Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Salaam Minara Family,

We had a little think about our last post of 2024. [Tellin’ ya, feels like such a big statement to make!]

Do we end the Minara year with a big bang and a fabulous flourish? Reflect on how far we’ve all come as a little prayer community? Get a little sentimental about the highs and lows? We’re all about reflection after all…

But we came to the conclusion that there’s no better way to end the year than continuing to sow the seeds of our prayer practice.

And we’re doing that by sharing little tips to help you enter your slow prayer era.

Though they be but little, they are fierce!

And by slow, we don’t mean in the way of progress.

Just a little more poise, presence and aplomb as we cultivate intentionality in our prayer practice. 💜

Reading all the way to the end ⏬? Sharing some reflections on this ⬆️ quotation too.

1. Schedule in ample prayer time so that it doesn’t feel like a rat race.

2. As soon as the adhan for salah is called, can you challenge yourself to drop whatever you are doing and immediately answer the call to success? Doing so will demonstrate your eagerness but also leave you with the scope to pray without haste.

3. The Prophet ﷺ advised, “When the call to prayer is made, do not come to it running, but come to it walking and with calmness.” [Sahih Bukhari 636] Note the calmness even in the lead-up to prayer!

4. Free yourself from the tyranny of time. Basically, constant awareness of time passing can create time pressure. Leave your time-telling devices outside of your prayer space. Engross yourself instead in Allah’s time without the constraints of a ticking clock.

5. Make wudu mindfully and use a small water bottle. You will become more conscious of each drop of water - did you know the Prophet ﷺ used only about 0.5-0.7 liters of water (the equivalent of a small bottle of water) for wudu? - a slower salah starts with a conscious wudu.

6. Before you lift your hands and proclaim Allah’s Greatness with Takbir, just wait. 10 seconds - just stand there for 10 seconds. Calm your mind and quieten your racing thoughts, take a breath, and 1…2…3… raise your hands with grace and tranquillity.

7. In ruku’, instead of rushing to the next posture, wait until every joint has settled.

8. Similarly, in sujood, check your forehead, nose, and palms are firmly placed on the ground.

9. Between movements, pause until your body is completely still.

10. Each time you feel the urge to rush, use this as your trigger to slow down a bit more. Consider your urges mere whispers of shaytan!

11. Before rushing off your mat, quieten your mind again and enjoy the moment. You don’t have to do anything - just stay!

12. Want some active movements? Engage in a dhikr of your choice before returning to your day.

13. Last but not least, we’re leaving you with a simple challenge to really slow your salah. When you bow your head in sujood, challenge yourself to add on five more seconds - that’s it, just five seconds to your normal sujood time.

     

    

    serenity in your sujood

Nature dances to its own rhythm yet does it ever miss a beat?

Absolutely not - it’s never late and nothing is ever missing.

So what can nature teach us about our prayer practice?

1. It teaches us patience and perseverance in our journey - our efforts to improve will be rewarded. Trust the process. 💚

2. Growth and progress require time; let go of our need for instant success. Hundred-year old trees weren’t always that experienced and wise. 🌳

3. Slow down in prayer for the most fulfilment. Just like the leaf that waltzes to the ground with not a hurry in the world, be your own leaf that reaches its destination with peace, purpose and perpetuity.

اللّهم أَدْخِلْهُ عَلينا بِالأمْنِ وَالإيمان، وَالسَّلامَةِ وَالإسْلام، وِجوارٍ مِّنَ الشَّيْطان، وَرِضْوَانٍ مِّنَ الرَّحْمن

Allahumma adkhilhu ‘alayna bil amni wal iman, was salamati wal islam, wa jiwarim minash shaytan, wa ridwanim minar Rahman.

“O Allah, bring this year upon us with security, iman, safety, Islam, protection from shaytan, and your pleasure.”

Ending 2024 and beginning 2025 with a prayer for us all ❣️

The Minara Team