Salaah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam our beloved Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam has told us:

“The angels keep on asking Allah’s forgiveness for anyone of you, as long as he is at his mu’sallah (praying place) and does he does not pass wind. They say, ‘O Allah! Forgive him, O Allah! be Merciful to him.” [Bukhari]

Gems

• Angels are a great sign of Mercy from Allah and how beautiful it is that Allah has given every single Muslim the ability to feel the mercy just by staying in his place of prayer
• How great is it that the angels ask Allah for forgiveness for you? Subhanallah…amazing!
• Take a moment to relax and feel that blessing and mercy from Allah. Between sunnah and fard…just sit for a minute or two.
• How could it be that you will not be more focused in prayer knowing that angels have been asking forgiveness for you?

The Prophet of Allah sallalahu alayhi wasalam has coined an amazing analogy in regards to salat. The analogy is depicted in a conversation between the Prophet and the Companions radhiAllah anhum, in which the Prophet alayhi salatu wasalam said:

“Do you think that if there was a river by the door of one of you and he bathed in it five times a day that there would remain any dirt on him?” They answered: “There would not remain any dirt on him.” The Prophet of Allah alayhi salatu wasalam said: “That is how it is with the five prayers, through them Allah washes away the (minor) sins.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

In this great month of Ramadan, people will be reciting the Qur’an more, insha’Allah. While we recommend everybody to get a colour-coded Arabic-text mushaaf–because it makes it easy to recite with 100% perfect tajweed once you learn the rules–sometimes, deciphering some of the symbols can be a bit tricky.

In this first post, we’re going to insha’Allah discuss different stops in the mushaf. You may have seen these stop symbols: tiny little letters (meem, qaaf+lam, jeem, saad+lam, lam+alif) written above the text. These five correspond roughly to the five ahkaam taklifee–fard, mustahab, mubah, makrooh, and haraam.

Asalamu ‘alaikum!

What a beautiful month in which we can come together and build our salat. Ramadan Mubarak! We ask Allah to accept all our deeds from this blessed month and to give us the tawfeeq to push ourselves in pleasing Him, Subhana. To begin our journey, we remind ourselves of the saying our our beloved Prophet alayhi salatu wa salam; may not be directly related to prayers, nonetheless it is important:

Bismillah walhamdolilah wasalatu wasalam ‘ala Rasool Allah

Asalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu,

In efforts to bring people closer to their salat a service was created entitled, “Salat101″. Alhamdolilah, by the grace of Allah azza wa jal this has been a great success and inshallah it will be now available on Ilmfruits!

Periodically, we will send out tips and tricks which inshallah ta’ala will aid us all in attaining ihsan in our salat.

In Suratul-Furqaan (Surah 25), ayah 63, Allah begins a description of what is translated as “the slaves of Ar-Rahmaan (Allah)…”

In ayah 64, He describes these “slaves” by saying:

This is translated as: those who spend the night before their Lord, prostrating (in sujood) and standing.

Tafsir ibn Kathir explains this ayah, and compares it to ayahs 17-18 from Suratuth-Thaariyaat (Surah 51):

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the first few verses of Surah Mu’minoon:

Translation: Successful are the Believers! Those who establish their salaah with khushoo. [Surah Mu’minoon, verses 1-2]

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) carries on to mention many other characteristics of the believer in this surah–however, the thing to focus on, the thing to ponder about, is that the FIRST characteristic that Allah chooses to describe a believer by–a person who establishes the salaah.

We go through life praying, giving to the poor, fasting, and other forms of worship which are prescribed by Allah. However, when was the last time we sat back and really tried to understand what it means to worship Allah? Why do we worship Him? Listen to the podcast for more details on this crucial aspect of Islam–worship.

By Shaikh Abul Laith Samarkandi

Angel Jibreel (عليه السلام) told Rasulullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) the following incident:

A man in the past worshipped Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) continuously for 500 years. He was granted a shelter on top of a mountain that was surrounded by salty water. However, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) caused a stream of sweet water to flow through the mountain for that individual. The man would drink from this water and use it to make ablution. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) also raised a pomegranate tree from which the man would eat one fruit every day. One day, this person supplicated to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) that, “Oh Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), bring my death while I am in the state of prostration.” Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) accepted this dua of his. Whenever Jibreel (عليه السلام) came down to the Earth, he found this man prostrating to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Jibreel (عليه السلام) said that on the day of Judgement, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will tell the angels to take this individual to Paradise through His mercy. However, this man will insist that he should enter paradise through the good deeds that he had performed. Then, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will tell the angels to compare his good deeds with the blessings that were given to him in the world. It will be seen that 500 years of his worship does not even equal to the gift of eye sight that was given to him by Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). The angels will be asked to take him toward the hell fire. Then the man will plead, “Oh Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)! Enter me into Paradise only through Your mercy.” At that point, the following discussion will take place between Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and that man. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): Oh my servant, who created you? The worshipper: Oh Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), You have created me. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): Were you created because of the good deeds you have done or because of My mercy? The worshipper: Because of Your mercy. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): Who granted you the ability to worship for 500 years? The worshipper: Oh the Almighty! You have granted me that ability. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى): Who placed you on the mountain surrounded by the ocean? Who caused a stream of sweet water to flow in between the salty water? Who caused a pomegranate tree to grow for you? Who granted you death while in the state of prostration? The worshipper: Oh the Sustainer of the Worlds! You have done all of these. Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will say, “All these have happened due to My mercy and you too will enter Paradise only through My Mercy.”

What do you make of the amazing incident when the best of the sahaba (رضالله عنه) came to the best of the Prophets (صلي الله عليه وسلم) to ask for a du’a to make in his prayers?

Narrated Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (رضالله عنه)

I asked Allah’s Apostle (صلي الله عليه وسلم) to teach me an invocation so that I may invoke Allah with it in my prayer. He told me to say,