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Al-Ghufaylah Salvation through patience & perseverance Salat al-Ghufaylah Written by Saleem Bhimji SAMPLEEdited by Arifa Hudda Foreword by Shaykh Muhammad Khalfan Written by Saleem Bhimji Edited by Arifa Hudda Foreword by Shaykh Muhammad Khalfan Published by Islamic Publishing House www.iph.ca · [email protected] www.al-mubin.org · [email protected] w Shaheed101 M @The_IPH C TheIPH Cover Design and Layout by Saleem Bhimji for the Islamic Publishing House Copyright © 2016 by Saleem Bhimji All Rights Reserved Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted,SAMPLE in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publishers of this book. Printed in Canada Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................. v Foreword ................................................................................................................... xi The Daily Prayers (Ṣalawāt) ............................................................................... 19 Recommended Prayers in the Aḥadīth ............................................................ 21 1. Perfecting the Obligatory Prayers ..................................................... 21 2. One’s Scale of Deeds ............................................................................. 21 3. Sufficing with only the Obligatory Prayers .................................... 22 4. True Followers (Shīʿā) of Imām ʿAlī .................................................. 22 5. Keeping away from Laziness .............................................................. 22 6. Preparing One’s Self .............................................................................. 23 7. Alleviation of Tribulations .................................................................. 23 8. Total Daily Prayers are FiftyOne Rakaʿāt ...................................... 23 9. Effects of Reciting Numerous Amounts of Prayers ...................... 24 10. In Order for the Recommended Prayers to be Accepted ........... 24 What is Ṣalāt alGhufaylah? ............................................................................... 25 The Benefits of the Stories of the Qurʾān ....................................................... 26 1. Bringing tranquility to the heart .................................................... 26 2. Consolation to the soul ..................................................................... 27 3. Fulfillment of the Divine proofs ..................................................... 27 4. Spiritual fortitude and determination ........................................... 27 5. A reminder ........................................................................................... 28 6. A means to reflect and ponder ........................................................ 28 7. SAMPLEA greater wisdom ............................................................................... 28 8. Truthfulness of Prophet Muḥammad ...................................... 29 9. Truthfulness of the Day of Resurrection ...................................... 30 10. Knowing Allāh j ............................................................................... 30 11. Making others understand realities ............................................... 31 12. Learning lessons ................................................................................. 31 13. Admonition and exhortation ........................................................... 32 14. Servitude to Allāh j ......................................................................... 32 15. A means to further knowledge ....................................................... 32 What is Ṣalāt alGhufaylah? ............................................................................... 33 A Particular Form of Ṣalāt alGhufaylah in the Ḥadīth .............................. 35 Ṣalāt alGhufaylah – Step by Step ..................................................................... 37 Ṣalāt alGhufaylah: A Short Window of Opportunity ................................. 42 Philosophy of Ṣalāt alGhufaylah and the Dhikr Yūnusiyyah .................. 43 Prophet Yunus A Prophet of Many “Exceptions” ............................... 44 Exegesis on the First Verse of Ṣalāt alGhufaylah ........................................ 48 1. Prophet Yūnus’ Salvation from the Frightful Agony ............ 48 2. Points of Reflection ............................................................................... 50 a. The Outcome of Prophet Yūnus ................................................. 50 b. What is the Meaning of “Darkness” in this Passage? .................. 51 c. What is the Tark alAwlā that Prophet Yūnus Performed? . 52 d. A Fateful Lesson Learnt ....................................................................... 52 Exegesis on the Second Verse of Ṣalāt alGhufaylah ................................... 55 a. Knowledge of the Unseen (ʿIlm alGhayb) ................................... 55 Importance of the Qunūt in the Prayers ......................................................... 60 Did Imām asSajjād Teach Yazīd ibne Muʿāwiyah the ‘Secret’ for the Latter to be Forgiven? and ................................................................................... 64 Other Recommended Prayers Between Maghrib and ʿIshā 1 .................. 71 Another Recommended Prayer Between Maghrib and ʿIshā 2............... 72 Some Points about Recommended (Mustaḥab) Prayers .............................. 77 Fourteen Differences Between Obligatory and Recommended Prayers . 78 GlossarySAMPLE of Prophets and Saints ........................................................................ 81 Index ......................................................................................................................... 83 Image Credits.......................................................................................................... 85 Other Writings, Translations & Compilations from Saleem Bhimji ........ 87 Introduction By the Author In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful When we glance through the spiritual regiment of the Muslim, we see that it is composed of various acts of devotion towards Allah j the Almighty. Some of these are obligatory and must be performed – such as the fast of the month of Ramaḍhān, the ‘religious tax’ on one’s gross savings (khums or zakāt), the five daily canonical prayers (ṣalāt) or the major pilgrimage (ḥajj) to Mecca. Others are highly recommended and have been emphasized by the leaders of the faith – actions such as the minor pilgrimage (ʿumrāh), recommended charity (ṣadaqah), and the elective (mustaḥab) prayers – of which Ṣalāt alGhufaylah is one of the highly recommended and very “easy” to perform – for those who have earned the Divine providence (tawfīq) to enact it. This book, Ṣalāt alGhufaylah, is our second attempt to elucidate upon the jurisprudence of Islām in the realm of the ṣalāt while endeavoring to present such acts of worship in a clear and easy to understand language.1 At the same time, through such writings, we wish to expound on the philosophy, wisdom and etiquette of these acts of worship which we sometimes perform out of habit or ritual without knowing the spiritual SAMPLE 1 Our first project is Ṣalāt al-Ayāt – the special prayers performed during natural events such as earthquakes, solar and lunar eclipses, etc. Published by the Islamic Humanitarian Service (www.al-haqq.com), this book is available for sale from the Islamic Humanitarian Service (www.al-haqq.com), Islamic Publishing House (www.iph.ca) and Taqwa Media (www.taqwamedia.com). vi Ṣalāt alGhufaylah aspects. If we are given the lifespan and the Divine support, we intend to continue in this series and to present a contemporary look at the remaining regularly performed ṣalāt including Ṣalāt alJumuʿah and Ṣalāt alʿEid, inshallāh – we ask the reader to pray to Allāh that we are able to see our goals to fruition. What follows in this book is the first ever comprehensive analysis in English about one of the most important recommended prayers in Islām – Ṣalāt alGhufaylah – a joint recommendation from at least two of the infallibles. The final Messenger (Rasūl) of Allāh j and Prophet (Nabī), Muḥammad alMuṣṭafā taught us the importance of recommended prayers in general, and specifically the ones between Maghrib and ʿIshā; and it was the 6th Imām, Jaʿfar ibne Muḥammad asṢādiq who was born on the same day as Prophet Muḥammad — the 17th of Rabīʿ al- Awwal — but 72 years later, who taught us one of the specific methods of Ṣalāt alGhufaylah which carries with it a high reward, and also a profound way to change the course of our lives through its performance – if done with a complete understanding of it. Although the prayer itself is only two rakʿat and can be performed in five minutes or less, however there is truly an ocean of spiritual benefit and lessons which one can learn and implement, if time is taken to study the contents of what is being recited and the deeper understandings of each and every word which is uttered. Therefore, one needs to carefully read, study and reflect over the commentary of the verses used in this prayer (as presented in this book and also as has been described in various other authoritative works which are currently available), and
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