Al-Ghazali: The Mysteries Of Prayer for children (Children's Series)

The children’s version of this book strives to show them the canonic prayer (al-salat), which in addition to being one of the Five Pillars of the religion, is first and foremost an opportunity for communion with the Divinity, for focusing and concentration, and for expressing gratitude to God through words, physical postures, and inward state. This is book 4 of the ihya ulum al-din; The Revival of the Religious Sciences. This volume contains the book, the workbook and a curricula for The Mysteries of Prayer for Children. There is an adult version called the Mysteries of Prayers and Its important elements that is available as well. CHAPTER 1: APPROACHING THE PRAYER This chapter explains to children the meaning of the Prophet’s saying, “A person only gets from the prayer that of which he or she is mindful.” In this chapter, they learn what it means “to be mindful.” This begins with Ghazali’s example of what intention means when he teaches that if we really wanted to thank another human being for a favor they have done, we would probably say to ourselves before doing so, “I really need to make a point of thanking them,” which includes remembering both the favor and the need to say thank you. This is the disposition that Ghazali teaches should be brought to the prayer and kept present in the mind especially at the moment when the words “God is greater,” which begin the prayer, are pronounced.