Human nature (innate) is a scale for measuring:

 Dear brother, we are still tackling the story of this atheist who found his way to faith and belief in Allah, through which he moved from misery unto felicity, from alienation unto self-conciliation, from the narrow mundane unto the vast universe, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Proximity.
 Dear brother, twenty years ago, this person dreamed of a small room with gray walls and a window on its southern wall, furnished with two contrasting colored rugs, and he was standing in the third row behind two other rows, and in front of them there was a person who was performing strange movements, and he couldn’t understand this dream back then. Later on, he finished school and graduated from the university, then he moved to San Francisco to become a professor at the university teaching Mathematics. He was an atheism then.
 He happened to be in the Library of that university one day, in which they had an extra room that was rented by Muslims. They meant it to be as a mosque in order to perform prayers in it, he has no idea why he headed to that mosque, but prior to entering it, he felt an anxiety and hesitance, and was extremely worried, swinging between stepping in and staying out, but then he made up his mind and entered that small room, which was no bigger than a few meters long and a few meters wide. Upon entering the room, he found two men who had a delightful expression on their faces.
 He felt right about entering that room, and I think that is his human nature.
 I will read chapters of his book and analyze them to you.
 Man might feel right about something, and might feel the opposite about something else.
 When the man entered the mosque, he was overwhelmed by a strange feeling, he said: “I felt I am on the right path, despite what sh3er might think about those people”.
 All people around him thought that those Muslims were nothing but another sect, like other sects that are widely spread all over the world, and every sect assumes they are the right one.
 He said: “My mother always told me to follow my heart”
 The pure feelings are a scale to which you measure yourself, and this scale is nothing but the human nature that was indicated by the prophet PBUH when he said:

((Wabisah bin Ma`bad (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I went to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and he asked me, "Have you come to inquire about piety?'' I replied in the affirmative. Then he said, "Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is that which contents the soul and comforts the heart, and sin is that which causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people pronounce it lawful and give you verdicts on such matters again and again.'' ))

[Ahmad, by Wabisah]

When the innate is gone it can’t be a scale to measure any more:

 Dear brother, when you have a pure soul and an intact innate, and you felt comfortable in regard to a deed you performed, then you should know that the deed is right. On the other hand, if you felt worried and anxious towards a deed you performed, then you should know that this deed is wrong. Like when you feel shameful about a deed in front of Allah, or like when you feel nothing upon performing Salah, as if there is a veil drawn between you and Allah the Almighty or you are faced with a dead-end road. This is the human nature, Allah said:

((Then whoever disputes with you concerning him ['Iesa (Jesus)] after (all this) knowledge that has come to you, [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus)] being a slave of Allah, and having no share in Divinity) say: (O Muhammad) "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves - then we pray and invoke (sincerely) the Curse of Allah upon those who lie."))

[Aal-‘Imran, 61]

 This is very accurate measurement, are you able to connect with Allah post performing that deed? If you have a delighted face during Salah, then this deed is right. However, there is one caution to be taken into consideration in the respect of this measurement. I have mentioned a while ago, that unless your human nature is intact, and your heart is pure, this measurement loses its accuracy, and that could happen when one’s instinct is covered because of lusts, in that case, feeling comfortable about something doesn’t count any more, like wise, being in hardship because of something doesn’t count either.
 He said: “When I stepped in that room, I felt right about it, regardless of what sh3er might think. My mother used to tell me: follow your heart.”
 In fact, you will reborn when you connect with Allah, repent to Him, rectify your path in life, and when you consider reconciliation with Him.
 One might ask, why? It is because Allah accepts you. Didn’t you read the following Qudsi Hadith:

((Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Allah says: ' When a slave of Mine draws near to Me a p, I draw near to him a cubit; and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.''))

[Agreed upon]

It is normal for the repentant to feel happy and safe:

 The repentant lives in ecstasy, joy, comfort, and serenity, and this status is absolutely normal, because it is Allah’s creation, and because you took initiative to approach Him, to obey Him, to get acquainted with Him, to be grateful to Him and to be submissive entirely to Him.
 He said: “When the two persons in the room saw me, they thought I was about to embrace Islam, hence, they were so elated about it.”
 This is how a Muslim feels when a person is about to embrace Islam, as he will be in comfort, why is that? It is because the believer is merciful, therefore, he will be happy if another fellow human moved from alienation to the right path, and from misery to felicity.
 He said: “They welcomed me and reminded me of NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) engineers who embraced Islam when they were face to face with the Galaxies, the greatness of the universe, the very far distances in space, the settings of stars, and all these unbelievable creations. When they saw all that with their own eyes, they entirely submitted to Allah the Almighty.”
 This is a congruent resemblance to what happened to Pharaoh’s sorcerers, as they used rubber tubes filled with mercury, and heated them from beneath in order to make them squirm like real serpents in the eyes of the beholders. However, when Moses’ cane PBUH turned into a real serpent, they realized that this has nothing to do with magic, and it was a miracle, for that they prostrated to Allah the Almighty, Allah said:

(( And the sorcerers fell down prostrate. ))

[Ash-Shu’ara, 46]

 Along the same line, NASA’s engineers embraced Islam, because they realized that what they had witnessed is nothing but a sign of Allah’s greatness.
 Hence, the persons in the room encouraged me to embrace Islam, as I haven’t done that officially yet.
 After a while, a dignified, radiant faced man stepped in the room, so they said to him: This brother intends to embrace Islam, so he said to them: He has to testify of the two Shahadas (bearing witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad PBUH is His messenger), then he stepped back like a person who has just discovered something valuable, and he instructed that man of the words I should say.

Body lives on food and the heart lives on knowledge:

 Pay attention to the emotions that an atheist has when he is bearing witness for the first time.
 It is a rule of thumb that when you repeat a certain word, you void it from its meaning.
 Muslims in Islamic countries are listening to the Shahada (Al Ilaha Illa Allah: There is no God but Allah) thousands of time every day, to the point that they stopped reflecting on its sense.
 So, pay attention to the affection that an atheist has when he says it.
 He said: “This radiant faced man seemed to be the Imam of themosque, he said: Say Ashhadoo (I confess), La Ilaha (there is no God), and I used to embrace this phrase as doctrine my entire life, I used to believe that there is no God in this life, but now I realized for the first time the horrifying fact of this phrase, as it leads to alienation, hardship, misery, and movement towards a dead end road.
The Imam said to me: Illa (except), as if I am facing something ambiguous, as it is a short word, yet it stood between me and this vast gap my whole life, dragging me away from the reality that I was looking for. Then when the Imam said: Illa Allah (except Allah), I said to myself: Allah is the worshipped.
 These words (La Ilaha Illa Allah: There is no god except Allah) were like pure drops of water that were put in the throat of a man who was about to die of thirst. I was regaining my strength with each word of it, coming around in the process.”
 He was dead and Allah brought him back to life by these words. Verify, that the life of the body is attained by food, whereas the life of the heart is attained by acquainting with Him.
 We should thank Allah that we were brought up in an Islamic country, raised to know Allah, and attended religious sessions, not to mention that we didn’t have any atheistic orientations.
 But pay attention to the atheist who lived in bitter loneliness, in dread, in restlessness, in dead-end roads, in a tiny world, in a limited universe, in pessimism, and in doubtfulness about everything around him, as he said: “When I said those words: Ashhado An La Ilaha Illa Allah, the word: La Ilaha (there is no God) was my doctrine my entire life, the word Illa (except) was an ambiguous word, then the word: Allah, was the word that filled the void in my life.”

The believer is strengthened and sublimed by Allah’s greatness:

 Let us carry on, he said: “By bearing witness, I joined the followers of the prophets”.
 All believers on earth are followers to the prophets who are the perfect masters of mankind, whereas the powerful persons are the masters of potent and power in worldly life, hence, he joined the prophets’ followers.
He said: “Thereupon, I was joining the followers of the prophets, and I am now amongst the league of those who believe in all messengers throughout eras, and in prophets who were sent to all races and people. I was stretching my hand to be a follower, and a believer in him, he who was sent to the entire humanity fourteen centuries ago (Muhammad PPBUH).
 The Imam continued: (Say I bear witness that Muhammad).
 For me this was more than a confession, it meant to me an abidance by a universal method that is sacred in its ancientness, and had glad tidings of the first divine mission on earth, and was sealed by sending Muhammad PBUH. The Imam said: (That the prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Allah).
 I felt secure and safe, free and in peace of mind, and I felt that I can love and be loved by Him, to whose blessings, there are no limits (Allah).”
 You might be in love and be loved by a person, but what if you are loved by a person who owns the entire land, what does this love mean? It means that you will own, through this love, everything. What does it mean to be loved by a very wealthy man? It means that you become rich. What does it mean to be loved by a powerful person who has unlimited power? It means that you will become potent. Along the same line, you will be rich through  Allah’s abundance, you will be potent because of Allah’s might, you will be knowledgeable because of Allah’s knowledge, and you will exalt because of Allah’s greatness.
 He said: “I felt secure and safe, free and in peace of mind, and I felt that I can love and be loved by Him, to whose blessings, there are no limits (Allah).”
 According to the honest believer, the prophet PBUH is the best of mankind, as no human was bestowed with as much knowledge from Allah as the prophet, he did see, of the Greatest Signs, of his Lord (Allah), and he realized the reality of matters. Allah said:

(( Then he [Jibrael (Gabriel)] approached and came closer, And was at a distance of two bows' length or (even) nearer))

[An-Najm, 8-9]

 Regarding the prophet’s knowledge, he saw the kingdom of heavens and earth by Allah, through the journey of Israa (the night journey during which the prophet PBUH had visited Jerusalem) and Miraaj (the Ascension to the Seven Heavens during the Night Journey).
 And regarding his deeds, one third of the earth population are affected by his actions and deeds, and this means one billion and two hundred million followers to this prophet PBUH.

The role of the Imam in Salah:

  You will be in great joy to see a mosque full with worshippers, and you say: there is no room left in the mosque. Hence, how about the entire earth with all its continents, as you can go east to India and Pakistan to see millions of Muslims, or you can go west to north Africa to see millions of Muslims and so forth. So, one billion and two hundred million of Muslims are in the account of the prophet Muhammad PBUH (they are Muslims because of his message).
 He said: “I felt secured and safe, free and in peace of mind, and I felt that I can love and be loved by Him, to whose blessings, there are no limits (Allah). I was immersed in a mercy that flew out of the transcendent affection, and I resorted to where I truly belong.”
 Consider the example of a homeless, hungry, thirsty, fearful persson, who is being chased person, who enters the house of his parents, crashes on his cozy bed, takes a shower, and eats the best meal he can have, hence, it is there, where he belongs.
 Believe me dear brother, the language, sometimes, lacks the expressions to describe the truth.
 The true believer might experience sensations, when he repents to Allah the Almighty, hard to express in words, no matter how eloquent he was.
 He said: “The Imam said: (And I confess that Muhammad is the messenger of God (Wa Ashhadoo Anna Muhammadan Rasoolo Allah).
 Two days later, I learnt my first congregational prayer, it was a warm sunny summer day in San Francisco, as we were in our second Ruk’a, and the Imam was reciting Quran in his outstanding awesome way.”
 The Imam, who is bestowed with a beautiful voice and who memorizes the Quran, plays a very serious role in Islam.
 Quran needs interpretation, there are lots of Surats (chapters) in it, by which you prostrate to Allah the Almighty, by merely listening to them from the mouth of a true believer, who is bestowed with an articulated tuned tongue, and who is blessed with a voice similar to David’s pipes (Dawood’s voice).
 This kind of reciting is a connection with Allah unto itself, not to mention that it is an educational mean. Allah said:

((And Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise. ))

[An-Nisa’, 11]

 It needs interpretation, Allah said:

((Had not the Grace of Allah and His Mercy been upon you (O Muhammad), a party of them would certainly have made a decision to mislead you, but (in fact) they mislead none except their own selves, and no harm can they do to you in the least. Allah has sent down to you the Book (The Qur'an), and Al-Hikmah (Islamic laws, knowledge of legal and illegal things i.e. the Prophet's Sunnah - legal ways), and taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad).))

[An-Nisa’, 113]

The wisdom behind standing closely in congregational prayer:

 Dear brother, in the Taraweeh Salah (extra prayers in Ramadan after the Isha prayer.), you will receive the most effective preach through listening to an Imam with a nice voice reciting Quran.
 He said: “Most Quran’s recitings are slow, rhythmic, and tuned. This Imam’s reciting was like an infant’s call to his parents. The infant cries to his mother with love, trust, hope, and passion, sensing his mother’s mercy and tenderness, and he calls for he knows how important he is To her.
 This is how I comprehended the Imam’s reciting in Salah, as he invoked Allah the Almighty, in a rhythmic masterful anthem, and we stand behind him shoulder to shoulder, and foot to foot.”
 He was asked once on a summer hot day: Why should the people who are performing prayers stand close to one another?
 Those, who asked this question, were thinking of the vast place in the mosque, and why don’t those worshippers leave space between one another? Hence, this atheist answered this point by saying: “When you are in a status so close to Allah, you should feel your brother beside you, you should collaborate with him, and you should stand shoulder to shoulder next to him”
 This was the answer of a Muslim, who not long ago, was an atheist.
 People usually consecrate the self space, like when one sits on a chair, he loves to have half a meter distance between him and the other chair.
 One of our Huffaz brother (who memorizes Quran by heart), reauthord Quran in a festival in Malaysia, as I reckon, and people were so delighted including the president, who then asked him to sit next to him, as there was an empty chair; in festivals you have an empty chair as a potential space, whereas in Salah you stand shoulder to shoulder, and foot to foot.
 Again let me repeat how this post atheist answered that question, he said: “When you are in a status so close to Allah, you should feel your brother beside you, and you should collaborate with him”. The prophet PBUH said:

((Ibn Umar reported that the prophet PBUH said: My Community shall not agree upon misguidance. Therefore, you must stay with the Congregation, and Allah's hand is over the Congregation, and whoever singles himself out, will end in hellfire))

[Tirmizi, by Ibn Umar]

 The Imam said Takbeer (Allah is the greater) in his Rukoo (bowing down), so he translated it: Allah is the greatest.

Describing Roko’o in Salah by Jeffrey:-

 Again dear brother, you are used to those words in your Islamic country, where you born and raised by two Muslim parents.
 However, look at the effect of those words on an atheist who didn’t believe in the existence of Allah a while ago, Allahoo Akbar (Allah is greater).
 He said: “When we heard this call “Allahoo Akbar”, which means Allah is the greatest, we bow down with our hands on our knees, and with our backs in perpendicular to our legs (forming an angle of 90), then I whispered with the divine praising “Subhana Rabyah Al Azeem” (Glory be to my Lord the great)”.
 This was his first prayer, and he translated those words as if they were words of gratitude, namely, “I thank you my Lord for bringing me here”, and this is how he comprehended the words.
 This associate professor at the university, who happened to have a very classy office, was reborn in this humble tiny room. In comparison, I was told by a brother, how luxurious the mosques in some countries are, with all their vast areas, ornaments, and statues.
 He said: “The Imam said: (Allah hears who praises Him), so we were upright again and we answered, O, Lord praise be to you, Praise and peace be to you our Creator”
 When one of us says: Same’a Allahoo Liman Hamidah (Allahhears who praises Him), does he pay attention to those words?
 “Allah hears” means that Allah is listening to what you are saying to Him, what are you saying to Him? You are saying: O Lord, my gratitude is to You, what are you thankful for? You are thankful for the blessing of your existence, as you were nothing to be mentioned before. Thank You Lord for creating me and molding me in the best look, thank You for giving me two legs to walk on, two hands, hearing, sight, head, joints, and systems. Thank You for giving me a wife and kids. Thank You for giving us all the universal signs. Thank You for sending prophets and messengers. Thank You for sending Your books.
 He said: “We were moving as one body in our congregation prayer, I performed four prayers in the mosque on Thursday, but with less people, but on Friday, we were more than eighty people, crowded in this tiny room from different nationalities around the world (may be twenty countries), and we were performing Jumaa Salat.”

Dreams are a way of connecting with Allah:

 He carried on describing his Salah: “When we prostrated and touched the ground with our foreheads, I said in a low voice: Subhana Rabyah Al Alaa (Glory be to my Lord the exalted), O Lord, I seek refuge with you from going astray, then we sit on our legs, following the Imam. I was in the third row, I looked straight ahead to see this person far from me, beneath the window, through which the light passed to fill up the room, and being the Imam, he was alone in the front, dressed in long white garment, covering his head with another white scarf, only then, I screamed inside me: this is the dream coming true.”
 He saw this dream three times in ten years, as he dreamed of a tiny room with gray walls, and furnished with a red and yellow rug, and he was standing in the third row among three rows, and there was this man beneath the window performing strange movements.

This dream is a glad tiding from Allah.

 A dream sometimes might be a means through which Allah informs His servant directly.
 A brother called me from Germany to tell me that it took him two months to know my phone number, so I asked him, what is your story? He said: “I am not a religious person, I never performed a prayer in my entire life, I never fasted, and I hate this religion and scholars as well - and he went on talking with unreasonable statements – then my sister invited me to visit the United States, where I listened to a cassette about one of the good Names of Allah. so I said to myself, this is exactly what I am looking for, then I asked for more cassettes of the same kind and listened to them one by one”. He continued telling me: “Twenty years ago, I saw in my dream that I was given a box, and when I opened it, there was written the name of Allah “Al Azeem” (The Great), and by Allah, this dream came true twenty years later, as I received a box of these cassettes from Damascus, and when I opened it, I found that name of Allah written on it”.
 These kinds of dreams are glad tidings from Allah, and the true dream is part of forty six parts of prophethood.
 This professor recalled that dream when he entered that small mosque, performed Salah, and felt ecstasy, guided, secured, and felt the mercy of the right path. He saw this dream three times, and he realized that Allah the Almighty knew of the goodness within him, and this dream was a glad tiding that he will embrace Islam.

Salah is Allah’s mercy on us:

  He said: “Allah left me a wide space for choosing in all serious matters, and I was in panic because of the apparent love and tenderness, not because I deserve that, but because this love and tenderness were always there, only we have to strive to get them, and that occurs when we have reconciliation with Allah.”
 Love, affection, attention, heed, mercy, and prosperity are available, only people are heedless.
 All you need to do is to make peace with Allah in order to feel secured, happy, prosperous, and well-guided.
 This professor was heedless enough not to see all that.
 This is how our prayer should be, and I ask Allah that our prayers will level up to this prayer, where we stand before Allah and say:

((All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists). The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).))

[Al-Fatihah, 2-5]

 We should comprehend the meaning of Ruko’o saying: We listen and obey you, our Lord, and to comprehend the meaning of Sujood saying: O Allah, help me to obey you, O Lord my gratitude, thanking and content to you, I am thankful abundantly. This is how Salah should be in order to be a mercy from Allah, Allah said:

(("Verily! I am Allah! La ilaha illa Ana (none has the right to be worshipped but I), so worship Me, and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) for My Remembrance.))

[Ta-Ha, 14]

((Nay! (O Muhammad)! Do not obey him (Abu Jahl). Fall prostrate and draw near to Allah! ))

[Al-Alaq, 19]

(( Reauthor (O Muhammad) what has been revealed to you of the Book (the Qur'an), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat). Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahsha' (i.e. great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism, and every kind of evil wicked deed, etc.) and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering (praising, etc.) Allah in prayers, etc.]. And Allah knows what you do.))

[Al Ankabut, 45]

Salah is your scale to measure your submission:

((Salem Ibn Abi Ja’ed said: a man said: Mus’ar from Khuza’a said: I wish I have performed Salah and gained comfort in doing so. accordingly the people sitting with him criticized him for saying that, so he said to them: I’ve heard the prophet PBUH saying: O, Bilal, give us comfort with it (Salah). ))

[Abu Dawood, By Salem]

((Abu Malik Al-Harith bin Asim Al-Ash`ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Wudu' is half of Salah; the utterance of (Al-hamdu lillah - all praise belongs to Allah) fills the Scales of good actions; the utterance of (Subhan Allah wa Al-hamdu lillah) (Allah is far removed from every imperfection and all praise belongs to Allah) fills the space between the heavens and the earth, and Salat (prayer) is light; and charity is the proof of Faith; and endurance is light, and the Qur'an is a plea in your favor or against you. Every person departs; he either ransoms it or puts it into perdition". ))

[Muslim, By Abu Malik]

 Salah is to be present in your body and soul, and it is your scale of measurement, Allah said:

(( O you who believe! Approach not As-Salat (the prayer) when you are in a drunken state until you know (the meaning) of what you utter, nor when you are in a state of Janaba, (i.e. in a state of sexual impurity and have not yet taken a bath) except when travelling on the road (without enough water, or just passing through a mosque), till you wash your whole body. And if you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you comes after answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women (by sexual relations) and you find no water, perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands (Tayammum). Truly, Allah is Ever Oft-Pardoning, Oft-Forgiving.))

[An-Nisa’, 43]

 Dear brother, the more you sense the greatness of Allah, the better your prayer will be before Allah the Almighty in terms of your feelings.
 This atheist professor, who was distant from any Islamic environment, and who was living in his Mathematic cocoon, prayed this Salah, and he might be closer to Allah than some Muslims.

The summary:

 The moral of this story is that Allah exists, and he is the Oneness, and anyone could feel those feelings and believe in those values, if he is connected to Allah the Almighty, regardless of his race, background, school of thought, culture, or religion. Not to mention that he could level up with all believers. Dreams might sometimes be of great value, as this professor dreamed of a room, in which he was stood in the third row with a window before him, and a person was performing strange movements guiding these three rows. Ten years later, this dream came true, and we shouldn’t forget Allah’s saying:

((Remember) when Yusuf (Joseph) said to his father: "O my father! Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves to me.")

[Yusuf, 4]

 When Yusuf’s dream came true, what did he say? Allah said:

((And he raised his parents to the throne and they fell down before him prostrate. And he said: "O my father! This is the interpretation of my dream aforetime! My Lord has made it come true! He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison, and brought you (all here) out of the bedouin-life, after Shaitan (Satan) had sown enmity between me and my brother. Certainly, my Lord is the Most Courteous and Kind unto whom He will. Truly He! Only He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.))

[Yusuf, 100]

 It came true, hence, if one of us has a clear dream he/she should have glad tidings, if it was inspired by Allah the Almighty.
 We will tackle more of this book in another lecture, because I consider it as a unique experience. He wasn’t raised as a Muslim, and he didn’t live in an Islamic environment, yet, he found his way to Allah. He was an atheist who lived a bohemian life, where fornication is easily committed, surrounded with women exposing their flesh; however, despite these conditions, pressures, and temptationswhich he faced, he was able to find his way to Allah the Almighty. If Allah wills, we will carry on in respect of the story of this person, who has had his unique experience with Allah the Almighty. Accordingly, we should enhance our prayers, enhance our righteousness, and enhance our acquaintance with our Lord. Do you accept that he is closer to Allah than you are! That was how he performed his prayer.