|
If your best friend calls and asks to meet you in half an hour, you will hurry to meet your friend, even if you had been in the middle of something important. If you get the chance to make some money or meet an important person or go to some great place, you will organize yourself for days beforehand so that you don’t miss your chance.
The same applies for anything in life that we consider important or we really want. I think we all agree that if we really want something badly enough, we will find a way to do it or get it. It is amazing what kind of ideas people can come up with when they really want something and it is amazing how long people can persevere when they think they are getting something they want.
So where is all this leading to? Well, we should think about what is really important in life and we should be sure that we are striving and sacrificing for things that are going to be of benefit to us. A student can drive himself or herself to study all night for weeks on end because he or she wants to pass an exam, but when it comes to getting up for Fajr Prayer, that same person will choose to sleep instead, perhaps arguing that they need the extra rest and will catch the Prayer up later. So does that mean that studying is more important than Prayer? And can you really catch up on a Prayer?
It is time to get priorities right. I think we all agree that we want everything in our lives to be blessed. If the things in our lives are not blessed, then it is like a person who eats and eats but is never satisfied, simply because the food is not blessed. Similarly, a person might study and study, missing Fajr Prayer, and then go into the exam and forget everything! Why? Because his or her effort was not blessed. In the same way, a person might befriend someone who is not really a good person, hoping to be popular or gain something in worldly terms, but they soon find out that this person causes no end of trouble. Again, this is because the whole thing was not blessed. So we agree that we want our lives to be blessed; we do not want to waste our time and effort on something that will ultimately fail or lead to our ruin.
|
Now, do you honestly think that your life will be blessed if you miss Fajr Prayer? I spoke to many young people and asked them how they felt when they prayed Fajr Prayer on time and how they felt if they missed it. The response was unanimous. When these people prayed Fajr Prayer, they felt light and calm, they did not feel prone to become angry, and they generally felt more stable. Likewise, when they neglected Fajr Prayer, they felt heavy, moody, unsatisfied, grumpy, and generally unblessed. For sure, a grumpy, moody person will not have such a great day and people will respond like he or she responds to them.
For one reason or another, a young person may not be in the habit of praying Fajr Prayer on time. Whatever that reason is, there is no time like the present to turn that habit around. Remember that for every step you take toward Allah, He promises to come many steps towards you. So make that first step by making up your mind that you will get up for Fajr Prayer every morning.
It is summer now and you do not have the hectic timetable of the school year. You most probably have a lot of free time, so here is your golden opportunity. Try for just one month to get up for Fajr Prayer. You could mark your calendar and give yourself a tick for every morning you get up. Ask Allah to help you get up and think about the reasons that might prevent you from getting up. Here are some possible reasons for people failing to offer Fajr Prayer on time:
- Not realizing how important Fajr Prayer is
- Not yet developed a sound consciousness of Allah, so unaware of the significance of the next life
- Carried away with worldly pursuits
- Lazy
- Sleeps too late and so cannot get up
- There is no one in his house to urge him or her to get up
Do you get up for Fajr Prayer? Sometimes, usually, always, or never? Do any of the above reasons fit you and your situation? Can you think of anything else that stops people from performing Fajr Prayer on time?
(Click to Round table discussion and have your say!)
Like we said before, if you really set your heart on something you can do it. The same applies to prayer. Our everyday life and our religious duties are not separate; they are intertwined like a beautiful spider's web that is delicate but actually very strong. When we talk about prayer, we are talking about our relationship with Allah. If only we could realize that He is the only One who can help us when we are in need; He is the only One who can open the way for something that seems closed. He is ever ready to help us; all we have to do is call on Him and try to say and do the things He loves—things that are good for us anyway.
You can think of your life like the spider's web. You are weaving the design of your life and prayer is the beautification of that design and its strength and direction.
If you maintain your Prayer and fasting and other duties, you will find that your everyday life will have more beauty and blessings and you will find that you will be able to face the challenges of life head-on because you and your life are blessed. An old lady I met one time told me something precious: I asked her how she got the stamina to get up and be so active, even though she was old. She told me that it was simple, when she wanted to do something, her heart got there first, so it was easy for the rest of her to follow.
So do not forget your appointment early tomorrow morning. You must stand before the Lord of the Worlds. Do not miss out on this chance! Let your heart get there first and then the rest of you will follow.
|
what is this?
This widget will help you to store, organize, search, and manage your favorite online content through a range of social bookmarking services. These services permit users to save links to websites that they want to remember and/or share. These bookmarks are usually public, but can be saved privately, shared only with specified people or groups, or shared only inside certain networks. Authorized people can usually view these bookmarks chronologically, by category or tags, or through a search engine. Most social bookmarking services also permit their users to vote and rank public bookmarks to determine which are the best ones according to the number of votes they get.
|
