The Tahajjud Prayer

A Golden Tip

A GoldenTip For Increasing Your Khushu' (Humbleness) in Prayer.

Sujood - I noticed many of us go to Ruku or Sujood and get up so fast, some don’t even take the time to say "Subhana Rabbi Al Adheem" 3 times and say it only once!

Well, I have good news for you today. I have news that will make you today onwards go to Ruku or Sujood with a different feeling and different timing.

The Prophet Peace be upon him said: When a slave stands and prays, all his sins are brought and placed on his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, some of them fall from him.” (Bayhaqi, Saheeh al-Jami’) SubhanAllah!

So from now on when you stand up to pray, imagine all your sins being placed on your head and shoulders and when you go to Ruku and Sujood, stay longer to lose as many as you can and picture them falling down and away from you. Understand the purpose of praying this will help you concentrate.

When you go to the position of Ruku, feel and tell Allah with your heart that you will never kneel to anyone but him and picture those sins falling down.

And when you say "Sami'Allahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears who thanks Him) and you say "Rabbana walakal Hamd" (Our Lord, all praise is due to You) you are thanking Him for honoring you and making you stand straight not like the other creatures who walk on four with their back bent. Thank Him for making you able to move and pray.

When you go to the first Sajdah (you put your head down on the floor) you are representing the earth which you came from and when you get up after the first Sajdah you are representing the first time He created you from the earth.

When you go on the second Sajdah again on the ground, you are representing when you die and you go back to the ground and when you get up the second time you are representing the second time when Allah will bring you and I back from the dead on the Day of Judgment, therefore, concentrate with every movement and feel it.

Make a lot of du'a in Sujood and remember du'a is ibadah and Allah loves those who ask Him.. ask Him and beg Him… complain to Him… you are better off complaining to Him than to humans. He will never betray you, He will never let you down, He will never look down on you and He is the only one who can answer your needs with your head held high.

Do you know the reason you say "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is great) every time you move in a prayer?

It’s a reminder that Allah is greater than anything you might be thinking about from this world. So be honest when you say "Allahu Akbar" and remember He is greater than anything that is occupying your mind while you pray.

Do you know when you stand up to pray and say "Allahu Akbar", Allah stands before you and the minute your mind goes wondering on silly things in this life, Allah turns His face away from you and says (Is there something better than me taking you away from me?)

SubhanAllah, how blessed are we to have Allah meet us and stand before us 5 times a day, to listen to us and to our problems and to grant us our wishes and forgives us for our sins every day. You say "Allahu Akbar and He is there, you don’t need to stand in front of His door for hours or take an appointment or meet a mediator or a secretary, how generous is He?

As you stand, bow or prostrate before Allah in prayer, keep focusing on how much you long to meet and see Him in the Next Life!

SAFEGUARD YOUR SALAH....

7 Common mistakes we usually make in prayer.

Mistake 1: Reciting Surat al-Fatiha fast without pausing after each verse.

The Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam used to pause after each verse of this surah. (Abu Dawood)

Mistake 2: Sticking the arms to the sides of the body, in ruku' or sujood, and sticking the belly to the thighs in sujood.

The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam said: 'Let not one of you support himself on his forearms (in sujood) like the dog. Let him rest on his palms and keep his elbows away from his body.' (Sahih Muslim). The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam used to keep his arms away from his body during ruku' and sujood that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen. (Sahih Muslim)

Mistake 3: Gazing upward during prayer.

This may cause loss of concentration. We are commanded to lower our gaze, and look at the point at which the head rests during sujood. The Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam warned: 'Let those who raise their gaze up during prayer stop doing so, or else their sights would not return to them. i.e. lose their eyesight.' (Muslim)

Mistake 4 : Resting only the tip of the head on the floor during sujood.

The Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam said: 'I am commanded to prostrate on seven bones : the forehead and the nose, the two hands [palms], the two knees, and the two feet.' (Sahih Muslim). Applying the above command necessitates resting the forehead and the nose on the ground during sujood.

Mistake 5 : Hasty performance of prayer which does not allow repose and calmness in ruku' or sujood.

The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam saw a man who did not complete his ruku' [bowing], and made a very short sujood [prostration] ; he SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam  said: 'If this man dies while praying in this manner, he would die upholding a religion other than the religion of Muhammad.'

Abu Hurairah (RA) said: 'My beloved friend, Muhammad SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam forbade me to perform postures of prayer copying the picking of a rooster; (signifying fast performance of prayer), moving eyes around like a fox and the sitting like monkeys ( i.e. to sit on thighs).' (Imam Ahmad & at-Tayalisi).

The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam said: ' The worst thief is the one who steals from his own prayer.' People asked, 'Messenger of Allah! How could one steal from his own prayer?' He SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam said: 'By not completing its ruku' and sujood.' (At Tabarani & al-Hakim).

To complete ruku' is to stay in that posture long enough to recite 'Subhana Rabbiyal Adtheem' three times, SLOWLY, and 'Subhana Rabbiyal A'ala' three times, SLOWLY, in sujood. He SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam also announced: 'He who does not complete his ruku' and sujood, his prayer is void.' (Abu Dawood & others)

Mistake 6 : Counting #tasbeeh with the left hand

The Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam used to count tasbeeh on the fingers of his right hand after salah. Ibn Qudamah (RA) said: ' The Messenger of Allah used his right hand for tasbeeh.' (Abu Dawood). The above hadith indicates clearly that the Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam used only one hand for counting tasbeeh. No Muslim with sound mind would imagine that the Prophet used his left hand for counting tasbeeh. Aa'ishah (RA) said that the Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam used his left hand only for Istinjaa', or cleaning himself after responding to the call of nature. He never used it for tasbeeh. Yasirah (RA) reported: The Prophet SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam commanded women to count tasbeeh on their fingers.

The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam said: 'They (the fingers) will be made to speak, and will be questioned (on the Day of Resurrection)' (At-Tirmidhi).

The above Hadith indicates that it is preferable to count tasbeeh on the fingers of the right hand than to do so on masbahah (rosary).

Mistake 7 : Crossing in front of a praying person.

The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu aliyhi wasallam warned: 'Were the one who crosses in front of a praying person to know the consequences of doing so, he would have waited for *forty better than to cross in front of him.' (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim). *The forty in the tradition may be; days, months or even years.

Allah knows the best.

Hopefully we will all from today pray differently and enjoy our prayers like never before In sha Allah. Ya Allah accept our Salah, grant us the ability to pray with khushu, with full concentration, devotion, and in the correct manner. Aameen Aameen Aameen!

A simple beautiful way for our sins to be forgiven. Don't forget to SHARE to gain EXTRA reward as it's the blessed day of Jummu'ah  and it's even more important for us to be putting this into practice which will only add Khushu in our Salah.