وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ

۞ أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ

الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُو رَبِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

"And be steadfast in Salah (prayer), and pay Zakah, and bow down with those who bow. Do you bid others to righteousness while you ignore your ownselves, although you keep reciting the Book? Have you then no sense? And seek help through patience and prayer. And it is indeed exacting, but not for the humble in heart who bear in mind that they are to meet their Lord, and that to Him they are to return." (2: 43-46)

In the last three verses and these four, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reminds the Israelites of the blessings He has bestowed upon them, and invites them to Islam and to good deeds. The earlier three verses were concerned with the true faith and doctrines; the present verses speak of good deeds, mentioning only the most important of them. It was usually the love of money and power that made it difficult for the Jews, specially for their scholars, to accept Islam. The verses prescribe the remedy for the twin diseases - they should fortify themselves with Sabr (patience) and Salah (prayer).

"Patience" is a very weak translation of the Arabic word Sabr, which has three connotations: (a) bearing pain and misfortune patiently (b) restraining oneself from sin (c) being steadfast in obeying Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

Now, patience, in this wide sense, is the perfect remedy for the love of money. For, money cannot be an end in itself, but is sought only as a means of satisfying one's appetites; when a man has made a firm resolve not to follow his appetites like a slave, he will no longer need much money, nor will the love of money blind him to the distinction between his gain and loss. Similarly, Salah is the remedy for ambition and the love of power. For, outwardly and inwardly both, Saliih involves the exercise of humility; naturally, the more one tries to perform it in the proper manner, the more it purifies him of the love of money and power, and of ambition and pride. These being the real substance of all spiritual disorder in man, once they are brought under control, it becomes easy for one to accept Islam and to be steadfast in one's faith.

Let us add that while patience (Sabr) requires only the restraining or giving up of excessive appetites and unnecessary desires, Salah (prayer), in addition to all this, further requires the performance of certain actions, and also a temporary renunciation of perfectly lawful desires and of many human needs which the Shari'ah allows one to fulfil, e.g., eating, drinking, speaking, walking etc. - and, at that, making such a renunciation five times during the day and the night regularly at fixed hours. Thus, Salah means performing certain prescribed actions and restraining oneself from all lawful or unlawful activities at fixed hours.

Once a man has decided to give up unnecessary desires, the instinctive urge itself loses its intensity in a few days. So, the exercise of patience is not, after all, so difficult. But offering Salah entails submitting oneself to the conditions laid down by the Shari'ah, observing the fixed hours, and giving up the basic human activities and desires, all of which is quite exacting for the instinctive disposition of man. So, one may very well raise an objection here: for the purpose of making it easy for a man to accept Islam and to be steadfast in his faith, the Holy Qur'an prescribes Sabr and Salah, but to use this remedy is in itself a difficult thing, specially the Salah and its restriction - now, how can this difficulty be overcome? The Holy Qur'an admits that performing Salah regularly and steadfastly is, no doubt, exacting, and proceeds to show the way out of this impasse - Salah is not a burden to the humble in heart.

To know the effectiveness of the remedy, we must know the disease, and find out why Salah should be so burdensome. The human heart loves to roam about freely in the vast spaces of thought and fancy; all the organs of the human body being subservient to the heart, it requires them to be equally free. On the other hand, Salah demands the renunciation of such freedom, - and prohibits eating, drinking, walking, talking etc. - a restriction which annoys the heart and is also painful for the human organs governed by it.

In short, Salah is burdenso~lleb ecause the heart enjoys to keep the faculties of thought and imagination in a continuous motion. Motion being the disease, it can only be remedied by its opposite - restfulness. Hence, the Holy Qur'an prescribes Khushoo' a word which we have rendered into English by the phrase "humbleness in heart", but which actually signifies "the restfulness of the heart."

Now, the question arises as to how one can acquire this "restfulness of the heart." Everyone knows through his own experience that, if one deliberately tries to empty one's heart of all kinds of thoughts and fancies, the effort rarely succeeds.

The only way to achieve it is that since the human mind cannot move in two directions simultaneously, one should make it absorb itself in one thought alone so that all other thoughts may disappear by themselves without any effort on one's part. So, having prescribed "the restfulness of the heart", the Holy Qur'in also prescribes a particular thought which will, if one absorbs oneself in it, drive away all other thoughts: once the movement of thought and fancy has been reduced to the restfulness of the heart, the performance of Salah becomes easy; regularity in offering the ordained prayers gradually cures the disease of pride and
ambition, and thus the way to the perfecting of one's faith grows smooth. Such is the well-ordered and beautifully integrated art of spiritual medicine that the Holy Qur'an has given us! *

[*Note: As against this stand the fanciful systems of thought - concentration, wearing a pseudo-mystical look and some-times an Eastern make-up but all spawned in the Angst-ridden West - things like Yoga and Transcendental Meditation, which serve only to derange an already disordered psyche.]

Now, the thought in which one should immerse oneself in order to acquire "the restfulness of the heart" has been explained by the Holy Qur'an in describing "the humble in heart" - they are the people who bear in mind that they are to meet their Lord, when they shall receive the reward for their obedience, and also bear in mind that they are to return to Him, when they shall be required to present an account of their deeds. These twin thoughts produce hope and fear in the heart,
and hope and fear are the best agents for inducing a man to devote himself to good deeds.

The prayer which the Holy Qur'an prescribes is not a mere contemplation or meditation. Al-Salah, in the terminology of Shari'ah, is a definite form of 'Ibadah or worship, the mode of which is divinely ordained. As often as the Holy Qur'an insists on the performance of the Salah, it employs the word Iqamah, except in one or two instances. Lexically, the word means "making a thing straight, or keeping it firmly in its place." A tree or a wall or anything which is vertical and straight, usually lasts long in its place; so, the word also signifies "establishing a thing or making it perpetual." Thus, the conjunction of the two words, Salah and Iqamah, in the Holy Qur'an and the hadith signifies, not merely offering the prayer, but performing the five ordained prayers steadfastly in the prescribed form at the prescribed hours and fulfilling all the necessary conditions. The Holy Quran and the Hadith speak of the great rewards and blessings one can hope to receive for offering Salah, and of other benefits which flow from it, but all of them are tied up with Iqamah in the sense which we have just explained.

For example, the Holy Qur'an says: "The Salah restrains one from indecency and evil." (29:46) The prescibed prayer will bear these fruits only when one has been performing it in the full sense of Iqiimah. It follows from it that if one finds people who are quite regular in offering their prayers indulging in immodest or even evil activities, one should not have misgivings about the veracity of this verse, for these people have, no doubt, been praying, but not been observing the conditions of Iqamah.

Verse 43 also speaks of paying Zakah, the prescribed alms. Now, lexically speaking, the Arabic word Zakah has two significations: (a) to purify (b) grow. Zakah is not a tax levied by the State or society, but, in the terminology of the Shari'ah, means that portion of one's belongings which is set apart and spent in total accord with the injunctions of the Shari'ah.

This verse is addressed to the Israelites, and does not by itself show that offering prayers and paying alms was obligatory for them before the days of Islam. But the following verse: "Allah made a covenant with the Israelites and raised among them twelve chieftains. And Allah said, 'I am with you. Surely, if you perform Salah and pay Zakah." (5:12) does show that the two things were obligatory for them, even if the external modes might have been different.

The verse proceeds to say: "Bow down with those who bow (in worship)." Lexically, the Arabic word Ruku' means "to bow down", and may hence be applied even to prostrating oneself (Sajdah), which is the ultimate form of bowing down. But in the terminology of the Shari'ah it pertains to the particular form of bowing down which has been prescribed for Salah.

One may well ask why this particular gesture has been chosen for a special mention from among the different gestures involved in the salah. We would reply that it is a metonymy for Salah, and a part has been made to stand for the whole - just as in verse 17:78: "the recitation of the Quran in the morning" refers to the morning prayers, and on several occasions in some Hadith narrations the use of the word Sajdah (prostration) covers one set of movements (Rak'ah) in Salah or even to the whole of it. Thus, the verse actually means: "Offer Salah along with those who offer Salah."

Salah with Jama'ah (Congregation)

Then, there is a more comprehensive explanation for the specific reference to "bowing down" (Ruku'). The form of the ritual prayers ordained for the Israelites and others included prostrating oneself (Sajdah), but not bowing down. This particular way of bowing down called Ruku' is peculiar to the Islamic SalGh alone. Hence, Raki'een or those who bow down (in worship) are, obviously enough, the members of the Islamic Ummah, and the verse, in effect, asks the Israelites to accept Islam, and to offer their prayers along with the Muslims. The command, "Be steadfast in Salah", shows that Salah is obligatory. The other command, "Bow down with those who bow (in worship)", establishes that Salah is to be offered in the company of other Muslims (Jama'ah).

A very important question arises here - what is the degree of the obligation intended in this injunction? There is a difference of views among the Fuqaha' (jurists) on this point. According to a large body of blessed Companions (رضي الله عنهم أجمعين), their successors and of the jurists of the ummah (rahmatullahu alaihim), it is necessary (Waajib) to offer Salah in a congregation, and it is a sin to give up the Jama'ah. Some of the blessed Companions (رضي الله عنهم أجمعين) have gone to the length of holding that it is not permissible to offer Salah all by oneself without a proper excuse allowed by the Shari'ah. Verse 43, in its literal connotation, provides an argument in favour of this view. Moreover, certain hadith narrations too seem to suggest that the Jama'ah is necessary (Wajib). For example, a hadith reported by Abu Dawud (رحمه الله) says that for a man living near a mosque Salah is permissible only in the mosque.

According to another hadith reported from the blessed Companion Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) by Imam Muslim (رحمه الله), a Companion who was blind asked the Holy Prophet &for the permission to offer Salah in his house, for there was no one to take him to the mosque and to bring him back. The Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) allowed him to do so, but, as he was leaving, asked him if he could hear the call for the prayers in his house. He said that he could. The Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) remarked: "In that case, you must come to the mosque." Another narration of the same hadith as reported by Abu Dawood (رحمه الله) adds that the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: "Then, I see no room for making a concession in your case." Similarly, al-Qurtubi (رحمه الله) cites a hadeeth from the blessed Companion Ibn 'Abbas (رضي الله عنهما) who reports that the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) once said: "The man who hears the call for the prayers but does not go to the mosque for the Jama'ah, has not offered his prayers at all, except that he should have some valid excuse." On the basis of such ahadith, Companions like 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (رضي الله عنهما) have ruled that if a man lives close enough to a mosque to hear the call for prayers and yet does not attend the Jama'ah without a valid excuse, his offering of the Salah at home is not acceptable. (Let us explain that hearing the call refers to the call made by a man possessing an average voice, and not to that made by a man with an extraordinarily loud voice or broadcast by a loudspeaker). Presented this far were arguments advanced by our revered elders who consider that Salah with Jama'ah is wajib or necessary.

On the other hand, the majority of the blessed Companions (رضي الله عنهم أجمعين), their successors and later jurists (rahmatullahi alaihim) hold that the Jama'ah is a Sunnah which has been particularly emphasized (Mu'akkadah), and that among the Sunnah of this kind it is, like the Sunnah offered in Fajr Salah, the most emphasized so as to come very close to being necessary. On the basis of certain other verses and hadeeth narrations, they interpret the imperative in "bow down with those who bow" as intended for emphasis only. As for the ahadith which appear to be saying that it is just not permissible for those who live near a mosque to offer their salah at home, they say that these only mean that this is not the perfect way to offer the prayers.

The most comprehensive explanation of the matter has been provided by the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه), as reported by Imam Muslim (رحمه الله): "The man who wishes to meet Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tomorrow (i.e. the Day of Judgment) as a true Muslim, should offer these (five) prayers regularly and steadfastly in a place where the call for the prayers is habitually made (i.e. a mosque), for Allah has laid down for your Prophet certain ways of good guidance (Sunnan al-Huda), and offering the five prescribed prayers with the Jama'ah is one of them. If you offer these prayers at home," he added pointing towards a man, "as he does, keeping away from the Jama'ah, you will have forsaken the Sunnah of your Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), and if you forsake the Sunnah of your Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), you will go astray. The man who (performs the wudu' or ablution and cleanses himself in the proper manner, and then) goes to a mosque, for every step that he takes, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) forgives one of his sins, adds one good deed to his account and promotes him one rank higher. Our company was such that there was not a single man, except for people known for their hypocrisy who would offer their prayers at home away from the Jama'ah, so much so that even when a man has ill or unable to walk, he was brought to the mosque with his hands resting on the shoulders of two men, and made to stand in the row of those who were praying."

This statement fully brings out the great importance of the Jama'ah, but at the same time defines its exact position by including it among the "ways of good guidance" (Sunan al-Huda) which are, in the terminology of the Fuqaha' (jurists), called Al-Sunan al-Mu'akkadah (the Sunnah on which the greatest emphasis has been placed). Thus, if a man does not go to the mosque for Jama'ah and offers Salah at home without having proper excuse like illness, his prayers will be valid, but he will have earned the displeasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for having given up a Sunnah which comes under the category of Mu'akkadah. If neglecting the Jama'ah becomes habitual for him, he will be committing a grave sin. If all the people living in the vicinity of a mosque leave it deserted and offer their prayers at home, they become, in the eyes of the Shari'ah, liable to punishment. Qadi 'Iyad (رحمه الله) says that if persuasion fails to mend such people, they must be challenged by a show of force. (Qurtubi)

An Admonition To Preachers Without Practice

Verse 44 addresses the religious scholars of the Jews, and reprimands them for a strange contradiction in their behaviour - they used to advise their friends and relatives to follow the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and to be steadfast in their Islamic faith, which shows that they regarded Islam as the true faith, but, being enslaved to their desires, were not prepared to accept this faith themselves, although they were regular readers of the Torah and knew how emphatically it denounces the scholar who does not act upon his knowledge. Though externally addressed to the Jewish scholars, the verse, in a larger sense, condemns all those who preach good deeds to others but do not act upon this principle, who ask others to have fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) but show no such fear in their own behaviour.

The Hadeeth speaks in detail of the dreadful punishments these men will have to bear in the other world. The blessed Companion Anas reports that on the Night of the Ascension the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) passed by some people whose lips and tongues were being cut with scissors made of fire; on being questioned as to who they were, the Archangel Jibra'eel (Gabriel) (عليه السلام) explained that they were certain avaricious preachers of the Holy Prophet's (صلي الله عليه وسلم) Ummah who bade others to good deeds but ignored themselves. (Ibn Kathir) According to a hadith reported by Ibn 'Asakir (رحمه الله), certain people living in Paradise will find some of their acquaintances in the fire of hell, and ask them, "How is it that you find yourselves in hell, while we have attained Paradise just on account of the good deeds we had learnt from you?"; those in hell will reply: "We used to say all that with our tongues, but never acted upon what we said." (Ibn Kathir)

All this should not be taken to mean that it is not permissible for a man who has himself been slack in good-deeds, or is in some way a transgressor, to give good counsel or preach to others, nor that a man who has been indulging in a certain sin may not try to dissuade others from committing that sin. For, doing a good deed is one form of virtue, and persuading others to do this good deed is another form of virtue in its own right. Obviously, if one has given up one form of virtue it does not necessarily follow that he should give up the other form as-well.

For example, if a man does not offer his prescribed Salah, it is not necessary for him to give up fasting too. Similarly, if a man does not offer his prayers, it does not argue that he should not be allowed to ask others to offer their prayers. In the same way, doing something prohibited by the Shari'ah is one kind of sin, and not to dissuade those whom he can influence from this misdeed is another kind, and committing one kind of sin does not necessarily entail committing the
other sin as well. (Ruh al-Ma'ani)

Imam Malik (رحمه الله) has cited Sa'id ibn Jubayr (رحمه الله) as saying that if everyone
decides to refrain from persuading others to good deeds and dissuading them from evil deeds on the assumption that he himself is a sinner and can have no right to preach to others until and unless he has purged himself of all sins, there would be no one left to give good counsel to people, for who can be totally free of sins? According to Hasan of Basra (رحمه الله), this is exactly what Satan wants that, obsessed by this false notion of purity, people should neglect their obligation to
provide religious instruction and good counsel to others. (Qurtubi) Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanavi (رحمه الله) used to say that when he became aware of a certain bad habit in himself, he would expressly denounce this particular tendency in his sermons so that the barakah (blessing) of the sermon should help him to get rid of it.

In short, verse 44 does not imply that the man who has been indifferent to good deeds in his own life is not allowed to preach or to give good counsel, but that the man who preaches should not neglect good deeds in his own life. Now, a new question arises here - it is not permissible for a preacher and non-preacher alike to neglect good deeds, then why should the preacher alone be specifically discussed in this context? We would reply that such negligence is, no doubt, impermissible for both, but the crime of the preacher is more serious and reprehensible than that of the non-preacher, for the former commits a crime
knowing that it is crime, and cannot plead ignorance as an excuse. On the contrary, the non-preacher, specially if he is illiterate, may be committing the sin of not trying to acquire knowledge, but, as far as the transgression of the Shari'ah is concerned, he can, to a certain degree plead ignorance of the law as his excuse. Moreover, if a scholar or a preacher commits a sin, he is actually mocking at the Shari'ah. The blessed Companion Anas (رضي الله عنه) reports from the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) that on the Day of Judgment, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will forgive illiterate and ignorant people much more readily than He will the scholars.

Khushoo': The Humbleness of Heart

Verse 45 speaks of the humble in heart. The "humbleness of heart" (Khushoo'), which the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith speak of, connotes a restfulness of heart and humility arising out of the awareness of Allah's (سبحانه وتعالى) majesty and of one's own insignificance in comparison to it.

This quality, once acquired, shows its spiritual fruitfulness in making the obedience to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and submission to Him easy and pleasant for one; sometimes it reflects itself even in the bodily posture and appearance of the man who has acquired it, for such a man always behaves in a disciplined and polite manner, is modest and humble, and seems to be "broken-hearted", that is to say, one who has lost all vanity and self-love. If a man does not bear genuine humility and fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) in his heart, he does not, with all his external modesty and downcast looks, really possess the quality of Khushu' (humbleness of heart). In fact, it is not proper even to show the signs of Khushu' in one's behavior deliberately. On seeing a young man sitting with his head bowed down, the rightly-guided Khalifa Sayyidna 'Umar (رضي الله عنه) said: "Raise your head! Humbleness of heart is in the heart."

Ibraheem Nakha'i (رحمه الله) has said: "Humbleness of heart does not mean wearing rough clothes, eating coarse food and keeping the head bowed down. Humbleness of heart is to treat the high and the low alike in matters of truth, and to keep the heart free to devote itself entirely to Allah and to the performance of what Allah has made obligatory for you."

Similarly, Hasan of Basra (رحمه الله) has said: "The Caliph 'Umar would speak loudly enough to be heard, whenever he spoke, would walk swiftly, whenever he walked, and would strike forcefully, whenever he struck a man. All the same, he undoubtedly was a man with a real humbleness of heart." In short, wearing deliberately and by one's own choice, the looks of a man who possesses the humbleness of heart is a kind of self-delusion and a ruse of Satan, and hence reprehensible. But if a man happens to manifest such signs without knowing it, he can be excused. (Qurtubi)

Let us add that there is another word - Khudoo' - which is often used along with Khushoo', and which appears several times in the Holy Qur'an as well. The two words are almost synonymous. But the word Khushu', according to its lexical root, refers to the lcwering of the voice and of the glance when it is not artificial but arises out of a real modesty and fear of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) - for example, the Holy Qur'an says: "Voices have been hushed" (20:108). On the other hand, the word "Khudu'" refers to the bodily posture which shows modesty and humility - for example, the Holy Qur'an says: "So their necks will stay humbled to it." (26:4) We must also define as to what, in the eyes of the Shari'ah, the exact position and value of Khushu' is with regard to Salah (prayer). The Holy Qur'an and the Hadith repeatedly stress its importance as in: "And perform the prayer for the sake of My remembrance." (20:14) Obviously, forgetfulness is the opposite of remembrance, and hence the man who becomes unmindful of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) while offering Salah, is not fulfilling the obligation of remembering Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Another verse says: "Do not be among the unmindful." (7:205)

Similarly, the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) has said: "The Salah simply means self-abasement and humility." Says another hadith: "If his prayers do not restrain a man from immodesty and evil, he goes farther and farther away from Allah." Salah offered unmindfully does not obviously restrain man from evil deeds, and consequently such a man goes farther and farther away from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

Having quoted these verses and ahadith in support of other arguments in his Ihya' al-'Uloom, Imam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله) suggests that Khushu' must then be a necessary condition for Salah, and that its acceptability must depend on it. He adds that, according to the blessed Companion, Mu'adh ibn Jabal (رضي الله عنه) and jurists as great as Sufyan al-Thawri (رحمه الله) and Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله), Salah offered without Khushu' is not valid.

On the other hand, the four great Imams of Islamic jurisprudence and most of the jurists (rahmatullahi alaihim) do not hold Khushu' to be a necessary condition for Salah. In spite of considering it to be the very essence of Salah, they say that the only condition necessary in this respect is that while saying Allahu Akbar at the beginning of the prayers one should turn with all one's heart to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and have the intention (niyyah) of offering the prayers only for the sake of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى); if one does not attain Khushu' in the rest of the prayer, one will not get any reward for that part of the prayers, but, from the point of view of Fiqh (jurisprudence), one will not be charged with having forsaken Salah, nor will one be liable to the punishment which is meted out to those who give up prescribed prayers without a valid excuse.

Imam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله) has provided an explanation for this divergence of view. The Fuqaha' (jurists), he points out, are not concerned with inner qualities and states of the heart (Ahwal), but only enunciate the exoteric regulations of the Shari'ah on the basis of the external actions of men's physical organs - it does not lie within the jurisdiction of Fiqh to decide whether one will get a reward for a certain deed in the other world or not. Khushu' being an inner state, they have not prescribed it as a necessary condition for the total duration of Salah, but have made the validity of the prayers depend on the lowest degree of Khushu' - turning, as one begins the prayers, with one's heart to Allah and having the intention of only worshipping Him.

There is another explanation for not making Khushu' a necessary condition for the total duration of the prayers. In certain other verses, the Holy Qur'an has clearly enunciated the principle which governs legislation in religious matters: nothing is made obligatory for men that should be beyond their endurance and power. Now, except for a few gifted individuals, men in general are incapable of maintaining Khushu' for the total duration of the prayers; so, in order to avoid compelling men to a task they cannot accomplish, the Fuqaha' have made Khushu' a necessary condition only for the beginning of the prayers, and not for the whole duration.

In concluding the discussion, Imam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله) remarks that in spite of the great importance of Khushu' one can depend on the infinite mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and hope that the man who offers his prayers unmindful will not be counted among those who give up the prayers altogether, for he has tried to fulfil the obligation, has turned his heart away from everything to concentrate his attention on Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) even for a few moments, and has been mindful of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone at least while forming his intention for the prayers. Offering one's prayers in this half-hearted manner has, to say the least, the merit of keeping one's name excluded from the list of those who habitually disobey Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and forsake the prescribed prayers altogether.

In short, this is a matter in which hope and fear both are involved - there is the fear of having incurred punishment as well as the hope of being ultimately forgiven. So, one should try one's best to get rid of one's laziness and indifference. But it is the mercy of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone which can help one to succeed in this effort. [Ma'ariful Qur'an, Volume 1]

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 19th January 2011

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