Come To Pray

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

If you don't live in an environment that reminded you of Allah at least 5 times a day, an environment where the call to prayer is made live every few hours everyday, and you are there somewhere unable to hear the adhans and the iqamas, waiting in an elevator, grocery shopping, waiting in line at the ticket box office for a movie premier, waiting in the traffic jam going to work, driving your kids to school, in meeting with your boss or clients, in the gym working out, and everything seem so rush, stressful, and out of shape, how do you occupy yourself with the Most Great? All the things you see around you should occupy yourself with the Creator because they all point to Him.

For starters, set whatever technological device you have to play the adhan when the prayer time comes for Fajr, Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib and 'Isha. Have it in your office, in your car and in more than one location in your house. Definitely on your cell phones, iTouch, iPod. This is more important than your amazing ringing tones, music, pictures, contacts, etc.

When the caller say "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar," (Allah Most Great), at that moment you are reminded that everything you do is for Allah because there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and everything is done according to the sunnah of His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. You leave everything behind and go to pray. What will you get out of this? Real success. The only success is in your prayer. Your boss, your children, your wife, your husband, your mother, your father, your family, your friends, they all are not going to be able to help you in your grave and when you are being asked in the Day of Judgment the first thing--your prayer.

Hadith: "The first thing that will be judged among a person's deeds on the Day of Resurrection is the prayer. If that is in good order, he will pass the test and prosper, and if that is defective, he will fail the test and will be a loser." (Tirmidhi)

Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, said that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to help his family in the house but the moment the prayer came he didn't know anybody.

So of course you will come to pray. When you go to the masjid, you wait for the second call to prayer. At that moment you are reminded again of the Day of Judgment. Everybody will be called to stand before Allah. Everybody are waiting in a row. You hear people screaming. You see people crying, faces black, people being dragged to the Hellfire. Your name will be called.

"Then, when there comes As-Sakhkhah (the second blowing of the Trumpet on the Day of Resurrection) — That Day shall a man flee from his brother, And from his mother and his father, And from his wife and his children. Every man, that Day, will have enough to make him careless of others." Qur'an Abasa 80:33-37

"(Some) faces on that day shall be bright, looking to their Lord. And (other) faces on that day shall be gloomy, knowing that there will be made to befall them some great calamity." Al-Qiyaamah 75:22-25

"Verily! they see it (the torment) afar off. But We see it (quite) near. The Day that the sky will be like the boiling filth of oil, (or molten copper or silver or lead). And the mountains will be like flakes of wool. And no friend will ask a friend (about his condition), Though they shall be made to see one another [(i.e. on the Day of Resurrection), there will be none but see his father, children and relatives, but he will neither speak to them nor will ask them for any help]. The Mujrim, (criminal, sinner, disbeliever) would desire to ransom himself from the punishment of that Day by his children. And his wife and his brother, And his kindred who sheltered him, And all that are in the earth, so that it might save him. By no means! Verily, it will be the Fire of Hell! Taking away (burning completely) the head skin! Calling (all) such as turn their backs and turn away their faces (from Faith) [picking and swallowing them up from that great gathering of mankind on the Day of Resurrection just as a bird picks up a food-grain from the earth with its beak and swallows it up]. (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi). And collect (wealth) and hide it (from spending it in the Cause of Allah). Verily, man (disbeliever) was created very impatient; Irritable (discontented) when evil touches him; And niggardly when good touches him;- Except those who are devoted to Salat (prayers). Those who remain constant in their Salat (prayers); Qur'an al-Ma'arij 70:6-23

So of course you will stand before Allah now, in prayer, with sincerity and deepest gratitude for Allah has blessed you with the ability to stand before Him right now, knowing that you might not be around when the next call to prayer comes because you might already be prayed upon and on your way to your grave and all doors of repentance have been shut for you.

May Allah grant us success in this world and the next. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Aiming For That Big Prize!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Of all the common discomfort in our lives is being in the heat. When you are in 113° F (45° C) + for days and nights, what do you do? Find AC, fans or go in or under a shade? What happen when you don't have any of those? Maybe you are in a desert and there are no trees. Maybe you can't afford AC or fans, or maybe you have them but there is no electricity--maybe the whole city lost power because it can't handle the high usage or someone ran into the power pole and cause the blackouts! It is a common occurrence living in the African desert. SubhanAllah. Nothing you experience in life, good or bad, is without a purpose if only you reflect.

People usually become impatient when they are faced with discomfort or problems. Likewise, people often forget to thank Allah in good times. If you are alone, who is there to remind you all these? You have to tell yourself often, "I am not going to fail this test!" And be prepared for the next test which can be harder. But if you surround yourself with righteous people, it would be easier for you. You go through good and bad times the same. You find happiness in both. You are content in both. You remind each other of the favors of Allah. You remind each other of patience. You remind each other of that big prize you are aiming for!

"(Some) faces on that day shall be bright, looking to their Lord. And (other) faces on that day shall be gloomy, knowing that there will be made to befall them some great calamity." Al-Qiyaamah 75:22-25

May Allah grant us much patience to go through this life and make us His thankful slave. Ameen. Please remember us in your night prayers. JazakAllahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalaam

Watch Your Steps

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The very steps you take to go about your daily lives, think of where those steps are going to land you in the next life. Perhaps these thoughts will pull you away from taking those steps that will take you to Hellfire and will rush to take those steps that will take you to Paradise, by Allah's Mercy. Indeed, the life Hereafter is no joke! It is either bliss or torment. The pain and sorrow in this life is nothing compared to the severity of the torment of the grave, Day of resurrection and Hell. No happiness in this life is comparable to the bliss in the Afterlife. The Qur'an describes these future events to help us make the right choices. That's why it is good to read the Qur'an everyday, so we are reminded all the time. If you recite and close to the Qur'an, it will be your companion in the next life, where all your friends and relatives won't be there to help you--they have their own huge problems to deal with at that time!

Sometimes, we behave as if there is no tomorrow--indulging ourselves with the world, fighting, arguing, stepping on people's toes, backbiting, gossiping, slandering, being selfish, cheating, being lazy, wasting our time, procrastinating, and so on. There is tomorrow---and tomorrow is Paradise or Hell. Allah gives us the opportunity to choose our final abode. If we choose Paradise then we must change our ways that go against the teachings of Islam and constantly increasing and improving our worship, even if you are praying, fasting, giving charity and so on, because there is always a better prayer, a better fasting, a better charity. By this sincere effort that we hope to gain the mercy of Allah so that He will put us into Paradise and grant us His Noble Countenance, and not put us into Hell. Allah is all-Thankful. The only way you can improve your worship is through having proper Islamic knowledge and du'a.

Narrated Ibn `Umar, Allah be pleased with him: The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the people of Paradise have entered Paradise and the people of the Fire have entered the Fire, death will be brought and will be placed between the Fire and Paradise, and then it will be slaughtered, and a call will be made (that), 'O people of Paradise, no more death! O people of the Fire, no more death! ' So the people of Paradise will have happiness added to their previous happiness, and the people of the Fire will have sorrow added to their previous sorrow." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Sa`id Al−Khudri, Allah be pleased with him: The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah will say to the people of Paradise, 'O the people of Paradise!' They will say, 'Labbaik, O our Lord, and Sa`daik!' Allah will say, 'Are you pleased?" They will say, 'Why should we not be pleased since You have given us what You have not given to anyone of Your creation?' Allah will say, 'I will give you something better than that.' They will reply, 'O our Lord! And what is better than that?' Allah will say, 'I will bestow My pleasure and contentment upon you so that I will never be angry with you after forever.' " (Bukhari)

"(Some) faces on that day shall be bright, looking to their Lord. And (other) faces on that day shall be gloomy, knowing that there will be made to befall them some great calamity." Al-Qiyaamah 75:22-25

May Allah resurrect us with His beloved, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and enter us into Paradise with him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalaam