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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Adab as-Salat: The Disciplines of the Prayer Second Revised Edition Degrees Of Recitation And The Groups Of Reciters Know that for the recitation during this spiritual journey and divine ascension there are degrees and stages, and here we shall suffice ourselves with some of them. First, the reciter is one who pays no attention to other than improving the recitation and bettering the expression.

His only care is for the good utterance of these words and correct pronunciation of the letters from their correct outlets so that a duty can be performed and an order be fulfilled. It is well known that the task for such persons is heavy and difficult; their hearts are unwilling and their insides are deviated.

These have no share of worship, though they are not punished with the punishment of the deserter [of the salāt ], unless from the invisible treasure a grace appears and the said chattering receives a beneficence and a favor. It sometimes happens that this group, while their tongues are busy remembering Allah, their hearts are completely away from that, engaged in the mundane multiplicity and worldly matters.

As a matter of fact, the people in this group are outwardly in the salāt , while inwardly and actually they are busy with this world and worldly desires and whims. Sometimes it also happens that their hearts busy themselves thinking about correcting the formal shape of the salāt . In this case they are busy, by both the tongue and the heart, with the form of the salāt , and it is acceptable and agreeable from them.

The second group is those who would not be contented with that limit and take the salāt to be a means of remembering Allah, and the reciting to be praising and glorifying Him. This group is of many ranks and degrees, the mentioning of which would be lengthy. Probably it is this group to which the following Divine Hadīth refers: “I have divided the salāt between Me and My servant, half of it for Me and half of it for My servant.

When he says: 'In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful,' Allah will say: 'My servant has remembered Me,' and when he says: 'All praise is for Allah,' Allah says: 'My servant has praised and glorified Me,' and this is the meaning of 'Allah hears from the one who praises Him.' And when he says: 'The Beneficent, the Merciful,' Allah says: 'My servant aggrandized Me.