Now that you have made duʿā’, turn to your right and left side, saying,
.اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ ، اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ
May the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.
When performing your salām, your intention should be to convey greetings to the angels and your fellow congregants (when praying in congregation).
Be grateful to Allah (ʿazza wa jall) who has allowed you to undertake this amazing journey. Thank Him for allowing you to be from those who remember Him (ʿazza wa jall) and are not drowning in heedlessness.
Always consider the ṣalāh you are praying as potentially the last one. Feel a sense of shyness and grief about the shortcomings in your ṣalāh. Fear Allah (ʿazza wa jall) not accepting it, even though you may have done your best. It may be that a single sin acts as a barrier between you and your ṣalāh being accepted, so seek Allah’s forgiveness by saying أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ three times. Then spend some time seated in your place of prayer and recite the adhkār after ṣalāh.
Feel sad on completing your ṣalāh, for it is the end of a special journey – a journey in which you were conversing with The Most Loving. Similarly, be careful of becoming conceited (ʿujb) about your khushūʿ and devotion in your ṣalāh.
When Yaḥyā b. Waththāb (raḥimahullāh) completed his ṣalāh, he would remain in his place for some time afterward, and the worry of ṣalāh would be apparent on him. Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī (raḥimahullāh) would also remain in his place for some time after the prayer, as if he was ill.
Reflect
Now that you have prayed, consider how the angels are at that moment ascending to Allah (ʿazza wa jall) with your ṣalāh. Think of them as being your envoys presenting your special gift in the court of the king. What kind of gift will you present? Have you sent the least important thing to you? Or have you given the matter careful thought and been diligent in preparation of the gift, and sent the best of what you have to offer?
When Ḥātim al-Aṣamm (raḥimahullāh) was asked about his ṣalāh, he said, “When the time for ṣalāh comes close, I perform wuḍu thoroughly, go to the spot where I intend to pray, and sit there until all my limbs are in a collected state. Then I stand up to perform my prayer, placing the Kaʿbah in front of my eyes, the ṣirāṭ (bridge over Hellfire) beneath my feet, Paradise to my right and Hell-fire to my left, and the Angel of Death behind me, thinking all the while that this is my last prayer. Then I stand between hope and fear. I carefully pronounce ‘Allāhu Akbar’. Then I recite the Qur’ān carefully in a measured pace, bow in humility, and prostrate submissively. I then present it with sincerity to Allah . Then I wonder whether or not my prayer has been accepted.”
