Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 147
147 Three Stages of Righteousness In short, my point was that it is necessary to consider the sequence that is present in the Holy Quran, and that the verse which I recited earlier has also kept sequence and order in view. The verse is as follows: 1 َ رَزَقْنٰهُمْ يُنْفِقُوْن يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَ يُقِيْمُوْنَ الصَّلٰوةَ وَ مِمَّا They believe in the unseen and observe Prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. Bear in mind that righteousness is of three categories. The first category of right- eousness is doctrinal in nature and is applicable when a person possesses belief. The second category is practical in nature as stated in: َ يُقِيْمُوْنَ الصَّلٰوة (He establishes the Prayer). Those Prayers of a person that are plagued by suspicions and evil sug- gestions do not stand erect, as it were. Allah the Exalted does not say yaqra’una (to recite or read), he uses the word yuqimuna (which means to erect or estab- lish) and this implies that the Prayer must be observed in the manner that does it justice. Hear me when I say that all things have an ultimate purpose. If this remains unfulfilled, the thing itself becomes useless. For example, an ox that is bought to plough the land will be deemed to fulfil its purpose when it does its task. How- ever, if the aim and objective of the ox is limited to eating and drinking, it does not fulfil its ultimate purpose and ought to be slaughtered. The Establishment of Prayer In the same vein, the ultimate end or pinnacle alluded to in َ يُقِيْمُوْنَ الصَّلٰوة (They es- tablish the Prayer) are the essential aspects or outcomes of Prayer. This refers to the state when a person begins to develop a relationship with Allah the Exalted and experiences visions and true dreams; they become detached from people and begin to develop a bond with God, to the extent that they ultimately meet God as a result of their complete devotion to Him alone. The Arabic word sala means ‘to burn’. Just as mincemeat is roasted on a fire, in the same way, a burning sensation must be felt in the Prayer. Until the heart burns, there can be no pleasure and delight in Prayer. As a matter of fact, this state is precisely what characterises Prayer in the true sense. One of the fundamental 1 al-Baqarah, 2:4