As part of the regular tips given after prayer, Sheik Abdel Monem conveyed to us an important Hadith relating to the Surah Al Fathiha Yesterday. According to the Hadith, when we say

1.    ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (Praise be to Allah, the lord and provider of the worlds) 

- Allah answers “my servant has praised me”.

2.   ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ مَـٰلِكِ يَوۡمِ ٱلدِّينِ (The Beneficent,The Merciful. Owner of the Day of Judgment) — Allah answers “ my servant has glorified me”.  

3.    إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ ( You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help) — Allah answers “my servant has asked me and he will receive whatever he requests)

4.    ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٲطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ صِرَٲطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ

( Show us the straight path.  The path of those whom you have favoured. ) — Allah answers “this is between me and my servant and he will receive whatever he requests”

The Sheik emphasised the need to have the right approach when we recite the above Surah in our prayers . He went onto explain that when we are in prayer we need to remember that we are in front of Allah(SWT) and we are communicating with him. He reminded us that the Thashahhud explain the story of Mihraj when Prophet Muhammad went to meet Allah(SWT) beyond the area that even the Angels have not permission to reach . The Sheik explain this story in brief to stress that we need to understanding what we are reciting in the prayer and feel deeply about what we are reciting. Often, we get distracted while we are in the prayer and think about worldly matters. The Sheik mentioned that its   important for all of us to not get distracted by worldly matters and focus on the prayer. Knowing the understanding of whats been recited and the importance of it will help you stay focused in your prayer.

We hope we have conveyed the Sheik’s message accurately and welcome any directions to mistakes i may have committed in my narration above.

Allah knows best.