Your striving, your beginning with intention (niyya), your magnification of the opening takbir (iftitāḥ), your recitation with tartīl (measured recitation), your bowing (rukūʿ) with humility (khushūʿ), your prostration (sujūd) with humility (tawāḍuʿ), your testimony (tashahhud) with ikhlas (sincerity), and your salām with mercy—all these are to be fulfilled. Yusuf's companions said to him, "Ask Hādī about the maʿrifa (gnosis) of prayer!" So he asked. Hātim replied: "It is to see Paradise on your right, Hellfire on your left, the ṣirāṭ (bridge) beneath your feet, and the mīzān (balance) before your eyes; and to worship your Lord as though you see Him, for even if you do not see Him, He sees you." (As stated in the hadith.) (Gunya, II, 124-125)
He asked: "What are the obligatory things before performing the special prayer (ṣalāt-i khāṣṣa, the prayer of the elect)?" I said, "There are six." "What are they?" he asked. I replied: "Purification (ṭahāra, ablution), covering the private parts, choosing a clean place for prayer, standing up for prayer, intention, and facing the qibla."
He asked me, "O Abū Ḥāzim, with what intention do you leave your house for the mosque?" I said, "With the intention of ziyāra (visitation)." "With what intention do you enter the mosque?" he asked. I said, "With the intention of worship." "With what intention do you worship?" he asked. I said, "With the intention of ʿubūdiyya (servitude)." Then he turned to me and said, "O Abū Ḥāzim, with what do you turn to the qibla?" I said, "With three obligations and a sunnah." "What are they?" he asked. I replied: "Facing the qibla, intention, and the first takbir are obligatory; raising the hands is sunnah." "How many takbirs are obligatory and how many are sunnah?" he asked. I said, "In total, there are ninety-four takbirs; five of them are obligatory, the rest are sunnah." (Gunya, II, 125)
It is said that ṣalāt (prayer) is derived from ṣalā, which also means fire. When they want to straighten a crooked log, they throw it into the fire, and thus it becomes straight. In the servant, there are crookednesses due to the nafs al-ammāra (the commanding lower self). The majesty of the Face of the Generous Allah is such that, if the veils were lifted, it would burn to ashes whoever perceived it. The divine awe (satwa) and lordly grandeur (ʿaẓama) of Allah strike the one who prays, removing his crookedness. Thus, through prayer, the ascension (miʿrāj) is also realized. The one who prays is like someone who is burned and polished in fire. The one who is polished by the fire of prayer and whose crookedness is removed will not be exposed to the fire of Hell, except for rights he has violated (iḥlāl) against others.
In ṣalāt (prayer), there are four forms and six remembrances (adhkār). The four forms are: standing (qiyām), sitting (quʿūd), bowing (rukūʿ), and prostration (sujūd). The six remembrances are: recitation (tilāwa), glorification (tasbīḥ), praise (ḥamd), seeking forgiveness (istighfār), supplication (duʿāʾ), and sending blessings upon the Prophet (ṣalawāt). (ʿAwārif, 181)
Ṣalāt, in its comprehensive (shumūl) meaning, is ascribed to the Real (al-Ḥaqq). This comprehensive meaning is mercy (raḥma). Allah has described Himself and His servants as Raḥīm (Merciful).
Ṣalāt, in the legal (sharʿī) sense, is ascribed to humans as mercy, supplication (duʿāʾ), and known acts. (Futūḥāt, I, 479)
Ṣalāt (prayer) originates from the sacred station of Samadāniyya (Divine Self-Sufficiency). Consider it a prize, for it is like a precious jewel worth attaining. The station of Nūriyya (Divine Light) has looked upon prayer and bestowed its secrets upon it. The station of Qayyūmiyya (Divine Self-Subsistence) has scattered its lights upon prayer. Such prayers, each time they are performed, are made specific to lordly supplications (munājāt), and when addressed with divine supplications, they are returned to them. All the special stations of the spiritual beings of the heavens become universal. In prayer, all the upright movements of humanity (such as recitation and standing), all the horizontal movements of animals (such as the glorifications during bowing), and the devotional acts of plants (such as the remembrances during prostration, seeking nearness to Allah) are combined. (Latāʾif, 54)
O one who prays,
to the One hidden from eyes,
lifting the veils over the noble righteous acts (ṣāliḥāt-i fāḍilāt)
is very difficult, I think. His
place is existence itself in the view of the philosopher.
The one who says this is my proof,
and time became colored,
the heart (qalb) attained presence,
sometimes fear enveloped it.
Presence of heart (ḥuḍūr al-qalb): Its meaning is this: to empty the heart of everything except its own garments. The cause of this is himma (spiritual aspiration). Whenever you begin to think about something, it necessarily comes to your heart. The only remedy is to turn your himma to prayer. The turning of himma is strengthened or weakened by the strength or weakness of belief in the Hereafter and by despising the world. If you see that nothing comes to your heart during prayer, know that this is due to the weakness of your iman (faith). Strive to strengthen your iman! (Qudāma, 22)
Ṭahāra (purification) is to cleanse the heart from mā siwā (everything other than Allah). Ablution is to cleanse the heart from bad akhlāq (character) and ugly desires. In prayer, it is the direct orientation of the heart and its attachment to the qibla of tawhid (the oneness of God). Zakāt is to detach the heart from the profit of income... (Rawḍa, 196)
Ṣalāt (prayer) is witnessing (mushāhada). For it is, as He said, "Remember Me; I will remember you" (al-Baqara 2:152), a munājāt (intimate discourse) between Allah and the servant. And, as stated in the narrations, prayer is divided equally between Allah and the servant: half is for Allah, half is for the servant... (Sofyavi, 435)
The inward aspect and spirit (rūḥ) of ṣalāt (prayer) is munājāt (intimate discourse) with the Exalted and Blessed Truth. Munājāt is the subject of dhikr (remembrance); the servant speaks, then Allah responds. (But such a relationship is conditional:) Whenever the servant addresses his Lord in any act, it is necessary that he purifies his heart from everything. At the moment he addresses his Lord, he abandons those acts. If he is not characterized by this purification and is a sahib (possessor) of bad adab (manners), he deserves to be expelled. (Bughyat, 16)