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The Inner Meanings of
Worship in Islam -- A Personal Selection of Guidance For the Wayfarer
(Excerpts Only)Preface
As a child growing up in the Holy city of Karbala, Iraq, I often used to wonder about the practical and personal implications of our main Islamic practices. It was quite obvious to me that salat (prayer), sawm (fasting) and other key practices bring about very useful personal discipline. It was not until much later, however, that I began to see the tawhid of our Din (pronounced deen). As I began to be exposed to the rich heritage of 'irfan (inner knowledge) from the school of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt and the great Sufi masters of North Africa, India, Turkey and elsewhere, belonging to other schools of theology, the direct and personal benefits of our practices and rituals brought about a noticeable transformation in my conduct and outlook on life.
Our Din is indeed the pathway to the realization of Allah's absolute dominance, presence, control and mercy. The interchange between the physical and the spiritual -- the Seen/Unseen, shari'ah/haqiqah, in time/beyond time, information/transformation, branches/roots, and indeed all such interplays -- are connected by our Din to the Divine Source and Essence.
The times we are living in are dominated by outer reasoning, intellectuality, and by the general disintegration of society. Because of this I gathered what was of relevance to my own progress in revealing and emphasizing the inner meaning and benefit of the Prophetically prescribed practices. Personal illumination is the first step out of what we experience outwardly as general chaos and confusion.
This book is an attempt to share with the committed Muslim seeker the keys to inner transformation and awareness of the One, All-Encompassing Creator. It is not intended for the general public for it is a specialist's book, the use of which can only be realized in the application of the appropriate teachings. Originally gathered in Arabic, the material was compiled some twenty years ago and was personally selected from the teachings of enlightened beings from across the Muslim world and from different schools of thought and Sufi Tariqas, all of whom have influenced and inspired me. All streams lead to the same ocean and have emanated from the same merciful rain-bearing clouds. Allah's light illumines the known and the unknown, the inner and the outer, and this life and the next. There is no light except His and He is the All-Encompassing Power and Truth.
Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri
July 2001
Chapter Three -- Preface to Worship-Prayer and Ritual Purity
Ritual Purification
Ritual Ablution
Ritual Bathing
Dry Ablution
Chapter Four -- The Acts of Worship
Prayer
Prayer for the people of shari'ah
Prayer for the people of tariqah
Prayer for the people of haqiqah
Fasting
Fasting for the people of shari'ah
Fasting for the people of tariqah
Fasting for the people of haqiqah
Obligatory and Charitable Tax
Zakat for the people of shari'ah
Zakat for the people of tariqah
Zakat for the people of haqiqah
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage for the people of shari'ah
Pilgrimage for the people of tariqah
Pilgrimage for the people of haqiqah
Struggle in the Way of God
Jihad for the people of shari'ah
Jihad for the people of tariqah
Jihad for the people of haqiqah
Commanding Goodness and Forbidding Evil
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
© Zahra Publications 2002
