Understanding Salat — Page 147
Sajdah 147 prayer. If we think about every time we have found pleasure in prayer, it was a result of pain. For example, we faced a cri- sis where we thought we might lose a loved one. It was that anxiety that made us turn to Allah Almighty so completely. We prayed to Allah in desperation. We were not looking for pleasure in prayer; pleasure was the last thing on our mind. It would be a disrespect to our love for a loved one if they were in a crisis and we were concerned with whether we were finding pleasure in praying for them or not. At that time of crisis, we were absorbed in the pain with which we were beg- ging for the mercy of Allah Almighty. When we found the mercy of our Lord, then we automatically experienced pleas- ure. The mistake we make is how we try to recapture that feeling of pleasure afterward. When we come back to S al ā t looking for pleasure, it is long after that pain has left us. We come to S al ā t and remember that pleasure we felt when we prayed to Allah Almighty, but we have forgotten the pain we went through to get there. We keep trying to find pleasure in prayer directly without going down the necessary path of pain. As a result, our search for pleasure will only end in frus- tration because pleasure in prayer can only come from pain. A similar principle applies to looking for pleasure in the remembrance of Allah. When we reflect on the attributes of Allah Almighty, we only think of the beauty of our Lord and completely forget ourselves. When we find Him and see Him, then our heart is filled with love and awe. At that moment, thinking about finding pleasure is the last thing on