For children, - Stories of the Prophets, Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh): O Allah (SWT) hide my sins..!

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It was narrated that in the days that Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh)wandered with Bani Israel (Children of Israel) in the desert, an intense drought befell them. Together, they raised their hands towards the heavens praying for the blessed rain to come. Then, to the astonishment of Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) and all those watching, the few scattered clouds that were in the sky vanished, the heat poured down, and the drought intensified.
It was revealed to Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) that there was a sinner amongst the tribe of Bani Israel (Children of Israel) who had disobeyed Allah (SWT) for more than forty years of his life.
"Let him separate himself from the congregation," Allah (SWT) told Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh). "Only then shall I shower you all with rain."
Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) then called out to the throngs of humanity, "There is a person amongst us who has disobeyed Allah (SWT) for forty years. Let him separate himself from the congregation and only then shall we be rescued from the drought."
That man waited, looking left and right, hoping that someone else would step forward, but no one did. Sweat poured forth from his brow and he knew that he was the one. The man knew that if he stayed amongst the congregation all would die of thirst and that if he stepped forward he would be humiliated for all eternity.
He raised his hands with a sincerity he had never known before, with humility he had never tasted, and as tears poured down on both cheeks he said, "O Allah, have mercy on me! O Allah, hide my sins! O Allah, forgive me!"
As Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) and the people of Bani Israel (Children of Israel) waited for the sinner to step forward, the clouds hugged the sky and the rain poured. Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh) asked Allah (SWT), "O Allah, you blessed us with rain even though the sinner did not come forward."
And Allah (SWT) replied, "O Musa, it is for the repentance of that very person that I blessed all of Bani Israel (Children of Israel) with water."
Prophet Musa / Moses (pbuh), wanting to know who this blessed man was, asked, "Show him to me O Allah!"
Allah (SWT) replied, "O Musa, I hid his sins for forty years, do you think that after his repentance I shall expose him?"
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "My entire nation is safe, except al-Mujahirin (those who boast of their sins). Among the Mujaharah is that a man commits an (evil) act, and wakes up in the morning while Allah has kept his (sin) a secret, he says: 'O Fulan! Last night I did this and that.' He goes to sleep while Allah has kept his (sin) a secret but he wakes up in the morning and uncovers what Allah has kept a secret!" [Saheeh al-Bukhari]

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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Ruling on stopping one’s prayer if something serious happens

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If I am praying and someone knocks at the door, and there is no one else in the house, what should I do? If I stop praying, am I sinning?
Praise be to Allaah.
If a prayer is naafil (supererogatory), there is more room for manoeuvre, and it is o.k. to stop praying in order to find out who is at the door. But in the case of a fard (obligatory) prayer, it is not permissible to stop it unless there is something important which one is afraid of missing. If it is possible to alert someone else, by saying “Subhan-Allaah” out loud in the case of men and clapping in the case of women, so that the person at the door will realize that the person in the house is busy praying, that will do away with any need to stop praying. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever is alarmed by anything whilst praying, let men say ‘Subhan-Allaah’ and let women clap.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 1234; Muslim, 421).
If it is possible to let the person who is at the door realize that the person inside the house is praying, by clapping in the case of women and saying ‘Subhan-Allaah’ in the case of men, whilst still praying, this will save you from having to stop the prayer. If that will not work, because one is too far away from the door or the person outside will not be able to hear, then it is o.k. to stop the prayer if necessary, especially if it is a naafil prayer. But in the case of an obligatory prayer, if it is something important or necessary, and there is the fear of missing it, it is also o.k. to stop the prayer, and to repeat it from the beginning. Praise be to Allaah.

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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * How was prayer first prescribed?

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I have heard that during the early years of islam, muslims were told to perform 40 prayers a day, but this was cut down by 5 each time ALLAH (S.W.T) knew this was unachievable by majority of muslims until their were only 5 salat a day were left. is this because ALLAH (S.W.T) has shown us mercy?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What you have heard about the prayer is not correct. The correct version is that Allaah initially – on the night of the Mi’raaj when our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was taken up into heaven – enjoined fifty prayers to be performed night and day. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kept asking his Lord to reduce it until it became five prayers to be offered night and day. But Allaah decreed the reward of fifty prayers for these five, so whoever prays five prayers will receive the reward of fifty prayers.
It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The roof of my house was split open when I was in Makkah, and Jibreel (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came down and split open my chest and washed it with Zamzam water. Then he brought a golden vessel filled with wisdom and faith and poured it into my chest, then he sealed it. Then he took me by the hand and ascended with me into the lowest heaven. When I reached the lowest heaven Jibreel said to the gatekeeper, ‘Open up!’ He said, ‘Who is this?’ He said, ‘Jibreel.’ He said, ‘Is there anyone with you?’ He said, ‘Yes, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is with me.’ He said, ‘Has his mission begun?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And when it was opened we went up into the lowest heaven… Then Allaah enjoined upon my ummah fifty prayers, and I came back until I passed by Moosa who said, ‘What has Allaah enjoined upon your ummah?’ I said, ‘He has enjoined fifty prayers.’ He said, ‘Go back to your Lord, for your ummah will not be able to bear that.’ So I went back and He reduced it. Then I came back to Moosa and said, ‘He has reduced it.’ He said, ‘Go back to your Lord, for your ummah will not be able to bear that.’ So I went back and He reduced it further. Then I came back to Moosa and said, ‘He has reduced it further.’ He said, ‘Go back to your Lord, for your ummah will not be able to bear that.’ So I went back and He said, ‘(The prayers) are five but (the reward) is fifty. The Sentence that comes from Me cannot be changed [cf. Qaaf 50:29].’ Then I went back to Moosa and he said, ‘Go back to your Lord.’ But I said, ‘I feel shy before my Lord.’…”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 342; Muslim, 163
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said:
What is meant is that they are five with regard to what is to be done, but they are fifty with regard to the reward.
Fath al-Baari, 1/463
And Allaah knows best.

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Prayer, - Dought & clear, - * Why do we pray Zuhr and ‘Asr silently?

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Why do we recite zuhr and asr prayer in low voice when it is clearly mentioned in the quran the following ?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It was decreed that recitation in Zuhr and ‘Asr should be done silently because the time of these prayers is during the day, and at that time a person's mind may be preoccupied with a lot of thoughts, as he is busy with his work or trade or manufacturing. If the recitation were to be done out loud, his mind would be distracted and he would not listen attentively to the imam’s recitation; he would not listen to it or devote his attention to it; rather other things would come to mind and distract him. So he was commanded to recite to himself so that his recitation will make him think and ponder. It is well known that if people pray in congregation for Zuhr or ‘Asr prayer, they should not recite out loud, because then they would distract one another. So both the imam and the one who is praying behind him are enjoined to recite silently. But with regard to the prayers that are offered during the night, in most cases people are free from distractions so the imam is enjoined to recite out loud, so that others may benefit from his recitation.
With regard to the verse which you mention, it applies only to qiyaam al-layl and tahajjud. If a person is praying and there are people around him who are listening to his recitation and others who are asleep, then he should not recite so loudly as not to disturb those who are sleeping or so quietly as to cause those who are listening to him to miss out on any benefit; rather he should recite at a moderate volume, enough to be heard but not so loud as to disturb those who are asleep. It also states in the verse that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite out loud and the mushrikeen heard him and reviled the Qur'aan and the one who had bought it, so he was forbidden to recite out loud and he began to recite silently, but then the members of his household and those who were listening to him missed out on the benefit, so he was enjoined to recite at a moderate volume.

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