Salah

Alhamdulillahi wahdah, alhamdulillahi wassalatu wassalamu ala rasoolillah, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi, wa man wala wa ba'd. All praise 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.

The Story of Jurayj Al-Abid

My dear brothers and sisters. It was narrated from Abu Huraira that the Prophet said, "Three people only spoke while they were still infants." Among them was Jurayj al-Abid. Jurayj al-Abid was an avid worshipper during the time of the children of Israel who had an isolated place where he would go, pray, and dedicate his time to prayer and to worship. Then one day, his mother came to him while he was praying. She called him. During the salah he said, "O my Lord, should I continue my salah and answer your call or should I answer my mother's call?" He did not answer her. She left. The second day the same thing happened. She got mad because every time she looked for him, she found him praying. And he was not sleeping—he was praying. So she was very angry at him and she said, "O Allah, do not let him die until he sees the faces of prostitutes."

That was supposed to be a very strong du'a. Today people download apps to see these faces and to follow them and to follow their lifestyle. For him to see the faces and the life and the people of indecency and the people of fahisha, this is a punishment in itself. So anyway, she said this against him. People continued to talk about him and his worship. Until one day, a woman who was known to be a prostitute and very beautiful and attractive said, "I'll show you. You think that this man is untouchable, that he is so dedicated to his Lord. I'll show you that like any other man, I can take over his heart."

She came to him in his isolated place, in his place of worship. She tried to seduce him and show some of her beauty, revealing herself, trying to seduce him. She said, "By Allah, I do not know if this man is a human being or a rock, no feelings." She was so frustrated because everybody was laughing at her after she came back, disappointed. She couldn't do anything to him; she couldn't seduce him. Then she went and she fornicated with another man and became pregnant. When she delivered the baby, she intentionally did that because she wanted to claim that she had done that with Jurayj al-Abid and that this was his child. When the people heard that about him, she came crying and said, "He raped me. I came to counsel him or whatever. I was with him and he raped me and now this is his baby." And basically she accused him.

So the people were very angry at him. They dragged him out, they beat him up. He didn't even know what was happening. They said, "Why are you doing all this?" and they burned his place of worship. They said, "You did that with the woman and this is your child. Why would she lie? People saw her coming to your place that day."

Then he said, "Leave me, let me pray to my Lord. Before you kill me or do anything to me, let me pray to Allah two rak'ahs." He prayed two rak'ahs and he prayed to Allah in the salah that Allah would save him. Then after he finished, he said, "Show me the boy."

He came to the boy and he tapped the boy's side with his finger and he said, "Who is your father?" And the infant, just a newborn, spoke and said, "My father is so and so the farmer." They started crying and regretting what they did to Jurayj al-Abid. They kissed his hand and tried to kiss his feet. They said, "We know what? We are building it to your back, your place of worship, and we put a dome on the top of it made of pure gold to honor you."

And he said, "No. Just put it back the way it was. I don't need anything from you."

Salah as a Source of Protection and Strength

As-Salat is the one thing that you turn to in a time of calamity, in a time of hardship. When you seek protection, when you seek help, when you don't see a door open for you, when you see things tight, when you want to be truly connected to Allah, As-Salat is the thing that you run to. And that's something known among the people of faith through generations. And definitely something well-established in our religion as Muslims, as the Prophet is the role model for us.

When things of concern came to the Prophet, he would rush to the Salat. As-Salat is something so valuable, and it has very high status in the heart and the mind of Muslims, that comes before everything, and above everything in their lives. As-Salat is something so sweet, so beautiful, a protection, a refill of your Iman, an inspiration, a connection, a purification.

The Prophet's Devotion to Prayer

Once, Aisha was asked an interesting question. Abdullah ibn Umair once asked Aisha a question. He said, "Can you tell me about something so unique, something that happened when it comes to Muhammad, in relation to Salat? Something that you witnessed and it was a very special incident." She started her talk with tears coming down from her eyes. When someone starts with tears, you know that what's coming is heavy. You know that what's coming is something so meaningful for her to start her talk with tears.

She said, "The Prophet was with me that night. We were cuddling next to each other in the bed. Then the Prophet got up. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, come and sit. Come and lay down. Let's continue cuddling and being next to each other.' He said, 'O Aisha, let me go. Let me worship my Lord.' I said to him, 'But by Allah, I love for you to be next to me. But you know what I love more? I love more the thing that you love the most.' And she knew that what he loved the most was to pray. What a wise wife!"

She said, "And by Allah, I love the thing that makes you happy. So he got up, he purified himself, and he prayed. That night, he was crying so much in his prayer that it was not only his clothes that became wet, but even the sands between his feet were wet because of all the tears that came down from him. The earth between his feet was wet because of all the tears."

Until Bilal came and called the Prophet for Fajr prayer time. When Bilal came and found the Prophet in such a state, in tears, Bilal himself couldn't hold back and started crying. He just sat right there at the door. He said, "I just saw you crying and in tears, so I started crying. O Messenger of Allah, you're crying and all your sins are already forgiven? Whatever you did in the past and whatever you might do in the future—all forgiven—yet you're still in tears. What are these tears for? What's the reason behind it?"

The Prophet said, "Should I not be a grateful servant to my Lord? Tonight, verses were revealed to me. It is not appropriate, not acceptable, not right for someone to know about these verses and not reflect upon them. I received verses from Allah tonight. When I received them, I could not continue sleeping."

Then he recited the verses from 190 to 200 in Surah Al-Imran, the end of Al-Imran.

Allah says in the heavens and earth. For those who have wisdom, for those who have a sense of understanding, for those who are wise—those who mention Allah while they are standing, while they are laying down, while they are sitting, in all situations. Those who reflect and contemplate on the creations of Allah will lead them to understand and appreciate the signs. These reflections and these contemplations and these reminders that they see around them will lead them to say:

"You have not created all this for nothing. Protect us from the hellfire."

I recommend that you look at these verses from 190 all the way to 200. Read them and read the translation and try to reflect upon them. The point is that the Prophet, when he recited them, was so moved by them that he could not sleep. He left his bed and spent the night in prayer. I ask Allah to make us and you among those who reflect upon the verses, those who contemplate them, those who honor and respect the obligation of prayer. I say what you have heard and I ask Allah for forgiveness for me and for you.

The Value of the Five Daily Prayers

My brothers and sisters, originally Salat was ordained as 50 prayers a day. Then it was reduced to 5, which we have today. That means every Salat of yours is supposed to be equal to what? To 10. The question is: Is your Salat equal to 10? Or to a tenth? Is your Salat really, in its value, in its essence, in its focus, equal to 10 Salawat? Or is only a tenth of your Salat the one that is worth being called Salat? Or a fourth? Or a fifth? Or whatever percentage it is?

The Prophet said, "Five things: if you commit yourself to them with Iman, you will enter Jannah. The five daily prayers with their wudu, their ruku, and their sujud, and at their proper times. And also fast Ramadan, and make Hajj to the House, and give the Zakat, and fulfill the trust. And basically fulfill the trust."

They said, "O Messenger of Allah, what is the trust?" He said, "To take a shower from Janabah, from sexual impurity, either because of intercourse or wet dream. For Allah has not entrusted the son of Adam with anything from his religion except this. It is a trust between you and Allah. Nobody knows if you have Janabah or not. Allah alone is the only one who knows. Nobody knows if you wash yourself perfectly or not."

The Importance of Ritual Purity

Many people ask me this question: Why is there so much emphasis on Janabah? In modern days, we don't see the big deal because it's so easy to take a shower. But in the old days, it was so hard to get water. It was very far and it was costly and it was very difficult. Because water was scarce, people wanted to conserve it. So the Prophet emphasized the obligation of complete purification and that the need for water should not be a reason to reduce or shorten the washing. The point is that in the old days, there was a very small amount of water. So many people might cut short their Janabah's washing because they wanted to save money and did not want to go all the way back and come again.

That might not be applicable in any form or shape today. But today, sometimes when you don't have your heater on and the water is so cold, and you don't want to take the shower, you might cut some part of your body. You just do a quick wash and get out of it. It's not very applicable in modern days, but it could be applicable to others today—that people try not to fulfill their Janabah, their washing. But the point is that Allah has not entrusted anything to us more than this. It is a trust between you and Allah.

Two Rak'ahs with Proper Intention

Yusuf, the son of Abdullah ibn Salam—and by the way, the Prophet named him Yusuf. Abdullah ibn Salam was the famous Jewish scholar who became Muslim. He brought his son to the Prophet and the Prophet prayed for him. Anyway, Yusuf ibn Abdullah ibn Salam traveled to Damascus. When he came to Damascus, he went to Abu Darda. Abu Darda was dying. He said, "O this one, death has come to me. So call the people." So everyone gathered in his house and outside the house. Then Yusuf came back and Abu Darda said, "Young man, what brought you?" He said, "My father and you were good friends." Abu Darda said, "Who is your father?" He said, "Abdullah ibn Salam." Then he remembered who he was.

Abu Darda said to him, "This is the worst time to lie. This is the worst time for you to lie—right before you die and meet Allah. But I want to tell you and all the people who are gathered here in front of me." He gathered everybody in the city to tell them this important hadith right before he died. "But I want to tell you: And Allah is my witness. I heard Muhammad saying: 'Whoever perfects their wudu and then stands and prays two rak'ahs, trying hard in them to remember Allah and to be humble, and then asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah will forgive all their sins.'"

This is in Syria. In Iraq, there is a man named Mutarraf. He was in Al-Kufa or Al-Basra. Anyway, he lived in one of those cities. He saw a man praying. This man would pray and pray and pray continuously. People around him told him, "By Allah, this man, I don't know if he will end his prayer with Shafa or Witr tonight." They were kind of criticizing him.

Mutarraf said, "Let me talk to him." Then he went and he said, "O old man, I saw you praying so many rak'ahs. Are you keeping count of how many rak'ahs you are praying? So you know if you are going to end with Shafa or Witr? Do you know how many you have prayed?" The man said, "Even if I don't count them and don't remember, Allah knows how many I have prayed. But the Prophet said, 'Whoever prostrates to Allah, one prostration, Allah will write for him one good deed. And he will erase from him one sin. And he will raise him by one degree.'"

Mutarraf said, "Who are you?" The man said, "I am Abu Dharr." Mutarraf went back to his companions and said, "You are the worst of companions. You brought me to a companion of the Messenger of Allah. You made me argue with him." Then he told them what Abu Dharr had told him. He said, "The Prophet said: 'At any time you make a prostration to Allah, Allah will erase your sins and raise you by one degree.'"