The Effect of the Recommended Acts of Salah in Creating Presence of Heart
In the narrations, certain particulars have been laid down for the various states of salah; they are not obligatory (wajib), they are recommended (mustahabb). Where you should look when standing; where you should look when performing sajdah (prostration); at the time of ruku' (bowing), some narrations say you should close your eyes, and some narrations say you should look ahead. All these particulars help toward that state of presence and attentiveness which a person needs.
Performing the Obligatory Prayer Properly: Paving the Way for Eagerness for the Supererogatory Prayers
Some people go in search of certain special things: to find someone, to receive some dhikr (remembrance of Allah) from him, to learn some ascetic discipline from him. These are not necessary; the discipline laid down by the Shari'ah is clearly defined. If we perform these very prayers — perform them properly, perform them on time, carry out their pillars properly, perform them with attentiveness — or keep the fast properly — these very obligations and duties that are within our reach — these very things will make a person soar.
And let me tell you this: if we do just this much, this in itself will become the ground for drawing in divine lights in great measure. That is, the merit of this minimum which is required of us is not only that it will enable us to travel this path; rather, its other merit is that it will prepare us to draw in more of the divine light and of divine grace. When a person performs the obligatory prayer (faridah) well, he will naturally develop an inclination toward the supererogatory prayers (nawafil). When a person refrains from lying, from backbiting, from speaking without knowledge, from slander, from spreading corruption, from devouring other people's property, from betraying a trust, this in itself will make his heart ready to receive divine guidance and divine ma'rifah (spiritual knowledge); it will carry us forward.
Advice to Perform the Night Prayer in Order to Bear the Heavy Burden of Responsibility
The Almighty addressed His dear and beloved Prophet — who was the most excellent of human beings throughout history, of the first and the last — saying: Perform the night prayer (salat al-layl); rise in the middle of the night and make your bond and connection firm, for you have a heavy task ahead of you: “إنّا سَنُلقی عَلیکَ قولاً ثقیلاً”;bearing this burden is hard. As for those who, midway along this path beset by enemies and Satan, trembled, slipped, turned back, joined the enemy or were afflicted by other ills, this part of their affairs — spirituality — was defective.The fact that in the past some heads of the seminary schools would go round at sahar (the pre-dawn hours) and look to see which of the seminary students was performing the night prayer and which was not — that is, they took care that no student should, as far as possible, remain deprived of the night prayer — is something deeply meaningful. Of course, in those days this task was easier; today, with television and television serials and the like, the task is difficult; but you must carry out this difficult task.
Purity of Soul and Heart: Only Through Salah, Dhikr and Tawassul
As far as you can, give importance to salah, to attentiveness and dhikr in salah, and to the supererogatory prayers. Allah the Exalted says to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his household): “قُمِ الَّیلَ الاّ قلیلاً نصفه او انقص منه قلیلاً او زِد علیه ورَتِّلِ القرآن ترتیلاً اِنّا سنلقی علیک قولاً ثقیلاً”;that is, stay awake for half the night, or stay awake for two-thirds of the night and worship — and this is for the Prophet; for you and me, it would be far too presumptuous to say such things about ourselves — why? “انّا سنلقی علیک قولاً ثقیلاً”: We are going to cast a weighty word upon you; We are going to say something momentous to you; therefore, you must prepare yourself.
A heavy burden requires spiritual readiness, and this spiritual readiness is not attained just like that. As for our saying, “Sir, go and purify your heart” — yes, the foundation is indeed purifying the heart; but purifying the heart is attained only through salah, through tawassul (seeking intercession), through attentiveness and through dhikr.
If anyone imagines that the heart and soul can be purified without these, he is gravely mistaken. It is through weeping in the middle of the night, through reading the Qur'an with reflection and care, through reciting the supplications of al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah, that a person's heart is purified; otherwise, it is not as if we could say, “Sir, go and purify your heart; and whatever else you do, so be it.”
Perform the Night Prayer as Much as You Can!
Build yourselves as much as you can: build yourselves intellectually, build yourselves in terms of faith; set your thinking right, and set your faith and your heart right; have intimacy (uns) with Allah; if you can, as much as you can, perform the night prayer.
The Night Prayer, Remover of Sins
“قال: قال الصّادق علیه السلام فی قوله تعالی: ‘انّ الحسنات یذهبن السّیّئات’”;well, this one is a verse of the Qur'an, and there is no room for doubt about it. So, in general terms, it becomes clear that there are good deeds which wipe out evil deeds — not that all good deeds have the property of wiping out all evil deeds! The apparent sense of the words is that good deeds, in their generic nature — [since] this alif and lam is not the alif and lam of istighraq (all-inclusiveness) — wipe out evil deeds in their generic nature; and this fits with some good deeds wiping out some evil deeds. Well, now, which good deeds? Here His Holiness has elucidated:
“قال: صلاة اللّیل تذهب بذنوب النّهار”;when you perform the night prayer, it wipes out the sins you have committed during the day. What could be better than this? It is because of this that the people of the spirit, the people of ma'rifah and the people of the spiritual journey (suluk) regard the night prayer as a treasure and an inexhaustible store. Now, this is the otherworldly aspect of the night prayer, that it wipes out sins. Of course, sins have worldly effects as well as otherworldly effects; when it wipes out sins, that means it also wipes out the evil worldly effects of the sins. But, well, this concerns the aspect of sin; that is, the otherworldly aspect, the matter relating to the Hereafter. But with regard to the matters of this world, it is just the same: it is stated in some narrations that it brings about an increase in one's sustenance — which is a worldly matter — and many other benefits.
... We are constantly busy during the day, you see; that is, in fact, in one sense, busy with the affairs of this world — well, that depends on our intentions. Our occupations are of the worldly kind; even if someone's intention is pure and he intends it for Allah — if Allah grants us such an intention — still, our dealings are worldly dealings: we face people, we face the world, we face events. During the day, an opportunity to keep some time free and to be alone with Allah really does not come up; it is not possible — except, well, for those who are people of constant prayer — blessed are those who are ever in salah— who are with Allah in every state. But ordinarily, we — people like me — are busy during the day, you see; we have no time to be alone with Allah. Sahar is the time for seclusion with Allah. We must treasure this time, this opportunity; especially you who are young, especially young people. Everyone, of course, but young people are more suited to it because they are more receptive; their receptivity is greater and better. Just as, if we exercise, you who are young benefit more from exercise than we who are advanced in years — that is how it is, you see: if an old person does the same exercise that a young person does — and is able to do it — the benefit the young person gets is much greater than the benefit the old person gets; if you eat some nourishing food, or an old man like me has the good fortune to eat it, the benefit you get from this nourishing food is far greater than [the benefit] an old man [gets]. Spiritual matters are the same way; spiritual nourishment is the same way: reciting the Qur'an, the dhikr of Allah, attentiveness to Allah, istighathah (imploring Allah for help), istighfar (seeking forgiveness), salah and the night prayer.
The Virtue of the Prayer of Ja'far al-Tayyar (peace be upon him)
“لمّا قدم جعفر بن ابی طالب(علیه السّلام)” [Amir al-Mu'minin (the Commander of the Faithful) (peace be upon him) said: When Ja'far (peace be upon him)] returned from Abyssinia, after the years he had spent in the emigration to Abyssinia — and what services, what labors and what hardships he had endured there! — in the sixth year, apparently after the conquest of Khaybar, “تلقّاه رسول الله(صلّی‌الله‌علیه‌وآله) و قبّل بین عینیه”; the Prophet, who was also very fond of Ja'far, met him and kissed his forehead. “فلمّا جلسنا [قال رسول الله:] الا اعطیک؟ الا امنحک؟ الا احبوک؟” [When] we sat down, the Prophet, by way of encouraging Ja'far, said: How about if I give you something? How about if I bestow a favor on you? How about if I give you a gift? Well, now the Prophet wants to give something to this dear cousin of his, this toiling mujahid (one who strives in the way of Allah), who for years had gone and lived in a foreign land, spread Islam and brought the king there to Islam. Well, what would it be? Would the Prophet put his hand [into a purse], [give him], say, fifty Bahar-e Azadi gold coins and say, “This is yours”? “قال: بلی یا رسول الله”; [he said:] Well, yes, please do. He was glad that the Prophet wanted to give him something as a gift, by way of reward. “فقال(صلّی‌الله‌علیه‌وآله): تصلّی اربع رکعاتٍ تقرا فی کلّ رکعةٍ سورة الحمد وسورة”; [the Prophet] taught him the Ja'far prayer. See, these are what the true values are. Very often we lose sight of the yardsticks. [The Prophet said:] You pray four rak'ahs; you recite a surah after al-Hamd. In this narration there is no mention of Surah “إذا زلزلت” [When the earth is shaken],the blessed Surah “والعادیات ضبحا” [By the panting chargers],Surah “إذا جاء نصرالله” [When the help of Allah comes]and “قل هوالله” [Say: He is Allah].What is in the ma'thur (the transmitted tradition), so to speak — that these four surahs should be recited — is not found here. “ثم تقول: سبحان الله و الحمد لله ولا اله الا الله و الله اكبر؛ خمس عشرة مرّة”; fifteen times after the recitation [you say this dhikr: “سبحان‌الله و الحمدلله و لااله الاّالله و الله‌اکبر” (Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest)]. “ثم تركع فتقول هذا التّسبيح عشرا”; ten times in ruku' [you say this tasbih: “سبحان‌الله و الحمدلله و لااله الاّالله و الله‌اکبر”]. “ثمّ ترفع رأسك فتقول عشر مرّات”; and ten times after you have raised your head from ruku' [you say this dhikr: “سبحان‌الله و الحمدلله و لااله الاّالله و الله‌اکبر”]. “ثم تسجد فتقول عشراً ثم ترفع رأسك فتقول عشراً ثمّ تقوم الى الرّكعة الثانية فتفعل مثل ذلك، فذلك خمس وسبعون مرّةً فى كلّ ركعة” [Then you prostrate and say it ten times, then you raise your head and say it ten times, then you rise for the second rak'ah and do the same]; in each rak'ah, 75 times “سبحان‌الله و الحمدلله و لااله الاّالله و الله‌اکبر”. It is four rak'ahs, so over the four rak'ahs it comes to three hundred times in all. “فان استطعت ان تصلّيها كلّ يومٍ فافعل”; if you have the strength for it and the time for it, so that you can perform it every day, perform it. “فان لم تستطع ففى كلّ جمعة”; [if you do not have the strength for it, then perform it every Friday] — as you have seen, the late Hajj Shaykh 'Abbas, in the Mafatih, lists the Ja'far prayer among the prayers of Friday, on which day it is specifically recommended. “فان لم تستطع ففى كلّ شهر، فان لم تستطع ففى كلّ سنة”; [so if you do not have the strength for it, perform it every month; and if you do not have the strength even for that,] at least once a year, perform the Ja'far prayer. “فان لم تستطع ففى عمرك مرّة”;[if you do not have the strength for it,] perform it once in your lifetime. This is the gift of the Prophet.
Using the Opportunity of the Blessed Month of Ramadan to Perform the Supererogatory Prayers
These 34 rak'ahs of nawafil that have been transmitted for the prayers of the day and night are extremely valuable. The month of Ramadan is a good opportunity. Most of us are not people who keep up the nawafil. But when the month of Ramadan comes, what is there to stop us? What deed, done with a fasting mouth, is better than performing salah? The noon (zuhr) prayer is four rak'ahs; before these four rak'ahs, it has eight rak'ahs of supererogatory prayer: four two-rak'ah prayers. The afternoon ('asr) prayer is four rak'ahs, and before these four rak'ahs there are eight rak'ahs of the supererogatory prayer of 'asr. Perform these nawafil. Likewise the nawafil of the sunset (maghrib) prayer, which are more important than these; and also the night nawafil, which are eleven rak'ahs; likewise the supererogatory prayer of the dawn (fajr) prayer, which is two rak'ahs. There are people for whom, on the ordinary days of the year, it is difficult to wake up before the dawn adhan for the night prayer; but on these nights they wake up naturally, as a matter of course. This is a tawfiq (divine enabling grace); why should we not make use of this tawfiq? In sha' Allah, make the most of the opportunities of the month of Ramadan.