World Blog by humble servant.Triumph

In the last sura revealed through prophet Muhammad, we read:

[110:1] When triumph comes from GOD, and victory.

[110:2] You will see the people embracing GOD's religion in throngs.

[110:3] You shall glorify and praise your Lord, and implore Him for forgiveness. He is the Redeemer.

This is wonderful news for the Submitters and Believers, and naturally, we are eager to see it happen in our lifetime. We may wonder how it will come to be and look for signs that might point to its imminent arrival. Some may even think that our actions will impact the timing of it and urge us to alter some of our ways. Here, I share some thoughts for your consideration on this matter.

God says: [21:37] The human being is impatient by nature. I will inevitably show you My signs; do not be in such a hurry.

We live in an age of the “Microwave Mentality”. We sometimes fall into the

trap of wanting everything as fast as our meals heat up in the microwave oven.

Let’s examine this topic further with this way of thinking in mind:

1. We are clueless as to how a prophecy is going to come about. Our thinking is limited to our own knowledge and frame of reference while God knows everything everyone knows and does. He has the master plan and knows who will play what role in the execution of the “Triumph”. There are infinite possibilities as to how this will come about and may include roles for people who currently have faulty traditional religious beliefs or none at all but are destined to be redeemed. For instance, a population belonging to a particular faith/church may collectively come to see the light. Rather than thinking that our actions may hasten the arrival of “Triumph”, we ought to pray that God will assign us a role in His plan thereby giving us the opportunity to serve in His cause and earn points for our post-retirement account. God does not need any of us to execute any of His plans but we would be honored to be

assigned a part.

2. God tells us to do our part so that we can achieve our own greatest triumph, by His leave:

[5:105] O you who believe, you should worry only about your own necks. If the others go astray, they cannot hurt you, as long as you are guided. To GOD is your ultimate destiny, all of you, then He will inform you of everything you had done.

[35:32] We passed the scripture from generation to generation, and we allowed whomever we chose from among our servants to receive it. Subsequently, some of them wronged their souls, others upheld it only part of the time, while others were eager to work righteousness in accordance with GOD's will; this is the greatest triumph.

The focus of our life should be to work to redeem ourselves by correcting our ways and doing our very best to follow all of God’s commands.

3. We should follow God’s commands as precisely as we possibly can and without compromising on any of the core principles as decreed by Him:

[49:1] O you who believe, do not place your opinion above that of GOD and His messenger. You shall reverence GOD. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient.

Working hard to remedy our own shortcomings, seeking to have God forgive our sins, and leading a righteous life, as defined by God, are the truly worthy objectives we should follow. By working hard on ourselves, in‐shaa-Allah God will let us impact those around us and set a good example for the future generations:

[26:83] "My Lord, grant me wisdom, and include me with the righteous.

[26:84] "Let the example I set for the future generations be a good one.

[26:85] "Make me one of the inheritors of the blissful Paradise.

It is noteworthy that the above verses are prayers of Abraham, one whom GOD has chosen as a beloved friend, as we read in [4:125]. These are prayers from the one whom God says, was never an idol worshiper. Abraham does not presume that he deserves Paradise, rather he is praying that God grant him the gift of such. We ought to ponder how much work we have ahead of ourselves and quit worrying about anything else.

The last verse of sura 110 has great advice for us: [110:3] You shall glorify and praise your Lord, and implore Him for forgiveness. He is the Redeemer.

By internalizing the view that God Is Running Everything (GIRE) and demonstrating it through our words and our deeds, in-shaa-Allah we will be redeemed and make it to the highest possible rank in the Hereafter.

Reverence during Contact Prayers

[23:1-2] Successful indeed are the believers; who are reverent during their Contact Prayers (Salat).

Submitters often express concern over not being reverent and occasionally making mistakes during their Contact Prayers. Some tips may help us do better, God willing.

1. Remember God: Always keep in mind that that the remembrance of God through Salat is the most important objective of the prayer. God controls everything so there is no reason for us to be worrying or thinking about anything else other than Him. Thinking of something else exposes what is more important to us, defeating the original objective of the prayer (29:45).

2. Appreciate: Salat is the prime source of nourishment for our souls combining all elements of worship—praise, supplication, humble posture etc. It is the most effective two minute power pack of worship invoking soul development, help, protection from harm, evil and vice, all in one. Let us make the most of it (5:12, 29:45, 74:43).

3. Correctness: Errors can be made without realization, so take care that you are doing the mathematically coded format of the prayer exactly as specified by God. For example, we avoid: (a) Reciting too softly (almost whispering) instead of using a moderate tone (17:110) (b) Skipping or mismatching words or steps. The lips should touch 19 times in the Al-Fãtehah. This means we should separate our lips after the second “arrahmaanir raheem” (1:3) before saying “maaliki yawmiddeen” (1:4). In a hurry, believers sometimes say “arrahmanirraheemmaliki-yawmiddeen” without a break, resulting in the lips touching 18 times, not 19. To reconfirm the steps, pronunciations, etc. 

4. Awareness of “Contact”: When you

open the prayer, be aware that you are now in direct contact with your Creator, Most Great. Just like you may take special care to see that all worldly meetings go off well, prepare yourself mentally and physically for this extraordinary audience with God, from ablution to planning your time for prayer, and so on.

5. Reverence: Instead of mechanical recitation, concentrate on every word so you mean them and are not heedless of what you are saying (107:4-5).

God has made the Contact Prayers short and easy for us to accomplish. It is our duty to show our appreciation to God for this tremendous gift and remain reverent during it (23:1-2).

* * * * *

The Contact Prayers are a gift from God, a blessing for us. How we think about them can affect our reverence. You can remind yourself, “I have to do my noon prayer.” That’s a correct statement. Or you can say, “I get to do my noon prayer.” A subtle difference in choice of words, but a big difference in attitude. Now we’re acknowledging that the Prayer is for our benefit and truly a blessing, a gift. Praise God.

* * * * *

[23:1-2] Successful indeed are the believers; who are reverent during their Contact Prayers (Salat).

[2:153] O you who believe, seek help through steadfastness and the Contact Prayers (Salat). GOD is with those who steadfastly persevere.

[6:162] Say, "My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe.

[87:14-5] Successful indeed is the one who redeems his soul. By remembering the name of his Lord, and observing the contact prayers (Salat).