Understanding Salat

Book excerpt: How ofter do you find yourself observing Salat and focusing on everything but God? With thoughts of grocery shopping, dinner, homework, and your phone going off, it is easy to be distracted during prayer. Yet, Salat is a time reserved for building a personal relationship with Allah. Spiritual growth necessitates removing distractions that keep us from the remembrance of God during Salat. A challenge in removing distractions is that many are unaware of the deep meanings behind every word of Salat. Take Allah’s attributes of Al-Kabir, invoked when we say Allahu Akbar, and Al-‘Azim which is said during Ruku. Both refer to Allah’s greatness, but Kabir refers to objective greatness, while Azim is a personal attestation to Allah’d grandeur. Through a word by word commentary, Understanding Salat seeks to help readers progress on the spiritual path towards God.