Prayer

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST BENEFICENT THE MOST MERCIFUL.

All praise is due to Allah who made the prayer obligatory upon every Muslim, and made it of the pillars that Islam relies on. Who also make the night dark and the day shines, the decision and to Him we all shall return.

        Slaves of Allah!  The Prayer is one of the pillars and backbone of Islam. Almighty Allah stress regarding the virtues and level of prayers in a Muslims life. Let us gesture in to holy Qur’an and ponder on some verses. First is the saying of Allah; “Verily the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours". Also concerning the characteristics of His pious servants says; “strictly guard five compulsory congregational prayers (at their fixed stated hours). While said in another verse; and they were commanded not but that they worship Allah and abstaining from ascribing partners to Him and perform Salat. Above verses shows the level of prayer by mentioning salat after TAUHID, which means prayer is the first and best physical forms of worship, and shows how pious servants strictly guard their prayers. Prophet (SAW) was reported to have said; “From the five daily prayers, and a fasting to another; expiates the sins committed between them provided that the major sins are abstained".

   It is related that one of the Companions said ‘The Messenger of Allah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would smile and chat with us, until the time for the prayer arrived, when he would be so focused on praying it was as if we didn’t know him, and he didn’t know us.’ Another hadith also, Narrated Abu Hurraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of any one of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds."

                  Secondly, must of us now a days belittle the issue of prayers, people are delaying it and others give up the prayers in totality, SUBHANALLAH! Prophet mentioned in one hadith; " The pledge (barrier) that is between the disbeliever and we Muslims is prayer, whosoever lives it turns a 'Kaafir' ". As for those who delays it, saying of Allah; "So Woe on to those performers of prayer. Those who delay their salat from their stated fixed times. A scholar stated with respect to this verse and said; are those who delays it from it fixed time without any legitimate justification.  And the other verse where Allah said; " Then there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up prayers (i.e made their salat to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or not offering them in their profer fixed times) and have followed lust. So they will be thrown in Hell.

           Ibn Abbas said with regard to this verse ; what is mean by the word 'Adaa'uoha' is not that  they’ve suspended or given up the prayers in totality, but rather means " they delays it from it fixed times. And said ibn-Musayyib added to have said; it means they'll not pray Zuhr till Asr, and asr until Maghrib.

For the issue of praying in congregation. A narrated Abu hurraira; A  blind man came to the prophet SAW and said 'O messenger of Allah, i have no guide to take me to thee mosque, he therefore permitted him to pray in his house, when the man turned away the prophet called him and asked; " Can you hear the call of prayer? He said yes. The prophet said "then respond to it". Another hadith narrated Ibn Abbas; “Allah’s messenger SAW said; " Whoever hears the call for prayer and did not attend the mosque for it , his prayer will not be accepted from him, unless he has a legitimate excuse.

      It's also of high importance to attach humility in our prayers. The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: ‘a man may pray, and nothing may be recorded of his prayer but half of it, or a third, or a quarter, or a fifth, or a sixth, or a tenth.’ He also said, ‘nothing is recorded for a man of his prayer except that part in which his mind is present.’ He also said, ‘when a bondsman makes wuduh, and excels therein, and then stands in prayer, Allah faces him as he prays, and He does not thereafter disregard him until the bondsman himself turns away, or his gaze wanders left and right.

I ask Allah to strengthen our faith with salat and forgive us all our sins and shortcomings, ask for Allah's forgiveness He will surely forgive you for He's oft-forgiving and Most merciful.