Hundreds
of thousands of people are born every day. They all start a new life
with a magnificent creation of eyes, hands, ears, hearts, brains and all
their other organs. Allah causes a person to grow in the mother’s womb
from a tiny cell; nerves and veins soon cover the entire body. The heart
starts beating, the liver and kidneys gradually form. The bones form in
a most glorious manner. Allah expects just one thing from the person
created with such great care through a combination of hundreds of
thousands of details over the course of nine months: Sincerity.
Sincerity
is a powerful key that opens all doors. People are only valuable in the
sight of Allah when they are sincere and pure, when their hearts burn
with love of Him alone. The totally sincere believer lives for Allah and
breathes his last breath for Him. The brief life of this world is
simply a transit point for him. He never forgets for a moment that his
true home is in the hereafter, and he is never distracted for a moment
by this world.
“Say: ‘My salat and my rites, my living and my dying, are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds’,” (Qur’an, 6:162)
The
heart of a sincere servant is always with Allah. Allah comes to his
mind as soon as he rises in the morning, and all the blessings during
the course of the day are by Allah’s leave alone. A believer knows that
he is always in need of Allah’s mercy, and he shows this by giving
thanks.
Prayer
is a fine observance by which believers can express their gratitude
while avoiding showiness. It is very important for a Muslim to prostrate
himself before Allah five times a day in the full knowledge of his
helplessness before Him, in the most punctilious manner because by
fulfilling his religious observances, constantly remembering Allah and
obeying the Qur’an, a believer can show that he never forgets our Lord.
In prostrating himself and bowing, he praises Allah in the finest words.
“Recite
what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Prayer
precludes indecency and wrongdoing. And remembrance of Allah is greater
still. Allah knows what you do.” (Qur’an, 45)
“This
is a Book We have sent down and blessed, confirming what came before
it, so that you can warn the Mother of Cities and the people around it.
Those who have faith in the Hereafter believe in it and safeguard their
prayer.” (Qur’an, 6:92)
As
with all his observances, a devout believer shows his deep love of
Allah in prayer. He rises for the morning prayer with great enthusiasm.
During the day, he stops what he is doing and prays again with great
zeal. Prayer is a fine observance that the human soul is created to
love. In the same way that a believer enjoys a fine view, looking at a
beautiful face or hearing loving compliments, so he feels the same
delight in discharging his religious obligations. Prayer leads to
self-confidence.
It
produces a deep and unshakeable bond between him and Allah. Five times a
day, the believers bow to their best friend and confidant. This is a
powerful and special friendship that never abandons the believer. Our
Lord is alongside him in good days and in bad, in sickness and in
health, in poverty and in want. The believer turns to his Lord, his
friend and creator, with great enthusiasm and passion, and prostrates
himself before Him. Praising Him with His finest names bestows an
ineffable beauty and peace on the soul.
It
is this kind of powerful sincerity that becomes the believer. There are
people who say they believe but who regard praying as a burden, who
rise unwillingly to pray and who neglect it or put it off yet when it
comes to their own interests, these people leap out of bed first thing
in the morning and would climb the highest mountains if necessary; when
it comes to their own interests, they never forget, neglect or postpone
anything. Yet despite all these things they neglect, Allah witnesses
their insincerity at every moment. He sees what they do, even if they do
not realize it. He knows what is in their hearts, and distinguishes
between the sincere and insincere in the finest manner in the hereafter.
“The
hypocrites think they deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. When
they get up to pray, they get up lazily, showing off to people, and only
remembering Allah a very little.” (Qur’an, 4:142)
One
must pray with the same joy and zeal as our Prophet (peace be upon
him). Allah adorns the life of Muslims with prayer. This simple
observance allows them to earn endless merit. Our Lord certainly does
not need our worship; the whole universe already prostrates itself to
Him and remembers Him with the finest names but we need to give thanks
to our Lord and show him our deep love and respect.
There
are also people in the End Times who say they believe but turn their
backs on prayer. They deprive themselves of the beauty that prayer
bestows on the soul of the believer, of the honor of bearing the mark of
prostration on their foreheads. However, there are also believers in
the End Times who pray with passion and zeal and who ignore all
condemnation. They never cease to pray, no matter what. Prayer is an
essential part of their lives; they live for prayer and they discharge
that obligation with the utmost sincerity until their last breaths, in
the hope of being among those who will enjoy Allah’s approval in the
Hereafter.
When asked why they are there, the first thing the residents of hell will say is, “Because we did not pray.” Believers
must not therefore fall into this trap of the satan; they must see the
potential terrible consequences of ignoring this duty. They must
devoutly show their gratitude to Allah and love of Him by praying five
times a day. Even if there is no one else around them who prays, and
even if no one sees them do it, they must make not the slightest
concession on prostrating themselves. They must seek shelter in the
infinite and matchless forgiveness and love of Allah.
“Everything
in the heavens and everything in the earth belongs to Allah. He
forgives whoever He wills and punishes whoever He wills. Allah is
Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an, 3:129)
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