The Prayer: is the second pillar from the pillars of Islam and the most important pillar of Islaam after the Shahaadah (testimony) of Faith.
After a long and hectic day at work, how difficult it is for a tired person to go out to the mosque and concentrate on his prayers to Allaah, the Almighty. Snuggled up in a warm and cozy bed, how difficult it is to get up at the call of the Mu`azzin: “Come to prayer! Come to success!”
The famous doctor and philosopher, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), recalls such a moment in his life. One cold and icy night, he and his slave were resting at an inn in a remote part of Khuraasaan. During the night, he felt thirsty, so he called to his slave to bring him some water. The slave had no desire to leave his warm bed, so he pretended not to hear Ibn Sina’s call. But finally, after repeated calls, he reluctantly got up and went to fetch the water. A little while later, the melodious sound of the azaan (call to prayer) filled the air. Ibn Sina began to think about the person calling the people to prayer. “My slave, `Abdullaah, he mused, has always respected me and admired me. He seizes any opportunity to lavish praise and affection on me, but tonight he preferred his own comfort to my needs. On the other hand, look at this Persian slave of Allaah: He left his warm bed to go out into the chilly night, he made ablution in the icy water of the stream, and then he ascended the high minaret of the mosque to glorify Him Whom he truly serves: “I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah.” Ibn Sina records: “I learned the essence of true love, that love which results in complete obedience.” The love of Allaah demands total and unconditional obedience. Allaah, the Almighty says: { Say [oh, Muhammad!]: “If you love Allaah, follow me: Allaah will forgive you your sins, for Allaah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful } (Soorah 3:31)
The Prayer: is a link between the servant and his Lord. The Prophet SAWS said: “Indeed, when one of you prays, he speaks privately with his Lord.” [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree] And Allaah says in the qudsee hadeeth: “I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two parts, and My servant will have what he asks for.
So when the servant says: ‘Al-Hamdulillaahi Rabb-il-‘Alameen’, Allaah says: ‘My servant has praised Me.’
And when he says: ‘Ar-Rahmaan-ir-Raheem’, Allaah says: ‘My servant has extolled Me.’
And when he says: ‘Maaliki-yawm-id-Deen’, Allaah says: ‘My servant has honored Me.’
And when he says: ‘Iyyaaka Na’bdu wa Iyyaaka Nasta’een’, Allaah says: ‘This is between Me and My servant and My servant will have what he asks for.’
And when he says: ‘Ihdinaas-Siraat-al-Mustaqeem. Siraat-aladheena an’amta ‘alaihim. Ghairil-Maghdoobi ‘alaihim wa lad-Daalleen’, Allaah says: ‘This is for My servant and for My servant will be what he asks for.’” [Reported by Muslim]
The Prayer: is a garden of ‘ibaadaat (acts of worship), in which every splendid type of worship is found. There is the takbeer, by which the prayer is initiated, the standing in which the person praying recites the words of Allaah, the bowing in which he extols his Lord, the rising from the bowing position, which is filled with the praising of Allaah, the prostration in which he glorifies Allaah by His highness and in which he implores him through supplication, the sitting in which there is the tashahhud and (more) supplication and the closing with tasleem.
The Prayer: is a means of support and assistance in times of distress and grief. And it prevents one from evil and shameful deeds. Allaah says: “Seek assistance in patience and prayer.” And He says: “Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book and establish the prayer. Verily, the prayer prevents one from evil and shameful deeds.”
The Prayer: is the light of the believers in their hearts and in their place of gathering (on the Day of Judgement). The Prophet SAWS said: “The prayer is light.” And he SAWS said: “Whoever guards it (his prayers), it will be a light, a proof and a (means of) salvation for him on the Day of Judgement.” [Reported by Ahmad, Ibn Hibbaan and At-Tabaraanee]
The Prayer: is the joy and delight of the believers’ souls. The Prophet SAWS said: “My delight was placed in the prayer.” [Reported by Ahmad and An-Nasaa’ee]
The Prayer: wipes away sins and expiates evil deeds. The Prophet SAWS said: “Do you think that if there was a river by the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times a day that there would remain any dirt on him?” They (the Companions) answered: “There would not remain any dirt on him.” The Prophet SAWS said: “That is how it is with the five (daily) prayers, through them Allaah washes away the (minor) sins.” [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim] And the Prophet SAWS said: “The five (daily) prayers and Jumu’ah (prayer) to Jumu’ah (prayer) are an expiation for what (sins) occur between them so long as one is not guilty of major sins.” [Reported by Muslim]
And He said (which means): O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allaah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers. [Al-Munaafiqoon, 63:9]
The commentators of the Qur’aan say: “The ‘remembrance of Allaah’ mentioned in these Aayaat means the five daily prayers. If anyone is so busy in buying and selling, or with his daily work of earning a livelihood, or with his children, that he cannot perform prayers on time, he will be among the losers.”
The first thing which will be judged among a man’s deeds on the Day of Resurrection is the Prayer. If this is in good order then he will succeed and prosper but if it is defective then he will fail and will be a loser. [Nasaa'ee, Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The covenant between us and them is prayer, so if anyone abandons it he has become a disbeliever. [Ahmad, Tirmidhee, Nasaa'ee]
And he (peace be upon him) also said (which means): What lies between a man and disbelief is the abandonment of prayer. [Muslim, Aboo Dawood, Nasaa'ee]
And he (peace be upon him) said (which means): If anyone abandons prayer deliberately then he has no claim upon Allaah. [Ibn Maajah, ADAB-AL-MUFRAD of Bukhaari, Tabaraani]
And he (peace be upon him), mentioning the prayer, said: If anyone keeps to it, it will be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection. But if anyone does not keep to it, it will not be light, evidence and salvation for him on the Day of Resurrection, and on that Day he will be associated with Qaroon, Pharaoh, Hamaan and Ubayy bin Khalaf (an enemy of Islaam from among the Quraysh). [Ahmad, Tabaraanee, Ibn Hibbaan]
Ibn Al-Qayyim explained: The person who abandons prayer will be raised with such a foursome because his neglect of player may be due to his involvement with his property, his country, his administrative work or his trade. Therefore, if he was involved with his property he will be ressurected with Qaroon; if with his country, then with Pharaoh; if with his administrative work, then with Hamaan; and if with his trade then with Ubayy bin Khalaf, the trader among the disbelievers of Makkah
When `Ali (R) was asked about a women who did not pray, he said: “The one who does not pray is a disbeliever.” [Tirmidhee, Haakim]
Ibn Mas`ood (R) said: “The one who abandons the prayer has no religion.” [Narrated by Muhammad bin Nasr Al Mirwazee]
Ibn Hazm said: “There is no greater sin after polytheism than delaying a prayer until its time has passed and killing a believer without a just cause.”
It is also narrated in a hadith: “Verily, the slave, as long as he is in Salah, possesses three qualities: Blessings are showered upon his head from the heavens above, the angels sit around him, from his feet to the heavens and a caller says: ‘If the slave knew the One Who hears his whispered utterances, he would never leave his Salah.’” [This narration was mentioned by Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Mirwazi in Kitab as-Salah from the hadith of Al-Hasan Al-Basri in a mursal form (an incomplete chain of narrations, in which no Companion is mentioned). Allah showers His Mercy upon the worshipper who approaches prayer in a state of humility and meekness towards Allah, in fear and supplicating Him with desire (for His Pleasure), and in hope (of His Mercy), making Salah to his Rabb, his most important consideration, dedicating his whispered utterances to Him and his standing erect in worship and his ruku` and his sujud, poring out his heart and his feelings and struggling to perfect his acts of worship, for he knows not whether he will perform another prayer after it, or whether he will be overtaken (by death) before he can perform Salah again. He stands before his Rabb, earnestly, with deep feelings, hoping for its acceptance and fearing its rejection, for verily, its acceptance is a cause for joy, while its rejection is a cause for misery and wretchedness. Nothing could be more important to you - O Muslim - in this Salah, or indeed in any of your actions [i.e. that Allah should accept them]. What is more deserving of your distress and misery, your fear – indeed your terror – you know not whether your Salah will find favour with Allah at all, nor whether any of your good deeds will be accepted.
Do you know if your sins will be forgiven at all? After all this, you have no assurance that you will be spared from it (i.e. the punishment of the Hellfire). So who is more deserving of your tears and sadness [than Allah] – that He may accept from you (your deeds)? In addition to this, you know not whether or not you will awaken in the morning, nor if you will still be here in the evening – will you be given the good news of Paradise, or the bad news of the Hellfire? I only desire to warn you – O my brother – of this terrible danger. It is not fitting that you should be happy because of your family, your wealth or your children. It is a most amazing thing that you should continue to be unmindful, chasing after vain desires, wasting your time in disregard of this most important matter, for you are being driven at a fierce pace (towards death) day and night, hour by hour, like the blink of an eye. You should expect – O my brother – that your time may come at any moment and do not be unmindful of this great danger which may visit you. Most assuredly, you must (eventually) taste death.
Your time may come in the morning or in the evening. You will be separated from all that you possessed – either (to be rewarded with) Paradise or (to be punished in) the Hellfire. Descriptions and stories of them (have become) superfluous. Have you not heard – O Muslim the words of the pious slave: “I am amazed concerning the Hellfire – how does the one who could flee from it sleep? And I am amazed concerning the Jannah – how does the one who desires it sleep? For by Allah! If you neither desire Paradise, nor fear the Hellfire, then you are destroyed and grievous will be your sorrow, interminable your sadness and without limit your tears; you will be amongst the wretched, the punished ones. So if you claim that you are amongst those who seek refuge from the Fire and desire Paradise, then strive for that which you seek and do not be misled by your worldly desires.”
May Allah guide us & help us to remember Him in every second of our life, give thanks to Him for all he has given you & much more & may Allah guide our hearts to worship Him with the outmost sincerity & love - InshahAllah & Ameen.
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