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Salah: Life’s Forgotten Purpose

Man has taken many journeys throughout time. But there is one journey that nobody has ever taken.
Nobody—except one.

On a vehicle no man has ever ridden, through a path no soul has ever seen. To a place no creation has ever before set foot. It was the journey of one man to meet the Divine. It was the journey of Muhammad (SAW), Prophet of God, to the highest heaven.

It was al Israa wal Miraaj (the magnificent journey).

On that journey, Allah took his beloved prophet (SAW) to the seventh heaven—a place not even angel Gabriel could enter. In the Prophet’s mission on earth, every instruction, every commandment was sent down through the angel Gibreel. But, there was one commandment that was not. There was one commandment so important that, rather than sending angel Gibreel down with it, Allah brought the Prophet (SAW) up to Himself.

That commandment was Salah (prayer). When the Prophet (SAW) was first given the command to pray, it was to be fifty times a day. After asking Allah to make it easier, the commandment was eventually reduced to five times a day, with the reward of fifty.

The Importance Of Prayer

Sadly, many Muslims do not pray or fulfil the conditions of the prayer, despite its importance. The purpose of prayer is to strengthen your relationship with God, to be grateful for all His blessings, and to remind yourself of His Greatness. Just as the body requires physical needs, such as food and water, the soul requires spiritual needs, nourished by acts of worship, the most important of which is prayer. It could be that the body of a person is healthy, but the person is spiritually dead.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The comparison of one who remembers Allah and one who does not, is like that of the living and the dead.”

Allah says, “O you who believe! Respond to (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.”Qur’an 8:24

Its Importance of Direct Communication with Allah
“The closest a person is to His Lord is when he is in prostration.”

Prayer connects you with Allah. The Arabic word for prayer (As-Salah) is actually derived from the Arabic word meaning “connection”. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “When any one of you stands to pray, he is communicating with his Lord, so let him pay attention to how he speaks to Him.” Don’t sever this relationship with your Creator.

A pillar of Islam
Prayer is the second most important pillar of Islam, and is the most regular compulsory action in a Muslim’s life. Prayer is an act that must be fulfilled daily, regardless of the circumstance. In fact, Allah did not even exempt the Muslims from praying during battle! He says, “Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers… If you fear (an enemy), pray on foot, or riding.”Qur’an 2:238-9 Such is the case during war. What then, during peace?

Success lies in the Prayer
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The first of his deeds for which a man will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection will be the prayers. If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful. But if it is defective, he will be unfortunate and a loser.”

Its Benefits shield against evil
Without seeking Allah’s help, it is impossible to refrain from evil.

Allah says, “Verily, prayer restrains (oneself) from shameful and unjust deeds…” Quran 29:45

How can sins be committed if you’re willingly standing before Allah 5 times a day?

Enriches your soul
Prayer satisfies your spiritual need to be in contact with your Creator. This gives your soul peace and contentment, especially with your busy lifestyle.

Allah says, “Without doubt, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.” Qur’an 13:28

The Fire Within

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the All-Compassionate
“May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You”

Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam ‘ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

It is a major cause of suspicions, malice, enmity, and hatred. It often leads to gossip, slander, character assassination, and even murder. It is the fire within…the fire
called JEALOUSY.

It was the first sin committed on earth when the son of Prophet Aadam (AlaihisSalaam), Qabil, became jealous of his brother Habil. It eventually led him to murder Habil. Therefore, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has severely warned against this malady of the heart, which destroys the fabric of society.

Hope He Has An Accident
Hasad (jealousy) occurs when one sees another person bestowed with some bounty and desires that the person should be deprived of it. For instance, one sees someone who has more wealth, beauty, intelligence, or any other such bounty and begins to “burn” within his heart over the person who has been blessed. He then wishes that the blessing be snatched away from him in some way.

He hopes that the person will have an accident or that someone will rob him of his wealth, etc. Much worse than this is to desire that a person be deprived of any bounty of Deen.

For instance, a person is pious, or he is blessed with the Quran in his heart or the knowledge of Deen, or he has been blessed with making some efforts for Deen. Upon witnessing these blessings upon him, one now desires that they should be snatched away from him. This is a grave crime.

Objection Against Allah Taala
To desire that somebody be deprived of the blessings which Allah Taala has bestowed upon him is tantamount to a direct objection against Allah Taala. The jealous person is actually objecting against Allah Taala, that the person who was granted that blessing was not deserving of it, so why was it given to him? It should rather have been given to the objector! The severity of this crime is thus evident.

Hence Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Hasad destroys one’s good deeds just as fire consumes wood.” [Abu Dawood]

In another narration, it is described as something that “shaves off” one’s good deeds.

Miserable
Hasad not only destroys one’s Hereafter. The immediate punishment in this world is that the jealous person is constantly ‘burning’ from within. He simply cannot see the next person happy, hence he is always miserable. Happiness remains far away from him.

Hasad is, therefore, among the most foolish crimes to commit. One destroys his happiness in this world and his rewards in the hereafter, yet he gains nothing in return. One desires the destruction of another person, but in the process only brings destruction to oneself.

Having realized that hasad is a serious disease, one should treat this malady with utmost urgency. Among the ways of removing hasad from the heart are the following:

  • Ponder over the harm you are doing to yourself and the utter foolishness of your action. The only thing that you will achieve is misery. Your evil desire is not going to change anything except to make you burn from within and to destroy your good deeds.

  • Praise the person you are jealous of in front of others. Do this even though you have to force yourself to do it.

  • Make dua for the person you are jealous of as much as possible. Ask Allah Taala to protect the person’s bounties for him, increase them, and grant him barakah therein.

  • Make salaam to him often

  • Occasionally give him some gift.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Shake hands, for this will dispel rancor, and exchange gifts and love one another, for this will dispel hatred.” (Narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta’, 1413).

“Whoever finds in himself any hasad towards another has to try to neutralize it by means of taqwa (piety, consciousness of Allah) and sabr (patience). So he should hate that (the feeling of hasad) in himself…

But the one who does wrong to his brother by word or deed will be punished for that.

The one who fears Allah and is patient, however, is not included among the wrongdoers, and Allah will benefit him by his taqwa.”

Insha Allah, by adopting the above remedies, the terrible evil of jealousy will be cleansed from one’s heart. One will also find happiness in this world, and one’s good deeds will not be destroyed.

The Truth Has Arrived

[Allah’s Quran – 34:49] “Say: ‘The Truth has arrived, and Falsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything.”

[Bukhari, Book #60, Hadith#244] “Narrated Abdullah bin Masud: Allah’s Apostle entered Mecca (in the year of the Conquest) and there were three-hundred and sixty idols around the Ka’ba. He then started hitting them with a stick in his hand and said: ‘truth (i.e., Islam) has come and falsehood (disbelief) vanished. Truly, falsehood (disbelief) is ever bound to vanish.’ (17.81) ‘truth has come and falsehood (Iblis) can not create anything.”

[Muslim, Book #019, Hadith #4397] “It has been narrated by Ibn Abdullah who said: The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) entered Mecca. There were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka’ba. He began to thrust them with the stick that was in his hand, saying:” truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Lo! falsehood was destined to vanish” (xvii. 81). truth has arrived, and falsehood can neither create anything from the beginning nor can it restore to life”

[Tafsir] “(Say: “The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.”) Means, truth and the great Law have come from Allah, and falsehood has gone and has perished and vanished. This is like the Ayah: (Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood, so it destroys it, and behold, it is vanished) (21:18). When the Messenger of Allah entered Al-Masjid Al-Haram on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and found those idols standing around the Ka`bah, he started to hit the idols with his bow, reciting, (And say: “The truth has come, and the falsehood has vanished. Surely, the falsehood is ever bound to vanish.”) (17:81), and: (Say: “The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.”) This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa’i.

“The fourth argument is that the Truth is final: it does not come and go: it creates new situations and new developments, and if by chance it seems to be defeated for a time, it comes back and restores the true balance-unlike Falsehood, which by its very nature is doomed to perish: 17:81. The Prophet’s credentials are known by the test of Time. This was already becoming apparent to discerning eyes when this Sura was revealed in Mecca, but it became clear to the whole world with the story of Islam’s progress in Madina.”

“I.e., in contrast to the creativeness inherent in every true idea, falsehood – being in itself an illusion – cannot really create anything or revive any values that may have been alive in the past.”

Some Verses From Surah Al-Ahzab

[Qur’an, Al-Hazab, Surah 33:4-9] Allah has not made for any man two hearts inside his body. Neither has He made your wives, whom you declare to be like your mothers’ backs, your real mothers. [az-Zihar is the saying of a husband to his wife, “You are to me like the back of my mother,” i.e., You are unlawful for me to approach], nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. That is, but your saying with your mouths. But Allah says the truth, and He guides to the (Right) Way.

Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers: that is more just with Allah. But if you know not their father’s (names, call them) your brothers in faith and Mawalikum (your freed slaves). And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers (as regards respect and marriage). And blood relations among each other have closer personal ties in the Decree of Allah (regarding inheritance) than (the brotherhood of) the believers and the Muhajirun (emigrants from Makkah), except that you do kindness to those brothers (when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم joined them in brotherhood ties). This has been written in the (Allah’s Book of Divine) Decrees – (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz).”

And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad (saw)), and from Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and Esa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary). We took from them a strong covenant.

That He may ask the truthful (Allah’s Messengers and His Prophets) about their truth (i.e., the conveyance of Allah’s Message that which they were charged with), and He has prepared for the disbelievers a painful torment (Hell-fire).

O you who believe! Remember Allah’s Favor to you, when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not [i.e., troops of angels during the battle of Al-Ahzab (the Confederates)]. And Allah is Ever All-Seer of what you do.

Qur’an, Al-Ahazab, Surah 33:4-9