Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX | Part XXI | Part XXII | Part XXIII | Part XXIV | Part XXV | Part XXVI | Part XXVII | Part XXVIII

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

All praise and thanks be to God, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of Prophets and Messengers.

A while ago, a show aired in Arabic called “كيف تتلذذ بالصلاة؟” which means “How can you taste the sweetness of prayer?” by a young Kuwaiti da’iya named Mishary Al-Kharaz. For many of us, our khushoo’ in our prayer fluctuates. What is khushoo’? It is a state of mind that contains serenity, tranquility, dignity and humility during prayer, which springs from one’s heart standing in front of Allah in humility and submission. Sometimes in prayer we have so much devotion and can feel every word; yet at other times it’s all about the ritual movements and nothing more. Insha’Allah (God willing), I will try to summarize the main points of this show every week.

The Story of the Ansari and the Muhajir

In the sunan of Abu Dawud, it is narrated with a hasan (good) chain that in one of the battles, the Prophet ﷺ appointed two guards, one from the Muhajiroon and one from the Ansar. At one point, the Ansari got up to pray while the man from the Muhajiroon reclined in order to have a nap. A man from the mushrikeen (disbelievers) who was close by saw this, and fired a small arrow at the Ansari who was praying. It hit him, but the Ansari, with some difficulty, removed the arrow and continued praying as the blood seeped from him. The mushrik, upon seeing this, fired another arrow. The Ansari was able to remove it also and continued praying. However, the Ansari could not stand the pain of the third arrow and fell into rukoo’ (bowing) and sujood (prostration), and this is when the man of the Muhajiroon woke up, seeing his friend seeping with blood. Upon seeing this, the mushrik fled. “SubhanAllah! (Glory be to Allah!) Why didn’t you alert me when he first hit you?!” the Muhajir exclaimed. The reply of the Ansari was, “I was reciting a surah (chapter of the Qur’an) that I love, and I did not like to cut it off.” Allahu Akbar (Allah is great!) Imagine this person’s state in the salah (prayer).

The Sweetness of Prayer

The prayer is one of the most beautiful acts of worship. When one does his tasleem ((“Tasleem” is saying assalamu alaykum wa rahtmatullah (may peace and mercy be upon you) signifying the end of the prayer.)) to end the prayer, there is a certain sense of serenity. Ibn Al-Jawzi said about the prayer:

“We are in a garden, where our food is khushoo’ (devotion), and our drink is the tears that flow.”

For a person who has true devotion in his salah, his soul is not even with him; as Ibn Taymiyya said, his soul is actually circling the Throne of Allah.

One could say that those were the people of old. No one feels this way anymore. But this isn’t true; one only has to realize the importance of prayer, and unlock the secrets of khushoo’ to taste this unique sweetness. Then the prayer becomes your refuge; the remover of your distress; something that you look forward to; and something that you wish would never end.

Let us begin to unlock these secrets and truly connect to our Lord when we pray.

Step One

The first step is that we have to change our understanding of khushoo’. Having khushoo’ doesn’t just mean that you are concentrating and you are not distracted. Having a present heart is only the first level of khushoo’. It is as though you have just entered through the door, and now you have the whole house to explore. There are depths and depths to khushoo’.

Some may say that having a present heart is hard enough. Before coming to the prayer, we need to put it into perspective. Say we spend ten minutes in each prayer. That equals fifty minutes a day, so not even one hour. The rest of the twenty-three hours are for our dunya (this world). Can we give these fifty minutes solely for Allah, or do we have to turn them into dunya as well?

Think of this before you start your prayer, so that your nafs (self) doesn’t tell you that it is too hard to concentrate—because you can do it. Remember that the sweetness of being in front of Allah far supersedes the sweetness of whatever dunya distracts you.

Greater Depth

There is a greater depth, and that is understanding. Truly understanding what you are reciting, and contemplating it. On the show, Mishary Al-Kharaz stated: “Let me introduce you to one of your biggest competitors in the salah.” Do you know who he introduced?

One of the pillars in the masjid. Yes, the actual physical pillar. Any pillar, whether you are at home, work, or the masjid, is your competition. Why?

Because if you stand in prayer, it stands longer. When you are in your sujood, it is in sujood longer. You do your tasbeeh, it does its tasbeeh for longer. How? Allah says in the Qur’an:

“…And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of ] exalting,” (Qur’an, 17:44).

And:

“Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified.” (Qur’an, 22:18).

“But I read the Qur’an!” we say. You are not the only one that reads Qur’an.

Yet, if you ask the pillar, or the parrot, what they understood, they would not be able to respond. So we need to ask ourselves—are we any better? What does it mean when we say “sami’a Allahu liman hamida“? What about the tahiyyat? ((“Tahiyyat” are the salutations which we say after the two prostrations in the second and last rak`ah.)) Not the generic meaning, but the specific meaning. Insha’Allah throughout this series we will understand these meanings so that we can attain this level of khushoo’.

One last thing…

Do not say, “But I can’t!” How can Allah ask you to have khushoo’ in salah and then make it impossible for you? Even if Arabic isn’t your first language—did Allah not know that Islam would spread far and wide? A’udhubillah (I seek refuge in Allah) from any such thought.

So remember that you can. Strive, and you will achieve it insha’Allah (Allah willing). Remember that Allah is Generous, more Generous than we can even imagine. If you take one step towards Him, He is the One that comes to you at speed. Allah says:

“And those who strive for Us— We will surely guide them to Our ways.” (Qur’an, 29:69).

So bismillah (in the name of Allah), and insha’Allah let us pray that by the end of it, we all have much more khushoo’ than we used to.

— Sahih Muslim, a beautiful statement of `Umar, approved by the Prophet

Islam is a perfect religion, taught by the most perfect man, revealed by the One Who is Perfect in all ways knowable and unknowable.

This needs to be acknowledged. Drilled into our hearts and minds. Become the foundation of our worldview. The cleansing light of this statement of ‘Umar needs to burn through all the cultural disappointments, alterations, the depressing social media posts, the insecurity, the desire to fit in, belong, and assimilate. The desire to feel comfortable. The disappointment with our cultures, our upbringings, our childhood experiences. The disappointment with our masjid boards.

We carry a message that was sent from the highest realms of existence, carried by the Chief Archangel of God, to the most perfect of human beings, passing through galaxy cluster upon galaxy cluster. Billions of years ago, the trajectories of comets and meteors were precisely calculated and set in motion in order to be in the exact place and exact time to pelt any spirit that might try to eavesdrop on the heavenly revelation as it descended, lest pieces of it end up whispered to some fortune-teller, who would claim that he too was receiving revelation.

Your spiritual and doctrinal ancestors raised a civilization which had a unique achievement unmatched in human history—the parallel development of the natural and the sacred sciences in societies that saw them as complementary. Discovering the world’s physical reality inspired by Revelation’s metaphysical reality.

The Egyptians built the Pyramids before you. The followers of other traditions went to the Moon before you. But only you have a Prophet who stood before the Lote-Tree, bordering the realm of physical existence on The Night Journey, brought back five prayers, and told you: “The salah ((prayer)) is the mi`raj ((ascension)) of the Believer.” Revel in this. Be proud. Then prostrate.

#NoMoreMuslimInsecurity

Photo: Ares Nguyen

by Hiba Khan

I am easily distracted. This trait was a hindrance throughout my academic studies, but no doubt the area in which it is most detrimental is my worship. My daily prayers are plagued by thoughts that creep into my consciousness and silently grip my mind and heart, steering them away from Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He). Be it the pattern on my prayer mat or a task I have to do, there is always something diverting me from the most important moments of my day.

I write this as a reminder to myself, on attempting to rescue my salah (ritual prayers), a most exquisite and sublime gift from Allah (swt). A nourishment, rejuvenation and refocusing for our souls, and the first thing we will be asked about on the Day of Judgement. These windows of tranquillity have the potential to adorn our days and sustain, protect and fill our hearts amidst the transient whirlwind that is this world. We hear of people finishing one salah only to look forward to the next one, so why does prayer feel so heavy, ritualised and burdensome for so many of us? With each rising sun we witness comes a new God-given opportunity to reform our existence, to attain that contentment that every soul in this world is yearning. Don’t let another golden moment slip by. I pray He allows us to rescue our salah and fall in love with it until we enter Jannah (eternal Paradise).

The first step to take is to correct our mindset. A simple realignment of perspective is all it takes. You are not in control of anything. Your job, your happiness, your health, your family, your movements—you are not even in control of the simplest of bodily functions. He is. The beating of your heart, how people behave towards you, what you achieve—everything is from Him. He knows what is in your past and what is in your future. All honour, respect and sustenance are from Him. You are deaf, dumb and blind without Him and His provision and guidance. Everything around you is temporary, flawed and changing, but your soul is eternal, and does not belong here. One day it will all crumble and perish; only He will remain. Turn yourself away from the world and towards Him, close your eyes to the creation and open your heart to the Creator.  He has ordered us to prostrate to Him as a mercy only to us; each prayer is an opportunity to be forgiven.

Abu Dharr radi Allahu `anhu (may God be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ

said: “Allah faces the slave while he is in the salah and keeps facing him as long as he does not turn. If [the slave] turns, [Allah] turns away from him.” – Abu Dawud [Saheeh Hadith]

Reflect on the sheer weight of this hadith. The Lord of the Worlds, who is aware of and sustaining every cell in every human, animal and bacteria, from the beginning of time to the end, is facing YOU. Listening to you, waiting for you to call, looking to forgive and to grant you more. You have His full attention until YOU lose focus.

The light in your life is proportional to the light that Allah (swt) bestows on you. You will only be content and at peace if He illuminates your existence. Your circumstances may appear perfect, but you will be restless and unhappy if He withholds His light. Once we truly comprehend this principle and realise we are nothing, while He is everything, insha’Allah (God willing) we can worship like we were made to.

Doing the following may help increase khushu` (a state of humility and reverence):

• Remember death. Imagine the angel of death ready to take your soul. Pray like it is your last.
• Picture yourself standing before Allah (swt), and know that He is facing you, hearing and seeing you.
• Understand what you are saying by understand the Arabic and studying the tafseer (exegesis) of whatever you recite.
• Speak and move at a measured pace. Try to recite melodiously.
• Pray on time, and make the sincere intention to never miss a prayer.
• Minimise internal distractions by building your connection with Him throughout the day and taking a few moments before each prayer to regain perspective.
• Minimise external distractions by finding a suitable setting when possible.
• Make du`a’ (supplication) in your own language while in sujood (prostration) and after each salah. What better time to beg Allah (swt) for what you are in need of?

Make the intention right now to rescue your salah and unlock the treasures of tranquillity, nearness and purpose. Embellish your path with prayer, and know that you will thank yourself on the Last Day, when there will be no doubt that a mere two rak`ahs (units) of prayer are worth more than the entire world and all it contains.

The Lord of the Heavens and the Earth awaits you.

“Come to prayer; come to success.” – Adhan (call to prayer)

The Qur’an Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX

Originally posted in August 2012

During Ramadan, many of us attend taraweeh (night prayers) at the masjid. Some of us stay until the Imam leads us in witr (a final supplementary prayer). For many of us, this can amount to over two hours of prayer time and for many of us, we understand almost nothing.

Sometimes, during the recitation of the Qur’an we hear the people around us crying profusely and we wish we could understand what could be so powerful that those around us are reduced to such tears. We can sometimes make out a specific word, but within a moment, we are back to indistinguishable meanings and simply wishing we knew what was going on.

I used to have no idea what was going on in the prayer. I remember standing for lengthy time periods behind the Imam, trying to make my mind focus but finding it constantly drift off; it’s very, very hard to concentrate when the mind has nothing to contextualize. I eventually would settle on trying to think of anything for which I could possibly be grateful. But taraweeh prayers are long; without understanding, my heart would simply get bored and my limbs would always fidget. Thoughts of my day, my concerns, my hopes and my food cravings after a day of fasting would all filter through my conscious while I shifted around. It’s hard to keep still for that long when one is mentally checked out and physically disengaged.

However, Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala  (exalted is He) guided me to an action which changed my life and revolutionized my prayer and du`a (supplication) experience ever since. It’s simple, but it takes long-term dedication. The results, for me, were powerful and transformational. The common-sense solution that worked miracles in my life by Allah’s blessings: reading a translation.

Every single day, for a number of years, I would sit and read five pages of the Qur’an in the English translation. I would do this while both reciting and listening to the Arabic recitation, allowing my ears to become accustomed to the Arabic words associated with the English.

After a few months of this practice, the first Ramadan came. In my hometown masjid, the Imam would lead twenty rakahs (units of prayer). So I would pray eight rakahs and then sit in the back and read the translation of the verses for the next twelve. I continued this throughout Ramadan and was extremely consistent with this practice for the next year. Soon, my awareness of Arabic words increased; I realized that the Qur’an uses many of the same words over and over and I was able to recognize them. I was also becoming more familiar with the surahs (chapters); I had an introductory understanding of what themes were being discussed in certain portions of the Qur’an due to keywords and a general awareness of what the surah entailed.

By the second Ramadan, I was praying with purpose. While I still had no idea what every word meant, I had begun to comprehend general meanings of many of the chapters and I was able to grasp the overarching messages of some of the verses. I kept up my practice of praying eight and reading the translation. I even had a few emotional moments. I started looking forward to certain verses that were my favorites. I was finally beginning to understand and I was actually enjoying it; the sweetness of the Qur’an had penetrated my heart and taken hold of my body. Praying taraweeh in Ramadan became a means of nourishment for my soul and tranquility for my limbs.

I also began memorizing the Qur’an and the more I memorized, the more my vocabulary expanded. After four years of reading the translation consistently and memorizing the Qur`an, I was enthralled with the idea of praying for hours behind the Imam. I could not wait for Ramadan; all year I waited for the last ten nights specifically, when the Imam would recite the Qur’an for an even longer period of time. My character, my life’s purpose, my Ramadan experience completely changed because I finally grasped a general understanding of the Qur’an.

Six years after I began reading the translation consistently and memorizing portions of the Qur’an, I moved to Egypt to learn Arabic. When I started, I took a practice test and was placed in an intermediary level. However, when I met my teacher for the first time, barely able to communicate a few sentences, she was shocked. “Your vocabulary is so expansive,” she told me, “but you clearly are a beginner!” Needless to say, I was re-placed as a beginner. Throughout our lessons, my Arabic teacher would express her surprise at my ability to understand certain words in depth simply because they appeared in the Qur’an, while others I struggled with at great lengths. Eventually, she told me that my Qur’anic preparation was what helped me actually grasp the language and is what had originally placed me at a level far higher than I really was.

Focusing on learning Arabic in Egypt, even at a basic level, allowed me to come to appreciate the incredible linguistic miracles of the Qur’an. The grammar, the syntax, the rhetoric, use of specific words—an appreciation for the deeper linguistic mechanisms did not happen simply because I had read the translation for an extended period of time. However, by Allah’s blessings, my self-training had laid the groundwork and with it, I was able to appreciate the Qur`an, prayer, and du`a’ at levels far beyond what I had even imagined before making the commitment to seek understanding.

The lesson in this personal experience is that taking time to learn Arabic as a language, studying the grammar, syntax and rhetoric are very important, but not absolutely necessary for a meaningful relationship with understanding the messages of the Qur’an.  Studying Arabic can help create a more cumulative appreciation of the mind-blowing power of the Qur’an, but none of us needs to grasp onto a future hope or past failed attempts of being fluent in Arabic in order to emotionally and intellectually become attached to the Qur’an. Such a relationship can begin simply by dedicating oneself to understanding the general translation of the words of the Qur’an in our native languages, and that can take place at any place and time. It is one that requires commitment and time, but if a person is serious and dedicated, God willing, they will eventually see the benefits of their toil and they will begin to understand and fulfill their purpose with greater perfection and zeal.

Here is a suggested plan of action that should be fit to a person’s individual situation. This is what worked for me, and it will differ from one individual to another. If a person begins this Ramadan, taking advantage of the blessings of this month, with their own plan of action, insha’Allah (God willing) by next Ramadan, they will notice a marked difference in their taraweeh and Qur’anic experience. This is the month to make a commitment to act; this is the month of success.

1. Read the Qur`an in translation every single day. Choose a chunk to read in translation daily (ie: five pages) and couple it with reading it in Arabic and/or listening to it in Arabic.
2. During Ramadan specifically, choose to pray a certain number of rakahs for taraweeh, but also make it a point to sit down and follow the recitation with the English translation. What is of more benefit? Praying for hours without understanding and hoping to get rewards (insha’Allah) or sitting, reading and understanding, finding oneself captivated by the incredible power of the Qur’an and actually feeling oneself coming closer to Allah (swt) and changing one’s life to maintain that relationship with Him? Long term, in this life and the next, insha’Allah there are rewards for both. But for the one who strives, there is much more reward for a person who actually lives the Qur’an instead of standing for a period of time, completely tuned out because of a lack of understanding.
3. For Ramadan especially, try to read the translation of the surah that will be covered in that night’s prayer. That way, even if one is not able understand what is recited specifically, one will know the general meaning of the verses and one’s mind can focus on those general lessons and messages.
4. Hone in on key words and use them to focus on salah (prayer). For example, when familiar with the different words which indicate “Paradise,” imagine Paradise. Imagine standing in Paradise, with its breathtaking beauty…and suddenly finding someone covering your vision with their hands! When you turn around, imagine who you would want to see most in that moment. Your mom? Your dad? Your grandparent? Your sibling? Your spouse? Your child? Your best friend? Imagine. You haven’t seen this person in possibly decades, centuries—you’ve gone through life without them or death came to you first and you had been in the grave for some time. Then you made it through the Day of Judgment. You finally have entered Paradise—you passed the test! And suddenly, you are with the person who you loved and missed the most. How would you feel in that moment? Allow your heart to FEEL the verses talking about Paradise as they apply to you. Use keywords to help your mind and heart interact with the Qur’an’s message to you.
5. Listen to the Qur’an and its translation constantly; while stuck in frustrating traffic, while cooking and cleaning, while walking from one end of campus to another; allow the recitation of the Qur’an to penetrate the soul and the translation of the Qur’an to crack the hardened heart. The more one listens to the Arabic recitation and translation, the more familiar one will become with understanding the Qur’an.
6. Study the meanings of Qur’anic words specifically over time. Here is a suggested resource to begin: http://abdurrahman.org/qurantafseer/learnquran.pdf
7. Throughout the year, work on tajweed  (correct recitation of the Qur`an in Arabic) and memorization. Over time, this will significantly aid in a special working relationship with the Qur’an, God willing.

Many of us complain about our inability to understand what is being recited of the Qur’an and to maintain focus or enjoyment in prayer due to this reason. I know the feelings of boredom, frustration and helplessness. I know what it means to blame our lack of “experiencing” the “Ramadan feeling” on our lack of understanding of what is being recited.

However, we have the capability to revolutionize this experience, with Allah’s Help. We can become of those who truly understand, whose hearts are captivated and whose limbs are calmly in awe, whose minds are blown away at what we are listening to of the Qur’an. The methods are there and the tools are available. The real question is: Are we willing to make the time and dedicate the effort?

Many of us have tried different methods to wake our hearts up in Ramadan and help them focus on the prayer when we do not understand what is being said. What tips do you have which have worked in your life? Please share them so we all benefit insha’Allah.

By Asif Mahbub

I should be the last person to write this because I am the type of person who usually stays up UNTIL fajr (the morning prayer), but alhamdulilLah  (praise be to God), I have been able to bring some changes in my sleeping pattern with the help of a few tips:

1. Make the intention
2. Go to sleep early and do not sleep during the day
3. Set an alarm clock
4. Tell a friend/parent to wake you up
5. Maintain a regular sleeping pattern

If you have already applied the above tips, but it’s still not working, I’d like to dig a little deeper into the implementation of these points both physically and psychologically, and that will make a big difference, insha’Allah (God willing).

1. Make the intention – Make it a part of your life that as the night approaches, you become consciously aware that you have to wake up for fajr. Make fajr a part of your schedule just like other things, and give it priority. If you do not have the intention, then no matter what you do, it will not really help. For example, even if you set the alarm, if you do not intend on waking up, you will just turn it off and go back to sleep.

2. Go to sleep early and do not sleep during the day – Have your dinner early and force yourself to bed, even if your mind tells you that you have no sleep. Get rid of distractions, be it Facebook, your cellphone, etc, you know yourself best. Distractions will set your mind working again, and that only makes things more difficult. Instead, do something so boring that you automatically feel sleepy. For example, I make recordings of my professor’s class lecture and listen to it again when I can’t fall asleep. You can also read a book which helps some people fall asleep.

If you manage to wake up on time for fajr the first morning after, resisting sleep becomes the most difficult thing in life! You forget all the promises you made the previous night with only one thing in mind—how to get back to bed! This is the hard part—stay up no matter what. Bear the pain the first morning, take a small nap around 20 – 30 minutes in the daytime if needed (it’s sunnah!), and Insha’Allah, that night you can go to bed early.

3. Set an alarm clock – For those with cell phones, set the alarm at its loudest and keep the phone some distance away from you so that you have to get up and walk to turn it off. If you have a bathroom nearby it’s best to keep it there with the door open, that way the echos will hit your ears hard. For those who have an Android phone, I highly recommend using the app “Alarm Clock Xtreme.” It’s free and unlike normal alarm apps which automatically snooze after a few minutes, this alarm will not be silenced until either your phone runs out of juice, or you turn it off yourself. And that is not easy either! You can set it to give you math calculations to solve in order to turn it off, or entering a “captcha”—all things that are bound to get your mind working, and hence effectively breaking your sleep: http://bit.ly/HB5PfQ.

A piece of excellent advice I heard from Yasmin Mogahed—set your alarm tone as Qur’an recitation. The sound of Qur’an will reach out to your heart, and it will be more difficult to ignore.

But if you see that your sleep is so deep that nothing gets to your ears, you can make your bed less comfortable, for example, by sleeping on a plain surface instead of the soft comfortable mattress. That way your sleep is less deep, and more likely to break on hearing the alarm!

4. Tell a friend/parent to wake you up – The best way to do this in my opinion would be to make it more interactive. Don’t just let your friend wake you up—you should also take the responsibility of waking up someone else, be it another friend or a sibling. Once responsibility falls on your shoulders too, you will automatically feel more inclined to wake up on time.

5. Maintain a regular sleeping pattern – This is a tip that helped me a lot. A great way to maintain this is to make a game out of it, an expensive one rather. For example, you can arrange a game with your friend where if you don’t wake up for fajr, then you will have to pay him/her a certain amount of money, which goes to charity (an amount which isn’t so little that it’s insignificant to you, or so great that it puts you in financial crisis!). Say $100. So if you do not wake up for fajr, you pay $100 to charity that day, and if they do not wake up, they pay $100. Maybe you will end up paying 2 or 3 days, but believe me the next day and onwards, you are gonna be up before anyone else!  And important thing to note, this money should be for charity only, not for personal gain!

Well that seems to be the end of the list right? But why continue further? Because that list lacks the number one tip of all. This is the ultimate advice, the one which if you are able to follow, all the other tips above are unnecessary. Before I get to it though, let me explain indirectly. If you had a final exam that starts at 8am and you go to sleep at 5am, will you be able to wake up for it? Oh you bet! If your work starts at 6am and being late means you will lose your job, will you be late? Never!

Why?

The reason why is because when something has value and importance to us, no matter what our condition is, no matter what the situation is, we will find a way to do it. So perhaps the real reason why we are unable to wake up for fajr is because we do not give enough importance to the fajr prayer. We do not realize or ponder over the benefits of praying or the consequence of neglecting this prayer. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that the first matter which we will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, the rest of our deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, the rest of our deeds will be bad. Praying fajr keeps us safe under the protection of Allah, subhanahu wa ta`ala (exhalted is He), as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said (Sahih Muslim). Prayer is one of the main foundations on which Islam is built.

In short, Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an: “So woe to those who pray, [But] who are heedless of their prayer,” (107:4-5).

Given all these things, is it really worth sleeping instead of praying fajr? The answer is told to us twice every morning in the adhan (call to prayer):

AsSalatu khairum minan-naum.

Prayer is better than sleep, Prayer is better than sleep.

If we are able to internalize the importance of fajr salaat and the consequences of missing it, we will automatically find a means of waking up for prayer, just like we would have woken up if it had been the time of our final exam or our jobs. But how can we value something if we do not even know anything about it? We can start by seeking knowledge about its importance.

But at the same time, knowledge is fruitless without huda (guidance), so let us sincerely ask Allah (swt) to help us, guide us and increase our imaan (faith) and love for this beautiful deen (religion).

Before ending, I would just like to say that I myself struggle lots with fajr salaat and still sometimes slip, so this is first and foremost a reminder to myself. I am in need of it as much as anyone else.

Beijing’s Cow Street Mosque, kevinschoenmakers

“Hayya `ala-s-Salaah… Hayya `ala-l-Falaah…” Hurry to prayer. Hurry to SUCCESS. Yes, success. What perfect placement of these phrases: come to pray and take your success. Like macaroni and cheese, it’s plain and simple. Placed so cleverly and poetically within the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer. We hear this 5 times a day, but how often do we listen and follow?

Amidst chow downs, midterms, and movies, finding time to pray for youth has become somewhat of a difficult task. Many of us spend countless hours engrossed in the latest songs and tabloids, immersed in worldly matters or even grueling over a school assignment; those have become our priorities in dunya (this world). But what about our priorities for the akhira (Hereafter)? Nowadays, some of us find it a chore to spend scarcely 5 minutes out of the 1440 minutes in a day prostrating to our Lord in repentance for our sins and seeking refuge from our worries. We have stopped giving salah (prayer) the importance it holds.

Prayer is an obligation, not a choice—as many Muslims these days make it out to be. Salah is one of the things that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala  (Glorified is He) has Himself prescribed; I say prescribed, because it is the one true remedy to our worldly worries.

“Guard strictly the Salah, especially the middle Salah. And stand before Allah with obedience.” (Qur’an 2:238)

“Salah reminds you of Allah (swt), when you get up in the morning, it reminds you three more times when you are busy during the day, and once again before you go to bed.”

There is no fulfillment for anyone but us via this act.

Success requires fulfillment, which requires nourishment by the purest means. What better nourishment for your self than the mercy, guidance, and rewards from the Almighty? Allah (swt) lures us to worship with lavish descriptions of Jannah (Paradise), whilst simultaneously warning us of repercussions of disobedience—the wretchedness of hellfire.

“And their recompense shall be Paradise, and silken garments, because they were patient. Reclining on raised thrones, they will see there neither the excessive heat of the sun, nor the excessive bitter cold, (as in Paradise there is no sun and no moon). The shade will be close upon them, and bunches of fruit will hang low within their reach. Vessels of silver and cups of crystal will be passed around amongst them, crystal-clear, made of silver. They will determine the measure of them according to their wishes. They will be given a cup (of wine) mixed with Zanjabeel, and a fountain called Salsabeel. Around them will (serve) boys of perpetual youth. If you see them, you would think they are scattered pearls. When you look there (in Paradise) you will see a delight (that can not be imagined), and a Great Dominion. Their garments will be of fine green silk and gold embroidery. They will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a pure drink.” (Qur’an 76:12-21)

The earliest known story of the universe begins with the concept of prayer—the story of the residents of Paradise. When Allah (swt) created Adam, all beings were asked to prostrate to him, not as a form of worship, but to recognize the beauty fashioned by the Creator. Iblis, Satan, refused and the outcome was eternity in hellfire.

As life on Earth progressed God brought forth Prophets to deliver a message—a message of worship. Performing prayer can be traced to the earliest of generations beginning with the blessed Prophet Ibrahim `alayhi assalaam (peace be upon him).

رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ

My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication. (Qur’an 14:40)

As we dig deeper into the Qur’an we encounter many instances where prayer is mandatory upon the Prophets and their people.

إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ

Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance. (Qur’an 20:14)

وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱرْكَعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱلرَّٰكِعِينَ

And establish prayer and give zakat and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]. (Qur’an 2:43)

As I sit among peers, and the clock winds down for prayer, I slyly wander off to an empty room to fulfill my duty to my Creator, careful not to offend those who choose to ignore this obligation. The reasoning is ridiculous. The act of worship is a form of da`wah (invitation). This should not be something I am afraid to do and have to hide or feel uncomfortable sharing; rather, it should be something enjoined together and encouraged, a journey to purification in tandem. But why is it that as I leave the room to go pray, I find myself feeling guilty, or awkward, for telling my Muslim friends that I am performing salah while they choose to sit idly? This taboo of praying is something that needs to be rectified.

As a convert, this seems bewildering. To have a Muslim choose not to pray seems oxymoronic and unconventional. Islam conveys the consequences of not, and the benefits of praying very clearly. Every salah prayed counts towards good deeds on the Day of Judgment. We have been told there will be instances when those who have prayed, but their good deeds do not outweigh the bad, will wind up in hellfire. Once their term is served, they will be granted Jannah.

The Prophet (saw) describes the Hereafter, and in which he says: “…When Allah (swt) has finished judging mankind, and wants to bring whomever He wills out of Hell by His Mercy, He will order angels to bring forth those upon whom He wishes to bestow His mercy of the people who never associated anything in worship with Allah (swt), and who said, “Laa ilaaha illaah Allah”. The angels will recognise them in Hell, and will known them by the mark of sujood [prostration] on their foreheads. The Fire will consume all of a man except the mark of sujood which Allah (swt) has forbidden the Fire to consume. They will be brought forth, having been burned in the Fire, the water of life will be poured on them, and they will grow like seeds left by still after a flood.” (Saheeh Muslim)

Let’s try to fathom this concept. Salah will distinguish the devout from the non-believer in hellfire.

Ma bayn al-kufr wal iman tark al-salah—what is between belief and disbelief is leaving prayer.

Rarely do we glimpse a follower of another religion devote his entire being to the worship of his Lord prior to, or in addition to, supplication. Prayer in Islam envelopes both mind and body to the sole worship of God—glorifying Him, praising Him, exalting the Benevolent. This form of worship differs from other religions in the sense that other religions use supplication as the sole act of worship, whereas for Muslims, they serve two completely different purposes.

In modern day society, the pressures facing the ummah (Muslim community) are great; however, the remedy can be just as simple—by keeping steadfast in the daily prayers and having tawakkul (reliance on God), we make ourselves vulnerable to Allah’s help and mercy. We all have an inherent thirst, a thirst for feeling whole, complete, accepted. A thirst quenched by prayer. The Creator can give and He can take. The more we rely on Him, the easier our lives become. The further we go from Him, the further He goes from us, too.

Abu Huraira radiAllahu anhu (may God have mercy on him) reported that the messenger of Allah said: ”The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself, so make supplication (in this state).” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

For our imaan (faith) to grow, we need the proper infrastructure. Buildings use pillars to support their structure. Growth is weak without a solid foundation. Salah is the second pillar in Islam, the foundation of the religion. There are five pillars in Islam which a Muslim considers the basis of faith: shahada (testimony of faith), salah, zakat (charity tax), sawm (fasting), and hajj (pilgrimage). If a person is ill, he/she is excused from fasting; if a person is poor, he/she is excused from paying zakat or performing hajj; however, there is no excuse for salah (aside from the monthly impurities women face). If a person is sick, he may pray sitting down. If he cannot do so, then he may pray lying down, if that is impossible, then he may pray with his eyes. Case in point, no excuses.

Allah, subhana wa ta’ala, has commanded us to indulge in the purification of our souls. The modern day focus lies on perfecting the physical appearance; whereas, the Islamic perspective is rooted in perfecting the inward appearance. Insha’Allah (God willing), we take a few minutes out of our day to hurry to success and thank the Almighty, to ask from the Almighty, and to worship the Almighty. May we uphold His decree to the best of our abilities and be rewarded with Jannah. Ameen.

Prayer Mats, Kevin Schoenmakers

Issue #5 – Dealing with a Non-Arab Beginner to Prayer

I worked for almost 4 years in Kuwait as the Director of English Da’wah on the Islam Presentation Committee. I witnessed many conversions and interacted with many new Muslims over those years.  When I first started there, the official legal system in compliance with the Ministry of Justice is to give new-Muslims an Islamic (Arabic) name ((see previous article in the series)) and then to begin teaching them to pray in Arabic. The official test of sufficient knowledge and practice for a convert man to marry a born Muslim woman was that he could say the prayer in Arabic! By the grace of God and a few sittings with some scholars and the ministry, we changed that ludicrous criterion.

Islam is a universal divine message to mankind with guidance on how to properly interact with both the Creator and the creation. The gist of this message is to develop a spiritual focus in one’s life, preparing for the afterlife in which we will be judged for our decisions in this life. In living this divine purpose and calling others to it, we must develop a strong understanding and representation of that message in our own native tongue. Here I would like to remind you of the verse which is the basis for this whole series:

“And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them […]” (Qur’an 14:4).

Sadly, the Arabization of Islam for non-Arabs has basically led us all to feel like the more Arabic words we use, the more authentic of a Muslim we are. I have been to many Islamic schools and found that most kids from non-Arabic backgrounds can readily recite many chapters of the Qur’an as well as many supplications in Arabic. The problem, however, is that most of them have no clue what it means. Worse than that, they have been programmed to think that it’s not important to know what it means as long as it is said in Arabic. I have even met children of Arab parents who speak conversational colloquial Arabic quite fluently, yet still cannot explain with any accuracy some of the things they have memorized.

I cringe when I hear a non-Arab say that they will “offer” their prayers. Linguistically, you can make sense of it, but spiritually, it sounds like you are doing something for God without benefit to yourself, or worse, something that He needs. Maybe I’m making a wrong assumption here, but the Qur’an makes it crystal clear that God is not in need of anything from us and that “[w]hoever does righteousness—it is for his own soul […]” (Qur’an 41:46).

I’ve never heard an Arab say such a thing in Arabic, the equivalent of which would be “سأقدم صلاتي (sa uqaddim salaati)”. They say, “سأصلي (sa usallee),” which means “I will pray” or more precisely “I will supplicate and seek the forgiveness of my Lord.” ((p.386-387 lisaan al-arab dar al-hadeeth al-Qahirah)) It seems that since some non-Arabs generally don’t understand their prayers they feel like it is something they are offering God whom they feel needs it from them.

The purpose of this article is to take personal/social experience coupled with our scholarly tradition in order to raise the level of Islamic spirituality in the masses. Case in point, the crux of the problem we are attempting to solve is in the well-known claim that salah (prayer) must be completely in Arabic, otherwise it is invalid. To be fair, there are some scholars who have made such a broad, sweeping dogmatic statement. The reason why they make this statement is that this particular detail of Islamic Law is taken as a “given” and thus not taught comprehensively in most Islamic degree programs. The truth of our tradition is that there is no such statement by the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him) nor is that by any means an agreed upon opinion amongst our scholars. The fact is, which I will, God willing, illustrate with ample references that such a statement may be the position of some scholars, but is not representative of prevailing opinions among traditional scholars of Islamic legal theory especially when it comes to a new Muslim.

First of all, so that people will not miss the point, the leader (Imam) of a prayer must have certain qualifications and one of them is that they have mastered the prayer as it was practiced by the Prophet ﷺ, which includes Arabic. Therefore, I am not calling for the tradition of Islamic prayer to be changed. Rather we are looking into Islamic legal theory to solve a problem leading to spiritual weakness in new-Muslims and kids raised in non-Arab environments. What I am suggesting is specifically for converts and children raised in non-Arab environments who are trying to learn the prayer which is supposed to be a deeply spiritual experience.

The position that I will be defending is that the Qur’an must be said in Arabic, but can be translated for silent prayers until one masters the meaning in their native tongue and then masters both the word-for-word and comprehensive meaning analysis in relating the Arabic to the English (or their respective native language). The remembrances (adhkar) which are said may be translated, but are preferred to remain in Arabic so the system would be similar to learning the Qur’an. The salah (prayer) of one who uses a translation for the remembrances is still a valid prayer, albeit not preferred, regardless of how long they rely on the translations.  Supplications which were said by the Prophet ﷺ follow the same suit, whereas it is permissible in prostration (sujood) to supplicate to your Lord from your heart in your own language, Arabic or otherwise.

The following are the textual and scholarly references to support this suggested practice.

1. In discussing the pillars or obligations of prayer, there is almost no reference to requiring it to be in Arabic in the classical books of legal theory.
2. “If a non-Arab wasn’t proficient and he wasn’t able to properly enunciate Arabic then he could even say the beginning takbeer [Allahu Akbar, or “God is Greater”, said to begin prayer, and at intervals within the prayer] in his own language and that would suffice according to the majority of Islamic jurists as is well documented by the Shafi’ee and Hanbali scholars. That is because takbeer is a remembrance and the remembrance of God the Exalted is performed in all languages. The Maliki school and some Hanbalites said that if they couldn’t enunciate it then the obligation is lifted and it will suffice him to have the intention to enter into prayer. All other remembrances of the prayer fall under this scholarly difference. As for the reading of the Qur’an the majority opinion is that it must be in Arabic, with the exception of Abu Hanifa who is reported to have changed his opinion to that of the majority in his later years.” ((The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence v. 5 p. 232-233. Refrencing al-fatawa al-Hindiyyah 1/69, al-Dasooqi 1/233, al-Mugni 1/462))
3. “Originally Abu Hanifa allowed people to read the Qur’an in a Persian translation regardless if they knew Arabic or not. His famed student Abu Yusuf diverged and said that if they knew Arabic then it would be prohibited for them to read it in Persian whereas it would only be permitted to those who didn’t know Arabic. Later in Abu Hanifa’s life he adopted Abu Yusuf’s opinion on this as it is mentioned in Ibn Abideen.” ((The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence v. 27 p. 73))
4. “The majority of the schools of thought (Hanbalites, Shafites, Maliki’s) prohibited reading the Qur’an through a translation. […] The Hanafi’s held it impermissible for the one who is proficient in Arabic to read it in another language while they permitted one to read it through a translation […]” ((The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence v. 11 p. 169. Refrencing Ibn Abideen 1/325, Bada’I al-Sana’I 1/112-113))
5. My summary of a long quote: Abu Hanifa carried his original ruling of permissibility for the remembrances in salah and the Friday sermon regardless of whether the person was proficient in Arabic or not. His students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, disagreed and held the same position as they did for the Qur’an. The following is a quote from the same passage: “It was reported by Ibn Abideen in the explanation of al-Tahawi, if a person were to make the takbeer of prayer, the remembrance upon slaughtering an animal, or said his remembrance for Hajj in Persian or any other language then that would be permissible according to both Abu Hanifa and his students regardless if they knew Arabic or not. This means that they later agreed with Abu Hanifa on this whereas he later agreed with them about the Qur’an. […] The Shafites and the Hanbalites agreed that it would be impermissible for one to say the remembrances in a translation if they were proficient in Arabic whereas it would be permissible to say them in translation if they were not proficient in Arabic. This also applies to the tashahhud [remembrances including the declaration of faith] and prayers for the Prophet ﷺ ((The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence v. 11 p. 170-171. Referencing al-Majmoo’ 3/299-301, Nihayatul-Muhtaj 1/46, Rawdatul-Talibeen 1/221,226, Kashaf al-Qannaa’ 2/34 )) .”
6. “It is reported by the Hanafi’s that supplication with other than Arabic is disliked (makrooh). […] The apparent justification is that supplicating with other than Arabic is not the primary preference. [The following is the interpretation of the Encyclopedia researchers.] It would be a fair interpretation to say that the dislike was closer to prohibition (karahah tahreemiyyah) in prayer whereas outside of prayer it would be just better (karahah tanzihiyyah) to avoid supplicating with other than Arabic. [Back to quoting the classical texts] The Maliki’s prohibited supplication in other than Arabic because it negates true exaltation. The great Maliki scholar al-Laqani restricted the previous statement of al-Qarafi by saying that the prohibition would be for the one who was supplicating in a non-Arabic tongue that they did not understand. Whereas if the supplicator knew what they are saying then it would be permissible to supplicate in prayer or outside of prayer as a result of verse 31 of al-Baqarah: ‘Adam taught the names of everything’ and verse 4 of Ibrahim ‘We merely sent messengers preaching in their people’s native tongue…’ Imam al-Shafi’ee distinguished between a remembrance/supplication that was narrated from the Prophet ﷺ and the supplication of one’s own making. The supplication/remembrance that was taught by the Prophet has three cases:
   • The most authentic position in the Shafi’ee school as agreed by the Hanbalites is that it is permissible to translate them for the prayer of those who are not proficient in Arabic as opposed to those who are proficient in Arabic whose prayer wouldn’t be acceptable that way.
   • That it is permissible either way.
   • It is prohibited to translate it either way since there is no necessity for it.

   The non-Arabic supplication which is made up by the one who is praying is generally prohibited among the Shafi’ee scholars…” ((The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence v. 11 p. 172-173. Referencing al-Manthoor fil-Qawa’id lil-Zarkashi 1/282-283, al-Majmoo’3/299-300, 4/522, Ibn Abideen 1/350, hashiyat al-Dasooqi 1/233, al-Mugni 3/292, Kashaf al-Qanaa’ 2/420-421))

7. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Supplication is allowed in Arabic or any other language as God knows the intention and meaning of the supplicator. God knows the sounds of his creation crying out regardless of the language.” ((Majmoo al-Fatawa 22/488-489))
8. The difference between reading the Qur’an versus the reading of remembrances and supplications taught by the Prophet ﷺ is based on a well-known fact about our scripture that the Qur’an is the word, the exact divine words, of Almighty God which is in itself miraculous. On the other hand, hadiths (records) are only divinely inspired by meaning, and are the articulation of the Prophet ﷺ who sometimes worded the same hadith differently. It was accepted to narrate a hadith according to meaning as that was what was important. Many scholars say, “يجوز أن يروى الحديث بالمعنى” which means it is allowed to narrate a hadith according to its meaning even if you change some words. ((al-Ghazali fil-Mustasfa p. 133, al-Razi al-mahsool fee ‘Ilm al-Usool  4/669, al-Suyooti tadreeb al-Rawi))
9. For reference of modern prominent scholars who give fatwas (rulings) in line with this article:
   http://www.islamweb.net/fatwa/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=35811
   http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=37998
   http://www.islamqa.com/ar/ref/20953
   http://islamic-fatwa.net/fatawa/index.php?module=fatwa&id=11522

Before we embark on the next stage of this journey, I want to mention two things. First, much of what you read here will not be radically new. The reason for that is that Allah (swt) has equipped us with ways to achieve tranquility of the heart, yet we seldom use them in that way. Therefore, these articles will be reminders of tools that we already have. As Allah (swt) says:

“And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.” [Qur’an, 51:55]

Secondly, what is different, however, is that this article should be read in light of the things we need to know. The past couple of articles were meant for us to see our relationship with Allah (swt) in a different light. Thus, when we perform certain acts such as prayer, dhikr, reciting Qur’an etc., they should be done with a heart that knows the amazing attributes of Allah (swt).

Prayer – the Support of Faith

How many of us seek refuge in prayer? Not only when things are bad, but also in every prayer of every day. Subhan’Allah, doctors recommend eating five fruits a day to keep healthy, yet we have forgotten that Allah (swt) has given us these five prayers as a refuge, a cleansing, and a way for our hearts to find peace in the midst of all the distractions we find ourselves surrounded by.

If we are serious about wanting to achieve tranquility of the heart, we need to start with prayer. A righteous man called Hatim Al-Asamm recognized how crucial prayer is to the state of our hearts. He said, “When the time for prayer is at hand, I make a proper ablution, go to the spot where I intend to pray, sit there until all my limbs and organs are in a collected state. Then I stand up to perform my prayer, placing the Kabah between my brows, the Bridge over Hell (sirat) beneath my feet, Paradise to my right and Hell to my left, and the Angel of Death behind me, thinking all the while that this is my last prayer. Then I stand between hope and fear. I carefully pronounce ‘Allahu Akbar!’ Then I recite the Qur’an harmoniously, bow in humility, and prostrate myself submissively. I then sit back on my left haunch, spreading out the top of my left foot and raising my right foot on the toes. I follow this with sincerity. Then I wonder whether or not my prayer has been accepted.”

Subhan’Allah, can we imagine the state of the heart of a person who prays like this?

Al-Qareeb (the Near One)

Sometimes we feel far from Allah (swt), and our prayers are nothing more than chores. Yet think of the difference in our prayer if we recognized that when we start the prayer, we are actually going to al-Qareeb – the Near One.

Allah’s Name al-Qareeb comes in three formats in the Qur’an:

1. Alone: “And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am Qareeb [near].” [Qur’an, 2:186]
2. With as-Samee’ (the All-Hearing): “Indeed, He is Hearing and near.” [Qur’an, 34:50]
3. With al-Mujeeb (the One who responds): “Indeed, my Lord is near and responsive.” [Qur’an, 11:61]

This teaches us something: Allah is close to us, He hears us, and He responds to our du`a’ (supplication). He hears our inner thoughts even when we do not articulate them, and He hears our silent du`a’. Imagine that Allah (swt) knows everything about you and all the things you reflect on; that is how near He is to you. Sometimes even your best friend won’t understand the turmoil you are going through, but al-Qareeb does.

Now imagine when you are going to the prayer, you are going to the One who understands everything you are going through. You may have just had the worst day of your life: seek refuge in your prayer, tell Allah (swt) you need His help. Perhaps you had an amazing day: use your prayer for recognition that the good was from Allah (swt) and for thanks. Perhaps it was a day like any other: use your prayer as a reminder of purpose.

When we say that we find being devoted in prayer (having khushoo‘) is difficult, it is because we have not yet realized the meaning of Allah’s Name al-Qareeb. When we live our lives with the knowledge that Allah is indeed close to us, closer than our jugular vein, our prayer will reflect that. After all, the prayer is our intimate conversation with Allah.

An Intimate Conversation

The Prophet ﷺ said, “When anyone of you is engaged in the Prayer, he is holding an intimate conversation with his Lord.” [Muslim]

Imagine, as soon as we say “Allahu Akbar” to commence the prayer, the barrier between us and Allah is lifted. He remains looking at you, facing you, and responding to you when you recite al-Fatiha as long as you are not distracted. When you say Allahu Akbar, you are throwing away the worries of the world and fleeing to Allah (swt) who is greater than it all, and is the only One who can remove your distress. When you go into ruku’, you are demonstrating your humility before Him. And when we go into sujood, it is the closest that we are to Allah (swt). How many of us, myself included, fail to realize this?

In order to have better khushoo‘, the Prophet ﷺ advised “When you pray, pray like a person who is saying farewell.” [Ibn Majah, Hakim, Bayhaqi] If we knew that this was our last prayer before the Angel of Death seizes us, would it be the same?

Remember that the Prophet ﷺ saw his prayer as a source of tranquility. When telling Bilal (ra) to pronounce the adhan (call to prayer), he said, “O Bilal, give us rest with it.” [Abu Dawud]

May Allah (swt) enable us to find tranquility in our salah.

For more detailed steps on how to taste the sweetness of prayer, click here.

Compiled by Reem Rahman

A couple months ago, Imam Suhaib posted a question on Facebook asking how to encourage one’s child to pray. Alhamdullilah (praise be to God), there were many great responses. We wanted to share some of the wonderful advice and stories shared by fellow readers. May our hearts always be open to beneficial advice.

*Responses abridged and edited for grammar; all of the full responses are available on Facebook.

QUESTION

“My son is 7! What do you think would be a wise way to approach him about praying?”

RESPONSES

Faiza Isaaq: Be subtle. Kids love imitating their parents/role models. Just ask him to join you whenever you pray, focusing on one prayer and then building on that gradually.

Ghada Othmani: Mum’s famous prayer tree was awesome! It was a tree with 5 big leaves (one for each prayer) that she used to draw on a paper and hang on the wall of my room. I had to color each leaf: in green if the prayer was done on time; in yellow if it was done but not on time; and in brown if it was not done…

She used to tell me that green means Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) is happy and proud of you because you showed gratitude to Him for all what He has given to you. Yellow means He is less proud. Brown, be careful! He could take away His love and protection from you!

I still remember the joy everytime it was full green!! And believe me, until now, it still works. It has become a neural association. Everytime I do something wrong, the first thing that comes to my mind is the brown leaf. Same for deeds.

Khudake Liye: There was a story I heard about someone who told to his son: “Come, I will give you something that nobody ever can take away from you. Your deen.”

Aadhil Shiraz: Let him pray with you. Make sure it’s a pleasurable thing to do, instead of a chore, which is basically what salah (prayer) is supposed to be. If you nag him too much and turn it into a chore then he won’t feel the pain of missing salah.

Mike Swies: I would tell him that now he is going to be man of the house if anything happens to you, and you want to give him the honor of knowing how to lead the family in prayer. 🙂

AishaLadon AbdulRahman Dixon: My youngest loves that he is in charge of calling us to prayer. He feels this is his job and we depend on him to do it, and that we really need him as a part of our prayer team.

Tricia Pe: I think prayer should be gradually introduced well before 7, through praying occasionally with mom and dad, discussing aspects of salah, rather than suddenly rolling up on a 7-year-old saying, “Now your salat is due.” I took your situation as hypothetical, of course.

Fadwa Silmi: When one of the Mauritanian shuyukh (scholars) (Shaykh Khatri) came to California, one of the things he thought was so strange (and there were many) was that we didn’t make wudu’ (ablution) and pray around our children. He was like, “Why do you guys go lock yourselves in the bathroom to make wudu’ and then hide in your room to pray instead of having your children see you so that they become accustomed to prayer as a part of their lives?”

I would call him to do wudu’ with you and then to pray with you whenever you pray. You can also gift him a prayer rug and kufi (prayer cap) for him to use when he prays. I also like the idea of gifting one prayer at a time until they are praying all five. Tawfiq insha’ Allah (success, God willing) and Happy Birthday to your boy!

Ayesha Nicole: via Dr. Farhat Hashmi: I was exposed to such an environment from the very beginning and was told that prayer is an awesome thing to do. It was portrayed in a “cool” way to me. So obviously I was eager to pray, alhamdulillah. After 6 months I was given yet another gift and that was of `isha’ (the night prayer). Then every 6 months I was given a gift: of dhuhr (the afternoon prayer), then of `asr (the late afternoon prayer) and then finally of fajr (the pre-dawn prayer). Both my mother and father have been very consistent and firm regarding prayer with me so that no way on earth would you be able to convince them to let me off the hook for even a day. I love them for that. But it’s every man for himself. You will be accountable for your actions individually.

Hussam Kubtan: Share with him some of the hadeeth (records of the sayings or actions of the Prophet ﷺ) that talk about the takleef (mandate) at the age of 7, what it means to be a young adult, and that 7 is the first step towards being a young man.

Beenish Akhtar: I remember a talk you once gave where you spoke about teaching children how to pray as not just some random duty, but you said something about reminding them that they are in the company of the One (swt). This is their time to speak directly to their Creator (swt), and take great solace with Him or run to Him when they feel thankful. It changed my perspective on the subject because I grew up with the “pray or you’re going to get it” rule.

Dawud Israel: Just tell your son about Allah (swt) and His characteristics. Kids are naturally inclined to pray since they are ma’sum (innocent).

Vardha Ismail: Hmm… Tell him that he is now old enough to speak to Allah (swt) through prayer and this is a great honour. It will be difficult to pray all the time but remember that each time you pray Allah (swt) will draw closer to you, and if you have any worries, problems or wishes that you want to share with Allah (swt)—this is the perfect way to do it. And if there is anyone who we want to be close to—even more than our parents, it is Allah (swt). Life is like the seasons outside, sometimes its good sometimes it can be difficult, and prayer is the anchoring force in our lives through all the ups and downs. It’s a big responsibility but I’m sure he will be able to maintain his salah insha’ Allah, and with good examples it can only help. May Allah (swt) help us all to maintain our salah! God bless you and your family.

Jinan Yousef: I guess the way I would tell a 7-year-old is that when the time comes to pray, it is Allah (swt) calling us to talk to Him. Imagine, Allah (swt) wants to talk to you! You are that special. And then reminding him that all the good in his life, all that, is from Allah (swt).

Nancy Shehata: Even way before age seven we taught by example, always making sure they see us make wudu’ and pray, applauding their efforts when they first start imitating us. My husband would take our son out of school on Fridays to go to the prayer, which insha’ Allah we’ll be able to do again soon. It’s all about making it a priority—if we get off the computer, stop watching TV, turn off the iPod, and pray promptly upon hearing the adhan (the call to prayer), then they will be accustomed to the rhythm of prayer in the household and it will be totally natural for them to join in. Take five minutes after each prayer you pray at home to help the kids memorize parts of the prayer, like what we say in ruku` (the bowing), the tashahhud, etc. They are like sponges and will pick it up quickly, insha’ Allah!

Sara M Amin: I think it would be great if you were to ask him his thoughts on why daddy and mummy pray and then encourage him to pose questions about it to make him curious and interested. Usually kids love to try and learn new things especially when they learn it from family, so keep him around you while you are praying. Ask him to hand you the prayer mat for example and then kiss and hug him to give him that sense of “Wow, I’ve done something good.” Or when the call to prayer resonates throughout the streets, take him out to the balcony and ask him to listen like it’s a special father-son time. I think if that sense of beauty is added before the actual rituals of prayer are learnt, then the rest just comes naturally. Hope I was of some benefit. 🙂 May Allah (swt) bless him.

Reshma Hyder: When they are 7, this is what you may try: “Now that you are seven, I’ll share a secret with you that makes me strong from the inside. All that I buy and provide (cook yummy food, toys, etc. in my case) for you is actually from Allah (swt) and I have been personally thanking him 5 times a day for all that He has given me including a 7-year-old like you! Let me teach you how to personally thank Allah (swt) as He listens to 7-year-olds when they pray to Him. Let’s begin praying together and we both thank Allah (swt) and pray for all that we have. I began praying with my parents when I was seven and look how Allah (swt) kept rewarding me and gave me beautiful family and children. Alhamdulillah.”

Shaykh, forgive me if I said something wrong. I tried this with my now-grown-up kids back when they were 7. It worked till they turned 14—rebellious age—then I switched to, “You have your own book of deeds. I am no longer reminding (nagging) you to pray, but life is short, and you need to be thankful everyday lest your own janazah prayer (prayer after a person dies) is prayed. It’ll be too late to make up missed prayers then (motherly scare tactics).” Now my current 7-year-old is going through the same process although it is easier when they see older siblings pray. As a parent I now pray to Allah (swt) to keep kids praying and on the straight path. It’s a tough world out there for them.

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 ﷺ, prophet of God, to the highest heaven.

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

On that journey Allah took his beloved prophet ﷺ to the seventh heaven—a place not even angel Gibreel could enter. In the Prophet’s mission on earth, every instruction, every commandment was sent down through 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 ﷺ up to Himself.

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

Reflecting upon this incident scholars have explained that the process of going from fifty to five was a deliberate one, intended to teach us the true place salah should hold in our lives. Imagine for a moment actually praying fifty times a day. Would we be able to do anything else but pray? No. And that’s the point. What greater way than that to illustrate our life’s true purpose? As if to say, salah is our real life; all the rest that we fill our day with…just motions.

And yet, we live as if it’s exactly the opposite. Salah is something we squeeze into our day, when we find time—if that. Our ‘lives’ don’t revolve around salah. Salah revolves around our ‘lives.’ If we’re in class, salah is an afterthought. If we’re at the mall, the Macy’s sale is more urgent. Something is seriously wrong when we put aside the very purpose of our existence in order to watch a basketball game.

And that is for those who even pray at all. There are those who have not only put aside their life’s purpose, they have abandoned it completely. What we often don’t realize about the abandonment of salah is this: No scholar has ever held the opinion that committing zina (fornication) makes you a disbeliever. No scholar has ever held the opinion that stealing, drinking or taking drugs makes you a disbeliever. No scholar has even claimed that murder makes you a non-Muslim. But, about salah, some scholars have said he who abandons it, is no longer Muslim. This is said based on ahadith such as this one: “The covenant between us and them is prayer, so if anyone abandons it, he has become a disbeliever.” [Ahmad]

Imagine an act so egregious that the Prophet ﷺ would speak about it is such a way. Consider for a moment what satan did wrong. He didn’t refuse to believe in Allah. He refused to make one sajdah. Just one. Imagine all the sajdahs we refuse to make.

Consider the seriousness of such a refusal. And yet, think how lightly we take the matter of salah. Salah is the first thing we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment, and yet it is the last thing that is on our mind. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The first thing which will be judged among a man’s deeds on the Day of Resurrection is the Prayer. If this is in good order then he will succeed and prosper but if it is defective then he will fail and will be a loser.” [Tirmidhi]

On that Day, the people of paradise will ask those who have entered Hell-fire, why they have entered it. And the Qur’an tells us exactly what their first response will be: ”What led you into Hell Fire? They will say: ‘We were not of those who prayed.’” (Qur’an, 74:42-43)

How many of us will be among those who say “we were not of those who prayed, or we were not of those who prayed on time, or we were not of those who made prayer any priority in our lives?” Why is it that if we’re in class or at work or fast asleep at the time of fajr and we need to use the restroom, we make time for that? In fact, the question almost sounds absurd. We don’t even consider it an option not to. And even if we were taking the most important exam of our lives, when we need to go, we will go. Why? Because the potentially mortifying consequences of not going, makes it a non-option.

There are many people who say they don’t have time to pray at work or school, or while they’re out. But how many have ever said they don’t have time to go to the bathroom, so while out, at work or school have opted instead to just wear Depends? How many of us just don’t feel like waking up at Fajr time if we need to use the bathroom, and choose instead to wet our bed? The truth is we’ll get out of bed, or leave class, or stop work, to use the bathroom, but not to pray.

It sounds comical, but the truth is we put the needs of our body above the needs of our soul. We feed our bodies, because if we didn’t, we’d die. But so many of us starve our souls, forgetting that if we are not praying our soul is dead. And ironically, the body that we tend to is only temporary, while the soul that we neglect is eternal.

Originally published by InfocusNews