Imam an-Nawawi (rah)

–

• He studied 12 subjects a day. He would sleep sitting up, because he was so busy studying.

–

• He crystallized the Shafi’i madh-hab (it was compiled by Imam Abu Is-haq Shirazi and Imam al-Ghazalli). He linked the fiqh to the dalil.

–

• He was a muhaddith, a faqih, an usuli.

–

• His room was filled with books. He wrote books for public consumption such as his compilation of 40 ahadith, his Adhkaar, and Riyadus Saliheen.

–

• He wrote on tasawwuf but didn’t subscribe to a particular tariqah.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Character of Rasulullah (saw)

–

• The character of Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was defined by three things:

1. A cool, calm mind;
2. A wide heart, a pure heart connected to Allah;
3. A soft and sweet tongue.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Things to Make Dua For

–

• We should implore that He makes beloved to us what was most beloved to His beloved.

–

• Salah is the caravan of the seekers and their mi’raj. We should make dua that He makes it that for us as well.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

What is Death?

–

• It is a journey back home.

–

• We were born to die and go back to Him.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Reality of Humanity

–

• Insaan (human) comes from the word uns, meaning “solace” or “intimacy”. Because that’s what we once were, when we were in Jannah: we had the uns with Allah.

–

• Why was Jannah a happy place? Because you were with Allah.

–

•  What is the greatest punishment for the people of Hell? That they are mahjooboon – they can’t ever see Allah and thus won’t ever know what it’s like to be human again.

–

• Thus the purpose of Salah is for us to become human, through rediscovering that uns.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Why is Salah Fard?

–

• It is so that we would learn that He is the Source of Peace, so that we would disconnect from the world.

–

• If it wasn’t, we would be unhappy. Our hearts would be attached to other than Him.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Suffering in the World

–

• Why is the world painful? Why is there difficulty and suffering? It is so that you would turn to Him and find Him.

–

• Had He made the world easy, we would have forgotten Him.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Our Condition in Salah

–

• When making salah, we must face the Qiblah. Our hearts must be facing Allah. If you turn your heart away, think that Allah is asking, “Ilaa aina yaa ‘abdee – To where are you turning, O My slave?”

–

• Salah is to go beyond, to break free of this mundane worldly existence. Allah ta’ala has no need of it.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

Salah and the Mi’raj

––

• The ‘ulama have a saying: as-Salaatu mi’raajul mu’min – Salah is the mi’raj of the believer.  It is a mi’raj of the heart. This is the intended aim of it, and its true haqiqah. We only have theoretical knowledge of it, but they probably tasted it.

–

• Imagine if you were to be taken on a journey to Allah. How honoured and happy wouldn’t you be? How much wouldn’t you value it? This is the reason why salah is such a great gift for us, since it is our mi’raj.

–

Comparison between mi’raj and salah:

• Rasulullah’s mi’raj was with body and heart. Ours is with the heart only.
• His heart was washed beforehand. We take wudu first.
• He left this world. When we make the takbiratul ihraam, we also leave the dunya, in that worldly things become haram.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)

The Fadl of Salah

–

• The greatest ‘abd went on the greatest journey and received the greatest gift.

–

• Every other hukm was given on earth. The hukm of salah was given in the Divine Presence.

–

•  Salah comes from the word silah meaning “to connect”. It is a connection of the heart to Allah.

(Shaikh Riyad Saluji)