A word from the Shaykh regarding pauses in the prayer.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Messengers, the Imam of the righteous, and the leader of the white-ankled ones, who conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and strived in the cause of Allah with true striving. May the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: I thank Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for facilitating this blessed meeting, which took place at the suggestion of the Da'wah Office in Unaizah. I ask Allah, the Exalted, who granted this facilitation and ease, to make it beneficial for us and for whoever listens to it. Our meeting tonight, on Sunday, the twenty-fourth of Shawwal in the year 1412, is the first meeting held in response to the first suggestion. It was originally scheduled to be on the third Sunday of every month, but it was delayed this month to the fourth Sunday due to the fasting of the people, or most of the people, for the six days after Ramadan. We will return, if Allah wills, next month to the original decision that this meeting be on the third Sunday of every month. As for the question raised by our brother, Shaykh Mahmud ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Sayyigh, regarding questions that may be numerous and for which there is no room to present them all, I see that the most important should be presented first, as this is the legal principle when things conflict. It may be said that one should present the first one, then the next, but managing this is difficult and problematic. As for his second question, which is what we should do if a questioner prefaces his question with "I ask you by Allah to present this question," I say first that it is not befitting for a questioner to preface it with such a request, as it causes embarrassment. It may embarrass the presenter of questions if he is asked this. Nevertheless, I see that the benefit takes precedence, and if this question has no room to be presented in this meeting, it remains to be presented in the next meeting, and the questioner will have been answered when his question is presented. However, I say, and I hope the brothers will not preface their questions with "I ask you by Allah," but rather write the question from a person, and if Allah, the Exalted, facilitates its reading, it will be read.
Now we begin this meeting with a brief word about pauses in the prayer. The prayer, which is the pillar of Islam and the greatest of its pillars after the testimonies of faith, must have a great status, as it has attained this rank. Let us pause with this prayer. The prayer has preliminaries, the most important of which is ritual purity, for it is the key to the prayer. Ritual purity is from minor and major states of impurity, and from impurity in the body, the garment, and the place. This indicates that it is of great significance, for there is nothing in acts of worship on which the scholars agreed that ritual purity is a condition, except the prayer. There is disagreement on whether ritual purity is a condition for circumambulation, and disagreement on whether it is a condition for touching the mushaf. The scholars did not agree on any act of worship requiring ritual purity except the prayer. It is of such significance that a person does not enter it unless his outward and inward self are purified. He stands before Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and says the takbir of ihram, raising his hands at the takbir of ihram. Some scholars said: The wisdom behind this, in addition to it being following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is that it is a sign of lifting the veil between the worshipper and his Lord. Then he places his right hand over his left, lowering his head, humble before Allah, Mighty and Majestic. After he says "Allahu Akbar," you see yourself standing before Allah, standing before the King of kings, who knows what your soul whispers and knows all your conditions. So look, or reflect, on whom you are standing before. If you stood before a king of the kings of this world, you would find yourself silent, not speaking and not raising your gaze to him, out of respect for him. How much more so when you are before Allah, Mighty and Majestic? So be mindful of the greatness of the One before whom you are standing, confiding in Him with His words, saying: الحمد لله رب العالمين فيجيبك الله عز وجل من فوق سبع سماوات ويقول : حمدني عبدي فإذا قلت : الرحمن الرحيم قال الله : أثنى علي عبدي فإذا قلت مالك يوم الدين قال الله : مجدني عبدي فإذا قلت : إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين قال الله : هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين فإذا قلت : اهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين قال الله : هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, answers you from above the seven heavens and says: "My servant praised Me." When you say: "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy," Allah says: "My servant praised Me." When you say: "Master of the Day of Judgment," Allah says: "My servant glorified Me." When you say: "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help," Allah says: "This is between Me and My servant, divided in two." When you say: "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray," Allah says: "This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked." Reflect on this dialogue and confiding between you and Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand in Surat al-Fatihah at every verse, reflecting and contemplating. Then, after the recitation, the recitation of al-Fatihah and whatever is easy of the Qur'an, you bend your back in respect for Allah, bowing. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 479a So you are magnifying Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with your posture, your action, and your words. With your posture, because the posture of bowing is magnification. With your action, because the action of bowing and bending is an action. And with your words, because you say in bowing, "Subhana Rabbi al-'Azeem." Then you return a second time to standing before Allah, Mighty and Majestic, praising Him with the praises that came from His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Then after this, you fall prostrate, placing the highest and most noble part of your body in the place of your feet. For this reason, you see the prostrator places his forehead in the posture of prostration. A person says: "Subhana Rabbi al-A'la." He does not say "Subhana Rabbi al-A'azz." He says "Subhana Rabbi al-A'la" because the highest part of you has become at the lowest part of you, or has become level with the lowest part of you. What is the lowest part of you? The feet. And the highest part of you is the forehead. So the highest part of you has become level with the lowest part of you. This is certainly not like elevation. For this reason, you say "Subhana Rabbi al-A'la," which is free from lowness. You find that this dhikr is perfectly suitable for prostration. Then you return to sit between the two prostrations, supplicating to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with what came from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then you return a second time to prostration. And so we find that a person in his prayer moves between the gardens of servitude, from standing to bowing to prostration, from Qur'an to dhikr and magnification, and from that to magnifying Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Bulugh al-Maram 2:179 I urge myself and you to reflect on these things, these actions, these words, so that our prayer is a connection between us and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so that our prayer is not as if it is a habit we perform at its appointed times. I ask Allah, the Exalted, to make me and you among those who are humble in their prayer, those who are consistent in it, and those who preserve it. And to the questions collected by the brothers, we ask Allah to guide us to the truth in them.
As for what follows: I thank Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for facilitating this blessed meeting, which took place at the suggestion of the Da'wah Office in Unaizah. I ask Allah, the Exalted, who granted this facilitation and ease, to make it beneficial for us and for whoever listens to it. Our meeting tonight, on Sunday, the twenty-fourth of Shawwal in the year 1412, is the first meeting held in response to the first suggestion. It was originally scheduled to be on the third Sunday of every month, but it was delayed this month to the fourth Sunday due to the fasting of the people, or most of the people, for the six days after Ramadan. We will return, if Allah wills, next month to the original decision that this meeting be on the third Sunday of every month. As for the question raised by our brother, Shaykh Mahmud ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Sayyigh, regarding questions that may be numerous and for which there is no room to present them all, I see that the most important should be presented first, as this is the legal principle when things conflict. It may be said that one should present the first one, then the next, but managing this is difficult and problematic. As for his second question, which is what we should do if a questioner prefaces his question with "I ask you by Allah to present this question," I say first that it is not befitting for a questioner to preface it with such a request, as it causes embarrassment. It may embarrass the presenter of questions if he is asked this. Nevertheless, I see that the benefit takes precedence, and if this question has no room to be presented in this meeting, it remains to be presented in the next meeting, and the questioner will have been answered when his question is presented. However, I say, and I hope the brothers will not preface their questions with "I ask you by Allah," but rather write the question from a person, and if Allah, the Exalted, facilitates its reading, it will be read.
Now we begin this meeting with a brief word about pauses in the prayer. The prayer, which is the pillar of Islam and the greatest of its pillars after the testimonies of faith, must have a great status, as it has attained this rank. Let us pause with this prayer. The prayer has preliminaries, the most important of which is ritual purity, for it is the key to the prayer. Ritual purity is from minor and major states of impurity, and from impurity in the body, the garment, and the place. This indicates that it is of great significance, for there is nothing in acts of worship on which the scholars agreed that ritual purity is a condition, except the prayer. There is disagreement on whether ritual purity is a condition for circumambulation, and disagreement on whether it is a condition for touching the mushaf. The scholars did not agree on any act of worship requiring ritual purity except the prayer. It is of such significance that a person does not enter it unless his outward and inward self are purified. He stands before Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and says the takbir of ihram, raising his hands at the takbir of ihram. Some scholars said: The wisdom behind this, in addition to it being following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is that it is a sign of lifting the veil between the worshipper and his Lord. Then he places his right hand over his left, lowering his head, humble before Allah, Mighty and Majestic. After he says "Allahu Akbar," you see yourself standing before Allah, standing before the King of kings, who knows what your soul whispers and knows all your conditions. So look, or reflect, on whom you are standing before. If you stood before a king of the kings of this world, you would find yourself silent, not speaking and not raising your gaze to him, out of respect for him. How much more so when you are before Allah, Mighty and Majestic? So be mindful of the greatness of the One before whom you are standing, confiding in Him with His words, saying: الحمد لله رب العالمين فيجيبك الله عز وجل من فوق سبع سماوات ويقول : حمدني عبدي فإذا قلت : الرحمن الرحيم قال الله : أثنى علي عبدي فإذا قلت مالك يوم الدين قال الله : مجدني عبدي فإذا قلت : إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين قال الله : هذا بيني وبين عبدي نصفين فإذا قلت : اهدنا الصراط المستقيم صراط الذين أنعمت عليهم غير المغضوب عليهم ولا الضالين قال الله : هذا لعبدي ولعبدي ما سأل Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, answers you from above the seven heavens and says: "My servant praised Me." When you say: "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy," Allah says: "My servant praised Me." When you say: "Master of the Day of Judgment," Allah says: "My servant glorified Me." When you say: "You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help," Allah says: "This is between Me and My servant, divided in two." When you say: "Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned Your anger or of those who are astray," Allah says: "This is for My servant, and for My servant is what he asked." Reflect on this dialogue and confiding between you and Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would stand in Surat al-Fatihah at every verse, reflecting and contemplating. Then, after the recitation, the recitation of al-Fatihah and whatever is easy of the Qur'an, you bend your back in respect for Allah, bowing. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: