NO Excuse to miss Salaah !!!

Salaat (prayer) is compulsory and there is absolutely no doubt in its ruling. Salaat is the pillar of our religion and those who do not perform Salaat has destroyed his/her faith. Rasulullah (SAW) stated in a hadith that the difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is salaat. Hence, it is feared that those who purposely do not perform salaat may die in a state of Kufur (die as a non-muslim).

The post this time features the importance of Salaat in Islam. First I am presenting new inspiring photos I’ve collected from various sources over the internet which shows people performing prayers in unusual conditions and locations. Then there is a story from the collection of traditions (Riwayat) about Prophet Moses (as) and an adulteress, and hadiths related to the above subject which further stress strongly the importance of not missing Salaat.

The mosques that we always look up to with pride for their beautiful architecture do not guarantee people hurrying to perform Salaah in it, a Salaah at its earliest time and a Salaah which is khushoo, if people still prioritize worldly affairs to such an extent that they often let the chance of performing Salaah within its time slips away... is it worth it?

While everything could be easily available to some people; beautiful and intricate prayer mats, cushy and carpeted mushola and airconditioned mosques can be found everywhere... but others might find themselves not so lucky to be in the right circumstaces to be enjoying all those comforts. Like the Muslim diver below who had to perform the duty underwater and many other Muslims below who know there is no excuse of leaving Salaah. SubhanAllah…

 

A Sin Greater Than 'Zina'
One lonely evening, a woman was seen walking with a stagger through an alleyway. Her dress was all black indicating that she was in great distress. Her face was almost fully covered by her veil and she had no make up nor any accessories adorning her body. Her clean skin, lean body and beautiful face could not get rid of the grief that had been tearing herself apart. She set out to drag herself towards the residence of Prophet Moses (as).

She knocked on the door slowly and gave the greeting of peace. Then someone aswered the greeting from the inside and said, “Please come in”. The beautiful lady then entered with her head bowed and looking down at floor. Her tears were dripping from her eyes when she said, “O Allah’s Prophet, please help me. Make do’a (supplication) to God to ask for forgiveness for my dreadful sin.”
“What sin have you committed, O beautiful lady?” Prophet Moses (as) asked.

“I am so scared to say it,” the beautiful lady replied.

“Say it please, don’t hesitate,” Prophet Moses insisted.

The lady then recounted hesitantly, “I have…. Committed zina (adultery/fornication)”
Prophet Moses’s (as) lifted his head up, his feeling was really disturbed.

The lady continued, "From that zina, I soon became pregnant. After the baby was born and due to shame I strangled the baby until it….. died” the lady said while crying as much as she could.

Hearing that Prophet Moses (as) eyes turned fiery and with an angry look, he scolded the lady, “Cruel woman! Get out of here! May Allah’s punishment not fall upon my house because of your crime. Get lost!” Prophet Moses (as) screamed while turning his face away because he felt so disgusted.

With a heart as though a glass smashing on the rock, the lady with a beautiful face immediately got up and walked away in embarrassment. She stumbled and flinched away from the house of Prophet Moses (as). Her wail and cry was so pitiful. She did not know where else to report to. In fact she did not want to know where her feet would bring her next. If a Prophet had already turned her away, what could she expect from ordinary people?

By the treatment she had just received from Prophet Moses (as), she could imagine how big her sins were and how evil her deeds had been. But she did not know that soon after she left, Angel Gabriel came down to see Prophet Moses (as). Ar-Ruhul Amin Jibreel (Gabriel the spirit of Faith and Truth, see Quraan 26:193) asked Prophet Moses (as), “Why did you reject a lady who wanted to repent from her sins? Don’t you know that there is a sin much bigger than what she did?”

Prophet Moses (as) was shocked and overwhelmed with curiosity, “What is that sin bigger than the disgraceful acts of the fornicating and murdering woman?” Prophet Moses (as) asked Gabriel (as) further, “Is it true that there is a sin greater than that of the disgusting woman?”

"Yes, there is!" Gabriel (as) answered firmly.

"What is that sin?" Prophet Moses (as) was getting more anxious.

"A person who deliberately miss 'Salaah' and not regretting it. The sin of that person is greater than committing 'zina' a thousand time."

Hearing this clarification Prophet Moses (as) immediately summoned the woman back to his house. He then lifted his hands up with full of reverence asking forgiveness from Allah (SWT) for that woman. Prophet Moses (as) realized, a person who intentionally neglect solat and takes it lightly without any feeling of guilt or remorse is the same as if believing that solat is not obligatory and not required on him.

It is as if regarding Allah’s command as insignificant, moreover it is as if believing that Allah does not have any right to coordinate and regulate the lives of His slaves. Whereas if a person repents and expresses his regret over his sins with all his heart, it means that he still has Imaan in his heart as well as believing that Allah (SWT) is always there if we are in the path of submission to Him. It is for this reason that Allah never refuse to accept the coming of His repenting slaves. (Quoted from the book 30 Exemplary Stories).

In a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) it was mentioned that a person who neglect Salaat is committing a greater sin compared to a person who burns 70 Al-Qur'an, murders 70 prophets and fornicate with his own mother inside the Ka'bah!... In a different hadith it was said that a person who leave Salaah until its time is over and then Qadha (performing it out of the prescribed time) the Salaah, then he will be punished in hell for duration of one ‘huqub’. A ‘huqub’ is equivalent to 80 years and a year has 360 days in it, whereas the comparison for one day in the ‘akhira’ (afterlife) is like a thousand year in this world.

There goes the story of Prophet Moses (as) and a adulteress, and the two hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh), may they serve as lessons and inspire the believing men or women not to ever miss Salaat - Ameen!