Understanding Salat — Page 98
Understanding S al A t 98 and white thinking that if our S al ā t is not perfect, it is not worth observing at all. The Holy Prophet sas said, Observe moderation (in doing deeds), and if you fail to observe it perfectly, try to do as much as you can do and be happy for none would be able to get into Paradise because of his deeds alone. ( S a hīh Muslim, Book 52, Chapter 17) We should analyze whether our motivation for S al ā t comes from the lordship ( ة َّ رُبُوبِي ) of Allah Almighty or if it goes against it. If we find ourselves overly motivated, we should ask ourselves if we will be able to sustain this level of disci- pline when our motivation goes down. We should remind ourselves that no matter how much S al ā t we observe in a day, the lordship of Allah Almighty will only give us gradual progress. If I do a thousand push-ups today, I’m not going to become stronger, I’ll probably only hurt myself. Similarly, if we do a thousand Naw ā fil in one day, we will not make a thousand times more spiritual progress; instead, we will probably end up falling back. On the other hand, if we find ourselves with no motivation, we should remind ourselves that Allah Almighty is still just as present to accept our prayers now as he was when we were feeling motivated. The blessings of the lordship ( ة َّ رُبُوبِي ) of Allah Almighty are there