Understanding Salat — Page 140
Understanding S al A t 140 Glorify your Lord in Ruk ū ‘ and exert yourself in sup- plication in Sajdah. Thus your supplications are lia- ble to be accepted. ( S a hīh Muslim, Book 4, Chapter 41) The Holy Prophet sas said, Make frequent prostrations before Allah, for every prostration that you perform before Allah will raise ( رَفَعَ ) you one degree and will remit one of your sins. ( S a hīh Muslim, Book 4, Chapter 43) The concept of being raised ( َ رَفَع ) is connected directly with lowering ourselves in prostration. This is why the prayer of ‘raise me up’ ( ْ ارْفَعْنِي ) comes right before we go into our sec- ond prostration. When we say ‘raise me up’ ( ْ ارْفَعْنِي ), we beg Allah Almighty to exalt us in acceptance of our having low- ered ourselves before Him. We experience one aspect of gaining heights by lowering ourselves in the secular world. For example, when a person thinks that he knows everything, then he feels less of a need to learn. His arrogance becomes an obstacle in his ability to reach the heights of learning. But when a person is aware of how much he does not know, he feels more of a need to learn. His humility opens his mind and enables him to reach the heights of learning. That is why Socrates said that he was wiser because he knew that he knew nothing. The higher we How we rise by lowering ourselves