Salah - A Story of love between The King(Allah) and His servant

Salah is a love story between the King and His servant, where you are the servant and Allah is your King . He’s not simple king He's Rab-bil-aalameen-- Lord of the Worlds. Like every kingdom, this King also has some rules, and if you don't act according to the rules you will be punished on the Day of Judgment. But at the same time He is very merciful.

(Remember these 2 points:

1. He is your King.

2. You both love each other

i.e. He is your loved one but he is still the King.)

WUDU: Now, imagine a situation where you are meeting your loved one. What is the first thing you do? Beautify yourself. You don't need any beauty product to do that. Just clean yourself. He likes cleanliness and purity. All you have to do is perform the Wudu, put on clean clothes and wait for the meeting(Salah).

Azaan:  You hear the most beautiful recital and your wait is over. Your king is calling you. He's asking for your presence. Go. Don't be late.

Allah u Akbar: The first thing that you do when you meet your King is salute Him, that's what Allah u Akbar is (Allah is great). You raise your hands as a gesture of complete surrender before your beloved King.

Sana : You, then, lower your gaze and stand in a position of humility before the King and recite Sana – i.e. you praise Him and tell Him you love Him and only worship Him. And, none but Him.

Azooza Billahi: Since you are with your loved one there might be someone envious of you trying to steal those moments you are having with your loved one, that someone is Shaitan. He will try to distract you every now and then. To keep him away, recite Aooza billahi minash- shaitan arrajeem( I seek Allah’s protection from Satan, the accursed).

Surah Fateha: Now, that you have guarded yourself from Shaitan, you are ready to talk to Allah. Time to recite Surah Fateha – The greatest Surah of the Quran.

•          You begin with your Beloved's name.  Bismillahi- arrahman Arraheem (In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful and the Especially Merciful)
•          Then you thank and praise your Beloved for everything.  Alhamdullilahi (All praise is to Allah) Rabbil Alameen { the Lord of the Worlds}:
•          Ar rahman ar raheem(The entirely merciful. The especially merciful) :  You keep praising Him. This verse is a reminder- a sense of relief that our King is the most merciful and benevolent.
•           Maliki yaumi deen( Master of the day of judgment): You are still praising your Lord by saying He is the Master of the Judgement Day meaning He is your king and He has to power to judge you on the day of judgment. So fear His displeasure and punishment. The reason why "arrahman arraheem" is written before "Maliki yaumi deen" is to give a sense of reassurance.  So what will save us from the horrors of The Day of Judgment?
•          Iyyaka nabudu wa iyaka nastaeen( You alone we worship and you alone we turn for help): Worshipping Allah, loving Allah and only asking him for help.In the first part of this verse you are praising Allah and in second part you are asking for help. What kind of Help?
•           Ihdina Sirat Al Mustaqeem ( guide us to the straight path): Now you ask for help. Help to guide you to the straight path. You request Him to guide you to the right path so that you will be saved on The Day of Judgment. Which path??
•            Siraatal lazeena an amta alaihim(Path of those on whom you have bestowed your blessings.): You ask for help to guide you on the path of those righteous people who have succeeded before you like Prophets, and their companions. The path which will bring you closer to your Beloved. The path that will lead you to Him. 
•          Ghair-il Maghdoobi Alihim( Not of those upon who is wrath of Allah): Now you ask Him for help to save you from  the path of those who know the truth, or have the knowledge of right but deliberately reject it and do wrong. 
•          Waladh Dhaallen(Nor of those who go astray): Here, ask for help to save you from the path of those who lack knowledge of truth and don’t search it.
•      Ameen(Our Lord, grant my prayers.): With Ameen, you are pleading before your Lord to guide and give you success.

Recite Surahs. Talk to your King through them.

Allahu Akbar : It is a reminder to refocus on our meeting with our beloved King.

Ruku (Subhana Rabbiya Alazeem – How perfect my Lord is, The Supreme.): Ruku is prelude to Sujood(where all duas are accepted). This verse signals us to praise Allah before we make our dua in sujood.

Standing after the Rukuu :

Part 1- As you rise to stand, don’t recite Allahu Akbar , instead say “ Sami Allahu liman hamidah - May Allah answer he who praises Him.

Part 2 - Once you have risen, say “rabbana walaka alhamd” ( Our lord for you is all the praise ). You can also go further and recite "Hamdan Katheeran Tayyiban Mubarakan feeh".

Sujood: During the descent to sujood, call out Allah u Akbar. And when you are down in Sujood, recite  Subhana Rabbiyal Aala ( How perfect my Lord is, the Most High).

You have reached a point where you are closest to Allah. Submit yourself completely. To submit ultimately to your beloved King you must lower yourselves before the King i.e perform Sujood.  All duas are accepted in Sujood.  To make dua is to talk to Allah. When you love someone, you love to stay engaged longer, you want to talk, more and more. This is your position to talk to Allah, praise him, ask him, unload your burdens at His door and reach out for the peace that only He can give.

Sitting between 2 prostrations: This is a position to ask your Lord for forgiveness for your sins. Recite Rabbi ighfirli( My Lord, forgive me ) as many times as you want.

Farewell scene ( Tashahhud)

This is a parting time between a servant (You) and the King(Allah).

•   You begin by praising your King. Attahiyyatu Lillahi ( All praises/greetings is due to Allah alone and no one else)
•  And saying all your Duas and prayers are to Him alone. i.e. you only worship Him.  Wassalwatu
•    And all our good deeds are for Him alone. Wattayibat
•  You then praise and send blessings to The Prophet. Assalamu alike ayyuhanabiyu warahmatullahi wabarakatuh ( May the peace, mercy and blessings if Allah be upon you, O Prophet)
•  You, then, send blessings of peace upon yourselves and all of Allah’s righteous servants. Assalamu alaina wa ala ibadillahis saaliheen (Upon every righteous servant whether in heaven or earth- angel or man)
•  Tawheed: Lastly, you say that you love and worship your Beloved King alone . Ashadu an la ilaha illallah wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rusuluh- I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammed is His servant and messenger.

Finally, as this beautiful meeting nears its end, make dua. Learn duas that the Prophet used to recite.

Salaam: End your prayer with salaam on both sides. Bid farewell by sending peace and blessings to the entire world (humans and jinn ) on your right and left. As salamualikum wa rahmatuallah.

Come to Salah -with a feeling of love, sense of fear, shyness and hope- for mercy from your King, for His love and His acceptance. Fall in love with Him. Because, that's the only true love that exists. The only love which is returned, and that too with a 100 times more intensity. Worship Him with all your heart. Worship Him not from the fear of hell or for the sake of heaven. Worship Him for He deserves to be worshipped.

This is a summary of Book"How to taste the true beauty of Salah." Download complete book-> http://understandquran.com/fileadmin/user_upload/extras/Salah.pdf