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