The Obligations of a Muslim - Shaykh Abdul Hadi

Khutbah Opening

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask His help and we ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the misdeeds of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He sends astray, none can guide him.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.

The Three Khutbah Verses

Amma ba'd: Verily the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family. And the worst of matters are those that are newly invented, and every newly invented matter is a بِدْعَة (innovation), and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Salat: The Pillar of Islam

Brothers, Salat — prayer — is obligatory upon every believer, male and female. They have to pray five times daily. Salat is a Rukn, a pillar of Islam.

Although there are in our practical life four pillars after the declaration of Tawheed — after the declaration of the Oneness of Allah — there are four practical things which are considered as pillars of Islam, but each and every one has certain conditions depending on situation and circumstances.

Like fasting in the month of Ramadan — Sawm-e-Ramadan — which is fard, which is a pillar of Islam, but a person who is not fit during the month of Ramadan because of physical illness, or he is a traveler, he may delay after Eid to fast. Or if because of old age someone cannot fast, then he can give something as a fidya — compensation — but he is not going to fast, though he believes fasting is fard but practically he cannot take part in it.

And Zakat — no doubt this is fard, one of the pillars of Islam — but the person who has savings is going to pay Zakat. A poor and needy Muslim cannot pay Zakat; rather he will wait for someone to pay him. And Hajj is obligatory upon every believer once in his lifetime, but only for he who has the ability — if you are fit physically and financially to travel there, then Hajj will be fard. But those who cannot afford it cannot practically take part in Hajj.

But Salat is not like that. Salat is obligatory — fard — upon every male and female, rich and poor, healthy and ill person, traveler and resident. They all have to pray five times daily.

The Quranic Command to Pray Regularly

And Allah says regarding Salat, in Surah Ar-Rum, verse 31 — which is very, very important:

You have to pray regularly and do not be among the Mushrikeen. And according to that, there is a hadith — the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says: the difference between Muslims and Mushrik, between believers and Kuffar, in their practical life, is Salat.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 246)

So with this we can understand the importance of Salat.

Key Points Regarding Salat

1. Laziness in Salat is Unacceptable

Towards Salat we have to consider a few points. First, laziness in Salat — like some who are careless, who don't bother about Salat — this is not acceptable. Rather, this will be considered as a sign of hypocrisy. The hypocrites used to come to pray but with laziness, to show off, not to please Allah. They were not sincere in this.

If you read Surah An-Nisa, there are many verses relating to that. They used to come even to pray in congregation, with Jama'ah, but to show off — for show, not to please Allah. So the first point: laziness in Salat is not acceptable.

2. Regularity in Salat

The second point is regularity — not whenever you like to pray, but five times in appropriate time we have to pray, regardless of the situation. If we cannot come to the Masjid — for example because of coronavirus restrictions or a pandemic — but we have to pray wherever we are: at home, or at the workplace, or wherever. We have to pray regularly.

Some Muslims, unfortunately, are only praying occasionally. For example, just Salatul Jumu'ah — they are trying to come. This is very good, but it is not enough. We have to be regular in Salat, not occasionally or only whenever we like.

3. Salat is 'Ibadah — Follow the Sunnah

Another point relating to Salat: Salat is 'Ibadah, and 'Ibadah is Tawqifi — meaning we cannot innovate anything in Salat. We have to be followers of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him. Therefore, before Salat, before praying, we have to learn how we are going to pray according to the Sunnah — what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

4. Khushu' — Sincerity and Concentration in Salat

Another point in Salat is Khushu'. What is Khushu'? Sincerity. We have to be serious when we pray. It is not like a formality, or a cultural thing, or a traditional thing. When we are praying, first we have to think about what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. This is Niyyah — intention. It does not mean that we have to pronounce something — that is wrong. Niyyah means we have to think for a while: what we are going to do, in front of whom we are going to stand, how we are going to ask, and how we are going to please Allah, how we will be entitled to get the pleasure of Allah. This is actually Niyyah. Therefore we need to concentrate, to focus on how we are going to pray.

Practical Method: Qiyam al-Layl

To improve our quality of Salat — our Khushu' in Salat, sincerity in Salat — my practical recommendation is: wake up early in the morning for Salatul Tahajjud, Qiyam al-Layl. Prepare and pray 2 Raka'at or 4 Raka'at, whatever is possible. You can consider that you can improve your Taqwa and your Khushu' if you pray Salatul Tahajjud, Qiyam al-Layl, because during this night prayer you can concentrate, you can reflect on what you are going to do. And if you make Du'a — especially during this Tahajjud time — you can feel within yourself tranquility, peace, and prosperity from Allah.

For this, if we want to improve the quality of our Salat, then try to pray during the night time — not only the obligatory five times of Salat, but also try to pray Qiyam al-Layl as well. And also there is another point: Nawafil — non-obligatory prayers — pray as much as you can to get the pleasure of Allah and extra reward from Allah.

So these few things relating to Salat we have to consider. Do not pray as a formality, but consider that this is part of 'Ibadah, essential upon every believer.

Du'a

May Allah give us Tawfiq and ability for understanding the teaching of the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah and following the best. May Allah protect us all from the pandemic. May Allah cure our brothers and sisters who are suffering from any type of illness. And may Allah forgive those of our brothers and sisters who have passed away.

Learning Salat: A Parental Responsibility

As a brief reminder: Salat is one of the pillars of Islam, obligatory upon every believer. But before Salat, we have to learn. Is it not a surprise — or a matter of sadness — that a Muslim boy or girl, born in a Muslim family, does not know how to perform Wudu according to the Sunnah of Nabi, peace and blessings be upon him? They don't know how to pray. They don't even know what to say or how they are going to say it.

Who is responsible for this? We, as parents, are responsible. Therefore we have to learn Salat according to the Sunnah of Nabi, peace and blessings be upon him, and teach it to our children and our family members. If there is anything wrong or that needs to be corrected, this is our responsibility to address. It has been noted that there are many brothers and sisters who do not even know Wudu according to the Sunnah of Nabi, peace and blessings be upon him, and they do not even know how they are going to pray Salat — although Salat is fard, five times daily. So we need to learn Salat.