my faith
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ISLAM
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being blunted and corrupted. It is a protection or an insula-
tion from obnoxious and destructive acts and practices.
Salah
is a regular means of purifying both body and soul.
The ablutions before the Prayer with fresh water act as a
refresher and cleanser. The
Salah
itself, properly per-
formed, purifies the soul of arrogance and hypocrisy, dis-
belief and blasphemy.
Salah
leads to success or felicity in
this world and the next.
Despite all these possible benefits, there is a risk of
Salah
becoming merely repetitive, a series of motions and the
uttering of set phrases in which the heart and mind are not
present. This is a risk which you should guard against by
spending some more time in preparing for
Salah
, for exam-
ple by sitting quietly before the
Salah
reading the Qur'an.
One way of focussing the mind on
Salah
is to perform each
Salah
, in the words of the Holy Prophet [s], as if it is your
last Prayer, your farewell Prayer on this earth.
Adhan
The
Adhan
prescribed by Allah for summoning the
faithful to prayer is not only expressive of its aim and
purpose but also so richly, melodiously and eloquently
imbued with the spirit and high ideals of Islam and the
concept of Divine Oneness that it has attained the posi-
tion of a standing invitation to faith. This public procla-
mation of
Salah
has opened the heart of many a non-
Muslim to Islam. It is entirely different from the methods
prevalent in other religions and communities for sum-
moning the devotees to prayer. This is the only call to
prayer which is altogether free from the use of a mate-
rial aid or implement like a horn or a bell, and includes
also the marrow and substance of faith.
Allah in His Infinite Wisdom, wanted the
Adhan
not to
be a mere proclamation and warning but also to form a
part of the fundamental practice of Islam and that its
position in respect of the negligent should not only be
that of an alarm or signal but also of preaching and
exhortation, and compliance to it should be regarded as
a symbol of loyalty and devotion.
‘Id al-Fitr and ‘Id al-Adha
