The Inner Secrets of Worship By Imam Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi

Learn about the core essence of worship as described by Allah, the Most High, in the Holy Qur'an. Discover how worship is solely directed towards Allah without any association or reverence to anyone or anything else. Followers of Islam are expected to fulfill the acts of worship prescribed by Allah. This enlightening text by Imam Ibn Qudamah will transform your perspective on worship, increase your love for Allah, and bring spiritual upliftment to your soul. In this third instalment, Imam Ibn Qudamah emphasizes the importance of worship and the necessity of following the Qur'an and Sunnah, along with providing examples from our pious predecessors. Topics such as Knowledge, Purification, Prayer, Zakat, Fasting, Hajj, Recitation of the Qur'an, supplications, and the excellence of the Night Prayer are covered in this comprehensive work.

Dar As Sunnah Publications

• Imam Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi

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DAR AS-SUNNAH CLASSIC COLLECTION THE INNER SECRETS OF WORSHIP by Imam Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisi [d. 689H]
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Content AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION... THE FIRST FOUNDATION On Knowledge (Kitab al-'ilm wa-faḍlihi)... 1.1. On the Excellence of Knowledge.. 13 15 15 1.2. Seeking knowledge is Obligatory....... ..20 1.3. The Knowledge of Devotional Practice. ..24 1.4. The Praiseworthy Disciplines.... .28 1.5. Scholars that Do Not Benefit from their Knowledge... 1.6. The Etiquettes of the Teacher and the Student, and 30 the Adversity of Knowledge, and the Scholars of Evil and the Scholars of Afterlife... .31 1.7. The Adversity of Knowledge, and the Scholars of Evil and the Scholars of ............................. 35
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THE SECOND FOUNDATION On the Inner Secrets of Purification (Kitab asrar al-taharah).......... 2.1. On the Ranks of Purifying. 2.2. On Purifying the External... 39 .39 .41 THE THIRD FOUNDATION On the Inner Secrets of the Prayer (Kitab asrar al-salah).... 43 3.1. The Excellence of the Prayer. 43 Presence of heart. 45 Understanding.. .46 Glorifying and revering Allah... 47 3.2. On the Etiquettes of Friday (yawm al-jumm'ab) and the Friday Prayer (salat al-jumm'ah).. 3.3. On the Supererogatory Prayers......... 51 54 56 3.4. On the Times When Praying is Forbidden. THE FOURTH FOUNDATION On the Inner Secrets of Almsgiving (Kitab asrar al-zakab).... .58 4.1. On the Details of the Inward Rules of the Zakab............60 4.2. On the Etiquettes of the Recipient of Zakab. .................64 4.3. On the Voluntary Charity (sadaqah al-taṭawwu), its Excellence and Etiquettes. .....66 THE FIFTH FOUNDATION On the Inner Secrets of Fasting (Kitab asrar al-şawm).......... .69 5.1. The recommended Practices connected with Fasting .70 5.2. An Exposition of the inner secrets of fasting and its characteristics... ..71 5.3. Voluntary Fasts (sawm al-taṭaww).............. 73
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The Third Foundation: On the Inner Secrets of Prayer the actions is not fulfilled either if the heart is not present since the purpose of standing (qiyam) is servitude and the purpose of bowing (ruki) and prostrating (sujud) is humility (dull) and reverence (ta'zim); if intention is taken away from actions, only meaningless movements remain. Allah says: لن ينال اللهَ لُحُومُهَا وَلَا دِمَاؤُهَا وَلَكِن يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَى مِنكُمْ "Their meat will not reach God, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you." [al-Hajj (22):37] In other words, what carries one to Allah Exalted and Most High is that which takes over the heart and makes one abide by the orders he has been given. Therefore, presence of heart is a necessary part of prayer. However, the Lawgiver has pardoned absentmindedness (ghafla) that occurs during the prayer, for if one concentrates in its first part he is considered to have concentrated in the remaining parts as well. There are many things that bring life to the prayer (hayat al-salah), among them the following: 1. Presence of heart (hadur al-qalb), as we have mentioned, which means ridding the heart of everything that is not related to the act of worship at hand. What leads to this is concern (hamm), for when you are concerned about a matter your heart will be automatically present. Therefore, the only way to create pres- ence of heart is to direct one's concern towards the prayer. The strength and weakness of this concern depends on the strength of one's faith (iman) in the Afterlife and in the worthlessness (ihtigar) of this world. So if you notice that your heart is not present in the prayer, know that it is because your faith is weak (daf). You must work hard to strengthen it. 45
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THE INNER SECRETS OF WORSHIP by Imam Ibn Qudāmah al-Maqdisi [d. 689H] Allah, the Most High said: "I have only created the Jinn and mankind for My worship" [Qur'an (51):56]. In Islam worship is the right of Allah, the Most High. Worship is only directed to Him alone, without association or reverence to anything or anybody else. It is the right of Allah alone that His servants fulfil the acts of worship that Islam has prescribed. Worship is everything that Allah loves, including actions, deeds and speech. If you desire to build a close connection with your Lord, gain His pleasure, increase your love for Him, or to draw near to Him then this text is vital for you. This work will not only change your perspective on worship, but it will enrich your soul towards being an obedient servant of Allah and give you a spiritual uplift that your soul needs. Often people complain about not finding inner peace, or the motivation to increase in doing good deeds, this work with the permission of Allah will fill that void. In this third instalment, Imam Ibn Qudamah sets out the importance of worship and how worship has to be done with knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah, as well as giving examples of our pious predecessors. It covers many aspects of worship, such as Knowledge, Purification, Prayer, Zakat, Fasting, Hajj, Reciting the Qur'an, supplications and the excellence of the Night Prayer. Där as-Sunnah Publishers P.O. Box 9818, Birmingham, B11 4WA,United Kingdom. E-mail: info@darassunnah.com www.darassunnah.com ISBN-13: 978-1-904336-62-4 ISBN-10: 1-904336-62-0 Copyright by Där as-Sunnah Publishers 9 781904 336624