Five times a day at least, we turn our faces towards the Qibla to fulfill the second pillar of Islam. The purpose of prayer is not merely the outward physical motions associated with prayer. Rather, Allah Most High told the Prophet Musa, upon him be peace, to “establish the Prayer to remember Me” (Surah Taha). The essence of prayer is this remembrance of Him, and every single motion and utterance is perfectly designed to induce a certain kind of remembrance in the heart of the worshiper.
The greatest barrier that most of us face in this regard—even if we speak Arabic—is not fully understanding the meanings and significance of what we repeat daily while praying. Supplications are memorized rote and repeated as such. The goal of this course is to remove this automation and turn the prayer into an active engagement rather than a passive one. Not only will the supplications be translated, but Shaykh Sohail will also include commentary and an explanation of the spiritual significance and wisdoms embedded within them.
The basis of the course will be the supplications and invocations mentioned by the Shafi’i Imam Nawawi in his seminal Kitab al-Adhkar. This material will be supplemented by books of the Hanafi and Maliki schools to incorporate their supplications wherever Imam Nawawi doesn’t mention them, thus benefiting students of all schools of Islamic law. The explanations will be based on commentaries on hadiths along with various sections of the Ihya Ulum al-Deen of Imam Ghazali.
Because the course will not only cover the most well-known supplications but also alternative forms, you will be able to introduce variety into your prayer. This ability to choose different supplications will ultimately lead to increased concentration during prayer.