A Thought on Prayer
When the time for prayer is at hand, I make a proper ablution,
go to the spot where I intend to pray and
sit there until all my limbs and organs are in a collected state.
Then I stand up to perform my prayer,
facing the Ka’bah between my brows,
the bridge over Hell beneath my feet,
Paradise to my right and Hell to my left,
and the Angel of Death behind me,
thinking all the while that
this is my final prayer.
Then I stand between hope and fear.
I carefully pronounce “Allahu Akbar!”
Then I recite the Qur’an harmoniously,
bow in humility and
prostrate myself submissively.
I then sit back on my left haunch,
spreading out the left foot,
raising my right foot on the toes.
I follow this with sincerity.
Then I wonder whether or not my prayer has been accepted.
~ Haatim ibn al-Asamm (رحمه الله)