Part 20 : “How to Taste the True Beauty of Salah”

Part 20 : “How to Taste the True Beauty of Salah”

A Meeting Announcement- The Call to Prayer :

We’re not quite done yet. A few words about Athaan (the call to prayer).. Do you know when Salah really starts? Would you say at “Allahu Akbar”? Actually, it starts way before then. It starts with the Athaan! The Prophet says, “Each one of you is (really) in a state of prayer as he awaits (to perform) the Salah. ” Athaan signals you to prepare yourself for your upcoming meeting with Allah (Salah). It should summon those feelings of humbleness and humility felt when reminded of Allah. Thus, you are already in Salah because you are now in that Salah mindset! Athaan also expels Satan, since upon hearing it, he flees with anger and rage! Knowing this fact- that he’s no longer there to distract you, should improve your concentration in prayer and help you attain that needed level of humbleness and humility for a beautiful
satisfying prayer. Athaan is your chance to augment your Salah rewards that might have been reduced due to deficiencies you could not prevent (i.e. when you drift.) So how do we augment that reward? The Prophet tells us that the Mu’athen (the one who makes the call to prayer) gets the reward of everyone who prays with him. So, for example, if 100 men pray with him, he gets the rewards of these 100 prayers. For us to accumulate a reward similar to this Mu’athen, all we need to do… is repeat the Athaan after him! “Say as they (the Mu’thens) say”- was our prophet’s tip! So imagine if you were repeating the Athaan in Mecca, where millions pray, and where one Salah equals 100,000 in worth!Imagine your rewards then! Such is Allah’s grace and generosity- A small simple act, met in return, with such immense rewards! What does the Athaan start with? “Allahu Akbar!”- Allah is greater! No one is more important in your life right now than
He! Leave your business, leave your job, leave your family and your children, leave your sleep! Allah is greater than all of it- It’s time to report to Him now. This is why the Mu’athen repeats these words more than once.

And for what are we to rise and leave all of that? The answer lies in the words that come next: “ La ilaha illa-llah”- There is no one worthy of worship except Allah! For you alone O Allah, I leave it all behind. Stated another way- to ignore the call and neglect a prayer is to say that what is at hand is more important than Allah- that it is more worthy of worship than He. What comes after “La ilaha illa-llah”? Well when we rise to pray, whose example do we follow in the way we pray? It’s the Prophet’s example, “ Pray as you have seen me pray.”

Thus the Athaan calls out, “Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah”- I testify that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger. So this establishes that for any given deed, two criteria must be met before a deed can be accepted: Sincerity to Allah (La ilaha illa-llah) + Conformance to His Prophet’s example (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah).

This fundamental rule is summarized in the last verse of Sura Al Kahf: “Say (O Prophet), “I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever looks forward with hope to meeting his Lord- let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord, anyone!”
Realize how honorable our Prophet Muhammad is... No individual’s name is raised as high as his. With Muslims living in every part of the globe, calling out their Athaan as the sun shines upon their land, the entire planet glorifies Muhammad pbuh around the clock- minute by minute, uninterrupted, 24 hours a day!
So join the greatest glorification campaign ever known! Repeat after your Mu’athen! So what is required of us now, after we have testified to sincerity and conformance? “ Hayya ‘ala-Salah!” (Come/Rise to prayer!). But instead of repeating these words now, what must we say? We are to say “ La hawla wala quwwata illa billah”- There is no might or power (in me) but which Allah (grants me). Only Allah can help me rise in obedience and facilitate my worship. I can’t do it without His help. So Athaan is similar to the expressions of the Fatiha where we first establish that worship is due to Him alone ( iyyaka na’budu), then we seek His help to carry it out (wa iyyaka nasta’een )

The next words should inspire in us sheer joy and enthusiasm! The next words promise us all the success- “Hayya ‘alal-Falaah!”- (Come/Rise to success!) If this Salah guarantees my success in my work in this life and then in the next, then how can I not rise and answer its call?! And again, the power I have in me comes only from Allah so to these words I say again, “ La hawla wala quwwata illa billah.” And finally, the words that end the Athaan are similar to those that started it- “ La ilaha illa-llah ”. Where “Allahu- Akbar” in the beginning calls upon you to leave the Dunia (this world) because Allah is greater- Now “la ilaha illa-llah” summons you to come focus upon the Akhira (the next life), the real life to work for.

The next time you hear the Athaan, hear it as the long awaited announcement that your meeting with your loved One is almost here! Listen to it like a child would as he stands in the arrivals terminal anxiously awaiting his mother’s return, and then hears the announcement, that her flight has just touched down! The Athaan also has its unique flavor, for “ whomever loves to meet/be with his Lord his Lord also loves to meet/be with him ..” And this longing and yearning to be with Allah should inspire you to rush to your Salah without delay, just as Prophet Musa rushed to His Lord,

“..and I hastened to You, my Lord, that You may be pleased (with me).” (Taha:84)

The sad reality today is that Athaan has become for many, a dull play of words that fades unnoticed into the backdrop of the commotion of busy hectic lives. But as we learn of what its words really signify, we come to realize the power of Athaan in retuning our outlook on life and on our entire existence.