Remembrance of Allah — Page 101
Twenty-two Methods of Concentration in Prayers 101 attention. You see, you say Assal a mu ‘alaikum when you come from somewhere. When a believer says Assal a mu ‘alaikum wa ra h matull a h at the conclusion of his S al a t, he is stating as if he had gone to express his servitude in the presence of God Almighty and has now returned from there and he has brought us peace and mercy; but since he was always physically present there, the only meaning that could be drawn from this is that it was his spirit that had been prostrating at the threshold of Allah the Exalted—and he was so engrossed in worship that it was as if he was absent from this world. Thus, saying Assal a mu ‘alaikum at the conclusion of Prayer testifies to the fact that it is essential for a believer to be alert in safeguarding his S al a t, because he is, at that time, present in the Court of God Almighty. This is indeed why God Almighty has also said: S u rah al-An‘ a m, 6:93— َنْوُظِفاَحُي ْمِهِتاَلَص ىٰلَع ْمُه َو It is the great quality of believers that they keep a watch over their Prayers very well; that is, Satan wants to spoil their Prayers but they safeguard it from his attacks very well. Therefore, everyone should guard his S al a t and when he stands up to offer his S al a t he should understand that he has gone into the pres- ence of God and when he concludes his S al a t he should convey the good news to the people on his right and on his left that he has brought back peace for you. However, if some person does not go into the presence of God, and remains engrossed in his own thoughts, he should consider how egregious a lie he utters when he says Assal a mu ‘alaikum wa ra h matull a h. He wishes to