Bismillah. Today, insha’Allah we’re
going to touch on a slightly different
angle on the concept of salah. Now,
you know that salah is fard–the 5x
daily prayers–and that the reward of
doing so is great, and the sin of doing
so are terrible. Hellfire, punishment on
the Day of Judgment, punishment in
this life, all these things are but
possibilities.
But let’s take a look at a slightly
different angle: scholars. What’s the
position of the scholars on someone
who doesn’t pray?
The position of all four madhaahib–
Maliki, Shafi’ee, Hanbali, and Hanafi–
with no difference of opinion–is that a
person who does not pray, ever, is not
a Muslim.
Think about that. Not a Muslim. Not
anyone who has a chance of Paradise.
Why ? There’s a very explicit hadith on
this–the hadith of the Prophet
(sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: The
difference between us and them
(Kuffar/Non-Muslims) is that of salaah
so whoever abandons salaah certainly
commits kufr.(Tirmidhi, kitab ul Iman,
Declared Sahih by Imam Tirmidhi, Imam
Nasai and Allama Iraqi, Minhaaj ul
Muslimeen pg.80)
This is a very direct, explicit hadith–
salaah is the contract, part of the
mithaaq, the original contract, with
Allah that all humans took. And this is
only one of the explicit ahadith like
this.
What’s more, it was inconceivable in
the time of the sahaba that someone
could be a “Muslim” and not pray. It
just doesn’t make sense.
Scared yet?
No? Well, there’s more. What is the
position of the scholars of Islam on
someone who doesn’t pray, today, who
lives in that now-extinct species of
Islamic State? Then what happens?
Again, there’s no difference of opinion
on this.
The position of a Muslim in an Islamic
state, who doesn’t pray, is to be jailed.
And once they’re in jail, they should
be advised. That what they’re doing is
haram. That prayer is so, so important.
That it is a major sin. That it just takes
five minutes, five times a day–less
than one sitcom.
And if they don’t repent? Keep
advising them for a day. Then, a
second day. Then, a third day.
And if they still don’t repent?
Then they are executed.
So think about that, next time you feel
like skipping a salah. Honestly, it just
takes five minutes. Don’t let your lame
excuses side-track you. Just do it
Action Items:
* Make Tawbah . Whether you pray
regularly or not, if you’ve missed
prayers in your past, make wudoo and
pray two rakaahs of tawbah for that.
And be optimistic–insha’Allah Allah
WILL forgive you!
* Hit the Minimum 5x/day . If you don’t
pray your 5x daily prayers, start. Right
now. Today. Praying is difficult at first,
but over time, it becomes easier. Pick
up prayers one at a time, whatever you
can do, until you’re at least covering
the daliy five consistently.
* Add Sunnah/Nafl Prayers . If you
already have your five covered,
alhamdulillah, start adding the
sunnahs–starting with the two before
Fajr, and with salaat-ul-Witr. Those
are the best. Then gradually add more.
Add Tahajjud, if you’re already praying
all the sunnah prayers. The sunnahs
are like a shield that protect your fard
prayers; if you always pray them, in the
worst case, you might skip one or
two–but if you only pray fard, those
are the first to go.
* Reflect on the Reward and the
Punishment .
If you didn’t know, for
every fard action, Allah rewards you.
Think about THAT. You’re actually
getting some ajr! And reflect on the
punishment of not praying, ever–
capital. YOU might be praying, but you
probably know someone in your family
(near or extended), who doesn’t.
Advise them gently.
* Read. Islam QA has a great eBook on
33 ways to increase khushoo’ in salah.
When you get khushoo, you actually
enjoy salah! So read it, and apply one
or two of those techniques daily.
* Make Du’a . ‘Aishah said: “You will
not even get a shoelace without the
permission of Allah.” So ask Allah to
help you pray regularly and in the best
way.
We ask Allah to make us among the
musalleen, those who pray regularly
and on time and have their prayers
accepted. This, if this is the only good
thing you do with your life, is a great
success that many people the world
over have not achieved.
Note: We’re NOT saying that you
should go around killing people.
Nobody’s going to be executed for not
praying–there IS no Islamic state in
our time. But if there was, and if a
Muslim living there didn’t pray, then
the punishment is capital. It’s
something to think and reflect over–
the seriousness of salaah. It IS the
contract between us and Allah.
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