Water has been used a symbol of the nature of God's blessings, being pure, giving growth, and the nature of his light "and his throne was upon the water".
Now the next thing to talk about is God the direction of Salah. We face ourselves to "the house of God", because our intention is to journey from the darkness of the soul to the house of God's light.
The intention in Salah therefore is always directed towards travelling towards God. "Verily I am emigrating to God" Prophet Lut in Quran.
The next thing is "God is greater" in the beginning of prayer after making the intention of the Salah towards closeness of God. This is known as Takbeer.
Imam Jaffar states:
When you face the qiblah, you should despair of this world, what it contains of creation and what others are occupied with. Empty your heart of every preoccupation which might distract you from Allah. See the immensity of Allah with your innermost being, and remember that you will stand before Him. For Allah has said,
Stand at the foot of fear and hope. When you recite the takbir, you should belittle what is between the high heavens and the moist earth, which are all below His glory, for when Allah looks into the heart of His bondsman while he is saying the takbir, and sees in his heart something obstructing the truth of his declaring that Allah is great, He says, 'O liar! Do you try to deceive Me?
By My might and My majesty, I will deny you the sweetness of My remembrance, and I will veil you from My nearness and from joy in My intimate communion.'
Know that Allah does not need your service. He is independent of you, your worship and your supplication. He summons you by His favour to show you mercy, to put you far from His punishment, to spread some of the blessings of His kindness over you, to guide you to the path of His pleasure, and to open to you the door of His forgiveness. If Allah had created what He created in the universe many times over, forever without end, it would still be the same to Allah whether they all rejected Him or united with Him. All that He has from the worship of creatures is the display of His generosity and power. Therefore make modesty your cloak and incapacity your shawl. Enter under the throne of the power of Allah, and you will capture the benefits of His lordship, seeking help in Him and asking for His succour.
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So we can see the "takbeer" in the beginning of Salah is to belittle everything other then God and to remember indeed God is the most worthy goal and the most best reward.
It's not mean to mindlessly just state God is Greater, but to have a spirit of magnifying God in the heart so as to belittle the rewards other then him, and so that we attain his nearness and the remembrance of the highest tranquility and peace and the journey towards it.
Now the next thing to talk about is God the direction of Salah. We face ourselves to "the house of God", because our intention is to journey from the darkness of the soul to the house of God's light.
The intention in Salah therefore is always directed towards travelling towards God. "Verily I am emigrating to God" Prophet Lut in Quran.
The next thing is "God is greater" in the beginning of prayer after making the intention of the Salah towards closeness of God. This is known as Takbeer.
Imam Jaffar states:
When you face the qiblah, you should despair of this world, what it contains of creation and what others are occupied with. Empty your heart of every preoccupation which might distract you from Allah. See the immensity of Allah with your innermost being, and remember that you will stand before Him. For Allah has said,
Quote:هُنَالِكَ تَبْلُو كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا أَسْلَفَتْ وَرُدُّواْ إِلَى اللّهِ مَوْلاَهُمُ الْحَقِّThere shall every soul become acquainted with what it sent before, and they shall be brought back to Allah, their true Patron. (10:30)
Stand at the foot of fear and hope. When you recite the takbir, you should belittle what is between the high heavens and the moist earth, which are all below His glory, for when Allah looks into the heart of His bondsman while he is saying the takbir, and sees in his heart something obstructing the truth of his declaring that Allah is great, He says, 'O liar! Do you try to deceive Me?
By My might and My majesty, I will deny you the sweetness of My remembrance, and I will veil you from My nearness and from joy in My intimate communion.'
Know that Allah does not need your service. He is independent of you, your worship and your supplication. He summons you by His favour to show you mercy, to put you far from His punishment, to spread some of the blessings of His kindness over you, to guide you to the path of His pleasure, and to open to you the door of His forgiveness. If Allah had created what He created in the universe many times over, forever without end, it would still be the same to Allah whether they all rejected Him or united with Him. All that He has from the worship of creatures is the display of His generosity and power. Therefore make modesty your cloak and incapacity your shawl. Enter under the throne of the power of Allah, and you will capture the benefits of His lordship, seeking help in Him and asking for His succour.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
So we can see the "takbeer" in the beginning of Salah is to belittle everything other then God and to remember indeed God is the most worthy goal and the most best reward.
It's not mean to mindlessly just state God is Greater, but to have a spirit of magnifying God in the heart so as to belittle the rewards other then him, and so that we attain his nearness and the remembrance of the highest tranquility and peace and the journey towards it.
