Danger of not Performing Solat

-Danger of Not Performing the Prayer
-When a muslim child should be ordered to perform prayer
-The Benefits of performing prayer
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Allah, the Most High, says,
{But after them there followed a posterity who missed Prayers and
followed after lusts soon, then, will they
face destruction, except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness.}
(Maryam: 59-60)
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Commenting on the above verses (Ayat), Ibn 'Abbas said,
"Allah's statement, "Who missed Prayers does not
mean that they did not perform it at all but rather they did not
perform it in its due time."
Sa'id Ibn AI-Mussaiyyib, Imam of the Tabi'een (may Allah be pleased
with him) said, "It is he who
postpones the Dhuhr (Early Afternoon Prayer) until the time of Asr
Prayer (Late Afternoon Prayer) and so
are Maghrib (Sunset Prayer) until' /sha' (Evening Prayer), /sha until
Fajr (Dawn Prayer) and Fajr until the
sun rises. If someone dies persisting in such habits and does not
repent to Allah, Allah promises to make
him face Ghayy (destruction). But Ghayy may also be the name of a
valley in the Hell whose bottom is so
deep and tastes so bitter.
Allah, the Most High, says,
{So woe to the worshipers who are neglectful of their Prayer.} (Ma'un: 4-5)
Sa'd Ibn Abi
Waqqas related, "I asked the Prophet (pbuh) about the meaning of "the
worshipers who
are neglectful of their Prayer.' He said, "It is the delaying of
performing the Prayer in its definite time." The
word (Wayl) in the Ayah may refer to severe torture or it may be the
name of a valley in the Hell.
Were the whole mountains of the world brought in such valley it would
melt because of severe heat. This is the
abode of those who are not serious in Prayer unless they repent to
Allah and regret for what they have done.
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Allah, the Almighty, says,
{O ye who believe! Let not your riches or your children divert you
from the remembrance of Allah, if any
act thus, surely they are the losers.}
(AI-Munafiqun: 9)
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The exegetes said, "The remembrance of Allah in the above Ayah means
the five daily Prayers.
Therefore, whoever preoccupies himself with his property, trade,
livelihood or children rather performing
Prayer in its definite time will be a loser.
The Prophet (pbuh) said,
"The first of one's works that he shall be called to account for on
the Day of Judgment is the Prayer. If he
performed it well, he will be prosperous. Otherwise, he will be loser."1
Allah, the Most High, says,
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1 Reported by At- Tirmidhi who said it is authentic hadith but singular.
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{What led you into Hell-Fire? They will say, 'We were not of those who
prayed, nor were we of those who
feed the indigent. But we used to talk vanities with vain talkers, and
we used to deny the Day of Judgment
until there came to us (the Hour) that is certain. Then will no
intercession of any intercessor profit them.}
(Al-Muddathir: 42-48)
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The Prophet (pbuh) said,
"The covenant between us and them consists of the Prayer:Whoever
leaves it has disbelieved." 1
It was related that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"Between a man and unbelief is the nonperformance of the Prayer."2
"Whoever neglects the Prayer of 'Asr (Late Afternoon Prayer) will have
his deeds vain."3
"Whoever neglects the Prayer intentionally will be free from Allah's covenant."4
"I have been commanded to fight people until they testify that there
is no god but Allah and that
Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah and perform the Prayer, and pay
Zakah. If they say it, they have
saved their blood and possessions from me, except for the right of
Islam over them, and their final
reckoning is with Allah."5
"Whoever keeps on performing Prayers (in its due time), it will be a
light, a proof and redemption for him
on the Day of Judgment. Otherwise, he will be assembled with Pharaoh,
Qarun Haman and 'Ubai Ibn
Khalaf ."6
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"Whoever neglects the Prayer is beyond the pole of Islam."7
One of the scholars of sacred knowledge said, "He (the one who
neglects the Prayer) will be assembled
with these four people because he is either preoccupied from
performing Prayer by property, kingdom,
ministry or trade. If he is preoccupied by wealth, he will be
assembled with Qarun. If by kingdom, he will
be with Pharaoh. If by ministry, he will be with Haman and if by
trade, he will be with Ubai Ibn Khalaf."
Mu'adh Ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the
Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Whoever intentionally missed an obligatory Prayer there by becomes an
unbeliever."8
'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said, "A man came to the Messenger of Allah and
asked, "O Messenger of
Allah, what are most beloved deeds to Allah in Islam?" The Messenger
said, "To perform Prayers on time,
and whoever neglect Prayers has no religion. Prayers are the pillar of Islam.."9
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1 Reported by At- Tirmidhi.
2 Reported by Muslim.
3 Reported by AI-Bukhari.
4 Reported by Al-Haythami and Ahmed
5 Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
6 Reported by Ad-Darmi and Ahmad.
7 Reported by Malik.
8 Reported before.
9 Reported by AI-Baihaqi. It has a weak chain of transmission.
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When Umar was stabbed he was called to Prayer and replied by saying,
"Yes, whoever misses Prayer
is non-Muslim." He then prayed while bleeding."
'Abdullah Ibn Shaqiq, one of the Tabi'een, may Allah be pleased with
him, said, "The Prophet's
Companions did not view the nonperformance of anything as unbelief
besides the Prayers."1
When' Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about a woman who
did not Prayers, he said,
"Whoever neglects Prayers is unbeliever."
Ibn Mas'ud also said,
"Whoever does not pray is an infidel."
Ibn 'Abbas stated, "Whoever intentionally missed an obligatory Prayer
entails Allah's wrath when he dies."
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"Whoever dies neglecting the Prayers, Allah will not regard any of his
good deeds." 2
Ibn Hazm said, "The most heinous sins next to Shirk (polytheism) are
the delayment of Prayers and
taking a life of a believer except for just cause." Ibrahim An-Nakh'i
also said, "Whoever leaves the
Prayers has disbelieved."
Moreover, 'Aun Ibn 'Abdullah said, "When a servant is laid in his
grave, he will be asked, first about
the Prayers. If it is accepted, his other works will be examined. If
not, nothing will be examined any
more."
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The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"When a servant performed a Prayer on time, it will rise skyward
enveloped with light until it reaches the
Throne. There, it asks forgiveness to its doer up to the Day of
Judgment, and says, "May Allah preserve you
as you have preserved me." But if the servant performs a Prayer out of
its time, it will rise skyward
enveloped with darkness. When it reaches the sky, it will be folded as
an old cloth and then kicked back to
the doer's face and says, "May Allah make you lose as you missed me."3
'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn AI-As related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Allah does not accept the Prayers of three people: whoever leads a
group of people who dislike him,
whoever prays after missing the due time of the Prayer, and he who
enslaved someone after freeing him."4
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"Whoever joins two Prayers together without a legal excuse, he then
commits a major sin."5
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***When should a child be ordered to perform the Prayer?
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"When a boy reaches the age of seven years, teach him the Prayers
(Salat), and punish him, when he
commits a default (in his Prayers) at the age often years." 6
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1 Reported by At- Tirmidhi.
2 It is cited by AI-GhazaIi.
3 Reported by A1-Haithami and At- Tabarani.
4 Reported by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah
5 Reported by At-Tirmidhi and AI-Hakim
6 Reported by At- Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud
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It was related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"When your children attain the age of seven years, ask them to perform
the Prayer and chastise them in
respect of any fault in this behalf; when they are ten years old, let
them sleep in separate beds." 1
Imlam Sulyman AI-Khattabi (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "This
hadith indicates that the
punishment of nonperformance of the Prayer increases when the child
reaches puberty. Some disciples of
Imam Shafi'i cited the above hadith as an evidence to kill the child
if he persisted to neglect the Prayer
purposely 'after reaching puberty. They assumed that if he deserves to
be struck while still a child thus he
should rather face more severe punishment after reaching puberty and
nothing can be lost severe than
death.
There are differences among Islamic legal scholars as to the judgment
of he who neglects the Prayer.
Malik, Shafi'i and Ahmed all hold that the one who misses the Prayer
is executed. Then they differ as
regards his belief, should they call him an unbeliever or not (incase
of neglectil1g the Prayer without a legal
excuse)? The opinion that such a person become an unbeliever has been
ascribed to Ibrahim AnNakh'iy,
AYyub As-Sakhtiyani, 'Abdullah Ibn AI-Mubarak, Ahmed Ibn Hambal and
Ishaq Ibn Rahawyah. Those
who hold that whoever misses a Prayer becomes an unbeliever adduce the
following evidence:
The ProPhet (pbuh) said,
"The covenant between us and them consists of the Prayer: whoever
leaves it has disbelieved."2
The Messenger also said,
"Between a man between unbelief is the nonperformance of the Prayer."3
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The Benefits of Performing Prayers:
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"Whoever keeps on performing the prescribed Prayer, Allah will grant
him five honorable rewards: he will
lead a happy life, avoid the torment in the grave, receive his record
by his right hand, cross Sirat (the
bridge on Fire) as swift as lightening and enter Paradise without
being reckoned. But who is remiss in
performing the Prayer, Allah will make him suffer fifteen kind of
punishment, five in this world, three when
dying, three in the grave, and three when being resurrected. The
worldly punishments are: he loses the
glamor (the blessing) of his life span, the righteous
appearance diminishes from his face, he works in vain,
he will not have his supplications answered and he will not make use
of the righteous people's
supplications.
When dying: he dies humiliated, hungry, thirsty even if he drinks all
the rivers of the world. In the grave: he
will be compressed so tightly that his ribs permute, blazing in fire
day and night and will face a baldheaded
poisonous male serpent with two black spots over its eyes which are
created of Fire and the
fingernails of iron; each fingernail is equal to the distance covered
in a day. It will address the deceased in
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1 Reported by Abu Dawud and Ahmad
2 Reported before
3 Narrated before.
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a very roaring sound like thunder saying, "I am the baldheaded
poisonous male serpent, My Lord
commanded me to beat you for missing the Fajr Prayer until sunrise,
the Dhuhr until Asr, Asr Prayer until
Maghrib, Maghrib Prayer until 'Isha' and Ish until Fajr."
Whoever he strikes him, he sinks in the earth for seventy arms deep
and he will keep sinking therein until
the Day of Judgment.
Eventually, when being resurrected from his grave, he will be risen up
with three lines written on his face:
1) You neglect Allah's right 2) You got Allah's wrath 3) As you have
neglected Allah's right in the world,
you should despair His Mercy on this Day."1
Ibn 'Abbas said, "On the Day of Judgment, a man is brought before
Allah. Then Allah issues a
command to cast him into Fire. The man asks Allah, "O My Lord, why?
Allah, then, replies, "Because you
neglected to perform the Prayer in its time and you swear falsely by Me."
"One day the Prophet (pbuh) said before his Companions:
"O Allah, let not any of us wretched or deprived." Then, he said, "Do
you know who the wretched and
deprived is? "They said, "Who is that, Messenger of Allah?" He said,
"The one who neglects the Prayer. "2
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"The first faces that will turn dark on the Day of Judgment are the
faces of those who neglect the Prayer.
In the HellFire.. there is a valley called AI-Malham that contains
serpents. Each serpent is as fat as a
camel's neck and its length is equal to the distance covered in a day.
Then, it stings the one who neglects
the Prayer, the poison boils in his body for seventy years then the
flesh is torn out."3
Once, an Israelite woman came to Musa (pbuh) and said, "0 Messenger of
Allah, I committed a
grievous sin but I repented to Allah. So may you invoke Allah to
forgive me and accept my repentance?"
Musa said, "What was your sin?" She replied, "I committed adultery and
then gave birth to a child whom I
killed." Musa (pbuh) said, "Go away corrupt woman lest the fire strike
from the sky and bum us." Accordingly,
the woman went out with a broken heart. Then, Jibreel (Gabreal) lauded
and said, "O Musa,
Allah the Almighty asked you, why you rejected the penitent woman.
Have not you found anyone worst
than her?" Musa asked, "Who is that Jibreel?" He replied, "The one who
intentionally neglects the Prayer."
Mas'ud AI-Badri related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"A Prayer is not valid if one's back is not upright after bowing and
prostration." 4
Thus, he who prays should remain motionless for a moment while bowing,
prostrating, standing etc.
It was related that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,
"The worst thief is he who steals from his Prayer." Someone asked,
"How?" He answered, "When he does
not bow, prostrate or recite therein perfectly." 5
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1 Reported by As-Siuti who said it is a forged hadith.
2 Not found.
3 Reported by AI-Hakim.
4 Reported by Ahmad.
5 Reported by AJ-Darami, Ahmed and AI-Hakim.
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The Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Allah does not look to a man who does not rise his back upright and
prostration."1
"This the Prayer of a hypocrite who watches the sun until he finds it
about to set, then he stands and
performs it as quick as a bird picking the seeds and he hardly
remembers Allah in it."2
Abdullah AI-Ash'ari related, One day the Prophet (pbuh) led the
companions in the Prayer. After finishing
the Prayer, someone came in to pray. He started to pray so fast that
he could hardly remain motionless for a
moment while bowing or prostrating. Meanwhile, the Prophet (pbuh)
said, "Behold, if this man dies, he
dies believing in a religion other than Muhammad's."
'Umar Ibn AI-Khattab related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Whoever prays is surrounded by two angels on right and left. If he
performed it properly, they take it and
ascend to Allah, the Almighty. Otherwise, they struck his face with it." 3
'Ubadah Ibn As-Aumit related, the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Whoever makes ablution properly and performs properly the integrals
of Prayer: bowing, prostration
and recitation therein, the Prayer says, "May Allah preserve you as
you preserve me." Then the Prayer is
risen up skyward enveloped with light. When approaching the heaven 's
gates, it will find it opened. So it
keeps on rising up until it reaches Allah. There, it intercedes for
the one who performed it. But if he does
not perform (its integral) properly: bowing, prostration or recitation
therein, the Prayer says, "May Allah
neglect you as you neglected me.." Then, the Prayer is risen up
skyward enveloped with darkness.
Approaching the gates of heaven, it will find it closed. Then, it will
be folded as an old cloth and kicked
back to the doer's face."4
Salman AI-Farisi narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"The Prayer is a measure. Whoever gives a just measure, he will be
rewarded in full. Whoever stints, you
know what Allah says about the stinters. "
Allah, the Almighty says,
{Woe to the stinters.}
(AI-Mutafifeen:l)
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1 Reported by Ahmed.
2 Reported by Muslim
3 Reported by Ad-Dar Qutni
4 Reported by Al-Haithami.
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The stinter is he who stints when weighing or measuring out goods or
Prayers. Allah promises to
punish them with Wail. A valley in the Hell-Fire from its heat the
Hell itself seeks refuge. We seek Allah's
refuge from it.
Ibn ' Abbas narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
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"Whoever prostrates should place his forehead, nose and hands on the
floor, as Allah has revealed upon
me to prostrate on five organs: Forehead, nose, the palms of hands,
the knees and feet. I have also not to
prostrate on hair nor cloths. Thus, .whoever prostrates improperly,
the organ that fails to touch the floor
will curse him until he completes the Prayer." 1
AI-Bukhari reported on the authority of Huzayfa Ibn AI- Yamman (may
Allah be pleased with him) who
said that he once noticed a man praying but he bowed and prostrated
improperly. He said to hi,: "You did
not pray. If you die, you will die believing in a religion other than
Muhammad's (pbuh)."2
In Abu Dawud's narration, the above hadith is reported as following,
"How long have you prayed in
this manner?" He said, "Forty years ago;" He said, "You did not pray
forty years ago and if you died you
would die believing in a religion other than Muhammed's (pbuh)."
AI-Hassan AI-Basri used to say, "O son of Adam what is dearer to you
of your religion than Prayers. It
is the first thing that you will be called to account for on the Day
of Judgment. The Prophet (pbuh) said,
"The first of people works that they should be called to account for
on the Day of Judgment is the Prayer.
Our Lord, Holly and Exalted will say to His angels, while knowing
better than they, "Look at the Prayer of
My servant. Did he perform it in full, or fall short of it?" If it is
in order, then he will have prospered ad
succeeded; if it is wanting, then he will have failed and lost. While
if anything is missing from it, He will
say, "Look to see if My servant has any supererogatory worship." And
if he has, Allah will say, "Complete
My servant's obligatory Prayers for him from his supererogatory ones.
"And he will be dealt with likewise
in his other works."3
Hence, we should increase our supererogatory worshipping to complete
the obligatory ones if they fall
shorter.
The punishment of he who misses the congregational Prayer though he is
able to do, Allah, the Almighty
Says,
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{The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned
to prostrate, but they shall not be
able, their eyes will be cast down, ignominy will cover them; seeing
that they had been summoned
aforetime to bow in adoration, while they were whole, (and had
refused.)} (AI-Qalam: 42-43)
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Sa'id Ibn AI-Musaiyyib commented, although they were whole in this
world, they did not answer the caller
to Prayer. On the other hand, Ka'b AI-Ahbar said, By Allah, this Ayah
is only revealed concerning those
who missed the congregational Prayer. 0' what a severe torture
awaiting for those who are able to perform
the Prayer in congregation, but they do not."
The Prophet (pbuh) said,
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1 Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
2 Reported by A1-Bukhali.
3 Reported before.
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"I have considered having a man lead people at Prayer and going myself
to those who hang back from
attending the Prayer in congregation to burn their houses down upon them."1
Behold, this threat cannot be issued unless there is something obligatory left.
It was related that once, a blind man came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said,
"0 Messenger of Allah, I have nobody to lead me to the mosque." Then
he asked for a permission to pray at
home. Thereby, the Prophet permitted him. But before leaving, the
Prophet called him and said, "Do you
hear the Call to Prayer?" He said, yes. The Prophet said, "Then you
have to respond to it." 2
Once, 'Amr Ibn Umm Maktum came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said,
"0 Messenger of Allah, in Madina there are numerous number of reptiles
and beasts whereas I am a blind
man and live far away from the mosque. Further, I have an inconvenient
guide. Shall I have a dispension to
pray at home? "Then, the Prophet (pbuh) asked, "Do you hear the words
of the Call to Prayer?" He said,
yes. The Prophet said, "Then, you have to respond to it, I have no
dispension to you." 3
Behold, that is a blind man and faces many hardship in his way to the
mosque and has no guide, yet the
Prophet does not permit him to pray at home. How about the sightful
people who have no excuse?
Therefore, when Ibn 'Abbas is asked about someone who fasts the day
and prays the night but does not
attend the Friday or congregational Prayer. He replied, "If he dies
doing that he will enter the Hell-Fire."4
Abu Hurayrah said, "It is better for one's ears to be filled with
molten lead than to hear the Call to
Prayer without answering it."
Ibn 'Abbas related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Whoever heard the caller to Prayer and did not answer not because of
an excuse." Someone asked,
"What kind of excuse is that, Messenger?" He said, "Fear or sickness,
he will not have his Prayer
accepted."5
i.e., the Prayer which he performed at home.
Ibn ' Abbas also related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"There are three people whom Allah cursed: Whoever leads a group of
people in Prayer who dislike him,
a woman whose husband spends the night angry with her and whoever
heard the call to Prayer but he does
not answer." 6
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "A Prayer of
a neighbor of a mosque is only
accepted in the mosque." Someone asked, "Who is a neighbor of a
mosque?" He said, "Whoever hears the
call to Prayer."
`Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud related that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"A person who likes to meet Allah tomorrow (on the Day of Judgment) as
a true Muslim, he should then
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1 Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
2 Reported by Bukhari and Muslim.
3 Reported by Muslim.
4 Reported by At- Tirmidhi.
5 Reported by Abu Dawud, AI-Hakim and Ibn Hibban
6 Reported by At- Tirmidhi.
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take care of those Prayers where (and when) he is summoned for them.
This is necessary as Allah has laid
down some practices and rules for us to follow (which have reached us)
through our Prophet (pbuh) and
these Prayers are among them. If you offer Prayers at your houses as
this good for nothing person is doing,
you will be guilty of neglecting the way of your Prophet (pbuh) then
you go astray. I have seen the people
in condition when only known hypocrites used to be out of the lines of
congregation. Some of us used to be
brought to the mosque with the help of two men on account of their
weakness or illness, until they could
stand in line." 1
Ar-Rabie Ibn Khutham had a disease in his leg. He used to go out for
Prayer leaning on two men. They
advised him, "O father of Muhammed, Allah has permitted you to pray at
home as you have a legal
excuse." He said, "Ok, but I hear the call to Prayer. Whoever could
answer even if he creeps or crawl, it is
better to do so."
Hatim AI-Asam said, "One day, I missed a Prayer in congregation but no
one lead me except Abu
Ishaq AI-Bukhari. However, if one of my children died, there would be
ten thousand people who offer me
condolence. This is because a trial in religion is easier than a one
at the sight of people.
Someone of early Muslims said, a congregational Prayer is missed
because of sins. Ibn 'Umar narrated,
"Once Umar was in his garden, when coming back, he found that the
people had performed the Asr Prayer.
Thereby, he said, "We will surely return to Allah! I missed the Asr
Prayer in congregation. May you
witness that I gave my garden in charity to the needy so as to expiate
what 'Umar had done."
It is recommended to pay more attention to 'Isha' and Fajr. The
Prophet (pbuh) said,
"The hypocrites find dawn (Fajr) and night (Isha') Prayers in
congregation as very oppressive. If they
could know the virtues of these two Prayers, they would certainly join
them, even if they had to go
crawling." 2
Ibn 'Umar said, "When missing a man in the congregational Prayer of
Isha and Fajr, we might think
that he was a hypocrite."
'Ubaydallah Ibn Amr Al-Qawarir said, "I have never missed Isha Prayer
in congregation. One night I
had a grief which occupied me from performing the' Isha' Prayer in
congregation. Thereby, I sought for
another mosque allover AI-Basra to realize the Prayer but of no avail
all the mosques were closed. Then I
went home and decided to apply what is stated in the hadith,
"Recompense for Prayer offered along with the congregation is twenty
seven times more than the
Prayer offered in home or."3
Therefore, I performed' Isha' Prayer twenty seven times. Afterwards, I
slept. I dreamt that I was riding
my horse racing some other people who were also riding their horses
but I could not catch them. Then one
turned to me and said, "Do not get your horse toiled, you would never
catch us. I asked him why? He said,
.
1 Reported by Muslim.
2 Reported by AI-Bukhari.
3 Reported by Muslim
.
we performed the 'Isha' Prayer in congregation but you did alone. Then
I got up so sad.
We seek Allah's help and guidance for He is the Most Generous, the
Most Bounteous.