Salaah

The importance of salaah can be seen in the seerah of our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم). Allah raised our beloved Prophet to His heights to give him the command of salaah directly, rather than sending it through Angel Jibreel. Also, the importance of salaah is seen in the seerah, when the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) was on his death bed, when he had the chance to give one last message that he could give his ummah until the Day of Judgment. He cried out, As-Salaah! As-Salaah!

The greatest command after that of tawheed is of salaah. Allah lays out a list for whom this Qur’an is a guidance, and amongst the first things He says are about those who establish the salaah; those who guard them strictly and stand in front of Allah with obedience. The example of Prophet Ibrahim (عليه السلام) is amongst the best, and as he builds the ka’ba, he makes du’a to Allah to make him amongst those who establish salaah.

We at times find ourself in a race with salaah. One of the primary ways to gain khushoo in our salaah is to take our time in it, so much so that our Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) told us to be slow and articulate with each movement–we should let all our bones rest and then continue on, not before that. No need to race, because this will come back on the Day of Judgment! Truly, the poorest on that Day will be the one who stole from his salaah by racing through it!

Going on about the importance of salaah, salaah is the first matter that a slave/abd/person will be brought account for on the Day of Judgment. So important is salaah, that Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said that if this one matter is good then everything else will also be good.

Listen to the podcast to gain more understanding on how to make your salaah sound.

My brothers and sisters a blessed month is fast approaching us, a month in which the opportunities are limitless and the reward is ready for taking in abundance. This blessed month, known as Ramadan is approaching us and we will soon say good-bye to it as well.

Inshallah, join me on this journey as we go through some self-planning for this blessed month, and inshallah learn about the one action which is most noble in the sight of Allah…that action being du’a.

We sometimes forget the vast importance of salaah in our lives. Successful are the believers. Who are these believers? They are those who offer their salaah with full khushoo, with full submissiveness to Allah, those who establish the salaah.

Listen to the podcast for more details on how you can be among the believers!

Khushoo is to be conscious of God, to have taqwa, to have fear of Allah. And so khushoo is something that comes from the heart, and if the heart is clean, then the salaah–and everything else–will be clean. There are many ways that one can go about gaining khusoo; a few of them a few are:

1. prepare ahead of time by performing wudoo properly
2. use miswak
3. repeat the words of the adhaan
4. make du’a between the adhaan and the iqaamah

For more information, listen to the podcast below.

The topic of the ‘awrah of a woman is one of great discussion, both amongst the scholars and the laymen. In sha Allah, here is an attempt to specify what exactly is the ‘awrah of a woman in light of the evidences from the Quran and sunnah, as explained by the scholars.

A few definitions:

‘Awrah – the parts of the body that are not supposed to be exposed to anyone, except your spouses. Even in private, it is a sign of hayaa (modesty) to have your ‘awrah covered.

Some points to ponder about Salah, Namaz, Prayer…

Our purpose in life is to worship Allah. Prayer (Salah) is the manifestation of that. Without it, we have nothing.

Prayer:

• Is the only commandment in Islam that came from Allah (سبحانه وتعال) to Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم) directly, without any angel in-between, in the journey of Isra Wal Miraj[1]
• Was originally legislated at 50 times per day (That just shows how important it is)[1]
• One of the last concerns of the dying Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم)[2]
• Time after time, mentioned in the Quran as the first requirement right after Faith in Allah (سبحانه وتعال) [3]
• Quran described as guidance for the ones who pray (right at the beginning of the book in Surah Baqarah) [4]
• Agreement between us and the Prophet, without prayer, is kufr[5]
• A person’s feet will not move on the Day of Judgement until he is questioned about the prayer. If it is in order, everything will be in order, and if it is not in order, nothing else will be in order.
• In an interview of the people of hell, “Not Praying” is the #1 Response why they are in Hellfire[6]

Source: Yasir Qadhi Jumuah Khutba, Friday May 18th, 2007, Khalid bin Walid Masjid

The Purification Act is an AlMaghrib Institute course taught by Abdul-Bary Yahya. If you think you know wudoo, think again! This course teaches you the ins and outs of tahara (purity and purification) and salaah (prayer)–everything from whether one adhaan or two is more correct, to the proper way to purify dog-slobber from your best china, to whether a pigskin football (or for that matter, a leather jacket) is najas or not. In addition, you get a firm grasp of scholarly opinions, and learn which opinion–or opinions–are the strongest, and why.