Semester A 17/18, 24 November 2017
- Allah (SWT) does not need us. He is the Greatest. He does not need anything from us nor is he waiting for our charity. Allah’s kingdom and dominion does not increase with our Dhikr, tasbeeh, rukoo’ and sujood nor does it decrease with the absence of these. We need Allah (SWT).
- People in the time of the sahabah truly understood the importance of prayer in Islam, so when they were told that there will be a time when people would call themselves Muslim but did not pray, they could not understand how this is possible.
- After la ilaaha ilAllah-the belief that there is no God but Allah- the second pillar of our religion is prayer.
- The prophet (pbuh) used to stay up all night praying to Allah (SWT) to forgive us and himself. Yet, his sins were already forgiven and some of us do not even pray for ourselves (subhanAllah).
“The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, then he will have failed and lost.
— Narrated in At Tirmidhi
- This hadith illustrates the importance of salah in our religion and in attaining a place in Jannah through succeeding on the Day of Judgement.
- Prayer can also be a means of expiating our sins. Our Prophet (SAW) said:
“If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?” The people said, “No filth would remain on him whatsoever.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, “That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them.” — Narrated in Bukhari and Muslim
- So, for those who feel that prayer will not help them be forgiven by Allah, remember that these feelings are from the doings of the shaytaan and his whispers.
- With sincere prayer and repentance, Allah is All Forgiving no matter how big the sin is.
- We should also realise that prayer can lead to the prohibition of these immoral sins, as we will be constantly reminded of Allah (SWT), so we will be less inclined to disobey Allah the Almighty.
“Allah has obligated five daily prayers and whoever excellently performs their ablutions and prays in proper time…has a promise from Allah that He will forgive him…” — Recorded by Malik
- Through this hadith, it is clear that wudu is vital and the prayer will be nullified without it, making it a condition of salah. Wudu is also a means of expiation of our sins.
- Praying with khushhu’ (humble submissiveness) allows us to be protected by Allah (SWT), as we would be aware of who we are standing in front of, but this is absent from a lot of us in today’s society.
“The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving.” — 17:44
- Who are we to not praise Allah through our prayer, when all of creation does?
- A great scholar of the past by the name of al Isaam ibn Yusuf al balkhi asked hatim al asaam (known as one the wise one of the ummah) “how do you pray?” Hatim replied “I fulfil the deed as the King Allah (SWT) ordered me to. I walk to salah with fear of Allah, I enter it with intention, I make takbeer with glorification, I recite with tarteel (intonation), I make rukoo’ with humble submissiveness, I make sujood with reverence, I sit with decency, I make tasleem (the two salams at the end) with complete devotion and then I return with fear of Allah (SWT), yet I do not know whether my prayer is going to be accepted.” Isaam then replies “If this is the prayer, then I have not prayed a day in my life.” We want to get to that stage where we are constantly thinking of Allah, especially in salah and in every position in salah.
May Allah make us from those who pray regularly and understand the true virtues of prayer. Ameen.