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August 11, 2010

To Our Visitors a Ramadan Greeting – and a Prayer

Section: WRITINGS | 128 reads

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Du’a for IslamicSolutions.Com

Sent on Ramadan 1, 1431/August 11, 2010

To Our Visitors a Ramadan

Greeting – and a Prayer

By Dr. Pasha

Contents:

  1. Honoring Your Guest
  2. Validate Your Feelings before Acting on Them
  3. Prayers in the Regular Sense of that Word
  4. But Salaat Is Way, Way More than Prayers
  5. Salaat: This Is How You Do It!
  6. Then Come the Personal Pleadings with God
  7. Doing It All in God’s Own Words
  8. So, a Prayer for You Today – on This First Day of Ramadan


Honoring Your Guest

On this most blessed day of the first of Ramadan today, a joyful greeting to all.

To our visitors today on www.IslamicSolutions.Com – and on all days – we say: Greetings!

We do not ask if you are a Jew, Muslim or Christian; Hindu, Buddhist or Zoroastrian; or an atheist, agnostic or person of faith.

Nor do we worry about your gender or age; politics or nationality; race or social status – several things most people in this world worry about.

All we know and care about is that you are generous and gracious to be with us today, and we love and honor you for that.

For, that is what Islam is all about: Honoring Your Guest.

And because that is what we learned from the practice of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and his blessed companions and descendants.

But wait, we want to give you something a bit more tangible than a mere greeting – a prayer, perhaps, if you will allow us to do that?

Not that all of you may care for, or need, or even believe in prayers. But today we feel like prayers – for our visitors.

Validate Your Feelings before Acting on Them

But Islam teaches that people must validate their feelings before they act on them. Otherwise, this world will be in a sorrier mess than it is today.

That means even though people sometimes have got to go with their feelings, they must first make sure their feelings satisfy certain conditions. For example, you can act on your feelings:

  • Provided they are the right, noble and honorable feelings to begin with.
  • Provided, to the extent you know, what you feel is not in direct contravention of any of God’s explicit commands – such as, for example, many of those listed in the Ten Commandments.
  • Provided your feelings are not, to the best of your knowledge, in violation of any of the Laws of the Land or any of the canons of International Law and civilized practice and morality.
  • Provided your feelings do not involve harming or abusing any animals or humans, or denying or diminishing any of their divine or civil rights, dignities and protections.
  • Provided giving way to your feelings will not add to human and animal misery on earth by making things worse for them on land and in water.
  • Provided your feelings do not envisage or imply breaking or flouting the laws of the land in which you live; or committing, causing or encouraging acts of violence of any kind against anyone or anything.
  • And provided acting on your feelings will not in general result in, or contribute to, what the Qur’an refers to as “Mischief on Earth,” part of which is to make the condition of our land, water and air worse, through pollution, contamination, corruption and toxification.

These are some of the ways and tests using which you can validate your feelings and thoughts before you decide to act on them

And praying for people meets these standards in abundant measure.

So, as I was saying earlier, we feel like prayers today: on this most blessed first day of Ramadan, if that is what it is. And prayers, as we said, are good: on any day, and for anyone. And they are blessed.

And they are the best gift anyone can give to anyone anywhere – at any time and in any context.

And for us, it is a source of embarrassment to have you visit us, and then we fail to offer you a welcoming or parting gift, on this most blessed first day of Ramadan, if it is that.

That really won’t be in the true spirit of Islam. And it won’t be, as they say, cricket or Kosher.

Prayers in the Regular Sense of that Word

So, we feel like giving our guests today – and on all days – the gift of prayers. Prayers in the regular, mostly non-Muslim sense of the English expression prayer, like asking God for something.

Not “prayers,” following the usually Muslim use of that expression when Muslims say they are “performing” their prayers, by which they mean they are observing or doing their “services” as it were, or their daily worship routines, the correct and proper expression for which really is: Salaah.

But Salaah is a word from the Qur’an, in original Arabic. And it is an expression that is very hard if not impossible to translate in English.

However, prayers, the way that word is used in English, are an integral part of what the Qur’an calls Salaat or Salaah – with the letter “h” or “t” in the end, depending on the language.

But Salaat Is Way, Way More than Prayers

But Salaah is much more than just “prayer” as we understand it in the English language of everyday use. In spirit and in reality, Salaah is nothing less than a private visit and personal audience with God Almighty.

In this sense, there is nothing more blessed, more sacred, more holy, more dignified, more glorious, more spectacular, more awe-inspiring and more miraculous on the face of this earth than Salaah – people having a private and personal audience with the Creator.

In practice, Salaah is a highly sophisticated, minutely choreographed and perfectly synchronized set of routines, actions, recitations, prayers and pleadings to God. Every detail guided and directed by God and his Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) and overarched by God Almighty’s love, grace and mercy.

And yet, viewed in its totality, and as a package, there is nothing simpler, more stylized and enchanting than Salaah.

All you need to do to taste the magic of Salaat is to try it yourself or watch a Muslim perform it.

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