Submission and surrender.
This is the linguistic definition of Islam. But the word Islam also carries connotations of peace with the root letters س - ل - م.
Like all things in the Muslim faith, the connection between submission and peace is not incidental. When a parent names their little newborn, there is a clear thought process involved in the naming of the child. A name is chosen based on its meaning and affiliations with the hope that the child will live up to emulate all the goodness of that name and namesake.
Similar is the relationship between submission and peace. An individual chooses to submit on the basis that this decision will bring them salaam (peace).
But what exactly do we submit to? Who do we submit to? What are we bound to?
Some of us seek contentment in the purchases we make.
Some of us are tied to our desks for the companies that employ us.
Some of us seek validation in the relationships we form.
We are all bound by something in the pursuit of peace.
And Allah, in all His mercy and might, asks that we submit to Him.
This is the only submission that brings peace because it connects the creation to their Creator.
The framework for this practice of submission begins with salah (prayer). Salah, with the root letters ص – ل, primarily means to connect and meet. While the English translation of the Arabic salah cannot encompass its whole meaning, let us look at this idea of connectedness in prayer.
The story of Prophet Musa (AS)
The story of Prophet Musa [or Moses – peace be upon him] will serve us well. Having fled Egypt from the tyranny of the Pharoah, Prophet Musa now wished to see his family, having been separated from them for several years. Prophet Musa proceeded to make his way back to Egypt from the city of Madyan (located in Saudi Arabia) along with his expecting wife and possibly other companions too. The route was long and unfamiliar, and they longed for warmth as they traversed the dark, unwelcoming night. Prophet Musa attempted to strike fire with flint but was unsuccessful. In the distance, he noticed a light on what we know as Mount Sinai today.
As he approached the light, Prophet Musa observed the beautiful oddity of the scene. The light source was actually a fire that blazed on a lush green tree, scorching neither branch nor leaf. After quiet observation, he collected some dry grass to light it to take it back to his companions, but the fire would retract every time he drew the grass close to the fire. In this state of contemplative confusion, a voice that reached every core of his body called out to him:
“… Oh Musa!... I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed: ‘It is truly I. I am Allah! There is no god worthy of worship except Me. So worship Me alone, and establish prayer for My remembrance.” [Surah Taha: 11-14]
This story speaks of the revelation of Allah’s message and the granting of Prophethood to Prophet Musa. What is noteworthy here is the interconnectedness between the first pillar of Islam: ‘There is no god worthy of worship except Me. So worship me alone’ and the second pillar of Islam: ‘…establish prayer for My remembrance.’ While the first part denotes the concept of submission, the second provides its form in the act of prayer.
"It is truly I. I am Allah! There is no god worthy of worship except Me. So worship Me alone, and establish prayer for My remembrance.” [Surah Taha: 11-14]"
Allah reveals himself to Prophet Musa and then provides a point of action: prayer. To pray is to submit. To submit to Allah is a call for contentment and peace. So there is a connection here between the concept of prayer and peace as there is between submission and prayer. This connection comes from acknowledging the oneness and greatness of Allah as proclaimed to Prophet Musa in the above verses.
The Act of Prayer
The mere act of standing to pray is the acknowledgment of God’s greatness. When we pray, we surrender our burdens to Allah, consciously or unconsciously. We remove ourselves from all the burdens of life and work and stress and illness and wrongdoings, at the quiet of dawn, in the bustle of the day, in the arrival of the evening, at the setting of the sun, and in the stillness of the night. And in this reflection, our qiyam and ruk’u and Sujood connect us to the One and Only that can set our night and day straight again. In this reflection, we find ourselves connected to nature as we stand firmly but humbly on the ground, barefoot and barefaced, finding hope and forgiveness in this gift of prayer.
Qiyam, Ruk’u and Sujood
Because that is ,you see, prayer isn’t a burden. Prayer is a gift and a grace from God to untie the knots of life that drive us into the ground without purpose or peace. It is not easy to grasp this because sometimes prayer can feel hard to connect to and monologic, but if we understand that it is us who need God, and - though God does not need us - he has provided this avenue of communication for us, enabling us to find Him, then salah can be recognized for what it is: a gift.
Our world speaks of spiritual reflection and meditation and healing, and the merits of solitude. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself would meditate in the Cave of Hira before revelation came to him. He, too, sought solace in solitude. But his meditation was different from the concept of today’s buzzword because all of these practices are arbitrary for Muslims without our connection with God. And Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) recognized this even before Islam. He would go to places of solitude to seek respite from the burden of polytheistic idolatry and moral evils rampant in his community. Even before Islam, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sought the oneness and greatness of one God . This contemplative and meditative temperament and nature brought him into close communion with Allah Almighty.
This is our prerequisite to knowing Allah and finding our purpose too. We cannot truly ever know Allah, but we can gain closeness to Him. So while we may not have the cave of Hira and the mountain of Toor as our places of contemplation, Allah has given us the gift of prayer to connect with Him. Simple, Allah loves those who pray. If we can get through the day having performed our five daily prayers, we should celebrate this as a sure step to achieving our purpose. As Allah reminds us:
“I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” [Surah Adh-Dhariyat:56]
This is the biggest benefit of prayer, amongst many others that we will explore along this journey of knowing our Creator and contemplating our purpose through prayer.
Redemption, Renewal, Worship & Hope
I wrote the following short verse while pondering on a true nature of prayer: a reflective conversation between Creator and creation filled with redemption and renewal, as Shaykh Abdullah Oduro eloquently describes in his introduction in the prayer series at Yaqeen Institute:
We don’t have to perceive prayer as a hastily mumbled monologue or a one-sided conversation, incomprehensible and merely habitual. When we stand up and pray though our hearts are heavy, know that Allah responds to us at every point of our prayer.
Case in point:
When you bow in ruk’u, consider the placement of your hands on your knees. This is an absolute state of humility, and we are often humbled as humans. Allah, however, is free from this.
In this state, we say: Subhana Rabbiyal ‘azheem (Glory be to my Lord, the Great)
Those same situations that overwhelm and humble us can be set right by Allah. This realization comes with the desire to praise Allah.
When we stand up from this state, we say: Sami Allahu liman hamidah (Allah listens to the one who praises Him)
Allah is watching, hearing, and setting my affairs straight for me.
We then add: Rabbana lakal hamd (Our Lord, for You, is all praise)
How compelling is our Lord? Subhan Allah.
As Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah said about salah:
“[It] is, without any doubt, the domain of tranquillity for devotees, the enjoyment of the souls of monotheists, the garden of the worshippers, the essence of enjoyment of the humble ones, the test of the sincere ones, and the scale measuring the mettle of those embarking the right path.”
May Allah make us amongst these same humble, sincere, and righteous devotees, monotheists and worshippers.
Minara, with love