Saturday, July 28, 2012

Ramadan 2012, The 9th Day

Perform prayer and givethe alms. Any good you send ahead for yourselves, you will find with Allah. Certainly Allah sees what you do. (Surat al-Baqara, 110)
There is no god but Allah, the One, having no partner with Him. Sovereignty belongs to Him and all the praise is due to Him, and He is Potent over everything. O Allah, grant me pardon, have mercy upon me, direct me to righteousness and provide me sustenance. (Muslim)
What does safeguarding their prayer mean? Allah does not say ‘prayers.’ Because there is not just one prayer. There are five.Someone who immaculately safeguards the prayer, who prays without exception. Not someone who prays in the morning but not at noon, or who prays at noon but not in the evening. Someone who performs them all, one after the other. (A9 TV, May 12, 2012)
The Importance Of Salat (Prayer) In The Life Of A Muslim
The scrupulousness whicha believer displays towards his religious observance makes his faith apparent. He enthusiastically establishes salat, fasts andperforms ritual washing made compulsory by Allah throughout the course of his life. Allah hasdescribed sincere Muslims'enthusiasm for religious observances in many verses. One of these reads:
Those who are steadfast in seeking the face of their Lord, and establish salat and give from the provision We have given them, secretly and openly, andstave off evil with good, it is they who will have the ultimate Abode. (Surat ar-Ra'd, 22)
The salat is a religious observance that believers are commanded to perform throughout the course of their lives, the times of which have been stipulated. Human beings are prone to forgetfulnessand heedlessness. If they fail to use their will and become caught up in the flow of daily life, they move away from subjects to which they should actually turn their attention and cling to. They forget that Allah enfolds and surrounds them in all ways, that He sees and hears them at every moment, that they will have to account to Allah for all they do; they forget death, the existence of Paradise and Hell, that nothing can happen that is not destined, and that there issomething auspicious in everything and every event. By falling into heedlessness they can forget the true purpose oflife.
The salat performed five times a day eradicates that forgetfulness and heedlessness, and keeps the believer's will and awareness alive. It ensures that the believer constantly turns to Allah and assists him in living inthe light of our Lord's commandments. The believer who stands in the presence of Allah in order to pray establishes a powerful spiritual bond with our Lord. It is revealed in one verse thatthe salat reminds people of Allah and keeps them from all forms of evil:
Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish salat. Salat precludes indecency and wrongdoing. And remembrance of Allah isgreater still. Allah knowswhat you do. (Surat al-'Ankabut, 45)
Throughout history the prophets have communicated the salat made compulsory by Allah to their respective peoples, and have been role models for all believers by abiding by this observance in the best and most correct manner.
In the Qur'an it is revealedthat the times of the salathave been set out for believers as a religious observance:
When you have finishedsalat remember Allah standing, sitting and lying on your sides. When you are safe again do salat in the normal way. The salat isprescribed for the believers at specific times. (Surat an-Nisa', 103)
The timings of the salat are "dawn," "noon,""afternoon," "evening," and "late evening." The salat timings are clearly set out in several verses of the Qur'an. Some of these verses read:
So be steadfast in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the Sun and before its setting. And glorify Him during part of the night and at both ends of the day, so that hopefully you will be pleased. (Surah Ta Ha, 130)
So glory be to Allah when you start the night and when you greet the day. Praise be to Him in the heavens and the Earth, in the afternoon and when you reach midday. (Surat ar-Rum, 17-18)
Our Prophet (saas) who, by the revelation and inspiration of Allah, best understood and interpreted the Qur'an, described for believers thetimes of day when the five salat prayers begin and finish.
Establishing salat in awe means performing this religious observance in the presence of our Almighty Lord by feeling His might and grandeur, with fear and respect. A believer who wishes to properly fulfill this obligation must take measures against everything that might prevent this awed awareness and display the maximum scrupulousness...../ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en