 Salamu alaikum warahmatullahi ta'ala barakatuh everyone and good morning Masha'Allah Thank you all for Taking time to seek knowledge and waking up on a early on a weekend To seek sacred knowledge as the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahbihi wasallam Informed us that whoever goes out on a path seeking sacred knowledge Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala facilitates for them the path to paradise and that this religion is Built upon knowledge That without knowledge we don't have guidance and without guidance We're not able to be successful and truly live in the way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Has commanded us to and that the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sahbihi wasallam has taught us to live So in order to accomplish that we need sacred knowledge So these gatherings and this time that we spend together insha'Allah ta'ala is of the best time The best way that we can spend our time in this life Insha'Allah in today's a bridge Seminar we're going to be looking at this really beautiful and Profound book by Imam al-Ghazali from his Ihiya ulum ad-Din the revival of the religious sciences and This is book for The 40 books that Imam al-Ghazali authored as part of this collection the revival of the religious sciences and in this book He goes into an explanation and a description of the sada of the prayer teaching us and Kind of giving us an overview in the book of the outward Dimension of the sada as it relates to the validity of the sada and making sure that it's sound according to the outward aspects and dimension But he focuses Primarily and really gives us deeper insights into the meaning of the sada and the state that a person should have When praying so insha'Allah in today's seminar, we'll have four sessions To Beginning with this session the merit of prayer and then the next session insha'Allah was she here rotis will be on this inner states of prayer Imam al-Ghazali tells us that we should have these internal states Within the sada in order for us to truly be experiencing and benefiting from the prayer And then in session three insha'Allah ta'ala. We're going to talk about reverence Khushu having this Khushu and reverential all and Presence of heart in the sada and then finally with sheikh and session four He will cover the inner meanings of prayer and that's going to be insha'Allah very valuable Imam al-Ghazali's his treatment of that This the the state of heart that we should have when we hear the Azaan When we're engaging in will do when we begin the prayer and all of the movements of the prayer in the fatihah all of the Inner meanings that should be present in our heart through all of those various aspects of the sada So insha'Allah we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for Taufeeq and we ask Allah that he blesses our time together And that he really allows each and every one of us to walk away With greater presence of heart and a deeper appreciation and realization of the sada Which is the the pillar of this religion and the greatest means by which we draw closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala So insha'Allah we'll begin with the first session the merit Of the sada and we'll look at the merit of the Azaan We'll look at the merit of the obligatory prayers and the congregational prayer and We'll look at the merit of prayer in the mosque and then finally the merit of sujood of prostration in this session Ta'ala insha'Allah ta'ala. So Imam al-Ghazali he begins his book with this really beautiful introduction Beginning in the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem All praise belongs to Allah who has immersed his servants in his gentleness and Who cultivated their hearts with the lights of this religion and the rituals of worship Who has in his generosity and mercy Come down from the throne of majesty to the lowest heaven in Order to make himself To call out to his servants So he mentions here this hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wa sahbiyya sallam That at the end of every night and the last third of every night Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He descends in his mercy and in giving people the opportunity to draw closer to him And he calls out every night Is there anyone making dua that I may answer them? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness so that I may forgive them? And that Imam al-Ghazali he has this beautiful description. He says look at how the kings of the world You have to sometimes pay a bribe just to get an opportunity to meet with them that there is all of this red tape It is extremely difficult to be in the presence and have access to the kings of the world But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has opened the door and lifted the veil So that we can be close to him and call upon him and enter into his presence at any time Tamaa, so this is a really beautiful Imam al-Ghazali has this way of Showing us the the depth and the beauty of this opportunity And this is one of the first things that we have to take into consideration when we're learning about the Sada Is that it's not a burden We cannot look at the Sada like it's a burden sometimes people so you have to get up very early And it seems like a lot praying five times a day, but in reality, it's the dunya. That's quite heavy It's the world that we want to always have Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's support and as the messenger of Allah Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam He taught us that when he would ask Sayyidina Bilal radi Allahu anhu to make the adhan. He would say Give us our comfort Through the adhan bring what brings us comfort by calling for the prayer So here Imam al-Ghazali is saying that this is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's mercy and gentleness with us So he has made the prayers a way that they can draw close to him and be in his presence Whether in congregation or whether a person is alone and not only that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Gave us that opportunity to be with him and then he also in his merciness in his mercy and gentleness He has actually made it He has encouraged us and invited us in addition. It's an obligation But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in addition to that he has invited us in a very gentle way and Has called us to be with him So how exalted and glorified is he and how gentle and Beneficent is he towards us subhanahu wa ta'ala? So then he begins the book with that that this is a great opportunity and a gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Then he has a breakdown of the book because this is an abridged seminar We're just going to focus on the topics that I had mentioned inshaAllah and Maybe in a in another opportunity will be able to go into more depth in the book, but inshaAllah this will still be Very useful and beneficial be in the light so the first chapter is on the merit of The various aspects of the prayer the prayer itself Prostration praying in congregation the adhan and so forth So he starts off with the adhan Kala Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said La yasma'u sult al muaddini jinnun wala insun wala shay'un illa shahida lahu yawm al qiyamah That anything whether it is the jinn or any human being or Anything even inanimate objects in creation whenever they hear someone call the adhan They will testify and bear witness to that on the day of resurrection So this is a really beautiful thing that whenever you call the adhan The trees the animals other people other jinn will testify on behalf of that individual and say I heard this person call the adhan So Imam al-Ghazali is telling us that the adhan Will be a proof for us when we meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah ta'ala says in the noble Quran Waman ahsan wa qawla min man da'a ila Allahi wa amila saliha Who is better in speech in other words? There is none better in speech than the one who calls and invites to Allah and Does righteous actions that some of the scholars of defci regarding that verse Some say that it's in relation to da'a wa calling people and inviting people to Allah other Mufasirin son, this is specifically in regards to the mu'addin Right, this is the one who invites to Allah is the one who calls to the prayer Right, so this is the one who calls people to the salah That's one of the meanings of this ayah the messenger of Allah Salallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa salam also said If I heard the adhan If you hear the call to prayer then repeat what the mu'addin says This is a really beautiful and important sunnah that when we hear the adhan We should you know bring to a conclusion any Conversations or pause the conversation that we're having and listen to the adhan and respond and when the mu'addin says You know That we also say We'll talk about the inner meanings of that what should come to our heart when we hear the adhan in session four And then when the mu'addin says Come to the prayer our response there should be There's no power or ability saved by Allah Heya ala falah come to success once again We say la hawla wa la quwata illa billah that there is no power or ability saved by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and then after the mu'addin is done and we repeat all of the things that he says We should say this du'a. Allahumma rabba haadihi d-dawat at-taam. Oh Lord Oh, Allah Lord of this comprehensive Supplication was salat al-qa'ima and this prayer that is about to be established Ati Sayyidina Muhammadan al-wasila ta wa al-fadila give Sayyidina Muhammad the wasila and Fadila this Specific rank that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will grant him what darajat al-aliyat al-Rafi'ah and An exalted and lofty rank Wa ba'athhu al-maqama al-mahmud al-ladi wa-aqtah and grant him the praise worthy station that you have promised him Inna ka la tuqlifu al-mi'a'ad. You do not you always fulfill your promise and This is the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam. He said who hears the adhan and Responds and says this du'a. I will intercede for them So one of the ways that we seek the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam is by responding to the adhan and also once it is completed to supplicate with this du'a Ka la Sayyid ibn al-musayyib. So this is not a a hadith But it's related to something that was passed down in tradition. He said man sallah bi-ar-din Fala whoever prays in kind of a barren or uninhabited area Sallah an yameen hi malakun waan shimad hi malak And when a person is traveling or out in the woods or in the middle of nowhere or camping or something of that nature and They pray even if they're alone There will be an angel praying to his right and to the left So then the the the statement continues So if a person is alone and they just pray there's two angels on either side praying with them But if the person calls the adhan and then calls the eqama Sallah wa ra'ahu an thalul jibali min al-malaiqa There will be A multitude of angels like the mountains that will pray with that individual person If they call the adhan an eqama So this is once again an indication of the merit of the adhan It's not something to be taken like lightly. Now. I remember Habib Husayn al-saqaf May Allah preserve him. We're actually you know one of the beautiful memories in this message Is actually being here with with him. InshaAllah. He comes back to America time and time again Fikheir wa afya He was saying that one of the Indications of how quickly a person Will traverse over the slirat on the day of resurrection that they will go over the traverse over Hellfire is according to how quickly they respond to the adhan And he said another indication is how quickly they reject evil insinuations And and the insinuations of the nefs or wasawis is the speed with which they reject those things that are displeasing to Allah Is another indication of the speed of how quickly they traverse over the slirat So when we hear the adhan, it's extremely important. We'll have questions inshaAllah at the end so This is one of the things that the adhan and then it's also Preparing for the Salat That in order to have presence of heart and really be in a state where you are Internalizing the meanings and the states of the prayer. It's not something that just when the Imam says Allahu Akbar and you enter into the prayer you're there But it's actually this gradual process that begins with the adhan that begins with making wudu and As we mentioned yesterday at lighthouse masjid that Sayyidina Ali Zayn and Abidina radiya Allahu Anhu When he would actually be making wudu his color would change and he would be turned yellow And they would say what is what's going on you look different? You look pale your color has changed and he would say to them after making wudu He says do you know before whom I am about to stand? So he would be present even in his wudu. So all of these things help facilitate our presence in the Salat Then Imam al-Ghazali takes us to the merit of the obligatory prayers and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala says in the noble Qur'an In the salat a cana ta'ala al-Mu'mineena kitab al-Muqutah That the prayer is at prescribed times for the believers And this is related to the obligatory prayers because those are the prescribed times The messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sahbihi sallam teaching us The centrality after the shahada After the testimony of faith there is nothing greater Than the salawat It is one of the it is central after the shahada It is the central pillar that holds everything up in our Dean So he tells us salawat allahi wa salamuhu alayhi 5 salawat kitabakunna allahu ala al-ibad There are five prayers that Allah has made obligatory for the servants So whoever establishes them the five prayers and Does not lose any of or does not Leave aside any of its rights out of thinking little of the prayer Then that person has an oath with Allah that he will enter him or her into paradise The person establishes the salat and does not you know I'll pray it later or does not think that they're unimportant and they literally give their lives and That they construct their lives around the salawat. That's what we have to do It's not something that we fit into our day But really that the salawat are the pillars of our day and everything else is fit in around them and That we establish them properly and that we give time to Learning the reality and the inner states and meanings of the salat. This is this is the purpose of our life And whoever does that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam says that they have an oath with Allah that he will Enter them into paradise in other words. It's a guarantee from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala the hadith continues So that's the case of the one who establishes them properly Wa man lam yati bihin and Whoever does not pray these five prayers. Falees alahu and Allah. He has no oath with Allah He has no covenant with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala insha'a ad-dabahu wa insha'a ad-dhalahu al-jannah if Allah wills He will punish that person and if Allah wills he can enter them into paradise This is an indication that they're Muslim, but we don't even want to be in the situation of of danger We don't even want to risk it and As Imam al-Ghazali is going to teach us inshallah ta'ala not only do we not want to risk it The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam he said wa ju'ilat qurra tu'aini fa's-salat The most beloved thing that Allah gave me and placed in my heart in the life of this world is the salat So that's an indication of all of the various degrees of nearness and the gifts and the Blessings and the mercy and the openings that a person can receive through the salat And this is something the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sahbihi he established and you see that it Saturated the souls of the Sahaba radiallahu anhu You know one of the things I always think about is that they didn't have alarm clocks So how do you get up for you know not for them? It wasn't even a fajr. Fajr wasn't even an issue. It was like Iyam al-layhi Now they were getting up in the the middle of the night on a regular basis And they were praying and it's something that was instilled in their hearts of the reality of the salat Now that is the Sahaba, but when we seek this type of knowledge and whoever is sincere with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and puts forth an effort Those same treasures are open to us as well That's why even to this day you find people the the greatest thing in their life is the salat and as Sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattab radiallahu anhu said or It might even be attributed to others That if the the people of the world Sayyidina Umar radiallahu anhu said one of the the reasons that I One of the only reasons that I love to remain in this world is And one of the reasons that he mentioned was the night prayer Iyam al-layhi and Other Salat ni'hin they said if the kings of the world the people who love luxury and they vie with one another and Compete with one another about the things of the dunya and they want to have all of these different experiences and In joy the the they think that they're joy They're trying to acquire as much of it as they can in the life of this world if they knew the joy that we experienced in Qiyam al-layhi They would try to take our lives in order to steal it from us if they could but they can You know this has a very special door that you have to go through and that door is abudiyah Servitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and recognizing that this is far better than you know very superficial and fleeting worldly things The messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the ahadith continue. This is one of my Favorite and it's it's often It's often referred to with regards to the salawat that he said sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahmi sallam Mathele sallawat al-khamsi ka mathele nahrin Adbin ghamrin Beba be ahadikum yiqtahimu fihi kulla yoman khamsa marat The likeness of the prayer if you really want to understand the salat and what it does and some of the spiritual benefits within the Salat it is like a sweet and deep River or stream That flows right at the door of one of your houses. Imagine right before you walk out of your house, and there's this beautiful clear sweet cool stream That is right in front of your house and that that person he then Swings or immerses himself in that river or that stream five times every day Fema tarana dalika yubiqi min darani Would you then see that that person has any? Any filth or anything that's unclean that remains on him if he's swimming in this river this very you know Life-giving and vibrant and beautiful river and he swims in it and immerses himself in it five times a day Would that person have any dirt and Obviously the answer is no So the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam he said Fa innas salawat al-khams To the hebud dhu nooba kama yudhi pul ma'ud daran He says the five prayers they remove Sins the way that that water removes Filth and things that are unclean But once again this goes back to why we're studying this book and the importance of Understanding this Dean in the fullest sense and really seeking sacred knowledge that is comprehensive of the outer and inner dimensions of these acts of ibadah Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says in the Quran In the salat that I know fa hajai wa al-mumkar That the salat Prevents one from vile and evil deeds and wrongdoing So someone might say I know someone who prays regularly and so forth, but why is it that? they they are not refraining from wrongdoing and from vile actions and And oftentimes, you know, especially young people they'll notice that that there might be something that's not fully aligned That a person's actions and a person's state do not really seem to be indicating the same thing and The ulema of the inner science of the heart they say that that's because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this verse is referring to the reality of the Salat It's not just standing up and going through the motions But the reality of the Salat is meant to be transformative that if someone enters Into the presence of the king of kings subhanahu wa ta'ala Someone's heart is before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they are knocking at his door and they are witnessing him as one is meant to The Salat is transformative It's a it's a powerful Experience so it's not something that is just meant to be outward And there were people even in the time of the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sahbihi sallam and he said that they from these people you'll see in the future That you will find people who their Salat will make you embarrassed about the state of your own prayer their outward Salat Their slayam will make you feel like you're falling short in your own slayam But it's a merely an outward reality because those people then start just like Iblis may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us They start to think that they're better than others They start to think that they're better than other look at my Salat look at my slayam, but it's just an outward form If you had the reality of the Salat you would it would humble you you would not look down on others You would realize and begin to witness Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessings upon you and his mercy and you would desire good for others So it's not the outward form once again. It's a balance. It is both It is both that the shari'a remember hearing this from from sheikh Yahya wrote it down that the shari'a is like the outer shell And in order to get to the pearl inside you have to have the shari'a You have to have the outward dimension of this need, but then the spiritual reality is the pearl inside So you need the shell to protect the pearl But we also we want to get to the pearl We want the the fruit the essence of Of that act of Ibadah of that act of Ibadah So here the process I said I'm just saying that these prayers they remove Sins just like if a person immerses himself in this River this flowing river and that they will be cleansed of all dirt and impurities And this is also further Further emphasized or supported by another hadith of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam Also narrated by imam musnam In the salawat al khafs kaffaratun lima baynahun majtunibat al kabahir That the five daily prayers are expiation. They expiate they remove the sins that occur in between them As long as a person avoids major sins So this is an indication that this refers to the minor sins Right that the salawat They remove and they cleanse us of those sins The prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam He also said He said the difference between us and hypocrites Once again, it's really interesting and it's undeniable How the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam He made the prayer and congregation and praying on time The the indication of the soundness of a person's imam And the lack of that in an indication of hypocrisy So he says that the difference between us and the hypocrites is Being present for the isha and subah prayer So atama is isha and subah is also referred to oftentimes as fajr That those two prayers, especially The that the hypocrites are not able to pray them So if we have a deficiency And especially those two prayers we have to make an effort to rectify that And the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said in another hadith That That the heaviest the weightiest that weighs them down Prayers for the hypocrites is And then what did he say sallallahu alayhi wa sallam If they knew what Allah gives in those two prayers They would come to them even if they had to crawl Imagine someone can't even walk and all they can do is crawl if they knew what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Gives in those prayers if they had to crawl from their home to attend they would do so Of the the mercy and the blessings and the gifts and the veils that are removed from the hearts And many of the great sallalliheen we're going to get to the masajid shortly, but it's all interconnected They said that just they they received certain openings from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala a presence of heart A greater degree of witnessing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his attributes and his blessings kind of you know Attaining higher levels of certitude. They said we attained certain gifts from Allah related to that in the masajid That even if we were somewhere else and we strived very hard in ibadah We wouldn't have received the same portion that we got in the masjid Because there's something about the mercy that a person receives You know, particularly in those places that are dedicated to the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Or gatherings where people come together collectively to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Here the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam imam al ghazali is now Warning us of the danger of falling short So he says that the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says Whoever meets Allah and that person has lost the prayer That they have not established it that they have been totally neglectful of the prayer Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cares not for any of his other good deeds The person meets Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala And they might have a lot of other good deeds, but if they have been neglectful Of the sallah Allah cares not for those other hassanat He also said sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahbiyu sallam The prayer is the pillar of the religion Holds everything else up Whoever leaves it or is neglectful of it has destroyed his religion Everything else is going to fall apart. It's on a very very weak foundation without the sallah One of the companions he asked the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam What is the most beloved and meritorious action? What is the best action that's most beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he said The prayers in their prescribed times praying on time Some of the sallah the way that they And and this might sound like an oversimplification, but actually it's really beautiful if you think about it This really helps us prioritize what it's all about Some of the salliheen they said our lives consist of Praying the five prayers and waiting to die in me Allah It shows us what is really about and everything else is secondary There are many other uh hadith about that No We'll end with this one and then we'll move on to the next point inshallah ta'ala Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam whoever Neglects the prayer on purpose purposefully intentionally that person has absolved themselves from the protection of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam And from his community So this shows us this it's really Not something that we can Take lightly at all But after the shahadatain, this is the most important thing that we have to Establish and we have to Properly give Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala his due with what relates to this act of ibadah The next section is the merit of praying in jama'a and we touched on that a little bit But here imam al-ghazali gives us some a hadith related to that that the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam He said salat al-jama'ati Tafdulu salat al-Faddi by seven and twenty a daja that praying in congregation Is more is more superior to praying individually by 27 degrees Which can be understood as 27 times better than praying alone So if a person prayed for example Shall we pray salat al-duhur together for person prays in jama'a salat al-duhur And they went and prayed it by themselves 27 times Then if they did it 27 times it might equal the salat in jama'a So it shows that it is multiplied many many times over and that it's not something that we want to miss auran Or you know think lightly i'll go on i'll just pray by myself You know and even in our homes as families it should be a culture that we Cultivate in our homes that we pray together as a family You know that we we have these times and these Points where we come together and then praying together in the masjid, you know Especially for men is something that is Even and even greater emphasis and even greater reward. There are many ahadith related to that One of the ahadith the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam He said Whoever is present for the isha prayer in congregation it is as if that person has prayed half of the night That's a beautiful gift from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala That the person has prayed half the night and then if the person Shehidah and shahidah subhanah Maqama So and then whoever follows that up with praying salat al-fajr or salat al-subah In congregation that makes up the second half of the night and it's as if the person has prayed the entire night So a person can come pray salat al-ishah go home and sleep all night And get up for salat al-fajr and pray salat al-fajr in jam'a and it's as if they prayed the entire night It's that meritorious and important There are many other ahadith related to that but even the ones that we covered before in the previous section related to the state of the Munafiqin the hypocrites that's something that is significant enough to inform us of the weightiness of salat al-ishah and salat al-fajr, but also praying in jam'a And that the more we strive to pray in congregation and we commit ourselves to that and and Really are determined the the further away from hypocrisy We are insha'Allah ta'ala and the more it's a testimony to the soundness and the trueness of a person's iman The last section that we'll look at is fa'ile to sujud the merit of sujud And this is a really beautiful section and there are many ahadith About this particular position in the salat So we looked at the adhan We looked at the obligatory prayers We looked at praying in jam'a and then it says if imam al-Ghazali is taking us deeper and deeper and highlighting the most important Aspects of the salat and within the salat. There is something very distinct and unique about sujud And it also is the position that is the greatest representation of ubudiyya complete servitude And humbling oneself entirely Before one's lord and creator The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam He said That a servant draws closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Allah mighty and masjistic with nothing more meritorious. In other words, there's nothing Better in drawing closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than A sujud a prostration that is hidden That's in private That you just maybe at home you have a particular area where you pray Maybe in your room or maybe in your if you have a musalla at home or a room that's dedicated for prayer Or even a small area that you dedicate for prayer and no one else is around And you engage in salat and you go into sujud Nobody else sees you that is the thing that brings you Closest to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and as imam al-junayt one of the greatest imams in islamic history That the the sayid al-taifa the imam of especially in in preserving The sciences of islamic spirituality and tasawwuf imam al-junayt after he passed away Someone saw him in a dream and they say what has Allah given you? What have you received? What did you find? After passing from this world and entering into the barzakh And he said all of the various Terminologies and different sort of Things that people kind of might compete with each other about or think that is so important and so significant He said all of that kind of dissipated and what I found that benefited me the most Is two rakhats that I would pray in the middle of the night That's what I found with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala It's one of the greatest imams It doesn't mean that those other things aren't important But it goes to show if that's really what he's highlighting what he found with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Then it's it's very valuable and weighty The prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sahbihi wassallam was once asked and this is another one of these really kind of Central and foundational a hadith that one of the sahaba sayidna Ka'b Sayidna Rabi'a ibn ka'b al-aslami radiallahu anhu He was serving the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and he brought him his wudu water And the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he asked him he said said he gave him the option he said ask for whatever you want And he said oh messenger of Allah I ask you for your companionship for your muraafa to be in your company in paradise And the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he said do you have any other request Sometimes the lover is tested any anything else and then he was mashallah. He said who was that that's it That's everything And the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam he gave him the the way the formula in order to be granted that he said I'm ni'ala nafsika bi kathrati sujud Assist me With your nefs and assist me over your nefs or in order to do that with what? With abundant sujud Through abundant sujud It becomes more accessible To be in the company of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam in paradise So if that was the only hadith about sujud, it would be enough That that's the way to be with the messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in paradise The messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said Inna aqraba ma yaqunu l-abdu min Allahi ta'ala an yaquna saajidan This is a hadith narrated by imam muslim The closest a servant is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is when he is prostrating or when she is prostrating That is the closest that a person is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala And remember what imam al-ghazali said at the beginning of the book that You know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his gentleness and in his mercy He has made himself accessible In a way that the kings of this world can never never make themselves accessible to people And that through his gentleness and mercy he has opened that door and removed the veil so that people can Be close to him and seek from him at any time And this is also the meaning of the verse of the Qur'an when Allah subhanahu sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says Allah describes the sahaba in the Qur'an And he describes the nur the light that emanates from their faces and he ties it subhanahu wa ta'ala to the sujud So he Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala could have said anything that they're the light that emanates from their faces from their zikr The light that emanates from their faces from their slia The light that emanates from their faces from all of the various acts of ibadah definitely illuminate one's heart But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said as sujud Sima hum fee wujuhihim min athar as sujud That their traits the radiance can be witnessed and they can be recognized From the effect from the impact of their sujud That that nur emanates from them from the impact of the sujud The prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahmi wa sallam His great grandson His great grandson the son of imam al-husayn Sayyidina Ali zayn al-aabideen ibn al-husayn That he would That he would make sujud a thousand times a day That he would pray so abundantly that he would perform a thousand sujud a day Which is why he's known as zayn al-aabideen the ornament the beauty of the worshipers Because he because of his sujud And he's the the great grandson of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahmi wa sallam And they are the greatest Exemplars and inheritors of the way of the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sahmi wa sallam And then there are many stories that imam al-ghazali then mentions Of the saliheen and we'll end with a few of them that kana yusuf ibn asbatin yakud That yusuf ibn asbat he would say to Some of the the young people Oh young people He says you know take advantage of your health Before your sickness because there is no one on the face of the earth that i envy and this is not a haram envy And this is a libt that i envy in this way that what the opportunity that they have that i wish that i had Except a person who is able to perform the rukor and sujud completely and perfectly That one of the ways that you show gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the the health and the ability to do so Is actually using that Health and that ability in ibadah in the rukor and in the sujud There might be some people for a health reason or if they get elderly that becomes more difficult So he would say to young people take advantage because the sweetness of sujud is the only thing that I envy anyone in this world over that they're able to do that Wa qala iqbat ibn muslim another one of the pious predecessors He said That the most beloved trait or characteristic that a servant has that is the most beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is that that person loves to meet Allah That is the most beloved thing and we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala That he seals our lives that when we leave this world that he seals it with A good end and that he gives us at that moment the greatest love and yearning to meet him Because the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said whoever loves to meet Allah Allah loves to meet them So this is what he's referring to so that's the first part That the the moment the time the trait that's most beloved to Allah is loving to meet him and the time That the person is closest to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is when they prostrate into sujud And then finally that the closest a person is to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is when they are in sujud So abundantly supplicate when you are in sujud Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala When you are in sujud to fulfill your needs and to give you what you are seeking Because that is the moment that you are closest to him subhanahu wa ta'ala Insha'Allah we'll finish here Maybe we'll just take five minutes for questions and then we'll take a brief break And transition to session two insha'Allah ta'ala That's a very good question So if you're praying at home, it is always better to call the adhan yourself and even though you know a recording or youtube That's very nice According to what I understand from my teachers. That's not an actual replacement for the adhan So to actually call the adhan oneself is better Even if you're at home, even if you're alone Yes And then we'll see the sisters Yeah, please Mashallah, that's a very good question. So in the salah There are some slight Differences of opinion among the ulama Some ulama really emphasized that in the sujud you only say the du'as from the Qur'an and the sunnah or that that's most highly emphasized Another thing is that because we're in the salah And the supplications and that that we should make those du'as in Arabic So generally when we're in the salah We should stick to the du'as from the Qur'an and from the sunnah and the du'as that we memorize That are in Arabic and then outside of the salah and we're making general du'a That can be in any language and so forth but to preserve the validity of the salah That that that is a the better approach just to keep it from the Qur'an and from the sunnah What one knows in Arabic Yes Yes, that's also the case for enough of the prayers as well About du'a in Arabic in sujud Yeah, that's that's the case for You can make it in another language in your heart, but whatever you verbally say in al-sala it should be in Arabic Yes, masha'Allah Masha'Allah Masha'Allah beautiful two very good questions So al-salaatul yama wa al-qitihah that hadith indicates the prescribed times There's another hadith that talks about the merit of praying in the earlier time Over the end of the prescribed time. So there's obviously a window But the that praying at the beginning of the time Is superior to praying at the end of the time So generally speaking in addition to praying in those times That there is an added fadl an added merit Of bringing the salah and praying it in the earlier times So then his second question was Uh, you know praying in jama'a should I pray at home with my wife? For example, if there's no one else for her to pray with or should I pray in jama'a at the masjid I actually thought about that for a while and then I heard one of our teachers say something beautiful He said that many of the slaniheen out of their concern and their Uh, their commitment to praying in jama'a in the masjid Is that they would pray at home with their families and then pray in jama'a at the masjid as well So that's a way where you can You know also pray in jama'a with with your your wife and your family And then in addition to that the higher road is also to pray in jama'a at the masjid to repeat it with with the jama'a in the masjid So, uh, I thought that was the only the most comprehensive answer that that I came across I wanted to share with you anything from the sisters will take one question. Yes No, no Yeah Yeah, masha'Allah So sisters calling the adhan, uh, that's that's not the case for sisters. So thank you for asking that It's it's for it's encouraged for men to do so And then for sisters praying in congregation I know that among the the great imams of the madahab there are differences of opinion Regarding, you know, if a sister can lead other sisters in jama'a And I would just tell people encourage them to study according to One of the the four schools and follow Whatever, you know, they're that that school the position of that school And there's flexibility with regards to that. Ah, masha'Allah Masha'Allah Naam, so so once again, so this is something where a person has to try to Really do the best that they can according with their particular Circumstances and their own kind of state. So the question is, you know, If it applies to sisters to also pray in congregation and at the masjid and so forth the prophecy said didn't prevent that But he also encouraged and said that it's better for women to pray at home if they so wish so it is better But if they would like to pray and let's say for example, sometimes I have no one at home I'm feeling when I'm in the masjid. I'm with the community. That really helps me stay motivated And if I'm at home, maybe I'm going to be affected by laziness or other things So then a person can really choose based on their own circumstances But we recognize that the messenger of Allah, so I said I'm said it's better to pray at home But there were sahabiya to prayed in the masjid. So there's room. There's flexibility there Jazakum Allahu khayran