60
Chapter Eight
THE LEVELS OF PEOPLE WITH REGARD TO THEIR PRAYER 32
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, “And mankind,
with regard to their performance of prayer are in five levels.
The First: The level of the one who is negligent and wrongs his
soul. He is the one who falls short in performing ablution properly,
performing the prayer upon its time and within its specified limits,
and in fulfilling its essential pillars.
The Second: The one who guards his prayers upon their proper
times and within their specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars
and performs his ablution with care. However, his striving (in
achieving the above) is wasted due to whisperings in his prayer so
he is taken away by thoughts and ideas.
The Third: The one who guards his prayers within the specified
limits, fulfils their essential pillars and strives with himself to repel
the whisperings, thoughts and ideas. He is busy struggling against
his enemy (Satan) so that he does not steal from the prayer. On
account of this he is engaged in (both) prayer and jihaad.
The Fourth: The one who stands for the prayer, completes and
perfects its due rights, its essential pillars, performs it within its
specified limits and his heart becomes engrossed in safeguarding its
rights and specified limits, so that nothing is wasted from it. His
whole concern is directed towards its establishment, its completion
and its perfection, as it should be. His heart is immersed in the
prayer and in enslavement to his Lord, the Exalted.
The Fifth: The one who stands for the prayer like the one
mentioned above. However, on top of this, he has taken and placed
his heart in front of his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, looking
towards Him with his heart with anticipation, (his heart) filled with
His love and His might, as if he sees and witnesses Allaah. The
32
Al-Waabilus-Sayyib, pp.23~24.
whisperings, thoughts and ideas have vanished and the coverings
which are between him and his Lord are raised. What is between
this person and others with respect to the prayer, is superior and
greater than what is between the heavens and the earth. This
person is busy with his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, delighted with
Him.
The first type will be punished, the second type will be held to
account, the third will have his sins and shortcomings expiated,
the fourth will be rewarded and the fifth will be close to his Lord,
because he will receive the portion of the one who makes his prayer
the delight and pleasure of his eye. Whoever makes his prayer the
delight and pleasure of his eye, will have the nearness to his Lord,
the Mighty and Majestic, made the delight and pleasure of his eye in
the hereafter. He will also be made a pleasure to the eye in this
world since whoever makes Allaah the pleasure of his eye in this
world, every other eye will become delighted and pleased with him.
62
Chapter Nine
A SUMMARY OF THE LESSONS AND BENEFITS OF PRAYER 33
(1) That Allaah, the Exalted, wipes away sins by the five prayers.
(2) That the five prayers are an expiation for what occurs between
them, if major sins are avoided.
(3) That sins burn and destroy a person and thus it is necessary to
extinguish that with the prayers.
(4) That the Muslim reaches the level of the truthful and the martyrs
on account of his prayers, charity and fasting.
(5) The superiority of prayer34 over other actions.
(6) That Allaah, the Exalted, bestowed a favour upon that
Companion by entering him into Paradise before his brother who
died as a martyr because he prayed more than he.
(7) That the prayer is light which illuminates the path of the servant
in this world and the Hereafter.
(8) That an abundance of prostrations and prayers is the way to
accompany the Messenger (ρ) in Paradise.
(9) That a two rak’ah prayer is more loved by the dead person than
the world and whatever is in it.
(10) That emptying the heart for Allaah in the prayer puts a person
in the same condition as the day when his mother gave birth to him.
(11) That should a person enter the Fire, refuge is sought from that,
the angels will remove him from it and will recognise him by the
marks of prostration.35
(12) That the prayer participates in undoing the knots which Satan
places at the top of ones head.
(13) That the night prayer is the most excellent prayer after the
obligatory prayers.
(14) That the one who prays at night obtains a reward which most of
mankind do not.
33
Summarised from Hussain al-Awaa’ishah’s, As-Salaat, wa Atharuhaa fee Ziyaadatil
Eemaan wa Tahdheeb in-Nafs.
34
Its condition is that the creed of the person is correct, sound and in accordance with
that of the Pious Predecessors of this Ummah.
35
The condition for being removed from the Fire due to the intercession of the angels
(and others) is that a person should be from the People of Tawheed. Intercession is
only for the People of Tawheed.
63
(15) Gratitude is shown to Allaah with the (obligatory) prayer and
night prayer.
(16) That the prayer most loved by Allaah is the prayer of Daawood
(υ) which is to pray for a third of the night and to sleep for two
thirds of the night.36
(17) That as Allaah has bestowed a favour upon His servant by the
hour during the night in which the supplication is answered, it is
befitting for the Muslim to aspire to it and seek to find it so that he
is given the good of this world and the Hereafter.
(18) That the night prayer is an evidence for righteousness and
taqwaa and it expiates the sins and prevents one from falling into
them.
(19) That Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, covers the husband and
wife who help each other in performing the night prayer with His
Mercy. If one of them refuses the other sprinkles water on his or her
face.
(20) That two units of prayer at night make a person amongst the
men who remember Allaah often or the women who remember
Allaah often.
(21) That Allaah is amazed by the man who gets up from his sleep,
leaving his bedsheet, his wife and his love for her in order to
perform prayer. Allaah laughs because of him and informs the
angels about him.
(22) That there is no jealousy or competition except with regard to
two men, one of whom prays at night reciting the Qur’aan which
Allaah has bestowed upon him.
(23) That whoever recited ten aayaat in the night (in prayer) will
not be written amongst the heedless, a Qintaar of reward will be
written for him and Allaah, the Exalted, will say to him, “Recite and
rise by one degree with every aayah,” until he comes to the last
aayah he knows. Allaah favours him by giving him eternity.
(24) That whoever prays at night with a hundred aayaat is written
amongst the devout worshippers and whoever prays with a
thousand aayaat is written amongst the Muqantareen and whoever
prays with two hundred aayaat is written amongst the devout
worshippers and sincere ones.
(25) That the one who walks to the prayer (in the mosque) is raised
in ranks and has his sins removed, both while he goes to the
mosque and when he returns from it.
36
Due to his (ρ) saying, “… he used to sleep half the night, then prayer for a third and
then go to sleep for a sixth of it.” A half added to a sixth is two-thirds.
64
(26) That for every step he takes he receives ten good deeds.
(27) That the Muslim is written amongst the worshippers from the
time he leaves the house till he returns to it.
(28) That the one receiving the greatest reward for the prayer is the
one who walks the furthest towards it and then the one further than
him (from the mosque).
(29) That one step which a servant takes to the prayer in
congregation is counted as an act of charity for him.
(30) That taking many steps towards the mosque is from ar-Ribaat
(guarding the frontiers).
(31) That every time a servant leaves for the mosque in the morning
or the evening Allaah prepares for him a feast in Paradise.
(32) That Allaah makes the light of those who walk through the
darkness to the mosques complete and perfect on the Day of
Judgement.
(33) That the reward for the one who leaves his house in a state of
purity for the obligatory prayer is like the reward of the pilgrim in
the state of ihraam.
(34) That the one who leaves for the mosque has a guarantee from
Allaah that He should provide sustenance for him and suffice him (in
his affairs).
(35) That the one who walks for the prayer in congregation, after
having beautified his ablution and travels to visit Allaah, the Exalted,
is bestowed with a great favour in that Allaah honours those of his
servants who visit Him, and Allaah’s honouring of them is increasing
their faith, showing benevolence to them, rewarding them, raising
their ranks, removing their difficulties and making their hearts
content and happy.
(36) The obligation to pray in congregation.
(37) That the Prophet (ρ) did not make a concession for the old blind
man by allowing him to leave the congregational prayer. How then
can those who are fit and well be allowed a concession?
(38) That whoever abandons the congregational prayer has been
threatened with heedlessness and having a seal placed on his heart.
(39) That staying away from the congregational prayer is a sign of
hypocrisy.
(40) The extreme striving of the Companions (ψ) for attending the
congregational prayer inspite of difficult circumstances. Some of the
Salaf used to say, “The prayer is from the Hereafter so when
you enter it you leave the world.