Thursday, 5 March 2015

Why Prayers? - An Insight & Concern



 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Why Should We Offer ‘Salah’ (Namaaz - Obligatory Prayers)?


First Written 2006 (Content Verified by Qur’an Academy: 36-K, Model Town, Lahore)

SOME SAYINGS (AHADITH) OF THE HOLY PROPHET (PBUH) ABOUT ‘SALAH’ (OBLIGATORY PRAYERS) AS GIVEN IN THE BOOKS OF AHADITH:

In Gardens, they will seek answers, from the guilty. “What took you into the hell?” They will say, “We never used to offer the prayer.” “Nor used to feed the needy.” “And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who engaged [in it].” “And we used to deny the Day of Justice.” - [Qur’an: Surah Al-Muddaththir (The Cloaked One) 74:40-46]

  • The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said "My followers will have beautiful and glowing faces on the Judgment Day due to performing ablution (wuddoo) in the world". - (Tirmazi)

  • The Holy Prophet loved (or respected) the following things most according to a Hadith:
1- Fragrance
2- A righteous wife, and
3- Salah. - (Nisai)

  • "Salah is the first thing, for which a Muslim will be accountable on the Judgment Day (Qayamat)". - (Tirmazi)

  • The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that missing Asar prayer is equivalent to losing your family and wealth in this world. - (Bukhari)

  • On Judgment Day, the Holy Prophet (saw) will be given a Pond named 'Kausar' (As in Surah 'Al-Kausar' in Qur’an). This Pond will have musk as its soil. Whosoever drinks from that Pond will never be thirsty again, and the Holy Prophet (saaw) will be standing beside it to treat it to the people. People will flock to have a drink from that Pond, but only those would be allowed to have a drink from it that would have been in the habit of offering Salah in the world - others will be led away from it! - (Muslim)

A FEW MOTIVATIONAL TIPS ON HOW TO REGULARIZE 'SALAH':

  • Salah is the compulsory prescribed staircase, which leads to Allah – Allah wants us to form a connection with Him for our own benefit! Everything we have belongs to Him & if we don't pray to Him to express our gratitude, then indeed we are at a loss, in this world (sooner or later) as well as the hereafter!!!
  • Whether we are weak or strong, rich or poor, we have to take the medicine of Salah 5 times a day, - and for all times COMPULSORILY, whether we are at home or out. We need Allah wherever we are; He wants us to seek guidance from Him for our own benefit. He loves us and wants us to reap more and more rewards for afterlife (there are forms  of ‘Zikr’ like Darood Sharif which if adhered to in our daily practice apart from saying Salah, increase our blessings in this life & ranks in afterlife as well). This life will just seem like a brief faded dream on Judgment Day.
  • We should strive for Salah like we strive for other things in our daily routine. For a Muslim, the act of Salah should become second nature just like having meals & drinking water. Salah is not something which one should resort to on “as and when feel like” basis, but it should be taken up as an essential activity of daily life!
  • Salah has been mentioned in Qur’an at least at 700 places. It is stated in Qur’an that Salah is indeed hard to offer but not for those who practice humility. (Surah Al-Baqra)
  • Offering ‘Salah’ (Namaaz) at different times a day also infuses serene thoughts in an individual while fortifying him/her against depression. The strong belief that Allah Almighty listens to you while you are offering prayers, and helps you out of your troubles also acts as an effective anti-depressant.
  • ‘Salah’ (Namaaz) is also an effective form of meditation. It is now well known that physical exercise can alter hormone levels within the body and have a positive effect on our moods; however new research has demonstrated that meditation offers similar benefits. The difference between choosing other forms of meditation, and ‘Salah’ is that, with ‘Salah’ you have a religious obligation to offer it 5 times a day, thus making this practice more regular and frequent. Secondly, performing ablution (wuddoo) before every prayer refreshes a person while activating him/her as well.
  • During ‘Salah’ (Namaaz) the element of deep concentration plays a vital role in soothing your nerves. When you practice to put everything out of your mind at regular intervals in the day, this helps in reducing depressive thoughts. ‘Salah’ (Namaaz) instills positive thinking in a depressive person due to the continuing practice of reliance on God only. When taken up as a regular practice, ‘Salah’ (Namaaz) strengthens one’s mind against tough times over the years, and makes a depressive person more productive. Furthermore, as an activity that involves much more than just standing, bending and kneeling, it acts like an energizer. This also stands true for individuals who have not had any serious bouts of depression, yet feel low occasionally.
MAY ALMIGHTY ALLAH SHOW US THE RIGHT PATH – AAMEEN!

Iltimaas-e-dua

S Roman Ahsan.

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