and this is the well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad—may Allah have mercy on him—and the view adopted by the majority of scholars who declare congregational prayer obligatory.
Part of establishing the prayer is performing it with khushuʿ, humble attentiveness. Khushuʿ means that the heart is present, reflecting on the words the worshipper recites and the movements he performs. This is crucial, for prayer without khushuʿ is like a body without a soul. If you pray while your mind roams every valley, you are merely carrying out physical motions; but when your heart is present you feel as though you are standing before Allah, addressing Him with His own words and drawing near to Him through His remembrance and supplication. That is the very core and spirit of the prayer.
Concerning his words, “to pay the zakah,” it means giving it to those who are entitled to receive it. This combines a right of Allah with a right of His servants. It is a right of Allah because He has made zakah obligatory and one of the pillars of Islam; it is a right of people because through it the needs of the poor are met and other well-known benefits reach the designated recipients.
As for the phrase, “to offer sincere counsel to every Muslim,” this is the key evidence for the present chapter: a Muslim must offer advice to every other Muslim, whether near or far, young or old, male or female.
The manner of offering such counsel is what is stated in the hadith of Anas (d. 93 AH): “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” This is nasiha—to love for your brothers what you love for yourself: to be gladdened by what gladdens them, saddened by what saddens them, and to treat them in the way you would like them to treat you. This field is vast indeed.
The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—thus denied faith to the one who does not love for his brother what he loves for himself in every matter. As for this negation of faith, the scholars have explained that what is meant by negating faith is