The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 309
The Pillars of Islām 309 given up observing it with the serenity and comfort and love of the heart, being neglectful of its true reality, Islām has begun to decline. The time when the Şalāt was observed properly was a great time for Islām, when it had become dominant in the whole world. Since the Muslims have given up the proper performance of the Şalāt they themselves have been abandoned. It is the Şalāt per- formed with heartfelt earnestness that delivers a person from all difficulties. It is my repeated experience that I pray for the resolving of some difficulty and while I am still occupied with the Salāt God resolves the difficulty. What happens in the Şalāt? One raises one's hands in supplication and the Other listens to him well. Then a time comes when He Who listens speaks and responds to the supplicator. This is the situation in the Şalāt. The worshipper falls into prostration before God Almighty and submits his difficulties and his needs to Him. The result of true and real Şalāt is that soon the time comes when God Almighty responds to the supplicant and comforts him with His words. Can such an experience be possible without the true observance of Şalāt? The Real Şalāt [Malfūzāt, vol. V, pp. 253-255] Şalāt is truly so called when a sincere and holy relation- ship is established with God and the worshipper becomes so devoted to the pleasure of God Almighty and His obedience and so upholds his faith above all worldly values that he is ever ready to lay down his life in the cause of God. It is only then that it can be said that his Şalāt is worthy to be called by that name. So long as this condition is not established and the worshipper does not become a model of sincerity and faithfulness his prayers