**A Statement Explaining What Should Be Present in the Heart at Each Pillar and Condition (Among the Acts of Prayer)**
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**A Statement Explaining What Should Be Present in the Heart at Each Pillar and Condition (Among the Acts of Prayer)**
We say: if you are among those who seek the Hereafter, then it is your duty first not to neglect the reminders contained in the conditions and pillars of prayer. As for the conditions and preliminaries, they include the call to prayer (adhān), purification, covering the private parts, facing the qiblah, standing upright, and intention (niyyah).
(1) I say: it would also have been appropriate to mention the time, the place, and the orientation with the opening takbīrs; we will mention these in detail, God willing.
He said: “When you hear the call of the muezzin, bring to your heart the awe of the call on the Day of Resurrection. Prepare both outwardly and inwardly to answer it swiftly, for those who hasten to this call are the very ones who will be called with gentleness on the Day of the Great Presentation. Present your heart to this call; if you find it filled with joy and gladness and eager to respond quickly, then know that the call will come to you on the Day of Judgment with glad tidings and success. For this reason the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—said: ‘Give us comfort by it, O Bilāl,’ meaning give us comfort through it and through the call to it, for it was the delight of his eye.”
(1) I say: Some of our scholars—may God have mercy on them—said: Reflect upon the phrases and words of the adhān, how it begins with God and ends with God. From this consider that God, Glorious and Exalted, is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden. Prepare your heart with reverence and magnification when you hear the takbīr (Allāhu akbar), and regard the world and all that is in it as insignificant so that you are not lying in your proclamation of God’s greatness. Remove from your thoughts every object of worship besides Him when you hear the declaration of divine unity (tahlīl). Bring to mind the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—show proper etiquette in his presence, testify sincerely to his message, and send blessings upon him and his family. Stir your soul and strive with both heart and body when the call to prayer is proclaimed and when you hear what leads to success and what is the best and most excellent of deeds. Renew thereafter your covenant in the magnification and exaltation of God, and conclude it with His remembrance just as you began with it. Let your beginning be from Him and your return be to Him; your existence stands through Him and your reliance is upon His power and might, for there is no power nor strength except through God, the Most High, the Most Great.
**Section**
I say: As for the time—
Some of our scholars—may God have mercy on them all—said: When its time enters, bring to mind that it is an appointed time that God has set for you so that you may stand in His service, prepare yourself to stand in His presence, and attain success through obedience to Him. Let joy appear in your heart and brightness upon your face when its time arrives, since it is a means of drawing near to Him and a path to your success. Prepare yourself for it through purification, cleanliness, and wearing garments suitable for intimate supplication, just as you would prepare when appearing before a king of the kings of this world. Receive it with dignity, calmness, fear, and hope. Bring to mind the greatness and majesty of God, your own deficiency, and His perfection.
It has been reported from one of the wives of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—that she said: The Messenger of God used to converse with us and we would converse with him, but when the time of prayer arrived it was as if he did not know us and we did not know him, due to his absorption with God away from everything else. When the time of prayer came to ʿAlī—peace be upon him—he would tremble and shake. It would be said to him: “What is the matter with you, O Commander of the Faithful?” He would reply: “The time has come for the trust that God offered to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and feared it.” And when ʿAlī ibn al‑Ḥusayn—peace be upon them both—prepared for ablution, his face would turn pale, and similar reports have been narrated.
**Section**
Abū Ḥāmid said: “As for purification (ṭahārah), when you perform it in your place—which is your outer container—then in your garments, which are your closer covering, and then upon your skin, which is your nearest shell, do not neglect your core, which is your essence—your heart. Strive to purify it through repentance, regret for past shortcomings, and a firm resolve to abandon them in the future. Purify your inner self with this, for it is the place upon which your Lord gazes.”
(1) I say: We have mentioned in the book *Asrār al‑Ṭahārah* (The Secrets of Purification) words from our master al‑Ṣādiq—peace be upon him—and also from some of our scholars; so recall them there.
**Section**
Abū Ḥāmid said: “As for covering the private parts, know that its meaning is to conceal the shameful parts of your body from the sight of people. The outward body is the place of people’s gaze—so what do you think of the shameful matters of your inner self and the scandals of your secret that none knows except your Lord? Bring these faults to mind and demand from yourself that they be concealed. Know that nothing conceals them from the sight of God, Exalted is He; rather, they are covered by repentance, modesty, and fear. By bringing them into your heart, the forces of fear and modesty will rise from within you, your soul will become humble, and your heart will become still in shame. Then you will stand before God like a guilty, sinful, runaway servant who has returned to his master in repentance, bowing his head out of shame and fear.”
(2) I say: In *Miṣbāḥ al‑Sharīʿah*, our master al‑Ṣādiq—peace be upon him—said:
“The most beautiful garment for believers is the garment of piety, and its finest form is faith. God, Mighty and Exalted, says: ‘But the garment of piety—that is best.’ As for outward clothing, it is a blessing from God by which He covers the nakedness of the children of Adam. It is an honor with which God honored the descendants of Adam—peace be upon him—above other creatures. For believers it is a means to perform what God has made obligatory upon them. The best garment for you is that which does not distract you from God, but rather brings you closer to gratitude, remembrance, and obedience to Him. Do not let it lead you to vanity, ostentation, adornment for pride, boasting, or arrogance, for these are among the afflictions of religion and they harden the heart.
When you put on your garment, remember how God has covered your sins with His mercy. Clothe your inner self with truthfulness just as you clothe your outward self with garments. Let your inner self be clothed with reverent fear and your outward self with obedience. Reflect on God’s grace in creating garments that conceal outward nakedness and in opening the doors of repentance and return so that the inward nakedness of sins and bad character may also be concealed. Do not expose anyone when God has concealed something greater in you. Occupy yourself with correcting your own faults, overlook what does not concern you in the affairs of others, and beware lest your life be consumed by the deeds of others while someone else profits from your capital and you destroy your own soul. Forgetting sins is among the greatest punishments of God in this world and among the greatest causes of punishment in the next. As long as a servant occupies himself with obedience to God, recognizing his faults, and abandoning what disgraces the religion of God, he is protected from afflictions, immersed in the ocean of God’s mercy, and obtains the jewels of wisdom and understanding. But when he forgets his sins, remains ignorant of his faults, and relies upon his own strength and power, he will never succeed.”
**Section**
I say: As for the place—
Some of our scholars—may God have mercy on them—said: Bring to mind that you are standing before the King of kings, seeking to speak intimately with Him, supplicate to Him, and ask for His pleasure and His merciful gaze upon you. Choose a place suitable for this, such as noble mosques or sacred shrines whenever possible, for God has made these places locations where prayers are answered and where acceptance and mercy are expected, and where His pleasure and forgiveness are abundant—much like the courts of kings that people approach for such purposes. Enter them with tranquility, dignity, attentiveness to humility and brokenness, asking that He make you among His sincere servants and join you with those who came before them. Be mindful of God as though you are crossing the bridge (ṣirāṭ), wavering between fear and hope, acceptance and rejection. Then your heart will become humble and your inner being submissive, making you worthy for mercy to flow upon you and for the hand of divine compassion to reach you.
Al‑Ṣādiq—peace be upon him—said:
“When you reach the door of the mosque, know that you intend to visit a great King whose carpet is trodden only by the purified and whose companionship is granted only to the truthful. Approach the carpet of His service with the awe of a king, for you stand in great danger if you are heedless. Know that He is capable of doing with you what He wills, in justice or in grace. If He turns to you with His grace and mercy, He accepts from you a small act of obedience and grants for it a great reward. But if He demands from you truthfulness and sincerity by His justice, He may veil you and reject your obedience even if it is abundant, for He does whatever He wills. Acknowledge your incapacity, your shortcomings, and your poverty before Him, for you have come to worship Him and to seek intimacy with Him. Present your secrets before Him, knowing that nothing of the secrets or the open deeds of creation is hidden from Him. Stand before Him like the poorest of His servants, empty your heart of every distraction that veils you from your Lord, for He accepts only what is pure and sincere. Reflect from which register your name will emerge. If you taste the sweetness of intimate supplication with Him and the delight of addressing Him, and drink from the cup of His mercy and generosity through His gracious response to you, then you are fit for His service—enter, for you have been granted permission and safety. Otherwise, stand like one in desperate need whose means have been cut off and whose hope has ended. If God sees the sincerity of your refuge in Him, He will look upon you with compassion, mercy, and kindness, and will guide you to what He loves and is pleased with. For He is generous and loves generosity toward His servants who are in need of Him and who remain at His door seeking His pleasure.” God, Exalted is He, said: “Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him?”
**Section**
Abū Ḥāmid said: “As for facing the qiblah, it is turning your outward face away from all directions toward the House of God. Do you then think that turning the heart away from everything toward God is not required from you? Far from it—nothing else is sought but Him. These outward acts merely stir the inward states and discipline the limbs, fixing them toward one direction so that they do not rebel against the heart. If the limbs wander in their movements, they draw the heart along with them and turn it away from the Face of God. Let the face of your heart be aligned with the face of your body. Just as the face cannot turn toward the House except by turning away from other directions, so the heart cannot turn to God except by freeing itself from everything other than Him.”
The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him and his family—said:
“When a servant stands for prayer and his desire and heart are directed toward God, he departs from it as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him.”
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