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The Spirit Of Prayer In Islam

Ibadah (act of worship) is an Arabic word derived from `abd (a slave) and it means submission. It portrays that God is your Master and you are His slave and whatever a slave does in obedience to and for the pleasure of his Master is `ibadah. The Islamic concept of `ibadah is very wide.

If you free your speech from filth, falsehood, malice, and abuse and speak the truth and talk goodly things and do all these only because God has so ordained to do, they constitute `ibadah, however secular they may look in semblance. If you obey the law of God in letter and spirit in your commercial and economic affairs and abide by it in your dealings with your parents, relatives, friends, and all those who come in contact with you, verily all these activities of yours are `ibadah. If you help the poor and the destitute, give food to the hungry, and serve the ailing and the afflicted persons, and do all this not for any personal gain of yours but only to seek the pleasure of God, they are nothing short of `ibadah.

Salah (Prayer) is the most primary and the most important of these obligations. And what is salah? It is the prescribed daily Prayers which consist in repeating and refreshing five times a day the belief in which you repose your faith. You get up early in the morning, cleanse yourself and present yourself before your Lord for Prayer. The various poses that you assume during your Prayers are the very embodiment of the spirit of submission; the various recitals remind you of your commitments to your God. You seek His guidance and ask Him again and again to enable you to avoid His wrath and follow His chosen path. You read out from the Book of the Lord and express witness to the truth of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and also refresh your belief in the Day of Judgment and enliven in your memory the fact that you have to appear before your Lord and give an account of your entire life. This is how your day starts.

Then, after a few hours the muezzin calls you to Prayer, and you again submit to your God and renew your covenant with Him. You dissociate yourself from your worldly engagements for a few moments and seek audience with God. This once again brings to the fore of your mind your real role in life. After this rededication you revert to your occupations and again present yourself to the Lord after a few hours. This again acts as a reminder to you, and you once more refocus your attention on the stipulations of your faith. When the sun sets and the darkness of the night begins to shroud you, you again submit yourself to God in Prayer so that you may not forget your duties and obligations in the midst of the approaching shadows of the night. And then after a few hours you again appear before your Lord, and this is your last Prayer of the day. Thus before going to bed you once again renew your faith and prostrate before your God. And this is how you complete your day. The frequency and timings of the Prayers never let the object and mission of life be lost sight of in the maze of worldly activities.

Salah Mentioned In Quran

1) Establishing Salah Develops Taqwa (Fear and Awareness of Allah)
“This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have Taqwa; who believe in the unseen, and who establish Salah, and spend out of what we have provided for them”
(Surah Baqarah 2: 2-3)

2) Salah Is the Sign of a Believer
“The believers, men and women, are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin good and forbid evil, and they establish Salah, and give Zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them, and surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.”
(Surah Tawba 9: 71)

3) Establishing Salah Leads to Allah’s Eternal Blessings
“So whatever you have been given is but (a passing) enjoyment for this worldly life, but that which is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. And those who avoid the great sins and lewdness, and when they are angry, they forgive. And those who answer the Call of their Lord, and perform the Salah, and who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and who spend of what We have bestowed on them.” (Surah Ash-Shura 42:36-38)

4) Those Who Pray Shall Have Nothing to Fear on the Day of Judgment

“Truly, those who believe and do righteous deeds, and perform Salah, and give Zakah, they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”
(Surah Baqarah 2:277)

5) Remain in Allah’s remembrance after prayer
“When have finished performing the Salah, remember Allah standing, sitting, and reclining, but when you are free from danger, perform the Salah. Surely, Salah is enjoined on the believers at fixed times.”
(Surah Nisaa 4:103)

6) Command to Pray with Congregation
“And establish Salah and give Zakah, and bow down (in worship) along with those who bow down (in worship)”
(Surah Baqarah 2:43)

7. Special Command Regarding Punctuality of Prayer
“Guard strictly the Salah, especially the middle Salah. And stand before Allah with obedience.”
(Surah Baqarah 2:238)

Simple Formula To Be The Best

BEING humans, we all crave to have the best in life, to get the best in life, and to be the best in life. Don’t we? How many times have these thoughts crawled in our brains?

“I want to be the best employee or the best student!” “I want to own the best mobile, the best car and be married to the best wife.”

Dear brothers and sisters, as Muslims has the thought ever come to us that “I want to be the best Muslim?” Leave alone working for it, have we ever just thought about it?

Well, now that this topic has come up, give it a second thought. If you believed that to be the best of Muslims you need to spend your full day in the Masjid or fast everyday of your life, you were wrong!

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave us a simple formula to be the best: “The best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur’an and teaches it.” (Al-Bukhari)

Subhan Allah, as simple as that! It doesn’t require you to be on your prayer mat 24/7. No, the key is Allah’s speech – the Qur’an.

Hold on to it even if it’s by starting to read a page everyday (make sure you understand it). This is something that Allah has ordered in the Qur’an.

“And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah (i.e. the Quran), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favors on you…” (Qur’an, 3:103)

“And We have indeed made the Qur’an easy to understand and remember, then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)?” (Qur’an, 54:17)

Leadership Qualities

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made it clear that when Muslims are engaged in some mission as a group, they should have someone as their head or commander. Whenever the Prophet sent out a group on a mission, or an expedition, or an army, he appointed someone as their commander. The criteria he applied in his selection of commanders were basically the person’s ability and also mutual love and respect between him and the group he is commanding. Every time, the Prophet urged the commander to look after those traveling with him, making clear that he was responsible for their welfare. He also urged the group to obey their commander so that their mission would be successful. Should they have divergent aims and follow different methods, they were bound to fail.

All this becomes natural if people would develop their sense of responsibility. The Prophet was keen to instill this sense among Muslims, regardless of their positions. Everyone is accountable for their deeds and the fulfillment of their responsibilities.

The Prophet says: “Everyone of you is a shepherd and will be accountable for his flock. The ruler is a shepherd and will be accountable for his community; a man is a shepherd of his family and will be accountable for them; a woman is a shepherd of her husband’s household and will be accountable for her charge; a slave is a shepherd looking after his master’s property and will be accountable for it: indeed, everyone of you is a shepherd and will be accountable for what is under their care.”

When everyone in a community develops such a sense of responsibility, the affairs of the community will run smoothly and everyone will have what is due to them. Indeed, this helps develop a feeling of love and unity within the community, ensuring its success and prosperity.

The guiding principle in discharging one’s responsibility is seeking Allah’s pleasure. We know that Allah does not allow injustice. In a sacred Hadith, the Prophet quotes Allah as saying: “My servants, I have forbidden Myself injustice and made it forbidden for you. Therefore, be not unjust to anyone.” This must be the rule that governs all relations in society.

Moreover, a person in a position of responsibility must not require his subordinates to do anything that is not permitted by Islam. If he does, then they must not obey him. The Prophet says: “No one may be obeyed in what constitutes disobedience of Allah.” If a commander orders someone to do what is forbidden, that person must disobey the commander. Once the Prophet appointed someone as the head of a small expedition. When they had stopped to rest, the commander ordered that a fire should be lit. He then asked those with him to go through the fire. They said to him: “We have followed Allah’s messenger so that we do not suffer the fire of hell. Are you now asking us to go through this fire. We certainly will not do that.” When they returned to Madinah, they complained to the Prophet. He questioned the commander who said that he simply intended it as a joke and he was not going to allow anyone to go through the fire. The Prophet accepted this as true, but he commended the people who refused to go through the fire. He said: “Had they gone through it, they would not be out of it.” What he meant was that they would have committed suicide and would be punished for it by being thrown in hell on the Day of Judgment.

The Good Shepherds

IT is narrated that a man came to a knowledgeable person from among our pious predecessors and asked him, “I just had a child, what should I do?” The answer came, “If you are just now asking this question, then you have already lost.”

This narration shows how serious Muslims used to be about raising children. So much so that they told this man, who had just had a child that he had lost. This is because they believed correctly that the proper upbringing of a child begins even before the child is conceived. It begins by us being good Muslims ourselves, choosing good mates and educating ourselves about Islam, and how to be good parents and how to raise good Muslim children. Unfortunately, many Muslim parents today do not understand the importance of raising good Muslim children the way they should.

As we go about our daily lives, pursuing our occupations as homemakers, doctors, businessmen, teachers or whatever we may be, how often do we forget that the most important job we have is being a shepherd, and that it is this job that Allah will call us to account for on the Day of Judgment. For Allah ‘s Prophet(peace be upon him) said:” All of you are shepherds and each one is responsible for his flock. A leader of a people is a shepherd and responsible for them. A man is a shepherd over his family and is responsible for them. A woman is a shepherdess over her husband ‘s house and his children and she is responsible for them. And a servant is a guardian over his master’s property and is responsible for it. So all of you are guardians and are responsible for your charges.” (Bukhari)

As parents, Allah, has made us responsible for our families. It is the primary responsibility of parents to raise their children as Muslims. And therefore, as shepherds we must never give our children the impression that Islam is merely a series of rituals to be done in a certain way, day in, and day out.

Rather, we should be keen to tell them and to convey to them Islam as a complete way of life, and it is the way of life that brings about true peace and happiness, in this world as well as in the Hereafter.

As shepherds, we must realize that it is our responsibility to guide our flock and to keep them away from the prohibited pastures. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said “Whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the hima (private pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people) Beware! Every king has a hima and the hima of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things.” (Bukhari)

As parents, are we outraged when our children bring home bad grades from school, yet we are indifferent when that same child misses salah(prayer). Are we more concerned with our child’s place in Harvard than we are with his place in the Hereafter? Are our homes places where the Qur ‘an is only dusted off for the ritualistic reading during the month of Ramadan?

So, how do we become good shepherds? The first step is to make a self-evaluation. We need to ask ourselves, are my feelings about Islam in accordance to what Allah requires of me? Does my action match my speech? How much of my time do I spend learning about Islam and/or performing acts of obedience to Allah? Only after affirming the strengths and weaknesses of our own Islam and constantly striving in our practice of Islam, can we begin to guide our flock on the path that is pleasing to Allah.

As parents and as shepherds our primary responsibility is fulfilling the commands of Allah “O you who believe, save yourselves and your families from the fire.” (Qur’an; 66:6)

Our flocks are the future of this religion. Are we raising them to be good shepherds?

Generosity Of Uthman (May Allah Be Pleased With Him)

During the caliphate of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) there was a severe famine. The people of Madina were suffering due to a shortage of food.

A caravan of 1000 camels loaded with a large stock of food grains belonging to Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived from Shaam (Syria). Several merchants offered to buy all of it.

He asked them what profit they would pay. “Five percent,” they said. He answered that he could get a higher profit than that. They began to argue with him, saying that they did not know of any merchant who would offer him more than their quote.

He said to them, “I know of one who repays a profit of more than seven hundred to a dirham.” He then recited the verse of the Noble Qur’an in which Allah mentioned this profit. “The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.” (Qur’an, 2:261)

“O traders! Bear witness with me that I donate all this to the poor people of Madinah!” Uthman said.

Dear readers, whatever we give for the sake of Allah is really ours and whatever we keep with us will one day be someone else’s. Let us follow the footsteps of our Prophet and the pious Sahabah, with whom Allah was pleased, by helping the needy ones.

Qualities of Muttaqun who will inherit Paradise
“And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Rabb, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth prepared for Al-Muttaqun (the pious).” (Qur’an, 3:133)

ALLAH in this beautiful verse of Surah Al-Imran is urging us to march forth towards His Mercy and Paradise, the final abode prepared specially for “Al-Muttaqeen”. Allah clearly mentions that the distinguished people for whom he created Paradise are the “Muttaqun.”
We all, of course, want this privileged status on the Day Of Judgment In Sha Allah. But who are they? How can we be like them? Allah did not leave us wondering about their characteristics, but specified them in the very next verse:

“Those who spend (in Allah’s cause – charity) in prosperity and adversity, who repress anger and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (those who do good).” (Qur’an, 3:134)

“They spend (in Allah’s cause) in times of prosperity and adversity.”
Allah has mentioned in several places the virtue of charity. Allah said:
“The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain (of corn), it grows seven ears and each ear has a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold increase to whom He wills and Allah is All-Sufficient for his creatures needs, All-Knower.” (Qur’an, 2:261)

It is Allah’s promise that spending for His sake will be requited by Allah and that this investment will never be in loss In Sha Allah.

“They repress their anger.”
Allah knows his slaves. He did not make it difficult for us by ordering us not to get angry. Instead, He said that when we get angry we should repress it or swallow it.

Next time when something doesn’t go as planned or someone cuts your lane while driving, don’t burst. These affairs are too trivial for us to be smitten by anger. Let’s try our best to control our anger. We never know, this quality of ours might be the reason for us to be amongst the Muttaqeen who will enter Jannah!

•“Who pardon men.”
Forgiving is yet another admirable quality of the Muttaqeen. Forgiving is not just accepting apologies, but forgiving them from the heart and making Du’a for them that Allah also forgives them.

“...let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an, 24:22)

“...and those who came after them say: “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an, 59:10).

The verses of the Qur’an are crystal clear, we just need to strive our utmost to inculcate those qualities in us to achieve the best in this world and in the Hereafter.

Sponsor A Muslim Orphan

“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the poor, the orphan, and the captive…” (Qur’an, 76:8)

 Would you like to be like a Mujahid or one who spends his day fasting and night praying?
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “One who cares for widows and the poor is like those who fight in the way of Allah or those who spend their days fasting and their nights praying.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Would you like your heart to soften and Allah to answer your prayers?
A man once came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and complained that he feels hardness in his heart. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, translated means, “Would you like that your heart becomes soft and that you acquire what you need? Be merciful with the orphan, pat his head, and feed him from what you eat. This will soften your heart, and enable you to get what you need.” (At-Tabarani and As-Silsilah As-Sahihah)

Would you like Allah to remove one of your griefs on the Day of Judgment?
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgment.” (Sahih Muslim)

Would you like angels to make Du’a for you?
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “No day dawns upon (Allah’s) servants without two angels descending (to Earth). One of them says, ‘O Allah, give recompense (Khalaf) to those who give (charity)!’; the other says, ‘O Allah give loss (Talaf) to those who withhold (charity)!’” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Would you like to be in Paradise with our beloved Prophet?
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “I and the caretaker of the orphan will enter Paradise together like this, raising (by way of illustration) his forefinger and middle finger jointly, leaving no space in between.” (Al-Bukhari)

Selfishness That Incurs God’s Punishment

Sometimes the Prophet (peace be upon him) used a form of stern warning in order to impress on people the horrid nature of the action he is warning against.

One of the stronger forms of warning is that which the Prophet uses in the following Hadith related by Al-Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurayrah who quotes the Prophet as saying: “God shall neither look at three types of people on the Day of Judgment nor cleanse them of sin. They shall also endure grievous suffering. The first is one who has along the road water in excess of his needs but refuses to give some of it to passersby. The second is one who pledges loyalty to a governor only in the hope of receiving certain gains: if he gets that, he is happy and if he is denied it, he is unhappy. The third is one who sets up his goods in the afternoon and swears by God that he has paid (or offered) for it so much, leading others to believe him. The Prophet then read the Qur’anic verse that says: “Those who barter away their covenant with God and their oaths for a trifling gain will have no share in the life to come. God will neither speak to them, nor cast a look on them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He cleanse them of their sins. Theirs will be a grievous suffering.” (3: 77)

The common denominator that applies to all three types is selfishness and greed. They are all after their own interests, caring little for other people. The first, the one who denies some water to a passerby, is so full of greed that he will not give water, which he has no need for, to one who needs it. He forgets that water is granted to mankind by God. They need it for living and God has set in operation certain laws of nature that ensure that people get water all the time for themselves, their cattle, and farmland.

The second type is more common. People often pledge their loyalty to rulers and governors only for their own benefit. They are after certain gains. Unless they get such gains, they are dissatisfied. Their dissatisfaction may go further than thoughts and feelings. It may develop into encouraging rebellion or strife in society. The main factor in all this is the gain one hopes to achieve. It has nothing to do with the ruler being good, just, or diligent in serving the community.

An important aspect in the Prophet’s warning is concerned with the need of being true to one’s pledges. If one pledges loyalty to a governor, the pledge should be sincere, free of personal ambitions, and made only to serve the interests of the community. To relate one’s loyalty to what one hopes to receive for personal gains is to make a mockery of one’s pledge. Needless to say, a pledge of loyalty is a very serious matter. Hence, it must never be related to what one hopes to receive from the ruler to whom one has pledged full loyalty.

The third type is again very common. People are eager to sell their goods at a profit. The greater the margin of profit, the happier they are. If the customer tries to get a discount, the seller tries to assure him that the goods are worth more. One way of convincing people that they are not paying too much for their merchandise is to swear by God that the price is right. A trader may swear that he paid for the goods so much and that his profit is so little or very reasonable. Alternatively, he may swear that he was offered more for it. The customer is more likely to believe him when he swears by God. If, however, the truth does not match the oath, and the oath is false, the offense is very serious indeed as it seeks to cite God in support of one’s false claim.

In all these situations, selfish and greedy people earn themselves God’s displeasure which results in God ignoring them on the Day of Judgment when they are destined for grievous suffering.

-by Adil Salahi

Encouraging Children To Pray

In a Hadith narrated by Abdullah Ibn Qart the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The first act that the servant of Allah will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment will be prayer. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil.” (Tabarani) Furthermore, prayer was the first act of worship that was made obligatory by Allah. Therefore, due to its extreme importance to the Believer, prayer should be one of the first acts of worship that parents should teach their children.

When discussing teaching children how to make prayer parents typically ask when it is necessary to begin teaching their children. Let us be realistic; learning how to perform prayer is not easy for children or in some cases adults. It can take a lot of work to master even the simplest elements of prayer. The learner must memorize the various du’a and Surahs of the Qur’an – not to mention the other required portions of the prayer. Furthermore, there must be work on proper pronunciation and rules on how, when, and what makes prayer valid. This is not an overnight process but rather one that takes time. Therefore, this leaves us with the question – when should children learn how to perform prayer?

Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, narrated that the Apostle of Allah,(PBUH), said, “Command your children to start prayer when they become seven years old, and spank them for it (prayer) when they become ten years old, and arrange their beds (to sleep) separately.” (Abu Dawud).

This does not mean that parents can only start teaching their children how to perform it when they reach the age of seven. Rather, informal instruction should start when a child starts to show an interest in prayer, which usually occurs around the age of two. It is only human nature that children love to imitate their parents. In fact, this is one method that Allah has provided us for teaching our youth.

Therefore, it is important for parents of small children to let them “pretend” to perform the prayer alongside of the parents. The benefits of this are twofold. First, it teaches children that it is necessary to perform prayer every day five times a day. And second, it helps children learn the physical movements of the prayer. It really is amazing how fast a two-year-old will learn the phrase Allahu-Akbar (Allah is Greatest) when he performs prayer alongside his parents!

The next step is to teach your child Al-Fatihah (The Opening Chapter of the Qur’an). This should begin around the age of three or four. When teaching children Surahs or any other portions of the prayer that must be memorized it is important to remember to break down the instructions by using a reasonable number of verses or small segments.

In other words, teaching a child how to perform the prayer should be done progressively in small steps. It is important to practice reciting the previously learned material consistently every day along with any new material. These practice sessions should only last between 5 to 15 minutes. At this age, length of practice is not as important as consistency.

Lastly, one of the most important aspects of successful teaching is praise and encouragement. Remember that children like to please their parents. Also, it is really important that parents praise and celebrate their children’s accomplishments. This is especially true for learning how to perform prayer. After the mastery of a section, children typically feel a strong sense of achievement. Praise motivates the child to continue to learn and accomplish new goals.

Are You Preparing For The Day Of Judgment?

Everyone in this world is well aware of the fact that this life is mortal. All of us are sent into this world for some specific time after that we have to dwell in eternal life which starts after the end of this life.

Humans pass through different phases after death i.e. separation of the soul from body, life, in the grave and the most important event that will happen on the Day of Judgment is when we will be held accountable for our deeds and when we will be questioned by our Lord Allah (S.W.T.) as He says in Quran:

“Then surely, We shall question those (people) to whom it (the book) was sent and verily, We shall question the Messengers.” ( Al-Araf, 6 and 7)

Two Methods of Accountability
On the Day of Judgment, every human being who is sent into this world in any era will be stood together at a place where they will be held accountable in front of God as He says in the Quran:

“The Day is approaching when every soul shall find itself confronted with whatever good it has done and whatever evil it has wrought. It will then wish there is a wide space between it and the Day! Allah warns you to beware of Him; He is most tender towards His servants.” (Surat Al-Imran, 30)

There will be two methods of accountability,

Those who have successfully spent their lives according to the teachings of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) will be directly sent to paradise to live an eternal life with all the blessings they have been promised and will be considered the most successful people.

They will say: “Praise be to Allah Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us the inheritors of this land, letting us settle in Paradise wherever we want. How excellent is the wage of those who work.” (Surat az-Zumar, 74)

Those who used to commit evil things in the worldly life will be questioned about their bad acts and surely they will have no answer for it except shame on their own deeds and begging pardon for their wrongdoings but the time of forgiveness will be over. Those people will be sent to hell fire where they will be tortured for their sins until they complete their punishments.