3 March 2013

3 March, 2013
Salah Importance  

Guest Speaker: Dr Naila Syed

Feedback from her 2 weekend courses on Salah and how to have Khushu in Salah

Salaah Salaah!

Said by the Prophet (saw) on his death bed!

Importance Of Salaah

·           QURAN – “….establish prayer for my remembrance” (Sura TaHa v 15)

·           HADITH – The Prophet (saw)’s final advice to his Ummah was “Salaat, Salaat!”

·           Al-Isra wal Mi’raj – Gift from Allah swt to the Muslims (Reward of performing 5 prayers equivalent to 50)

·           DIRECT LINK – 5 times a day we are in direct communication with Allah swt

·           RECOGNITION – on the Day of Judgement the Prophet (saw) will be able to recognise his followers by the signs of their wadu. (Bukhari)

·           Most beloved act to Allah swt – “The thing that is most beloved to Allah swt is to pray at the earliest possible time”. (Bukhari)

·           Closest to Allah swt – “The closest a servant is to his Rabb is while in sajood” (Muslim)

·           Wipes out sins – “The prayer wipes out one’s bad deeds just as if one were having a bath in a river in front of one’s house five times a day” (Bukhari)

·           Unity – “A family that prays together stays together”

·           Obligated even in battle

·           Angels praying all the time – Not even 4 finger breadth space in heavens without an angel praying (Tirmidhi)

·           First thing to be judged on the Day of Judgement

·           Controversy

Problem With Today’s Ummah

So How Can We Teach Others About The Importance Of Prayer?

Possible solutions

1.      Lead by example

2.      Make du’a

3.      Consider environment

4.      Never despair of Allah’s mercy

5.      Give info!

People On Whom Prayer Is Obligated

1.      Muslim

2.      Adult

3.      Sane

Perform Salaah on Time!

·           QUR’AN – “Verily the prayer is enjoined upon the believers at the appointed times” (Sura Nisa v103)

·           HADITH – “The thing most beloved to Allah swt is to pray at the earliest possible time”. (Bukhari)

·           Time vs cleanliness

·           If catch even 1 sajood in prayer time then have caught the prayer.

Exception

Combining prayers due to Travel, hajj or imminent and extreme difficulty

-            Dhuhr with Asr

-            Magrib with Isha

Qada

Only permissible:

·           Forget

·           Oversleep

PRIORITY - Doing Qada has more priority than doing other voluntary prayers such as sunnah or nafil

FILL THE HOLES - Important to always do sunnah and nafil prayers to compensate for any deficiencies in Fard prayers

Adhaan And Iqamah

One of the greatest signs of Islam – done all over the Muslim world 5 times per day

Seen by Abdullah ibn Zaid in a dream (Abu Dawood)

Adhaan done 15-20mins before prayer to CALL TO PRAY

Iqamah done straight before prayer to

- straighten lines                                                           

- fill the gaps                                                                                                    

- Prepare To Go Before the Greatest Being Allah Swt

Benefits

- Shaitan runs away on hearing it

- If read following dua immediately after adhaan, Prophet (saw) will do intercession for you on the Day of Judgement inshaAllah: “Oh Allah, the Lord of the perfect call and the Prayer that will be established, give Mohammad the highest place in jannnat and the highest station and give him the praiseworthy position that You have promised him” (Bukhari)

           

Travelling

Recommended to do adhaan and iqaamah even when travelling alone (This is not an obligation on women)

If Travel > 83km and < 4-15 Days Can Shorten Prayers

Six Preconditions Of Prayer

1.      SPIRITUAL PURITY – have wadu

2.      PHYSICAL PURITY – wear clean clothes and place of prayer

3.      COVER AWRAH

4.      PRAY AT CORRECT TIME – avoid makroo times or sunrise, zenith, sunset

5.      FACE THE QIBLAH

6.      INTENTION – does not need to be voiced

Walking To The Masjid

·           Reward for every step take to the masjid – Bukhari and Muslim (esp if have difficulty but not if you create the difficulty yourself!)

·           Etiquette of walking to masjid

·           Arrive early – front row, teaches punctuality

·           Enter masjid with Right foot and do du’a of entering mosque

·           Do Tayatul Masjid but do not do sunnah for sake of Fard

·           Benefit of starting prayer with Imam and ending with him until he turns away.

12 Pillars Of Prayer

1.      Standing up

2.      Takbir utul ihram

3.      Reciting surah Fatiha

4.      Ruku – bowing

5.      Standing

6.      Prostration on the 7 parts of the body

7.      Sitting up between prostrations

8.      Possessing tranquillity and calmness during the prayer

9.      The final Tashahud

10.    The final sitting

11.    The first Taslim

12.    Praying in the order recorded by the Prophet (saw)

When to offer prostration of forgetfulness?

OMISSION – Before Taslim

ADDITION – After Taslim

DOUBT – Before Taslim

Khushu

Defined as intense concentration in prayer with fear and awe of Allah swt with no distractions in worldly matters (Story of Sahaba and Lion)

Prophet (saw) said the first thing to be lifted from the Ummah will be khushu (Tabarani)

If do not have khushu – salaat will still be valid but may not get much reward

Reward of 2 rakaat with full khushu – to have all sins forgiven (Bukhari)

Reality Check!

TEST – 5 x per day we are tested to see if our hearts turn more to Allah swt or worldly matters.

DEATH – When die, body remains but soul taken by angels

Your family, who loves you the most, rush to place you in the ground.

You leave all your worldly goods behind

The only thing you can take with you is your good deeds

On the Day of Judgement the first thing to be judged will be our salaat (Tirmidhi)

Means Of Developing Khushu – Top Ten Tips!

1.      Prepare – wudu, clothes (Remember going in front of Allah swt)

2.      Time – do at earliest times

3.      Clear mind of worldly matters

4.      Remember in direct communication with Allah swt 5x per day

5.      Remember death and can only take good deeds with you on day of judgement

6.      Think of the giants of Islam – Khushu they had in their prayers

7.      Make du’a before start to have khushu in salaat

8.      Recite different surahs from Qur’an – hadith on the 3 quls

9.      Remove all distractions

10.    Remember 2 rakaat with complete khushu will wash away all your sins inshaAllah.

Remember Only Approx ½ Hr In Salaat A Day Will Grant You Admission Into Paradise InshaAllah!!!

VIDEO

Remember!

Remember Never To Miss Any Namaaz

Remember To Pray Before You Are Prayed Over

Remember If Miss One Prayer

·           It will never come back

·           Imagine on Day of Judgement your balance of Good and Bad deeds are completely balanced and just need one more salaat to avoid Hell fire and enter jannat forever!

Story:

He remembered his grandmother’s warning about praying on time: “My son, you shouldn’t leave prayer to this late time.” His grandmother’s age was 70 but whenever she heard the Adhan, she got up like an arrow and performed Salah/Namaz/prayer. He, however could never win over his ego to get up and pray. Whatever he did, his Salah was always the last to be offered and he prayed it quickly to get it in on time. Thinking of this, he got up and realized that there were only 15 minutes left before Salat-ul Isha. He quickly made Wudhu and performed Salat-ul Maghrib. While making Tasbih, he again remembered his grandmother and was embarrassed by how he had prayed. His grandmother prayed with such tranquility and peace. He began making Dua and went down to make Sajdah and stayed like that for a while.

He had been at school all day and was tired, so tired. He awoke abruptly to the sound of noise and shouting. He was sweating profusely. He looked around. It was very crowded. Every direction he looked in was filled with people. Some stood frozen looking around, some were running left and right and some were on their knees with their heads in their hands just waiting. Pure fear and apprehension filled him as he realized where he was.

His heart was about to burst. It was the Day of Judgment. When he was alive, he had heard many things about the questioning on the Day of Judgment, but that seemed so long ago. Could this be something his mind made up? No, the wait and the fear were so great that he could not have imagined this. The interrogation was still going on. He began moving frantically from people to people to ask if his name had been called. No one could answer him. All of a sudden his name was called and the crowd split into two and made a passageway for him. Two people grabbed his arms and led him forward. He walked with unknowing eyes through the crowd. The angels brought him to the center and left him there. His head was bent down and his whole life was passing in front of his eyes like a movie. He opened his eyes but saw only another world. The people were all helping others. He saw his father running from one lecture to the other, spending his wealth in the way of Islam. His mother invited guests to their house and one table was being set while the other was being cleared.

He pleaded his case; “I too was always on this path. I helped others. I spread the word of Allah. I performed my Salah. I fasted in the month of Ramadan. Whatever Allah ordered us to do, I did. Whatever he ordered us not to do, I did not.” He began to cry and think about how much he loved Allah. He knew that whatever he had done in life would be less than what Allah deserved and his only protector was Allah. He was sweating like never before and was shaking all over. His eyes were fixed on the scale, waiting for the final decision. At last, the decision was made. The two angels with sheets of paper in their hands, turned to the crowd. His legs felt like they were going to collapse. He closed his eyes as they began to read the names of those people who were to enter Jahannam/Hell. His name was read first. He fell on his knees and yelled that this couldn’t be, “How could I go to Jahannam? I served others all my life, I spread the word of Allah to others.” His eyes had become blurry and he was shaking with sweat. The two angels took him by the arms. As his feet dragged, they went through the crowd and advanced toward the blazing flames of Jahannam. He was yelling and wondered if there was any person who was going to help him. He was yelling of all the good deeds he had done, how he had helped his father, his fasts, prayers, the Qur’an that he read, he was asking if none of them would help him. The Jahannam angels continued to drag him. They had gotten closer to the Hellfire. He looked back and these were his last pleas. Had not Rasulullah [saw] said, “How clean would a person be who bathes in a river five times a day, so too does the Salah performed five times cleanse someone of their sins?” He began yelling, “My prayers? My prayers? My prayers?”

The two angels did not stop, and they came to the edge of the abyss of Jahannam. The flames of the fire were burning his face. He looked back one last time, but his eyes were dry of hope and he had nothing left in him. One of the angels pushed him in. He found himself in the air and falling towards the flames. He had just fallen five or six feet when a hand grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. He lifted his head and saw an old man with a long white beard. He wiped some dust off himself and asked him, “Who are you?” The old man replied, “I am your prayers.”

“Why are you so late! I was almost in the Fire! You rescued me at the last minute before I fell in.” The old man smiled and shook his head. “You always performed me at the last minute, and did you forget?” At that instant, he blinked and lifted his head from Sajdah. He was in a sweat. He listened to the voices coming from outside. He heard the adhan for Salat-ul Isha. He got up quickly and went to perform Wudhu.

QUIZ: Boys/Men Vs Girls/Women

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