Prayer of the Heart: With Mindfulness and Consciousness

PRAYER WITH MINDFULNESS

Some translate salat as worship. We translate it as prayer, especially prayer of your heart. Prayer of your heart is very important.

Establish the prayer when you are eating, establish the prayer when you are sleeping, establish the prayer whatever you are doing. Establish the formal prayer, which we call namaz. Allah said this to all the nations.

“My Rab, help me to establish salat, and do the same for my offspring. Our Rab, accept my dua.” (Ibrahim:40)

Establish the prayer does not just mean you have to establish namaz, which means going up and down. Establish the prayer means all of that, and especially zikr. Some people say Sufism is bid’a. First of all, Sufism is not bid’a. Second, our Prophet (peace be upon him) himself established zikr for everybody. Zikr, in Sufism, is special to those people who want Allah’s zat.

Do not push away those who call on their Rab morning and evening, seeking His Wajha [Countenance]. You are not accountable to them in anything, and they are not accountable to you in anything, that you should push them away and thus be among the wrongdoers. (Al An’am:52)

Zikr, in Sufism, is designed to clean your nafs. This is what the Prophet (pbuh) established. After each prayer, you say Subhan Allah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times, and Allahu Akbar 33 times.

When you finish your salat, do zikr of Allah standing, sitting and reclining. And when you are in safety, establish formal prayer. Indeed, formal prayer has been ordained for the mu’minin [believers] at certain times. (Al Nisa:103)

Allah said: “When you are talking about the Qur’an, you start with Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.” Then He added, “A’uzu billahi minash-shaytanir rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim!

BE CONSCIOUS

What I am trying to do is to bring you to the consciousness of your actions and your acceptance and the belief so that you do not do actions blindly. You have to be conscious of what you are doing and acknowledge the importance of being conscious of what you are doing.

And when your Rab said to the angels, “Without a doubt, I am going to place a khalifa [representative] on earth,” they said, “Will You place someone who will cause corruption and shed blood, while we do Your tasbih [continuous glorification] with gratitude and praise, and we sanctify You?” He said, “Surely, I know what you do not know.” (Al Baqara:30)

Allah created us as Allah’s khalifas against Satan’s objections, against the objections of the angels. So we owe Allah a lot. Allah chose us. And in return, we should choose Allah. That is why we say, “A’uzu billahi minash-shaytanir rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim” which means “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast, In the Name of Allah, the Owner of Compassion and The One Who Acts with Compassion and Mercy.” What does this mean? It means that whatever you are doing will be in the Name of Allah. So that is a reminder to you that you are connected, you are representing Allah, and not to do anything that Allah is not pleased with. I also suggest you start each morning when you wake up by saying this:
A’uzu billahi minash-shaytanir rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim!

Glossary

Alhamdulillah: All gratitude and praise belong to Allah

Allahu Akbar: Allah is Greater than great

aqamu al salat: they establish a system of connection and devotion to Allah

aqim al salat: establish a system of connection and devotion to Allah (a command)

A’uzu billahi minash-shaytanir rajim, Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim: I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast. In the name of Allah, The One Who Acts with Mercy, The Source of Mercy.

bid’a: harmful religious innovation

dua: prayer; appeal; supplication; invocation of Allah’s favors

khalifa: representative; deputy; caretaker; custodian

nafs: lit., breath; self; person; egoistic or animalistic nature; ego; personal life

namaz: formal Islamic worship that is observed five times daily

Rab: Lord; Master

salat: prayer; formal Islamic worship that is observed five times daily; making connection to Allah; a system of connection and devotion to Allah

Subhan Allah: Exalted is Allah (free from all defects)

wajha: countenance; essence; person; purpose; direction; attention; face; intention

zat: essence; person

zikr: remembrance; repeated remembrance with contemplation; mentioning Allah’s name repeatedly with intention and contemplation, glorification or supplication; reminder; the practice of repeating the names of Allah; litany of remembrance

This is an excerpt of the Online Saturday Sohbet given on January 21, 2012 by Murshid Shaykh Taner Vargonen Ansari, published in the newsletter, Call of the Divine (May 2013) and edited for this article on June 1, 2020. The translation of the Qur’an verses and glossary terms are from Murshid Shaykh Taner Vargonen Ansari.

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