Salaam Friends,

Welcome back to the second part of our ‘longer in sujood’ mini-series.

A quick refresh — goldfish in the bowl here 🐟— on last week’s discourse:

We reflected on one of our du'a intentions for the year ahead: spending longer in sujood. This was borne from dwelling on how we are trained to believe that our time must justify itself. 

We explored why extending our sujood could and would feel powerful and we ended with a little invitation to choose one salah related intention and ask yourself: why do I want this?

Over the past week, I journaled where I could and experimented with extending my sujood. So now I’m sharing a few personal musings from staying a little longer on the ground.

Offered in the spirit of reflection rather than instruction of course.

ℹ️ Day one: keep forgetting to spend longer in sujood — only realise after coming back up again that I had intended to! Not a total non-success though because I am forced to confront how easily intention is overridden by habit and how instinctive speed is for me.

🩸Blood rushes to the head or at least the sensation is more physical compared to when I’m up and down like a yo-yo. It’s not dizzying though; just a subtle tingling and it’s comforting like the crackling of a fireplace fire!

💛The pace of the salah feels slower overall, just by slowing down sujood. What does this reveal about sujood then? It makes me appreciate that sujood is the heart of salah. Sujood sets the emotional and spiritual tempo of the prayer. Sujood isn't just the lowest physical point of prayer, but the place from which peace and cohesion is distributed outward. 

It also makes me think about the hadith: “Du'a is the essence of worship” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3371). Therefore sujood as the heart of the prayer is the most natural home for du'a. 

💭 What does it mean to be closer to God? The nearest a believer comes to Allah is when he is prostrating (Sahih Muslim 482). What does being closer to Allah look like? Is it peace and protection and understanding what it purports to believe in Allah as our Creator and the Beholder and Source of His 99 names? Is it tawakkul (trust in Allah) that becomes more accessible and true in our lived experiences? A sort of opening to be sustained and not clinging too tightly to self-sufficiency at least in spiritual and emotional realms? 

💭My favourite question of all that pops up is this: what is Allah thinking of me? I am a mere mortal and the sort of quiet excitement I feel from trying to improve my sujood in the simplest way possible first is— well, exciting! Alhamdulillah. It makes me feel more actively positive about the idea of connecting with Allah, and this very connection — isn't this what sujood is all about? That idea we have been returning to over the last few weeks of trying over perfection, of turning to Him again and again, regardless of the non-linearity of this path? And surely Allah not only reciprocates but gives better, does better than I ever can because my capacity is limited but His is limitless. Is Allah happy with me? I don't know in any absolute sense but at least for trying — yes, I can carry hope that He is. 

I don't have all the answers or even half-answers to my musings but simply asking these questions lightens me. Perhaps this is the power of sujood: offering space to sit with these questions and making it okay to do so.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us to say this between sujood: 

اللهم اغفر لي وارحمني واجبرني واهدني وارزقني

“O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, guide me, and provide for me.”

(Sunan Abu Dawood 850)

This week’s invitation is simple:

take the salah intention you chose last time and try to implement it in the best way for you.

There’s no single correct method here. What helped us might not help you and that's okay! Try a few approaches, notice what works best for you. 

Extra credit (teachers' pets, we see you!): note what you notice either in a journal, your notes app, voice notes or maybe you stick to noting simply in your heart. Form doesn't matter, the noticing is what we're seeking!

As always, jazak Allah for tuning in friends! May our hearts meet again next week in sha Allah.

Love and du’as,

The Minara Team