Part 15: “How to Taste the True Beauty of Salah”
In Preparation for the Greatest Pillar of Salah :
We just completed a beautiful station of Salah, the Rukuu’. The Rukuu’ is the prelude to Sujood..
from one posture of submission, to a greater, more complete posture of submission! But before the Sujood, comes another beautiful station of Salah- and that is, the standing after the Rukuu’.
The Prophet pbuh said, “ Allah does not look to a servant’s Salah if he does not straighten (upright) his back between his rukuu and sujood.
”Therefore, that motionless, peaceful calm maintained in the other parts of Salah must be especially maintained here as well… allowing for the bones to return to their joints, for he also told us that “The worst thief is the one who steals from his Salah” (by rushing through it). The Prophet pbuh used to stand in this part of the prayer a length equal to that of his rukuu’.
But as we rise for this stand, this time it is not “Allahu Akbar” that we call out, but instead, “
Sami’a-Allahu liman hamidah” (May Allah answer he who praises him).
Why?
Remember what we said? That any duaa/request made before The King is only proper and acceptable when preceded by praise and much extolling, right? Just as the Fatiha starts out with praise before the greatest duaa is made (Ihdina-Sirat-Al-Mustaqeem), the same holds true here. For we are about to enter upon the greatest pillar of Salahthe Sujood!.. in which we will be the closest we can ever be to Allah! And during which, the duaas/supplications, are always answered! “
Sami’a-Allahu liman hamidah” therefore, signals us to praise Allah much before we are to make our duaas when in Sujood. And so what do we say upon that signal, once we have risen? We begin our praise:
“Rabbana walaka-alhamd “ (Our Lord, for You is all praise!). We can add, “hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan feeh!” (..An abundant beautiful blessed praise!). The Prophet was once leading in prayer. When he said “Sami’a-Allahu-liman hamidah”, one of the companions behind him added the above extension, “hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan feeh!”. When the prayer was finished, the Prophet pbuh turned to his companions and asked, “Which one of you just said those words?” And the man replied “Me, ya Rasulallah.” The Prophet commended, “I just saw thirty something angels racing which of them will write it first!”
We can go a step further and say, “Mil’a-Assamawaati wa mil’a-Al-Ard, wa mil’a ma bainahuma, wa mil’ama-shi’ta min shay’en ba’d!”… “(Praise) that fills/abounds the heavens, fills the earth, fills all that is between them, and fills all else of what You have willed (to be)!” The “all else” implies the rest of creation that for us humans is beyond our imagination and grasp (Like the Throne, the Kursi, etc..) With those words, we are humbly admitting our limitations in knowledge in comparison to that of Our Creator.
In Preparation for the Greatest Pillar of Salah :
We just completed a beautiful station of Salah, the Rukuu’. The Rukuu’ is the prelude to Sujood..
from one posture of submission, to a greater, more complete posture of submission! But before the Sujood, comes another beautiful station of Salah- and that is, the standing after the Rukuu’.
The Prophet pbuh said, “ Allah does not look to a servant’s Salah if he does not straighten (upright) his back between his rukuu and sujood.
”Therefore, that motionless, peaceful calm maintained in the other parts of Salah must be especially maintained here as well… allowing for the bones to return to their joints, for he also told us that “The worst thief is the one who steals from his Salah” (by rushing through it). The Prophet pbuh used to stand in this part of the prayer a length equal to that of his rukuu’.
But as we rise for this stand, this time it is not “Allahu Akbar” that we call out, but instead, “
Sami’a-Allahu liman hamidah” (May Allah answer he who praises him).
Why?
Remember what we said? That any duaa/request made before The King is only proper and acceptable when preceded by praise and much extolling, right? Just as the Fatiha starts out with praise before the greatest duaa is made (Ihdina-Sirat-Al-Mustaqeem), the same holds true here. For we are about to enter upon the greatest pillar of Salahthe Sujood!.. in which we will be the closest we can ever be to Allah! And during which, the duaas/supplications, are always answered! “
Sami’a-Allahu liman hamidah” therefore, signals us to praise Allah much before we are to make our duaas when in Sujood. And so what do we say upon that signal, once we have risen? We begin our praise:
“Rabbana walaka-alhamd “ (Our Lord, for You is all praise!). We can add, “hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan feeh!” (..An abundant beautiful blessed praise!). The Prophet was once leading in prayer. When he said “Sami’a-Allahu-liman hamidah”, one of the companions behind him added the above extension, “hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubarakan feeh!”. When the prayer was finished, the Prophet pbuh turned to his companions and asked, “Which one of you just said those words?” And the man replied “Me, ya Rasulallah.” The Prophet commended, “I just saw thirty something angels racing which of them will write it first!”
We can go a step further and say, “Mil’a-Assamawaati wa mil’a-Al-Ard, wa mil’a ma bainahuma, wa mil’ama-shi’ta min shay’en ba’d!”… “(Praise) that fills/abounds the heavens, fills the earth, fills all that is between them, and fills all else of what You have willed (to be)!” The “all else” implies the rest of creation that for us humans is beyond our imagination and grasp (Like the Throne, the Kursi, etc..) With those words, we are humbly admitting our limitations in knowledge in comparison to that of Our Creator.
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