Remembrance of Allah — Page 100
100 Thus, when you stand for Prayer, fix this scene before your eyes that you are as if standing in the presence of God Almighty and He is visible right in front of you—not in any physical form but in His glory and majesty. In this way, the grandeur and omnipotence of God Almighty is impressed upon the heart, and the soul comes to understand that at such time it should not perpetrate any frivolous act. If you cannot visualize God, believe with certainty, as a minimum, that God is watching you and that He is reading all thoughts that are passing through your mind. One should see that if, while he is uttering Al h amdulill a h [‘All praise belongs to Allah’] with his tongue, whether his heart is also saying Al h amdulill a h or is it occupied with some other thought? And if the heart is otherwise engaged, he should censure it and make it join his tongue. The Holy Prophet s as says that that servant of God who offers even two rak‘ a t in such a way that he does not communicate with his self, shall have all his sins forgiven. Now, ponder con- cerning that man who avails this condition always—how much of excellence would he be able to attain! Therefore, maintain- ing attention fixed towards God Almighty in the S al a t is no ordinary matter. So these methods which I have informed you about, purely by the grace and beneficence of God Almighty, should not be considered to be ordinary, but they should be put to full use, and remember that if you will put them to use you will receive immense blessings. The saying of Assal a mu ‘alaikum wa ra h matull a h at the con- clusion of the Prayer, also contains a wondrous indication. In it, man’s attention has been drawn to the need to maintain his