Understanding the Levels of Prayer

Level one is the burden stage. In this stage, you feel that

prayer is heavy for you, and all circumstances seem arranged for you to

postpone it. Every time the call to prayer is made, excuses start popping up,

and you get creative: "I haven't made wudu yet," "I'll pray after eating,"

"let me rest a bit," "I just got back from work," and the excuses never

end. Strangely, you always tell yourself, "God

willing, starting tomorrow,

I'll start and commit," but it's just procrastination. You feel as if prayer is

a difficult obligation, not a comfort. You try to fight yourself, but,

sadly, you pray sometimes and miss it at other times.

In this stage, the real battle is striving against yourself,

and you just need not to give up. Level two: showing off.

Here, you start committing to prayer and even feel pleased with yourself.

You're proud to be consistent with prayer, but there appears

a serious internal flaw: you become eager for people to see you praying so

they say, "Oh, he prays!" and to clear yourself of the charge of

negligence. At this stage, you might also judge others, saying,

I'm better than that guy. He doesn't pray, but I do.

Look, this is a very dangerous stage, because the devil might whisper to you and tell you you're

a hypocrite whose prayer is for show so you stop praying, but be careful—even

if you feel your intention isn't entirely pure, keep going and keep

praying, because prayer itself refines the heart and purifies the intention, God willing.

Level three: discharging the obligation. Here, you start getting rid of

showing off and realize prayer is a responsibility, so you pray to avoid falling into

negligence, and because you don't want to be among those about whom Almighty God

said, "So woe to those who pray, who are heedless of their

prayer." Yet your prayer might be unfocused, rushed, or

you don't

understand anything from it, just doing your duty, even if you're

in a hurry or tired, but you tell yourself, "I must pray."

The main thing at this stage is to keep going and never abandon prayer, leaving

its acceptance to Almighty God, and always try to force yourself to

have reverence in it. Level four: habituation.

Although this stage is considered good, it is also delicate.

Here, you start maintaining your prayers very well, and people might even notice that

so-and-so, praise be to God, is devoted to prayer. But in reality, prayer here

becomes merely a daily habit. You always ask yourself, "Did I

pray? Did I miss a prayer?" You might even perform ablution before leaving

the house to be ready to pray at any time, and prayer becomes an

automatic part of your day, but without deep reflection or

true devotion. It becomes like a routine, meaning just a habit without

a soul. Like when you do not feel like going to the gym,

but you force

yourself because you got used to it. In short, your body is in prayer

and your mind is in worldly matters. Unfortunately, many people remain at this

level their entire lives. Level five: Communion.

Here, the real transformation begins, in addition, of course, to all the good qualities

mentioned in the previous levels. Prayer becomes your

refuge. Whenever you feel distressed, face a problem, or

grieve over something, you turn to prayer, calling upon God Almighty.

and complain to Him, weep, and confide in Almighty God,

and here at this level, you discover something very important: that you no longer

pray just because it is an obligation, but because you truly need it.

Honestly, it's hard to reach this level without determination, a strong will,

and sincerity with Almighty God. We can say that at this

level, prayer turns from an obligation into a relationship with Almighty

God. Level six: comfort. At this level, you embody

the words of the Prophet (pbuh), "Give us comfort with it,

O Bilal." Honestly, this is a very, very high level. Here,

prayer becomes comfort to you, not a burden—the opposite of the first

level. Here, you don't pray because you are forced to, but out of longing.

You begin observing the obligatory prayers more, meaning you wait for the call to prayer,

go to the mosque well before the Iqama, and try to supplicate between the Adhan

and the Iqama, because you feel at ease in the House of Almighty God, and because you are

longing to pray. Here, you start loving voluntary prayers and performing them

regularly, never missing any opportunity to prostrate to Almighty God.

and you feel reverence because you realize you are before Almighty God,

so prayer here is no longer something burdensome, but rather

something you find peace in. The seventh and final level is Divine Presence.

This is the highest rank of prayer, where you feel the presence of Almighty

God with you, truly living the words of Almighty God: "Prostrate

and draw near." You pray with complete devotion as if you are before Almighty

God. Your priorities change, your morals change, your

behavior changes, and most importantly, your outlook on the world changes. You feel

light, tranquility, wisdom, and comfort, as if you understand the true

meaning: "What has he lost who has found God? And what has

he found who has lost God?" Usually, you find this person loved by

people, and people tell you, "Honestly, I don't know this person, but the moment

I saw him, I felt at ease with him." At this level, the impact of prayer shows on

your face, in your behavior, and in your mercy toward people. And that is all

we had for today's video; I hope you enjoyed it.

I want you to write honestly in the comments which level you are at. And don't forget,

always try to rise to the higher level.

I've also put some awesome clips here that you must watch, and don't forget

to follow me on Instagram and TikTok, and see you soon.