The Effects of Salaat in our lives BismilLaah
As we begin a new year Islamically, let's make our daily salaat our 1st priority in our life. Let's not waste our time wishing and talking about the new year but instead strive to be better Muslims each day.
Today we have indeed come to treat the Prayer (Salah) as something insignificant in our lives. Very often we hear some says, "I will start praying when the time comes." Others, specially the younger Muslims, do not find much comfort, and joy in their Prayers. Due to our treatment of Prayer as a burden, due to lack of Islamic knowledge, weak eemaan etc, our love and passion for the Prayer has vanished.
Our hearts have become hardened, and we have become a depressed and defeated people. As a result, many are searching for 'cures and remedies' to the distress in our lives, through any means available, but are unable to find any because they have ignored the greatest medicine *Salaah and zikir*!
The whole purpose of Salaah is to be ever conscious of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Salaah is indeed, one of the most comprehensive forms of Dhikr (Remembrance). No wonder, Allah states in a hadith qudsi: "Out of all the ways through which My servant gets closer to Me, Salaah is the dearest to Me." (Bukhari). Allahu Akbar.
Remember, first and foremost, that as soon as you commence your Salaah, Shaytan makes it his duty to fill your mind with anything and everything but not thoughts of Allah. He tries ceaselessly to disengage your mind and heart from such remembrance. It is this state of absentmindedness that destroys the quality of our Prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said: "Allah does not accept the Prayers of an individual until his heart achieves in it what his body has achieved." [Al-Ghazali in Ihya-Uloom ad-Deen].
Let's declare jihaad against our laziness and with immediate effect make salaah our most priority in life not our job not our relationships and nothing else but salaah first. Just say in Shaa ALLAH and set your marks.
*_May Allah protect us from sheitan and help us in concentrating on our salaat_*. Aameen.