How Should We Pray ... Abdullah Adhami

There are two forms of "prayer" in Islamic tradition ... 

One is the realm of remembering and exaltation of the Divine 
Through 
Supplication
Invocation 
Benediction 

This can be a continual process 
That only requires the presence of heart and mind ... 

The other is the SALAH ... From the Arabic "to connect" ...
It is akin to the Aramaic (Shelayvah) and Hebrew (shalah) 
For "to be at ease, to have quiet, [and also] to prosper" ...

It is the distinctive physical act of kneeling and genuflection at prescribed times of the day .... 

It is a cosmic "connection" with one's world ... 

It involves the same physical limbs that one utilizes 
In her earthly, temporal world ... 

These faculties are gifts that one is entrusted with 
And how one chooses to use them can either honor or debase ... 

The ritual washing preceding the Muslim Prayer 
Is a spiritual cleansing of one's limbs to prepare the mortal human 
To connect with the eternal, heavenly realm ... 

Women are endowed with a spiritual preeminence 
That stems from their devotion to genuineness and belonging ... 

It is a yearning for what is viscerally authentic 
In all their connections and relationships 
Especially with God ... 

It is this very essence that makes woman profoundly soulful 
In her giving and at once so insatiable in her yearning ... 

It is also what makes her so bewilderingly enigmatic
So disarmingly incomprehensible
Even to herself ... 

Ironically, it is also this gift that makes her appear tentative
Often uncertain
When all that she wishes 
Is for everything that she ever does to be 
Meaningful 
Authentic 
And pure  

Women usually need privacy when they pray 
To replenish their formidable repertoire of giving
Though their very essence is a form of prayer 
Their speech is prayer 
And (as distinct from their whims)
Their feelings are prayer too ... 

Devotion is the secret behind a woman's eloquence 
And the essence of her virtue ... 

This is epitomized by Mary in the Quran 
And Fatimah in the prophetic tradition ...


Excerpt from Star Jones Reynolds, Shine: A Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 270