# What Should You Say to Start Salah? | Episode 3 | Secrets of Salah | The Hidden Gems of Prayer

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Secrets of Salah | Dhul Hijjah 2025
**Published:** 2025-05-29
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/d9jLEHBrSpQ
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/secrets-of-salah-dhul-hijjah-2025/what-should-you-say-to-start-salah-episode-3-secrets-of-salah-the-hidden-gems-of-prayer
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Faith

## Description
You bow. You rise. You whisper words you’ve said a thousand times. But what if every motion of salah held its own key to khushoo’? In this series, go deeper into the language, the postures, and the presence of salah. Join Dr. Omar Suleiman to spend the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah exploring the most...

## Transcript
**[0:00]** Once you think about the physical presence of Takbiratul Ihram, scholars mentioned two things. For one, when you do this, it's like you're throwing away everything behind you. But they also say that pointing the hands is ta'zeem, is glorifying the one that's in front of you.

**[0:30]** The first position of salah is not ruku'. The first position of salah is qiyam. We often skip through that. But if you're thinking about this as a coherent process, everyone stands up. Right? In the presence of the king.

**[0:46]** What then of the king of all kings? And this too mirrors the day of judgment. Because just like on Yawm al-Qiyamah, everyone will be in qiyam. Everyone will be standing. To the point, Jibreel (عليه السلام) and the angels will line up in rows and no one will speak.

**[1:06]** Likewise, when you enter into the salah, everyone stands before the king of all kings. And they are oriented towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as his humble servants. In anticipation of whatever it is that he's going to give to them. And ready to enter into that loving conversation with him subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[1:25]** So you have the wudu to reorient your body. You had the adhan to reorient your thoughts and to reorient your heart towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And now you find yourself coming to Allah 'azza wa jal.

**[1:40]** I want to make a small point here in regards to the masjid. The masjid is the place to be. There is no comparison between the salah in the masjid and the salah outside of the masjid. The reward is immediately multiplied. And just think of it like the difference between a call and a visit.

**[1:58]** The difference between a letter and presence. And the front rows are the best rows meaning the eagerness of those who come first to the masjid. Right? That there is no comparison between the one who comes with that loving obedience and devotion. And that's why the angels who were making du'a for that person as they were sitting waiting for the iqama.

**[2:17]** They continue, yusalluna 'ala saf al-awal. They continue to send their praises upon the first row. Even as the prayer has commenced and is continuing. They keep on sending their salawat. They love the servants of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And again, the idea is not the physical presence of the first row.

**[2:32]** The idea is the eagerness, the pace at which you met the call of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and came to that place. You enter into your salah, you're in qiyam. You've arrived in the presence of the king of kings. And then you do what's called takbiratul ihram.

**[2:50]** Makes a lot of sense when you think about hajj, ihram. Takbiratul ihram. You lift your hands, Allahu Akbar. And when you lift your hands and you say Allahu Akbar, you are entering into a state of ihram. What is the state of ihram?

**[3:06]** It's a state that makes certain things that were halal now haram. Certain things that were permissible now prohibited. Again in the hajj or the umrah, it's very obvious what's happening. That there are certain things you can't do now that you've entered into the state of ihram.

**[3:23]** The salah is no different. In that, dakhalathi hurmatul salah. You've entered into the sanctuary of your prayer. Fa asbahama kana halan lahu qabla salat haraman alayhi. So what was halal for him before the salah is now haram for him.

**[3:40]** So you've entered into a state of ihram. And remember Hatim al-Asam? I want you to imagine that you've entered into the haram itself. And you're looking at the Kaaba. Every time you enter into that prayer, you turn yourself fully towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[3:58]** You've already directed your heart towards him. You're facing the qibla. Your body is facing towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And freeing itself from the disobedience of Allah, even the hands. I want you to think about the physical presence of takbirat al-ihram.

**[4:16]** Scholars mentioned two things. For one, when you do this, it's like you're throwing away everything behind you. Right? So everything behind you is gone. All of the distractions, all of the desires, all of the disobediences, all of the worries, all of the concerns.

**[4:34]** But they also say that pointing the hands is ta'zeem, is glorifying the one that's in front of you. So you're doing two things at once. You are raising your hands, glorifying the one that is in front of you. And you are throwing away everything else that is behind you.

**[4:53]** As you enter into takbirat al-ihram. And you raise your hands and you say Allahu Akbar. Notice as well, the words Allahu Akbar. The adhan begins with Allahu Akbar. The iqamah begins with Allahu Akbar. The salah begins with Allahu Akbar.

**[5:10]** Three takbirat. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Why? Allah is greater. Allah is greater. Allah is greater than what I was doing. Allah is greater than what I was thinking about.

**[5:26]** Allah is greater than what concerns me. Allah is greater than my distractions. Allah is greater than who I was with. Allah is greater than who I'm going to meet. Allah is greater. You have to diminish everything else. When you enter into this exercise of extolling the greatness of Allah

**[5:44]** subhanahu wa ta'ala. To truly understand and appreciate what it is that is in front of you. And you have to believe it to feel it. You have to actually believe it to feel it. And so ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah is to negate any God besides Allah

**[5:59]** subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allahu Akbar is to negate any priority over Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And as you enter into your salah, You are negating all and diminishing all in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then as you say Allahu Akbar in your state of qiyam.

**[6:17]** Facing towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was narrated to say Subhanak Allahumma wa bihamdik, wa tabarak asmuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruka. He would say (ﷺ), glory and praise be to you.

**[6:34]** Subhanak Allahumma wa bihamdik, wa tabarak asmuka, blessed is Your name. wa ta'ala jadduka, exalted is Your majesty. wa la ilaha ghayruka, and there is no deity other than You. A tasbih to start.

**[6:50]** And when you get into al-Fatiha, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, a tahmid as well. So there's a connection between the beginning of the salah and the end of the salah as well. And of course, during the salah also. There's another du'a that the Prophet (ﷺ) would make as well.

**[7:06]** And Abu Huraira (رضي الله عنه), the way that he narrates it is beautiful. He says that I was watching the Prophet (ﷺ) and I noticed the Prophet (ﷺ) took a long time between takbirat al-ihram, the opening takbir, and the recitation of al-Fatiha.

**[7:21]** faqultu bi-abi anta wa-ummi ya rasulallah May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. ma taqulu fee sukootika bayna al-takbir wal-qira'ah What is it that you're saying between the takbir and the recitation?

**[7:38]** I need to know what you're saying. Now, subhanAllah, even these du'as, the way that we say them, we don't say them at the speed the Prophet (ﷺ) used to say it. There is a deep devotion and love. But he who was forgiven for all of his sins, he who was infallible,

**[7:53]** would say, aqulu Allahumma ba'id bayni wa bayna khatayai kama ba'atta bayna al-mashriqi wal-maghrib Allahumma naqini min khatayai kama yunakka thawbu al-abyadu min al-danas

**[8:09]** Allahumma ighsilni min khatayai bil ma'i wal-thalji wal-barad The Prophet (ﷺ) would say, O Allah, put a distance between me and my sins that is as great as the distance between the East and the West.

**[8:25]** SubhanAllah, sins are the barrier, right? So remove from me my sins, put a distance between me and my sins like the distance between the East and the West. O Allah, cleanse me of my sins the way that a white garment is cleansed from filth. O Allah, wash away my sins with water and snow and hail.

**[8:45]** Does this du'a sound familiar to you guys? Does it sound like another du'a that we make? It's actually very similar to the du'a at the time of death. When we put someone in their grave and you know, you talk about leaving life behind. You know, subhanAllah that when you put someone in their grave,

**[9:02]** you're making du'a, wa naqihi min khatayahu that, O Allah, purify him from his sins. kama yunaqqa thawbu al-abyadu min ad-danas You're making the same du'a for that person, essentially. But when you enter into salah, just like when you enter into hajj, when you enter into umrah in a state of ihram,

**[9:18]** you're putting the life of this world behind you. And you're saying, O Allah, remove from me the stains of the life of this world. And such is the case as well with the believer as they enter into their salah. I also want you to think about that idea of being washed from your sins. The messenger of Allah (ﷺ) taught us that when you're making wudu, that the sins come out of you,

**[9:36]** even like the sins under your fingernails as you're washing yourself from sins. And also as you enter into your salah, the sins will fall off of you in every part of salah that you move in. OK, I want you to think about this.

**[9:52]** When you move in salah physically, let's say that you had sand or dirt on any part of your body. It will all come off by nature of the physical movements of salah. If it's on your head, it will come off in ruku'. If it's on your back, it will come off from the rising.

**[10:09]** Your back and your shoulders. If it is a difficult place, it will come off in your sujood. In fact, even if it's on the bottom of your feet, it will come off in sujood. The sins fall off of you as the messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said. With every single position that you are in your salah.

**[10:27]** So think about the physical presence of those sins, if we could see them. And think about the purification that comes from the wudu' and comes from the salah. And then what do you say? I seek refuge in Allah from the devil.

**[10:45]** Shaytan panics as you begin your salah, and you're about to enter into this connection of Allah because his whole dedication is to severing your connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so he's determined to steal of your prayer, whatever he can.

**[11:00]** He hates that you've come to falah, you've come to success. He's already lost a big part of the battle by the fact that you made wudu' and you responded to the adhan and you came to the salah. He's deeply uncomfortable by the presence of the angels. And the angels are surrounding you from all directions.

**[11:16]** And you seek refuge in Allah from him. la'u'idhanahu, as Allah 'azza wa jal mentions in the Hadith Qudsi, if he seeks refuge in me, then I will certainly grant him refuge. Isti'adha is to find safety.

**[11:32]** A'udhu means to cling to something. A'udhu billah, I find safety in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Billah, with Allah, I find safety with Allah. Think of that person who grabs the cloth of the Kaaba or who draws themselves close to it at the place prescribed by the Prophet (ﷺ).

**[11:50]** I seek refuge with Allah, safety with Allah, minash shaytan ar-rajim, from the shaytan. Shaytan means distant, distant from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Rajim is someone who is discarded, thrown away, cast aside.

**[12:06]** Rajm, right? I seek refuge, safety with Allah from the accursed devil. Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله), as he writes his Risala on Salah, his work on prayer, he mentions a conversation that he had with his teacher, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله), and he said that his teacher told him,

**[12:23]** if a dog barks at you, we had a few dogs outside, even in the capacity of this, if a dog barks at you, he said, you don't bark back at the dog. You don't fight the dog. Instead, you implore the owner to restrain the dog.

**[12:38]** Likewise, when the shaytan barks at you, or the shaytan tries to steal of your prayer, or steal of your attention, what he does, instead you go to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to restrain the barking devil, the whispering devil, right? You don't waste your time barking back at the devil.

**[12:54]** And that's why the Prophet (ﷺ) said, la tasubbu ash-shaytan, don't curse the devil. Because when you do that, you make him bigger than what he actually is. Instead say, Bismillah, with the name of Allah, and you make him smaller than a bug.

**[13:10]** When you say Bismillah, nothing, smaller than a mosquito, discard it from your life. And so, I seek refuge in Allah from the shaytan, you're seeking refuge in Allah 'azza wa jal from all of his whispers,

**[13:25]** from all of his annoyances, and from anything else that can get between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Notice that you mentioned a quality of the shaytan, that he is Rajim, cast aside. And you mentioned the names of Allah, Rahman ar-Rahim,

**[13:40]** that he is especially, entirely merciful, especially merciful subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when you say Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim here, you're saying in the name of Allah, and you're also intending with the name of Allah, which means with the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[13:55]** Everything that you do will be in the name of Allah and no one else. And everything that you will achieve in this prayer, or be rewarded for, will be with the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then you enter into Surah Al-Fatiha. And Surah Al-Fatiha is Ummul Kitab.

**[14:11]** It is the mother of the book, the foundation of the book, and also the most essential and repeated pillar of the salah. And if you understand your Fatiha, then khushu' is almost a guarantee for you.

**[14:34]** Al-Fatiha.

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