worse than a belly filled with lawful food. Content yourself with a few morsels that keep your back upright.
When you pray behind an imam, take him as your example and follow him. Do not pronounce the declaration of greatness until he does, bow until he bows, rise until he rises, or prostrate until he prostrates. When he says “Amen” after finishing the Opening, say “Amen,” and do not differ from him. If you are the imam, take account of the weakest of the people. Do not prolong the prayer for him until you make it hateful to him. Rather, make it light while completing the bowing and prostration.
(Presence to the Address in Recitation and Prayer)
When you recite a verse, consider where you stand in relation to it. When you hear God say ﴿O humankind﴾ or ﴿O you who believe﴾, be yourself the one addressed and open the ear of your understanding[4] to what He says to you in this address. Receive it according to what He says: if He forbids you, desist; if He commands you, do what you can of it. If you hear from Him a command you cannot perform, you are not the one commanded by it in that state. Know this. ﴿Be mindful of God as much as you can, and hear and obey﴾ [al-Taghabun 64:16].
When the imam says, “God hears whoever praises Him,” believe that God has spoken that saying upon His servant’s tongue. Then say, “Our Lord, to You belongs praise: abundant, good, blessed praise, blessed within it and upon it, as our Lord loves and is pleased with, filling the heavens, filling the earth, filling what lies between them, and filling whatever else You will thereafter—the most rightful words a servant can say, and all of us are Your servants. None can withhold what You give, and none can give
Notlar
[4]
(The reading “فهمك” (“your understanding”) has been adopted in place of “فمهمك”, following the newer edition.)
