THE POWER OF SALAT

‘Salat is the Mi‘raj of the faithful.’

—The noble Messenger Muhammad (S)

Almighty Allah calls on us to perform our salat; He wants us to establish a direct link with Him. This is what the word "salat" means, derived as it is from the Arabic root word "sila," meaning "link." Salat is the Mi‘raj of the believer, according to a hadith of the noble Messenger Muhammad (S). In Salat we are in direct communication with Almighty Allah. Take time; think of the real reason Almighty Allah wants us to perform the salat. He wants to guide us to success in the material world as well as spiritually, our eternal home.

Salat (the word ‘prayer’ does not adequately capture the essence of the word 'salat,' whose implications are far more profound) has the power to develop our ability to be silent, to be still. We develop the power of thoughtless consciousness. Salat teaches us the technique and inspiration to keep the mind quiet, not allowing thoughts to enter. Salat develops in us a technique that trains the mind not to allow thoughts to distract us from focusing on Almighty Allah.

Victory, success and help from Almighty Allah are achieved through calmness and stillness of the mind. During this stillness, we are like running water, ever changing with unlimited possibilities.

Salat restores the energy levels of the body, revitalising bodies, minds and souls. Salat helps us to refocus and connect first with Allah in a very direct way and then with the power within us. The great Sufi Jalaluddin Rumi (ra) said: ‘Salat without intention and concentration of the heart and mind is not the real Salat.’

Almighty Allah promises success to those who follow His commands.  In Surah al-Hajj He says to the believer: ‘And strive in Allah’s cause as you ought to strive with sincerity and discipline. He who has chosen the believer, and has imposed no difficulties on him, in religion. Establish regular salat and [give willingly] of zakat, and hold fast to Allah, He is your protector, the best to protect and the best to help’ ([22]:78).

Salat connects us mortals to the source of Power, holding firmly to the rope of Allah that He has extended to us; salat is the powerful link that cannot be severed.

The power Almighty Allah has placed in us is revealed when we commit to perform salat five times a day. As we busy ourselves with work and look for excuses not to perform salat, the big question we must ask ourselves is: ‘What is more important than our own self-development?’

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Self-development enhances our ability to excel in our performance in the spiritual and material worlds. Regular concerted salat keeps us focused on priorities in life, and keeps us away from activities that do not add value to our lives.

The Zuhr and Asr salats, one rak‘at in Maghrib and two rak‘ats in ‘Isha are silent. The silent rak‘ats are a blessing so that we feel the restful alertness that we are supposed to experience during salat.

To tune into and unleash the power of Almighty Allah, we have to experience inner alertness and awareness that will give us control of our body and life experiences. The dimension of silence is far deeper than the movement of thought. Silence does not have to be created; it is already there; we may not notice it, because of mental noise. In the silence we will experience not just relaxation, but alertness, sensitivity, freshness, flexibility and creativity.

Intention is an invisible energy that attracts silent knowledge and plays an active part in our lives. By making an intention and confiding in Almighty Allah of anything we want in life, opens the doors of silent knowledge that plays an active role in our lives.

In salat we experience renewed aliveness and boundless energy. Awareness remains pure, full of energy and clarity, and in this clarity exists the power to heal the body.

Intention precedes action and is a subtle sound in the consciousness heard by Almighty Allah and by ourselves. In Surah al-An‘am, Almighty Allah teaches us how to make the intention before starting our salat: ‘I have set my face firmly and truly towards Him Who has created the heavens and the earth, while I submit wholly unto Him and I am not among those who establish partners with Him’([6]:79).

‘Praise be to Allah, glory be to Allah, blessed is your Name, exalted is your Majesty; there is none worthy of worship but You.’

Almighty Allah has blessed us with a method of attracting His powerful attention. By repeating the niyah (intention) before salat we attract the attention of Almighty Allah. Over time the sound of intention will silently echo in our consciousness, producing various physiological effects. These frequencies of sound produce messages in the brain and, through the brain, in the rest of the body.

The times of prayers are frequencies, silent sounds that attract different physiological responses. Powerful emotions of love, compassion and expansion, if analysed fully may be messages from Almighty Allah.

Under normal circumstances our attention is drawn only to areas of discomfort in the body. We listen only to the parts of the body that are crying out for attention. Through salat and dhikr, Almighty Allah has given us the power to make conscious contact with inherent healing powers He has placed within us.

Salat helps us develop a high spiritual force and energy. Almighty Allah created us from the most powerful spiritual

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energy and we have the capacity to unleash this energy. Salat is the gift from Almighty Allah to keep in contact with His powers. Avoid constant talk about bodily pains; reminders of our ills will enhance the ailments and serve as resistances to the blessed healing energy from Almighty Allah.

Almighty Allah constantly reminds us to be grateful to Him. In Surah al-Imran, Allah reminds us to praise Him: ‘Those who celebrate the praises of Allah standing, sitting and reclining on their sides, and contemplate the wonders of creation in the heavens and the earth, with the thought, O our Lord! Thou hast not created this in vain! Praise and Glory be to Thee! Save us from the penalty of Fire’ ([3]:191).

Almighty Allah wants good for us in this material world as well as in the Hereafter. Remember, Almighty Allah is with us at all times in our pursuit of worldly affairs, whether we are standing, sitting, and lying down. We must therefore be fully aware of His Divine presence everywhere and in all conditions. Be conscious that nothing has been created in vain; there is a purpose in all creation. Almighty Allah wants us to conquer the self by remembering Him and to conquer our environment in the pursuit of knowledge. In Surah al-Anbiya, Almighty Allah says: ‘The Heaven and Earth were one unit of creation before we clove them asunder’ ([21]:30).

Almighty Allah says the heaven and the earth were one unit of creation. Only He knows why He separated the two heavens; He wants us to be aware that they were one single entity. We are told here that we must live in this world in harmony with all of His creation as this is a material heaven; the Hereafter is a spiritual heaven. How we live in this world will determine our Destiny in the Hereafter.

Almighty Allah is making us aware and wants to regulate our lives, set us on track to develop our soul, to be successful in the spiritual heaven where we will live eternally.

In Surah al-Muminun, Almighty Allah asks humankind to ponder: ‘Do they not ponder over the word of Allah?’ ([23]:68). Every day after each salat, take time to contemplate what we have done. Think deeply how we can improve the next day. The Noble Qur’an instructs us to ponder and contemplate. Daily incremental improvements produce lasting results, which in turn lead to positive change. A few minutes of focused reflection after each salat will have a deep impact on the quality of our lives. In a hadith, the noble Messenger Muhammad (S) says: ‘He whose two days are the same has experienced great loss.’ This hadith of the noble Messenger Muhammad (S) reminds us that every day we must strive to make progress and advance in life, never allowing two days to remain the same, without making progress. Here progress is referred to in the spiritual sense, to bring us closer to Almighty Allah.

Almighty Allah made salat compulsory and zakat (the purification of accumulated wealth by giving it away for the sake of Allah) an obligation in the Noble Qur’an. In Surah

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al-Baqarah, Almighty Allah says: ‘And establish salat as your standard affiliation with Allah, and institutionalize spending of your capital [to those in need]; for whatever good deed you send ahead for your souls, you shall find it with Allah. Behold, Allah sees well all that you do’ ([2]:110). Almighty Allah’s power is infinite, He sees, hears and knows everything that we do, including our intentions.

In salat we develop a method and learn effortlessly to appreciate the power of Almighty Allah. We consciously focus on comfort and joy rather than discomfort and agony, both of which are always present in the body. This is the most potent way of balancing the body, mind and soul. In a healthy mind comfort reigns; in an unhealthy mind discomfort is prevalent. In salat we learn to tap into the body’s intelligence and create the comfort needed to live a balanced life. The Power is in our thoughts. If we change our view, we change our understanding of life, and the body will change at cellular level. The change occurs because of a new insight, which restructures our perception, which in turn restructures our experience of the body.

Intention before salat trains us to control our thoughts. Focused salat controls our emotions, feelings, desires, instincts, intentions, evaluations, analysis, judgments, ideas, notions, likes, dislikes, prejudices, demands, frustrations, anxieties, dilemmas, memories, addictions, fears, beliefs, convictions, expectations, intuitions, hopes and aspirations.

Salat is the training we need to focus on and link with Almighty Allah and develop the power of being silent in the mind. This method develops the ability to control our destiny. If we practise the technique of being silent for a month to forty days, we will notice a change in our energy levels; we will feel more energetic, enthusiastic and vibrant.

Our bodies conform to our thoughts. Salat and dhikr will transform us and help us control our thoughts and emotions. Make salat a regular practice in your life. Take some time after salat to repeat Allah’s Names and Glorify Him. This will insha’Allah allow us to make conscious contact with Almighty Allah.

Hadrat Ali (ra) said: ‘In the Darkness before dawn, seek the shining face of Allah, the Exalted.’

Almighty Allah states in a hadith qudsi: `Out of all the ways through which My servant gets closer to Me, Salat is the dearest to Me.’ (Bukhari)