Basics of Religious Education — Page 149
149 149 149 149 149 B ASICS OF R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION - F IFTH E DITION In the name of Allah (I leave). And all blessings and peace be upon the Prophet of Allah. O Allah! Forgive me my sins and open the doors of Your bless- ings upon me. ( Masnad Ahmad Bin Hambal, Vol. 6 ) There is a change of only one word in this prayer compared to the preceding prayer: instead of His mercy , we seek His bounties. The Holy Qur’an (62:11) says: And when the Prayer is finished, disperse in the land and seek Allah’s grace and remember Allah much that you may pros- per. So, while returning from the Prayer service, we pray that God bless our business or our other worldly pursuits related to our livelihood. And as we are blessed with the ‘spiritual food’ through the prayers, we pray to God to make plentiful provision so that we can procure ‘material food’ for our bodily needs. 11. Intention of the Fast There is no specific prayer to begin a fast in the morning. The intent or niyyah to fast is in the heart and that is sufficient. One can pray in one’s own words seeking Allah’s help to be able to fast and spend the day that would please Allah. We have already learnt a saying of the Holy Prophet sa of Islam that: “Actions are to be judged by their underlying motives. ” Keeping fast is 4. 2 4. 2 4. 2 4. 2 4. 2 P P P P P RA RA RA RA RAYERS YERS YERS YERS YERS — P — P — P — P — P RA RA RA RA RAYERS YERS YERS YERS YERS OF OF OF OF OF THE THE THE THE THE H H H H H OL OL OL OL OLY Y Y Y Y P P P P P ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET ROPHET SA SA SA SA SA