Rumis call to the one performing Salah

The following is an excerpt from the book Islam: Spirit and Form, which has been reformatted by Iblal
Rakha. In the chapter on Prayer, the author, Osman Nuri Topba brings forth the interpretation of Prayer
(Salah) by Mawlana Rumi . Topba translated the following from Turkish (Mesnevi Tercmesi
- efik Can) into English. Rumis words are highlighted in italics whereas the commentary from Topba
and Can are not in italics.
The footnotes are simple expansions by Iblal Rakha and are not from the original sources written by Can
and Topba.
Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi calls to the praying person:
You pray standing as a candle in the niche of a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca. Be wise and
know the meaning of the first recitation while beginning prayer as Allah is Great. It means: O our Lord!
We sacrifice ourselves in your presence! And by putting our hands to our ears we put everything behind
us, and we direct ourselves to You!
The recitation of Allah is Great while beginning prayer is like the recitation of Allah is Great while
slaughtering a sacrifice. By saying Allah is Great while beginning prayer you are supposed to slaughter
your sensuality.
At that moment your body is like Ishmael and your soul is like Abraham. When your soul says Allah is
Great your body gets rid of all sensuality and passions. And when you say In the name of Allah, the Most
Beneficent, and the Most Merciful, they get sacrificed.
Those who pray stand in line as they would do on the Day of Judgment; they begin to account for their
actions and appeal to Allah.
Standing in prayer while weeping corresponds to standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment after
arising from the grave. Allah will question you and ask: What have you done in your worldly life? What
have you earned and what have you brought to Me?
Such questions come to mind in Allahs presence in prayer.
While standing in prayer the servant feels ashamed, and then bows down as he cannot manage to stand
because of the shame he feels. While bowing down he glorifies Allah by saying Glory to my Lord, the
Great.
Then Allah orders the servant: Raise your head and answer the questions!
The servant raises his head ashamedly, but he cannot bear that condition and this time he prostrates.
Then he raises his head again, but he cannot bear that condition and he prostrates again.

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Then Allah says: Raise your head and answer. I will question you about what you have done in your
earthly life.
Allahs Word to him is so forceful that he cannot bear to stand. And therefore he sits with his knees bent.
Allah says: I provided you with favour and benefaction, how did you make use of them? Did you return
thanks for them? I provided you with material and spiritual wealth; what did you earn with them?
Then the servant turns his face right; and greets the soul of the Prophet and the angels. And asks
them: O masters of the spiritual world! Please intercede with Allah for this poor servant.
The Prophet answers to the greeting person: The time for help and comfort is over. It should all have
been done in worldly life. You have not performed good deeds there, you have not worshipped, you have
wasted your time!
Then the servant turns his face left. He asks for help from his relatives. They answer: Do not ask help
from us. Who are we? You are supposed to answer your Lord on your own!
The servant who cannot find help from any side becomes disappointed. Having abandoned all hope to
find help he resorts to Allah, to seek refuge in Him and opening his hands for prayer. He says: O my Lord! I
have abandoned any hope from anybody. You are the First, the Last, and the Unique for the servants to
appeal to, and the last to turn to. I seek refuge in Your Eternal Mercy and Compassion.
Rumi goes on:
See these pleasant signs of prayer and be aware of what you would be facing. Gather yourselves
together and try to benefit from your prayer both physically and spiritually! Do not put your head like a
bird collecting grain on the ground! Take heed of the saying of the Prophet : The most wicked thief is
the one who steals from prayer. (Hakim, Mustadrak, I, 353).
If one prays in pious reverence and beseeches Allah in awareness of His love, Allah pays him a
compliment saying that I am at your service. 1
The Prophet says about the degrees of prayer in terms of pious reverence: Two people pray
separately at the same place and at the same time. However, there is so huge a difference between them
as between the sky and the earth. (Ihya).
Therefore, the Quran points out that true believers are those who justly do their prayer in pious
reverence in Surat Al-Marij [70:34]:

And those who guard (the sacredness) of their

worship.

1This

point can be further underpinned by the Hadith of the Prophet .

Muslim records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah

who said that the Messenger of Allah said:

Allah, the Glorious and Exalted said, I have divided the prayer between Myself and my servant equally and
My servant shall be granted what he asked for. Therefore, when the servant says, All praises and thanks are
due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Allah says, My servant has praised Me.
When he says,The All-Merciful, the Most Merciful,Allah says, My servant has extolled Me.
When he says, Master of the Day of Judgment, Allah says, My servant has glorified Me.
When he says, You Alone we worship and Your aid Alone do we seek, Allah says, this is between Me and My
servant and My servant shall have what he requested.
When he says, Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have favored, not [the path] of
those who have earned [Your] anger, nor of those who have gone astray, Allah says, this is for My servant and
My servant shall have what he asked for.

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It is again said in the same chapter of the Quran [70:23]:

Those who remain steadfast to their prayer.

Those who spiritually experienced think that: The intent of this verse is to express the spirit of prayer as
only an outward manifestation of prayer cannot remain permanently. But it is the spirit that bows down
and prostrates. Permanent prayer means remembering Allah all the time.
Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi, also, interprets this verse metaphorically:
The servant keeps his state at prayer and also afterwards. In this way he spends all his life in pious
reverence and decency; and also watches his mouth and soul. This is the way of the lovers of Allah.
Rumi goes on:
The prayer that keeps us away from evil acts is done five times a day. Whereas the lovers of Allah always
remain in prayer for the love in their soul and the Divine fondness that kindles their lungs does not calm
down with praying five-times a day.
The prayer of the lover of Allah is like the condition of a fish in water. As a fish cannot live without water,
the soul of a lover of Allah cannot find peace without constant prayer. Therefore, the expression that visit
me not much! is not for the lovers of Allah. The soul of the true lovers always remains thirsty.
If a lover stands apart from his desire even for a moment, it feels like thousands of years to him. And if he
spends thousands of years with his dearest one it feels like just a moment to him. That is why a lover of
Allah always remains in prayer and it is by this that he meets Allah. If he misses even a unit of prayer, it
feels to him like missing thousands of units of prayer.
O wise and smart ones! It is beyond the reach of the intellect to understand the union with Allah in
prayer. It can only be understood by sacrificing the intellect for the Dearest and reviving the heart. And
reviving the heart depends on to which direction the servant goes.
Rumi says about this direction as follows:
The direction for kings is the crown and the belt; and the direction for the worldly-minded is gold and
silver; and the direction for those who love material beings is idols; and the direction for lovers of spirit is
the heart and the soul; and the direction for ascetics is the niche of a mosque; and the direction for the
careless is unnecessary works; and the direction for the lazy is to sleep and eat; and the direction for
humans is knowledge and wisdom.
The direction for the lover is eternal union; and the direction for the wise person is the Face of Allah; and
the direction for the worldly-minded is possessions and rank; and the direction for dervishes is the
provisions of religious orders; and the direction for passion is worldly desires; and the direction for the
people of confinement is putting trust in Allah.
We must be aware that the direction we face for prayer is not the building of the Kabah, but it is the
place where the Kabah is located. If the Kabah is moved to another place it cannot be the direction for
prayer there.
So one is supposed to direct his heart to Allah while directing his body towards the Kabah. Because the
direction for the heart is Allah. On the other hand, in order to accomplish pious reverence in prayer one is
supposed to have a perfect intention to perform his prayer in accordance with the following saying of the
Prophet : Acts are judged by intentions. This means being conscious of whose presence we are in as
we pray. This requires examining the desires of the heart and also divorcing all aims except the approval
of Allah.
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One is supposed to feel the Grandeur of Allah as soon as he begins prayer with the words Allah is
Great! When the person raises his hands to his ears to begin prayer he is supposed to put everything
behind him. The praying person should feel the delight of being in Allahs presence in his heart. He should
feel as if he has left this transitory world for the Hereafter when he begins prayer.
The praying person, while standing, is supposed to set his eyes on where he puts his head for prostration.
He should always feel that he is in Allahs presence, and that s/he is an impotent being and therefore
s/he always needs Allah. He should try to be among those servants whom Allah praises with the words
What a nice servant!
While reciting from the Quran he is supposed to read properly, and also to try to understand and to
contemplate the meaning of the verses as well as putting them into practice in life. The Prophet says
that Recitation of the Quran means speaking to Allah. (Abu Nuaim, Hilya, 7, 99). Therefore, ones soul
should be vigilant while reading the Quran.
One is supposed to say the words Glory to my Lord, the Great by contemplating its meaning and feeling
the Grandeur of Allah while bowing down.
And while saying the words Glory to my Lord, the Highest in the position of prostration one is supposed
to feel, again, the Grandeur of Allah. Being aware of the fact that the servant comes closest to Allah in
the position of prostration, we should get our soul to prostrate as well as our body. Only by doing so can
we attain that blessing from the secret of the verse of surah Al-Alaq [96:19]:2
Nay! [O Muhammad]! Do not obey him [Abu
Jahl]. Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah!

Thus, the servant should enjoy his union with Allah and try to be among those lovers of Allah who long
for receiving the love of Allah.
While sitting upright after every two units of prayer the servant should sit in reverence and feel how
impotent he is and, therefore, he should call down Allahs mercy.
When it comes to the act of turning ones face to the right and to the left to complete prayer with the
words said to the two angels Peace and mercy of Allah be upon you, this should be done feeling the joy
of union with Allah through prayer and sharing this feeling by greeting the two angels on ones right and
left shoulders.
If a prayer is performed in a way that pleases Allah, the greeting said to the two angels is returned by
them. And Allah rewards this kind of prayer in the Hereafter as said in the Quran, Surat Ar-Rad [13:24]:
Peace unto you for that you persevered in
patience! Now how excellent is the final Home!

After reading this verse a sajdah tilawat becomes obligatory for the reader to perform.

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