Prayer in Ramadan

Prayer in Ramadan

اللهم صلِّ وسلِّم وبارك على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلِّم اللهم تسليماً كثيراً. أما بعد.

All praise is due to Allah, and His praise and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, and his followers until the Day of Judgment. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship and Muhammad is his last and final Messenger.

Ramadan: The Month That Returns Us to the Basics

My dear brothers and sisters, Ramadan is a month that reminds us of the basics of Islam. And when we say basics, it means foundations. It means the most important thing that the Muslim must adhere to, hold on to.

Ramadan is a month that establishes the basics of Islam in the hearts of the believers. And among the things that Ramadan is so much associated with — as it refers to one of the pillars of Islam, which is fasting, to fast the month of Ramadan — is the issue of caring for the prayer. And this is something very noticeable, to the extent that so many times people ask: Is fasting valid without praying? That shows you that people start to have more concern about the salah and making sure that they pray.

You notice the number of people who come to the masajid, or to the masjid, in Ramadan — it is much higher in rate than outside of Ramadan. But that has basically led me to always think of Ramadan as the month that brings us back to the basics. The absolute submission to Allah, which is a basic thing we should always have.

But you don't see this in the other months or other issues. You see people in Ramadan submitting to Allah, submitting completely. If they say you should break your fast with Maghrib, you break your fast with Maghrib. There's no philosopher who says you should leave it 5 minutes before or 10 minutes after. If they say you end your fast at this time, you break your fast at this time; you start your fasting at that time — nobody comes and says, "Hey, let's change this, what about this, I think that, what if..." — it makes no sense. But people completely submit to Allah.

The Greatness of As-Salah

As-salat — one of the things that it is so important to keep up with — as we keep up with siyam in Ramadan and outside Ramadan, as-salat is something so valuable that when Allah made it obligatory upon Muslims, He raised Muhammad all the way up, above all the creations, above all the worlds, near Him, where His throne is. And He told Muhammad about the salah. And He ordered him to pray.

Then He sent Jibreel, upon him be peace, to the Prophet multiple times to teach him when the salah starts and when it ends: أرسل الله جبريل يُعلِّمه مواقيت الصلاة أكثر من مرة، متى تبدأ الصلاة ومتى تنتهي. And He revealed verses in the Quran in relation to this.

The place of as-salat was very great indeed in the heart of the Prophet, to the extent that he said: جُعِلَتْ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلَاةِ. The cool of my eyes is in the salah — the most relaxing situation, the most content and pleased the Prophet would be was when he was in his sujood.

Aisha's Description of the Prophet's Prayer

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was once asked about the Prophet's prayer — how many rak'ahs he used to pray. She gave a remarkable answer. She said: "Who among you can pray like the Prophet?" It's not about how many rak'ahs — it's how he prayed those rak'ahs. It is when the heart is so attached to this act of worship. When you know the value of the salat, you will value each minute and every second of it.

Some of the early scholars — like Sa'eed Abu Sa'eed — said: "Wallahi, each salat has a special taste, has a special place in my heart." He said: I pray Dhuhr, and I can barely wait for the next Dhuhr. He didn't just wait for the next salat like Dhuhr to Asr. No — he said Dhuhr has a special feeling, Asr has a special feeling, Maghrib has a special feeling — I can't wait for the next day to pray Maghrib again.

How many of those early scholars used to say: "The only thing I'm going to miss after death is not being able to pray anymore." Sometimes one feels ashamed that when we travel we say, "Alhamdulillah, I get to join prayers" — kind of skipping the full observance of each salat. They used to pray with complete sincerity and devotion. They felt that this connection connected them with Allah. Truly.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was once asked by Abdullah ibn Umair to tell him about the most memorable moment she witnessed from the Prophet's prayer — something she could not forget. She said: One night the Prophet left my bed to pray. Then I told him:

"O Messenger of Allah, I love having you near me." He said: "Let me be, O Aisha — let me worship my Lord." (Reported with similar wording in various narrations of Aisha's descriptions of the Prophet's night prayer.)

Aisha said: "I loved you to be next to me, but I also love anything that makes you happy. And I know you are happy when you pray."

Then the Prophet rose, made wudu, and stood to pray. He prayed long prayers and his tears made his garment wet. Even the ground where he was standing was wet. Until Bilal came to wake the Prophet for the prayer, but he found that the Prophet was already praying. And he listened to the Prophet's prayer and was deeply moved by it. Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, sat on the step outside the door and was crying because of the Prophet's crying.

Then later on, after the Prophet finished, Bilal said: "O Messenger of Allah, all this, when Allah has already forgiven all your previous sins?" The Prophet answered: "Shouldn't I be thankful to Allah?" And he said: "I have received verses tonight" — referring to the verses at the end of Surah Ali 'Imran (verses 190–200). Then he said:

They missed the point. The Prophet's prayer was not because of sin. His prayer was because of the love, the connection. That is why du'a is not just about what you want to happen to you. Du'a is an opportunity to be connected with Allah, to speak to Allah. Every time you pray, Allah looks at you, connected with you at that moment.

The Fifty Prayers Reduced to Five

The Prophet told us that it was originally 50 prayers, then Allah made it 5. Just one tip — every time you pray a salah, remember: this is supposed to be equal to 50 salah.

Then ask yourself: Is my prayer really worth 50 prayers? Is every salah that we pray really equal to that number, or worth that many salats?

الصَّلَاةُ عَمُودُ الدِّينِ — As-salah is the main pillar in Islam.

Hadiths on the Importance of Salah

(Reported by Ahmad and others; similar narrations in Sunan Abu Dawud)

Five things — if you come with them on the Day of Judgment with Iman, belief in Allah, you will enter Jannah. The first thing the Prophet mentioned: those who are committed and constantly pray the five daily prayers, making sure they perfect the wudu, the ruku', the sujood, and doing it on time. Then he mentioned fasting Ramadan, making Hajj, and giving zakah.

And the Prophet also said — in the hadith of Ubadah ibn al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1420; Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 461; narrated by Ubadah ibn al-Samit)

Five daily prayers that Allah has prescribed upon His servants. If you commit and constantly pray your daily five prayers and you don't miss any one of them out of istikkhfaf — carelessness about them — then Allah has a promise for that person that He will enter that person into Paradise. Because sometimes you miss a prayer, not because you are careless — but if you miss it because you are careless and don't care about them, that is a problem. And if you come without fulfilling these five — not four, not three, but five — Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha, praying them on time — then there is no promise from Allah for such a person to enter Jannah. He might enter and he might not.

The Story of the Two Brothers

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that during the Prophet's time, there were two brothers, and one of them passed away 40 days earlier than his brother. Every time someone was praised in front of the Prophet, it was always the first brother who had died earlier. The Prophet said: "Isn't his brother Muslim too?" He was not considered the best of persons. Then the Prophet said:

(Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 462; similar narration in Musnad Ahmad)

"How would you know what these 40 days of prayers have done to this man? Have elevated this person's level in Jannah? These prayers are like a river in front of you — you go and wash yourself in it every day. What do you think? You will be so pure, so completely cleansed. That is what the salah does to a person." Nothing of your sins will be left, because every time you wash yourself in it, they are washed away.

The First Question on the Day of Judgment

(Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 466; al-Tabarani; narrated by Abu Hurayrah and others)

The first thing on the Day of Judgment you will be asked about — it is not your family, not your children, not your parents, not your money, not your health. The first thing Allah will ask you about is your salah. If it is good, you pass, and Allah will look at the rest of your deeds — now He sees the donations, now He sees the sadaqah, now He sees the zakat, now He sees Ramadan. But if it is corrupt and unfulfilled, then the rest will not be of benefit, and he will be punished for that before being brought back to be judged for the rest of his deeds.

The Best of Deeds

Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that he asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what is the best thing I can do?" The Prophet said: "The prayer." He was asked again: "Then what?" He said: "The prayer." Again: "Then what?" He said: "The prayer." A third time the same. Then he was asked a fourth time: "But then what next?" He said: "Jihad in the way of Allah."

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 223; narrated by Abu Malik al-Ash'ari)

As-salah is light — guidance. That is why the sahaba used to do du'a al-istikharah: they would pray two rak'ahs, then ask Allah to guide them. Because it is nur. It is a light to guide you, to help you make right decisions. Guide you in this dunya. Protect you. A guidance in your grave. Light in your grave. Light on the Day of Judgment when you pass over the Sirat.

Increasing in Sujood

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 488; narrated by Thawban)

Increase the number of your sujood. Every time you make sajdah, Allah will elevate you one level in Jannah and take away one of your sins.

(Musnad Ahmad; narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari)

As-salah is the best subject — so increase as much as you want from it.

The Gift of Abu al-Darda' on His Deathbed

Yusuf ibn Abdullah ibn Salam came to visit Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, right before he died. Abu al-Darda' saw this young man and said: "What brought you to this city? You are not from here." He said: "I came because of the bond between you and my father, Abdullah ibn Salam, may Allah be pleased with him. He used to be a good friend of yours. My father passed away so I came to fulfill my father's right by visiting his friends." Abu al-Darda' said: "My son, this is the worst time for a person to lie — right before they die. So I am going to tell you something I heard from the Prophet as a gift to you for coming to visit me." He said:

(Musnad Ahmad; narrated by Abu al-Darda')

If you make a good wudu and you pray two rak'ahs, performing your dhikr well with good khushu', and then you ask Allah for forgiveness — Allah will forgive your sins.

Rushing to Salah in Times of Distress

Whenever something worried the Prophet, he would rush to the salah. As-salah has tremendous power of protection.

When Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, was told that al-Ma'mun wanted to see him and might torture him, what did Imam Ahmad do? He turned to the salah. He prayed two rak'ahs and made du'a:

"O Lord, do not let me ever see al-Ma'mun's face." And al-Ma'mun died before Imam Ahmad arrived to Baghdad.

And Imam al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him — in his youth he was very promising and his mother loved him dearly and was excited about his future. Then he became blind as a teenager. His mother was very sad, for now he would not be able to travel and all the plans she had for him had changed all of a sudden. She said: "I spent nights doing nothing but praying to Allah in my salah." She would wake up for the night prayer, crying and praying and asking Allah to heal her son. And He did. She said: "One morning, after that night of prayer, I woke up and my son was seeing again. I don't know how, why, or what happened — it was because of her du'a and her salah."

May Allah make us among those who care for the salah and hold on to it. Because sometimes we get distracted by small things here and there, but the main thing we sometimes lose focus on is the most important principle in our religion after tawheed, which is as-salah — عَمُودُ الْإِسْلَامِ — the main pillar of Islam.

Praying On Time: A Reflection

I just want to share with you very quickly something that I read — written by a modern scholar — that really made me think a lot about as-salah and praying on time. He said:

"The idea that makes me ashamed when it comes to delaying the prayer from its time is this: I am not the one who decided when I should pray or what time I should be praying. It is the Creator Himself who decided that — the One who created this entire universe with its greatness, its vastness, its beauty, and its precision. If someone told you today that a person wants to meet you, and that person is the owner of such-and-such business, or the president of such-and-such country — my God, you would be there on time, and even before time. But this is the Creator of all of that. He is the One who wants you to come to Him, to stand before Him, to speak to Him, to make du'a to Him, to pray to Him."

"And what do I do most of the time? I make that appointment the very last of my priorities, the last thing I think about. I am so distracted by all these silly things in life. He wants me for just a few minutes, and I keep delaying, keep being distracted, dragging my feet — what a loser I am. He is calling me for a private meeting, just between me and Him, and I am the one in need while He is the Most High, the Most Rich, the All-Generous. And I turn that private meeting into an open meeting — online, everything — I think about everyone else and bring the whole world into it."

"He wants me to disconnect from this busy, distracted life for just a few minutes every day, so I can talk to Him about my concerns and worries — to Him alone, no one else. And He is the Most Powerful, the Creator, the One who doesn't even need my ibadah, doesn't need my time, doesn't need my voice, doesn't need to see me at all. I am the one in great need of Him. Yet I still drag my feet — I come as if something heavy is weighing me down, or as if I want to rush through it, as if I have been forced — not something that comes from within. I am present in the prayer but I am not praying. I make ruku' and sujood, but my heart is not there."

I hope these words can remind us of what Allah said:

As-salah was described as prescribed upon the believers at specific times.

"Guard strictly your prayers, especially the middle prayer (Salat al-Asr)." That is what Allah has said — in so many verses of the Quran — ordering us to perform salat on time.

Du'a