CHAPTER 7

On the Location of Prayer

According to the lay folk, this is well known and its conditions have been enu• merated in the books of law. According to the folk of gnosis, the whole uni• verse is the place of worship and all beings are the worshipper. willing, it will be mentioned in the chapter on the mysteries of Quranic recitation during prayer that the entire universe of being ('alam al-wtgii.d), with all its existential ipseities (al-huwiyyat al-wtgii.diyyah ), is praising and glorifying the holy degree of God the High, and all are humble worshippers at His court. At this point, Let it be known that the throne of realisation is the dome of the place of worship for all beings, and the earth of determination (ta'ayyun) is their place of prostration. All beings are occupied, in this place of worship under the dome of the presence of lordship, with worship of God, seeking God, desiring God, and adoring God. 'If you split open the heart of every atom',1 by way of the light of the nature of God, which calls them to absolute, perfect submission, 'You will see in it His light.'2 'Whatever is in the heavens and the earth praises Him.'3 'Nothing is that does not proclaim His praise, but you do not understand their extolling.14 According to the folk nearmost to God (ahl al-waliiyah), all the determi• nates of the names and actions are the place of worship of God the High, and the one who prays is the Holy Being Himself. So, regarding the deter• minations of the names and attributes, the One who pmys is God, the place of His pmyer is the determinates themselves, and the determination of the greatest name is itself the Ka'bah. It is reported in the l;w.dith, 'Praise cannot encompass Thee in the manner in which Thou hast praised Thyself.'5 In terms of the of divine action (al-tajalli al-ji'Ll} through the absoluteness of the holy effusion ( alfayrj. al-muqaddas ), the place of the one who prays is the determination of the universe and it is God the High who prays in this theophany of divine action. It is reported in the following IJ.adith, 'Verily, thy Lord pmys; He says, "The Glorious, the Holy is the lord of the angels and the spiriC'6 The perfect man and the Seal of the Prophets, may the blessings of God be with him and his descendants, is the Ka'bah. It is reported in the fol-

1 • This is a verse from a poem by Hiitif I~fahani. 2 Poem by Hiitif I~fahii.nj. 3 Q.sg:24 4 Q-17:44- 5 Al-~iidiq, M4b~ al-shan."'ah wa miftiiJ.z al-/;laqfqah, p. g. • Al-AJ;tsii'i, ~ al-li'clli, p. 389. 6 Al-Kulayni, al-Kii.fi, vol. I, pp. 442-3. ON THB LOCATION OF PRAYER 75 lowing ~th qudst, 'My earth and My heavens cannot encompass Me, but the heart of My believing servant encompasses Me:7 Thus, in the manifest theophany of the arc of descent the determination of the universe is the temple of God (ma

Summary

It is reported of al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, in M~bii./;l al-sharCah, that he said:

When you arrive at the door of the mosque know that you have betaken yourself to a great king, upon whose dais only the purified ones tread and who only allows the veracious into His company. Approach the dais of His service in awe of the King, for surely you are in great danger if you are negligent. Know that He has the power to do whatever He wills, whether he shows you His justice or His grace. If He is compassionate to you it is due to His grace and mercy, and He will accept from you a little obe• dience and in return He will give you abundant, manifold reward. If He demands from you, as He deserves, veracity and purity according to His justice, He will veil you and reject your obedience even though it may be abundant For He does what He wills. Confess your weakness, shortcom• ings, destitution, and poverty before Him. For you have turned towards ---- 7 • Al-Al}sii.'I, .l4.walf al-li'iili, voL IV, p. 7; Mul}sin Fll}'\l Kashani, al-Ma/:lajjah al-bayr/.a', ed. ~ Akbar Ghaffiiri, Qum, n.d., voL v, p. 26. 8 The word for mosque is masjid, the literal meaning of which is 'place of prostration'. 9 See Qummi, Rii.fz al-,aliit, pp. 49-50.