Purification for Prayer

Purification for prayer is in itself already an act of worship. We may hardly ever think of it when we quickly try to get ready for our everyday prayers, but it is connected with various aspects of life that are expressed in little invocations and thoughts handed down to us from the Prophet Muhammad and various spiritual teachers.

When we wash our hands, we may ask for forgiveness for bad actions, for protection from failure and harm, and for blessings for legitimate and good actions. Islam is about faith and good actions. We are taught that "faith is recognition in the heart, bearing witness with the tongue, and realization with all our abilities." This applies to central ethical principles like not associating anyone with God, kindness to parents, not to murder, steal or commit adultery, etc. that we share with other religions in the consciousness of our human responsibility before our Creator. It also applies to ritual prayer, giving part of our property to the poor, fasting in Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Makkah, all of which combine a dimension of worship and a dimension of social commitment into activities that strengthen our sense of identity and belonging and make a contribution to our spiritual education. Washing our hands is a condition to use our hands for washing other parts of our body. Hygiene and the ability to differentiate between right and wrong actions are among the first lessons tha a human being learns in early childhood.

When we wash our mouth, we may say,

"God, help me to recite Your scripture and to speak of You often and to thank You." "Clear speech" is considered one of our Creator's great gifts, and we are advised to use it in a beneficial way, not only by "beautifying the Qur'an with our voices" but also by speaking good things or being silent. In order to avoid slandering others, a serious misdeed that the Qur'an compares with cannibalism, or contributing to the spread of suspicion and prejudices we should think carefully before we speak and train ourselves to follow the Prophet's example of encouraging others and inspiring them with patience and endurance.

When we rinse our nose, we may say, "God, comfort me with the scent of the Garden while You are pleased with me." The Arabic word rauh, scent, is related with rî:h, wind, and rû:h, breath, spirit. But the idea of "breath" is also connected with nafs, often translated as self and sometimes described as the "lower self". We are taught to explore ourselves, for "the one who knows himself or herself knows God." Our scholars and sages have therefore devised methods to investigate our intentions and to purify our character from anger, hate, greed, avarice, arrogance, carelessness and other harmful traits.

When we wash our face, we may say, "God, let my face shine on the day when You make the faces of Your friends shine." The face is the mirror of the soul. In a Qur'anic prayer, Abraham says after an intensive search for God behind the phenomena of nature, "I have turned my face towards the One who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not one of those who associate others with God". Turning towards God is tawba, often translated as "repentance". Abraham spent the rest of his life travelling. In Muslim tradition, a person's spiritual path is often described as leading from this starting point through patience, gratefulness, fear and hope, self-control and trust to love. But where is God? People often look into the distance of high ideals, turning away from the world and even demonizing it. But renouncing the world is not an Islamic ideal, and intellectual and cultural asceticism might even lead to a dry "bare bones Islam" without human warmth or spiritual depth. It is essential to draw water from the sources, but with care and wisdom. The prophetic path is therefore described as "the journey with God to creation" and "the journey in creation with God".

When we wash our forearms, we may say, "God, give me the record of my actions into my right hand and make my account easy for me." This is again about actions, but let us have a look at them in the context of our relationship with others: you can use your arms to hug them, to keep them at a distance, or to push them aside with your elbows. The ethical and legal system of Islam deals with all kinds of human relationships: in the family, between men and women in society, among friends, neighbours and colleagues, between competitors, rivals and enemies, between members of different nations, races and religious communities. The idea of justice is that of restoring the balance between different members of society. The purpose of law is to promote steps towards justice and peace, from a minimum of fairness in a conflict through respect and reconciliation to understanding and harmony. Perhaps the time has come to ask new questions to the Sunnah in order to arrive at new perspectives concerning a constructive coexistence with "others" in an increasingly complex world.

When we wipe over our head, we may say, "God, grant me shadow in the shadow of Your throne on the day when there is no shadow except the shadow of Your throne." The head is the seat of our thoughts, and the shadow will keep our heads cool and our thoughts reasonable. After all, the Qur'an expects us to become a "communitiy of the middle", away from the extremes and able to recognize and fix instabilities of the "scales of justice". This can certainly not be done with a simplistic ideology that ignores the shades and colours of a complex reality that is repeatedly pointed out in the Qur'an as signs of the One creator "for people of understanding". It is therefore no luxury when the Prophet said that "acquiring knowledge is a religious obligation for every Muslim, man and woman." But in a multicoloured world as ours, knowledge can only be acquired in cooperation and dialogue.

When we wash our ears, we may say, "God, let me be of those who listen to the word and follow the best of it." For dialogue it is necessary to listen, to learn and to be ready to grow. The Qur'an repeatedly points out that God's signs are meant for people who listen. This certainly does not just mean to take in sounds but rather to investigate, reflect and understand. We are enjoined not to follow assumptions, rumours or prejudices but question what we hear and make sure to avoid any injustice against others.

Wiping over our neck is often done like some kind of casual afterthought, but we are advised to say, "I seek Your protection against chains and fetters," because the neck is connected with human freedom. Slaves had to bear a yoke, either literally or metaphorically, while serving God means liberation. That is why stories like the exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt are of central importance. According to the Qur'an, God is on the side of the poor, underprivileged and oppressed. In recent decades, many Muslim movements followed this idea by working for political, economic and social liberation. On a different level, our mystics taught ways to spiritual liberation from the dictates of the ego that can otherwise enslave us to instincts like greed, anger and fear and become an obstacle to understanding and compassion. We are to liberate ourselves to follow our conscience, trusting God and building up a future where the vast wealth of human cultures may be enjoyed.

When we wash our feet, we may say, "God, strengthen my feet on Your straight path." Religion has often been compared with a way. It is therefore a matter of meaningful orientation as well as patience and courage in order to progress step by step in the direction of love for God and creation. "Guide us on the straight path," is therefore our central request in our prayers.

"God loves those who purify themselves." The Qur'an does not say, "God loves the pure," and we are warned against declaring ourselves pure. Rather, we are told, "He wants to purify you and complete His favour for you that you may be grateful." Purification is therefore a constant effort, not only where hygiene and ritual washing before prayer are concerned but also through interaction with others and the challenges of everyday life - an effort blessed by God.

Let us become people who defend themselves against selfish desires by remembering You, who fight against self-deception and conceit with clear knowledge of You, who douse the fire of greed with the water of life.

The supplication was transmitted from Ali Zaynul-'Abidin.

(c) Halima Krausen, 2007