The wisdom behind different factors of Salaah (Prayer)- Part 2

Please forgive me for taking so very long to post the next part of this. Insha-Allah I will be posting Part 3, the final part very soon. I pray that you find this as beneficial as I did. 

The wisdom behind prostrating (sajdah)

• By standing in the presence of Allah (the Exalted, the Greatest). And being purified of one’s sins, the worshipper experiences a special condition. The rays emanating from the closeness to the Lord have an effect on him/her so that he/she gains a spiritual brightness and tranquillity.

• Naturally man would think that if being present in front of Allah from a distance created such a condition in him, how much greater would be the sweetness of the experience if he came closer. Hence, his nature demanded that he came closer.

•  In this world, there is no other way to attain this sort of closeness to Lord of the Worlds than by performing sajdah (prostration). It is as though one were prostrating at the feet of Allah Almighty.

The wisdom behind two sajdah’s in one rakaat (cycle)

•      After the first sajdah man has achieved the loftiness of having gained entrance to the special court of the Kings of the kings, and in this special closeness to his Lord, there is a possibility that he may have become proud of his position, like Shaytaan (Satan). Hence he was ordered to prostrate a second time so that he may not feel pride over his pious life, because as Allah (the Most Exalted) says- “We created you from the earth and into it shall we return you.” The one who is always aware of his true nature is very rarely arrogant.
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• Another reason for prostrating twice is this:
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•  When Allah Almighty gave the order for the angels to prostrate in front of Adam (May Allah’s peace be upon him), all of them prostrated, except Shaytaan[1] who did not. When the angels stood up from prostration and saw that Satan had been disgraced because of disobeying Allah’s order they went into prostration a second time to thank Allah that they were not disobedient. Allah (Exalted his He) prescribed two prostrations for believers so that the worshipper may gain the rewards of all the angels for this act of worship.
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• The first sajdah is an expression of obedience to Allah. The second sajdah is a fortress to shelter man from Allah’s curse and a canopy of Allah’s mercy.

The wisdom behind standing up after sajdah

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•      From  the two sajdah’s, two of man’s conditions have become evident.
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•       From the first sajdah the reality of his birth was demonstrated (that is man’s creation from dust).
•      From the second sajdah it was shown that after Allah created man, death will come, when a second time man will return to the dust. And from this same dust, Allah will resurrect man and make us stand up on the day of judgement.

-          Hence, to remind himself/ herself of this reality, the worshipper says “Allahu-Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest) and stands up.

Reference: My Salaat  by  Moulana Muhammad Idris Ansari, translated by Dr. Imtiaz Kamal Madani,

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[1] Please note that Shaytaan was not an angel but instead was of the Jinn (made from fire). We learn that he was one of the greatest worshippers of Allah and for this he was given special privileges to be in Jannah (Paradise) with the angels.