In the previous chapter, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) illustrated for us the privilege of wudu ’, which is the key to prayer. So what about prayer itself, which is considered the basis of religion?
Mu'adh ibn Jabal narrated: I said, “Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act that will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from Hell-fire.
He said, “You have asked me about a major matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah the All- Mighty makes it easy. You should worship Allah, associating nothing with Him; you should perform the prayers; you should pay the zakah\ you should fast in Ramadan; and you should make the Hajj (Pilgrimage) to the House (Ka'bah).
Then he said, “Shall I not show you the gates of goodness?
Fasting, which is a shield; charity, which extinguishes sin a water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depth of the night.
Then he recited <They forsake their beds as they call on their Lord in fear and hope, and they expend of that we have bestowed upon them. No soul knows what joys of the eye have been kept hidden for them as reward for their deeds) (Surat As-Sajdah 32:16-17).
Then he said, “Shall I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar and its topmost part? The peak of the matter is Islam; the pillar is prayer; and its topmost part is jihad.” Then he said, “Shall I not tell you of the controlling of all that?” I said, “Yes, Messenger of Allah.”
And he took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, will what we say be held against us?” He said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, Mu'adh!
Is there anything that topples people on their faces — or he said on their noses — into Hell-fire other than the harvest of their tongue?”
(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi).
This hadith sheds light on the importance of prayer as the cornerstone of this religion. All the laws and duties in Islam were revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on earth except for the commandment for prayer, which was revealed in the Heavens during his journey of Mi'raj. Allah prescribed five daily prayers, the reward of which equals fifty times more. Prayer purifies the soul.
This is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said about it, “Islam has been built on five (pillars): testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying the zakah (alms). making the Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (Ka'bah), and fasting in Ramadan/
1 (Narrated by Al-Bukhari).
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The five daily prayers and the two consecutive Friday prayers obliterate the sins that are committed between them except for the major ones,” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi) and, “He who performs wudu ’ (ablution) like mine and then stands for Zuhr (noon) Prayer, all that he may have done between the morning and the noon prayers would be forgiven for him.
Then he stands for the 'Asr (afternoon ) Prayer, all that between the noon and afternoon prayers would be forgiven for him. Then he stands to pray Maghrib (sunset) Prayer, all that he may have done between the afternoon and sunset prayers would be forgiven for him. Then he stands to pray Tsha’ (night) Prayer, all that he may have done between the sunset and night prayers would be forgiven for him, and these are the good deeds that remove the bad deeds/
1 (Narrated by Ahmad).
Prayer is the first thing that the servants of Allah will be asked about on the Day of Judgment. Be devoted to praying in the mosque.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A man’s prayer in congregation is more valuable than twenty degrees and some above them as compared with his prayer in his house and his market. For when he performs wudu ’ well, than goes out to the mosque, and he is impelled to do so only by the love of congregational prayer, he has no other objective before him but prayer, he does not take a step without being raised a degree for it and having a sin remitted for it, till he enters the mosque.
And when he is busy in prayer after having entered the mosque, the angels continue to invoke blessing on him as long as he is in his place of worship, saying, ‘O Allah, show him mercy and pardon him! Accept his repentance.’
(And the angels continue this supplication for him) so long as he does not do any harm in it, or as long as his wudu ’ is not broken.”
(Narrated by Muslim).
Again, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in favor of praying in the mosque, “Whoever goes to the congregational prayer in the mosque, one step remits a sin and one other step adds a good deed. This happens to him on his way to and from the mosque.” (Narrated by Ahmad). And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever performs wudu’ perfectly and walks to perform the obligatory prayer with the imam, Allah will forgive his sin for him.”
(Narrated by Ibn Khuzaimah).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made walking to mosques by night desirable to people by giving them this glad tiding: “He who walks in the darkness of the night to the mosque will meet Allah on the Day of Judgment with a light.”
(Narrated by At-Tabarani).
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Give those who walk to the mosques in the darkness the glad tidings that they will have platforms of light on the Day of Judgment, and when people get scared they don’t,” (Narrated by At-Tabarani) and, “Give those who walk constantly to the mosques by night the glad tiding of being in complete light on the Day of Judgment.”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood).
Among the seven persons who will be included in Allah’s protection on the Day of Judgment are those whose hearts are attached to mosques. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Seven are the persons whom Allah will give protection with His Shade on the Day when there will be no shade but that of Him (i.e., The Day of Judgment).
They are: the just ruler; a young man who grew up with the worship of Allah; a person whose heart is attached to the mosques; two persons who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah; a man whom a beautiful woman of high rank seduces but he rejects saying, ‘Ifear Allah’; a person who gives charity and conceals it to such an extent that the right hand does not know what the left has given; and a person who remembered Allah in privacy and his eyes shed tears.”
(Narrated by Muslim).
We have to acknowledge the excellence of the first row in the congregational prayer over the back rows. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If the people knew the reward for pronouncing the adhan and for standing in the first row and found no other way to get that except by drawing lots (racing), they would draw lots.”
(Narrated by Al- Bukhari).
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The one in the first row will have Allah’s pardon invoked for him three times, and the one in the second row two times.”
(Narrated by Ibn Majah).
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah and His angels extend their blessing for those in the first row.” They asked, “And those in the second?” He said, “And for those who are in the second.” And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Straighten your rows, and put your shoulders close to one another, and be gentle to each other, and fill in the gaps because Satan passes throi ih what is between you like a small sheep.”
(Narrated by At- iTabarani).
The Companion An-Nu'man ibn Al-Bashir said that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, Allah and His angels send down their blessing on those in the first row and those in the first rows.”
(Narrated by Ahmad).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) attracted people to go and stay frequently in the mosques by saying, If you see a man who goes habitually to the mosques, then bear witness for him that he has faith. Allah the Exalted says {But is only those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, who establish prayer and pay alms, and fear none but Allah, who are worthy of maintaining the mosques of Allah. . .) (Surat At-Taubah 9: 1 8).”
(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi).
Abu Ad-Darda’ also said that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “The mosque is every pious man’s home. Allah grants the one whose home is the mosque mercy and safe passing on the Sirat to His satisfaction in Paradise.”
(Narrated by At-Tabarani).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, “If anyone is familiar with the mosque, Allah will be familiar with him.”
(Narrated by At-Tabarani).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade those who had eaten onion or garlic or anything of an offensive smell in the mouth from entering mosques. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who eats of this plant, i.e., garlic, should not come to the mosque,” and, “He who eats of this plant, i.e., garlic, should not approach us or pray along with us.”
(Narrated by Muslim).
May Allah protect us from anything of an offensive smell, as it harms the angels. If this is the case with onion and garlic, what about smoke and cigarettes, which do not have the benefits of garlic and onions, but are full of dangers and harms?
We pray to Allah to make us among those who, when they listen to anything that is said, follow the best of it.
