Total Devotion of Mind and Heart

Among the conditions for prayer, one most important condition is the total dedication and devotion of the heart. If there is no humility and fear of Allah (Khudu wa Khushu) in prayer, then it remains ineffective. Even, such prayer might bring the person punishment. If a person is conversing with the king and his mind is elsewhere and the king notices that his subject is not giving his full attention, he might punish the person for his lack of attention.
Humility of heart means that the heart is in full attention towards his Creator while in prayer. The person makes his body and mind totally submissive to the heart. If this state is achieved in prayer, then even the lonely (furada) prayer offered by a person will be highly rated. It would be quite possible that he might get the reward of congregational prayer because the heart in this case functions as the leader (Imam) of the congregation and the different parts of the body of the devotee as the followers.
As the faith increases, the humility of heart too increases in the same proportion. Therefore the humility of the hearts of the Infallible persons of the prophet’s Family (the Masoomeen) is of the highest order. The limbs and body of Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali (as) used to shiver when going for the prayer. Somebody asked him, “O ‘Ali! Is it not the same body that captured the fort of Khaibar and single handedly rent away the invincible gate of the fort!” Amir’ul-Mu’mineen (as) replied, “No doubt! This is the same body but you must know that at this moment I am on my way carrying the important charge which even the land, the skies and the mountains refused to carry!”
It is said that one day Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) was engrossed in his prayer and Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as), still a child, fell in the well of their house. His mother started shouting, “O Son of the Prophet (S)! Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) has fallen into the well.” But Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) continued with his prayer. The mother of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) was running between the parapet of the well and the place where the Imam was praying. Alas, when Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) finished his prayer, he went to the well and rescued his son who was hail? and hearty.
The Imam told to his wife, “you know that I was standing in prayer before my Creator. If He was displeased, the consequence would be grave. Our purpose is only to get the goodwill of our Lord and the biggest personal loss is inconsequential. There was no reason for me to fear about the safety of my son. I was present in front of my Master with total dedication of my heart and was not attending to the household matters!”
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) said that some devotees offered prayers with one-third dedication of heart, some others with one-fourth dedication and others with one-fifth dedication of the heart. The Angels will record the prayers for reward only to the extent of the dedication of the heart of the supplicant. Therefore it is advised that people should offer as many supplementary prayers as possible besides their mandatory prayers.
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) said, “the heart in which there is the desire for reward and fear of retribution on the Day of Judgment will become eligible for entry to the Heaven.”
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) has said, “when a person prepares to offer prayer, Allah’s kindness and blessings shadow him and the Angel of Beneficence proclaims,’ O Creation of Allah! If you know how much your Creator is kind on you, you will not raise your head from your prostration!’”
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) has said, “when the attention of a person is diverted from his prayer, then Allah says, ‘O My Creation! Is there any god greater than Me towards whom your attention is diverted.’ Then Allah observes the lack of attention of the person thrice and finally He gives to him no more attention.
The dedication of the heart during prayers is dependent very much on the circumstances of the person. The more the person is perfect in his Faith and Belief, the more dedication of heart he will manifest. Ja’far bin Ahmed narrates that when the Prophet (S) used to stand up for offering prayer the color of his face used to change and from his chest a sound used to emanate which used to indicate enthusiasm.
When Imam Hasan (as) used to do the ablutions for offering prayer, his body used to shiver and the color of his face used to turn yellow. People asked him the reason for this change in him. He said, “It is necessary for every worshipper that when he prepares to go to the presence of his Creator, he keeps in mind His Greatness and Omnipotence. Because of this feeling the person’s face will turn yellow and his body will shiver.”
It is said that after completing the ablution for prayer Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) used to have shivering in his body and the face used to turn yellow. On being asked by people, he used to reply, “don’t you know the Greatest Creator before whom I am going to offer my supplications.”
It is narrated that Fatima bin Amir’ul-Mu’mineen ‘Ali once called Jabir Ansari and told him, “you are a companion of the Holy Prophet (S). I am requesting you to advice Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) not to prolong his prayers that his forehead, thighs and back are injured and swollen.” Jabir Ansari went to the presence of the Imam (as) and found him busy in his prayer and the weakness of his body and visage was evident.
The Imam (as) gave some place to Jabir to sit beside him and inquired about his health in feeble voice. Jabir said, “O Son of the Prophet (S)! Allah has created the Heaven for you and your friends and the Hell for your enemies and adversaries. Then why are you taking so much hardship on yourself?” the Imam (as) said, “O companion of the Prophet (S)! My ancestor, the Prophet (S) of Allah, who has a great status in the eyes of the Creator, and also Allah has forgiven all possible acts of omission and commission of his past and present, kept himself so much busy in prayer that his feet used to develop inflammation. The companions used to tell the Prophet (S) that Allah has been so kind to him that He promised to forgive his mistakes.(tark al-aula) Then they wondered why the Prophet (S) was inflicting so much hardship on himself.
The Prophet (S) used to say, “O my companions! When God is showering so much kindness on man, is it not his duty to thank Allah for the bounties He has granted.”
Jabir said to Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as), “O my master! Have kindness on your followers. Because of your existence Allah is kind on the Muslims and no curse is falling on them from the skies.”
The Imam (as) replied, “O Jabir! I wish to be like my ancestors in prayer that I am able to meet them!”
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) says that one day his father went to the presence of his own father and found him busy in his prayer. He noticed that the face of the Imam (as) had turned yellow and his forehead was bruised and the feet were swollen. The cheeks of the Imam (as) were injured because of excessive crying. When he saw the condition of his father, he cried out aloud. The Imam’s attention was diverted towards his son and finding him crying he asked him to fetch the book of Amir’ul-Mu’mineen (as) in which he had discussed about the subject of prayer. He fetched the book. The Imam (as) cried the more after reading the book and said, “Who has the strength to pray like the Amir’ul-Mu’mineen (as) did!
Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) says that when Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) used to stand up with the intention of the prayer, his face used to turn yellow and while in prostration, his eyes used to get wet.
Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) says that Imam Zain-ul-’Abidin (as) used to offer one thousand rakaat of prayer in a period of one day and night. When he used to stand up for the prayer, the color of his face used to change and it used to appear as if he was standing like a hapless person in the presence of a great king. His entire body used to shiver and it used to give the impression as if he was offering his last prayer. When asked about his condition during the prayer, he used to retort that one should suitably present himself to the Great Creator.
It is said that one of the Imam’s child fell from a height and fractured his hand. There was commotion in the house and a bonesetter was called. The bone of the child was set; but all this while the Imam (as) was busy in his prayer. The next morning when he saw the arm of his son in a sling, he inquired about the reason of the injury.
One day the Imam’s house caught fire and the neighbors put it out. The Imam (as) was totally oblivious of the incident. When the people asked him the reason, he replied, “I was busy putting out another big fire!
Abu Ayoob narrates from Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as) that when Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (as) used to stand up for prayers, the color of his red face used to turn yellow and it always gave an impression that he was face to face with Allah, busy conversing with Him.
The Creator of the Universe has ordered man to offer prayer in the morning, evening and noon, five times in a day to renew his dedication and obedience to Him.
Prayer is the height of devotion that lifts a human being from the ground to the unimaginable heights. It is the medium for achieving nearness to the Almighty Allah. Prayer awakens the believers from their slumber of negligence and reminds them of the Hereafter. Islam has set clearly defined schedules for the prayers and it keeps the believers reminded to come for the congregations. The first call comes in the early morning to raise the people from their slumber. This call, which is termed the adhaan, is made in loud tones in which the name of the Great Allah (Allah ho Akbar) is repeated four times to break the slumber of the proud and the negligent. Then follows the witness there is no god but Allah.
Man should not worship other humans, animals, plants and other elements of nature like the mountains and the rivers. You must reiterate that He, Allah, is One and Only Creator and Has made arrangements for the benefit of man in this world and the hereafter. He has sent His Messenger, His Friend and Prophet (S), with clear messages for the believers to listen to and act on them implicitly.
Then the worshippers are exhorted to make haste to come for the prayer, which is to their own advantage. They are told that the prayer is the best of acts and they must hurry to join it. At the end of the call to the believers it is repeated that Allah is Great.
There are people in this world who, even after hearing the loud call to prayer, continue with their mundane activities. But there are others who willingly pay heed to the call, keep away their worldly tasks for the time, and proceed to join the prayer.
It is said that when the time for the prayer comes, one angel calls on behalf of Allah, “O believers! Proceed towards prayer and extinguish the fire of your sins with the light of the prayer.” When a pious person decides to go for prayer, he is required to cleanse himself of the apparent dirt. He should also cleanse his mind of any negative thoughts that might be there. When he is ready for the prayer, first he must wash his face. At this time he must say, “O Allah! You have said that on the Day of Judgment some faces will turn black and others will be white and shiny. Please make my face shiny and prevent it from going black.” While cleansing the right hand, he should remember that on the Day of Judgment, the pious would carry their record of actions in the right hands and the sinners would carry their records in the left hands.
Therefore he must pray that his record of actions is held in the right hand on the Day of Judgment. While anointing (masah) his forehead, he should pray, “O Allah! Please be kind on me.” While anointing the feet, he should pray that the feet do not falter on the Bridge of Sirat on the Day of Judgment.
It has been mentioned in the traditions that a house which has dogs, where intoxicants are stored, where pictures and paintings are kept, the Angels of blessings do not come. These things should be kept away from the living quarters and even the thoughts of these forbidden things should be banished from the minds of the believers. At the threshold of the mosque, he should say, “O Allah! You have opened this door to me, please open the doors to Your nearness too for me!” While standing at the place of prayer, he should say iqamah and in his mind recall the words of the adhaan and their meanings because prayer is the height of piety and the Prophet (S), while he was in Me’raj, reiterated the words Allah O Akbar while entering every stage. Therefore before every prayer the words Allah O Akbar are repeated seven times.
Now the person is ready for the conversation, that is, for offering his prayer to Allah. At this stage, he should say “I seek refuge in Allah the all-hearing all-knowing from the cursed devil?” to ward off the Satan. Now that the time to go to the presence of the Almighty Allah has come, the worshipper should say Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem.
These words are reiterated before any work is commenced and particularly so when one starts to offer his prayer. Even in our mundane lives we have to praise the important persons when we approach them. When we stand in the Presence of Allah, the Beneficent and Merciful, it is natural that we must praise Him and acknowledge that He is the Lord of The Day of Judgment (Youm iddeen). Then the worshipper says, “Iyyaka nabudo (We worship only You)”
Therefore, the Prophet of Allah (S) has said, “Whilst praying think that you are seeing Him (Allah) and in humility submit, waiiaka nastaeen (O Sustainer! We ask for your succor for our failings and shortcomings