THE COMMAND TO PRAY ON TIME AND WARNING AGAINST COMPLACENCY AND INDULGENCE
Alhamdulillah all praise is due to Allah and we send prayers and salutations upon the Prophet Salahu aliyhi wasallam his family and companions may Allah continue to be pleased with them.
We thank Allah for testing us with different tests a this is a sign that He love us!
(If Allah loves a people He test them )
This disease/pandemic has not spread except due to our handiworks and bad attitude towards the commands of Allah and there is no way we can flee from the punishment in this world and the hereafter.
وَمَآ أَصَٰبَكُم مِّن مُّصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُوا۟ عَن كَثِيرٍ
And whatever strikes you of disaster – it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.
وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِۖ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ
And you will not cause failure [to Allah ] upon the earth. And you have not besides Allah any protector or helper.
ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness].
As we are in this critical condition and time all over the world today due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has led to the closures of all Masaajid, there is no doubt that the person who have used to pray with the congregation will still have the complete reward even if he prays alone in his house due to this reason, and there is an important issue that I want to remind myself and everybody about which is to guide the prayers in its prescribed time not to delay it without a valid reason which the Shari’ah considers as reason .
حَٰفِظُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٰتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا۟ لِلَّهِ قَٰنِتِينَ
Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
فَإِذَا ٱطْمَأْنَنتُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَۚ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَٰبًا مَّوْقُوتًا
… But when you become secure, re-establish [regular] prayer. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.
فَخَلَفَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِۖ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا
But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil –
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ
And those who [carefully] maintain their prayers on time
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ فِى جَنَّٰتٍ مُّكْرَمُونَ
They will be in gardens, honored.
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٰتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ
And they who carefully maintain their prayers on time –
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْوَٰرِثُونَ
Those are the inheritors
ٱلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ
Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally.
يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَن سَاقٍ وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
The Day the shin will be uncovered and they are invited to prostration but the disbelievers will not be able,
خَٰشِعَةً أَبْصَٰرُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌۖ وَقَدْ كَانُوا۟ يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى ٱلسُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَٰلِمُونَ
Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. And they used to be invited to prostration while they were sound.
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ
So woe to those who pray
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ
[But] who are heedless of their prayers
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَآءُونَ
Those who make show [of their deeds]
وَيَمْنَعُونَ ٱلْمَاعُونَ
And withhold [simple] assistance.
حديث أبي عبد الرحمن عبد الله بن مسعود قال: سألت النبي ﷺ أي العمل أحب إلى الله تعالى؟ قال: الصلاة على وقتها، وقال: قلت: ثم أي؟ قال: بر الوالدين، قلت: ثم أي؟ قال: الجهاد في سبيل الله[1]. متفق عليه
The hadith of Abi Abdur-Rahman Abd-Allah Ibn Masoud radiyalahu anhusaid: I asked the Prophet ﷺ Which deed is most beloved to Allah Almighty? He said: Praying on time, and he said: I said: Then which? He said: Honoring one’s parents, I said: Then which? He said: jihad for the sake of Allah.
(Agreed upon)
In Al-Musnad and Sahih Ibn Hibban on the authority of Abd-Allah bin Umar on the authority of the Prophet Salahu aliyhi wasallam: He mentioned the prayer, and he said: “Whoever keeps it, (in it’s appropriate time) the prayer will be a light, proof, and deliverance on the Day of Resurrection for him, and whoever does not maintain it (in it appropriate time) it will not be a light, proof, or deliverance for him.
Shaykh Fawzaan may Allah preserve him was asked regarding delaying the prayer on time this was his answer:
Complacency in performing the prayer on time
Question: I am a young, unmarried man, who performs the prayer, but not continuously, meaning not every time in his time. Sometimes I miss a full day prayer and perform it all together. What is the ruling on that?
Answer: The Muslim must maintain the performance of the prayer on time with the Muslim community, and it is not permissible to take the prayer out of its time. The Almighty said: {The prayer was on the believers as a timed book} [Surat An-Nisa: Verse 103] meaning that it is imposed at certain times in which it is performed. And in the effect: “God has a work at night that does not accept him during the day, and according to the day he does not accept it at night.” And making the prayer out of her time is a waste of it. The Almighty said: {He succeeded after them a caliph who lost the prayers and followed the desires, and they will be ridiculous. Except those who repent} [Surat Maryam: verses 59, 60], and the combination of two prayers is permissible only for a legitimate excuse at the time of one of them as the back with the afternoon and the Maghrib with dinner. As for gathering prayers for a full day, this is not permissible and prayer is not valid in this way.
(Youth issues قضايا الشباب)
AUTHOR: KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION