The Levels of Prayer By Ibnul-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah

Ibnul-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (rahimahullaah) said:

And mankind, with regard to their performance of prayer are in five levels:

🔹The First: 

The level of the one who is negligent & wrongs his soul: He is the one who falls short in performing wudhoo (ablution) properly, performing the prayer upon its time and within its specified limits, and in fulfilling its essential pillars.

🔹The Second: 

The one who guards his prayers upon their proper times & within their specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars & performs his wudhoo with care. However, his striving (in achieving the above) is wasted due whisperings in his prayer so he is taken away by thoughts and ideas.

🔹The Third:

The one who guards his prayers within the specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars & strives with himself to repel the whisperings, thoughts & ideas. 

He is busy struggling against his enemy (Shaytaan ) so that he does not steal from the prayer.

On account of this he is engaged in (both) prayer and jihaad.

🔹The Fourth:

The one who stands for the prayer, completes & perfects its due rights, its essential pillars, performs it within its specified limits & his heart becomes engrossed in safeguarding its rights & specified limits, so that nothing is wasted from it. His whole concern is directed towards its establishment, its completion & its perfection, as it should be. His heart is immersed in the prayer & in enslavement to his Lord the Exalted

🔹The Fifth:

The one who stands for the prayer like the one mentioned above. However, on top of this, he has taken & placed his heart in front of Allāh ﷻ looking towards Him with his heart with anticipation, (his heart) filled with His love & His might, as if he sees and witnesses Allaah. The whisperings, thoughts & ideas have vanished and the coverings which are between him & his Lord are raised. What is between this person & others with respect to the prayer, is superior & greater than what is between the heavens and the earth. This person is busy with his Lord Azzawajall, delighted with Him.

The First type will be punished, the second type will be held to account, the third will have his sins & shortcomings expiated, the fourth will be rewarded & the fifth will be close to his Lord, because he will receive the portion of the one who makes his prayer the delight & pleasure of his eye. Whoever makes his prayer, the delight & pleasure of his eye, will have the nearness to his Lord Azzawajall made the delight & pleasure of his eye in the hereafter. He will also be made a pleasure to the eye in this world since whoever makes Allaah the pleasure of his eye in this world, every other eye will become delighted & pleased with him.

(Source: Al-Waabil us-Sayyib)

 #Salah #khushu #IslamicKnowledge

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