When young Muslims meet others for the first time and find out that
they are Muslim, often one of the very first questions they ask each
other is, “Do you pray?” It’s as if this is their touchstone to see if
the person they have met is a real Muslim or not. Calling yourself
Muslim is one thing, being a Muslim is something else.
Praying five times a day is at the heart of Islam. It is one of the
things that distinguishes a Muslim from everyone else in the world; that
all the activities of life can be made significant by the cycle of
prayer and praise which we offer to Almighty Allah. So why, then, do we
have such a problem being faithful to prayer?
My first `Umrah was one of the most important experiences of my life and it had its effects on me. Being so close to the Ka`bah
was a deeply moving experience. Being at the very place where our
beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), like all the prophets before him,
had walked and prayed, was amazing.
One of the things that hit me most about being in Makkah, amongst so
many others, was when the call to Prayer sounded for Fajr, the Dawn
Prayer. Thousands of people appeared from every direction and headed
towards the Ka`bah for prayer.
Getting up in the middle of the night wasn’t difficult at all, because the experience of praying at the Ka`bah was so moving. At the time, moving with the vast crowd, I couldn’t help thinking about what it is usually like back home.
Those getting up and going to the mosque for the Dawn Prayer are
certainly a minority, aren’t they? Away from Makkah, it is all too easy
to ignore the Adhan completely and stay in the comfort of one’s bed.
At special times like Ramadan, or when we go on pilgrimage,it seems
so much easier to be faithful to prayer and to take Islam so much more
seriously. How many of us, for example, attended Tarawih Prayers in the
mosque during Ramadan, even though we might occasionally miss one or two
of the obligatory prayers?
Praying five times a day is at the heart of
Islam. It is one of the things that distinguishes a Muslim from everyone
else in the world.
It’s one of life’s paradoxes that we want so much to be good, and yet
we find ourselves falling into the same old traps and doing things we
later regret.
How odd we are as human beings! We can quite happily sit in front of
the television for hours or sit idly chatting on the internet to no one
in particular, yet we can’t manage to set aside ten minutes to pray.
We do pray, of course, when we want something. Prayer is no problem
for us at all then. It comes quite naturally and is no inconvenience at
all. The minute a plane begins to plummet to the ground because of
engine failure, even the least religious person on board raises his
hands in prayer. When a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness or
when we desperately want an interview to go well, we pray.
The Words of the Adhan
The very words of the Adhan call us to prayer and to security.
There is no greater security than knowing that we are in the presence
of Allah, Who controls all things. We fret so much and we waste so much
time worrying about what might happen, when Allah is guiding everything
and we have nothing to fear.
How beautiful it is, for example, to get up in the middle of the
night, when all is still and calm, and to prostrate ourselves in prayer
before the Maker of the Heavens and the Earth. No one else is around and
we can be completely ourselves before Him, pouring out our hearts,
asking, begging, and thanking.
If we want something from a friend, we have to couch our request with
explanations: “Can I borrow such and such because…”. With Allah we need
no explanations. He knows more about what we need than we know
ourselves. All we need to do is to bow down in prayer. The very movement
of the prayers is relaxing to our bodies and it helps us to put our
lives into the proper context. In the presence of such greatness, life
is very fragile.
For Muslims, the call to Prayer is like an air raid siren. In times
of war or danger, an air raid siren will sound to tell the citizens to
run and take cover. No one thinks twice about doing so. The siren sounds
and you run as fast as your legs can carry you to a place of safety.
The Adhan is just the same, but it is calling us to escape,
not from bombs falling from the sky, but from the everyday concerns and
worries of life which often threaten to crush us. It calls us, instead,
to take shelter in Allah alone, Who knows us and cares for us and Who
wants the best for us. How quickly we should rush to prayer, taking
refuge in Allah. How quickly we should leave the inconsequential things
of life and turn in prayer to life’s Creator.
We have all seen old people in the mosque and been deeply touched by
this old man or that old lady who spends so much time in prayer. Praying
has made a difference to them.
It is very moving, too, to see a man come into the mosque from the
street, straight from his work which is both back breaking and hard, and
to see him prostrate himself in prayer, praying, perhaps, for his
children or for the money he needs just to make ends meet. With our
foreheads touching the ground, we are all equal. There is no pretending
when we pray.
Who Should We Thank, and How?
We are truly blessed as Muslims. Allah has given us everything we
need to live a good life, which will bring us happiness. The five
pillars of Islam guide us to Paradise.
The five daily prayers are a way of giving meaning to our lives and
of setting aside just a few minutes each day to return thanks for all we
have. Every Ramadan we make lots of resolutions about how we are going
to improve. The greatest resolution of all is to be faithful to prayer.
All our talk about Muslims and about Islam is worthless if we don’t
ground it in prayer. Being faithful to the five daily prayers changes us
for the better.
Better than watching TV, better than chatting on the Internet, prayer
on a regular basis re-charges our spiritual batteries and makes us feel
good.
What’s more, regular prayer makes us better people, better Muslims,
since its effects stay with us for the rest of the day. In the words of
the Adhan which call us to get out of bed and to pray Fajr, the Dawn Prayer, “Prayer is better than sleep.”
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