Du`a – Essence of `Ibadat Part One - Section on the words of Salat
Section on the words of Salat
Tags: Hujjati'l-Amr, Proof of the command, Kawthar, `Asr-i Batin, `Asr
“Sajada wajhi ilayka = O Allah! my intention, attention and face are prostrated before You with submissiveness and humility.” Sajdah means to bow down with submissiveness and humility. Wajh here is used in the sense of intention, attention and face. And the appropriate translation of ilayka here, is 'before You'. “Wa-tawakkaltu `alayka = And I trusted in You”. That is, I entrust those matters to You which are beyond my power, and rely on You. “Minka quwwati = From You is provided my strength”. That is, if I can do anything within my power, spiritually and physically, this is through the means granted by You. “Wa-anta `ismati ya rabb'al-`alamin = And it is You Who is my protection and refuge, O Lord of the worlds”. That is, it is You Who protects me from sins and affliction through Your spiritual and physical guidance and miraculous power. For it is You Who sustains the worlds. And it is the nature (habit) of the Sustainer to sustain and protect more the one who is more needy and cries more.
“Allahumma salli `ala Muhammadini'l-mustafa = O Allah! send mercy through the chosen Muhammad”, whom You have sent as an all-embracing mercy for the people of the worlds (21:107), “Wa-`ala Aliyyini'l-murtadha = And through the selected `Ali, whom You have given the title of al-Kawthar (the one who has abundant children) and considered him as the son of Hadhrat Muhammad; “Wa-`ala'l-a'immati'l-attahar = And through the pure and true Imams”, who are the luminous and spiritual children of Hadhrat Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny and al-Kawthar (i.e. `Ali). For God, in the surah of al-Kawthar, considers them the children of the Prophet and his true heirs, successors and bearers of his light of guidance, and refutes the taunt of the infidel who said that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, had no male issue. This infidel, according to some reports was `As bin Wa'il, and according to others, `Aqabah bin Abu Mu`ayyit and according to Ibn `Abbas, it was Ka`ab bin Ashraf and a group of the Quraysh who taunted the Prophet thus.
“Wa-`ala hujjati'l-amri sahibi'z-zamani wa'l-`asri imamina'l-hadhiri'l-mawjudi mawlana Shah Karimi'l-Husayni = And send mercy through our present and living Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni, who is the proof of Your command and the master of external time (zaman) and internal time (`asr)”. The proof of the command means that God has never left this world without a guide. For, had He done so, on the Day of Judgement people would have said: O our Lord, there was no present and living guide from You in our time and therefore we could not understand the ultimate purpose of Your Book. In such a case, in view of the law of justice, they would have been right in their argument against God, and He would have been accountable for not having provided guidance. But the fact is that the argument stands against the people, for in every age He has sent a messenger for their guidance, and then He has appointed a true successor to him so that the people would not have an argument against Him about the lack of guidance, for as He says: “So that humankind might have no argument against God, after the messengers” (4:164). Thus, after the holy Prophet until the Resurrection, the Imam of every age in his time is the proof of the command and guidance of God over humankind, therefore people have no argument against God on the Day of Resurrection.
“Inner time (`asr-i batin)” is the name of spiritual time, which is linked to external time (zamanah-i zahir), just like the soul is linked to the body. In other words, `asr is the name of the spiritual cycle, which is hidden in the physical cycle and when this cycle will come to an end, that cycle will appear, just as the day appears when the night ends. Let us give an example to make the reality of `asr or spiritual time understandable: Sometimes, as a result of a good deed or good `ibadat, you may have seen a luminous dream and you might have realised that time in the world of dreams is utterly different from that of the external world. It is possible that in such a luminous dream you may have seen spring, although physically it is not the season of spring. Such a time is called `asr. Another example from the state of wakefulness: Take an example of a pure darwish or a faqir, who is in constant dhikr, or a sufi of haqiqat or a true mu'min, who in addition to good deeds has attained perfection in `ibadat and ma`rifat, to such an extent that when he wants to see the luminous world with his inner eyes, he closes his external eyes and the luminous world is before him. Now time in this luminous world is different from the time in the external world through which his body passes. Time in the luminous world is called the inner or spiritual time (`asr-i batin), whose majesty and grandeur is such that God swears by it: “By the `asr (spiritual time)! Verily man (due to his negligence about the `asr) is in great loss” (103:1-2).
“Allahumma laka sujudi wa-ta`ati = O Allah! my prostration and obedience is for You”.
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