Understanding Salat — Page 23
Qiyam 23 we will find no pleasure in S al a t. We will force our thoughts towards Allah, but the flow of our hearts in the opposite direction will pull our minds back. If our hearts are inclined to Allah Almighty, then our minds will automatically join the flow of our hearts. There is naturally a pleasure in turn- ing towards the one we are in love with, and we will effort- lessly find pleasure in S al a t. Even the weakest among us have experienced at least one S al a t in our lives where we felt a pleasure in the remembrance of Allah that did not require any effort on our part. When we recite the word ۡفًا ي ِ حَن (being ever inclined), our goal should be to make that experience a regular part of our lives. Continuing, the Promised Messiah as said, Another cause which gives rise to the habit of aban- doning Prayer and becoming indolent is that when an individual inclines towards that which is besides Allah, the faculties of the soul and heart forever remain bent in that direction in the manner of a tree (whose branches are bent in a certain direction and then left to grow in that shape). The hearts of such people become so rough and hard that they solidify, like a rock, in the very manner of the branches I have just described. After they harden, they cannot be bent in any other direction. So too is the case with a per- son’s heart and soul, which continue to move further away from God with every passing day. Therefore, to