The Status of the Prayer - Ustaadh Ahmad Fathi

Inna Alhamdulillahi N'Ahmadu. Verily all praises and exhortations are for Allah. We praise Him and exalt Him alone. Wa Nasta'inuhu Wa Naseekiz Aid. Wa Nasta'afiruhu Wa Naseekiz forgiveness. Wa Naaudu Billahi Min Shururi Anfusina. And we seek the refuge of Allah from the evil of our own souls. Wa Min Sayyiati A'malina. And we seek Allah's refuge from the evil consequences of our actions. Ma Yahdihi Allahu Fa La Moodilla Lah. Whomsoever Allah guides, there is none that can misguide them. Wa Min Yudlil Fa La Hadia Lah. And whosoever He leads astray, know that there is no guide for them. Wa Ashhadu Alla Ilaha Illallah. Wa Ahdahu La Shari'ka Lah. And I bear witness and testify that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth, except Allah alone with no partner or associate. Wa Ashhadu Anna Muhammadan Abduhu Wa Rasuluhu Wa Safiyuh. Salawatullahi Wa Salamuhu A'layhi. And I bear witness and testify that Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, he is the servant and messenger of Allah. May Allah raise his rank and grant him peace to proceed. My dear brothers and sisters in Eman, verily Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he has emphasized the affair of the prayer in the Quran in many different verses. And the Prophet, Salallahu A'layhi Wa Salam, has emphasized this tremendous obligation of prayer, as-salah and the authentic sunnah. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he says in his book, Ha Fiudu A'la Salawatil Wa Salatil Wusta Wa Qumu Lillahi Qanitin. Allah, he says commanding mankind, preserve the prayers and preserve the midday prayer. Some of the scholars of Tafsir, they say Al-Asr, the Asr prayer, and stand duvahly, obediently in front of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. There's many different emphasis in our tremendous religion, emphasizing this affair of the prayer and everything you hear about the salat, about the prayer and warning against those that leave off the prayer, should move in your heart the love for the prayer. And the encouragement to be consistent upon your prayers and to not leave them off. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he also said this in his book, Kullu Nafsin Bi Ma Kassabat Rahina. Every soul will be detained on the day of judgment for what it had done in this dunya. Meaning the evil deeds. It will be retained, detained, waiting for the judgment. Then Allah, he says, إلا أصحاب اليمين, except those that are on the right. Meaning those that will be entered into paradise. في جنات يتسألون. They will be in paradise. And they're going to have conversations. And they're going to ask one another. عن المجرمين, what happened to the criminals in the dunya? What happened to them? Where are they now? They denied that they will be a day of judgment. They denied that they will be held accountable for their deeds. Then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, he says, After this, مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي صَقَرْ The people in paradise, when they ask about those that denied the day of judgment, that denied the accountability, they will be given the opportunity to go and look at the people, at those people that denied in the Hellfire. They will be allowed to go and see where they are, where they landed on the day of judgment. And they will be allowed to ask them. And this is what they will be asked. مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي صَقَرْ What has landed you in the Hellfire? What did you do that landed you in this torment, in this punishment? So they will reply and they will say لَقَالُوا لَمْنَكُمْ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّينْ Verily, we were not from those that prayed. وَلَمْنَكُمْ اُطُعِمُ الْمِسْكِينْ We did not feed the miskeen, the poor, those that were in need. وَكُنَّ نَخُوْضُ مَعَ الْخَائِضِينْ And we will engage in Vayntok, meaning, in falsehood, with those that spoke in falsehood. So all of this, the first thing they said to them, we were not from those that prayed. Again, a warning. And to be very cautious when we are tempted, when we have that, we don't feel like praying. We don't feel like getting up and praying. When we are busy with the dunya and it overwhelms us, and we leave off the prayer. This will be the response on the day of judgment for those that did not pray and those that denied the day of judgment. وَكُنَّ نُكَذِّبُ بِيَوْمِ الدِّينْ And they will say, Verily, we denied the day of judgment. Allah SWT, He also speaks about those generations that came after the prophets and messengers. So the prophets and messengers had an era and they were from the righteous. And then after them came generations. So Allah, He says about those generations that came after them فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُ صَلَاتِيْ And then after the prophets and messengers came a people that were neglectful in regards to the prayer. Then Allah, He says وَتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ And they followed their lusts. They followed their desires. That is why they left off the prayer. They followed the affairs of this dunya. They were overwhelmed, overtaken. And that misguided them and let them leave off the prayer. فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيَّةَ And then they will be thrown in the Hellfire. Also from those ayat, Allah SWT, He says about those that really believe in His verses. إِنَّمَ يُؤْمِنُ بِ آيَاتِنَ الَّذِينَ إِذَ ذُكِّرُ بِهَا خَرُّوا سُجَّدَا They are those that truly believe in the verses of Allah SWT. When they are reminded about those verses, those ayat, the Quran and the verses of the universe for Impostration. They pray وَسَبَّحُ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ And they glorify their Lord SWT وَهُمْ لَا يَا استَكْبِرُونَ And they are not arrogant in regards to the worship of Allah SWT. These are some of the verses in the Quran. Warning, those that are tempted or those that are tempted by this dunya, overwhelmed by this world and leaving off the prayer from the Ahadith, the authentic sunnah, the Prophet SAW said, I was narrating the Sahih, the Muslim, بين الرجل و بين الشرك والكفر ترك الصلاة Between a man and a man or woman and a man or woman that has reached puberty and shirk, polytheism and this belief is the prayer. Also from the Ahadith رواه الإمام أحمد والتنمذي في جامعه that the Prophet SAW, he was speaking about the prayer and he said يوم القيامة Whomsoever preserves the prayer it will be a light for them a light that will guide them on the day of judgment and we all know what will happen over the bridge over the Hellfire when there will be no light except the light of Iman and only those that will cross will cross that bridge over the Hellfire by the light that Allah gives them So the Prophet SAW he said those that preserve the prayer they will have a light on the day of judgment وبرهان and a proof for their Iman your prayer is a proof for your Iman and then he said ونجاتا and safety for them on the day of judgment ومن لم يحافظ عليها and the one who does not preserve it the one who does not protect their prayer لم يكل له نور ولا برهان يوم القيامة they will have no light and no proof and no safety on the day of judgment and then the Prophet SAW he said وكان يوم القيامة and on the day of judgment he is going to be with فرعون and قارون and هامان and أبيب نخالف who are these individuals who are these tyrants the Prophet SAW first he قارون قارون was a man that lived in luxury and he had a tremendous amount of wealth and because of his wealth he left after prayer قارون كان من قوم موسى فبغ عليهم there the Qaroon was from the people of Mousa and he transgressed against them and then Allah says about his wealth وآتَيناه من الكونوزي ما إنما فاتحه لتنوع بالعصبة أول القوة إذ قال له قومه لا تفرح his wealth the keys to open the vault his wealth you needed a group of men just to open the vault so he had a tremendous amount of wealth and Allah SWT he says at the end of these verses that he is going to swallow up his that he swallowed up his palace and him and him and he will be drowning or falling until the day of judgment as a punishment for him so the Prophet SAW he said the one who leaves after prayer is going to be with this man that left after prayer because of the wealth that he had so the money is not going to help you whatever wealth you have is not going to help you on the day of judgment rather it is just a test for you are you going to be consistent upon your prayer are you going to preserve your prayer and then the next person he mentioned فرعون the evil tyrant that left off that was busy from the prayer by his mulk by his kingdom and the next person he mentioned he said وَأُبَيْبْنَ خَلَفْ and he was a merchant from the merchants of Mecca he was from the great merchants of Mecca those that had status but he did not accept Islam and he was busy by his trade so the Prophet SAW he said the one who does not preserve the prayer will be with these people نعم بارق لي و لكم في القرآن والصنا و نفعاني و إياكم لما فيهما من الآياتي والحكمة و أستغفر الله لي و لكم فستغفروهنه والغفور الرحيم بسم الله و الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله أما بعد ماذا يبقى أخوكم و أخوكم و إيمان المخصوصين لا يفهم أن يأتي لأوقت أن الناس ستتركوا من المعارب و the Prophet SAW he said تنفكوا عر الإيمان عر الإسلام عروا تنفكوا عروا و آخروا عروا تنفكوا الصلاة و as time goes by time goes by closer to the day of judgment that the rulings or the practice of Islam is going to be left off little by little and the last thing that will be left off is the prayer so the companions they said تتركوا الصلاة is the prayer really going to be left off meaning the companions did not imagine that a Muslim will leave off the prayer that someone that says the كلمة لا إله إله إله will leave off the prayer so after everything everything that will be left off they said really someone is going to leave off the prayer that they say they're Muslim this is how the companions understood the great status of the prayer and our tremendous religion so the prayer is a red line whatever you are going through doesn't matter whatever mood you are in it doesn't matter you don't feel like praying you're not feeling good whatever you are going through it's put to the side the first thing you have to establish in your days is the Salat no matter what your condition is if you are sick you're not feeling well whatever you may be going through you establish the prayer and establishing the prayer is a means to your happiness and that is your connection with Allah SWT it is your munaajah as some of the salaf they said if you want to speak to Allah SWT then pray and if you want Allah to speak to you then read the Quran so if you want to speak to Allah SWT it is your munaajah it's your private conversation with your Lord the Most High the Prophet SAW he said in the hadith that Allah SWT ordered two prophets and the son of Zakariya and he said you are commanded with five things Amr Ka'bi Khamsin Wa Amr bani Israel b'Khams that I order you with five things and you are commanded to tell bani Israel with these five things and then I'm going to paraphrase for the length of the hadith and the Prophet SAW he said that he was commanded to say to bani Israel that they worship Allah alone the first thing they do is that they worship Allah alone and they do not associate any partners with Allah SWT and that is what we know as the first pillar in Islam that you establish Tawheed your belief in Allah and you worship Allah alone and that is the religion of all the prophets so after this then he said to him then he said to bani Israel that Allah orders you with the prayer Allah orders you with the prayer and as we know from our religion the second pillar in our religion is the prayer and it is the pillar of Islam without the prayer that pillar is removed and we know when you have a house with no pillar is going to crash then he said to him he said as he was commanded by Allah SWT that the prayer is that when a person prays that Allah SWT faces that person when a person prays that Allah he faces that person awwahi is praying as long as he does not turn maa lam yaltafit as long as the person does not turn Allah SWT faces you or Muslim awwahi you are praying so what are you turning away from? when you are praying what are you turning away from from the affairs of this dunya? what is busying you? what is occupying you from the prayer from the affair? what is more important than the prayer when you are facing Allah SWT when you are having that private conversation when you are calling upon Allah SWT again whatever you are going through from the affairs of this dunya your salvation, your success to get out of that matter is through the prayer that is your means, your sebab your means to be removed from that affair that difficulty you are going through to be lifted from you first thing you should do is pray and call upon Allah SWT may Allah SWT make us from those that preserve the prayer may Allah SWT accept from us our prayers may Allah SWT increase us in iman may Allah SWT forgive us for our shortcomings may Allah SWT have mercy upon us haatha wassalallahu wassalam an-namayn muhammadu ala alihi wasahbihi wassalam