Explaining the Virtue of Prayer and Its High Status
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The Shaykh : And you give zakah, and you fast in Ramadan, and you perform Hajj to the House. This indicates its importance and that it is the most important of the bodily acts after sincerity and testifying to the message.
And what indicates its importance is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made it obligatory upon His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) directly from Allah to the Messenger without any intermediary. And it was made obligatory in the most noble of times for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and in the highest place that humans reach in the most noble of times, for it was in the night in which he was raised with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to the sky, until he ascended above the seventh heaven until he reached a place where he heard the scratching of the pens, the pens of divine decree and destiny, to which Allah referred in His saying:[Ar-Rahman 55:29] Every day He is in a matter. He enriches a poor person and impoverishes a rich person, makes a healthy person sick and cures a sick person, kills a living person and gives life to a dead person, and so on of His matters which none can count except Allah, Mighty and Majestic. [Al-Kahf 18:109] The ink means what is written with, i.e., the ink. And He, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Luqman 31:27] Allah is the Greatest. If all the trees on earth were made into pens, and the sea were made into ink, and seven seas after it, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Almighty, Wise. And that is because of the multitude of His actions, Mighty and Majestic, and His matters which none can count except Allah. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: [Ya-Sin 36:82] So who can count the creations of Allah? Every created thing, Allah says to it "Be," so who can count these creations? Therefore, the words of Allah are never exhausted.
Prayer was made obligatory, and this is also a proof of its importance. It was made obligatory upon the servants as fifty prayers a day and night. And this indicates its importance and Allah’s love for it, and that it is worthy of a person spending most of his time in it. For if he prayed fifty prayers, and each prayer took up a quarter of an hour, as we established last night, how many hours would he spend in prayer? An hour and a quarter for the five, multiplied by ten, is 12 and a half hours. No, no, it means the most time you would occupy in prayer. And this is a proof that it is worthy of a person occupying most of his time in it. But Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with His mercy and compassion, lightened it for us, and to Him belongs all praise and favor. He lightened these fifty for us and made them five in practice and fifty in the scale. How many good deeds? Five in practice and fifty in the scale. How many good deeds? Five hundred good deeds. Meaning these five prayers are five hundred. Why? Because they are five, and the unit was made ten. One is counted as ten. This is not from the category of "a good deed is rewarded with ten times its like," for a good deed is rewarded with ten times its like for all good deeds, like this. But this is one good deed that is counted; if you do one, it is counted as if you did how many? Five times, not ten times. Five in practice and fifty in the scale. And that was due to Moses (peace be upon him), for when Allah made fifty obligatory upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he submitted and was pleased, and he descended submitting to this command, pleased with the obligation of Allah for him, and he is the leader of this Ummah, and his commitment to it is a commitment for the entire Ummah. He passed by Moses and said, "What has your Lord made obligatory upon your Ummah?" He said: And a caller called out, "Indeed, I have finalized My obligation and lightened it for My servants." So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) descended pleased, his chest expanded with this, and it became, praise be to Allah, five in practice and fifty in the scale. So these are four or five aspects that indicate the importance of prayer. Four, okay.
And what indicates its importance is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, made it obligatory upon His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) directly from Allah to the Messenger without any intermediary. And it was made obligatory in the most noble of times for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and in the highest place that humans reach in the most noble of times, for it was in the night in which he was raised with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to the sky, until he ascended above the seventh heaven until he reached a place where he heard the scratching of the pens, the pens of divine decree and destiny, to which Allah referred in His saying:
Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter.
يسأله من في السماء والأرض كل يوم هو في شأنSay, "If the sea were ink for [writing] the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement."
قل لو كان البحر مدادا لكلمات ربي لنفد البحر قبل أن تنفد كلمات ربي ولو جئنا بمثله مدداAnd if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea [was ink], replenished thereafter by seven [more] seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted
ولو أن ما في الأرض من شجرة أقلام والبحر يمده من بعده سبعة أبحر ما نفدت كلمات اللهHis command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is.
إنما أمره إذا أراد شيئا أن يقول له كن فيكونPrayer was made obligatory, and this is also a proof of its importance. It was made obligatory upon the servants as fifty prayers a day and night. And this indicates its importance and Allah’s love for it, and that it is worthy of a person spending most of his time in it. For if he prayed fifty prayers, and each prayer took up a quarter of an hour, as we established last night, how many hours would he spend in prayer? An hour and a quarter for the five, multiplied by ten, is 12 and a half hours. No, no, it means the most time you would occupy in prayer. And this is a proof that it is worthy of a person occupying most of his time in it. But Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with His mercy and compassion, lightened it for us, and to Him belongs all praise and favor. He lightened these fifty for us and made them five in practice and fifty in the scale. How many good deeds? Five in practice and fifty in the scale. How many good deeds? Five hundred good deeds. Meaning these five prayers are five hundred. Why? Because they are five, and the unit was made ten. One is counted as ten. This is not from the category of "a good deed is rewarded with ten times its like," for a good deed is rewarded with ten times its like for all good deeds, like this. But this is one good deed that is counted; if you do one, it is counted as if you did how many? Five times, not ten times. Five in practice and fifty in the scale. And that was due to Moses (peace be upon him), for when Allah made fifty obligatory upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he submitted and was pleased, and he descended submitting to this command, pleased with the obligation of Allah for him, and he is the leader of this Ummah, and his commitment to it is a commitment for the entire Ummah. He passed by Moses and said, "What has your Lord made obligatory upon your Ummah?" He said: