If they knew the merits of Isha and Fajr Salat, they would come to them even if they had to crawl to do so. (Bukhari) Punctuality in the Asr and Fajr Prayers Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “There are angels who take turns in visiting you by night and by day, and they all assemble at the dawn (Fajr) and the afternoon (Asr) prayers. Those who have spent the night with you, ascend (to the heaven) and Allah, Who knows better about them, asks, ‘In what condition did you leave My slaves?’ They reply, ‘We left them while they were performing Salat and we went to them while they were performing Salat.’” [Sahih Bukhari] When the principal of a school makes special mention of the high achievement of one of the students in assembly, it is not because the Principal doesn’t know, but because he/she wants to honour the high achiever by mentioning their achievements before all the other students and faculty. Almighty Allah knows everything but even then He asks the angels about His pious slaves so that the piety of the believers and their merit and distinction become evident to all. The angels for the night come at the time of Asr when the angels from the morning are present. The angels of the two shifts assemble at this time and exchange duties. The angels of the night shift then leave their duty in the morning at Fajr, and the angels of the morning shift resume their duty. Thus, the two groups assemble again at this time. Angels are very punctual. They know no such thing as procrastination or delay. Thus, when they are exchanging duties only the people who are punctual in their Salat are engaged in Fajr or Asr prayers. Therefore, we should try very hard to be punctual in praying the Asr and Fajr Salat so that when Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) asks the angels about us He is told that the angels left us while we were remembering Him and praying and not while we were sleeping, busy in games, watching T.V., or some other worthless activity. Benefit of Going to the Masjid Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “He who purifies himself (performs Wudhu) in his house and then walks to one of the houses of Allah (Masjid) for performing an obligatory Salat, one step of his will wipe out his sins and another step will elevate his rank (in Jannah).” [Sahih Muslim] This hadith tells us the merit of offering Salat in the Masjid. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) encourages us to go to the Masjid for Fardh prayers by offering us alternatively the wiping out of minor sins and the elevation of one’s rank in Jannah by one degree with each step that one takes towards the Masjid. This hadith also indicates the superiority of cleansing and readying oneself in one’s house rather than in the Masjid. One should try to go to the Masjid in one’s best condition. This is practical advice to help prevent unnecessary crowding and mess in the Masjid’s bathrooms and Wudhu areas. Since the Masjid is one of the houses of Allah we should try to keep our presence in it as pleasant as possible. There is a story of a man who would wake up every morning for Fajr, do Wudhu, then leave to pray with the Jamaat (congregation) in the Masjid. One day as he was on his way to the Masjid he tripped and fell. As his clothes had gotten dirty and wet he went back home to change. He got ready again and set out for the Masjid once more. As it was dark, on the way to the Masjid he tripped again in the same spot and his clothes got soiled yet again. So he went back home, cleaned himself up, changed, and set out for the Masjid a third time. On this trip to the Masjid he found a man waiting for him with a lantern in the place that he would keep tripping. This man led him with his lantern safely to the Masjid. As he was turning back to leave, the man who would keep tripping thanked him but asked him why he wouldn’t enter the Masjid and pray in Jamaat with them. The man with the lantern replied that he was actually Shaitaan. It was he who would keep tripping the man up on his way to the Masjid. The first time that the man returned home, changed and set out for the Masjid again Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) forgave the man all his sins. The second time that the man changed and set out for the Masjid, Allah forgave all the sins of each member of his household. Seeing this Shaitaan got afraid that should the man trip again Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) might forgive the sins of all the people in the village next, so instead of tripping him Shaitaan made sure that the man got to the Masjid safely!
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 20:20:07 +0000
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