obedient are among those matters that are beyond the realm of possibility and adjacent to natural impossibilities. However, this is not the case, for it is possible to make it obedient by means of spiritual mortification and training and spending time, to the extent that the bird of imagination is in his hold and does not move except by his will and choice...

-Imam Ruhullah Khumayni

The Possibility of Concentration In Prayer

Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

Allah does not charge a soul Save to its capacity.1

The stereotype that concentration in prayer is impossible is one of the greatest hurdles that hamper man from wayfaring towards the Divine proximity and attaining his perfection. It is indeed, according to some, a Satanic ruse inculcated to hinder man from attaining his felicity and happiness in both the worlds.

The human being, therefore, should be extremely cautious before accepting any unestablished notion without convincing proof and evidence. He should never be deceived with statistical data and inductive reasoning to conclude that huduru'l qalb (the presence of heart) is impossible or next to impossible.

Akin to physical training that requires continuous exercise and practice, mind control too can be achieved with time and struggle. Man should realize that his faculty of imagination is habituated to flit to different places all the time. Therefore he should strive to curb this habit and bridle it so that it is directed by his will.

The late Imam Khumayni says:

ومن القوي التي تقبل التربية قوة الخيال وقوة الواهمة فانهما قبل التربية كطائر فرار ومتحرك بلا نهاية يطير من غصن ويتحرك من شيئ الي شيء اخر بحيث ان الانسان اذا حاسبها دقيقة واحدة يري انها انتقلت مسلسلة الي اشياء بمناسبات ضعيفة جدا و ارتباتاط غير متناسبة حتي ظن كثير من العلماء ان حفظ طائر الخيال وجعله طاءعا

من الامور الخارجة عن حيز الامكان وملحق با لمحالات العادية, ولكن الامر ليس كذلك ويمكن تطويعه بالرياضة والتربية وصرف الوقت بحيث يكون طائر الخيال في قبضته لا يتحرك الا بارادته واختياره فيحبسه متي اراد في اي مقصد او اي مطلب بحيث يكون محبوسا في ذلك المقصد ساعات

.

And of the faculties that accept orientation and training are the faculties of imagination (khayal) and estimate (wahm), for surely, before orientation, they resemble a bird that frequently escapes and perpetually moves; it flies from one branch to another and moves from one thing to another, such that, if the human being was to evaluate the movements it has made in one minute's time, he would find that it has moved continuously to (different) things on extremely trivial instances and irrelevant occasions.

This (trend) made many scholars conjecture that maintaining the bird of imagination and rendering it obedient are among those matters that are beyond the realm of possibility and adjacent to natural impossibilities.

However, this is not the case, for it is possible to make it obedient by means of spiritual mortification and training and spending time, to the extent that the bird of imagination is in his hold and does not move except by his will and choice, and (thus) he suppresses it whenever he wants to, wherever he wishes to, and in whatever instance he chooses to do so- such that it is held in the location (said instance) for hours.2

Therefore judging the statistical data acquired from a group of the masses should not quickly lead one to make conclusions of its impossibility. Only unwavering evidence should be sought to find out the truth. Such evidence may be gotten from the Holy Qur'an, the Sunna, or impartial rational judgments.

Evidence From the Qur'an And the Holy Narrations

The verse that calls the believer to keep up prayer for the purpose of Allah's remembrance (20:14)3 as well as the traditions mentioned in the previous section also clearly prove the possibility of concentration in prayer: how can the Wise Creator command man to keep up prayer to remember Him when the latter cannot concentrate therein?

The traditions also informed us that the degree of acceptance of the daily prayer depended on the extent of one's attention therein.

Can such directions of guidance be taught to the believer if they are impossible to achieve? Obviously Allah does not burden any soul save what it can bear to handle. The Holy Qur'an says:

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

Allah does not charge a soul save to its capacity.4

Hence one cannot deny the possibility of attaining concentration in prayer. The task being difficult cannot be taken as a reason of its impossibility. If man struggles and is orderly in his venture, he would achieve his objective. The Holy Qur'an says:

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلإنسَانِ إلاَّ مَا سَعَى

And that a man shall have to his account only as he has labored.5

In short:

1. Allah does not enjoin that which the human being cannot bear

2. Allah has enjoined us to pray for His Remembrance

Therefore, His Remembrance is a possible phenomenon.

3. And Remembrance without attention is no Remembrance

Therefore attention in prayer is a possible phenomenon.

Notes

1. Holy Qur'an, 2:286

2. Imam Ruhullah al-Khumayni, al-Adab al Ma'nawiyyah Lissalat, pp. 95-96

3. 'Keep up prayer for remembering Me.'

4. Holy Qur'an, 2:286

5. Ibid., 53:39

Part 3: Levels of Attention in Prayer

...the level of the heart's conviction is extremely different from intellectual comprehension. There are many things man has grasped intellectually, but has not attained the heart's conviction, and his heart does not confirm what his intellect says...

- Imam Ruhullah Khumayni

The Holy Qur'an says:

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلإنسَانِ إلاَّ مَا سَعَى

And that a man shall have to his account only as he has labored.1

وَلِكُلٍّ دَرَجَاتٌ مِّمَّا عَمِلُوا

All have degrees

According to what they have done.2

In order to determine the steps one must pursue to achieve attention in prayer, we must try to define the kind of attention we aspire. According to scholars of ethics and gnosis attention is of different levels and degrees. Clearly, not all who aspire to realize attention in prayer immediately possess the ability to ascend to the most recommended of all the levels of attention.

To define all the levels of attention is beyond the scope of this limited treatise. We shall only briefly look at some of the recommended levels of attention in prayer, so that we may know where we stand and what our target should be. Discussing the higher levels would require an introduction, which is beyond the scope of this treatise. Those interested, however, in having information beyond what is covered over here, may refer to the advanced texts available on this subject.

Attention in prayer is sometimes divided into two kinds:

1. Attention to the act of worship.

2. Attention to the Worshipped One.

'Attention to the act of worship' in turn is of various levels, some of which can be attained with practice by a majority of people, whereas others can only be realized by those who have thoroughly purified themselves from the taints of sins and attained the proximity of Almighty Allah.

'Attention to the Creator', however, can be experienced by only those who enjoy the higher levels of the previous kind of attention. This should, however, not make us believe that we cannot attain such levels. Rather, they are attainable, but need continual spiritual struggle and steadfastness.

The late Imam al-Khumayni in his Sirr al-Salat (the Kernel of Prayer) enumerates the levels of 'attention to the act of worship' as follows:3

• Attention to Worship in General: In this rudimentary level, which is attainable for all (the believers), the worshipper must inculcate in his heart that worship is the act of praising the Creator. And from the beginning of the act of worship up to its end he should make the heart understand that he is extolling the Creator, even though he does not understand the meaning of what he expresses.

• Attention to Worship in Detail: In this level the worshipper's heart is present at every moment of the worship he is engaged in. Besides, he also knows how he praises and whispers to his Lord. This level itself is subdivided into several different levels depending on the stations of the hearts of the worshippers and their gnosis.

Levels of Detailed Attention

• Level 1: A group of people do not comprehend save the outer and overt facet of prayer. However, they do understand the general import of the recitations, laudations, and invocations they pronounce in prayer. The presence of their heart, however, is limited to inculcating the meaning of whatever they recite in prayer. It is highly important for this group not to limit the meaning of what they recite in what they understand there-from; (in other words,) they should not think that there isn't any (other) meaning of what they recite save that which they apparently comprehend. "For," says Imam al-Khumayni, "this belief besides being contrary to the intellect and tradition, is very detrimental to the human being too." And one of the great masterpiece ruses of Satan is to occupy and please man with what he (already) possesses, and make him cynical towards the rest of the unknown realities and sciences, thereby deriving astonishing results.

• Level 2: Another group consists of those who intellectually understand the realities of the acts of prayer. For example they understand by intellectual proof how all praises (solely) return to God; or they know the reality of Sirat al Mustaqim and the meaning of Surat al-Tawhid that represents the fundamental facets of the ideological realities. All this is known, however, through rational proofs and the intellect. The huduru 'l qalb of this group in prayer is such that their hearts are attentive and comprehend in detail the realities and the laudations they recite, and understand what they express and how they praise their Lord.

• Level 3: Another group, after having comprehended the realities of the acts of worship through their intellect, inculcate the same into their hearts, and attain belief and conviction in the same. This is because the level of the heart's conviction is extremely different from intellectual comprehension. There are many things that man may have grasped intellectually, but not yet have attained the heart's conviction; hence, his heart does not confirm what his intellect says.

Having briefly observed the levels of the presence of heart in prayer, we may now look at how one can achieve some of these levels. But first, in order to treat the continual process of flitting that our minds always experience during prayer, it would be better to diagnose and search for the root cause of the malady, so that we are able to decipher its remedy and the correct method of its treatment.

Notes

1. Ibid

2. Ibid., 6:132

3. Imam al-Khumayni, Sirr al-Salat, pp. 17-20