The Disciplines of the Prayer

The Disciplines of the Salat (The Islamic Prayer), which was finished on Monday, the 2nd of Rabi'uth-thani, 1361 L.H. [Lunar Hijri Year] (30th of Farwardin, 1321 S.H. [Solar Hijri year]), is a detailed explanation of the Salat's strict disciplines and moral secrets. Three years before the writing of this work, the Imam (S) [salamullahi 'alayh = may Allah's peace be upon him] had written a book under the title: The Secret of the Salat, which contained the same concepts, but it was concise and in the terms of the elect gnostics [1]. Nevertheless, the late Imam, believing that more people should benefit from the subjects of the book, set upon writing this book in a simpler language. He says:

"Before this, I prepared a paper in which I wrote on the secrets of the Salat as much as was feasible. But as it was not suitable for the common people, I decided to write parts of the cordial disciplines of this spiritual ascension, so that my brothers in faith may have a remembrance, and my hard heart may be affected by it."

Formerly, the folds [matawi] of the book Adabus Salat, with explanations and revisions, had been published under the title: Flying in the Heavenly Kingdom. Then the book itself was published. The former editions, however, were not agreeable, for some reasons. One of the reasons might probably have been the lack of a manuscript. Therefore, The Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works set forth to publish this work, with complete precision, faithfulness, and reference to the available copies, and collating them with the original MS (manuscript) copy which is within the reach of this Institute.

The book includes two prefaces, which the Imam wrote in 1363 S.H., dedicating this work to his respected son, Hujjatul Islam wal Muslimin, Haj Sayyid Ahmad Khomeini, and to Mrs. Fatimah Tabataba'i (wife of Haj Sayyid Ahmad Khomeini).

This edition is accompanied by footnotes and explanations, in which the sources and the references of the hadiths and statements are stated, and the Arabic texts are translated. All these marginations -except a few which the Imam himself had written down and are marked by an asterisk (*) (in the Persian copy) -as well as the different indexes of the book, have been prepared and arranged by this Institute. [2]

Certain Islamic and gnostic terms have been printed in italics or in black (beside the titles of the books). Some of these terms have been explained in English in the GLOSSARY at the end of the book.

A thousand copies of the first edition of the book (in Persian) are accompanied with the photostatic copy of the complete MS (manuscript) to be sent to the libraries and those interested in keeping specimens of the Imam's handwritten works. Other copies include only a printed sample of the MS.

We cordially thank the management and the staff of The scientific and Educational publishing Co. for the help they accorded us.

Sending our greetings to the late Imam, we pray Allah, the Great, to bestow upon us His help to be more Serviceable to Islam.

The Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini' Works

(International Affairs Department)

Notes:

[1]. The complete and revised text of The Secret of the Salat, including its photostatic copy, comments and different indexes, has already been published by this Institute.

[2]. The numbers at the (left) side of the printed pages (of the Persian text) represent the numbers of the MS (manuscript) pages which are the same as those of the printed pages. We draw the attention of the respected readers of the Persian text to the fact that the Imam, by oversight, had repeated the two page-numbers 172 and 278, and next to the number 263 he had written 267. We could have renumbered them correctly on the printed pages (of the Persian text), but as this would have made it a bit difficult to find the MS's page numbers, besides the fact that the readers might, during their reading of the book, forget this warning and get lost in finding out a particular page of the MS, therefore, we had but to retain the same numbering on the printed pages (of the Persian text) as are on the Imam's hand-written pages. That is, the numbers 172 and 178 were repeated, and after the number 263 comes number 267.

Introduction by Sayyid Hasan Khomeini

Surely the greatest characteristic of Imam Khomeini is that he was a God-centered and a Faith-pivoted man -a characteristic which has its roots in his religious ideology. From the positive gnostic point of view Allah, the Great, is the Ruler over the heavens and the earth, and men are to perform their duties, and to bow, in respect, their heads before the Divine Will. They are not to worship other than Him, and not to put foot on any path except on His, as this world is just a transit station, while the permanent abode of the servants is in the neighborhood of Allah, the Glorified. Man, in this world of matter, is to sow what he wants to harvest in the Hereafter. So, he should deservedly carry out what is incumbent upon him, and not to enter upon a course forbidden to him, so that he may prosper.

The Imam started his course in life with such outlook, and when he rose, he was prompted only by the idea that it was his duty to rise, and when he issued his orders to wage the defensive war and to be steadfast, he issued them because he believed that to fight and be steadfast were religious duties. On the day when he decreed -to the astonishment of everybody that Salman Rushdi was to be executed, it was only because it is the very judgement of Islam against such an apostate.

Consequently, the thinkers of the world and the well-versed politicians admit that (Imam) Khomeini was more of a religious leader than a politician, and he was engaged more in carrying out Allah's verdicts than in ruling on the basis of politics.

Only from this angle one may be able to cast a glance at the world-enlightening sun of the Revolution and get acquainted with his personality, and only with such a view in mind one may comprehend the depth of this expression in his will, where he says: " ...With a calm soul, a confident heart, a cheerful spirit and a conscience full of hope in Allah's favour, I take leave from my sisters and brothers to travel to the eternal abode ..." ... Peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies and the day he shall be raised up alive.

The book which is before you covers a part of Imam Khomeini's looks into the valley of theoretical gnosticism. It is dedicated by that godly man to his efficient and gnostic son, the late Hujjatul Islam wal Muslimin Haj Sayyid Ahmad Khomeini, who, with a clear heart and a pure soul, spent his life walking along practical gnosticism, and who tried hard to carry out all the moral instructions of the Imam. It is dedicated to his daughter-in-law, too. Now that the pen has inscribed the names of such great men, I feel ashamed of having my feeble fingers scribble an introduction to such a great book by such a great man. I request the people of knowledge, research and readings to pardon me, and to extend their helping hands to me, who am lost on the road, trembling upon myself like the leaves of a willow! At the end, I regard it necessary to offer my thanks to the respected Head of the International Affairs Department of the Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, his colleagues and the honourable translators who have translated this and other books of the Imam. I request all the translators in the country and those familiar with translating the gnostic works to assist this Institute in bettering such translations, since such an important question cannot be handled without their cooperation and heart-felt sympathy.

Sayyid Hasan Khomeini

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful

I dedicate Adabus Salat -the book from which I had no benefit except regret because of my failure and negligence of the days during which I could have made myself, and except contrition and remorse during old age, being empty-handed, with a heavy burden, and a long way to go, with a lame leg, while the call of departure is ever resounding in my ears -to my dear son, Ahmad. He is in the prime of life, and thus, he may, insha' allah ta'ala (if Allah, the Exalted, wills), avail himself of its contents, which are taken from the Glorious Book, the Noble Sunnah (The Prophet's traditions) and the statements of the distinguished. Haply he will succeed in finding his way to the real ascension through the guidance of "the people of knowledge" [ahl-i ma'rifat], and tear off his heart from this dark dungeon, and head for the original destination of humanity, along the road on which the great prophets, the noble "holy men" [awliya'] -may Allah's blessing and peace be upon them all and the "people of Allah" [ahlullah] trod, and to which they invited the others.

O my son! Hasten to comprehend yourself, which is fermented in "the divine disposition" [fitratullah]. Save yourself from the ruining whirlpool of the formidable waves of self-conceit and selfishness. Get on board Noah's Ark, which is the light of "Allah's guardianship" [wilayatullah], because: " Whoever got on board it was safe, and whoever stayed behind it perished."

O my son! Try hard to be moving along the Straight Path -which is the path of Allah -even with a limping leg. Try to tinge the movements and the stillness of your heart and body with the divine spiritual tint, and to serve the creatures (just) because of their being Allah's creatures. The great prophets and the close friends" [awliya] of Allah, despite their daily works like others, were never on good terms with the world, because they worked with Allah and for Allah. The Last Messenger may Allah bless him and his household and give them peace is quoted to have said: "My heart is sometimes covered (as if with unmindfulness), so I ask forgiveness from Allah seventy times every day." [3] He probably regarded discerning Allah in multiplicity as opacity with respect to Allah.

O my son! Prepare yourself, after me, to face unkindness from those who will burden you with the worries they had on my part. If you settle your accounts with Allah and take refuge in remembering Him, you need not fear any creature, as the reckoning of creatures is transitory, while the reckoning before Allah is eternal.

My son! After me you may receive an offer for service. If you intend to serve the Islamic Republic and dear Islam, then do not refuse it. But if your intention is -Allah forbid! - to serve your sensual desires or to satisfy your passions, eschew it, for the worldly positions are too trivial to deserve perishing yourself for their sake.

O Allah! Make Ahmad, his offspring and family, who are of your servants and of the offspring of the Holy Messenger, happy in this world and in the Hereafter, and cut off the hands of the accursed Satan, so that he may not hurt them!

O Allah! We are weak, unable and lagging behind the caravan of the devotees on the road to you. O Allah! You Yourself help us. O Allah! Treat us with Your grace and do not treat us with Your justice. Peace be upon the righteous servants of Allah.

23 Rabi'ul awwal,

1405 25 Adhar, 1363

Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khomeini

In the Name of Allah

Alas! My life has passed in vain,

Loaded with sins, with no devotional gain;

Tomorrow when I am brought to the Scene of Judgement,

They will say that repentance chance did not remain.

The book Adabus-Salat, which I present to my dear daughter (in-law), Fati [4], whom may Allah make one of the musallim (salat performers), was finished more than forty years ago. A few years before that, I had completed the book of Asrarus-Salat (The Secrets of the Salat) .From that time till now more than forty years have elapsed, while I have neither perceived the secrets of the Salat nor applied its disciplines, for " perceiving " is other than "conceiving", and "forming" is different from "performing". These books are as a proof [hujjat] from the Lord on this poor servant. I take refuge in Allah from being among those referred to by these back-breaking noble ayahs (Qur'anic verses): "0 you who believe, why do you say what you do not do? It is most detested in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do". (Surah 61:2-3). I have no refuge but His vast mercy.

O my daughter, I hope you will be successful in applying the disciplines of this grand divine ascension, and be guided by this divine Buraq (the Prophet's heavenly horse) through a migration from the dark room of the self to Allah. I entrust you to Allah's custody lest reading these papers should increase your sensual longings, or make you -like the writer -a plaything in Satan's hands.

Dear daughter, although I found in you, thank Allah, such a spiritual fineness that I hope you will be guided by Allah, the Glorified and High, favoured with His patronage, and be saved from nature's deep pit to the straight path of humanity, yet do not be heedless of the deceit of Satan, and of that of your own soul, which is even more dangerous. Take refuge in Allah, the Great, for He has mercy upon His servants.

My daughter, if there was no result from reading these pages -Allah forbid! -except self-conceit, pretence and intrusion, it would be better to forgo reading them, or rather beware of them, so that you may not, like me, be subject to remorse and regret. But if you -Allah willing -prepare yourself to be benefited by the subject-matters of this book, which have been taken from the Book, the Sunnah, the hadith of the infallible Ahlul Bayt (The Prophet's progeny) and the statements of the people of knowledge, and to make use of your delicate God-given talent, then here you are! Here is the ball and here is the ground! I hope you will, by this human ascent and divine mixture, empty your heart from others, rinse it with the water of life, say four takbirs (Allahu Akbar = Allah is Greater!) and release yourself from selfness in order to reach the Friend: "And whoever leaves his home migrating to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his reward is indeed with Allah." (Surah 4:100).

O Allah! Make us of the immigrants to You and to Your Messenger, and take us to "annihilation" [fana]. Grant Fati [Fatimah] and Ahmad your assistance to serve (Your servants), and let them attain to happiness.

Was-Salam

2nd of Safar al-Muzaffar, 1405

Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khomeini

Notes:

[3]. Mustadrakul Wasail, "Book of As-Salat", chs. on "Invocations", ch. 22, 521 hadith No.1.