Chapter 12

10th October 2016

Power of Al-Fatiha

Salat provides us with a means to reflect on our lives. It is during the moments immediately prior to, during and after salat that we may reflect on our actions, our temporary achievements, our errors and our shortcomings, and contrast them with our commitments and true desires for our lives and the world.

Siraatal mustaqim – we beseech Allah’s guidance and repent our sins; with repentance for sins, the first step is to be aware, be conscious, and acknowledge sins (to oneself) and to make a solemn intention not to repeat the errors.

Siraatal mustaqim – the straight path

Reflect on what we were doing or are about to do. Salat is one’s opportunity to realign and correct one’s intentions and actions, i.e. to simply choose to avoid worthless actions: actions that are thoughtless, being based on one’s own whims and desires, or actions that are a mere reaction to another person’s whims.

On average, the salat prayer will take around ten minutes and during these few moments the worshipper attains a deep reflection on his/her life – a reflection on the present moment. With this, one is placed in a position to realign one’s actions so that they truly become the actions that one would choose for one’s life and world.

Whether one is stuck on a project at home or at work, tasked and stressed by any matter, or simply just lacking peace and contentment – salat is one’s ‘reset to default’ button! With reflection on the words in this conversation with the Creator one is released from the constraints of worldly matters; one is able to put these worldly matters into perspective and to take the necessary actions to resolve the matters one was previously confronted by.

In the case where one’s mind is distracted and lacks focus, one is able to refocus on one’s commitment and, in doing so, clear the mind of the fog from a wandering mind and wandering thoughts. Salat will become a time that the enlightened soul will look forward to, in the knowledge that it is guaranteed to relieve one of worldly stress.

How often do we roam from the path that we have chosen and are committed to? The reality is that one is but the sum of one’s actions; during the moments or hours spent on worthless or time-wasting activity, one is the sum of those activities. Salat offers us the ability to break free and escape from the entrapment of inactivity and to redirect one’s energy with intention to engage in actions consistent with one’s commitments in life. In doing this, one will achieve whatever one wants to achieve.

This applies to any area of life that is important and that we have a commitment to,

whether this is the successful passing of exams for a student, successfully finding the best job, or working to achieve a promotion; or, if it is in the area of personal life and relationships, in feeling appreciated or acknowledged or just being happy – this can be truly achieved from reflection and achieving refocus during salat.

Surah 63: Al-Munafiqoon (the hypocrites)

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoola tulhikum amwalukum wala awladukumaaan thikrI AllahI waman yafaaal thalikafaola-ika humu alkhasiroon

O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers.

The great distractions from siratul mustaqim: is there any issue or matter that is sufficiently important for it to delay one’s salat prayer? Any such matter is a major distraction but remember, it cannot distract unless one chooses to allow it to. We spend an immense amount of time occupied with minor, insignificant issues. These issues may be minor but they act as major distractions.

Procrastination is a grave error; deal with tasks immediately as they remain major distractions until resolved. Delaying a matter inevitably leads one to think about it over and over, and leads to despondency each time it is delayed further. The matter can easily become a painful burden and ultimately will often only be completed simply to ‘get it over and done with’. Do things once, do them now! It is only by living life in the present moment that we can appreciate and enjoy life. Allah says: “so strive as in a race in all virtues…” (Noble Qur'an 5:48) and he describes the believers as those “who hasten in every good work” (Noble Qur'an 23:61).

Disputes, any dispute, will inevitably be a huge drain on one’s resources. The amount of time lost in thought, in action, on words dealing with disputes has devastating effects. Why give fighting disputes precedence in one’s life? It is imperative that disputes are resolved at the very earliest opportunity. Whatever the dispute, it will only grow as we spend more time on it with our thoughts and efforts; often a tiny dispute can escalate to an enormous, uncontrollable issue. We should always strive to resolve our disputes immediately and get back to living our lives. The best method is to avoid escalating minor matters at all costs; a small step down at an early stage is usually a great investment.

Keeping peace

“Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind.” [Muslim & Bukhari]

Money and debt.

Financial independence, freedom from debt, is necessary to achieve true peace of mind around money and finances. Financial independence is independence from debt.

Living in this modern era, one is surrounded by mod-cons and gadgets and one is sold the benefits of upgrading to the latest model or device. Corporations spend a huge portion of their budgets on marketing these benefits by hiring professional marketing teams.

At the same time, the costs are trivialised; easy-payment schemes or monthly contracts are offered to break the cost down into ‘bite-size’ amounts. This does not change the fact that all of these schemes are forms of credit, and using credit invariably results in accumulating debt. We are encouraged to take on debt in this modern world at almost every turn.

The first step to independence from debt is to avoid taking on debt, or taking on more debt: it is to live within one’s means. This may sound simplistic but it is easy to neglect this very obvious fact. Rather than just reacting to clever marketing, we have the choice of considering the real benefits, being aware of the costs and then weighing the real benefits against the cost of taking on the debt. The cost of taking on debt is the immediate loss of financial independence. To ensure that debt is minimised, one must strive to pay all bills at the earliest possible opportunity; mounting debt is an inevitable distraction which in turn acts to aggravate the huge burden associated with any debt.

Gossip – talking about one’s version of events.

One’s version of any event is just that; it is one’s constricted view or version.

There is also the version of the second person and the version of the third; in fact, every person will have his or her own version of the same event. One’s versions are formed by one’s own view. This view is determined on where one is positioned and on one’s predetermined view (i.e. judgement) on the matter and on life itself, all at that moment in time. At a different time we may form an entirely different view. And as we gain more information regarding the circumstances of an event that view too will alter.

The fact is that for any given event there are an infinite number of versions of it. The complete version would require including all of the infinite number of versions. None of these versions alone can be correct. An innocent chat about another is never just that, it is one’s distorted version that one is relaying to another and is often the start of a long chain of incessant gossip.