Ikhlaas

Some say, it's
sincerity,
good faith
and a pure intention.

Ultimately, it's
that secret
none knows
but God and I.

When sleeping

"When you want to sleep, lay down your bedding facing the Qiblah and sleep on your right hand side as a deceased person is laid in his grave...

and know that sleep is just like death...

and waking up in the morning is like the Resurrection...

be prepared to meet Him by going to sleep on Tahaarah (purity). Have Wudhu when you go to sleep and have your will written under your pillow."

(Mufti Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf quoting Imam Ghazali (rh), 'The Beginning of Guidance' (audio series))

Deeep! I have started doing this (all and more except the will under the pillow) and these past few weeks I have been sleeping and rising with clarity like never before, wallahu akbar wa lillahil-7amd.

Wudhu (ablution) with intent

In performing repetitive ritualistic acts, it is so easy to slip into mechanical mode and to forget the beauty of what we are doing and why we are doing it. A good example of this is Wudhu (ablution). We wash without a care and without a thought, for example, for the many sins flowing out and leaving our bodies.

Here are some quotes to get you thinking and to give your Wudhu a deeper meaning:

"... He shall rinse his mouth thrice with water and say afterwards: 'O God, help me to read Thy book and glorify Thy name'. Then he shall take up water and cleanse his nose thrice and say: 'O God, grant me to enjoy the fragrance of paradise while Thou art pleased to promise it to me'...

... As he washes his face, he should say: 'O God, make my face white and bright with Thy light on the day when Thou will make the faces of Thy friends bright'...

... He should then wash his arms up to the elbows three times. The believers will come on the Day of Resurrection with brightness on their foreheads, wrists and ankles from the effect of ablution...

... When he will finish ablution thus, he should raise his head towards the sky and say: 'I testify that there is no deity but God. He is one and there is no partner for Him. I testify also that Muhammad is the servant and Apostle of God'..."

(Source: Imam Ghazzali's Ihya Ulum-id-Deen)

Purity has got four stages

"(1) ... purification of the external organs from excrements and filths.
(2) ... purification of the body organs from sins and faults.
(3) ... purification of the heart from evil traits and evil vices.
(4) ... purification of the inner self from everything except God. This is the stage of the Prophets and saints."

Outwards in:
Wash the bodily limbs,
Cover with religious acts,
Shine with pure thoughts.

"... The early Muslims concentrated their entire attention and energies on the purification of their hearts and were lenient in their outward cleanliness... They used to say prayer kneeling and prostrating directly on the ground in the mosque and walk barefooted on the roads. They used to use pebbles after calls of nature..."