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Prayer: The Great Pillar
His Eminence Sheikh Ali ibn Abdur-Rahman Al-Huthaifi, may Allah
preserve him, delivered the Friday sermon entitled, “Prayer: The Great
Pillar”, in which he talked about the importance of prayer in Islam. He
explained that it was decreed for previous nations before Islam, though in
Islam it is privileged with a special status. He showed its virtues and
provided evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet  that it is
one of the duties of Muslims. He also warned against abandoning or
neglecting this duty.
Part One
Praise be to Allah; we praise Him and seek His help and guidance, and we
seek refuge in Allah from the evils within ourselves and the wickedness of
our wrong deeds. He whom Allah guides, none can misguide, and he whom
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Allah sends astray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity
worthy of worship but Allah alone, Who has no partners, and I bear witness
that our master and prophet Muhammad is Allah's Servant and Messenger,
whom Allah sent with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over
all other religions, even though polytheists may hate it. May Allah confer his
peace and blessings upon him and all his household and companions.
O Muslims,
Fear Allah as He should be feared, and grasp the firmest bond of Islam. Fear
of Allah leads to reform, glory, and the best end on the Day of Judgement.
Allah, Exalted be He, says,
…and whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him,
He will expiate from him all his sins, and will enlarge his
reward. [At-Talaq: 5].
Servants of Allah,
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Would you like to adhere to a great pillar of Islam – an honourable act
and a continuous blessing with which Allah directs you to do good deeds,
purifies your hearts, improves your conduct, increases your provision, builds
your life, and raises your ranks in Paradise? Would you like to perform an
act with which you can catch up with the righteous predecessors and attain
more than what you aspire to?
Do you know what this great pillar is, with which you attain all
goodness and with which Allah keeps you away from all evil?
This pillar is performing prayer, with all its conditions, obligatory
acts, duties, and acts of sunnah. Prayer is the greatest pillar in Islam after the
two testimonies (that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His
Messenger). It was decreed by Allah, Exalted be He, in each scripture He
sent down.
Allah does not accept any religion from anyone, whether from the
earlier or later nations, without prayers. Allah, Exalted be He, says:
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And for every nation We have appointed religious
ceremonies, that they may mention the Name of Allâh over
the beast of cattle that He has given them for food. And your
Ilâh (God) is One Ilâh (God - Allâh), so you must submit to
Him Alone (in Islâm). And give glad tidings to the
Mukhbitûn (those who obey Allâh with humility and are
humble from among the true believers of Islâmic
Monotheism), whose hearts are filled with fear when Allâh
is mentioned and As-Sabirûn [who patiently bear whatever
may befall them (of calamities)]; and who perform As-Salât
(Iqâmat-as-Salât), and who spend (in Allâh’s Cause) out of
what We have provided them. [Al-Hajj 34-35].
However, out of Allah’s grace and mercy, He has favoured this nation
with merits that were not given to any previous nation, because of virtue of
its Book and the dignified status of its Messenger. Allah, Might and Glory
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be to Him, favoured this nation when He decreed the five prayers for
Muslims in the heavens on the Night of Mi'raj (Muahmmad's Ascension to
the heavens). Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, gave His revelation to His
servant and messenger Muhammad  and spoke to him with words that the
Prophet directly heard from Him.
Allah decreed the five prayers to Muhammad without mediation of an
angel, when the master of all humans was ascended from the high heavens to
sidrat al-muntaha (the Lote-tree of the utmost boundary over the seventh
heaven beyond which none can pass), and elevated by Allah to a level that
none had ever reached. Then Allah, Exalted be He, ordered Jibreel
(Gabriel), peace be upon him, to lead Prophet Muhammad  in prayers at the
commencement and termination time prescribed for each prayer, Jibreel
then said, “O Muhammad! These were the designated times of the
Prophets before you, and the (prayer) time is what falls in between”
(Reported by Abu Dawud and others, from the hadith narrated by ibn Abbas,
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may Allah be pleased with him and his father). Thus Allah decreed prayers
without intermediary, and it was first led by Jibreel, peace be upon him, as
further indication of its obligation and esteemed status.
In the Quran, Allah, Exalted be He, showed the acts and sayings to be
performed and uttered during prayers. In addition, the Messenger of Allah 
showed its obligatory acts, duties, and acts of sunnah, and taught his
companions each saying and act required for performing prayers. He also led
them in prayers all through his lifetime and in all his conditions. The Prophet
 said, “Perform your prayers in the way you have seen me performing
them” (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The way prayer is performed has been transmitted from one
generation to the next, and so no saying or act of prayer has been neglected.
So thanks are due to Allah for making us Muslims and for preserving the
religion for us.
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Allahu Akbar! Allah is the Greatest of all! How great Allah's mercy is
and how enormous His favours to people are!
The fact that prayer was directly decreed for Muslims by the Lord of
the Worlds to His prophet Muhammad  without mediation of any angel is a
clear indication of its important status to Allah, Exalted be He, its high
position in the religion, and its inclusion of all goodness.
This religion will remain on the earth as long as prayer continues to be
performed; it will decline if performance of prayer declines; and it will come
to an end if prayer ceases to be performed. The more the people who
perform prayer are, the better the world will be; and the fewer they are, the
worse the world will be.
If every Muslim, man or woman, performed prayer in the way the
Messenger of Allah  and his companions performed it, the Muslim nation
would be safe from trials, evils, and sins, and secure from punishments, and
Allah would protect it from the evils of its enemies. Every Muslim, man or
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woman, would then be in better and more stable conditions and would attain
happiness at the end. The better the conditions of individuals are, the more
goodness and less evil the society will have, and the more the people will
love what is right and hate what is wrong.
However, if people are reckless about prayer so that some of them
abandon it, miss some of its duties or obligatory acts, forsake performing it
in congregation at mosques, or delay it beyond its appointed time, such
negligence will be reflected in people's affairs, so that anyone who neglects
prayers will lose control over his life and will experience loss and suffering.
Allah, Exalted be He, says,
And obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of
Our Remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and
whose affair (deeds) has been lost. [Al-Kahf: 28].
He whose heart is alive can feel the severity of punishment, while those with
lifeless hearts cannot feel any pain.
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Ummu Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “During the
life of Allah's Messenger , Muslim people used to look at the spot of
prostration when praying; under Abu Bakr, they used to look around the
spot of their prostration; during Umar’s rule, some of them used to raise
their eyes towards Qiblah (the direction of the Ka’aba in Makkah), and
after Uthman took over, they used to turn left and right, and it was then
that the sedition broke out”.
So consider how sound Ummu Salamah's understanding is and how
she knew that the way prayer is performed affects people's affairs, positively
or negatively!
It is narrated that a friend of Anas ibn Malik's visited him one day and
found him weeping. He said, “O Abu Hamza! (i.e. Anas ibn Malik) What
are you weeping for?” He replied, “I am weeping for what the people have
done; they even delayed prayers beyond their appointed times”.
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Prayer is the essence of religion, and it includes all the matters of
Islam. As the Prophet  said, “The crux of the matter is Islam (submission
to Allah), and its basic pillar is prayer” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi, from the
hadith narrated by Mu’adh, may Allah be pleased with him).
It was narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that
the Messenger of Allah  said, “The five daily prayers and the Friday
prayer to the Friday prayer expiate whatever sins may be committed in
between, so long as major sins are avoided” (Reported by Muslim).
Ubadah ibn as-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that he
heard Allah's Messenger  saying, “There are five prayers which Allah has
prescribed to His servants. Whoever performs them and does not neglect
any of them out of disregard toward them, has a promise from Allah that
He will admit him to Paradise. And whoever does not perform them has
none.” (Reported by Abu-Dawud and An-Nisai).
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Abdullah ibn Qurt, may Allah be pleased with him, also narrated that
Allah's Messenger  said, “The first deed for which a servant will be called
to account on the Day of Judgement will be his prayer. If it is good, then
all his other deeds will be accepted, but if not, none of his other deeds will
be accepted” (Reported by At-Tabarani).
The essence of prayer is solemnity and submissiveness, following the
sunnah, and performing prayer in congregation. Allah, Exalted be He, says,
Successful indeed are the believers. Those who offer their
Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness.
[Al-Mu’minûn: 1-2].
It was narrated by ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his
father, that the Prophet  said, “Whoever hears the call and does not
respond to it (by coming to the mosque and praying), his prayer is not
valid, except for those who have an excuse” (Reported by Al-Hakim who
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said “It is an authentic Hadith according to the criteria of Al-Bukhari and
Muslim”).
As for women, it is more virtuous for them to pray at home. It was
narrated by Ummu Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the
Messenger of Allah  said, “The best places for women to pray in are the
inner parts of their houses” (Reported by Ahmad and At-Tabarani). It was
narrated by ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet 
said, “A woman is an ‘awra (i.e. she should not be seen by men who are
strange to her); if she goes outside her home, the Satan seeks to misguide
her” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi). In ibn Khuzaimah and ibn Habban's
narration on the authority of ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, the
Prophet  said, “The woman’s prayer (Salat) most beloved to Allah is the
one she offers in the furthest part of her home”
As long as the woman stays inside her home, she is protected from
seduction; she neither seduces anyone nor is seduced by anyone. But if she
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goes out and displays her adornment, she seduces and gets seduced by
others. Allah, Exalted be He, says to the Mothers of Believers (i.e. Prophet
Muhammad's  wives):
And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as
[was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And
establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His
Messenger. [AlAhzab: 33],
They are the best examples that Muslim women should follow.
Allah, Exalted be He, says,
Verily, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and
the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that
which you do. [Al-Ankbut: 45].
May Allah bless you and me with the Great Quran and make us benefit from
its verses and wise words and benefit from the guidance and right sayings of
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the Imam of all Messengers. I have said what you have heard and I ask
forgiveness of Allah for myself, for you, and for all Muslims. He is the Most
Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Part Two
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Protector of the righteous. I
praise my Lord and thank Him. I turn to Him in repentance and ask Him for
forgiveness. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but
Allah, Who has no partners, the Most Powerful the Possessor of Strength;
and I bear witness that our prophet and master Muhammad is His servant
and messenger, who was trustworthy and true to his promise. O Allah!
Bestow Your prayers, peace and blessings upon Your servant and messenger
Muhammad and on all his household and his faithful and righteous
companions.
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O Muslims,
Fear Allah and He will guide you to do righteous deeds and forgive
you your sins.
Servants of Allah,
Know that you can make up for any deficiency in your obligatory
prayers and expiate for your sins by regularly performing Sunnah Prayers
(before and after obligatory prayers) and Witr Prayer as well as increasing
supererogatory prayers and reciting the prophetic sayings related to Allah’s
remembrance.
It was narrated by Ummu Habibah, may Allah be pleased with her,
that the Messenger of Allah  said, “If anyone keeps on praying regularly
four rak'ahs before and four rak'ahs after the Dhur (Noon) Prayer, Allah
makes him prohibited for the Hellfire” (Reported by Abu Dawud, AtTermidhi and Ibn Majah).
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Abdullah ibn Ummar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father,
also narrated that the Prophet  said, “May Allah have mercy on a man who
prays four rak'ahs before the ‘Asr (Afternoon) Prayer” (Reported by Abu
Dawud and At-Termidhi).
It is also recommended to perform two (or six) rak’ahs after the
Maghrib (Sunset) Prayer, two or four rak’ahs before Isha (Night) Prayer,
and any number of Rak’ahs afterwards, and end with Witr Prayer. The hours
before dawn are the last time for offering the Witr prayer.
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that the Prophet 
said, “Two rak'ahs at dawn are better than this world and all that it
contains” (Reported by Al-Bukhai and Muslim). The Prophet  also said,
“You do not prostrate to Allah once except that Allah raises you one
degree in Paradise by it and forgives for you one sin.” The Prophet  said
to one of his companions, “…then help me to achieve this for you by
frequent prostration.”
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Abandoning prayer is a reason for entering the Hellfire; Allah,
Exalted be He, says,
[And asking them], “What put you into Saqar? They
will say, “We were not of those who prayed, Nor did we
used to feed the poor. And we used to enter into vain
discourse with those who engaged [in it], And we used to
deny the Day of Recompense. Until there came to us the
certainty.” [Al-Mudathar: 43-47].
Servants of Allah,
“Allah sends His salutations upon the Prophet and also
His angels (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you
who believe! Send your salutations upon him and salute
him with the Islamic way of greeting.” [Al-Ahzab: 56].
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The Prophet  said, “If a person asks Allah to send blessings upon me
once, Allah will send blessings upon him ten times over.”
So ask Allah to bestow His peace and blessings on the master of the
earlier and later people and the Imam of Messengers. O Allah, bestow Your
peace upon Muhammad and his household, as You bestowed Your peace on
Ibrahim and his household, You are Praise-Worthy and Glorious. O Allah,
bestow Your blessings upon Muhammad and his household, as You
bestowed Your blessings on Ibrahim and his household, You are PraiseWorthy and Glorious.
O Allah, bestow peace and blessings upon our master and prophet,
Muhammad, his wives, his offspring, and his household. O Allah, be pleased
with all the companions. O Allah, be pleased with the Rightly-Guided
Caliphs and Imams, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, along with all the
companions of your Prophet, their contemporaries, and those who follow
them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment, and also be pleased with us
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together with them, by Your grace, generosity, and mercy, You are the Most
Generous!
O Allah, give power and glory to Islam and Muslims. O Allah, give
power and glory to Islam and Muslims. O Allah, humiliate infidels and
infidelity, and undermine polytheism and polytheists, You are Powerful over
all things.
O Allah, facilitate for Muslims their affairs in the right way. O Allah,
I ask You forgiveness for our dead and for all dead Muslims, O Lord of the
Worlds. O Allah, fill their graves with light, forgive their sins, double their
good deeds and forgive their evil deeds, out of Your mercy, O You the Most
Merciful!
O Allah, show us the right path and guide us to follow it; O Allah,
show us the deviant path, guide us to avoid it and do not make it unclear or
we will go astray. You do that out of Your Mercy, You are the Most
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Merciful. O Allah, make our hearts firm on Your Obedience, O Lord of the
Worlds; You are Powerful over all things.
O Allah, we ask you to grant victory to Your Religion. O Allah, grant
victory to Your religion, Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet, O
You, the Strong, the Mighty! O Allah, grant victory to Your religion, Your
Book and the Sunnah of Your prophet everywhere, You Lord of the Worlds!
You are Powerful over all things.
O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the evil within ourselves. O
Allah, protect us from the evil within ourselves, the wickedness of our
wrong deeds, and the evil of all evil-doers; out of Your Mercy, You the
Most Merciful of all!
O Allah, our Muslim brothers in Syria have been oppressed; O Allah,
they have been oppressed and have been afflicted with distress and hardships
that no one can relieve but You, You are the Most Merciful. O Allah, do not
let them be overpowered by the oppressors. O Allah, take Your revenge on
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those who commit injustices and aggressions against them, You Lord of the
Worlds! You are Powerful over all things. O Allah, do not let them be
overpowered by those oppressors, You are the Most Merciful.
O Allah, You are the Helper and You are Powerful over all things. O
Allah, relieve their distress and hardships, You Lord of the Worlds! You are
Powerful over all things. O Allah, there is no deity worthy of worship but
You. To You we resort and to You is the final destination.
O Allah, grant us safety in our homelands and make good our rulers.O
Allah, make our country and all Muslim countries safe, prosperous, and
flourishing, O You Lord of the worlds!
O Allah, guide the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines to do what You
accept and love. O Allah, lead him to Your guidance and make all his deeds
pleasing to You, O You Lord of the Worlds, provide him with help in
matters of religion and support him to establish Your religion and do what is
good for his people, and all Muslims, You are Powerful over all things.
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O Allah, the Owner of Majesty and Honour, we ask to send down rain
upon us. O Allah, bless us with rain, out of Your Mercy, You are the Most
Merciful; O Allah, do not leave us to ourselves for the blink of an eye or less
than that, O Allah, You the Owner of Majesty and Honour!
Servants of Allah,
Verily, Allah enjoins justice and kindness, and giving
(help) to kith and kin, and forbids all types of lewd acts,
and all kinds of oppression. He admonishes you, that you
may take heed [An-Nahl: 90].
Remember Allah, the Great, the Sublime, and He will remember you.
Thank Him for His blessings and favours and He will give you more. Verily,
remembrance of Allah is above all, and Allah knows what you do.
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