The Soul of Salah

By Nabeel Iqbal

The Soul of Salah takes its readers on a journey through the mystical realm of the five daily Islamic prayers. The Arabic word salah implies a direct connection and communication with God, the Creator and Sustainer of all existence. Through this daily spiritual exercise, a human being can become one of the close and beloved ones of God Almighty. The book explains how salah can affect our lives positively and lead to spiritual growth. The ideas in the book are universal and can be applied by anyone in their respective spiritual journeys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312618572

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Nabeel Iqbal. All rights reserved.

Published by Nabeel Iqbal

ISBN 978-1-31-261857-2

Preface

Nowadays, people are taking up various tools for personal growth and development, such as meditation and yoga. Interestingly, salah (the five daily Islamic prayers) is also a tool for personal development; as per Islamic teachings and my experience, it is the best tool for self-transformation and spiritual growth.

When I first started offering salah, the five daily Islamic prayers, I began to ask myself: what should I feel during salah given the fact that I am standing in front of my Creator, the Maintainer and Guardian of all existence? This book is mostly concerned with this question.

I am not an Islamic scholar and I am not advocating any new way of praying or any new rules related to praying. I am merely sharing my experience and knowledge regarding the spiritual or mystical dimension of salah, which I have gathered over the years through personal reflection and self-study. I hope this book will help its readers maximize the benefit from their salah (or prayer sessions) and help them realize its true potential for individual and social transformation.

Introduction

We believe that God sees us from above, but He actually sees us from the inside. – Shams Tabrizi

To truly benefit from this book, the reader has to absorb, internalize, and apply its main ideas¹; therefore, this book needs to be read slowly and deliberately.

Like all good things in life, learning to offer salah beautifully and mindfully will also require time, effort, and patience. Nonetheless, beautifying and improving our salah should be one of our top priorities. This book, I believe, will help the reader in this regard.

Essentially, we should not be offering salah with only our tongue and limbs but with also our heart and mind. We should try to be mindful of each and every word we recite in salah and understand the meanings of these words²; each and every syllable should be recited