Where Does the Sweetness Lie?

I am often questioned about the title of this blog, Sweet Sujud, and what it means. The idea for the name came from my own experience living as a Muslim for the past 11 years as well as a comment a friend of mine once made in his attempt to describe what surrendering to God can actually feel like.

The act of sujud (prostration) itself in many ways is the hallmark of the Islamic faith. When people see Muslims in a state of prostration, even those with little familiarity with the faith can identify them as Muslims. The prostration is an act that helps to facilitate total realization of the state of self-surrender, i.e. willing servanthood, to God by putting the body, as a reflection of what lies in one's heart, in a state of utter humility (face on the floor) and self-deprivation. As with all matters in life, there exists an intimate connection between mind, heart (soul) and body; with the body being a vessel for the purification of both the heart and mind, or its opposite. Thus, the prostration -- as the climax of the prayer cycle itself -- acts in many ways as the ultimate posture of devotion and willing self-surrender to God. Thus, the worshipper is able to 'feel' servanthood in all his physical being, rather than just professing with his/her tongue or accepting it in theory. Combined, the knowledge of what it means to prostrate, the faith and desire to prostrate before God in an act of servanthood, and the physical act of putting oneself in the most humble of postures allow the worshipper to feel a sensation of peace and alignment that can only be described as 'sweetness.'

Ultimately, the sweetness is not of the tongue, but of the heart, so let us forgo the need to be seen by others, and focus on humbling our hearts before God with every sweet sujud....