Praying without understanding the meanings of what we're saying is one of the strangest things we do... isn't it?

Let's take this phrase as an example:

التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ

At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat

1. Do you know what these words actually mean?

2. Can you say them as fluently in translation as you do in Arabic?

In my experience, nine out of ten people answer NO to both of these questions 😱

Of course, I'm not judging. But just ask yourself...

Is there any other situation in your life where this is an issue? Do you ever say words that you don't understand?

Of course not!

That would be abnormal and unreasonable, right?

Why?

Because when you say things that you don't understand, you cannot say them with any meaning.

I'm not sure if you could even call it 'communication' at that point.

Remember, Salah is a real meeting and conversation with God...

You can't pretend that you mean what you're saying to God, if you don't understand what you're saying in the first place!

It's quite obvious, isn't it?

But we’ve likely been doing it for years!

When most people hear this (and thousands have, Alhamdulillah), it really hits them...

They don't know why they were okay with it for such a long time.

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So now that you're (hopefully) NOT okay with it anymore...

...how can you develop your understanding of the words and phrases you say in prayer?

The answer lies in one very important principle:

You can only express the Arabic meaningfully in your Salah, to the extent that you can express the translation meaningfully outside of your Salah.

Please read it one more time 🙂

This principle is called: Practice Your Prayer.

To transform your prayer, you must practice your prayer!

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How exactly do you 'practice your prayer'?

It's a simple, 3-step process...

Step 1: Practice saying the specific phrase aloud and from memory, in plain English, from beginning to end without hesitation. Do this at least 10 times.

If you don't know or haven't memorized the English translation of the phrase already, read it as many times as you need to until you've memorized it.

Let's do this now by using the example at the top of this email - practice saying the following aloud:

All compliments are for God, and
all prayers, and all pure deeds.

Repeat it aloud and from memory, at least 10 times.

Step 2: Say the phrase aloud in English, from memory... but this time, do it as if you are really directing your words to your Lord in personal conversation.

Express yourself! Go all out!

Repeat this at least 5-10 times.

Step 3: Say the phrase in Arabic, followed by the English.

التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ

All compliments are for God, and
all prayers, and all pure deeds.

Express both as fully and meaningfully as you can.

Repeat at least 5-10 times.

Do this three-step process for every single phrase in the prayer.

But don't worry... you don't need to do it all at once!

We'll be going through each and every phase, one by one, in this series over the next few weeks, God willing... so that it's easy, structured and unforgettable for you 🙂