Why Does Someone Not Pray?

Bismillah

Why does someone not pray? Allah has answered in this ayah, 

إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ ٱلْمَسَاقُ ‎﴿٣٠﴾‏ فَلَا صَدَّقَ وَلَا صَلَّىٰ ‎﴿٣١﴾‏ وَلَٰكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ ‎﴿٣٢﴾‏

To your Lord, that Day, will be the procession. (30) And the disbeliever had not believed, nor had he prayed. (31) But [instead], he denied and turned away. (32) [Quran. 30-32]

It means you are a Muslim in your head, not in your heart. Sometimes you know something but you don't think about it. Because that's missing that's why many people don't pray or they miss prayers. Their hearts are distracted. Allah doesn't need your prayer and if you prayed because someone couldn't get off your case, it has no value.

Actions have no value unless they have the right intention. The only one who can benefit from your prayer is only you.

What is the purpose of prayer? You might think if you don't pray you will be thrown in hell or the angels will curse you. Prayer is not to get away from something negative but to run towards something positive.  Take for example, the one who study because he doesn't want to fail is trying to escape from something negative, the student who study because he loves the subject, he is going to something positive and he enjoys every moment of it.

Allah told Musa alayhissalaam 

إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ ‎﴿١٤﴾‏

Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance. [Quran, Ta-Ha 23:14]

Your relationship with the creation is very limited but your relationship with Allah started a long time before you even came to this world and will continue after you leave this world. That relationship is worth remembering because every good thing that comes to you, comes as a result of that relationship. If you want all the positive things to stay in your life, you must remember where all the good, the blessings, the provision, the guidance come from. So Allah says the best way to remember that is prayer.

Just because you are doing it for the right reasons, there are benefits too. 

There is benefit when you truly remember Allah. Allah says,

ٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ ‎﴿٤٥﴾‏

Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do. [Quran, Al Ankabut 29:45]

Prayer has the benefit of stopping you from falling int things that are bad and indescent. Indescency is all around you and no one can stop you from being exposed to it -- indecency is at eid party, school, phone, workplace. Indescency is everywhere. Every time you go towards indescency, your heart will get damaged. Allah says if you maintain the prayer, that will protect you from indescency. It is like breathing in pollution, at first you will cough. But if you stay long enough, you will get used to it. Your immune systems has gotten corrupt. Then you are ready for more toxic behavior and even doing worst things.

The prayer will stop you from going down a negative path in your life. This is why you should pray. At the end of this whole journey, the decision is entirely yours. If you really want to honor that relationship with Allah, then pray. 

As parents, the more you try to control your children, the more frustrated you can become, and the more you try to push the religion on your children with control, the more your chidren rebel in the strangest way. 

The opportunity you have with your children is not to make them surrender to your instructions but the opportunity that you have with your children is to make them think about things that only you can make them think about. Make them love things only you can make them love. Your child loves basketball because he sees you play basketball. He loves video games because he sees you play video games. 

You can put a love in your child because of how you are. If you keep on instructing your child "go do your Quran homework!", "go to the masjid and pray!" he is not going to be 20 years old and say "I love the Quran" or "I love the masjid," but he will say " I love basketball, my dad used to play basketball!" What you love will get transfered over but what you instruct will get rejected. That's your own reality -- some of the things you love about your parents are the things that were passed down by love, and some of the things that you hate about your parents were the things that they forced you to do.

May Allah grant us steadfastness and enable us to be good role models for our children. Aameen.

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