The Five Levels of Prayer
Mawana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani qs
18 July 2013, Fenton Michigan
The Principles of Prayers, it is said that prayer is on five levels:
1. The first level is, martabat azh-zhalim fi ’s-salaati li nafsihi al-mufrid, the Level of the Oppressor, li nafsihi al-mufrid, that he went so far from his prayer that he did not give it its full rights, he wasted his prayer. The one that did not complete the wudu and did not pray in time and did not respect its limits and principles, that one is called martabat azh-zhaalim, the Level of an Oppressor, “The one who oppressed himself with his prayer.” And spiritually if you want to advance you cannot oppress your prayer! Some people think they are awliyaullah and their prayers are not completed as it should be; their prayer must not be like a rooster, it has to be respectfully done that Allah (swt) will accept.
2. The second level is, man yuhaafizh `alaa mawaqitiha wa hudoodihaa wa arkaaniha wa zhaarihaa wa wudoo`iha, “The one who has kept the limits and the principles of the prayer and perfected his wudu, but...” wa laakin dayyi`aa mujaahadata nafsihi fi ’l-waswasa, “...lost his prayer time with an absent mind by always listening to and going along deeper and deeper with the gossips, whispers and wishes of Shaytan.” Therefore, when such whispers come don’t follow them, focus on your prayer.
Therefore, I believe that where one school of thought says, “Don’t recite after the imam, as the imam recites,” that is one school of thought, but sometimes you like to recite along with the imam, as when you are saying nothing Shaytan comes quickly and whispers, whereas if you are reciting along with the imam and focusing on what you are saying, that diminishes the power of Shaytan. So that second one is going along with the whispers of Shaytan and his heart is not present, although his prayers follow the principles of wudu and prayer.
3. The third level is the one who keeps and perfects the limits and principles of prayer and wudu and is struggling, mujaahadah, against himself in order to throw away the whispers of Shaytan when they come to his ear. So he is busy with his ammunition to attack on Shaytan in order for him not to steal his prayers. This prayer will be considered fa huwa salaati fi ‘l-jihaad, “He is in a situation of doing prayers and struggling against himself,” Jihad an-Nafs.
4. The fourth level is the one who prays on time, perfects the rights and principles of prayer and wudu, and goes deeply into istighraaq, fully present in Allah’s Divine Presence, and does not let Shaytan steal anything and all his care is how to perfect his salaat. He is the real `abd and will enter into the Level of `Uboodiyya to Allah (swt).
5. The fifth level is the one who does all the prayer with its perfection and does not struggle with ammunition against Shaytan, as he is now free from the whispers of Shaytan. He in fact takes his heart from his body and puts it at the threshold of the Divine Presence!This is your door, by entering the Divine Presence. He looks through his heart, focusing on Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes and filling his heart with the Love and Greatness of Allah (swt). Anyone who looks at him will understand that all these whispers and gossips have been taken away and Allah has prevented it to attack him through Shaytan, Allah will protect that person. It is said that his salaat is better than all the four previous kinds, like the difference between Heavens and Earth!
These are the five levels of salaat, and inshaa-Allah we will continue later. So the first level fi’l-qismu awwal mu`aqqab, will be punished. The second group is not punished, but judged by Allah, “Why did you do that?” he will still be okay. For the third level, Allah will mukaffir `anhu, erase his sins. The fourth level will be granted rewards and Heavens from Allah (swt). The fifth level, al-muqarrab min rabbihi li-annahu ja`ala rabbahu qurrata `aynahu fi 's-salaat, will be brought very near to the Divine Presence, as he is following in the footsteps of Prophet (s) where he said, “The best of my time is when I am in prayer, because I am between the Hands of Allah (swt).” May Allah forgive us and bless us. We will continue inshaa-Allah in the next session.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
Mawana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani qs
18 July 2013, Fenton Michigan
The Principles of Prayers, it is said that prayer is on five levels:
1. The first level is, martabat azh-zhalim fi ’s-salaati li nafsihi al-mufrid, the Level of the Oppressor, li nafsihi al-mufrid, that he went so far from his prayer that he did not give it its full rights, he wasted his prayer. The one that did not complete the wudu and did not pray in time and did not respect its limits and principles, that one is called martabat azh-zhaalim, the Level of an Oppressor, “The one who oppressed himself with his prayer.” And spiritually if you want to advance you cannot oppress your prayer! Some people think they are awliyaullah and their prayers are not completed as it should be; their prayer must not be like a rooster, it has to be respectfully done that Allah (swt) will accept.
2. The second level is, man yuhaafizh `alaa mawaqitiha wa hudoodihaa wa arkaaniha wa zhaarihaa wa wudoo`iha, “The one who has kept the limits and the principles of the prayer and perfected his wudu, but...” wa laakin dayyi`aa mujaahadata nafsihi fi ’l-waswasa, “...lost his prayer time with an absent mind by always listening to and going along deeper and deeper with the gossips, whispers and wishes of Shaytan.” Therefore, when such whispers come don’t follow them, focus on your prayer.
Therefore, I believe that where one school of thought says, “Don’t recite after the imam, as the imam recites,” that is one school of thought, but sometimes you like to recite along with the imam, as when you are saying nothing Shaytan comes quickly and whispers, whereas if you are reciting along with the imam and focusing on what you are saying, that diminishes the power of Shaytan. So that second one is going along with the whispers of Shaytan and his heart is not present, although his prayers follow the principles of wudu and prayer.
3. The third level is the one who keeps and perfects the limits and principles of prayer and wudu and is struggling, mujaahadah, against himself in order to throw away the whispers of Shaytan when they come to his ear. So he is busy with his ammunition to attack on Shaytan in order for him not to steal his prayers. This prayer will be considered fa huwa salaati fi ‘l-jihaad, “He is in a situation of doing prayers and struggling against himself,” Jihad an-Nafs.
4. The fourth level is the one who prays on time, perfects the rights and principles of prayer and wudu, and goes deeply into istighraaq, fully present in Allah’s Divine Presence, and does not let Shaytan steal anything and all his care is how to perfect his salaat. He is the real `abd and will enter into the Level of `Uboodiyya to Allah (swt).
5. The fifth level is the one who does all the prayer with its perfection and does not struggle with ammunition against Shaytan, as he is now free from the whispers of Shaytan. He in fact takes his heart from his body and puts it at the threshold of the Divine Presence!This is your door, by entering the Divine Presence. He looks through his heart, focusing on Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes and filling his heart with the Love and Greatness of Allah (swt). Anyone who looks at him will understand that all these whispers and gossips have been taken away and Allah has prevented it to attack him through Shaytan, Allah will protect that person. It is said that his salaat is better than all the four previous kinds, like the difference between Heavens and Earth!
These are the five levels of salaat, and inshaa-Allah we will continue later. So the first level fi’l-qismu awwal mu`aqqab, will be punished. The second group is not punished, but judged by Allah, “Why did you do that?” he will still be okay. For the third level, Allah will mukaffir `anhu, erase his sins. The fourth level will be granted rewards and Heavens from Allah (swt). The fifth level, al-muqarrab min rabbihi li-annahu ja`ala rabbahu qurrata `aynahu fi 's-salaat, will be brought very near to the Divine Presence, as he is following in the footsteps of Prophet (s) where he said, “The best of my time is when I am in prayer, because I am between the Hands of Allah (swt).” May Allah forgive us and bless us. We will continue inshaa-Allah in the next session.
Wa min Allahi 't-tawfeeq, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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