The Salat In Congregation

When the Salat is about to start remember once again, you are standing before the Omnipotent Allah. Envisage His Reverence and Sublimity as He is looking at you. Remember that Hadith in which Allah, the Almighty Himself speaks... Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:  

“Allah, the Almighty said, ‘I have divided the Salat between Me and My slave by halves. Half of it is for Me and half of it is for My slave. And My slave is granted what he asked for.’ When the worshipper says, ‘[Ahamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen] All the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the universe,’ Allah says, ‘My slave praised Me.’ When the worshipper says, ‘[Ar-Rahmanir Raheem] The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful’, Allah says, ‘My slave eulogised Me.’ When he utters, ‘[Malik-e- Yawmiddin] The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense,’ Allah says, ‘My slave glorified Me.’ When he utters ‘[Iyyaka Na’budu wa Iyyaka Nasta’een] You Alone we worship, and You Alone we ask for help,’ Allah says, ‘This is between Me and My slave. And My slave is granted what he asked for.’ When he utters, ‘[Ihdinas Siratal Mustaqeema Sirat allazeena An’amta Alaihim Ghairil Maghdoobe Alaihim Walad Daalleen] Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger nor of those who went astray,’ Allah says, ‘This is for My slave and My slave is granted what he asked for’ ”. (Reported by Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, Ahmad)

The uninterrupted Grace of Allah, that your sins are erased during your Salat in the Ruku’ (bowing) and Sajdah (prostration). As Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has said:

“When the worshipper gets up to perform the Salat, he comes with all his sins, placed over his shoulder. When he bows into Ruku’ or Sajdah, his sins fall down”. (Reported by Abu Nu‘aim)

Likewise when you say Amin and then you say [Rabbana wa Laka al Hamd] in the Salat, your sins are forgiven as your utterance coincides with that of the angels. In the Hadith ... Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

“When Imam says Amin, you also say Amin. So whose Amin coincides with that of the angels, all his preceding sins are forgiven”. (Reported by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

“When Imam says [Sami’a Allahu liman Hamidah], you should say [Rabbana wa Laka al Hamd], So whose utterance coincides with that of the angels, all his preceding sins are forgiven”. (Reported by Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

You should know that humility is very important in Salat. So you should be keen to adopt the means which boost your humbleness in the Salat. You may better contemplate the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

“Satisfy us with it, O Bilal”. He meant the Salat. (Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught his noble Companions how to enjoy this ritual. He said to them:

“Coolness of my eyes lies in Salat”. (Reported by Ahmad, An-Nasa’i)

What a pity for those who are neither aware of humbleness in the Salat nor of its reality. They merely move up and down while they are preoccupied with mundane things and its fake manifestations.

Therefore it is imperative to perform the Salat in the most perfect manner as the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) has said:

 “The religion has no good if it has no Salat”.

So make sure my Muslim brother, to adopt the means which bring about a state of humility. Some of them are enumerated here:

• Sincerity and dedication to Allah, the Almighty

• Preparation for the Salat

• Offering all precepts of the Salat in a most perfect manner

• Contemplating the verses of Qur’an  

• Recitation and intonation of the Qur’an

• Making sure that your wealth, foods and drinks are from lawful means

• Making effort to perform the Tahajjud (Salatul-Lail — night prayer) in compliance with the saying of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him):

“The dignity of a believer is in the Tahajjud (night prayer) and his honour lies in leaving what the people possess.”