Wisdom Behind the Pillars of Prayer in Islam Explained

The Wisdom Behind the Pillars of Prayer

Islamic scholars have explained various wisdoms behind the pillars of prayer. A few of these are mentioned below:

It is a natural tendency that when a person stands before someone of high rank, he does not move his limbs without need, as moving without reason is considered bad. If this is the condition with creation, what should a person's state be when he is about to stand in the court of his Creator? There is no doubt that he should be immersed in the fear of Allah Almighty and become even more conscious of Him. In addition to this, he should keep his heart attentive and remove all thoughts except those concerning Allah Almighty from his heart. The respected father of Imam Aḥmad Razā Khan, ꜤAllāmah Mufti Naqī ꜤAlī Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْهِمَا, while writing about the secrets of prayer, states regarding the act of Qiyām (standing) in the court of Allah Almighty:

(When you stand in prayer, your full attention should be on the prayer because) the thoughts in the heart are manifested in one's words and actions. The verbal manifestation is that one says with his tongue, "اللہ اکبر" (Allah is the Greatest). The scholars say, "One who does not know the meaning of the takbīr is utterly ignorant, and one who knows its meaning but inclines towards his ego or others whilst standing in the court of Allah Almighty, considers that thing to be greater than Allah Almighty, and that is his real, sought-after, and actual object of worship.”

The physical manifestation is that one stands with his hands clasped, with complete humility and submissiveness. In this state, it is of utmost necessity to keep three things in mind: Firstly, one should consider this standing as a favour from Allah Almighty that He has called a worthless being like me into His court and has given him permission to stand. To sacrifice one's life and heart for this benevolence is appropriate, and to consider all other wealth as nothing in comparison to this treasure and to shun it is proper. One should not consider it one's own accomplishment and feel pride before the true King.

Secondly, like a sinful and humiliated servant whose Master is aware of his shortcomings, one should bow his head in shame and consider his state as if he is standing before Him in this very manner, as one day he will have to give an account of the disobedience he committed throughout his life. Thirdly, just as one keeps his outward gaze on his feet, one should keep his inner gaze towards Allah, the One and Only. Neither turn your face in any direction, nor turn your heart towards anyone else. It is as if one has been made to stand in the court of the Omnipotent King and has been commanded: "If you move your neck, you will be killed."[1]

There is great wisdom in placing the face on the ground, i.e., in sujūd (prostration), because it is the most honoured part of the human body. By placing it on the ground, a person expresses humility and submissiveness before his Lord and frees his heart from worldly pride so that he may attain honour in the court of Allah Almighty. This is because humility before Him is a source of pride, and surrendering to Him is a source of honour and glory. It also contains the meaning of humbling the nose, which is a hub of arrogance and pride, by placing it on the dust to humble it. This is because dust, which is dirt, is the lowest of all things. So, it is as if the person is saying: "O my Lord, I have placed the most honoured part of my body, which is my face, on the lowest of things, and I stand before You because I know that You are the Lord of all, and everyone else is Your servant. I am humble before Your power, a seeker of Your mercy, and a subject to Your authority."[2]

Mufti Aḥmad Yār Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, while explaining the wisdoms of the pillars of prayer, writes:

In prayer, four things are recited and four acts are performed: (1) Quran, (2) glorifications, (3) reciting ṣalāt upon the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, and (4) glorifications are recited, and (1) Qiyām (standing), (2) RukūꜤ (bowing), (3) Sujūd (prostration), and (4) QuꜤūd (sitting) are performed.

These four acts contain two wisdoms: One is that a person has four characteristics: he remains in one state (jamād), he grows (nāmī), he is an animal (ḥaywān), and he is a human (insān). He worships in the manner of an inanimate thing (like a mountain or the earth) by sitting; the essential worship of an animal is to be in RukūꜤ; the worship of a plant is Sujūd; and the worship of a human is Qiyām, as is proven from the noble Quran. Therefore, all four of these types of worship have been combined in prayer. Furthermore, these four characteristics became a source of distance from the Lord for a person, as though a person came down four levels. Therefore, four acts were prescribed for his ascension.

The second wisdom is that a person is composed of four elements: fire, water, air, and earth. The characteristic of fire is arrogance and pride, which is why it rises upwards, just as Satan did not prostrate before Prophet Ādam عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم. The characteristic of water is to spread. The characteristic of earth is immobility and insensitivity. The characteristic of air is desire. It is as if a person is a complex mixture of these four simple elements, and the effects of these elements are present in the mixture. Therefore, since these four flaws were present in a human, these four pillars were established in prayer to remedy them. These pillars were filled with different forms of the remembrance of Allah Almighty so that purity from these flaws could be attained, as is stated in this verse:

اِنَّ الصَّلٰوةَ تَنْهٰى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَ الْمُنْكَرِؕ

certainly the prayer prevents evil and indecency[3]

وَ قَالَ اللّٰهُ اِنِّیْ مَعَكُمْؕ-لَىٕنْ اَقَمْتُمُ الصَّلٰوةَ

And Allah said: “Indeed I am with you. If you establish the prayer,[4]-[5]

Some of the wisdoms and benefits of RukūꜤ and Sujūd have also been mentioned by Amir Ahl al-Sunnah  دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ in his book, Faizan-e-Namaz, in the following manner:

Prayer is an excellent exercise because in its Qiyām, RukūꜤ, Sujūd, and other actions, most of the body's joints are stimulated. Lengthy Sujūd is very beneficial for a person suffering from a cold and flu. It clears a blocked nose and is also very helpful in moving and expelling unnecessary substances that accumulate in the intestines.[6]

In Jawāhir al-Bayān, the wisdoms for prostration being obligatory twice in every unit of prayer, unlike other pillars of prayer, have been explained as follows:

1.Sujūd is a witness to the claim of faith. A Hadith states: "The mark of prostration will shine on the forehead on the Day of Judgement," and for the proof of a claim, the Shariah has prescribed two just witnesses.

2.Or, the first prostration is a reference to the worship of the body and the second is a reference to the worship of the soul.

3.Or, the first prostration is out of respect for the magnificence and majesty of the Master, and the second is an expression of one's own incompetence and lowliness.

4.Or, the first is a token of gratitude for divine gnosis and the second is an expression of servitude.

5.Or, the first prostration points to the fact that a person was created from the earth, and the second points to the fact that he will ultimately return to the earth. In this way, the person performing the prayer acknowledges the meaning of the blessed words:

مِنْهَا خَلَقْنٰكُمْ وَ فِیْهَا نُعِیْدُكُمْ

We created you from it, and you shall return therein,[7]

6.Or, the first prostration is to obey the command, and the second is to humiliate Satan, who destroyed all his efforts and spiritual struggles due to his arrogance in not prostrating.

7. It is stated in Mabsūṭ that both prostrations are to humiliate Satan and to make him burn, because he was commanded to prostrate and did not do so, while we perform this act again and again. That is to say, even though he had prostrated millions of times, he became accursed only by his refusal to prostrate (to Prophet Ādam). When we repeat this act and receive a great reward in return, he will definitely feel remorse and regret his refusal. This very concept is proven by a Hadith: “When a person performs the prostration of recitation, Satan cries and walks away and says: ‘Woe to me! He was commanded to prostrate and he did, becoming worthy of Paradise, but I refused and became worthy of Hell.’”[8] Regarding the prostration of forgetfulness, it is stated: "Both prostrations will be a humiliation and disgrace for Satan."

8.Shaykh al-Islam writes regarding the repetition of prostrations:

When Allah Almighty took a firm covenant from the children of Ādam, He commanded them to prostrate so that their actions would match their words. The Muslims went into prostration while the disbelievers were unable to. When the Muslims raised their heads from prostration and found themselves to be specially honoured with this great blessing, they thanked Allah Almighty for this divine bounty with another prostration. It is those two prostrations that have been prescribed in prayer.[9]

Regarding the conclusion of prayer, also known as Khurūj bi-ṣunꜤihī, Mufti Naqī ꜤAlī Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه states: "Then he supplicates for the forgiveness of himself, his parents, and all Muslims, and takes leave by greeting those present in the divine court: "اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَیْکُمْ وَرَحمَۃُ اللہ " ،نَسْئَلُ تَوْفِیْقَ الْعَمَلِ مِنَ اللہِ[10]