STORIES OF THE HUMBLE, MAY GOD BE PLEASED WITH THEM, AND THEIR PRAYERS
It should be known that humility is the product of faith and the result of conviction, brought about by the majestic power of God, Great and Glorious is He. Those blessed with it are humble not only in their Prayers, but at other times also, even when they are on their own or when they need to use the toilet. For humility is caused by the awareness that we are always in the sight of God, by awareness of His majesty and by awareness of our human failings. It is by consciousness of these things that humility is engendered, so it is not confined to ritual Prayers.
There was once a man, we are told, who never held his head up to the sky in all of forty years; so great were his modesty and humility before God, Glorified is He.
Some people assumed that al-Rabī’ ibn Khaytham must be blind, because he always lowered his head and kept his eyes half-closed. For twenty years he was a regular visitor to the home of Ibn Mas’ūd. When the latter’s maidservant saw him, she would say to her master: ‘Your blind friend is here.’ Ibn Mas’ūd used to laugh when she said this. Whenever she went to answer the guest’s knock at the door, she would see him with his head down and his eyes averted. Ibn Mas’ūd would look at him and say, quoting from the Quran:
‘And give good tidings to the humble.’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:34]
(Wa-bashshiri-lmukhbitīn.)
Then he would add: ‘By God, if the Prophet, on him be peace, had seen you, he would have been so pleased with you!’ (In one version of this story, the wording is ‘he would have loved you,’ and in another: ‘he would have laughed.’) One day, he was walking with Ibn Mas’ūd when they passed the blacksmith’s workshop. He fell in a faint at the sight of the bellows and the fire blazing in the furnace. Ibn Mas’ūd sat with him till the time of Prayer, but he did not come round. He then carried him home, where he remained unconscious till twenty-four hours after having fainted, so missing all five Prayers. Ibn Mas’ūd stayed close by him, saying: ‘By God, this is real fear!’
Al-Rabī’ used to say: ‘When engaged in Prayer, I never pay attention to anything, except what I am saying and what is being said to me.’
‘Āmir ibn ‘Abdullāh was one of those who are humble in their Prayers. He would sometimes pray while his daughter was playing the tambourine and the women of the house were chattering freely, but he was quite insensitive to the noise and did not even hear it. They once asked him: ‘Does anything come into your mind during the Prayer?’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘the thought that I am standing in the presence of God, Great and Glorious is He, and that I am bound for Paradise or for Hell.’ He was then asked: ‘Do you get any worldly thoughts, as we do?’ To this he replied: ‘I would rather be made a butt for lances than get that sort of thing in my Prayer.’ He was also in the habit of saying: ‘Even if the veil was lifted from the unseen, my faith could not be more certain than it is now.’
Another of these characters was Muslim ibn Yasār, the one who did not notice the collapse of a column while he was praying in the Mosque.
One of these men had a gangrenous limb. Amputation was necessary, but it seemed impossible until someone said: ‘He won’t feel a thing while he is at Prayer.’ The operation was, in fact, successfully performed during the Prayer.
Someone said: ‘Prayer belongs to the Hereafter; to enter it is to leave this world.’ Another was asked if he had any worldly thoughts during his Prayers. ‘Neither in my Prayers nor at any other time,’ said he. Yet another was asked: ‘Do you remember anything during the Prayer?’ He replied: ‘Is anything dearer to me than the Prayer, that I should recall it while I am praying?’
Abūl Dardā’, may God be pleased with him, used to say: ‘The sensible thing is to attend to one’s needs first, so as to have nothing on one’s mind when approaching the Prayer.’
Some of them would keep their Prayers short, fearing the whisperings of the devil. We are told that, on a certain occasion, ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir finished his Prayer rather quickly. When
someone commented on this, he said: ‘Did you see me skip any of the essentials?’ The answer was: ‘No!’ He then explained: ‘I was forestalling the distraction of Satan. God’s Messenger, on him be peace, said: “Though a man performs the whole Prayer, he may get no credit for half of it, or a third, a quarter, a fifth, a sixth or a tenth. A man gets credit only for that part of his Prayer of which he is conscious.”‘
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It is said that Ṭalḥa and al-Zubayr were among a group of the Companions, may God be pleased with them, who were particularly noted for keeping their Prayers brief. They explained that they followed this practice in order to forestall the whisperings of Satan.
It is related that ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, said from the pulpit: ‘A man’s whiskers may turn grey in Islam, without his having completed one Prayer for God, Exalted is He.’ When the people asked him how this could be, he said: ‘Because he never achieves perfect humility, submissiveness and devotion to God, Great and Glorious is He, in any of his Prayers.’
Abūl ‘Āliya was once asked about the words of God, Exalted is He:
‘Those who are heedless of their Prayers.’ [al-Mā’ūn, 107:5]
(Alladhīna hum ‘an ṣalātihim sāhūn.)
He said: ‘This refers to those who are so heedless in their Prayers that they do not know whether they have performed an even number of cycles or an odd one.’ According to al-Ḥasan, it refers to those who heedlessly let the time for Prayer slip by. Others say: ‘This is directed at those who are neither happy when they pray on time, nor sorry when they are late in praying. They see no virtue in promptness and no sin in delay.’
Said Jesus, on him be peace: ‘God, Exalted is He, says: “Through obligatory duties My servant attains salvation. Through supererogatory devotions My servant draws close to Me.”‘
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘God, Exalted is He, says: “My servant does not achieve salvation except by fulfilling the duties I have set him.’”
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It is related that the Prophet, on him be peace, once omitted a verse from the part of the Quran he recited in the course of a ritual Prayer. As he was turning to leave, he said: ‘What did I recite?’ Nobody spoke, so he repeated the question to Ubayy ibn Ka’b, may God be pleased with him, who said: ‘You recited such-and-such a Sūra, omitting a particular verse. We are wondering whether it has been abrogated or taken out.’ The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘Good for you, Ubayy!’ Then he turned to the others and said: ‘What are we to make of people who come for their Prayers, line up in their rows behind their Prophet, but do not know what he is reciting to them from the Book of their Lord? That is just how the Children of Israel behaved, so God, Great and Glorious is He, spoke to their Prophet through inspiration, saying: “Tell your people: ‘You present your bodies before Me and you offer Me your tongues, but you keep your hearts from Me. What you are doing is futile.’”‘
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These stories and Traditions help to prove that the fundamental elements in ritual Prayer are humility and conscious awareness, and that merely going through the motions, in a state of heedlessness, has little value for the life hereafter. God knows best. We pray for His gracious help and guidance.
* i.e. towards the Ka’ba.
† Affirmation of God’s Supreme Greatness, in the words: ’ Allahu Akbar!’
‡ The author refers to the invocation that includes the words: ‘I am no polytheist.’ His caution is equally appropriate, however, if one recites the invocation ending: ‘There is no god but You.’