Tips to maintaining your Prayer - I

Allaah Almighty Says (what means): "And the Prayer is a difficult matter except upon those who fear Allaah; who are certain that they will meet their Lord, and that they will return to Him."[Quran 2:45-46]

The uniqueness of the Prayer lies in the fact that it is repeated not once a year or a month nor a day, but indeed five times a day. It is the most remarkable distinction of a believer's life. However, because of this continuous and demanding nature of the Prayer, it may be a cause of difficultly for some who lack its understanding and piety, or those who are new to it.

 

If approached with sincerity and patience, the Prayer can become the greatest pleasure of our daily life: "the coolness of eyes," as a Hadeeth put it. Here are ten things that can make the Prayer easy and pleasurable.

 

1.      Know its worth

If one does not know the merits and necessity of the Prayer, the immense bounties that come with it, and the unspeakable spiritual pleasure and bliss of the company of Allaah Almighty that is the reward of an attentive Prayer, one is likely to be tired of it.

 

The Prayer separates the believer from the disbeliever. The Prophet said in an authentic Hadeeth, "So whoever has left it (the salah) then he has committed an act of disbelief.”

 

On that terrifying Day of Reckoning, the first thing a servant will be asked about is the Prayer: if s/he is successful in it, the rest is easy: If not, the rest is ruined as well.

 

2.      Delaying the pleasure is the way to success

 

Any worth-mentioning achievement in this world, whether it is excellence at work or at school, all-nighters in colleges or some other task, all require a degree of self-control and curbing of immediate desires. In fact, experts discover that, in general, the wisest of people even in worldly transaction is one who can curb his desires and delay the pleasure. Such a person is a successful businessman, a productive scientist and an outstanding student. What, then, about the real test of this life, the reward for which is nothing less then the Paradise of your Lord?

 

The Prayer requires this attitude of patience, curbing of desires and delaying of pleasures. However, as one does it regularly, it also trains the worshipper to curb desires and delay the pleasure in all other aspects of life, thus making him or her a successful person in all aspects of life, worldly or religious.

 

3.      Fight laziness and procrastination

 

Performing the Prayer in time is a trial. Indeed, the Hellfire is surrounded by whims and desires, whereas Paradise is surrounded by adversity. Everyone faces this difficulty proportional to the level of his or her faith. The weaker the faith, the higher the difficulty. Accordingly, the Prayer is hardest on the hypocrites.

 

Be determined to fight the laziness. As you win these fights, your faith increases and performing the Prayer becomes easier. Allaah Almighty Says in a Sacred Hadeeth: "Whoever comes to me the distance of a hand span, I come closer to him an arms length..." until He Almighty said, "If he comes to me walking, I come to him with a quick pace (in a manner befitting His Majesty).”

 

4.      Do not wait for the last minute

 

Rather, hasten to Prayer in the first hour, and it will become easier on you. The Prophet warned against delaying the Prayer and indicated that this is the sign of a hypocrite. Gradually, it becomes a habit to perform the Prayer well and it hurts to not do it right.

 

5.      Worship is nourishment for the soul

 

Ibn-ul-Qayyim mentioned that Ibn Taymiyyah used to wait after the Fajr (Dawn) Prayer remembering Allaah until the sun had risen. He used to say, "This is my nourishment", meaning the means of his sustenance. "Should I not consume it, then I would not have the strength to last through the day." Similarly, it has been reported from a number of righteous Salaf (predecessors) that they did not use to regret missing anything from the matters of this life, like they would in missing such acts of worship.

 

Therefore, if you were to wonder how you could reach that same level of righteousness, your answer is: by faith and actions. Just wishing by itself is not enough and just because one is able to reach the lower level of worship does not necessitate that one will automatically be able to reach the more advanced level. Indeed, all of this is dependent on patience and hard work. Allaah Almighty Says (what means): “And thus did we make them Imaams (leaders) guiding with our permission when they had had patience and had certain faith in our signs." [Quran 32:24]