Striving For Allah: Holding Fast To Salah, Zakah, And His Teachings

By Mawlana Farhan Shariff | 2026-06-29T17:44:21.612242+00:00 | Topic: Worship

Striving for Allah: Holding Fast to Salah, Zakah, and the Teachings of Islam

To ensure that we are praying our salah.

وَجَٰهِدُوا۟ فِى ٱللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِۦ ۚ هُوَ ٱجْتَبَىٰكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍۢ ۚ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۚ هُوَ سَمَّىٰكُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَٰذَا لِيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ ۚ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ ۖ فَنِعْمَ ٱلْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ ٱلنَّصِيرُ
(Quran 22:78)

Allah says: you want to strive for My sake, hold on fast to your salah. Hold on firmly to your salah, to the constitution of salah.

Our five daily prayers — how many of us are very particular? How many of us are striving to ensure that we perform these prayers? It's a question for us to ask.

وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ
(Quran 22:78)

Of all the monetary responsibilities, one of the most difficult is to discharge the zakah. Let us discharge our zakah with this intention — that it is for the sake of Allah, not that it is a tax.

وَجَٰهِدُوا۟ فِى ٱللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِۦ ۚ هُوَ ٱجْتَبَىٰكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍۢ ۚ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۚ هُوَ سَمَّىٰكُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَٰذَا لِيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ ۚ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ ۖ فَنِعْمَ ٱلْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ ٱلنَّصِيرُ
(Quran 22:78)

And then hold on firmly to all the teachings of Allah, all the teachings of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. Hold on firmly.

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has mentioned that I have left you two things, that if you hold on firmly to them, you will never go astray. You will always be in this group.

تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ أَمْرَيْنِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا مَا تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّهِ

(Muwatta Imam Malik, Book 46, Hadith 3)

The Qur'an as well as the sunnah of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Putting Your Trust in Allah

Finally, we may find that this is a very difficult, daunting task. But then Allah mentions at the very end: put your trust in Allah.

وَجَٰهِدُوا۟ فِى ٱللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِۦ ۚ هُوَ ٱجْتَبَىٰكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍۢ ۚ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ۚ هُوَ سَمَّىٰكُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَٰذَا لِيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ ۚ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ ۖ فَنِعْمَ ٱلْمَوْلَىٰ وَنِعْمَ ٱلنَّصِيرُ
(Quran 22:78)

He is your master. He is your guardian. What a wonderful guardian, what a wonderful aid, what a wonderful being to assist us.

How to Become a Friend of Allah — The Hadith Qudsi

Lastly, I will mention a hadith and we'll end off with this. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has mentioned a Hadith Qudsi that Allah said:

مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْحَرْبِ، وَمَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي بِشَيْءٍ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا افْتَرَضْتُهُ عَلَيْهِ

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6502)

Whoever opposes a friend of mine, then I have declared war against him. Starting off the hadith to show what is the position of one who befriends Allah, strives for the sake of Allah. Whoever harms a friend of mine, then I have declared war against him.

How does one become a friend of Allah? Allah continues: no servant of mine can come closer to me through anything more beloved than what I have obligated him to do.

Our five pillars of Islam, our basic obligations that we hear about — and that unfortunately many of us are not particular regarding — are perhaps the most effective way and manner in attaining the proximity of Allah. The most effective way in becoming the close servants of Allah.

As one scholar says: be that basic Muslim. The one who ensures that all of his salah is intact, his zakah is intact, his saum is intact, his hajj is intact. He does what he can to learn more to please Allah and His Messenger.

May Allah grant us all the ability to be amongst this group of individuals.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Announcements

All brothers can please stand and fill up all the gaps in front of them before they perform their sunnah. Kindly pass the donation boxes from left to right. There are also kiosks in the library. Sadaqah wards off calamities and draws the mercy of Allah.

Last year, Helping Hand delivered more than 3.3 million Udhiyah meals to those in need. This year, you can also give Qurbani for as low as $55. They have a booth outside — please visit their booth at the archway entrance for more information.

Upcoming Programs

Tarbiyah for Tots — for boys and girls aged 4 to 5. You can register online at masjids.org.

QIS Program — Qur'an, Islamic Studies, and Sports Camp for Kids, for boys and girls ages 6 to 13.

Tamheed Program — for brothers and sisters age 14 and above. It's a transformative program so that we can acquaint ourselves with the core principles of our deen and appreciate the beauty that Islam has to offer. The program consists of two components: the Deen Intensive as well as Arabic Essentials. For more information, visit the website online.

Weekly Programs

We have our weekly programs: Tuesday Tafsirs as well as Thursday Salawat. Tomorrow, insha'Allah, will be our team Fajr. Fajr Salat is at 4:45 AM.

Sisters' Programs

We have exclusive programs for sisters. Our bi-weekly program: Seerah and Salawat Sohbah — our next session will be June 1st, 12:00 to 1:45 PM. We also have a weekly Urdu Tafsir on Thursdays, 2:00 to 3:00 PM.

World Ijtema

Alhamdulillah, the World Ijtema will be taking place on June 27th, 28th, and 29th at the Rosemont Convention Center.

Du'a Requests

Please remember Saeed Madani in your du'a. He is scheduled for brain surgery tomorrow. Let us also make du'a for our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters who are suffering throughout the world. May Allah grant them complete shifa.

There is also another individual by the name of Nahid who is going through a lot of difficulty, as well as Muhammad Ismail. Please keep these individuals in your du'as.