The Five Categories of People who Pray

The Five Categories of People who Pray

The first:
The category of the oppressor to himself, the negligent one, one who is
deficient in performing ablution for it, negligent with its appointed
time periods, its boundaries and its pillars.

The second: One
who preserves it appointed time periods, its boundaries, its outward
pillars and ablution for it. However, he forsakes striving against his
own self from whisperings and thinking to himself, and so is
preoccupied with whisperings and thoughts.

The third:
One who preserves its appointed time periods, its pillars as well as
strives against himself in repelling whisperings and distracting
thoughts that overcome him, he is busy in striving against his enemy in
order to prevent him from stealing his prayer, he is in prayer as well
as Jihaad.

The fourth:
One whom when he stands for prayer perfects its rights, its pillars and
its boundaries. His heart is occupied with preserving its boundaries
and preventing anything of it being lost, rather all his attention is
directed to performing it as it should be, in its most complete and
perfect form, his heart is occupied with the prayer and worshiping his
Lord the Elevated with it.

The fifth:
One who performs the prayer like the previous person, but in addition
to this, he has taken his heart and presented it to his Lord. He looks
at his Lord with his heart, fully concerned with Him, in utmost
obedience out of love and reverence for Him, it is as if he sees and
witnesses his Lord. All distracting thoughts and whisperings fade away
and the veil between him and his Lord is removed. The difference
between this person in his prayer and others, is greater and better
than all that is between the heavens and earth, he is fully occupied
and overjoyed with his Lord in his prayer.

The first category is
punished, the second is held accountable, the third is pardoned, the
fourth is rewarded and the fifth is brought close to his Lord, because
he gains a portion of what made the prayer a delight to him. For
whoever is delighted with his prayer in the life of this world, will be
delighted by being close to his Lord in the afterlife as well as being
delighted with his Lord in this life, and whoever is delighted with
Allaah, everything would be delighted with him, and whoever is not
delighted with Allaah the Elevated, his soul will be torn apart for the
life of this world in loss.

It is narrated that when a servant
stands for prayer, Allaah the Glorified says; “Remove the veil.”, and
if the servant turns away He says: “Replace it.”

This ‘turning
away’ has been explained as the turning of the heart away from Allaah
the Mighty to other than Him. So if he turns away, the veil is replaced
between him and his Lord and Shaytaan enters and presents worldly
affairs to him, he shows them to him in the image of a woman. But if he
turns with his heart to Allaah and does not turn away, Shaytaan would
not be able to come between Allaah and that heart, he only enters if
the veil is replaced. If he returns to Allaah the Elevated with his
heart, the Shaytaan would escape, and if he turns away, the Shaytaan
would return, such is his state with his enemy in prayer.

[Al Imaam Ibn Qayyim al Jawzeeyah]




http://sisters.islamway.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=44527&pid=405856&st=0&#entry405856