Small Steps That Lead to Jannah

Pray, Pray On Time

Have you ever felt that need to pray on time constantly? Have you felt that remorse, that heaviness in your heart when you miss a salat, only because you were overpowered by sleep? Have you ever felt so close to Allah like how you are on your sujood? 


Allah says in the Qur’an,



“Establish regular prayers – at the sun’s decline till the darkness of the night, and the recital of the Qurán in the morning prayer: for the recital of the dawn is witnessed.” 13:78



By the Guidance and Love of Allah, truly when you have been used on praying on time, you will find such eagerness for it, that whenever you are in the state of wudhu, you feel cleansed, that after you said your salaam and you made du’a, you are again eager for the next salat, that you are unable to think of anything bad to do or would make your mind in idle thinking of dunya, that you wait for it in preparation, just like how a kid is so excited to go home and play. Subhan’Allah! With praying on time and establishing constant prayers, this will and is attained

1.    Once, one of the Sahabah came to Muhammad and asked: “What is the thing that Allah loves most?” Muhammad replied, “The thing that Allah loves most is when his people pray salah on time.” 


2.    Abu Huraira (RA) quotes Muhammad,

”If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?” They said, “Not a trace of dirt would be left.” Muhammad added, “That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.”



Subhan’Allah! Do we need more words to motivate us to pray? Is the heart beat of ours not an enough reason for us to be thankful? the food we intake?

Praying Salat does not require so much of your time, nor does it harm you in anyway, but why is it so hard for us to do this? Why? Ask yourself.



Isn’t it time to prostrate, repent and give thanks to Allah who has given you all that you have, who has brought you to life, the very reason why you are here in dunya?



O Muslim, pray. He calls you 5 times a day. Answer. Be who you really are, be what you were created for. Honor yourself in dunya and save yourself in the akhirah. Pray, pray on time. 


And we pray that every one of us finds that solace, peace, and tranquility that we seek for in our salat, and that we may intend to pray with pure sincerity. Amin.


(via Stories of the Sahabah)

The Five Before Five

Whose Pleasure Shall We Seek?

Many, many years ago there lived a man called Luqman. He was not a Prophet. But he was very wise. He was an African who was caught as a slave and sold in another country.

Luqman was so wise and respected that a Surah in the Qur'an also is called by his name (Chapter 31). He gave good advice to his children. His advice is equally good for all the children of the world even today.

Once Luqman said to his son, "Oh son! Do not tie your heart in seeking the pleasure of people. You are not likely to succeed. Do not pay attention to what people say. Instead tell yourself always to seek the pleasure of God."

Father and son heard this. The son came down from the donkey. Luqman rode on the animal. After sometime they came across another group of people. On seeing the father riding the donkey, the elder of the group said, "Oh you old man! This is not the way to bring up a son. You make him walk in the hot sun, while you sit comfortably on the donkey."

Luqman wanted this lesson to be always remembered. Never to be forgotten. He thought of a way. He then told his son to ride a donkey. The son obeyed. The father followed behind on foot. They travelled in this way for some distance. After some distance they came across a group of people. Seeing the son on the donkey, one of them said, "What an impolite and bad boy. The old father is walking on foot. The young son is comfortably riding on the donkey. This is no manner to show respect to one's father".

Luqman paid attention to what the people said. He came down from the donkey. Both father and son walked on foot. The donkey walked in front. They went a little further. People seeing them, said, "How foolish you are? You walk behind a donkey. Why don't you ride it?"

Luqman and his son once again accepted what the people said. They both rode the donkey and went further. They came across a river. There was a bridge to be crossed. Some people were sitting there. They saw Luqman and his son riding the donkey. One of them said, "It is very unkind and cruel of you two to ride on the poor donkey. The little animal can hardly take all your burden."

So taking this advice Luqman and his son dismounted from the donkey. They travelled a little distance further. Looking very lovingly Luqman said to his son, "You have heard and seen what the people said. It must have assured you, by now, that whatever you do or whichever way you move, one is not able to please the people of the world." He pointed at the flowing river and added,

"A person can build a wall across the river. It will stop the flow of the water. But it is not possible to shut the mouth of the people from criticism."

Very clearly, similar is the case in our world today. The tongue has no bone. It can speak even without thought. There are as many opinions as there are people in the world. It is very bad to find fault with the other person. Especially when he is doing something good. 

A person can feel very hurt when he listens to all the tongues that talk loose. To avoid getting hurt by loose talk, a person can train himself. He can discipline himself to think. By thinking he can know what is wrong and void. When a person is sure that what he is doing will please his Master, the Almighty Allah, then he must never worry what others speak.

The Importance of Salat

The importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be understated.  It is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, mentioned after mentioning the Testimony of Faith, by which one becomes a Muslim.  It was made obligatory upon all the prophets and for all peoples.  God has declared its obligatory status under majestic circumstances.  For example, when God spoke directly to Moses, He said,

“And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to you.  Verily, I am God! There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance.” (Quran 20:13-14)

Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory upon the Prophet Muhammad during his ascension to heaven.  Furthermore, when God praises the believers, such as in the beginning of the chapter entitled ‘al-Muminoon’ (the Believers), one of the first descriptions He states is their adherence to the prayers.

Once a man asked the Prophet about the most virtuous deed.  The Prophet stated that the most virtuous deed is the prayer.  The man asked again and again and for the first three times, the Prophet answered, “The prayer,” then on the fourth occasion he stated, “Jihad in the way of God.”

The importance of prayer is demonstrated in many of the Prophet’s statements. For example, the Prophet said,

“The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer.  If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound.  And if it is incomplete, then the rest of his deeds will be incomplete.”

The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions one performs in his life, the most important aspect is one’s relationship to God, that is, one’s faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of God (ibaadah).  This relationship with God is both demonstrated and put into practice, as well as improved and increased, by the prayer.  Therefore, if the prayers are sound and proper, the rest of the deeds will be sound and proper; and if the prayers are not sound and proper, then the rest of the deeds will not be sound and proper, as the Prophet himself stated.

In reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of God and turning to Him for forgiveness – it will have a lasting effect on the person.  After he finishes the prayer, his heart will be filled with the remembrance of God.  He will be fearful as well as hopeful of God.  After that experience, he will not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein he disobeys God.  God has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when He has said,

“Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds” (Quran 29:45)

Nadwi has described that the aim of this effect is to generate within the subliminal self of man such spiritual power, light of faith and awareness of God as can enable him to strive successfully against all kinds of evils and temptations and remain steadfast at times of trial and adversity and protect himself against the weakness of the flesh and the mischief of immoderate appetites.

The overall affect that the properly performed prayers should have upon humans is described in other verses in the Quran:

“Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and ungenerous when good touches him.  Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…” (Quran 70:19-23)

As for the Hereafter, God’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely related to the prayers.  The Messenger of God said,

“God has obligated five prayers.  Whoever excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times, completes their bows, prostrations and khushu, has a promise from God that He will forgive him.  And whoever does not do that has no promise from God.  He may either forgive him or punish him.”

The prayers are a type of purification for a human being.  He turns and meets with his Lord five times a day.  As alluded to above, this repeated standing in front of God should keep the person from doing sinful acts during the day.  Furthermore, it should also be a time of remorse and repentance, such that he earnestly asks God for forgiveness for those sins that he committed.  In addition, the prayer in itself is a good deed that wipes away some of the evil deeds that he performed.  These points can be noted in the following hadith of the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him:

“If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?” The people said, “No filth would remain on him whatsoever.” The Prophet then said, “That is like the five daily prayers: God wipes away the sins by them.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

In another hadith, the Prophet said,

“The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them.” (Saheeh Muslim)

(Source: here)