The best ṣalāh of a woman (and man!) is one that she comprehends. The ṣalāh where her mind is present and her heart is humble. The ṣalāh in which she fulfils the purpose of ṣalāh which is connection with the Lord and submission to Him.
There is a Ḥadīth graded weak by Imām Al-Albānī, but the meaning of which is correct, it says, “A person’s share of his prayer is that which he comprehends.”
The rewards she acquires through her ṣalāh are proportional to whatever she comprehends of her prayer. To whatever parts she was focused in.
It is pertinent to keep in mind that this is only possible if she starts off by abiding by the pre-requisites of ṣalāh from purity to the proper attire.
This calls for all of us to review what we learnt as children: The how-to’s of ṣalāh and the meanings of what is said in ṣalāh.
In the next few days, try to make time to go over the conditions of ṣalāh, the correct ḥijāb in ṣalāh, and—if you will be praying tarāwīḥ in the masjid then—the how-to of praying in a congregation (this includes knowing NOT to race the imām as many sisters unintentionally do, ending up in sujūd/rukūʿ before the imām is done moving).
Additionally (and more importantly), make time to go over the meanings of ṣalāh in order to pray your best ṣalāh in Ramaḍān (and outside of Ramaḍān, of course).
Understanding these meanings and then reflecting upon them in ṣalāh is what ultimately determines our connection with Rabb’l ʿĀlamīn.
There are many resources on the internet, but if you want somewhere to start then I did a course on ‘The Sūrah of Ṣalāh’—Sūrat Al-Fātiḥah, in which we discussed the meanings of ṣalāh. (QuranicReflections.com > Class Archives > scroll).
No Comments