Understanding Salat — Page 24
Understanding S al A t 24 forsake Allah Almighty and ask of another is a very dangerous thing and makes the heart tremble. This is why it is absolutely necessary to regularly observe the Prayer, so that first and foremost, it becomes a deep-rooted habit and a person becomes inclined to turn towards Allah. Then gradually a time comes when one attains to a state in which they become completely detached from all other relations to the exclusion of Allah; and in this state, they become the recipient of divine light and derive pleasure in Prayer. ( Malf uza t (English), vol. 1, pp. 163-164) If our heart is not inclined to Allah, then it will incline to the world. The more years we spend in materialistic desires, the more we become irreversibly inclined to the world. Every day spent neglecting our purpose is a day we move further away from it. Knowing this should create a sense of urgency in us. Some people say that they will start observing S al a t when they are more mature. They think spirituality is only for when you’re older. They don’t realize that every day they spend inclining away from Allah Almighty, their inclination towards the world becomes reinforced. Their abstract ideals will not decide who they will be when they are older; it will be the reality of what they did every day up until that time that will decide who they will be. We should imagine our inclinations as branches of a tree that grow each day in the direction of the light we shine on them. When we shine light