Understanding Salat — Page 25
Qiyam 25 from one direction, its branches will grow crooked. After decades of growing a tree like this, if we try to bend it in a different direction, we will break it before we straighten it. Similarly, a habit that we spent decades reinforcing can only be changed with decades of work, except if Allah’s special mercy saves us. If we think we will change when we get older, we are setting ourselves up for a rude awakening. The only way to counter a daily inclination towards the world is with a daily commitment to detaching ourselves from the world. S al a t is an exercise in completely leaving the world behind as if it is nothing. There is a euphoric feeling of pleasure in the freedom of full detachment from the world during S al a t. However, an occasional pleasure and a passing incli- nation towards Allah does not make a person ۡف ي ِ حَن (ever inclined). If we are mildly interested in someone, no one would ever say we are in love with them. When our heart is ever inclined to someone, our thoughts and actions are moti- vated by that love as well. Han ī f means true pleasure in obedience of Allah and steadfastness therein. It does not just mean that an inclination towards goodness is found in him. Rather, it is also necessary that he be established on goodness and the quality of consistency is found in him. (Tafs ī r-e-Kab ī r, vol. 9, pp. 372) The only way to become ۡف ي ِ حَن (ever inclined) is through a commitment to the habit of daily S al a t. Then the inclinations