Guides to Establishing Consistent Solah

 

Guides to Establishing Consistent Solah

Arfad A. Razak

 

The prayer or Solah is the second most important pillar in Islam (the first being the testimony of faith). It is mentioned over 83 times in the glorious Qur’an, the revelation from God given to the prophet Muhammad through the arc angel Jibril. The Qur’an was taught to the prophet Muhammad, in turn, he recited and interpreted its meanings to his companions. The present-day Muslims are the recipients of the message that was first revealed more than 1400 years ago, uncorrupted, and remain unchanged. The command of God to humanity (the Qur’an is not a revelation meant for the Muslims only) is to establish prayer and give charity. In almost every instance, whenever the word “prayer” is used, it is always accompanied with the word “to give alms (Zakah).” And this is also the reason why the third most important pillar of Islam is alms giving. The fourth and fifth pillars are fasting and pilgrimage.

God has commanded mankind to establish five mandatory daily prayers at specific timing. And under normal circumstances (such as when one is not travelling), these prayers may not be performed outside of its allocated timings. The Solah is best performed at the mosque along with other congregants as the spiritual reward is greater. But one should not develop the mindset to only perform the prayer at the mosque due to its greater reward. This is because the giving of rewards belongs to God alone, and there are many factors that could nullify one’s deed such as boasting it to peers. Boasting will also lead to arrogance. The tendency to look down on others who do not pray at the mosque is higher especially for those who visits the mosque daily. Such action may nullify one’s deed and render it useless. The idea of establishing prayer and giving alms is not for boasting (especially innocent social media posts may eventually lead to something detrimental). Rather, it is to gain closeness to God, so that His mercy will forever encompasses us, and that we may be in the company of those with tons of righteous deeds on the Day of Recompense. It is also important to develop the mindset and understanding that the final goal for mankind is Heaven. And Hell is certainly not a place to end up in. And the only way one could end up in Heaven is not by righteous deeds, but through the mercy of God. And we exercise the five pillars of Islam, especially the Solah and Zakah in order to attain God’s mercy.

The first prayer of the day, which takes place before the first thread of sun is visible over the horizon (or in between dawn and sunrise) is called Subh. It is also called Fajr in Arabic. The dawn prayer is the shortest mandatory prayer to be performed by mankind during the day. It only contains two cycle or rakaat (or we may put it that it only contains two prostration or sujud – take note that one cycle contains two prostrations). The dawn prayer should not be confused with the morning prayer which is called Duha. The morning prayer is a voluntary prayer that has a tremendous amount of spiritual reward.

The second prayer for the day is called Dzuhr. This is performed with four cycles or eight prostrations. The Dzuhr is to be performed when the sun is at its zenith. In southeast Asia, the prayer times coincide with most corporate companies’ lunch hours. Most companies’ lunch hour is one hour long and praying Dzuhr will only take up to ten minutes. Therefore, mankind must make every effort to perform this prayer (especially in the mosque or even as a congregation in a room consisting of other co-workers). Every Friday, Muslims around the world including Sunni and Shia (except the Ismailis) will perform the Jumuah prayer. This prayer only consists of two prostrations, but in order for the prayer to be valid (this is the strongest opinion), one must not miss the sermon before it (in fact, the entire sermon must be attended by the person and he must not engage in any form of chatter such as telling the other party to “sshhh”).

The third (also called the middle) prayer is Asr. This is the prayer that mankind is not supposed to miss (not that one should miss any prayer, but if one has to miss a prayer, it may be any other prayer except the middle prayer). The middle prayer is considered the most important prayer as God commanded us to guard our prayer especially the middle prayer (Qur’an 2:238). For the average office worker (working from 9am to 5pm), most of us will prefer to be the first to step onto the already crowded train as if it will make a lot of difference to the timing we reach home. While most commuters fight each other for the only available seat in the train or bus, Muslims should take the time to perform the Asr prayer before boarding that train or bus. This is because delaying the prayer is also not advisable in Islam as death may reach us anytime. The train could derail, and the bus could topple, and when death reached us, we want to meet it having prayed the mandatory prayer of the given moment. Incidents beyond our wildest imagination (or not) may happen within milliseconds which could lead us to our grave. A deadfall, or traffic accident, or heart attack, may affect us anytime. If we are hit by a tree branch whilst going to the mosque to perform Solah, and we pass away due to this, at least, we have a reason to negotiate Heaven with God.

The fourth prayer of the day is called Maghrib. This is performed with three cycles or six prostrations. In the author’s experience, this is the prayer that most people choose to miss, even when it is the least likely to miss (other than Dzuhr). In southeast Asia, most people working day jobs would have reached their humble abode. And all that is left to do is to take a hot shower, make ablution, lay down the mat, and raise both hands to the side of one’s ear and proclaim, “God is great!” Yet, one prefers to wait in the queue for a nice cup of bubble tea or for a very unhealthy piece of burger at the fast-food restaurant. Or in some instances, wait for the bubbly old uncle and auntie to leave their seats before one munch on the “tastiest” fish burger while drinking a diet coke that will only lead to diabetes. God advises us to guard our prayers, and to give in charity. It is better for you to order five packs of cheeseburgers to the mosque so even the sore-throat imam may indulge after the congregational prayer. Just leave out the diet coke. We do not want the imam getting diabetes.

The final prayer for the day is ‘Isya, and it is performed with four cycles or eight prostrations. And this is the prayer that when one prays in a congregation in the mosque, along with the dawn prayer (also at the mosque), the reward will be as if a person has stood up praying to God the whole night (Jami ‘at-Tirmidhi 221). There is also another voluntary prayer that bears many spiritual rewards between the final and first prayer: the Tahajjud prayer (or the middle of the night prayer). The Tahajjud is a very special prayer that involves waking up from one’s sleep towards the final quarter of the night (before the break of dawn, this is the best opinion among scholars, though waking up at any time during the night is also fine, it should also be noted that some scholars deemed Tahajjud permissible to be performed even if one has not slept the night), and reciting the Qur’an until the break of dawn. One is then to make their way to the mosque to perform the Subh prayer. During Ramadan, the Tahajjud is often performed as a congregation in the mosque during the final ten days before ‘Eid.

As enumerated above, besides the five daily mandatory prayers, mankind is also encouraged to perform additional voluntary prayers at any timings during the day (though there are some timings within the day that is not permitted for one to establish Solah – but it also depends on the type of voluntary prayers a person is engaging in). For example, the Qo’bliah and Ba’diah prayer is encouraged to be performed before and after Dzuhr and ‘Isya but discouraged (some scholars deemed it as impermissible) to be performed before the middle prayer. Some encourages Qo’bliah to be performed before the Maghrib prayer while others do not discourage, but do not practice. However, the unanimous consensus among Islamic Sunni scholars is that the Ba’diah prayer is not permissible after the dawn prayer before the sun rise to a certain degree over the horizon. Almost all voluntary prayers are to be performed in two prostrations. And if one wishes to perform more, they may repeat the prayer, again, ending the prayer after two prostrations.

The non-Muslims or even non-practicing Muslims will find the Solah burdensome especially when one has to perform them five times daily for the rest of their lives. And most do not see the benefit it carries, or that its apparent benefits are not as significant as compared to the health and joy one may achieve by going for a jog or working out in the gym, or even having a great chat with friends and families in a restaurant over a three-course meal. The present author also knew of remarks insisting that the dawn prayer interrupts one’s beauty sleep, thus affecting health. While this claim is rather ridiculous to entertain due to the fact that a person could sleep early and meet the standard hours of night rest to maintain their mental and physical prowess, it is also worth mentioning the benefits of waking up for the dawn prayer, especially when breathing the fresh morning air whilst walking to the mosque itself has many health benefits. The key to success on earth is to wake up early (for joggers, the best time to jog during the day would be the early morning hours due to less pollution and traffic). The practicing Muslims view waking up early as an exercise toward success on this earth as well as in the afterlife. The dawn prayer signifies the start of the day, and missing it equates to having a bad cup of coffee first thing in the morning. It is like having roasted arabica, just that it is actually burnt, rather than roasted.

First and foremost, the Solah is a commandment by God. And God is the sovereign of this universe. He is humanity’s Lord. God has given us limbs and faculties (such as hands and eyesight, not to mention the design of our faculties and the greater universe). He has not made us a bug or an eel. Or a slug stuck to its shell – a burden, a very heavy burden. We do not need to carry our houses on our backs every time. Mankind have been given the faculties to invent, design, speak languages, and enjoy the pleasures this world has to offer (though some turn these pleasures into vices such as fornications). And obeying God’s commandment by establishing the prayer is an act of gratitude. God does not need our prayers. God will remain God even if nobody worships Him. It is mankind who is at the losing end if we do not establish prayer and give charity. Establishing the prayer has many physical and spiritual benefits. For example, when performing the prayers, all parts of our major muscles (or muscle groups) and limbs are stretched/moved. This is especially so for the many office workers who wishes to finish a four-hour report strapped to their seats – it is either their chair must be comfortable, or they have a missing nerve or two on their backs – better visit the doctor soon. And when it comes to spirituality, one is establishing a connection with their creator. Establishing five daily prayers also build up one’s discipline as it takes a lot of discipline and courage to be able to perform this ritual consistently on a daily basis, especially when it is to be done every day until one hits the grave (or gets eaten by a twenty-foot whale). Ironically, even the most discipline of athletes will find it a tremendous undertaking/challenge to keep up with a 10-year-old kid who gets up for the morning Solah everyday for the rest of his/her time on earth. I’m sure nobody wants to lose to a kid!

The trick is not how long one is able to run, or how many kilograms of weights a person may lift. It is the purification of one’s heart in the pursuit of total submission towards God that will determine the strong from the weak, the rich from the poor. Society has equated richness with money, and strength with muscles, but society is wrong. Mr Strongman is not as strong as you think. He could only lift weights not his head from prostration. Richness is measured in terms of the good deeds performed solely for the sake of God. And the strength is of one’s desire to recite the words of God. Heavy it is for the arrogant Mr Strongman to lift his tongue to say “bismillah.”

Secondly, the prostration in the prayer humbles a person because the posture and position of one’s limbs and head demonstrate humility. And most will not be willing to humble themselves to the lowest position. One has not truly achieve humbleness until they have lowered their heads to the ground solely for the sake of God, with no monetary or social status to gain. Mankind do not put their heads on the ground and praise anyone but God (or even put their head on the ground except only for God). This is because mankind is arrogant and prideful. A person could be a billionaire or a CEO of a huge enterprise, and another person could be a street sweeper. Both of them will engage in prostration only towards God in their Solah. Rich or poor, strong or weak, people from all income and social classes are considered the same in the sight of God. The distinction is not in the matter of wealth, or health, or societal status. Rather, it is with who has the most righteous deeds: the establishing of prayers and the giving of charity purely for the sake of God. Today, people post on social media that they have completed the five pillars of Islam. Or that they have contributed significantly to the betterment of society, or that they have built a mosque and named it after themselves. Nay, it is better that they keep this deed in secret. It is better to put ten dollars in the bucket in secret than to openly declare your contribution of a million dollar. For those who seek the reward of this world will reap its reward here, while those who seek the reward of paradise will reap the rewards here and in paradise. Why open the doors so that your intention may be skewed? It is advisable to guard our good deeds. To guard it means to perform more of it consistently, and also to guard it from losing its reward.

For one to be able to perform five daily prayers consistently, certain lifestyle changes must be made. But first, one needs to understand why they should embark in this great spiritual undertaking. As mentioned above, to perform the five daily mandatory prayer is to show gratitude to God for creating us as a human being and not some mosquito living in the swamp of Arizona waiting to be eaten by a frog. However, one’s mindset must surpass this in the sense that our thinking should be channelled towards obeying God’s commandment, instead of only doing things whenever a particular matter benefits us physically or mentally. For to practice Islam is to practice it in total submission. Everyone is a slave of God. And as a slave, we obey our master. A father may instruct his son to do things that does not make sense to the son at that point in time, only for the son to reap its rewards long after the father has turn to dust in the grave. In other words, mankind must perform the Solah because God commanded us to do so – and that is all. We should not attach any other reason for performing the prayers because God knows everything, and we do not.

Once our mindset is channelled in this manner, our body will be less reluctant to establish prayer and obey God’s commandment. This is the term “Jihad” that is used so frequently in the Qur’an which the Western propagandist media, as well as their dishonest oriental predecessors has so wrongly interpreted. The battle that takes place within oneself in the quest to perform the daily prayers is bigger than anyone could imagine. The struggle towards making the decision to pray behind the imam at the mosque among other things is the true jihad.

Therefore, there are several lifestyle changes or choices that needs to be adopted. The idea is to put yourself in a situation that forces you to not miss any prayer. For example, if you consistently have dinner with your friends or family, and the place and time will cause you to miss the Maghrib prayer, then it is better to avoid having the dinner at that timing. Or you could consider a restaurant or café that is near a mosque, or that there is a spot nearby (such as a staircase or area which does not obstruct passerby – but preferably a secluded area) for you to be able to perform the Solah. Ideally, you would want to pray in the mosque along with others (apart from the facilities offered by the mosque is much better and ideal, there are also greater spiritual rewards when you pray in a congregation). Or the option which the present author took is to delay the dinner until the Maghrib prayer has been completed. Note that delaying the dinner for 15 minutes will not cause you to die of hunger. You could always grab a few snacks from a nearby shop or vending machine to get you through the prayer. If you are having medical conditions, it is best to seek advise from your doctors, by informing him/her of what you intend to do and allow him/her to provide you a solution that is closer to your intention (which is to perform the five daily prayers).

If you are a gym bug and feel that lifting 20kg dumbbells and 50kg bench-press while consistently looking at yourself in the huge gym mirror is better than humbling yourself before God for the Maghrib prayer, then you have to think again. The heaviest weight which you cannot lift is the weight of humility by prostrating yourself before God. And guess what, it is actually weightless. If you are not able to carry yourself out of arrogance before God, then it is worth looking in the mirror pondering if it makes sense to lift those dumbbells in the first place? If one offers you a million dollar to lose those muscles, I doubt you would second guess it. However, if a practicing Muslim is offered one million dollars to miss a prayer, you would not find one even in the poorest of countries that will take it. The prayer is much more valuable than all the money in the world, this if you are men of understanding. In addition, the chances of you getting injured lifting dumbbells are much more than prostrating before God in the prayer. In fact, you do not get injured by prostrating before God, you will only earn humbleness, and humility, and your narcissistic tendencies will slowly be remedied. There is also a saying (which I modified to fit our present context) that to lift your blanket for the dawn prayer is heavier than to lift all the dumbbells in the world. And this is when your strength and discipline truly matter. There is a time and place for everything. And to gym in a place and time that causes you to miss the mandatory prayer is another bad decision you make in life. Hopefully, once-bitten-twice-shy, and you will make better choices moving forward.

In conclusion, the importance of the mandatory prayer cannot be stressed enough. The spiritual and physical benefits of Solah have been documented for you to further research on. The focus of this brief work is to provide some insights into how you may consistently establish the mandatory daily prayers with a few lifestyle changes and better decisions made. The prayer is the highest priority for mankind (and not only for Muslims). Obviously, one would have to embrace Islam fully, in order for their prayers to be valid. And it makes more sense for them to do things this way. The present author uses the word “embrace” above because Islam is a religion which must be embraced in order for one to consistently undertake its ritual practices. When you embrace Islam, you will be inclined to learn more about it, in order for you to better understand and grasp God’s message. One may say that this is true for every religion: that if one embraces it fully, they will be inclined to learn more about it. The matter is not to compare Islam with other religion, for that would be a chapter in your life to embark in before you even decided to become a Muslim. The matter of discussion here is that should you embrace Islam, you must not become a part-time Muslim. You have to devote your time and energy in fully immersing yourself in its authentic and authorized spiritual learning. And to practice and exercise humbleness when God has granted you knowledge. Those who humbles themselves will be elevated, while those who raise themselves will be humbled.

In light of the many Islamophobic activities engaged by many around the world, along with the outrageous lies spread by them since the time of the orientalist, Islam should be further studied by non-Muslims in all parts of the world especially in the West. The West, with its liberalistic ideas, has also started to look at Islam through a non-conservative lens. And this is to their demise. For they spent their entire lifetime studying God’s revelation, yet it only adds to their demise. Useless is their deeds in spite of what they have contributed to the academy. For all these works of theirs will only be used against them as many such works have been debunked by modern scholars, Muslims and non-Muslims. It is also an unfortunate phenomenon especially when Muslims on the surface of this earth started thinking that liberal Islamic teaching tantamount to the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. In other words, they thought that liberal Islam is the original/true Islam while the conservative Islam is a backward thinking Islam and should not be embraced or followed/practiced. The poison on the arrow will only affect the one upon whom the arrow hit. If you consume nonsense, you will only be able to speak nonsense. But at times, it takes the mother to tell the daughter not to play near the well for she may fall in. And it takes scholars to continue countering the liberal Islamic education in order to safeguard the masses from falling into a well of nonsense.

Nevertheless, taking baby steps is the option to consider, though taking a big leap forward is not wrong either. The most important matter is to adopt a positive mindset. The aim is to know the one who created us, to show Him gratitude. But the ultimate goal is to obey whatever has been commanded of us because God simply advises us to. And to be consistent in your Solah and Zakah is the best undertaking in this worldly life. May God grant us our final abode in the Gardens above which rivers flow.