This is a paper I wrote recently for my ‘Islamic Tarbiyah’ Halaqah. It’s inspired by Imam Al Ghazali’s “Ihya ul 'Uloom”. His writings have helped me improve my worship tremendously 
and I’m hoping that this post would, at the very least, make us all question the sincerity of our worship.
MENTAL TASKS IN SALAAH
Worship has two dimensions. The physical dimension and the spiritual dimension. Although both go side by side in that the worship is not complete in the absence of either one, most scholars agree that the spiritual aspect of worship carries more importance in the fruitfulness of worship and consequently the purification of the soul.
First, let us establish why the presence of the heart in worship is important. Note that when we say the ‘presence of heart’, what we really mean is the presence of the mind as well as emotional presence. When you have your heart involved in the worship, your mind concentrates on the words and your soul feels its effect.
Muhammad (pbuh) is reported to have said, “A creature gets from his worship only what he comprehends of it” and at another time, “Whosever’s worship does not prohibit him from the excessive and the disapproved has no increase from Allah (swt) except of distance”. From the first hadeeth, it is evident that the presence of mind is mandatory for the acceptance of worship. The second hadeeth requires some comprehension. If you perform worship and comprehend what you are saying, how is that supposed to protect you from the excessive and the disapproved? The truth is, it doesn’t. That state comes when your heart takes effect of what your tongue speaks and your mind comprehends. That is when your worship would make you want to stay away from wrongful acts.
So, from these two ahadeeth, we can clearly establish that the presence of heart, as we defined it earlier, is an important part of worship. The next issue is the state of the heart with respect to each portion of the Salaah.
Worship comprises the invocation, the recitation, the bowing, the standing, the prostration and the sitting. These can be divided into three groups.
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The Invocation and the Recitation
During the invocation and recitation, the worshipper should be in a state of
communion with his Lord (swt). He should be aware of the presence of his Lord at all times and there should be a connection between the slave and Master (swt). -
The Bowing and the Prostration
The purpose of these two is the magnification of Allah (swt) in an
attempt to draw close to Him (swt). The worshipper must feel his lowliness in front of the awesome overpowering Tyrant (swt). -
The Sitting and the Standing
These two states are a combination of praise and supplication. They are similar in some respects to the invocation.
Worship is fundamentally the expression of your feelings to your Lord (swt). Although the worshipper feels many different things during the course of the worship, these expressions can be generalized into six modes, the presence of all of which would comprise a noble worship. These are:
a) The Presence of the Heart
This means that the thoughts of the worshipper should only be focused on the worship and the one being worshipped without wandering about in worldly matters.
b) Apprehension
This comes after the presence of the heart and it means that the worshipper understands the significance of the words being uttered because the worshipper might be mindful of what he’s saying but might not realize its substance.
c) Magnifying
After the worshipper is mindful of his words and apprehensive of them, the result should be the magnification of his Lord (swt).
d) Awe
This is the feeling of helplessness or fear the worshipper feels in front of the Majesty of his Lord (swt)
e) Hope
But despite being fearful of earning His (swt) displeasure, the worshipper must always be hopeful of His (swt) mercy and forgiveness for it is an integral part of faith.
f) Shamefacedness
This comes from the worshipper’s realization of his insufficiency in worship and his flaws and limitations as a slave. This feeling should be there even if one’s worship has reached perfection, for indeed, without this feeling, the worship would never reach perfection.
Now that we have categorized the different portion of the worship and the different feelings that the worshipper should feel during these, let us examine the feelings associated with each aspect of these portions.
THE CALL
When the worshipper hears the call, he should rejoice in it as a safeguard from the fear of the call of the Day of Judgment.
THE PURIFICATION
This includes the physical purification of the place of worship, of one’s clothing and body as well as the purification of the heart from all worldly matters to make it ready for the communion with one’s Lord (swt).
THE COVERING
Again, this is the physical covering of your shameful parts as well as the covering up of all your shameful thoughts which are clearly visible to your Lord (swt). So in order to be qualified to enter a communion with him, one needs to clear his mind of such thoughts.
FACING THE QIBLAH
This symbolizes the turning of the heart from all else towards Allah and if that is not the case, then the physical action itself has no meaning.
THE STANDING ERECT
When doing this, the worshipper should be soaked with humility. If there is the slightest hint of pride in him at this time, surely, he is not prepared to enter worship.
THE INTENTION
This is the foundation of the worship. The worshipper must realize the importance of the communion he is about to enter and most importantly, the Might of the One being worshipped. If the worshipper does not realize these things, it is likely that he would not be able to give the worship what it deserves.
THE TAKBIR
Each time you say “Allah is Greatest”, your heart should testify to this statement, for if there is anything in your heart more important than Allah (swt), Allah (swt) testifies that you are a liar and that is a perilous thing indeed.
THE OPENING PRAISE
This is intended to remind the worshipper of the Exaltedness of the One being worshipped. His words should be backed by his heart and the praise should increase him in awe and humility.
THE SEEKING REFUGE FROM SATAN
Know that Satan is your open enemy, lying in wait to make your mind wander during worship. This, because he is envious of your worship and your bowing as he was accursed on account of it. The worshipper’s intention should be sincere towards Allah to be protected from Satan’s tricks.
THE RECITAL
With respect to the recital, there are three kinds of people. (a) The man who moves his tongue while his heart is unmindful, (b) the man who moves his tongue with his heart following the tongue, as if he hears and then understands from it, this being the degree of those who will be on the right hand (Ashaab al Maimanah) and (c) the man whose heart goes to the meanings first and the tongue serves the heart by interpreting it. This is the degree of those who are drawn near (Al Saabiqoon).
In addition, all the rules and manners of recitation must be observed. The recitation should be distinct and not hasty, for this would ease meditation.
THE BOWING AND PROSTRATION
This is an attempt on the worshipper’s part to renew the feeling of awe and humility towards his Lord (swt) by saying His praise while in a degrading posture. The purpose of all this is to gain nearness to Him (swt)
THE RISE FROM BOWING
This should be accompanied with a hope that Allah (swt) may be merciful to you and the confirmation of the hope by stating, “Allah hears whoever says His praise”. Then you follow that by saying his praise, so that he may be attentive towards you.
THE WITNESSING
This is the most comprehensive part of the worship. You start by mentioning all good things for Allah (swt) and His messenger and by saluting yourself and His (swt) righteous creatures. Next you bear witness to the oneness of Allah (swt) and the Prophethood of Muhammad (saw), thus renewing the covenant of Allah and seeking protection in it. Next you make supplication for yourself, your parents and all the Muslims and hope sincerely for it to be answered.
THE SALUTATION
Have in mind during the salutation, the angels and those present at the place of worship. Have a feeling of thankfulness to Allah (swt) for His assistance in the completion of the prayer. Take leave from the prayer in a manner which shows your realization that you might not live to see the next prayer.
MENTAL TASKS IN QUR’AN RECITATION
The mental tasks in the recitation of Qur’an are 10 in number.
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UNDERSTANDING THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE DIVINE SPEECH
The Qur’an reader should realize the mercy and bounty of Allah (swt) in sending His message down on us in a form that is easy for us to understand. We cannot reach the level of the Almighty, so He lowered Himself to our level and spoke to mankind in our mode of speech. This is similar to a human trying to train an animal to do something. The animal cannot understand our mode of communication, so the trainer uses signs like whistling, hushing and other sounds similar to the animal’s own so that the animal may be able to understand. In the same manner, Allah (swt) uses our mode of communication to guide us to the straight path. -
MAGNIFICATION OF THE SPEAKER (SWT)
The reader should bring to mind before the recitation that the text he is about to read is from the Almighty. As a person is required to be physically pure before touching the Qur’an, a person needs to be spiritually pure before actually reciting the words. This state is important in order to gain maximum benefit from the Divine Speech. To attain this state, one must keep in mind that the Speaker is (a) the Creator, the Sustainer, the One who has no partner and Who has no like to Him, (b) everything and everyone is within His grip of power and (c) He has the absolute power in terms our eternal fate. -
PAYING ATTENTION AND ABANDONING THE INNER UTTERANCES
When one reads the Qur’an, he must have a feeling in his heart that there is nothing more important that he’d rather be doing. Only then can he give the Qur’an the attention that it deserves. If, for example, during a certain part, Satan prevails over you and you find yourself thinking of worldly matters, you would not be able to soak in the words of the Qur’an. In such a case, you should renew your intention by reiterating the importance of the Qur’an over all else and re-read the passage with your heart and attention present in their entirety. -
PONDERING OVER THE VERSES
This is different than just paying attention to the words, for a person may be following the words, but not understanding their meaning and implications. In order to do this, it is recommended that the Qur’an be recited slowly and with pauses. Furthermore, reading the verses over is also recommended (except when in prayer) as this facilitates the pondering process. -
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF THE VERSES
The Qur’an talks about many different things from the stories of the Prophets (pbut) to the description of Paradise and Hell. In order to get full benefit and guidance from these texts, one must reflect on the many apparent and hidden meanings. Again, to do this, one must have an open and pure heart as well as an attentive mind. -
GETTING RID OF THE OBSTACLES IN UNDERSTANDING
These obstacles are 4 in number. (1) Direction of all care towards the pronunciation of the text, thus diverting it from the meaning (2) The dogmatic following of the reader into one school of thought which would limit the openness of his mind into understanding anything other than his strict beliefs (3) The insistence of the reader on sin and his pride which cover the heart in darkness so that nothing would touch him (4) The belief that the only interpretation of the Qur’an is that which the person holds or the ones which have been sent down by specific translators. This also results in a limited thinking. -
RENDERING THE TEACHINGS SPECIFIC
This means that the reader should take whatever is being said in the Qur’an on himself. If God is talking about punishment for the disobedient, he would fear that he is one of them. Similarly, if He is promising paradise to the believers, he would hope that he could be one of them. Similarly, when a story is related, he would try to extract a meaning from it that applies to him. -
FEELING THE QUR’AN
This means that the mind of the reader would be affected by different feelings according to the different verses in the Qur’an. Thus, in accordance with what his mind understands, he would be in a state of grief, fear, hope and so on. -
GRADUALLY RISING TO A STATE OF CONNECTION WITH ALLAH
There are three grades of connection with God. From lowest to highest, they are (1) The reader supposes that he is reading the Qur’an to God (2) The reader views with his mind that God is seeing him (3) The reader feels that he is seeing God in the verses and His attributes in its sentences. -
GETTING RID OF ANY SENSE OF YOUR ABILITY AND POWER
This means that when the Qur’an promises success to the obedient and the believers, the reader would not consider himself one of them. Rather, he would hope that Allah would raise him to join these pious people. Similarly, when it talks about punishment for the disobedient, he would not absolve himself from it. He would hope that God gives him guidance to not be one of the disobedient. In doing so, he would discard all sense of pride and self-sufficiency.
I find the writing of Imam Ghazali very inspiring too.
