Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX | Part XXI | Part XXII | Part XXIII | Part XXIV | Part XXV | Part XXVI | Part XXVII | Part XXVIII

Alhamdu lil Lah (all praise is due to God), we have reached almost midway through a rak’ah (unit) of prayer. At this point, we should take a step back and ask ourselves, “Has my prayer improved? Do I feel a deeper connection with Allah?”

It is easy to skim through articles and pick up one or two points, but it is important to read these kinds of articles with a prior intention. I only realized how much my prayer was lacking when I watched the series and saw that each position in prayer has a deeper meaning and allows a new way to connect to Allah.

Rising from Ruku’

After the ruku’ (bowing), he ﷺ would straighten up his back, saying:

“Allah listens to the one who praises Him.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

He ﷺ also said that “no person’s prayer is complete until … he has said takbeer (Allahu akbar)… then made ruku’ … then has said ‘Allah listens to the one who praises Him’ until he is standing straight.” (Abu Dawud)

Most of us rush this part; as soon as we are standing after ruku’, we immediately jump down to sujood (prostration). However, when the Prophet ﷺ went back to the standing position, he would stand straight until every vertebra returned to its place. (Bukhari) As we said in the last article, he used to make his ruku’, his standing after ruku’, his sujood, and his sitting in between the two sajdahs (prostrations) nearly equal in length. (Bukhari)

The hands are raised as they are in the takbeerat al-ihram (first takbeer in the prayer).The hands can then be placed on the chest, as it is when we are reciting, or to the side.

The Du`a’ (Supplication)

There are different du`a’; I have just listed a few here:

Rabbana wa laka al-hamd.

“Our Lord, and to You be all Praise.” (Bukhari/Muslim)

Rabbana laka al-hamd.

“Our Lord, to You be all Praise.” (Bukhari/Muslim)

Rabbana wa laka al-hamd, hamdan katheeran, tayyiban mubarakan feeh.

“Our Lord, and to You be all Praise, so much pure praise, inherently blessed.” (Malik)

Why not say “Allahu akbar?”

Between every change of position we say “Allahu Akbar” except this part. Why? Because we are preparing for sujood. We know that at the sujood, we are at the closest point to Allah, and it is where du`a’ is responded to. Thus, we are preparing for that by praising Allah (because Allah listens to those who praise Him, and this is from the etiquette of du`a’) and then making du`a’ in the sujood.

May Allah allow us to perfect our prayers so that our hearts are evermore attached to Him. Ameen.