Living in Allah’s Presence: Aspects of Islamic Spirituality

Translated by Abu Rumaysah “Know O beloved reader that it is most important to spend one’s time and energy in treating the heart, and hastening to correct and purify it from sickness and all sins. This is due to the heart occupying a great and lofty position in Islaam, for it is the place to which the Lord looks and the storehouse for tawheed, faith, and sincerity. Actions are distinguished, one from the other, with respect to their excellence in the Sight of Allah in accordance with the condition of the heart, not by their number or form, but rather due to the strength of the caller, his or her truthfulness, his or her sincerity and the extent to which he or she prefers Allah over himself or herself … Al-Haafidh ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him and provide us with his knowledge, said: “The heart has been singled out for this because it is the leader of the body, and through the purification of the leader the subjects become purified, and with his corruption they become corrupted. So if you, O servant of Allah, with to cure your heart then it is upon you to be truthful with regards to seeking refuge with Allah and putting your trust in Him, to pray a great deal of superogatory prayers, to perform the actions of obedience to Allah frequently, to pray the night prayer while the people are sleeping, and to treat your heart by making it continuously stick to the remembrances and by befriending only the righteous … and to frequently recite the Qur’an. And Allah will indeed allow all of this to be preserved by him.”

What are invocations? In a real sense these are requests which come from the bottom of our hearts to Allah Almighty. Allah is always ready and happy to receive prayers from anyone at any time.

If you’re facing any difficulties or trouble you should immediately turn to Allah for help. The best invocations are those narrated by the Prophet (S). If you don’t speak Arabic, you can pray in your mother tongue.

When we pray we should feel assured that Allah will accept our requests. We should do so with complete sincerity and devotion.

Prayers can be made at any time, but there is a greater possibility our prayers will be accepted if we do so at specific times.

This book is written to highlight the necessity and the pressing need to pursue these two qualities and to illustrate that happiness in this world and the Hereafter is dependent on them. It is intended to be a comprehensive, extensive and useful book.