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Establish the Prayers and the Prize is Paradise
For forty years, the Adhan was never called but Sa`id bin al-Musayyab
radhiallahu `anhu was in the mosque before it was called.`Umar
became unconscious after he was stabbed, and according to Al
Miswar bin Makhramah, it was said: "Nothing would wake him up
except the call to prayer, if he is still alive." They said to
him, "The prayer has finished, O Chief of the Faithful!" He
woke up and said, "The prayer, by Allah! Verily, there is no
share in Islam for whoever abandons the prayer." He performed
the prayer while his wound was bleeding.
After ar-Rabi` bin Khaytham became partially paralyzed, he used
to go to the mosque helped by two men. He was told :"O Abu
Yazid! You have been given permission to pray at home." He
said, "You have said the truth, but I heard the caller heard, 'Hayya
`ala al-Falah (Come to success)', and I thought that whoever
hears this call should answer it even by crawling."
Adi bin Hatim, radhiallahu `anhu, said: "Every time the prayer
time falls, it falls while I am eager for it and ready to
perform it (i.e. having wudu)."
Abu Bakr bin Abdullah al Muzani said: "Who is like you, O son
of Adam? Whenever you wish, you use water to make Ablution, go
to the place of worship and thus enter the presence of your
Lord (i.e. start praying) without a translator or a barrier
between you and Him!"
Abu Rajaa al `Ataridi, "Nothing that I leave behind grieves me,
except that I used to bow down on my face five times a day
before my Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored."
Abul Aliyah said, "I would travel for days to meet a man and
the first thing I would notice about him is his prayer. If he
would establish the prayer perfectly and on time, I would stay
with him and hear the knowledge he had. If I found him to be
careless concerning the prayer, I would leave him and say to
myself that for things other than the prayer, he would be even
more careless."
When Ali bin Al Husain used to perform Wudu, his color would
change. His family asked him why this happened to him every
time he performed Ablution, he said, "Do you know before whom I
am about to stand (in prayer)?"
Yazid bin Abdullah was asked, "Should we make a roof for our
mosque?" He said, "Purify your hearts and your mosque will be
sufficient for you."
Adi bin Hatim, radhiallahu `anhu said, "Ever since I became
Muslim, I always made sure to have Wudu when the Adhan is
called."
Ubayd bin Ja`far said, "I never saw my uncle Bishr bin Masnur
miss the first takbir( that commences the congregational prayer
in the mosque), and whenever any person stood up in our mosque
to ask people for help, my uncle gave him something."
Ibn Sama`ah said, "For forty years, I only missed Takbir
Tahrimah when my mother died." "If you know of a man's
disinterest in Takbir Tahrimah, then wash your hands of him."
Sufyan bin `Uyaynah, "Honoring the prayer includes coming
before the Iqamah is recited."
Maymun bin Mahran came to the mosque late and when he was told
that the people had already finished the prayer, he said, "We
all belong to Allah and to Him shall be our return! I prefer
the congregational prayer to being the governor of Iraq."
Yunus bin Abdullah said, "What is the matter with me? When I
lose a chicken I feel concerned, but when I miss the prayer in
congregation, it does not grieve me."
`Umar said, while standing on the podium, "A man might have
white hair in Islam (i.e. reaches in old age while Muslim), yet
has not completed even one prayer for Allah, the Exalted!" He
was asked, "Why is that?" He said, "He does not perfect the
prayer's required Khushu` ( solemness) and attending to Allah
with his heart."
Hammad bin Salamah said, "I have never stood up for prayer
without imagining that Jahannam (Hellfire) is before my eyes."
Mu`adh bin Jabal advised his son, "My son! Pray the prayer of
he who is just about to leave and imagine that you might not be
able to pray ever again. Know that the believer dies between
two good deeds, one that he performed and one that he intended
to perform later on."
Bakr al Muzani said, "If you want your prayer to be of benefit
to you, say to yourself, 'I might not have a chance to perform
another prayer.'"
Shubrumah said, "We accompanied Karz al Harithi on a journey.
Whenever he wanted to set camp in an area, he used to scan it
with his eyes and when he found a good piece of land that he
liked, he would go to it and pray there until it was time to
leave."
Al Qasim bin Muhammad said, "Whenever I went out in the
morning, I used to visit `Aishah radhiallahu `anha (his aunt
and the wife of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) and
greet her. One day I found her performing Ad Duha prayer,
reciting this Ayah repeatedly, crying and invoking Allah: 'So
Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the
torment of the Fire.' (52:27) I stood there until I felt bored,
so I left and went to the market to do something and said to
myself that when I finish what I have to do, I will go back (to
`Aishah radhiallahu `anha). When I finished and went back to
her, I found her still standing in prayer, reciting the same
Ayah, crying and invoking Allah.'"
Maymun bin Hayyan said, "I never saw Muslim bin Yasar turning
his head while praying, whether the prayer was short or long.
Once, a part of the mosque came down and the noise caused fear
to the people who were in the market, while he was in the
mosque, did not fear nor even turn his head and kept praying."
"I accompanied `Ata bin Rabah for eighteen years. When he
became old and weak, he used to stand in prayer and read close
to two hundred Ayat from Surat al Baqarah while standing in
such firmness that no part of him would move."
Abu Bakr bin Aiyash said, "If you saw Habib bin Abi Thabit
while in Sujud, you would think that he had died because of his
long prostration."
Ali bin Al Fudayl said, "I saw ath-Thawri went into Sujud while
praying, and I performed Tawaf around the House seven times
before he raised his head from Sujud."
Uthman bin Abi Dahrash said, "I never performed a prayer
without invoking Allah afterwards to forgive me for falling
into shortcomings in the way I performed it."
Mu`awiyah bin Murrah, "I lived during the time of seventy of
the Companions of Muhammad, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, and
had they lived among you today, they would not recognize any of
your acts except the Adhan!" Moreover, he said, "If a man from
the Salaf was resurrected among you today, he would only
recognize your Qiblah."
When Hatim al Asamm was asked about his prayer, he said, "When
it is near the time of prayer, I perform a perfect Wudu and go
to where I am going to pray and sit down there until I become
fully attentive to what I am about to do. I then stand up and
pray, imagining that the Ka`bah is in front of my eyes,
Paradise to my right, Hellfire to my left and the Angel of
Death behind me. I imagine that it is the last prayer I am
about to perform, stand up in hope (in Allah, His Paradise and
rewards) and fear (from Allah's torment in Hellfire) and recite
the Takbir while having full attention. I recite the Qur'an
calmly, make Ruku` humbly, go into Sujud with Khushu' and then
sit on my left leg, with the left foot laid on the floor and
the right foot raised up, all the while praying with sincerity.
Afterwards, I do not know (nor feel certain) if that prayer was
accepted from me!"
One of the Salaf said, "O son of Adam! You need your share in
this life, but need your share in the Hereafter even more. If
you took care of your share in this life, then you will lose
your share in the Hereafter and are soon bound to lose your
share in this life too. If you took care of your share in the
Hereafter, you will also win your full share in this life with
ease."
Talq bin Habib said, "Allah's Rights are greater than the
slave's capacity and ability to fulfill them. Therefore, reach
the morning in a state of repentance and reach the night in a
state of repentance."
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