Second Lesson: Salat
(JollofNews)– When a Muslim has firmly believed in Kalimah Tayyibah, he has made a sacred pledge to obey all the commandments of Allah; of which the first and foremost is salat which must be observed by every adult, male or female, five times a day.
In other words, those who perform the prayer regularly, after believing in the Kalimah, they practically fulfil their promise with Allah, made through the Kalimah; and those who are not regular at the prayer, they practically belie their promise with Allah, to be His faithful servants; of them said Rasulullah (SAW) “Whoever abandoned the prayer intentionally, he become an infidel”.
In another hadith he says, “Whoever gave up the prayer, he will be raised among Qaaroon, Fir’awn, his minister Haamaan, and the famous hypocrite Ubayy bin Khalaf, on the Day of Resurrection.”
Next to the Kalimah, prayer is the most distinguished of all good deeds. It has been mentioned in the hadith that the first thing brought to account on the Day of Judgement, will be the prayer.
If one’s prayer is perfect in every respect, he will certainly attain salvation, otherwise he will be deprived of all the boons and favours of Allah, and will suffer a great loss. Therefore, one should observe the prayer at the appointed times, with good wudu and complete devotion, that one may not be raised with the infidels, and should be delivered from the hell-fire.
Whatever is read in the prayer (that is, ‘Subhaanak-Al-lahumma’ and Attahiyyaat etc), should be remembered well, that no mistake should occur during the prayer. One must know the fardh, the sunnah, and all the conditions of prayer, so that it may be correct, and by having concentration, it should be performed well.
A great merit of the prayer is, that all the limbs of a worshipper, namely, hands, feet, head, waist, nose, forehead, tongue etc., are wholly and solely devoted to Allah, that is, every part of a worshipper’s body is engaged in an exercise of the obedience of Allah’s commandments.
If a Muslim performs the prayer with all its conditions, he is not likely to commit sin by any limb, on times other than the prayer. It has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that the prayer prevents a Muslim from shameful and forbidden things. The believers have been commanded hundreds of times in the Holy Qur’an to perform the prayer properly. In the hadith also the prayer has been enjoined and emphasised many a time. For instance, Rasulullah (SAW) said, “One’s sins from one prayer to another are forgiven by Allah”.
In another hadith he says, “If one has a stream at one’s door, and he has a bath in it, five times a day, he will have no dirt on his body; similarly if one performs the prayer five times a day, his sins will be pardoned be Allah, and he will be clean of them”. In another hadith Rasulullah (SAW) says, “When your children are seven years old, instruct them to perform the prayer, but when they are ten years old, beat them to perform the prayer.”
Prayer With Congregation
Rasulullah (SAW) says in a hadith, “The prayer with congregation is granted a reward twenty-seven times more than the prayer performed alone”. It has also been mentioned in a hadith that Rasulullah (SAW) intended to burn the houses of those who did not visit the masjid to perform the prayer with congregation, but he abstained from doing so, because of children and women.
Ibn Mas’ood (Radhiyallaho anho) says, “During the time of Rasulullah (SAW) only that hypocrite dared neglect the prayer who was a declared hypocrite.” It has also been mentioned in a hadith that performing the night prayer with congregation begets the reward of prayers till midnight; and performing the morning prayer with congregation, begets the reward of prayers during the whole night.
The Right Way To Perform Rukoo’ And Sajdah
Rasulullah (SAW) says in a hadith, “Allah does not look to the prayer of one, who does not keep his waist straight in the prayer (he prays lazily)”. In another hadith he says, “The worst kind of theft is the theft of prayer”. His companions asked, “What is the theft of prayer?” He answered, “The theft of prayer is , not to perform the rukoo’ (bending the knees) and sajdah (prostration( properly, with full-time and attention.”
A Prayer Out Of Time
Rasulullah (SAW) said, “It is the prayer of hypocrite to cause delay in payers, and to wait for sun-set; so when it becomes dull, he gets up to perform it just as a custom, and he remembers Allah but little.”
To be continued next week.
Courtesy of Fazail-e-Amaal
