Seeking the Straight Path [Electronic resources] : Reflections of a New Muslim نسخه متنی

But, what of the last part of the verse that talks about beating women?
Many translations of this verse do not convey its full meaning, and so it
appears to the reader that a husband who is displeased with his wife is
permitted to beat her. Truly, he cannot touch her in anger, ever. If she has
done something wrong, he is to simply tell her so and let her know that he is
displeased. If she persists, then he may sleep in a different bed, and if she
still persists, then he may lightly hit her. What does it mean to lightly hit?
To answer that, see the answer of the Prophet (saw) who was asked the very same
question. His reply indicated that she cannot be hit on the face at all and not
even redness is to result. The "hitting" is supposed to be more symbolic than
actually painful, and done with a feather or miswak (kind of
toothbrush). The husband has to take several steps over a period of days
because he must first try the other two before coming to the third. Thus, it
must be a problem of a serious and recurring nature. And, if he is upset with
his wife because of her adherence to Islam, he can do nothing. For example, he
can do nothing if she wears hijab and he doesn't like it. This verse is
revealed for the case of severely wrong behavior on the part of the wife and
nothing else. Ayatollah Sistani has indicated that this beating can be done
only related to severe problems concerning sexual intimacy or her travel
without his permission after all other steps have been faithfully fulfilled,
and he further says that a man cannot beat his wife in a way that physically
harms her or he has to pay "blood money".

When such problems in a marriage exist, it is possible that divorce
will result. Contrary to popular belief among non-Muslims, a Muslim man cannot
divorce his wife simply by saying so three times in immediate succession. He
says it once and then the couple must go through a considerable period in which
they may separate and try to reconcile. During this time, he is still required
to provide for her just as he always has. Actually, there are some
circumstances in which he is not permitted to pronounce divorce at all, one of
them being while his wife is menstruating.

The woman also has the right to divorce if she is facing any
mistreatment by her husband by going to a legal representative. In that way,
the woman pursuing divorce is nearly exactly like it is in many American
states. The person wanting the divorce must file a case giving a reason for
wanting the divorce, and then the case is examined by the law to determine if
grounds for divorce do indeed exist. For the men, it is easier to begin the
process of divorce in Islam. And, if he initiates it, a no-fault divorce is
possible after efforts to reconcile fail. If a divorce results, he cannot lay
any claim to his wife's property, even that which he had given her, no matter
how wealthy she may be.

In practice, it is sometimes made too difficult for the woman to obtain
a divorce and too easy for the man. It is difficult for some women to obtain
access to truly Islamic legal representation. When the Muslim divorce system
fails, the religion is blamed. Actually, if the divorce system were managed the
way Islam directs, it would never fail. There are reliable hadith that
the Prophet (saw) granted divorces for reasons as simple as the wife not
finding the husband physically attractive. There is no question that a divorce
should be granted in cases of abuse.

Finally, I will briefly mention male and female circumcision.
Circumcision for Muslim males is enjoined for cleanliness and for the same
reasons it is enjoined among Christians and Jews. Some Muslims also practice
female circumcision in a variety of forms. There is a lot of debate as to
whether this is an Islamic or cultural practice. There is no reference to the
Prophet (saw) advising circumcision of women or of its practice among his
family.

There is a hadith of the Prophet (saw) that mentions female
circumcision, but I am not qualified to judge its authenticity and reports I
have read cast serious doubt on its authenticity. Assuming it is authentic, for
the sake of argument, this hadith tells believers that if they do practice
female circumcision they must only remove a very small amount of foreskin. In
any case, it is clear that removal of sexual organs, sewing up the woman to
ensure virginity, and performing the procedure with unsterile equipment and
lack of medical training are all not approved of in Islam and rather are
considered as evil practices.

Regrettably, it is not too hard to find room for improvement in the
practice of Islam the world over. This includes treatment of women. However, to
maintain that Islam is oppressive to women is to maintain an absolute fallacy.
It is similarly erroneous to maintain that most Muslims propagate oppressive
beliefs and behavior. Upon careful examination, Islam reveals itself as the
most just system of living available to mankind. Further, most Muslims are
sincere in seeking proper implementation of Islam rather than twisting it to
satisfy personal gain.

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Division

Among Muslims

The topic of division within Islam is a sore spot for the world of
Muslims. It is easy to find Muslims polarized on this issue and acting with
great emotion and vigor trying to prove their views. In the minds of these
Muslims, those who adhere to a different group are in gross error and have
purposely twisted the meanings of true Islam to their own ends.

It is disappointing to converts when they find that Islam is not the
unified religion it first appears to be. For me, a sense of dread enveloped me
when I began to encounter religious factions within Islam. It was dread,
because I was still mentally exhausted from the process of conversion to Islam,
and yet here I was faced with different versions of Islam to sort out. I would
again have to engage myself in serious study, prayer for guidance and
self-evaluation to try and determine which of the factions, if any, were
truthful. The discovery of division did not raise any doubt in me about Islam
itself, but it raised doubt that any one group was in possession of true Islam.
I had to consider the possibility of being a Muslim without a school just as I
had had to consider being a Christian without a church.

The various schools of Islam sometimes harbor bad blood toward each
other. And thus, it is not unusual to find books written by a scholar from one
faction viciously defaming another faction to the point of calling it
non-Muslim. Similarly, members from one faction will chastise members of
another faction for causing disunity, when in truth neither group seeks
disunity. After all, you cannot blame someone for pursuing what he/she finds to
be true, even if it is different than what you find true.

I advise all Truth-seekers to stay away from those who speak viciously
of other groups and accuse them of all sorts of misguidance and wrongdoing.
Avoid their interpretations of the writings from the questionable "other"
group. Instead, read their writings about their own beliefs.

As I have alluded to earlier, those who would find the Truth need to
investigate all groups with an open mind and fairness. They should read works
about a group written by numerous scholars and members of that group. They
should judge a group by its own writings and teachings rather than other
groups' interpretations of such. They should not neglect study of a group
because of its reputation or small numbers. They should not hesitate to ask
questions of members of each group but should not take the answer of one person
as representative of all members of the group.

It is each person's duty, Muslim or not, no matter into what religion
or school they were born, to determine for themselves where truth lies. They
should not be satisfied that their own religion, culture, nation, or school
holds the truth without extensive verification.

"They say, 'We follow that wherein we found our fathers.' What! Even
though their fathers were wholly unintelligent and had no guidance?" 2:170

Personally, I found a good place to start a study of all that is within
Islam to be the Internet. Although it takes some effort to find it, it is
possible to find good-quality information presented by each group that explains
what they believe and why they believe it. You can also find lots of
information about what they believe to be wrong with the other groups, but that
type of information has to be regarded very carefully.

In my own study, I began first with the largest group, the Sunnis, and
ultimately was not fully satisfied with any of the Sunni schools for the same
reason that I was not satisfied with Christianity. For Sunnis, after the death
of the Prophet (saw), religion came to the hands of ordinary, even if
well-intentioned, men and thus the major sources of Sunni law come from such
men. I also was unsatisfied that four schools within Sunni Islam should be
considered as equally acceptable. As a believer in a single Absolute truth and in
a God who provides the means to that Truth, I strongly hold that minor
differences in law do matter and that one way must be preferable to others. I
could not accept using fallible collections of traditions of the Holy Prophet
(saw), each of which contain numerous contradictory traditions and traditions
which come from unreliable sources, as a primary source of the religion. Just
like the Bible, the numerous errors and contradictions of the Sunni hadith
(tradition) collections make them unreliable as a determiner of Truth. They are
not from Allah (swt), but from men.

"If it had been from other than Allah they would have found therein
much incongruity." (4:82)

I do believe that traditions have a very important place in Islam but I
feel that no collection of traditions should be regarded as sahih
(error-free). And I also believe that traditions from those who demonstrate
themselves to be the best Muslims should be preferred over those narrated by
any other individuals.

The Sunnis largely consider ijtihad or the means of determining
right and wrong in any new cases, to be dead. The scholars rely on
centuries-old books for ijtihad and, as such, do not truly have access
to modern rulings about modern situations. Thus, the Sunni Muslims are left to
make their own decisions on new matters that arise. So, once again, there is no
way for them to satisfactorily determine right or wrong on any new problem. The
quest for Absolute truth has failed.

As for other groups, I found many of them also to be unacceptable but I
shall avoid discussing them in detail for the sake of brevity. The reader may
wish to engage in his/her own study of Ismailis, Ahmadis, Nation of Islam,
Qadanis, Fatimids, Bohras, Wahabis and Ja'faris.

After a detailed study, I chose the Ja'fari school of Islam because I
found that it alone met my criteria. I shall briefly discuss some of the
information and factors, which led to my choice, but I do not intend thereby to
provide enough information to convince anyone of its correctness (that would
take more pages than this entire book). Each person has a duty to conduct their
own bias-free (or as near to that as possible) and detailed study of where
Truth lies.

During the lifetime of the Prophet (saw), Allah (swt) appointed twelve
successors after the prophet who would uphold the religion and prevent its
corruption. The first of these successors was publicly appointed at Ghadeer
Khum, a short time before the death of the Prophet (saw), in front of 90,000 to
140,000 witnesses. Two Qur'anic verses were revealed on that day and the event
of that day has been recorded more times and by more sources than any other.

"O Messenger! Make known that which hath been revealed unto thee from
thy Lord, for if thou do not, thou will not have conveyed His message." (5:67)

"This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favor
unto you, and have chosen for you as religion Al-Islam [submission to the One
God]." (5:3 )

The first verse is a command to announce what the Prophet (saw) had to
announce at Ghadeer Khum, and the second is a statement that upon the finishing
of this announcement Islam has been completed and perfected. What the Prophet
(saw) said, according to the scholars of all schools of Islam, is as follows:

"O men and women! Allah is my master. I am the master
of the faithfuls. I have a clear authority over their souls, and of whoever I
am the master, Ali [his cousin whose hand he was upholding while speaking] is
master. O Allah! Love him who loves Ali, hate him who hates Ali." Muslim, vol.2, p.325 and many others

Further in verse 5:55, Allah says in meaning:

"Your mawla (master) can be only Allah; and His messenger and those who
believe, who establish worship and pay the poor due while bowing down in
prayer."

It is virtually unanimous among all leading scholars of any school of
thought that this verse refers to Allah, the Prophet (saw), and Ali. Ali (as)
is the one for whom it has been recorded in the traditions that he gave charity
(in the form of a ring he was wearing) while bowing in prayer.

The disagreement arises over the definition of the word "mawla" because
it can mean master or friend. But, in the context of Ghadeer Khum, it is clear
that it means master, because it is clear that when the Prophet (saw) is
speaking of Allah (swt) and himself he means the master sense of the word.
Otherwise the phrase "I have a clear authority over their souls" would
be out of place. And it also makes no sense to stop thousands of people in the
middle of a hot desert to announce that Ali (as) is a friend. After saying this
at Ghadeer Khum, the Qur'anic verse came which announced that Islam had been
completed and perfected. This also would not make any sense if he had merely
said that Ali was a friend. But, it makes perfect sense if he had just
announced that Ali (as) had authority over the people equal to his own
authority.

Nearly all Muslim scholars believe in the concept of Imamate, i.e., the
successor of the Prophet (saw) that upholds and protects the religion from
corruption. The Sunnis generally hold that the first four Imams were the first
four Caliphs and do not know who the remainder are. But clearly this is
unacceptable, as the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "The person who dies and
has not known the Imam of his time has died the same as one who died during the
Age of Ignorance." (Sahih Bukhari vol. 5, p. 13; Sahih Muslim vol. 6, p. 21
No. 1849; and others) This hadith clearly indicates that all people in
all times, including our time, should know our Imam.

The view that the first caliphs were imams is questionable since God
did not appoint the caliphs into their positions. The first caliph was chosen
in a small private election that took place while the family of the Prophet
(saw) was busy with the Prophet's burial. Others took power by being appointed
by their predecessor. There is no evidence in any Qur'anic verse or hadith
that the successors of the Prophet (saw) should be chosen by election or
personal appointment. Rather, the evidence is to the contrary that Allah (swt)
has chosen and appointed those who would lead mankind, just as He has done
throughout history.

"You will never find a change in the practice of Allah." (35:43)

The Prophet first presented the message of Islam to his
near relatives and even at that early date he introduced Ali as "my brother,
my successor, and my caliph." The Prophet again introduced Ali to the
people (as successor) on numerous occasions concluding with Ghadeer Khum. The
appointment of Ali was therefore no secret.

This is only a very small portion of my study concerning Ali (as) that
led me to believe that he was appointed successor of the Prophet (saw) and that
obeying him was made compulsory. For one who demands more proof, there are many
books dedicated solely to establishing that God did indeed establish Imams or
guides on earth including twelve after the death of the Prophet (saw), the
first of which was Imam Ali (as).

Among the leaders of Sunni schools and among the Imams of the Ismailis
and so on, it is possible to find examples of sin and teachings contradicting
the Qur'an. This is to be expected from ordinary men, but not from those
appointed by Allah (swt) to uphold the religion. One set of Imams, those twelve
followed by the Ja'fari school, are singular in their adherence to Qur'an and
lack of sin.

There are reliable hadith (records of the Prophet's (saw) words
and actions) in the Sunni books that the Imams will be twelve in number.
Further there are some which name them all, and they are named in accordance
with the Ja'fari (Shia) belief. A few of these traditions are quoted here from
Peshawar Nights:

(1) Sheikh Sulayman Balkhi Hanafi in his Yanabiu'l-Mawadda,
ch.76, reports from Fara'idu's-Simtain of Hamwaini, who reports from
Mujahid, who reports from Ibn Abbas, that a Jew named Na'thal came to the Holy
Prophet and asked him questions about Tawhid (Unity of Allah). The Holy Prophet
answered his questions and the Jew embraced Islam. Then he said: "O Holy
Prophet, every prophet had a wasi (vicegerent). Our Prophet, Moses Bin Imran,
made a will for Yusha Bin Nun. Please tell me who is your wasi?" The Holy
Prophet said:

"My vicegerent is Ali Bin Abi Talib; after
him are Hasan, and Husain and after them are nine Imams, who are the successive
descendants of Husain."

Na'thal asked the Holy Prophet the names of those Imams.
The Holy Prophet said: "After Husain, his son, Ali, will be the Imam; after
him his son, Muhammad; after him his son, Ja'far; after him his son Musa; after
him his son, Ali; after him his son, Muhammad; after him his son, Hasan; after
him his son, Muhammad Mahdi will be the last Imam. There will be twelve Imams."

In addition to the names of the nine Imams, this hadith
further states that each would succeed as Imam after his father. Na'thal made
further inquiries, and the Holy Prophet described the manner of death of each
Imam.

Then Na'thal said, "I bear witness that there is no god but
Allah and that you are His Holy Prophet. I bear witness that these twelve holy
Imams are your vicegerents after you. What you have said is exactly what is recorded
in our books and in the will of Moses."

Then the Holy Prophet said: "Paradise is for him who
loves them and obeys them, and Hell is for him who is hostile to them and
opposes them."

Na'thal then recited some couplets to the effect that "May
Allah, the Exalted, shower His blessings upon you, chosen Prophet and pride of
the Bani Hashim. Allah has guided us by means of you and the twelve holy men
whom you have named. Certainly Allah has purified them and preserved them from
impurity. He who loves them is successful. He who hates them is the loser.

The last of the Imams will quench the thirst of the
thirsty. He is the one the people will wait for. Prophet of Allah, your progeny
is a blessing for me and for all the believers. Those who turn away from them
will soon be thrown into Hell."

(2) The great scholar, Sheikh Sulayman Balkhi, in his Yanabiu'l-Mawadda,
ch. 76 reports from Manaqib of Khawarizmi, who reports from Wathila
Bin Asqa' Bin Qarkhab, who reports Jabir Bin Abdullah Ansari; and also Abu'l-Fazl
Shaibani and he from Muhammad Bin Abdullah Bin Ibrahim Shafi'i, who reports
Jabir Ansari (one of the chief companions of the Prophet) as saying: "Jundal
Bin Junadab Bin Jubair, a Jew, came to the Holy Prophet and asked him about
Tawhid. After hearing his reply, the man became a Muslim. He said that on the
previous night he had seen Moses in a dream telling him: 'Embrace Islam at the
hands of the last of the prophets, Muhammad, and attach yourself to the
vicegerents after him.' He thanked Allah for the blessing of Islam. He then
asked the Holy Prophet to tell him the names of his vicegerents. The Holy
Prophet began by saying: 'My vicegerents are twelve in number.'

The man said that he had seen this fact in the Torah. He
asked the Prophet to tell him their names, and the Prophet said: 'The first
of them is the chief of the vicegerents, the father of the Imams, Ali. Then
follow his two sons - Hasan and Husain. You shall see these three. When you
reach the last stage of your life, Imam Zainu'l-Abidin will be born, and the
last thing that you have of this world shall be milk. So cling to them so that
ignorance may not mislead you.'

The man said that he had seen in the Torah and in other
scriptures the names of Ali, Hasan, and Husain in their various forms. He asked
the Holy Prophet to tell him the names of the other Imams.

Then the Holy Prophet named the remaining nine Imams with
their epithets and added: 'The last of them, Muhammad Mahdi, will live, but
disappear. He will appear later and will fill the world with justice and
equity, since it will have degenerated into injustice and tyranny. Verily,
Paradise is for those who show patience during the time of his occultation.
Paradise is for those who are firm in their love for him. These are they whom
Allah Almighty has praised in the Holy Qur'an and for whom the Holy Qur'an is a
'guide for those who guard (against evil). Those who believe in the unseen.'
Also He says, 'These are Allah's party: now surely the party of Allah are the
successful ones.'" (58:22)"

Still among the Muslims are those who do not believe in the sinlessness
of God's messengers and guides. They say that those messengers and guides do
not commit any sin or mistake in delivering the message or guidance but in
other ways may commit fault. They also interpret passages in the Qur'an to
indicate sins on the part of some prophets. There are numerous evidences
contrary to that view, but such a belief is also contrary to reason. First of
all, God is perfectly capable of providing messengers and guides that do not
commit fault. Secondly, if ever a messenger or guide did commit fault, even
outside the normal realm of his religious work, it would affect his credibility
and it would corrupt his purpose. Every waking deed of the messengers and
guides is watched and is under scrutiny. If one of them did commit a sin, the
followers would be likely to see it. It then becomes a question of how the
followers are supposed to be able to tell which of the actions and sayings of
that messenger or guide they are to follow. Which actions are from God and
which aren't? "Do what I say and not what I do" is inadequate for the
deliverance and protection of God's message, and God does not do inadequate
work.

The Ja'fari school alone met my standards of possessing one absolute
Truth derived from a God-protected source. Those who ultimately come to a
different conclusion are entitled to do so. Tolerance of those who reach varied
conclusions is the only action that agrees with the behavior of the Holy
Prophet (saw). Among all groups and schools of Muslims are those who behave
with very poor manners toward members of other groups. They allow hate and ill
will to cultivate in themselves and justify their behavior by making a large
list of grievances about the other party. I would ask those people to find any
example in the demeanor of the Prophet of Islam (saw) or any prophet (sa) that
matches theirs. Even those who were the outright enemies of Islam, and rejected
it although its truth was apparent to them, were never treated disrespectfully
or cruelly, neither were they made the victims of aggression, neither were they
abused in any way, be it with physical force or with words.

" And let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly.
Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty." (5:8)

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Jihad

More than any other religion, Islam has the reputation of being a
violent religion. Typically when some people think of Islam, they think of
terrorism. News reporters have commented on events in the Middle East claiming
that Muslims were acting out in a form of Holy War, or jihad. And there
are people out there who believe it is their duty to fight in the name of
Islam. However, news reporters are notorious for telling only part of the
story. There are several instances that I can personally remember in which the
news discussed how a certain group of Muslims attacked another group of people.
What they forgot to mention was that group of people had attacked the Muslims a
week ago. Since the Oklahoma bombing, the press has become more careful about
how it reports incidents involving Muslims, but they still do not always get
the story right.

I think we first need to know what jihad means. The word jihad
actually refers to striving for the sake of religion and does not translate as
Holy War. For example, it is a personal jihad to struggle against
temptation to sin. The personal jihad is referred to as the greater jihad
and is given major importance in Islam. When jihad is carried out as
war, it is a struggle against those oppressing or aggressing against Muslims
and is referred to as the lesser jihad.

Lending to Islam's violent reputation, many textbooks over the years
have claimed that Islam was spread by the sword. In truth, it is not permitted
to wage war in Islam except against those who have aggressed against you or are
oppressing you. In those cases, it becomes a duty for able men to fight until
the Muslims are again free. Unlike Christianity, Islam does not always support
turning the other cheek. When your lives and well being are in danger, Islam
says you should courageously defend yourselves even if you would rather
fearfully ignore that some of your community members are being murdered or
imprisoned or losing their jobs. Turning the other cheek in such cases is to
turn your eyes away from suffering and wrongdoing and excuse it.

Most of the Muslim world consists of very peaceful people. But,
throughout history there have been Muslims who were active fighters. We are
quick to say these Muslims are wrong, but it is helpful to see things from
their perspective to understand why they feel they are justified in their
actions. Many people in the Middle East believe that the West is oppressing
them. Undoubtedly, the West looks out for its own interests first and has done many
questionable things to Third-World countries. When it is convenient, the West
takes (or borrows and then wastes) land, takes or controls money, sides with
immoral countries in disputes, prevents medicine and food from reaching needy
people, and kills. The West controls trade and hastens to spread its culture,
at the loss of other cultures, throughout the world.

Some peoples are subject to the effect of the West's mingling in world
affairs more than others and some feel they are being treated wrongly to the
point of oppression. And some of them are right. No matter what the reasons, is
it not oppressive that Iraqi children under sanction have been denied
nutritious food and basic medicine? Is it not oppressive that the Palestinians
who had been living in their land for centuries were kicked out and not
recompensed in any way? Surely if your children were dying or your home was
taken from you, there would be no question that you were a subject of
oppression and you would very likely want to fight.

What are these people to do? First of all, Islam is against the use of
suicide tactics or cruel means such as biological warfare. Further, it forbids
attacking women and children. Further, those who feel they are being oppressed
may fail to see those that they have grievances against are generally societies
of mostly non-aggressive individuals. The oppressors end up being a vague
concept and an unclear body. For example, the West and America are both vague
terms made up of a huge diversity of peoples. As a result of this problem of
identifying the enemy, the terrorists have made the mistake of hating and
attacking innocent people who have personally done nothing against the Muslims.
That being said, it should be realized that many distant or vague reports of terrorism
are more properly classified as legitimate warfare.

Actually, in the absence of the Prophet (saw) or Imam (as) sent by God,
many Muslims are of the opinion that no one has the authority to declare a jihad
as an act of war, anyway. There is no truly Islamic government on Earth, and
thus there is no Islamic leader who clearly has the authority to declare a war.
Leaders of nations can declare war against other nations, but not religious
wars. Americans who hear of a religious leader ordering attacks against the
United States should understand that most Muslims desire only peace and justice
and are not swayed by any old call by any old religious leader.

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Ritualism

The last topic I wish to discuss in this section is that of the many
rituals in Islam. Why do Muslims pray a certain way, wash before prayer, fast
for a whole month, face one way in prayer, and slaughter their meat in a
particular way, etc.? To non-Muslims, being so concerned about minor details
may seem silly. Why should God care if I wash my feet or just wipe them in
preparation for prayer?

No one can deny that good habits are useful. Islamic ritual in part is
designed to aid in the formation of good habits and in remembering God
throughout our day-to-day lives. Following Islamic ritualistic practices leads
to good hygiene and diet and balance between spiritual, physical and social
aspects. The minute details may seem nit-picky, but taking care in the details
of ritual shows respect for the importance of religion in all parts of life.
Further, in many cases logical reasons for the details exist. In particular,
careful adherence to the forms of the ritual often helps in understanding the
purpose or meaning of the ritual itself.

Modern Muslims are guilty of practicing their religion too often on a
purely ritualistic level. Performance of prayer without careful thought to its
meaning and purpose is very nearly meaningless and purposeless. It is just an
empty form of true prayer. Allah (swt) did not prescribe rituals as a means to
take up time but rather as a means of perfecting our faith and attaining
nearness to Him. A lifetime can be spent in education and effort toward
engaging oneself completely and properly in all acts of worship.

However, a good place to start is conscious attention to the acts being
performed and their aims. For example, washing before prayer can be seen as
symbolically cleansing ourselves to face the Almighty. If one learns the
supplications that accompany the washing, it may add increased meaning to the act
and enable the performer to concentrate more on the task at hand. If you don't
know the purpose behind a ritual it doesn't hurt to ask someone you regard as
more pious or more knowledgeable than yourself.

Concentration toward the spiritual aspects of prayer and other rituals
is difficult because our thoughts of worldly affairs tend to intrude. But if we
are persistent in our efforts, in time the task becomes easier and we not only
enjoy the activities more but benefit from them more as well. If you don't
enjoy praying to God, this is an indication that your attention to its true
meanings and purpose are lacking. Is not our ultimate goal in Muslim life to
attain nearness to God or submission to His will? In this life, prayer is an
opportunity to speak with Him Whom We Are Seeking, so it should be something we
look forward to and not just a duty to be completed. If the heart is tired and
your attention is not prepared for the ritual, then find steps to help you
become prepared and if necessary, some recommend delaying the ritual awhile (so
far as that does not mean committing a sin) until you can perform it better.
Hopefully, continual use of this practice will cause the tiredness of the heart
to decrease and you will be more easily prepared.