Answer
Short Answer: Some of the scholars say about the wisdom in repeating sujood twice is that sujood is the peak of submission, and that after the worshipper has fulfilled the command of His Master by standing up in prayer, then bowing down, then prostrating, then sitting down from prostration the first time, he/she goes back again in prostration out of gratitude and humbleness before the Master for allowing them to complete the rites of worship and for empowering them against their ego and Shaitan by completing their servitude to Him. Other scholars mentioned how prostration twice reminds us that we came from the earth, and we will go back to it again. And other scholars say that it is an affirmation of our humble servitude to Allah that we prostrate to Him twice.
โฆโฆโฆโฆ.
Walaykum Asalam,
Thanks for sending us your message.
There are two parts to your question: your desire to improve your prayer, feel what the Sahaba felt and close the missing link as you mentioned, and thinking that knowing the answers to the questions you proposed is what will help you accomplish that purpose.
So, itโs important to discuss both parts in order to correct a seeming misconception there.
Submission and Peace
Since we just celebrated Eid, Iโm reminded with the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty ordered Ibrahim to slaughter his son.
Imagine if Ibrahim started asking Allah, โBut whatโs the wisdom behind slaughtering my son? Okay, Iโll do it, I donโt mean anything, but if I know the wisdom, Iโll be able to follow this command more happily and slaughter my son in good conscienceโ.
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) could have said so, and these questions โmake senseโ. But he didnโt.
He submitted to the instruction of Allah out of complete trust in Him.
What happened as a result?
โข Allah saved him and his son from this test.
โข Allah ransomed his son with a great sacrifice, โA ram which had grazed in Paradise for forty yearsโ (Tafsir Ibn Kathir).
โข Allah not only protected his son, but He gifted him with yet another son!
โข Allah made him a role model for all believers until the end of time.
And Allah said something very powerful and beautiful; He said:
โpeace upon Ibrahimโ. (Qurโan 37: 109)
We all seek and desire peace. The Creator showed us that peace from Him โthe Ultimate Source of Peace- showered Ibrahim internally and externally when his heart was in true submission to Allah.
We needed to mention this to correct the idea that we will get peace in prayer if we know the exact wisdom behind the number of rakaโasโฆetc. This isnโt correct; we get peace when our hearts, minds, and bodies submit lovingly and humbly to Allah. This is the feeling we need to capture, and this is the missing link.
Brief answers
Having said that, we can discuss some wisdom regarding the questions you proposed. But this isnโt to say that the Prophet told us that these are the exact answers. Even though the Prophet spoke at length about almost everything, but matters of worship are Divinely instructed and should be practiced as they are instructed.
- In any case, you asked, โwhy do we recite the Quran in prayer?โ
I want to ask you, if we donโt do so, then what do we do, do we just speak in prayer? So it becomes a monologue? We just talk talk talkโฆ And is it a loving relationship if we just talk and donโt listen?
Of course not.
So, in prayer, we do both. We listen to the words of Allah. We recite His words because there are no better, more powerful, more wise, more soothing words than the Words of Allah. So we recite His words that remind us of our purpose and our destination. Then, we speak to Him. We are encouraged to speak to Allah and ask for all we want in sujood and before tasleem.
So, first we listen to the Master, and then we speak to Him and ask of Him. Itโs a communication that involves listening and speaking.
- You asked, โwhy sajdah?โ
In sajdah (prostration) as we put our forehead on the ground, we are in the most submissive state to Allah Almighty. We humble our ego and put our highest point (our forehead) at the lowest point in the ground. In this state of submission, the slave is the nearest to His Creator. As the Prophet said:
โA slave becomes nearest to his Lord when he is in prostration. So increase supplications while prostrating.โ [Muslim]
And some of the scholars say about the wisdom in repeating sujood twice is that sujood is the peak of submission, and that after the worshipper has fulfilled the command of His Master by standing up in prayer, then bowing down, then prostrating, then sitting down from prostration the first time, he/she goes back again in prostration out of gratitude and humbleness before the Master for allowing them to complete the rites of worship and for empowering them against their ego and Shaitan by completing their servitude to Him. Other scholars mentioned how prostration twice reminds us that we came from the earth, and we will go back to it again. And other scholars say that it is an affirmation of our humble servitude to Allah that we prostrate to Him twice.
And from experience, truly the most wonderful, most peaceful most pleasing experience is in the humble sujood to Allah and speaking to Him in this state.
- You asked: โWhy do we say โsamiโ Allahu li man hamdiaโ?โ
Abu Hurairah narrated that Allahโs Messenger said:
โWhen the Imam says: (Sami Allahu liman hamidah) โAllah listens to those who praise Him. Then (all of you) say: (Rabbana wa lakal-hamd) โO our Lord! And to You is the praise for whoeverโs saying concurs with the saying of the angels, then his past sins will be forgiven.โ [Jami at-Tirmidhi]
In short, why we pray the way we pray? Because Allah instructed us to do so, and we submit to Him. If it was in any other form, some people would have still questioned why it was in that form not the other. If it wasnโt the prescribed units of prayer, you would have also asked โwhy one prayer instead of units? Why do we just speak not listen to Allahโฆetc.โ If we open room for questioning the prescribed acts of worship, we will not reach the satisfaction we want. Just like the people who kept asking Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) about the shape and color of the cow (Quran 2: 67- 74) until their hearts hardened, instead of softening.
So, to achieve peace, one needs to submit his/her will to the Will of Allah, do what He instructed and ask Him for peace. It is in this state of submission that Allah will envelop and shower the person in His peace.
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps.
Salam and please keep in touch.
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