STANDING BEFORE MY LORD
"Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise. (Holy Qur'an, Chap 20: Taha, Verse No: 14)
I am a revert to Islam and have been Muslim for a very long time ...... Sometimes I think back to before I embraced Islam and realise that though certain aspects remain the same, Islam has bought tremendous change to me and to my life. I guess I was always a good human being - charitable, kind to people around me and cared about their worries. Islam however bought direction to my life. I knew why I had to be good - there was now a purpose for my creation that I could comprehend and fall back on. I and all of creation are created for a simple reason - to worship our common Creator. Everything else is secondary, a worldly test that we have to pass. And so now I together with the rest of Creation - the angels, the oceans, the animals, the flowers and the universe - unite in our worship of Allahswt. We sing His praises - our voices rising together in a magnificent crescendo or sometimes by ourselves in the silence of our hearts, deep inside our souls. But we do pray and, if you concentrate hard enough, these prayers and praises can be heard in the roar of the ocean, in the twitter of the birds and in the beating of hearts.
Allahswt says in the Holy Qur'an - This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Al-Islam as your religion (Holy Qur'an, Chap 5: Al-Maeda, Verse No: 3). Islam is perfect - this is Allahswt's promise to us. It incorporates a complete code of conduct according to which Muslims lead their life. Its not just a religion rather it is a way of life, providing guidelines not just for major life events but also for minor matters of daily routine. It has norms for marriage and education while it also recommends etiquette for eating, sleeping and drinking.
One of the most important recommendations is the five daily prayers. As Muslims we lead our life to a pre-determined routine, ordained by Allah and that revolves around our Salah. We awake with the birds, before dawn - to offer our Fajr prayers; we sleep only after offering our Isha. We take breaks from work or study to offer Zuhr (noon) and Asr (evening). And at sunset we hasten so that we do not delay our Magrib prayers - we must pray before twilight fades away! Our purpose in life is to worship our Creator and to sing his praises and Salah is what HE recommends!
Today after so many years of praying it seems easy - almost second nature, but there were times when I found it tough. Learning the Arabic Surahs that constituted my prayers; remembering their order; fitting the five Salahs into my schedule. This seemed too much to accomplish, even the prayer positions were tough. But I had embraced my new way of life and Islam was my choice! I knew that my Salah was one of the five pillars of my new faith. I had to make efforts, I had to strive and I had to learn.
Learning the Ropes
I was in school back then and all I knew of Arabic was the Kalima. I got my Mom (who had reverted a while before me) to write the prayers, in English, in my school diary. I barely listened to what my teacher's were saying and by the end of that day I knew my prayers. By the end of the week I knew them well. I could now pray - first hurdle tackled!
The prayer positions which I was so worried about were not that difficult at all. When people four to five times my age could pray I was a nut to be complaining, Astagfirullah. So this meant a second hurdle was now out of the way!!!
I had begun to pray but the most important hurdle still remained - how was I going to fit so many prayers into my schedule. I was in my last two years at school, so I had to work hard which meant I had to do homework and study when I got back home. I had to take an afternoon nap as well, talk to my friends on the telephone, eat, and watch my favourite TV programs...... ahhH! I was such a busy girl! And in the middle of all of this I had to pray as well. Was this because it was too difficult for me to adjust to my new life style or was this simply shaytaan's waswasa? I guess we know the answer to this one.
Anyway I admit that for a long time I was a naughty girl - though I began to pray, it was only once or twice a day, astagfirullah. I slowly graduated to praying three times a day - missing Fajr and Isha regularly. This went on for a long time. I realise now that this was only a matter of making up my mind. I simply needed to decide that I would pray five times a day and ALLAHswt would have helped me. Unfortunately I did'nt take this decision for a very long time L
The Turning Point
I went on with this flaw in my practice for sometime, till one day suddenly, in a very round-about way, I realised the error in my ways.
I had already started wearing a scarf over my everyday clothes, I was an avid reader and read a lot about Islam and generally knew quite a bit about my wonderful Deen. My friends most of whom were Muslim normally came to me when they had questions on Islam which I could normally answer. They considered me to be a pious and knowledgeable Muslimah. One day I heard a friend saying that Sariya must surely be praying five times a day. This came as a bit of a shock to me! I realised then that I had knowledge and was therefore aware of what was required of me a Muslim. Also, strangely I had the image of an individual who prays five times a day - I was perceived as a practising Muslimah. It was then that I made up my mind - NO MORE EXCUSES; no more lying to myself. I would pray five times a day and really be a practising Muslimah, InshaALLAH.
Alhamdullilah, I have been so ever since...... 12 years......and still ticking J
The way forward
Today, I realise the discipline that my Salah brings to my life. It is not difficult to maintain the schedule; rather it comes naturally to a believer. Everything else you feel is waswasa that an individual can overcome by simply being determined.
I have had many beautiful moments since then. Moments that became memorable because I prayed and lost myself in the worship of my creator. Offering Fajr in the midst of an evergreen forest ...... Zuhr in a car park with my husband as the Imam...... at work in the table-tennis room! The most beautiful memory was praying Asr in front of the Kabah - my very first Salah in Mecca - this year at the Hajj. The same Kabah that I faced while I prayed everyday was so close to me - in front of my very eyes - eyes that were moist with tears!
Islam is so wonderfully simple and unpretentious. A Muslim is not required to do anything except wudhu (ablutions) to pray. Yet her/his simple prayer keeps her/him strong and away from a whole list of social evils.
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds." (Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 1, Book 10, Hadīth No: 506)
A Muslim will avoid sinning because s/he knows that s/he will have to face her/his creator very soon.
"No partying late into the night - I can't miss Fajr."
"Gotta be honest and fair at work, Zuhr is just a few hours away."
"Lunch will have to be Halal or what will I answer to Allahswt at Asr."
"Have I been good? Review my day's work at Magrib."
"Sorry mate, can't drink at the pub, I will be answerable when I pray before sleeping - Isha."
Through the prayers they offer, Muslims develop a constant link with their Creator. A relationship that eases a Muslim's life, strengthens their Iman; helps them maintain high levels of Taqwa and righteousness and reject temptation.
A relationship that is alive, ready to light up and bloom......
by Sariya Islam
Source:http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1203757721345&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout
