As-Salamu Alaykum Wa RahmatuLlah wa Barakatuhu
We begin our presentation In the Name of Allah, the most
Gracious the most Merciful
The Best of Praises and Thanks belong to Allah, the most
worthy of the Best Praises and thanks. Praises that are superior to all other
kinds of Praises like the Superiority of Allah over His creatures. I testify
that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah the one without partner
and the I again testify that Prophet Muhammad SAW is His servant and Messenger.
We seek Allah’s
help and protection from the all kind of devils. We beseech Allah to shower
upon our Noble Prophet SAW His Salutations, Peace and Blessings. And also upon
his SAW household, his companions and the entire Ummah of Believers till the
day when there shall be no shade except the shade of Allah SWA. May Allah SWA
protect us and put us under His shade on that day.
My dear brothers and sisters, indeed it has been narrated by
the Honourable companion of the Prophet SAW, Umar the son of al-Khattab RA, in
the hadith of Jibril AS concerning what Islam is. This hadith was called the
hadith of Jibril because Jibril AS came to Prophet SAW and his companions in
the form of man and taught them their religion as the Prophet SAW rightly said,
“He came to teach you your
religion.”
Among the things that Jibril AS asked the Prophet SAW was
about Islam. Jibril said to Prophet SAW, “inform
me about Islam.” And the
Prophet SAW replied, “...to
testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad
SAW is His servant and Messenger. To establish Salah, to observe Zakat, to fast
in the month of Ramadhan and to partake in the Pilgrimage to Makkah if one has
the ability to do so.”
We realise, after making a critical observation of the
statement of the Prophet SAW, that after mentioning the testimony of faith in
Allah and His Messenger, the next in line was the establishment of Salah. In
another hadith that was narrated by the son of Umar, AbduLlah bin Umar RA, the
Prophet SAW is reported to have said that the religion of Islam is built on
five(pillars). The first being to testify there is no deity worthy if worship
except Allah and the Prophet Muhammad SAW is His servant and Messenger, to
establish Salah, to observe zakat, to embark on pilgrimage to Makkah for Hajj
and to observe fast in the month of Ramadhan.
In this hadith, again, Salah comes second to the Shahada. My
dear brothers and sisters this also shows the rank of Salah in the religion of
Allah. Allah SWA commands us to establish in numerous places of the Qur’an. Allah commands us to
establish Salah at its prescribed periods. In numerous verses of the Qur’an in which Salah is made
mention of we see that it is connected to servants of Allah whom He loves most,
the pious, those who are the inheritors of the Paradise which Allah has
Prepared for the pious one.
In suratul Baqara Allah tells us that the Qur’an is guidance to the pious
ones, those who believe in the unseen and perform Salah and give charity from
what they have been given (by Allah in wealth). This can be found in Baqara
verses 2 and 3. When Allah was describing the true believers, those who are
only known by Allah, in suratul Anfal, after giving some descriptions of them
He mentioned those who establish Salah and from what they are bestowed (in
wealth) the give as charity. Allah said about them that they are the true
believers.
They are the true believers, the one who shall be raised in
ranks in this world and in the hereafter. Those whose final abodes are the
Gardens underneath which rivers flow. In the chapter of the believers too Allah
makes mention of the establishers of Salah. The ones who observe humility in
their Salah and also those who observe their Salah on their prescribed times.
They are the successful ones. They are the believers who have and will attain
true success.
In suratul Ankabut, Allah tells us that Salah stops or
eradicates evil and immorality.
The Messenger of Allah SAW is reported to have said that the
first deed of a servant that shall be judged on the day Qiyamah is his Salah.
He who perfects his Salah has gained success and he who neglects it or does not
perfect has indeed lost. In another hadith the Prophet SAW is again reported to
have been asked about the best of deeds. The Messenger of Allah SAW said, after
replying that the best of deeds is the belief in Allah that is Tawheed, he
mentions Salah as the next in line. Allah the Exalted, the Absolutely Perfect
tells us in suratul A’alaa that
verily those who purify themselves have succeeded, and they remember the name
of their Lord and perform Salah.
We have seen the obligation of Salah upon the Muslim and
also the benefits that come with it. Now the question is, “What is the attitude of the Muslim youth towards
Salah?”
A few days ago I attended the Friday sermon in one of the
masjids in Tamale, and that was the best khutbah I had listened to in ages. The
best among the numerous bests I have listened to of course. Hehe
The khatib made a very important and sharp statements that
pierced through my thoughts like a beacon of light through darkness. He said we
have a lot of people who pray nowadays. Those who perform Salah are very many
nowadays, but those who actually establish Salah are few. The actual Muslims
among the numerous performers of Salah are very few. This has got to do with
the attitude of these people who claim to perform Salah.
The youth of this generation show little or no concern
towards the acts of worship that Allah has commanded us to do. Prominent
amongst them is Salah. We either do not pray at all or we pray but we do not
ensure all the conditions that are to be present are met. We are seriously in
pursuit of this world, vague dreams. Dreams we know will never become reality
and yet we still pursue them. Some of us are actually living in our
imaginations and we do not know what the reality is.
“Competition
in worldly increase diverts. Until you visit the graveyards. No! you are going
to know. Then no! you are going to know. No! if you only knew with knowledge of
certainty. You will surely see the Hellfire. Then you will surely see it with
the eye of certainty. Then you will surely be asked that day about pleasure.” At-Takathur.
Pursuit of worldly gains has diverted our attentions from
Salah my dear brothers and sisters. It has made sure that we stop praying and
when we do we do not pay attention to our creator. Allah the Almighty calls us
to come and worship Him. He calls us to come and talk to Him and yet we do not
respond to this call. We do not pay attention to our Creator.
Pursuit of worldly gains has diverted our attentions from
Salah my dear brothers and sisters. It has made sure that we stop praying and
when we do we do not pay attention to our creator. Allah the Almighty calls us
to come and worship Him. He calls us to come and talk to Him and yet we do not
respond to this call. We do not pay attention to our Creator.
After all these we hear each other complaining. We complain
about bad grades. We complain about failed marriages. We complain about not
getting the right person to marry. We always complain and we will keep on
complaining till the day of our deaths. Do we know the reason why the youth of
this generation is plagued with immorality? Do we know why we are exposed to
more wealth and money and yet we never get to experience true happiness? It is
because we are not serious with our prayers. We are not serious with the chance
Allah SWA has granted to us to get close to Him and even speak directly to Him
with no intermediaries.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, this is Allah we are talking
about. He is the Originator of the Universe. He creates life and death. He is
in charge of all our affairs. He makes rich whom He wants and makes poor whom
He wants. He grants success to the one He wants and gives failure to the one He
wishes. He has given us a chance that no king, no chief, no president will give
to their citizens. Yet these people eat and drink, they get sick and will die,
they depend on others and they can’t
do anything on their own except what Allah has willed for them.
Allah has given us this chance in Salah, and yet we are not
taking. How then do we expect ourselves to have good lives? How do we expect to
stop listening to the music, to stop staring at the opposite sex, committing
zina and giving birth to bastards? Each and every day, Allah SWA calls every
Muslim, to success five times. Five times servants of Allah. Allah calls us
promotions in our jobs, He calls us to a lot money and riches, He calls us to
pious and rich spouses, He calls us to righteous children, Allah SWA calls us
Jannah five times each and every day.
Why then are the Muslim youth the most depressed members of
the society, why then are our Muslim marriages the most wretched in our
societies, why then are the Muslim youth and children the most immoral in the
society we find ourselves. We are oppressed and we are poor. Why are all these
things happening to us. I will tell you the answer my dear brothers and
sisters. The answer is that these things are happening to us because we are not
serious with our Salah. We are playing with our Salah. We stand in Salah and we
think about the next lady we want to fornicate with. We stand in Salah and we
think about the next bets we shall stake. We stand in Salah and we think about
how to bring down our fellow Muslims.
Meanwhile Salah is where we can turn our lives around. Salah
is our avenue to renew our Eeman. Salah is the avenue for us to gain true
contentment in life. There is no problem in our lives that cannot be solved in
two rakats of Salah. No problem my dear brothers and sisters. No problem. If we
as the Muslim youth, with all the problems we are facing, take our Salah
seriously then all our problems shall be erased.
It has been reported that anytime the Prophet SAW had a
problem, he will perform two rakats. This problem will be alleviated from him
SAW and that was the nature of the companions too, may Allah be pleased with
them. The Messenger of Allah SAW said, that the salat to the next Salah serves
as an expiation of sins for the one who stays away from major sins.
My dear brothers and sister just look at this. If you
perform your Salah well and you stay away from major sins, Allah is going to
forgive you all your sins. In another hadith we are given the similitude of a
person who performs his Salah well at their appointed time to be like a person
who has a stream or a river just in front of his house and he bathes in it five
times a day. Will such a person have dirt on his body? The one who establishes
his Salah well and does not play with it will also have his sins forgiven and
what does Allah say about people who have their sins forgiven? “He will send rain from the
skies upon you in showers. And give you increase in wealth and children and
provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.”
Allahu Akbar. My dear brothers and sisters, if you want
wealth and I mean a lot of wealth, then establish your Salah well. If your
better grades, then establish Salah. If we, the Muslim youth, want to be
prominent with riches and attain high status and also be granted Jannah at the
same time then the answer lies in establishing Salah.
The Prophet SAW is reported to have said that Allah the
Sublime said, I have divided Salah between me and My servant into. When My
Servant says, The Best of Praise Belongs to Allah the Lord of the Universe,
Allah says, My servant has praised me. When My servant says, the Most Gracious
the Most Merciful, Allah SWA says, My servant has Exalted me. When My Servant
says, Master of the Day of Judgement, Allah SWA says, My servant has Glorified
me. And when My servant says, You alone we worship and You alone we ask for
help, Allah SWA says, this is between me and My Servant and I have granted for
My Servant whatever he will ask.
How can the Muslim Youth lack anything if we ensure our
Salah is on point? How can the Muslim Youth need anything if Allah says to us “this is between me and My
servants and I have granted for My servants whatever they ask?”
O Allah, make us establishers of Salah and also from our
offspring…aameen
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