Improving your Prayers (Khushu in Salaat)

The Prophet PBUH said: When a slave stands and prays, all his sins are brought and placed on his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, some of them fall from him.” (Bayhaqi, Saheeh al-Jami’)

So from now on when you stand up to pray, imagine all your sins being placed on your head and shoulders and when you go on Rukuu and Sujoud, stay longer to lose as many as you can and picture them falling down and away from you. Understand the purpose of praying… this will help you concentrate …..

When you go to the position of Rukuu, feel and tell Allah with your heart that you will never kneel to anyone but him and picture those sins falling down.

And when you say "Sami'Allahu liman hamidah" (Allah hears who thanks Him) and you say "Rabbana walakal Hamd" (Thanks to you my Lord) you are thanking Him for honoring you and making you stand straight not like the other creatures who walk on four with their back bent. Thank Him for making you able to move and pray.

When you go to the first Sajdah (you put your head down on the floor) you are representing the earth which you came from and when you get up after the first Sajdah you are representing the first time He created you from the earth.

When you go on the second Sajdah again on the ground, you are representing when you die and you go back to the ground and when you get up the second time you are representing the second time when Allah brings you back from the dead on the Day of Judgment, therefore, concentrate with every movement and feel it.

Make a lot of du'aa in Sujoud and remember du'aa is ibadah and Allah loves those who ask Him…ask Him and beg Him… complain to Him… you are better off complaining to Him than to humans….He will never betray you, He will never let you down, He will never look down on you and He is the only one who can answer your needs with your head held high.

Do you know the reason you say "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is greater) every time you move in a prayer?

It’s a reminder that Allah is greater than anything you might be thinking about from this world. So be honest when you say "Allahu Akbar" and remember He is greater than anything that is occupying your mind while you pray.

Do you know when you stand up to pray and say "Allahu Akbar", Allah stands before you and the minute your mind goes wondering on silly things in this life, Allah turns His face away from you and says (Is there something better than me taking you away from me?)

How lucky are we to have Allah meet us and stand before us 5 times a day, to listen to us and to our problems and to grant us our wishes and forgives us for our sins every day. You say "Allahu Akbar and He is there, you don’t need to stand in front of His door for hours or take an appointment or meet a mediator or a secretary, how generous is He?

(Source - Mahjabeen Umar)

Nobody hits harder than LIFE, Will you get up and Fight Back?

For those who have been following my blog or know me a bit closer than usual, would know how big an inspiration the Rocky movies have been in my life. I have written about this before, but it is a topic which I wanted to write again on today.

I never watched the Rocky movies as merely boxing movies, I easily correlated them with life. The struggle of the man, from absolute pits to the great heights of fame and success. Family and peer support all the way. He wasn't perfect and not made for boxing other than the fact that he had a big heart, and was a fighter and had amazing level of willpower to never give up. Strengthen what he already had and use the skills to his advantage to cover his weaknesses. Adjusting as he went along to that next opponent. Rocky Balbao is an inspiration.

While I have loved the dialogues throughout, Rocky's fear stands out and then obviously the summary of pretty much the whole series captured in this lovely picture above also. "You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life", the natural question that follows is what you do after that? Will you stay down and let the count down from 10 to 1 to happen and hence be labeled knocked out, lost, defeated? Or would you find your knees, your feet and find a way to stand up to fight, that one more round? Its not about hitting hard in this life, it is more about getting hit hard and being able to find the strength and courage to stand up again after a hard blow and continuing on to fight.

Nobody can really beat life other than death but in the midst of it all, a life is well lived if you have fought all the way through, not giving up, not being defeated. Why just survive it, why not go on and live it? You can't beat it but that doesn't mean you can be defeated either?

So get up, don't throw in the towel yet. Go for one more round. Push yourself. Pull yourself up. Get your act together. You can be the best of your own self. Nobody else can be that, its your throne to take. Promise me, you will never give up, not on yourself, not on others. Promise me.