Towards Taqwah 1: Applying Reflection into Action:

https://beyondtime2017.wordpress.com/2017/06/03/towards-taqwah-in-worship-applying-reflection-into-action/



Towards Taqwah 2: Heightening Our Worship with Mindfulness:

To follow below.

In the name of God most merciful, most compassionate

A few days ago I posted an article which I called Towards Taqwah: Applying Reflection into Action, in which I discussed the various ways we can apply the principles emerging in our other series, in order to not only understand, but also to heighten our worship, prayer and connection with Allah. You can find the link to it above.

I do not think that post should be a one-off, but rather something we ought to be doing constantly. Whatever advancements in our knowledge are achieved, we should be able to extract from them ways in which we can advance not only our faith, as it were, but our piety, and our prayer worship- in its piety, and in its power.

To this end, insha’Allah, I mean to make Towards Taqwah an ongoing series in which we apply our knowledge towards heightening our worship of God, whether it is knowledge gained from experience and life, or indeed, whether it is some of the knowledge we are accumulating in the process of the other series of this blog.

A Matter of Mindfulness

The main theme of the first Towards Taqwah post, which you can find linked above, was in simple terms, that we should bear in mind certain matters whilst performing our prayers, which would help us heighten the quality and intensity of this worship- such as bearing in mind the reality of God and His closeness, or indeed bearing in mind the reality and specialness of the Qur’an, as per the understandings developed within the Truth of the Qur’an series and its reminders of just how special the Qur’an truly is as a book.

In some sense, this is a matter of mindfulness: not performing actions mindlessly, without considering the truth and reality of what we say and do, what we recite and whom we worship- but rather, performing these actions mindfully, bearing in mind as much as we can the gravitas of what we do and the absolute grandness of God whom we worship.

Today, we can take this a step further.

Speaking with Our Hearts and Minds, as Well as Mouths

The Qur’an presents us with many things to say, from the short phrases that we who have been raised Muslims have been used to uttering since our childhood (or for those among us who have converted, have been saying since that day), to full supplications and prayers to speak unto God in hope of mercy and blessings from Him.

Too often, however, we speak these words only with our mouths- we say only the sounds, and we do not, with the fullness of our hearts, and the full consciousness of our minds, feel the meaning of what we say. This, too, like the matter of keeping in mind the truth of the Qur’an when we read it: is a matter of mindfulness.

What we must do, in this case, is say with our minds that which we say with our mouths. This is something that we can do:

When reading from the Qur’an: do not only read the words with your mouth, but if you can understand them, read every word with your mind as well, as fully as you can.

do not only read the words with your mouth, but if you can understand them, read every word with your mind as well, as fully as you can. When saying Zhikr (alhamdulilah, bismilla, astaghfirullah, etc): say the meaning too, not just the word: feel the thankfulness, or the regret and the earnest repenting.

say the meaning too, not just the word: feel the thankfulness, or the regret and the earnest repenting. When making Supplication/Du’a: do not just speak the words of the du’a in their sounds, but also understand the meaning of it, and try to hold it in your heart and mind- if you are praying for something specific, keep it in your mind, and keep also in your mind that God alone can grant it to you.

This is the basic concept- now let us break this down a little.

Speak with Your Mind: Reading from the Qur’an

When reciting from the Qur’an, whether it is in prayer or otherwise, for those of us who are able to understand its words, even to a small degree, we also have a responsibility to do so.

(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect.

[Sad, 38:29]

While it is sometimes easy to lose focus and read the sounds alone, we must put in all the effort we can in order to not just speak the sounds, but also to feel the meanings: to feel precisely what the message of the Qur’an- the Word of God- is conveying to us, and to understand it and absorb it as fully and completely as we possibly can.

This means that even when we find ourselves upon Ayahs that deal with asking for forgiveness, and especially if they come with a supplication or du’a for forgiveness, we must speak the words and ourselves ask for forgiveness. The same if we come upon Ayahs asking for Heaven, for example- we must take the chance to ask for it with all our hearts, not just read the words.

When we read through passages that speak of God, we must be filled with awe, humbleness and wonder- we must let our hearts bow to Him even when we are not ourselves bowing in prostration.

Indeed, we can see this in cases where a sajdah– a prostration- is marked in most copies of the Qur’an, which always comes after the Qur’anic narrative speaks of bowing to God, saying that all creatures do so, and telling us that all of us must bow to him. In this case, this is a physical manifestation of that which we were reading: and it is felt most powerfully when we had been fully in tune with the words we were reading before. Only when we were fully attuned to what we had been reciting, about the majesty of bowing to God- that we can fully feel the power of our prostration to Him, in the context of the words that preceded it. We feel like we are part of some greater narrative- bowing in that moment, we are bowing with everyone and everything else that bows to God.

Speak with Your Mind: When Making Zhikr

Zhikr, in this case, refers to the remembrance of God, and is encapsulated in phrases like Al-Hamdu-lil-Lah (“praise and thankfulness be to God”), Astaghfiru-Allah-al-Azim (“I seek forgiveness from God almighty”), Bismil-Lah (“in the name of God”), A’uzou bil-Lah (“I seek refuge with God”), Allahu Akbar ( “God is Greater”, known as takbir), among others.

The Unbelievers say: “Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?” Say: “Truly Allah leaveth, to stray, whom He will; But He guideth to Himself those who turn to Him in penitence,

“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance [Zhikr] of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance [Zhikr] of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.

[Al-Ra’ad, 13:27-28]

These are things we say all the time, but often, in the frequency of our repetition of them, we find that we become so accustomed to saying the words, that we lose sight of what they actually mean, and thus we speak them too often without fully meaning them.

Instead, we should be meaning precisely what we say, in order to reach the highest piety, and to be making this zhikr to its truest fullest degree.

Bismil-Lah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem

In the name of God, most merciful, most compassionate

This phrase precedes every Surah of the Qur’an (except one, but that is a discussion for another time).

Know, when you say this, that you are dedicating whichever action you are about to do, in the name of God, and mean to do so as you speak these words- whether it is reading from the Holy Qur’an, or any other action in your life, for most of which it should be possible to invoke the name of your Creator before performing it (and if you do not feel it is right to invoke His name before an action, perhaps you should reconsider that action!).

A’ouzou bil-Lah (min al-shaytaan al-rajeem)

I seek refuge in God (from accursed satan)

When thou dost read the Qur’an, seek Allah’s protection from Satan the rejected one.

[Al-Nahl, 16:98]

And if an interference of the Shaitan should cause you mischief, seek refuge in Allah; surely He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

[Fussilat, 41:36]

When we say this, we must have it clear in our minds firstly that we are always vulnerable to al-Shaytaan and that our only recourse to find refuge is with God, our Lord- and thus we should then have it clear in our minds that this is precisely the refuge that we are seeking.

Al-Hamdu-lil-Lah

Praise (and Thanks) Be to God

To say this phrase is not to just say the words- but to feel deep within us the sincerest gratitude for what God has given us, to bear in mind the endless bounties and mercies He has bestowed upon us, and to feel truly thankful and grateful for them all. If we are speaking the phrase in thanks for a specific thing, then we can focus particularly on this thing and our gratitude for it, and in our praise of God our recognition that it is thanks to Him, and with praise to Him, that we have anything and everything.

Astaghfiru-Allah (Al ‘Azim)

I seek forgiveness from God (the Great)

So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask for His Forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives.

[Al-Nasr, 110:3]

This, the Istighfar, is to seek forgiveness from God, and is most certainly not only something that is said- but especially, something spoken from the heart. They are not just words for our mouths- but regret to be felt, and repentance to be truly meant.

To say this phrase, and to seek forgiveness, is:

to bear in mind that whatever we did was wrong to admit this to ourselves, and to admit to God (though already He knows it) our guilt to admit that it is only from Him alone that we can seek forgiveness only then, do we get to the stage of the spoken part of the supplication: I seek forgiveness from God.

All this we must bear in mind when speaking this phrase.

There are, of course, many more such examples of Zhikr- and the general theme can be applied to them all: know precisely what it is that you are saying, and what it means, and hold its meaning in your heart, just as you speak the words with your mouth.

Speak with Your Mind: When Making Du’a and Supplication

And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell – in humiliation!”

[Ghafir, 40:60]

Much the same principle applies for du’a, as well: full supplications.

Here we can take du’a to mean two things: either the supplications, such as the many that are found in the Qur’an, that were spoken by the prophets, messengers and the well-doers throughout the ages, and which the Qur’an presents us with to repeat, in praise of God and in seeking of His aid. These I will be calling Qur’anic Supplications.

There is, on the other hand, the more personal supplication or du’a, which is when we sit and seek God’s guidance and aid and mercy on a personal level, for very particular problems, issues, desires and goals. We often do not have the proper linguistic framework to form these personal supplications in quite as grand a way as the ones we are presented with, such as the Qur’anic Supplications, but nevertheless, it is the meaning of our words that, in the end, matters- not how good they sound.

These same principles, then, can be applied in both instances.

Qur’anic Supplications

In the case of Qur’anic supplications, much the same reasoning can be applied as in both sections before, since it is both Qur’anic recitation as well as Zhikr, or remembrance.

Indeed, it is in some sense a combination of both of these: on the one hand, its meanings should be understood fully for what it is saying to us, as we spoke of in the first section about reading Qur’an- and on the other hand, we can take it as Zhikr and bear in mind the meaning of the specific supplication and feel attuned to its words, just as we did for Zhikr above.

Indeed, in some sense, for Qur’anic Supplications, the secret might be holding both these things in mind at once: both the intended meaning of the words within the Qur’an, as well as the intended meaning from your own personal side as you recite them.

As an example, we see that these supplications are often given to us in the context of a specific person and their narrative, and thus we are given with the supplication a very specific example of when it is to be used- as well as a very specific person with whom to associate it.

What we can do with this, is that we can both understand the words in context of the person to whom the Qur’an attributes them originally- as well as speaking them in our own personal context. In doing so, we seem to be bridging the gap between ourselves and those who first made these supplications, and putting ourselves in their positions, and thus creating a bond that above all is to our benefit, as we see the parallels of our actions in those of the past, echoing back to us through the long ages of history.

As an example, we have the very words that Adam and Eve spoke to their Lord, upon falling into the devil’s temptation in The Garden:

They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, surely we are of the lost!

[Al-A’araf, 7:23]

Thus we too are given these words, not only as a part of the narrative of Adam and Eve, but that we too might use the words when we have sinned or erred or transgressed- and in doing so, in addition to meaning the repentance (as outlined about Istighfar in the section above), additionally we are also able to see ourselves in light of those who first sinned, and thus who first repented.

This particular supplication is only an example- and whichever Qur’anic supplication we use, we are able to see ourselves in the context of its usage in the Qur’an, to still heighten its effect.

We are understanding ourselves, in this case, within the Qur’anic context- and in doing so, it becomes plain to us what recourse we must seek, and that in saying these supplications we are following in a grand tradition- and that, is yet another thing we should bear in mind in these recitals.

Personal Du’a

On the other hand, Personal Du’a are the prayers we say to God on a personal level- often we are unable to say them in fancy, flowing language, but rather they are almost conversational, as we sit and kneel and bow and ask God, in our own words, for His mercy and His guidance- and His bounties.

And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell – in humiliation!”

[Ghafir, 40:60]



When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.

[Al-Baqarah, 2:186]



Or, Who listens to the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and Who relieves its suffering, and makes you (mankind) inheritors of the earth? (Can there be another) god besides Allah? Little it is that ye heed!

[Al-Naml, 27:62]

Whenever we need or want for anything in this world- who better to seek refuge with, than God? Who better can grant us what our hearts need and want than Him? Indeed, who better knows what is within our hearts than Him?

Notice, also, the wording of Ayah 186 from Al-Baqarah: God indeed does listen, but so too must we heed His call, and believe him, and walk in righteousness: only then will our calls be truly answered.

Therefore, even when we make these personal little supplications, we can apply the same concepts as we have been using above. You can use the following list as loose guidelines, as this kind of du’a is a personal matter, but from my own experience, it would seem to me that these are all things that are good to bear in mind whilst making the du’a or supplication.

Bear in mind what you ask for.

Bear in mind that God alone can grant it to you.

Bear in mind His mercy and His bounties.

Bear in mind that you are asking the One who can grant you whatever you want- if He wills it.

Bear in mind that He may deem it better for you if you do not get it in the way you want- and accept that.

Bear in mind that upon God is your best reliance, and that this is the best thing you can do.

Bear in mind that in seeking His aid you have already done a wonderful act.

Bear in mind that God is close, and listens to you, and hears your plea.

Bear in mind that if you are among those who do good and believe, your plea will be received – even if it might not be fulfilled in the way that you might expect.

Keep asking, and never feel dejected- if you seek God’s favour and answer His call, in one way or another, sooner or later, He will answer yours- never feel hopelessness, and know your prayers are always heard.

Closing Words

Thus then, we have seen, that in mindfulness we can elevate our worship: in having the presence of mind, in our thoughts, of the words we speak, we can do more than say words: we can extol the name of our Lord in our hearts as well, read the Qur’an from the depths of our souls and seek His aid and forgiveness and blessings from the core of our being.