The Me’raj of Salaah

Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqa (j) related that on the night of the 15th of Shabaan, the Prophet e requested her permission to spend the entire night in Ibaadah, since it was not a normal practice to spend the whole night in Ibaadat.

Hazrat Ayesha (j) said that Nabi stood up and began his Salaah. He then lay in sajda (prostration) for so long that she became afraid lest his soul had left his body. So she got up and began to feel his soles with her fingers…

This was the condition of the Salaat of Rasulullah (SAW) when reading in the privacy of his home. Such was his love for Salaah that he said: “The coolness of my eye is in Salaah.”

It must be remembered that the mas’ala (ruling) in regard to Imamat is that it is necessary for the Imam to make the Salaat ‘light’, because there are all kinds of people in the congregation; some weak and some old.

Nabi said : “When you lead the prayer, you should make it short, because among those offering Salaat there may be some who are infirm, sick, and old.” …Yes, we may lengthen our individual prayers as much as we wish to.

However, that was the ‘kaifiyyat’*of the Salaah of Rasulullah (SAW). Now let us consider if we have acquired any ‘kaifiyyat’ in our Salaah? …Neither is our Salaah of the desired level, nor is our concern for the purification of our hearts apparent.

…Naturally, and it should go without saying; we should not discard the Salaah, because of a deficiency of spirit. We should develop that Salaah in spirit.

If attention is not given to the purification of the heart and the reformation of the nafs, then these evils of jealousy, greed, envy, pride, anger, lust, etc. will engulf the heart. When the evils of the nafs are yielded to, and when the nafs is then taken as ‘ilaah’ (god), then such a heart is transformed into stone that will not be able to absorb the noor of Ibaadat, Zikr (Praise of Allah Ta'ala) and Tilawat. Such a heart will then become sealed.

Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur`aan Sharief :

“Have you not seen him who takes as his god,
his own vain desires; and Allah knowing (him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his
heart, and put a cover on his sight…”
[Surah Al-Jaathiya 45 : 23]

Consider the fact that all of our Akaabireen (elders) had a link with the Mashaa`ik, and all of them spent some time or the other in the Khanqas of their respective Sheikh. What was the reason for this ? 

…It was for the purification of their hearts and souls. They knew that these Ahlullah (Friends of Allah Ta'ala) are the reservoirs of Ikhlaas. They also understood that minus the ‘Suhbat of the Ahlullah (Friends of Allah Ta'ala)’, their Ilm would  remain just a ‘shell’.

Of course, the Khanqah must not just be for eating, drinking and partying; and the Sheikh must not be milking his mureeds of their hard-earned wealth.

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