The Power of Salah - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

The Power of Salah

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We praise Him and send blessings upon His noble Messenger. After that, Allah Almighty said in the Glorious Qur'an, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer forbids immorality and evil, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows best what you do.

And from Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, he said: The last words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when he passed away were, "Prayer, prayer. Fear Allah as long as your faith prevails." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept saying it until he made it echo in his chest and his tongue overflowed with it. Or as Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said.

Respected friends, elders, and brothers, students, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Allah's Boundless Grace and Love

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, our kind and beloved and loving creator, nourisher, and provider — the source of all good in this world that has ever come, that ever will come, that is existing today — and the source of all happiness, the source of all wealth, the source of all rizq, the source of every beneficial thing that we see. The love that anyone shows to another person, every single mother, human or non-human animal, that may show love to its offspring — all of that comes from Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All the good qualities that we see existing amongst human beings are a reflection of the qualities of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, this great creator of ours, out of His mighty love for us and immense love for us, has allowed you and I to recognize Him, to understand Him, to take His name. We are not worthy of taking His name. We are not worthy of remembering Him either. Because when a person remembers Allah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala remembers him. So imagine when you and I are sitting and speaking about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that our names are being mentioned by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in gatherings better than these gatherings — gatherings surrounded by and attended by angels.

Why am I worthy of that? Why are you worthy of that? We are not. But this is Allah's fadl, Allah's grace upon you and I, that He allows us to take His name. He allows us to come to the masjid, that He allows us to visit His house, that He allows us to prostrate and put our head down in front of Him. Each and every single one of those things is a blessing that you and I don't deserve.

And that is why the more we are thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the more we become indebted to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Because being able to recognize the gifts of Allah and thanking Him in itself is a gift. And this is a never-ending cycle — that a person feels indebted to Allah and he says alhamdulillah. But the fact that he felt indebted to Allah and recognized his insignificance in front of Allah in itself is tawfiq and guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, for which he or she has become indebted again to be grateful.

So this never-ending cycle of shukr, and making shukr upon shukr and shukr upon the shukr of the shukr, is something, my respected brothers and sisters, that is the state that we need to reach. Where at the end a person says, subhanAllah, I'm overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed with Allah's graciousness. I'm overwhelmed with Allah's kindness. I'm overwhelmed with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's mercy. I can't do justice to Allah, but most definitely at the very least, I am not going to willingly challenge Allah. Willingly stand up against Allah. Willingly disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Mistakes happen. We all make mistakes. We all slip. But it's not something that I am going to cherish — openly tell people that I have broken this order of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But rather, when a person does slip and fall, he or she feels completely — has a horrible taste in the mouth, a distaste from their actions. A person feels guilty that this is something that I should have never done. And this is good. A nadama — that a person feels remorse over his or her sins.

The Prophet's ﷺ Worship and Gratitude

Nabi alayhi salatu wa salam worshipped Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the most. We know that. And after having done everything, he would still say:

"O Allah, we haven't worshipped You the way You ought to be worshipped."

Once, when Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, as his habit was — his blessed habit — that he would spend a major portion of the night in prayer and in supplication to Allah, and in tahajjud and qiyam al-layl, such lengthy prayers that his feet would get swollen. And his own wife, pitying him, said, "My dear husband, why do you continue to put yourself through so much trouble when Allah already has announced in the Qur'an, Allah has already mentioned very clearly:"

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is so kind to you. He's already made a decision of completely wiping away any type of mistakes, any type of slips that may have happened in the past, that may happen in the future. What type of mistakes? Mistakes in judgment. Mistakes in ijtihad. Minor mistakes. But when you have two options — one was better and one was okay, one was permissible, one was best — and you possibly took the opinion which was good as opposed to the one that's best. These types of small slips that may have happened out of a lapse of judgment. SubhanAllah. Not intentionally trying to disobey Allah. Allah jalla jalaluhu says, all of that already I have wiped clean.

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala corrects the Prophet ﷺ for having given permission in the expedition of Tabuk to the hypocrites who were making false excuses of not participating in the battle. And they came and Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Okay, fine, you stay back, you don't need to come." Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala corrected this action of the Prophet ﷺ — that you shouldn't have done that. These people, you and I know, are hypocrites. They have no excuse. They need to be exposed. Do not give them permission to simply stay back.

But when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala begins to correct the Prophet ﷺ, He says:

"Allah has already forgiven you. Why did you give them permission? Until it would have been better — until you come to clearly know who are the truthful ones and who are the liars. Who genuinely have excuses to stay back and who are hypocrites who don't want to participate in the expedition."

First He says, before we get started — let me tell you, Allah has already forgiven you. This is Allah's love for Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. To the extent that Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, once said: "O my husband, O my Nabi, it seems as though Allah is trying to please you — making an effort to please you. Revealing such verses of the Qur'an that are so apt to your situation. To console you in the moments of sadness. To lift you in the moments of anxiety. To give you strength when you feel weak." She is giving an example here — that it seems so amazing that Allah speaks to you and treats you in a manner that He is trying to make you happy and pleased in the situation that you find yourself in.

Yet this Nabi of ours is standing in prayer for a major portion of the night, and his wife pities him. Our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, again says: "Allah has already declared this in Surah Al-Fath. Your past and present mistakes are all forgiven. Why do you do this?" And what is the response of our Prophet ﷺ?

"Shall I not at least be a grateful servant?"

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4837; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2819)

I don't deserve this. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, out of His kindness, is saying that your record is clean and you've got nothing to worry about — does that mean I should take advantage of this? Instead I should feel that, Ya Allah, I don't deserve this. And I am going to humble myself for a major portion of the night, simply thanking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Not that I'm begging Him for something I don't have. He's given me everything. But now I'm being thankful for all the good that He has given me. The status He's given me. The position He's given me. The love He has shared with me.

Salah: The Prophet's ﷺ Refuge in Every Difficulty

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loved Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam showed this love back through salah. And whenever he was in any difficulty:

Whenever anything overpowered him, when anything worried him, when anything made him anxious, the first thing that he would run towards — like our hands automatically, without any of us consciously making this move, go towards our pockets, either to the wallet or to the phone, depending on the situation, most of the time to the phone for something or another.

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1319)

Whenever we have a situation — just think, someone gives you some news that you don't want to hear — where does my hand and your hand go? Immediately into our pocket. Let me call this one. Let me do this. Let me open up my calculator. Let me look at my email. Let me check this message. As though this is the solution to our problems.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, whenever he would be afflicted with any difficulty, فَزِعَ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ — he would run towards salah. That my solution lies here. My solution lies in putting my head on the ground and putting myself in a state of humility and humbleness in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This bad calamity or news that I have just heard — there is no way possible that this happened without Allah's knowledge, without Allah's permission. Before the creation of the heavens and the earth, Allah already knew: on such and such a time, this incident will happen, and in such and such a time, you will hear about this incident, and in such and such a time, you will be affected by this incident.

The one who has complete control, قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ — the one who has complete power over everything — is none besides Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

To Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, all the good deeds — as well as the bad — they all are presented to Him. But the good deeds go way above. They outdo the sins. And they are pleasantly received by Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who sees us, who understands us — but He wants to see us turn to Him. He already sees us, but He wants us to look at Him. He already hears us, but He wants us to hear Him. He already is completely in control of us, but He wants you and I to acknowledge that He is in control of us. That's all He wants. Turn to Me and tell Me: Ya Allah, You're in control of my life. Ya Allah, You're the greatest. Ya Allah, I am the most humbled and I deserve nothing from You. But Ya Allah, I am faqir, You are ghani. You are aziz, I am dhalil. You are mu'izz, I am dhalil. O Allah, You are raziq, I am marzuq. O Allah, You are malik, I am mamluk. O Allah, everything that I have is from You. Now I present my situation in front of You.

The Hadith Qudsi: Allah's Open Treasure

As Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in a Hadith Qudsi:

"All of you are astray except for the one who I give guidance to. So seek guidance from Me and I shall guide you. Every single one of you is hungry and starving — none of you have food. Your fridge may seem full. Your bank account may seem doing well. Your pantry at home may seem full." Allah says — and Allah is the most truthful of all speakers:

Who can speak more truthful words than Allah? He says: kullukum ja'i — every one of you is hungry — except for the one who I have fed. If there's food in the pantry, if there's food in the fridge, in the refrigerator, in the freezer, and if there's food being provided in our stores — my respected brothers and sisters, this is nothing but a benevolence and a gift from Allah that you and I don't deserve. So ask Me for food, and I shall grant you food. Every single one of you is without clothing — except for the one to whom I give clothing. So ask Me for clothing, and I shall clothe you. This is Allah jalla jalaluhu telling us.

How Do We Connect with This Almighty Allah?

Now how do we ask Allah for this? This great Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that is greater than our imagination — nothing affects Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. No problem in this world affects Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who has absolutely nothing to take from us, only to give to us.

How can I — such an insignificant human being, whose beginning is a dirty drop of semen, whose ending is a stinking corpse, and in between carries loads of filth in the stomach and in the body, blood and excreta — how can I speak to this Allah? How do I have the ability to share my concerns? How am I supposed to vent in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? How am I supposed to share my problems with Almighty Allah when He's so great?

Today, a person becomes a trustee of some little place, wins some sort of little election, and now you have to get an appointment to meet that person. Now you have to go through all these official means to speak to that person. Respected friends, we see this today. We see how difficult it is. People change overnight with titles.

Now this Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who is the source of all titles:

All kingdom comes from Him. All might comes from Him. How am I supposed to speak to this Almighty Allah? How am I supposed to connect with this Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Allah gave us this salah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us salah. And it is this salah that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam showed us — how we turn Allah's attention towards ourselves and get from Allah whatever we want. Literally, whatever we want.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has an open treasure. You come, you put your hand in, take whatever you want from it. But you have to come. You wanna sit in the back and expect someone to come and give you from the treasure box? It's not gonna happen.

Salah is the method. مَفَاتِيحُ الْخَيْرِ — all the keys, the keys of all good that could possibly be out there, is through salah.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned: "The coolness of my eyes is in salah."

(Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 3940; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 12293)

Anytime you're afflicted with something, turn to salah. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam at night would say: Wake the people up. Wake the women and the men who are sleeping in the homes. Wake them up — not for fard salah, but for tahajjud salah. This is not the time to sleep. You've slept enough. Wake up in front of Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Pour your heart out.

The Excuses We Make — and Their Foolishness

This is the problem. What do we say today? "I don't have time for salah because — why? I'm busy at work. I'm behind on payments. I'm tired of my children bothering me. I've got marital problems. My boss is very mean to me. I've got problems with my investments."

Respected friends and brothers and sisters, a person is saying that I feel cold, I need warmth — and the sun is right there — and the person is running in the opposite direction. How could it be possible that he will ever gain any warmth? There's one source of warmth in this world that Allah has created — a creation. That's one source. It's the sun. There's no other type of celestial objects that are giving us that warmth. If that one and only sun, a person decides to hide under the basement and say, "I'm feeling cold. I'm feeling dark. I'm lost in life." My brothers and sisters will say, what type of inefficient action is this? What type of misunderstanding is this — that you will leave the sun that's there, willing to give you light and warmth for free, and you will hide yourself from that? You bring about your own destruction by going into the basement and saying, "I don't want this."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the source. He's the creator of that sun. Creator of that moon. Creator of day and night. The creator of all good. And if a person says, "I don't have time for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because I'm too busy at work, because I'm too busy with family obligations" — respected friends, what foolishness is this? Foolishness that we will cry tears of blood tomorrow when they will be of no benefit.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, after counting His blessings one after another everywhere in the Qur'an, but specifically in Surah Al-Infitar, He says:

"O human being, what has put you into deception regarding your most gracious Lord?" What turns you away from Him? When did you see that someone else was giving you a better deal than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Because of which, you have left Almighty Allah and decided that extending your hands in front of this manager, in front of this businessman, in front of this boss, in front of this family member, in front of this one or that one — your needs will get fulfilled. It never happened, it never will happen.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put our success in salah. The needs of dunya and akhirah get fulfilled with salah. But we have to start trying.

The Qur'anic Command: Establish Salah

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

Recite whatever has been revealed to you from the Qur'an — recite it upon them. وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ — and then establish salah. Don't just pray, but pray it properly. Don't just pray on your own, pray it in jama'ah. Pray it in congregation. Pray it in the masjid. If there are women and sisters, then pray it at home — fine. But properly, with the proper wudu, with proper concentration, slowly going through the postures, not running through it, not praying at the last minute, but praying it on time.

Respected friends, Allah is telling Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ — establish this salah. And what is the gift you will get? Indeed, the salah will hold a person back — prohibits and holds a person back from evilness, from evil deeds, from lewdness, and from all that is wrong. وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ — and the remembrance of Allah is the most powerful thing.

Why do we sin? Because the remembrance of Allah is not in our heart. When the heart can have one spot — either the remembrance of Allah is there, or the poison of Shaytan is there. If the remembrance of Allah is in that heart, Shaytan will not be able to affect that heart. That's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

"When these good Muslims, when they fall into sin, and they oppress themselves by sinning, what do they do? ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ — they immediately remember Allah." Why were they able to sin in the first place? Because they didn't realize Allah was watching them. They didn't realize: I may be hiding myself from society, from my spouse, from my children, from my elders, from my teachers — but from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, I can never hide.

If you're two, He's your third. If you're four, He's your fifth. If you're six, He's the seventh. No matter how many you are, He's always with you wherever you may be. How does a person sin? Because he forgets this concept. When a person does dhikr Allah, immediately he realizes — she realizes — who am I standing in front of? Like we say, you're standing in front of the Ka'bah, or you're standing in salah, have shame. My brothers and sisters, when we're in the parking lot, we're still standing in front of Allah. When we're at work, we're still standing in front of Allah. When we're walking through the marketplace in a mall, we're still walking in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is not that Allah is in a mihrab, in a niche over here, and He's not outside of the masjid. Al-'iyadhu billah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's watchful gaze is around us, always looking at where we are.

When Allah is Forgotten — The Greatest Punishment

But when a person decides to neglect Allah's remembrance, then Allah also decides to forget him. How do you know Allah forgets a person? When he does not get the ability to come visit His house. When a person doesn't get the ability — day after day, week after week goes by, and a person hasn't visited the house of Allah. Week after week, month after month, a person hasn't been able to pray fajr salah in the masjid. Month after month, when isha is so early and fajr is so late, a person misses these opportunities to come to see Allah. Then you know very well and I know very well — Allah has forgotten me for those moments because of my ill treatment of Allah.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Do not become from those group of people who chose, number one, to forget Allah — that Allah then made them forget themselves." This i'rad that we see — when a person misses his fajr, when a person misses the opportunity to come to the masjid month after month, and then a person says, "How's life? It's going great. Business is going well. Everything is going great." My friends, this is the greatest punishment. What greater punishment could you want — than that a person finds the doors of the masjid closed upon him? That he doesn't feel the urge, the desire, to come to the house of Allah. Week after week, month after month, it doesn't even hurt anymore. It doesn't even feel painful that it's been so long since I came to the masjid.

Where is that pain? A person feels pain: I haven't done my weekly or daily exercise. I haven't gone for my Sunday basketball practice. I haven't gone for my Saturday golfing. A person feels guilty and remorse about these things. But is there guilt that month after month goes by and we haven't been able to hear the adhan of fajr? Have we been able to pray salatul fajr in the masjid? Remember these things.

The Special Status of Fajr Salah

Allah jalla jalaluhu says in Surah Al-Isra:

When Allah mentions and alludes to the four daily salah, but the fifth one — fajr salah — is the only one that Allah specifically mentions in this ayah, and for that matter in any other part of the Qur'an as well. Specifically, Allah mentions Quran al-Fajr. إِنَّ قُرْآنَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا — "Indeed the recitation of Fajr is ever witnessed." You come for salatul fajr — when the Qur'an is being recited, it is packed with angels. The masjid may be empty unfortunately, but most definitely the angels understand the value of fajr. All the angels that were with you at night are present for fajr. And all the angels that are going to come with you during the day are present for fajr.

This is a time that you don't want to miss. This is a fajr salah that you don't want to miss. The angels are packed — the masjid is packed with these most holy, blessed beings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

— who never disobey Almighty Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Prophet's ﷺ Final Words: Hold On to Salah

Remember, my brothers and sisters, the very last prayer that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed in the masjid — the very last prayer that my Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam prayed before he left this world — was salatul fajr. The very last chance and opportunity that the Sahaba had to see the back of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as he was leading — and then when he turned around to show his blessed face that they would be so yearning to look at — was salatul fajr. Till the very end, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam kept to that salah in the masjid.

And as he was passing away, as the hadith I mentioned to you at the beginning — the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam kept on saying: as-salah, as-salah, as-salah — hold on to the prayer, hold on to the prayer, hold on to the prayer. And the Sahabi says he kept on saying this until the death rattle began. Until he could no longer speak. And as the soul was coming out of the throat, as happens to any dying person, you could hear Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam trying to still pronounce as-salah, as-salah.

Because this Ummah — as long as it holds on to salah — will be successful no matter what happens in this world. And will be successful in the Hereafter. And that Ummah that neglects salah will definitely, definitely fail and falter in every sense of the word — today as well as tomorrow and the Hereafter.

That is why the ulama — some of the scholars — would say that the person who doesn't perform his salah: no brick, no sign, no gravestone should even be placed on his grave, so people shouldn't even know that it's a grave. Let people walk over it, let them trample over the grave of someone who has neglected salah. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal went to that extent, to say that based on the literal meaning of the hadith — that what is between salah and between iman and kufr? One thing: salah. But the majority of the ulama have given the opinion that no, a person who neglects salah — we won't say he's a disbeliever — but he is definitely committing a major sin.

A Call to Commitment

Let's not think about the sin now. Let's think about what's at stake. Allah has done so much for me. Isn't it only right that I show my appreciation to my Allah? And isn't it only right that — subhanAllah — I show Allah the face that He wants to see me with? I'm going to have to meet Allah when I die. I'm going to have to meet my Nabi alayhissalatu wassalam tomorrow on the Day of Judgment. How am I going to be able to face him without having salah with me?

Let us, insha'Allah ta'ala, make this strong commitment — that we will pray our five times daily fard salah, insha'Allah. Say insha'Allah. Whatever has happened in the past, bit by bit — not only do we repent, but we will try to make an effort to make it up.

And number two, for the brothers here — let us make one salah, fajr or isha, or dhuhr, whatever is convenient for you — take this as a commitment: I will pray it in the masjid. Whichever local masjid you have. Let us not — these easy winter months, it's so easy to pray in the masjid with isha being early and fajr being so late — let us insha'Allah ta'ala make this commitment.

This is what is going to give you and I nur on the Day of Judgment — nur, when you and I will need that nur. We will be coming through fajr salah, through performing salah of isha and fajr in the masjid. Allah will give you nur. Allah will give you the reward of standing up the entire night in tahajjud. And you will get a direct personal assurance from Allah:

The one who prays fajr salah with jama'ah is under the protection of Allah. And Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: you better watch out if you want to mess with Allah's protection. The one who is protected by Allah — don't mess with him. You want protection from Allah? Pray your fajr salah with jama'ah, and Allah will give it to you.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 657)

Du'a and Closing

I pray and I beg to Allah that He makes you and I and our children and our spouses from amongst those who establish salah properly until the last day. May Allah save us ever from neglecting the salah intentionally. Whatever salah you and I have missed, may Allah allow us to make that up and seek genuine forgiveness for that.