Remembrance of Allah — Page 83
Twenty-two Methods of Concentration in Prayers 83 wants to gain some benefit, then he should engage in the prais- ing of Allah the Exalted; otherwise, he will simply be wasting time. In short, the imam continuously goes on reminding and alerting those offering their S al a t behind him. This is indeed the reason why the imam has a rank above that of the followers because he goes on drawing their attention again and again that they are standing in the presence of the Greatest of all Kings—keep standing alert. 9. The ninth method of maintaining attention is that Islam has not adopted a single posture for S al a t, but has kept it in dif- ferent configurations. If someone becomes neglectful or gets absorbed in other thoughts while offering his S al a t, his going into ruk u ‘ [bowing] and sajdah [prostration] draws his atten- tion towards the S al a t even if someone moves to these pos- tures out of habit. However, movement is such a thing that it alerts a neglectful person. Worship in other religions does not have this characteristic; this excellence is possessed by Islam alone. 10. The tenth method— Performance of the Sunnah before and after obligatory Prayers is the tenth method. It is a law of nature that when something is about to hap- pen, some of its effect manifests beforehand, and some after it appears. For example, when the sun is about to rise—albeit not yet risen—the light still begins to diffuse. Similarly, even after it sets, the light lingers on for some time. An activity that is in accord with one’s wishes, from which pleasure is derived,