A COMMENTARY ON PRAYER

Title: A Commentary on Prayer
Author: Muhsin Qaraati
Translator and typesetter: Mansoor Limba
Project supervisor: Research Main Office, Translation Unit, Cultural Affairs Department
Ahl al-Bayt (a) World Assembly (ABWA)
Editor: Ahmad Hanif
Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center
First Printing: 2011
All rights reserved.


Publisher’s Foreword —13
Foreword —15
Preface —17
Chapter 1:
Worship [‘ibadah] and Servitude [‘ubudiyyah]
What is worship [‘ibadah]? —21
Natural disposition [fitrah] and worship [‘ibadah] —22
The root of worship —25
The profundity of worship —27
Indifference toward worship —28
The pleasure of God as the axis of worship —29
The spirit of worship —30
Moderation in worship —31
Management in worship —34
Worship as a 24-hour pharmacy —34
Worship as the source of tranquility —35
Worship and acquisitions —37
The reciprocal effects of faith and worship —38
The philosophy of worship according to the Qur’an —39
Prayer in the words of ‘Ali (‘a) —40
The effects and blessings of servitude and submission —43
1. Sense of honor and esteem —43
2. Sense of strength —43
3. Sense of dignity —44
4. Training agent —46
5. Summoning up spirits! —49
6. Guardianship [wilayah] over creation! —50
The visage of prayer —56
Prayer and the Qur’an —60
Prayer and qisas! —62
Worship [‘ibadah] and guardianship [wilayah] —63
Prayer and leadership —65
The degrees of worship [‘ibadah] —66
The visage of worship [‘ibadah] —69
Prayers that relieve difficulty —73
The prayer of Ja‘far at-Tayyar —73
The sanctity of prayer —76
The universality of prayer —76
Chapter 2 :
Intention [niyyah]
Intention [niyyah] —87
Sincere intention —88
The motive for seeking nearness [qurb] to Allah —90
The degrees of proximity [qurb] —91
We have to love God for the sake of God —92
Attainment of the state of proximity [qurb] —96
A recollection —97
Quality or quantity? —98
A recollection —99
Another recollection —100
The intention gives value to the deed —101
Two historical accounts —102
A recollection —105
The effects and blessings of a pure intention —107
The preeminence of intention [niyyah] over action… —112
The degrees of intention —113
The role of intention on the penal issues —114
Gnosis [ma‘rifah] as the preliminary step toward the… —115
The effects of corrupt intentions —116
Chapter 3:
Takbirah al-Ihram
Allahu akbar [Allah is greater] —123
Takbir in other prayers —125
How we should recite the takbir in prayer —126
The meaning of takbir —127
Takbir in Islamic culture —127
Chapter 4:
Surah al-Fatihah
Surah al-Fatihah —135
The instructive lessons of Surah al-Fatihah —136
Bismillahi’r-rahmani’r-rahim [In the Name of Allah,… —138
Bismillah [In the Name of Allah] —142
The word “Allah” —143
“Al-hamdulillah” [All praise belongs to Allah] —145
“Rabb al-‘alamin” [Lord of all the worlds] —146
“Ar-rahmani’r-rahim” [the All-beneficent, the… —149
“Maliki yawmi’d-din” [Master of the Day of Retribution] —151
The Arabic word “din” —152
“Iyyaka na‘budu wa iyyaka nasta‘in” [You [alone] do… —154
“Ihdina’s-sirat al-mustaqim” [Guide us on the straight… —158
Which one is the straight path [sirat al-mustaqim]? —159
“Sirat alladhina an‘amta ‘alayhim ghayri’l-maghdubi… —166
Who are those who are astray and have incurred the… —166
Chapter 5:
Surah al-Ikhlas
The importance of Surah al-Ikhlas —173
“Qul huwa’llahu ahad” [Say, ‘He is Allah, the One’] —174
“Allahu’s-samad” [Allah is the All-embracing] —177
“Lam yalid wa lam yulad” [He neither begat nor… —178
“Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad” [Nor has He any … —180
Chapter 6:
Bowing Down [ruku‘] and Prostration [sujud]
Bowing down [ruku‘]—187
The effects of ruku‘—188
The etiquette of performing ruku‘—189
The ruku‘ of the saints of God —190
The history of sujud —191
The importance of sujud —191
The wisdom behind sujud —195
The etiquette of performing sujud —196
The soil of Karbala’ —197
Prostration of thanks [sujud shukr] —198
The blessings of sujud shukr —199
The prostrations of the saints of God —200
Some points —201