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The Importance Of Enjoined Five Daily Prayers

Allah, Enjoined Prayers As The Moral Law
[Quran 98:5 – Umm Muhammad] “And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion”

Allah Commands Believers
[Quran 6:72 – Yusuf Ali] “To establish regular prayers and to fear Allah: for it is to Him that we shall be gathered together”

Allah’s Promise For Those Steadfast In Prayer
[Quran 35:29 – Amatul Rahman Omar] “Surely, (only) those who follow the Book of Allah and observe Prayer and spend (for the cause of Allah) privately and in public out of that which We have provided for them (thereby) hope (to do) a bargain which will never fail”

Allah’s Praise For Those Who Pray For Allah’s Pleasure
[Quran 48:29 – Yusuf Ali] “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Taurat; and their similitude in the Gospel is: like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the Unbelievers with rage at them. Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a great Reward”

Allah Informs Mankind, Prayers Thwart Evilness And Immorality
[Quran 29:45] “Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer should deter one from indecency and wickedness. The remembrance of Allah is an even greater deterrent. And Allah fully knows what you do”

Hadith
[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book #3, Hadith #0863] “Narrated Abu Hurayrah: Anas ibn Hakim ad-Dabbi said that he feared Ziyad or Ibn Ziyad; so he came to Medina and met Abu Hurayrah. He attributed his lineage to me and I became a member of his lineage. Abu Hurayrah said (to me): O youth, should I not narrate a tradition to you? I said: Why not, may Allah have mercy on you? (Yunus (a narrator) said: I think he narrated it (the tradition) from the Prophet (peace be upon him):) The first thing about which the people will be called to account for their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the angels – though He knows better: Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfectly. If it is defective, He will say: See there are some optional prayers offered by My servant. If there are optional prayers to his credit, He will say: Compensate the obligatory prayer with the optional prayer for My servant. Then all the actions will be considered similarly.

[Bukhari, Book 10, Hadith 506] “Narrated Abu Huraira: 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.”

[Muslim, Book 004, Hadith 1410] In the hadith narrated by the authority of Abu Huraira the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) is reported to have said. while in the hadith narrated by Bakr (the words are like this): He heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Just see, can anything of his filthiness remain (on the body of) any one of you if there were a river at his door in which he washed himself five times daily? They, said: Nothing of his filthiness will remain (on his body). He said: That is like the five prayers by which Allah obliterates sins.

[Muslim, Book 004, Hadith 1411]“Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: The similitude of five prayers is like an overflowing river passing by the gate of one of you in which he washes five times daily Hasan said: No filthiness can remain on him.”

[Muslim, Book #001, Hadith #0152] “Abdullah b. Mas’ud reported: I said: Messenger of Allah, which of the deeds (takes one) nearer to Paradise? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: prayer at its proper time, I said: What next, Messenger of Allah? He replied: Kindness to the parents. I said: What next? He replied: Jihad in the cause of Allah”

Worship Allah In Fear Of Hellfire And Hope Of Paradise

Islam teaches us to worship Allah out of love for Him but with a healthy balance of fear and hope.
Allah said: They arise from their beds and they supplicate their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend from what We have provided them. Surah As-Sajda 32:16

And Allah said: Verily, they used to hasten to good deeds and would supplicate to Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly submissive. Surah Al-Anbiya 21:90

Al-Bara ibn Azib reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: O Allah, I submit my face to You and entrust my affair to You. I commit myself to You out of hope and fear of You. Source: Sahih Muslim 2710, Grade: Sahih

Fear of Allah means to fear falling into sin and earning His punishment in the Hellfire.
Allah said: Fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly. Surah Al-Baqarah 2:281

Fear of Allah makes us think twice before we commit a sin. It is the quality of mindfulness and awareness of Allah that resides inside the heart of a believer.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, pointed to his chest three times and he said: Godfearing piety is here. Source: Sahih Muslim 2564, Grade: Sahih

Indeed, the description of punishment in the Hereafter found in the Quran and Sunnah should increase our resolve to be righteous. On the Day of Judgment, those who did not fear Allah will wish they had never been born.
Allah said: verily, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say: Oh, I wish that I were dust! Surah An-Naba 78:40

Fear of Allah is the source of all knowledge as it motivates us to seek the truth and act in accordance with it.
Allah said: Only those fear Allah from among His servants are those who have knowledge. Verily, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving. Surah Al-Fatir 35:28

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him would say during his sermons: The best provision is mindfulness of Allah, and the foundation of wisdom is the fear of Allah the Exalted. Source: Al-Jami’ As-Sagheer 1609, Grade: Hasan

And in the previous scriptures, it is written: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

However, we need to balance our fear of Allah with our hope in His reward and His Paradise.
Allah said: Shuaib said: O my people, worship Allah and hope for the Last Day and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption. Surah Al-Ankabut 29:36

Hope in Allah motivates us to perform good deeds and to abandon our base materialistic desires for the sake of righteousness.
Allah said: Wealth and children are only adornment of the worldly life, but enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for one’s hope. Surah Al-Kahf 18:46

The description of Paradise in the Quran and Sunnah should increase our resolve to perform good deeds to be rewarded in the Hereafter. In fact, it is a major sin to despair of the mercy of Allah.
Allah said: Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Verily, Allah forgives all sins. Verily, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Surah Az-Zumar 39:53

And Allah said: Who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray? Surah Al-Hijr 15:56

Therefore, we should have a healthy balance of fear and hope in our worship of Allah. The idea of balance in worship is expressed eloquently in Ibn Al-Qayyaim’s metaphor of the bird on its journey to Allah.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said: The heart on its journey towards Allah the Exalted is like that of a bird. Love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings. When the head is healthy, then the two wings will fly well. When the head is cut off, the bird will die. When either of the two wings is damaged, the bird becomes vulnerable to every hunter and predator.
Source: Madarij As-Salikeen

Let us remember that our hearts are just like a bird on a journey to Allah in the Hereafter. Our love of Allah is the basis of our worship, and our fear and hope are like two wings that propel us along the straight path toward our final destination.

Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.

By Abu Amina Elias

Love For Allah Does Not Come Cheap

Allowing important areas of our lives to go unexamined and uncontrolled is the source of a vast amount of pain and loss. One such, if not the most significant, loss is our strong relationship with Allah.

Establishing a close connection with Allah requires work. Sometimes we feel that His rules are difficult to obey. We think, “Let me do what I want to do. Obedience is hard for me”.

In all honesty and to an extent, we all have felt the same way. Allah’s call to obey goes against the grain of our natural inclinations; we are all born wanting to be free and liberated without restrictions.

However, Allah pulls us in another direction by His love. He calls us to obey Him out of his concern for our best. Sometimes that means we must make hard choices.

Allah’s words aren’t given to hurt us; they are for our good. As the designer, He knows how his design works best. We cannot see the future; we cannot know where our choices lead us, but He does, and He uses his word to guide us.

As a child, my strongest motivation to be good was to please my parents. If we have no inner motivation to please Allah, we need to work on our love relationship with Him. We need to focus on His greatness and His love for us.

Even what seems insignificant to us matters to Allah. He calls us to make up our minds to obey him, even in the small things, those things that appear to be no big deal. Our obedience to the small things reveals how much we truly love Him.

We must keep our faith on the increase through daily good works using all of our bodies. Kindness with our tongue, charity with our wealth, and service with our limbs will help us remain connected to Allah. Link all of our actions to attaining His pleasure.

How to develop trust in Allah
Strengthening our trust in Allah is like learning any other skill. The more we commit to it, the stronger it gets. We cannot expect to strengthen our ties with Allah and increase our faith if we only worship when we feel like it.

Start with Qur’an
We need for starters to infuse our life with the Qur’an such that we become a living, walking, talking embodiment of the Qur’an.

I found to cultivate my heart, and I committed to repenting as many times a day as I could, every day.

Pick a time when you can sit, be in a state of peace, and be truly present with Allah. Thankfully – we serve a God who is able to forgive sins, all sins. Before or after Fajr, or `Isha’ prayer are often times of quiet, appropriate for this repenting.

At first, it may feel dry on our tongue, we must persist however until it comes alive in our heart.

Seek His Help
Even if we do have people to turn to, nobody can replace the warmth and openness we will ultimately feel with Allah. At times, sadness and difficulty bring us closer to Him than happiness and prosperity.

In those moments of sadness and confusion, we should reach out to Allah and release all our worries and sadness to Him.

Part of the reason that we feel emptiness in our prayers is because we feel that by praying fasting and supplicating, we are doing something to benefit Allah and that He should feel obliged to reimburse us for our efforts. We then desire certain outcomes that our limited insight feels is best for us and if those do not occur, then Allah has not answered them, so we become despondent.

Be Patient
We live in a time of instant gratification; we need to remind ourselves that attaining lasting faith is a tremendous gift that cannot be attained simply because we want it right now.

Strengthening our trust in Allah does not just happen. It is a journey of enormous spiritual growth. When the wounds are still sore, that is when our heart fully connects and surrenders to Allah.

Remember He knows us better than we would ever know ourselves.

Khalid Latif

Gift-Giving Is One Of The Good Manners

Gift-giving is one of the good manners that maintains and strengthens relations between the giver and the recipient. It is one of the acts that Prophet Muhammad recommended us -Muslims- to do. Al-Bukhaari narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: “The Messenger of Allah used to accept gifts and reward people for giving them.”

The phrase: “Reward people for giving them,” means giving the giver (at a later time) something of equal value at least in return. This Hadeeth (narration) indicates that accepting gifts and giving something of equal value (or more) to the giver is the way of the Prophet.

The Prophet enjoined responding in kind to favours, as he said in an authentic narration: “Whoever do you a favour, respond in kind, and if you cannot find the means of doing so, then keep praying for him until you think that you have responded in kind.” [Abu Daawood]

“Whoever does you a favour,” means, whoever treats you kindly in word or deed or by gifting you.
“Respond in kind,” means to treat him kindly just as he has treated you kindly.
“If you cannot find the means of doing so” means if you do not have the money.
“Until you think that you have responded in kind” means, repeatedly supplicating for him until you think that you have rewarded him his due.

One of the Du’aa’ forms that one can say is ‘Jazaaka Allaahu khayran’ (may Allaah reward you with good). At-Tirmithi narrated that Usaamah Ibn Zayd said: The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever has a favour done for him and says ‘Jazaak Allaahu khayran’ has done his utmost to thank him.” [At-Tirmithi]

“Done his utmost to thank him,” means that he has done his utmost to express his gratitude because he has acknowledged his shortcomings and that he is unable to reward and thank him enough, so he refers the matter to Allah, to reward him in the best manner. It is said that: “If you are unable to give him back in kind, then speak at length thanking him and supplicating for him.” [Tuhfat Al-Ahwathi]

Also, The Prophet peace and blessings be upon him said: “Exchange gifts, as that will lead to increasing your love for one another.” [Al-Bukhaari]

Seven Qualities That Allah Loves

1. Tawbah (Repentance)
“For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly (in repentance)” [Surah Al Baqarah 2:222]

2. Taharah (Purification)
“Allah loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” [Surah Al Baqarah 2:222]

3. Taqwa (Piety)
“For Allah loves the righteous (the pious).” [Surah Al Tawbah 9:4]

4. Ihsan (Goodness and Perfection)
“For Allah loves those who do good (to others)” [Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:134]

5. Tawakkul (Trust in Allah)
“For Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him).” [Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:159]

6. Adl (Justice)
“For Allah loves those who judge in equity.” [Surah Al Ma’idah 5:42] “For Allah loves those who are fair (and just).” [Surah Al Hujurat 49:9]

7. Sabr (Patience)
“And Allah Loves those who are firm and steadfast (As-Sabirin (the patient)).” [Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:146]