28/08/2012

SISTERS CIRCLE

SALAH

Salah Session 8

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We cannot find words to praise Him, As He only sees fit how praising and glorifying should be addressed to Him. I seek refuge in Allah from the evils within myself and the evils of my bad deeds. Whosoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whosoever He leads astray will never find guidance. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the One without any associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, his kin, his Companions and all those who follow their guidance until the Day of Judgment. The aim of this session is to look at: The importance of prayers, consequences of missing prayers, but more importantly to come up with practical solutions to the problems or reasons we highlight for missing prayers. Missing Prayers (Salah) Hazrat Anas (RA) narrates that the Prophet (SAW) said: The first thing that a person will be questioned about is his prayers. Allah SWT will ask us about many things but that being the first thing He chooses to ask about demonstrates how paramount prayers are. This is the first question you have to answer, usually we find in an exam that the first few questions are easy and they get progressively harder, one reason being to cover the basics that you are required to know but also to get you into the swing of things, it increases your confidence when you can get through the first few questions quickly. But imagine if here you stall at the first question, it doesnt look good. This life is a test after all. If your prayers are sound, the chances are the rest will follow suit, but if theyre not sound? Allah swt gives us sustenance. He has given us life and has ordered us to pray five times a day. How ungrateful is a person that eats the sustenance that He has given us, takes advantage of the life that He has given us, but does not bow down his head to Him to show his gratefulness? That is why we are reminded that the first thing that we will be asked about on the day of judgement is our prayers. Therefore we should be punctual in our prayers so that we are not shamed on the day of judgement and we can be blessed with respect in the court of Allah swt. Out of 24 hours a day we are obliged to devote (roughly) only 30 minutes. Umar (RA) narrates that the Prophet (SAW) said: Prayer is a pillar of faith. Whoever abandons it has destroyed his faith. (Baihiqi). Hazrat Buraidah (RA) narrates that the Prophet (SAW) said: The difference between us and them (the hypocrites) is prayer. He who intentionally misses prayers is a non believer. (Tirmidhi) The Importance of Salah Salah (prayer) is one of the five pillars of Islam. Initially, the commandment was for fifty prayers a day, but fearing that this would become a burden to the Ummah, the Prophet (pbuh) requested for it to be brought down to just five. Despite this, the rewards for keeping the prayers are as if we had prayed all fifty! So by not praying at all not only have you accumulated 2

Salah Session 8 5 major sins a day on your bad record but you have missed out on 50 good deeds that could have been on your good record. The daily prayers are a way for us to keep a close connection to our Creator. It is through salah that we can get our supplications answered and our needs fulfilled. When the companions of the Prophet (saw) were in need, they would turn to Allah in prayer. Salah is a way for us to show a commitment to our faith. Every time we pray salah, we renew our commitment to Allah and relieve ourselves from the pressures of our daily lives. Once Prophet Muhammad (saw) once shook a dry branch of a tree so that all of the leaves of the branch fell off. Then the Prophet (saw) said The sins of those who pray salah, drop off as the leaves of this branch fell off. Salah is thus the main path towards spiritual purification. It is through salah that we can gain self-discipline and good qualities. For example, in prostration (sajda) we submit our will to Allah in all humbleness. We also purify our hearts. The prophet (saw) once asked his companions Tell me if there was a river at the door step of one of you in which you washed 5 times a day would any of your dirt remain? When he received the reply that none of it would remain he then said That is like the 5 daily prayers, with which Allah wipes out our sins. The last thing that Prophet Muhammad (saw) emphasized at his deathbed was salah. He also said the first thing we will have to answer about on the day of judgement is salah. If our record on salah is good then insha Allah the rest of our reckoning will be made easier. The importance of salah was emphasized in the Quran about 500 times, so all Muslims should be aware of how central salah is to our faith. Indeed, the Prophet (saw) said that Salah is the only distinction between a believer and a non-believer. (Muslim) So imagine of the status of that person who misses his prayer? What distinction does that person has from the non-believers? A companion of Prophet (saw) came to him one day and asked him What is the thing that Allah loves most? Muhammad (saw) replied The thing that Allah loves most is when his people pray salah on time. (Bukhari) Salah was the last will of the Prophet (saw). As his soul departed he said with his last breaths: As-Salah, As-Salah (the prayers, the prayers). Despite this, so many of us miss salah completely or do not make salah on time. There is no excuse for this. Alhamdulillah, we even have prayer rooms at our universities. Imagine how Allah, the most merciful, appreciates when his servant turns to Him in prayer, interrupting all worldly duties to do so. Whoever does salah, Allah makes his day easier and facilitates his needs in this world and also in the hereafter. Another habit Muslims should have is to make salah wherever they are. So even at work, or when we are out, we should not miss the salah. The ground in which we pray salah, even if in the streets, will be a witness for us in the day of judgement. The Prophet (saw) used to say that the salah was the light of his eyes. Once salah becomes regular in our lives we begin to understand the meaning of this saying of the Prophet (saw). Salah becomes such a basic part of our lives that we feel empty without praying to the extent that we find relief in salah. Finally, some of us may have missed salah in the past and may have not recovered those prayers thinking that missed prayers do not really matter. Salah becomes obligatory to all Muslims once they reach puberty. Therefore it is important that we calculate those prayers that we have missed and make up for them. For example: suppose you reached puberty at the age of 13 but did not pray until the age of 20 (and you are quite certain of this), then you have 7 years worth of salah to make up i.e. 4(5x7)=140 salah per month, 140x12=1680 salah per year, so over 7 years that is equal to 11,760 salah!

Salah Session 8 You can either: a) For the next 7 years pray such that when you pray Fajr you also pray qaza Fajr after and when you pray Zuhr you also pray qaza zuhr alongside it and so forth: Fajr + Qaza Fajr Zuhr + Qaza Zuhr Asr + Qaza Asr Magrib + Qaza Magrib Esha + Qaza Esha b) Allocate time (itikhaff, weekends etc.) to make up missed prayers. So every Saturday I will make up 3 days worth of missed prayers and the same on Sunday, so in one month I have made up 24 days of missed prayers = (4 Saturdays + 4 Sundays) x 6 days worth of missed prayers. In one year I will have made up 288 days worth of prayers. We will be accountable in the day of judgement for every prayer that we miss and there is a severe punishment for missing the salah. Unfortunately, many of us fail to pray Fajr and also Isha. Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, And if they only knew what was in the prayers of Isha and Fajr, they would come to them even if they had to crawl. (Bukhari/Muslim) Missing a prayer is a major sin. How can a Muslim differentiate between major and minor sins? What acts are regarded as sinful in Islam? In Islam, a sin is defined as any act which contradicts the commandments or Will of Allah. Some sins are regarded as major, while others are considered minor. Major Sins in Islam. Scholars define major sins as acts which are expressly forbidden in the Qur'an or by the Prophet (peace be upon him). The list of major sins includes (but is not limited to) the following acts:

Worshiping others, or associating partners with Allah (shirk) Believing in superstition, fortune telling and astrology Committing murder/suicide Bearing false witness Cheating, stealing, and lying Charging or paying interest or usury (riba) Not fasting for Ramadan/Not paying zakat (annual charity) Not observing daily prayers Oppression and unjust leadership Backbiting and slandering Breaking the ties of kinship Disobeying or not honouring one's parents

Minor Sins in Islam. Minor sins are acts which are displeasing to Allah but for which no specific punishment or severe warning has been issued. In this case, a Muslim's conscience and heart help him to know that an act is sinful. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and which you do not want people to know about." (Muslim). Minor sins are not, however, to be taken lightly, as disobeying Allah is always a serious matter. Allah says: You counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great. (Qur'an 24:15). Minor sins can easily lead someone to commit a major sin, and repeatedly committing a minor sin will change its status to that of a major sin. Furthermore, habitual sinning causes a Muslim to lose faith and disregard the commandments of Allah. In the Qur'an, 4

Salah Session 8 Allah says: Nay, their hearts have been sealed by the sins they have accumulated. (Qur'an 83:14). Forgiveness and Expiation in Islam. Scholars agree that while good deeds and extra acts of worship help expiate minor sins, they won't compensate for major sins. Instead, a Muslim must make sincere repentance for major sins by showing genuine remorse, praying for Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness, and avoiding that sin in the future. Only a person who avoids major sins will have good deeds such as charity, praying, or fasting accepted as expiation for minor sins. Allah says: If you shun the great sins which you are forbidden, We will do away with your small sins and cause you to enter an honourable place of entering. (Qur'an 4: 31). So when you hear or read that such and such a dua or prayer will get rid of all your sins, this means minor sins only. Why is this important? Imagine committing a major sin not once every day but 5 times a day. Tasks

Task 1: As a group list reasons why you think we miss prayers or do not perform them at all. Work, school, sixth from, college or university. Laziness, ignorance, missed one so might as well miss all. Watching TV, using the internet. Children or other duties. Parties/functions/weddings. Being out. Illness. Inappropriate clothing, wearing makeup. In the state of janabah or just finished menstruation. No place to pray. Feeling uncomfortable. Other barriers- need to educate workplaces and provide guidance on improving E&D.

Task 2: separate into two groups: Come up with solutions.

Salah Session 8 Prayer times: Allah swt, out of His divine wisdom, created this life as a constant stream of changing states, altering conditions and varying environments. One of the wisdoms is that it creates a drive in the heart of a believer to worship Allah at certain times over others. If life was merely a monotonous and unchanging process it would not motivate us to connect with our Creator in worship. In the northern hemisphere the times of prayer change considerably during the winter months. The daylight hours in many European countries become increasingly short with prayers times squeezed closer together. During the shortest days in the UK the zuhr, asr and maghrib prayers must all be performed within a space of four hours. The importance of salah can never be overstated; the Prophet (saw) informed us that the criterion between Muslims and non-Muslims is prayer. Indeed his parting advice before he left this world was to warn us against missing our prayers. Performing prayer at its allocated time is one of the most important pre-requisites of salah, a fact which is based on the verse, Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours. We find that many people justify delaying prayers by claiming that they were unable to find either a place to perform ablution or a clean place where they could pray. In response to this it must be said that such claims are at best an exaggerated evaluation of the situation. By exerting effort, a person can find various avenues to perform his/her salah. Allah says, And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out from every difficulty in addition he says On no soul does Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear (2:286). Solutions: The solutions are somewhat generic but we have tried to cover as many scenarios as possible. Schedule: Schedule your day around your Salah, not the other way round. You should even plan for your salah once you leave home as this is a plan for your success in both abodes. Allah says, Successful indeed are the believers. Those who offer their salah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness. Whether its outlook, Phone, Gmail calendar, or Taskinator whatever you use, mark your Salah times in first. This way, you know you have to complete a piece of work or a meeting before the Salah, or schedule it after the Salah. Keep a prayer timetable at your desk or workplace, if it helps. Schedule prayer times for breaks/lunch breaks, in between classes or lectures. In some cases its easy to walk out of long lectures for 5-10 minutes to complete your prayer or they may even give you a 10 minute break, use that time. For those of you in sixth form or college use free periods or gaps between classes. For those of you who work, use lunch breaks for Zuhr prayers. In the winter time see if you can take two hour lunch breaks instead of one 1 hour lunch break to fit in Asr. It may also mean that you have to pray Maghrib straight after work and then head home. The earliest Esha start is 5.25pm in December (you may choose to get consent for holiday during December/January since in these months the prayers are much closer together). For those of you who dont get a break ask if you can still pray and the time be made up by starting earlier or finishing later. For those of you in school i.e. compulsory education, use your lunch break for Zuhr, in the winter you may need to pray Asr straight after school and then head home. Earliest Maghrib start time is 3.48pm in December.

Salah Session 8 Pray together: If you are on campus, gather the sisters and pray together. Friends, who remind you in goodness, are the truest of your friends. Have a group of friends that remind each other to pray and pray together. The Prophet (saw) said, Salah in congregation is twenty-seven times more meritorious than a Salah performed individually. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].If there are other Muslim colleagues where you work, pair up with them. Be in the state of Wudu: Sometimes you delay your Salah because you need to perform Wudu. Try to be in the state of wudu all the time. This way, whenever it is time for salah you are prepared. Always leave the house having performed wudu. But I farted: joke...what if you break your wudu or you need to renew your wudu? If youre fortunate enough to have wudu facilities in your workplace or at university, college etc. then this is not a problem. For those of you who dont: If there any disabled toilets with low sinks than you're quite set as far as wudhu is concerned. Otherwise choose the most low traffic restroom at the most low traffic time. Keep a napkin on the side, so when you wash a limb, wipe the water from the area around the sink to keep it clean. Have water in a bottle ready and go inside one of the toilets. Take your shoes/socks off and pour water on your feet by keeping them above the toilet seat. Just make sure nothing splashes, etc. So that should take care of the wudhu without you having to put your feet in the sink. Or you can make use of leather socks; if you break your wudu you neednt wash your feet again but simply masah (wipe) wet hands over them. Space: Another assumption is that many Muslims think that they can only pray in a mosque or on a prayer mat. In fact, Islam is very unique in allowing prayer anywhere on earth except in a graveyard, a toilet and before an idol. One can pray anywhere (provided you are not causing harm to anyone or obstructing anyone, this is impermissible), even if they are unsure of its purity from najasah. As a basic principle, if one does not see or smell najasah, they should treat the place as if it is pure. This is because the Prophet (saw) rejoiced at the fact that Allah swt had made the entire earth pure for prayer and so the default ruling is that all places are pure for prayer unless we find traces of najasah present. Therefore, if you are afraid that the salah time might expire, you must pray in any place possible. Any small corner will do, it doesnt matter if youre out in a restaurant or in town, accept as true that there is always a fairly private space you can use, be more open minded and creative and youll observe this. Also if youre close to the UCS west building you can use the chaplaincy room to pray, they are more than happy to let you in. At work or school etc use any empty room or quiet space available. Carry a prayer rug and compass in your handbag or get the app for it on your phone. There is always a room somewhere not in use, whether its a classroom at school or an empty conference room in the office. One doubts that those in chief will object in you using it for 10 minutes. Non-muslims are surprisingly accommodating in this respect, just politely ask, they rarely refuse. If ever you find yourself in a place where you cannot stand up or move through the motions of prayer properly, then he/she must still pray on time according to his/her utmost ability, even if certain motions are not fulfilled properly. A typical example is praying on a plane or bus where it is not viable that a person stop for performing prayer within its given time. Parties/functions/weddings: if these are Islamic functions or weddings then there is absolutely no excuse to not perform your salah within the specified times. The organisers of such events should have provided space for salah, if not find a space and use it. Other Muslims should not see this as odd but instead should be accommodating of this. If your garments and makeup is what concerns you than be sure to perform wudu before you get ready and your 7

Salah Session 8 clothes should be salah appropriate always, not just for salah. As far as weddings are concerned, how blessed is a marriage where salah is abandoned during the wedding ceremony, food for thought. If the norm is to not pray at such occasions then its up to us to amend that, right? I feel uncomfortable: sure it may feel strange to pray in front of others or somewhere that you may be visible to others. But always remember the hadith: Ab Hurayrah relates that the Prophet (saw) said: Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers.. [Sahh Muslim]. At first it feels strange but over time you rise above that feeling and those around you become accustomed to it. Indeed when those around you see you pray they no longer perceive it as something bizarre and offbeat but quite peaceful and pleasant. And the common question of oh how do you manage to pray five times a day?, well this is how. Your prayers may even act as a form of dawah, subhanaAllah. Laziness, ignorance, missed one so might as well miss all: This laziness is shaytan's whisper. What you need to do is try hard to fight your laziness, easier said than done we know. Ironically, one way to combat laziness is to get more sleep. Many people are perpetually sleep deprived, since they stay up too late to unwind and get up too early to prepare for work. Sleep-deprived people are prone to expend all of their energy at work and have little motivation once they arrive home. Another way to fight laziness is to change your mindset from passive to active. Take a more proactive approach, view each salah on its own and complete it instead of viewing all five at once. Persuade yourself that it is only five minutes and let those around you know of your weakness so that they can remind or push you to get up and pray! And missing five is a lot worse than missing one undoubtedly, but if you miss one surely you should you use the next salah to repent for that. Just finished menstruation or in the state of janabah: getting back into the routine of praying again after your period has ended maybe difficult for some sisters. For those of you who do find it tricky getting back into the routine its probably best not to get out of the routine in the first place. What we mean by that is that even though you are on your period continue to do wudu as you would normally and lay out your prayer mat and just sit there, but do dhikr instead(which is permissible) for five minutes or so. This way you are still in this habit of devoting a bit of time to the remembrance of Allah swt, five times a day. With regards to being in the state of janabah, the manner of performing the ghusl to cleanse yourself is not difficult, in fact it is actually a lot easier than we think. It is again the tricks that the Shaytaan plays on people that lead us to believe its too much of an effort. Cleansing yourself Islamically is not the same as the normal shower or bath routine we have. First you simply wash the private area, make the niyaat (intention) and do wudhu (excluding feet). Get into your shower now if you havent already done so and wash the body in three stages: 1. Wash the head down to the neck; comb the hair with your fingers. 2. Wash the right side of your body from the shoulders down to the feet; 3 times 3. Wash the left side of your body from the shoulders down to the feet; 3 times. Finish by washing your feet 3 times (because we did not include it in the wudu). This would perhaps take only ten minutes, but its up to you if you want to use shampoo to clean your hair or scrub your body with soap though its definitely not a requirement here. Illness: Allah swt out of his mercy has made the salah of the sick or ill easier and we have the option of shortening our prayers to the bare minimum of fard only. What more must we ask for? Illness is not an excuse for missing prayers, in fact; surely we should look to our prayers to ask Allah to return us back to good health. If you cannot stand then sit, pray in the condition your health permits you to. If you cannot move your limbs, use your head and if you cant even do that use your eyes. Thats the significance of prayers. If you have a cold or flu, yes you may be

Salah Session 8 tired and poorly but try to at least perform the fard elements and try to keep your wudu so you dont have to keep performing it. Makeup: the most appropriate solutions that come to mind is to perform wudu before you apply makeup, if your wudu breaks keep face wipes and your make up handy with you in your bag. Try getting into the habit of applying light, natural makeup to lessen the time and burden of having to re-apply. Watching TV, on the internet: In general try to cut down on the amount of TV you watch and the time you spend browsing the internet, since these things, essentially are just a waste of time. Ibn Al Qayyim says: "Wasting time is worse than death because death separates you from this world whereas wasting time separates you from Allah". Just as in the case of laziness this is something youre just going to have to programme yourself to do. The only practical solution that I can recommend is the one that worked for me, that is to only watch the programmes I like and to watch them on iplayer, itvplayer, 4ondemand, YouTube etc. This is because if I sit in front of the TV to watch a programme I will simply switch to another cannel once its finished only to watch something else! When I merely stick to the programmes I like, I end up simply watching them and nothing more, so overall the time I spend in front of a TV is dramatically reduced. Now and then I switch on the TV to watch the news. The internet however....Ill get back to you on that one. If youre on iplayer for example, youre on the internet, so naturally you end up browsing, catch-22 situation I know. Children or other duties: although children are not obliged to pray until they reach puberty, it is highly recommended that you get them into the practice of praying as soon as possible. This has many benefits, one being that they will pray alongside you. At the time of prayer, give them something to do (if they are toddlers) and pray beside them; or lay them beside you when you are praying. If you worry about your child or children getting hurt whilst you pray, bear in mind that it is permissible and even NECESSARY to break your salah in the case of saving a life or preventing injury to others, including YOUR child. As an example if your kid's about to stick her tongue into an electric socket, BREAK YOUR SALAH! Furthermore if its the safety of your child/children that worries you, be sure to act upon your salah and ask Allah swt to keep your child/children safe always. Other duties: it goes without saying that your duty towards Allah swt surpasses all other duties however in terms of practical solutions we refer back to our first point, schedule. Schedule household duties if thats what it takes to perform your prayers on time, so be it. Have an early bedtime and early wake up time to fit in as many chores before zhur. Prophet Muhammad (saw) encouraged his companions not to be involved in any activity after Isha prayer. The Prophet (saw) said, One should not sleep before the night prayer, nor have discussions after it. The Prophet (saw) did not sleep after Fajr prayer. In addition, the Prophet (saw) told his companions that early morning work is blessed by Allah. Other barriers- need to educate workplaces and provide guidance on improving E&D: liaise with your local masjid, the Bangladeshi support centre, ISMC, Jimas, Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality, the Ipswich Hospital Equality & Diversity group, Centre for Equality & Diversity at Suffolk New College.... all these organisations are here to help, voice your concerns and suggestions to them. If we dont speak up then any chances of change are slim, like they say if you dont ask you dont get. The article below, written by Asma bint Shameem, was taken from the Farhat Hashmis website1 and covers some of the things we discussed. Maybe worth a read...

http://www.farhathashmi.com/dn/ExcuseForSalah/tabid/619/Default.aspx

Salah Session 8

So WHAT'S Your Excuse for Salah? By Asma bint Shameem Prayer (Salaah) is one of the most important pillars of Islam, second only to the Shahaadah. It is also an individual obligation on each and every one of us. The Ulama say that whoever does not do it because he denies that it is obligatory or he does not do it because he is lazy and heedless, is a kaafir. Yet, there are innumerable excuses we come up with, to not pray, either on time or not pray at all. Some of the most common excuses are: Excuse #1: Allah is al-Ghafoor ar-Raheem. He will forgive me. Reply: Yes, surely Allah is al-Ghafoor ar-Raheem but, did you forget, O Muslim, that He also said that He is ash-Shadeed ul-Iqaab (severe in punishment). "And fear Allah much and know that Allah is Severe in punishment." (Surah al-Baqarah: 196). And the Prophet (saw) said: "The covenant that stands between us and them (non-Muslims) is prayer; whoever gives up prayer is a kaafir." (Tirmidhi, al-Nasaa'i, Ibn Maajah--saheeh). Excuse #2: I know I have to pray, but I am too tired/lazy. Reply: Praying Salaah at its proper appointed times is an obligation on every single person. Whoever deliberately misses a prayer exposes himself to the wrath of Allah, and the wise believer does not do something which he knows could result in punishment. Just look at what the people of Hell will say when asked: "What has caused you to enter Hell?" They will say: "We were not among those who prayed (Salaah)."[Surah alMuddaththir: 42-43]. The Prophet (saw) said: "Between a man and kufr and shirk, there stands his giving up of prayer" (Muslim). Ibn Mas'ood said: "No one keeps away from the prayer except a hypocrite who is known for his hypocrisy." (Muslim) Excuse #3: I am SO busy at work, I don't have time to pray. Reply: So you mean to tell me that you can't take out even a few minutes out of the whole 24 hours to worship the very One Who created you in the first place?? You mean you don't have time to thank the Lord of the worlds for everything He's given you.....ALL His blessings?? What kind of ungrateful soul are you??!! And if He wanted to take all these blessings away from you, is there anything, anything you could do?!! "Men whom neither trade nor business diverts from the remembrance of Allaah nor from performing As-Salaat nor from giving Zakaat; they fear a Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned (out of the horror of the torment of the Day of Resurrection).That Allaah may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and add even more for them out of His Grace. And Allaah provides without measure to whom He wills." [Surah al-Noor: 37-38] Excuse #4: I pray; I just delay it until it is convenient for me or I pray it Qadaa. Reply: You should understand that delaying prayer beyond the time when it is due is a major sin, because Allah says: "Verily, As-Salaah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours." [Surah al-Nisa':103]. And Allah says:"So woe unto those performers of Salaah (prayers). Those who delay their Salaah (prayer from their stated fixed times)." [Surah alMaa'oon :4,5]

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Excuse #5: I pray the 4 prayers. I only miss Fajr because I have to do Ghusl. Reply: Allah has enjoined upon you and me the FIVE prayers, NOT FOUR. How can a Muslim willingly expose himself to the wrath of Allah and His punishment, just because he finds it difficult to do ghusl? In fact, it is NOT difficult to do ghusl, it is VERY easy, apart from the tricks that the Shaytaan tries to play on people. Allah is talking to you and me when He says: "Enter completely in Islam (by obeying all the rules and regulations of the Islamic religion)." [Baqarah :208]. "Successful indeed are the believers. Those who offer their Salaat with all solemnity and full submissiveness...' [al-Mu'minoon:12] "And those who strictly guard their (five compulsory) Salawaat (at their fixed stated hours)." [al-Mu'minoon 23:9] Excuse #6: My position/boss/studies/does not allow me. Reply: Remember that the Prophet (pbuh) mentioned prayer one day and said: "Whoever observes it regularly, it will be light and a proof and salvation on the Day of Resurrection, and whoever does not observe it regularly, it will not be a light or a proof or salvation for him, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be with Qaroon, Fir'aun, Hamaan and Ubayy ibn Khalaf." (Ahmad). Ibn al-Qayyim said: These four people are mentioned because they are the leaders of kufr. This makes an important point about the one who does not observe regular prayer, whether that is because he is distracted by his wealth, his power, his position of leadership or his business. The one who is distracted from it by his wealth will be with Qaroon; the one who is distracted by his power will be with Fir'aun; the one who is distracted by his position of leadership will be with Hamaan and the one who is distracted by his business will be with Ubayy ibn Khalaf." Excuse #7: If I pray, I will be fired from my job! Reply: Remember that it is not your boss, but Allah that provides RIZQ for you and me. If this job is keeping you away from the most important duty as a Muslim, is this job really worth it? And whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him with something better than that."And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things." [Talaaq:2-3] Excuse #8: I want to pray but my children are so young I can't leave them and pray Reply: "O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the LOSERS." (Surah alMunaafiqoon:9) Excuse #9: I can't pray at my job/school/public place. I am too embarrassed /they will think I am a TERRORIST! Reply: How can a Muslim feel embarrassed about proclaiming the truth and worshipping his Lord openly, hastening to fulfil the command of Allah at the time when Allah has said it is to be done? Also, if you uphold your duty to pray, Allah will never let you down. He is the one to protect you and save you from all harm, no matter what anyone tries to plot against you. Remember that the one who is protected by Allah, NO ONE CAN HARM. "Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer11

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verily, to him We will give a good life, and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do." [Surah al-Nahl:97] Excuse #10: If I pray, people will think that I show off. So I don't pray. Reply: Just as the Shaytaan comes to the Muslim to make him admire his actions and show off to people, sometimes he uses the opposite trick and makes a person think that he is showing off while fulfilling his religious obligations, so that he will not do it. So just ignore these whisperings from the Shaytaan and don't let him keep you away from this major Ibadah. DO NOT let him win. Ibraaheem al-Nakhaa'i said: "If the Shaytaan comes to you when you are praying and says, 'You are showing off', then you should make it even longer...""And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytaan, then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-Hearer, All-Knower." [Surah al-Aa'raaf:200] Excuse #11: I have made/am making so many mistakes in my life, it is no use for me to pray. Allah will never forgive me. Reply: Now, this is another one of the tricks of Shaytaan. He does not want you to do Tawbah, because he knows, if you sincerely repent to Allah for ALL that you have done, Allah WILL FORGIVE YOU. Allah encourages us to do tauba when He said: "Say: 'O My slaves, who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is OftForgiving, Most Merciful." [Surah al-Zumar:53] Subhaan Allaah! How Forgiving is our Rabb and how Merciful! Isn't this Ayah enough, even for the worst of sinners among us? And remember, doing good deeds wipes out minor sins. "And perform As-Salaah, at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory prayers]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds." [Surah Hood:114] Excuse #12: I don't pray, but I have a good heart. I am a good person and I never hurt anyone. Reply: The Prophet (saw) said: "The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad." (Tabarani). So no matter what good deeds you did in this dunya, if you didn't pray, nothing will count or even be accepted.....no zakaah, no fasting, no Hajj, no nothing. "Whoever does not pray 'Asr, his good deeds will be annulled." (Bukhaari). Excuse #13: But, I pray every Jumuah. Isn't that enough? Reply: With regard to the ruling on one who prays Jumu'ah only, some of the scholars are of the view that one who prays Jumu'ah only is a kaafir, because he comes under the same ruling as one who does not pray at all, because he prays only one of the thirty-five prayers required each week, so he is like one who does not pray at all. (Fatawa Shaykh ibn Baaz and Ibn Uthaymeen). Some scholars said that he is not a kaafir but he is committing a great sin that is worse than riba (usury), adultery, stealing, drinking alcohol etc. Excuse #14: My spouse/parents don't pray. Why should I?? Reply: Just because your family does something sinful, does not mean that you do the same. Remember, they will NOT be there to save you when Allah will ask YOU about
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YOUR Salaah. In fact, your duty is to call them to Allah by advising them and setting a good example for them to follow. "And enjoin al-Salaah on your family, and be patient in offering them [the prayers]. We ask not of you a provision; We provide for you. And the good end (Paradise) is for the muttaqoon (pious)." [Ta-Ha:132] Excuse #15: I will pray when I am older/after Hajj/ Ramadhan. Reply: Do you want to be from these people that Allaah is talking about?? "Then, there has succeeded them a generation who have given up As-Salaah and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell." [Maryam:59] And, how do you know you will live to be older? Or live until Hajj or Ramadhaan?? What if you die tomorrow?? What if it was today??? CONCLUSION: There can be no excuses as far as Salaah is concerned. We have to pray all the five prayers and all of them on time. "O you who believe! Fear Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds)." [al-Tawbah:119]."Guard strictly the (five obligatory) prayers, especially the middle Salaat (Asr). And stand before Allah with obedience." [Surah al-Baqarah 2:238]
Just to reiterate, the above article is from the Farhat Hashmi website and are not our own words.

It is imperative that we do not give in to our desires and stay away from the transgression of missing prayers. Please share this with your friends inshaAllah. The importance of PRAYER cannot be stressed enough! May Allah Taala guide all Muslims to guard their prayers. May Allah strengthen our determination and steadfastness in performing our salah and may we grow closer to our Creator through salah. Ameen.

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