About an hour and a half ago I was woken from the dead of sleep. I went to bed after reading Dr. Khan’s Article on How to perform Salaat.
I had read this article somewhere between a week or month ago. I knew it but I didn’t understand it. I have been technically following the idea but it was more a series of action. Although that was good I am seeking the greatest results with the limited time I have. I read it again last night after I sent Dr. Khan and email explaining to him what I thought the root of Salaat meant. I saw the partial response on stating that I was getting too “technical” and decided to read his articles. I came across the article on how to perform Salaat. I read it again and thought, again, I knew this.
My phone rings and I wake up to speak to my family on the other side of the world after the brief phone call I can go back to sleep. Instead I start thinking about Salaat. I don’t know if I can explain you should really read Dr. Khan’s articles because this is based on that.
Khan’s article explains Salaat is to follow Allah. But not in the way of just a spiritual aspect. It means in a practical way. The way you determine this is to look at Allah’s attributes in the Qur’an. Allah’s attributes show what Allah does for those under Allah.
- Your creator is a provider for you then you provide for others
- Your creator gives you wisdom then give wisdom to others (Secular Wisdom)
- Your creator supports you then you support others
So we should do the same for those “under” us in regards to the same attribute.For example. If Allah give us Knowledge then we should teach. If Allah is a Provider then we can provide those around us with what we have. It may be as simple as giving a person a pen who needs one or letting someone stay in your home to giving a meal to the poor.
Khan’s articles said Islam the biggest empire of all time because of its practices. So if we have the right practices then we can achieve success in our lives and the next. Salaat is a fundamental practice of Islam.
I believe, personally believe, everywhere the Quran says to “Establish Worship” it is referring to Salaat.
It’s really open because not all of us will have the same types of things to give. Then it struck me that, if you implement the same philosophies of organization and structured thought, as we do in other aspects of our lives, then you can increase your yield; even with limited resources. Like the “Teach a man to fish” proverb. If we are goal oriented in this endeavor it would be better than being reactive.
Up to this point I saw salaat as something to be done when the opportunity came about. If my mom needed help I would go perform my Salaat. If I saw something I could do I would perform it. Though that isn’t the way you “establish” something. That is the way you react to what someone else established.
So I started thinking about an idea a had about society. To improve society it’s our moral obligation to “lift” the bottom of society. Like improve prisons. Create systems to end homelessness. Anywhere where there are the dregs of society those should be repaired, replaces, lifted up, improved and made better in every way. If we lift the bottom then if you hit “rock bottom” you don’t have to worry about a long fall. You don’t need to worry about your kids “not finding a job” or “going to prison” because they are no longer synonymous with being punished.
Establishing systems to fix deficiencies in our society. Of course we can always pick up “extra credit” along the way but structure is the key in any establishment.
It’s my belief that following these practices will make us successful in this life and the next. I have learned that, when you want someone to trust you, you have to listen to them without judgement and do your best to understand. They will, inadvertently, start to trust you. I didn’t do this to gain people’s trust initially it just came with trying to truly understand another individual.
Logic would dictate that I can tell them about me and my trustworthy actions or someone else may, and that should work. Though that isn’t the case for true trust. If that were the case then when we see someone with an impeccably squeaky-clean image we should just trust them. Instead we often wonder what they are hiding. So in accepting a person (with no reserve or judgement) the result is they will trust you. Trust is based on the idea that some people are safe for us to depend on others are not. So in being a person who is safe to depend on trust is the consequence. Allah puts trust in that person’s heart because I was truly trying to be a person to depend on.
So, it is my opinion, if we want wealth then we should handle our wealth well and freely. Then Allah can give us wealth. If we want wisdom then we should be teaching what we already know. These are the “side effects” of Salaat.
Think of a father-son relationship. If you are wasting money your father won’t trust you with your inheritance today because he knows you will just blow it. With Allah it would be different. If we are not going to do good with wealth then there is no point in giving us more than what we have it’s not because there is a limited source of wealth but unlimited wealth will not be good for some of us.
If we are conduits to distribution than we become a hub for wealth/health/peace/knowledge.
I learned the value of cash flow in my business in Iowa. If you have a lot of money moving around you then you can live off of that money. If there’s a “clog” in the system then it cannot support you. We have to be conduits for the free flow of what we have and not a clog in the system.