Ramadan Notes #2: The Gift of Salah

As-salamu’alaykum,

Have you ever been offered something so priceless that the ramifications are truly out of this world?

A generous colleague did just that to me last night when he proactively offered that I come in a few minutes late so that I could make it to Fajr salah at the mosque before coming in this morning. 

This was my first opportunity to do so this blessed month as I had been on this same early hospital schedule since the 1st of Ramadan 1445H.

Some of you may be familiar with the special place of the obligatory prayers in bringing us closer to Allah SWT  as described in Hadith Qudsi #25:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him. It was related by al-Bukhari.

So you can appreciate how this gift is truly invaluable at a time when we are all seeking the mindfulness of our Lord, Allah!

As we approach the chaos and the often emotionally-exhausting work days as health care workers this blessed month, it's important not to lose sight of the things that matter the most in the sight of Allah and keep things as simple and focused on the pursuit of Taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) as much as possible. 

The hadith above illustrates the central place of the obligatory 5 daily prayers on this journey towards Taqwa while at the same time challenges us to do more (as long it adds to our internal transformation and not just another thing to check off our list of to-dos).

Let’s give special attention to our obligatory prayers this blessed month and tap into the transformation that it offers in our pursuit of Taqwa.

May Allah SWT, An-Naseer (the Helper) enable us to offer our high quality Salah worthy of His acceptance this blessed month and beyond. Amin

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. Join like-hearted #HealthCareWorkers #SeekingSakeenah on zoom for weekly Ramadan Check-ins at 4.15pm CST/9.15pm GMT/10.15pm WAT . Register and join with this link.

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