If You Want to Find God Then Lose Yourself in Prostration

One of the biggest challenges for me during Ramadan, and outside of it, is what to recite for Dua. More specifically, what to recite in Sujood (prostration). During Sujood, you are in the closest proximity to Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said, أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ “The closest that a servant is to his Lord is when he is in prostration.” [Muslim]

It is a small period of humility to Him, with your forehead on the ground, a state in which you are declaring to God: أسلمت — I submit. By default, I use the Dua narrated by Aisha bint Abi Bakr for every Sujood in the last ten days of Ramadan based on the Hadith:

Aisha asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What if I knew which night Lailatul-Qadr was, then what should I say in it?” He said, “Say, اَللَّهُمَّ اِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ ، تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي ‘O Allah You are The One Who pardons greatly, and loves to pardon, so pardon me.'” [Sahih At-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah]

But, what can I possibly ask Allah for in these temporary positions?! I’m afraid I’ll miss out on so much. Then, it came to me when the Imam of Taraweeh recited on the seventh night:

وَلَمَّا جَاءَ مُوسَىٰ لِمِيقَاتِنَا وَكَلَّمَهُ رَبُّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ ۚ قَالَ لَن تَرَانِي وَلَٰكِنِ انظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي ۚ فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّىٰ رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكًّا وَخَرَّ مُوسَىٰ صَعِقًا ۚ فَلَمَّا أَفَاقَ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And when Moses arrived at Our appointed time and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You.” [Allah] said, “You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it should remain in place, then you will see Me.” But when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He rendered it level, and Moses fell unconscious. And when he awoke, he said, “Exalted are You! I have repented to You, and I am the first of the believers.” [Qur’an, 7:143]

Here, Musa was meeting with Allah, Who was speaking to Him. Musa, almost like a child here, then asked Allah, sheepishly, “My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You.” Hearing this, I’m stunned. Musa was already granted with the ability to converse with Allah, yet, human that he is, asked for more. For the ability to see Him.

I want to see Allah, too.

And when we went into Sujood afterwards, that’s what I made Dua for.

Roqaya Mosque, Damascus, Syria. Photo by Pascal Meunier.

Listen to the Quran that is recited. Let the Ayaat touch you and overwhelm you and drown you in their depth of powerful inspiration. On almost each page of Quran is a Dua or an Ayah that you can extract a Dua from. Keep a look out for them. Incorporate them in your daily Dua and let them impact you enough that when you are kneeling down to the ground, coming closer to Allah, ask Him to grant you what you have just discovered you wanted from these Ayaat, these miracles. Let your lips move and emphasize the desperation that you have for Him to answer your plea.

Ya Rab, grant us the pleasure of seeing Your face on the Day of Judgment and for the rest of eternity.

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By: @Sinseriously (MW Contributor)

Serine is an Arab American who has had a passion for learning Islam and leading others towards embracing their faith. Having gone to Islamic school and public school in the States, she has seen the best–and worst–of both worlds and knows she can relate to other Muslims of diverse backgrounds in hopes of creating a culture of understanding, unity, and progress for the sake of Allah.

For more, check out Serine’s blog.

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• June 29, 2015