How would you rate your ability to read body languages?
Some of us are experts at reading people. We can tell that a person entering the room is having a bad day from the way that they carry themselves to the room with gloom, or that they are in distress, from their furrowed brows.
However, it wasn’t the case with our beloved Prophet (s.a.w.). It wasn’t easy for people to read his body language. If we see him crying in sujood for a long time, we won’t know if it’s because he was sad or happy. Why? Because he would bow down in prostration in any conditions—in both thankfulness and despair.
This gem was shared by Dr Omar Suleiman in his recent talk with Faith Events, entitled Surrendering to the Divine: Tafsir Surah As-Sajdah.
Surah As-Sajdah is a surah that explains about the Day of Resurrection, the rewards that await the believers, as well as the fate of the disbelievers. It is a surah that can help us strengthen our faith in our Lord. Hence the name, As-Sajdah—the Prostration.
One of the virtues of this surah that was shared by Dr Omar was that a believer is to be in the state of sujood at all times; in happiness and sadness. He further emphasised that as a believer, the best way to connect with our Lord is by placing our heads on the ground. This is where we are most intimate with the Almighty, as we get to pour our hearts out to Him in vulnerability.
The longer we are in that state, the more our hearts will be at ease. In sujood, a broken heart finds its cure, and a content heart is reminded of its purpose.
Our beloved Prophet (s.a.w.) found comfort in prayer, and prostration is the heart of it. It is the ultimate gesture of submission and worship, as we praise, glorify and humble ourselves before Allah (s.w.t.).
The key message of the talk is, as simple as it sounds, prostration is what distinguishes the believers from the disbelievers. A believer should be someone who answers the divine call of Allah (s.w.t.)—wherever, whenever.
Thus, why don’t we prolong our sujood, so we can be immersed in the sweetness of this humbling act? Just because we perform it daily doesn’t mean that we should take it lightly. Let us express our gratitude to the Almighty for giving us the ability to do sujood, as it is the bridge connecting us to Him.
In case you missed the event, experience it on https://faithevents.plus/, where you can gain more pearls of wisdom from the talk. While you’re still here, don’t forget to visit our website at https://faithevents.asia/ to get updates on upcoming events! We’ll see you in the next post, insha’ Allah!