Continuation of my Contentions Series.

Link to Shaykh Abd al Hakim Murad’s Contentions part 1

46. In the measure that we accept the Prayer it is accepted by God.

Interpretation:

I was a bit put-off by the use of the term “In the measure that”. For me, the best way to understand it was “In as much as”, so to be more simpler version of the Contention might mean:

“Prayer is accepted by God as much as we accept the Prayer”

Certainly, from the outward fiqhi sense, if we meet our obligations the prayer should be accepted.

So how can we ‘accept the Prayer’, and what does it mean to ‘measure’ our acceptance of it? It seems that this is not ‘acceptance’ in its external meaning, but rather ‘acceptance’ similar to how one might accept their destiny: it has different levels.

I think this comes down to the spirit of Salat, where we start to come to terms with our understanding of the ritual prayer.

While Salat is a uniquely distinguishing factor for all the Muslims, each Muslim approaches prayer very differently.

For some, Salat is something generally ignored, practiced occasionally due to social circumstance. For others, it is accepted as a practiced burden. And yet for others it is a unique opportunity to have an intimate relationship with God. I am sure there are even more categories than that, but this is a good way to begin.

What the Shaykh seems to be saying is that it is helpful to consider how you view your prayer in determining the worth of that prayer in the sight of Allah, Most High.

In other words, if you view prayer as a burden to be fullfilled, well, it may just be that your reward will be handed to you with the same consideration, just fullfilling a contract of obligation and reward. On the other hand, if you treat prayer as something special, well you may find you are specially treated as well.

I can say with confidence that the Sunnipath classes on the Essentials of Hanafi Fiqh have been extremely helpful for me to develop my own relationship with Salat. Knowing many of the details of fiqh of Salat help in creating a sincere understanding on how to fullfill the obligation, and how to take it a step further from obligation to opportunity (and beyond).

The “Spirit of the Sunnah” Sunnipath class may be even better in this regard!