Real Deeds

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Question:

AA
My problem is that I am not habitual of namaz, but very regular in the wazaif (prophet's supplications of day and night, zikr, istighfar and durood), moreover I recite quran with meanings weekly.
My question is that are my priorities are right, since despite I love namaz but due to weakness of determination I can't perform it, and for easy and protected day and night and workings I perform wazaifs.
Plz guide me to prioritize my religious deeds so that I could more blessings from God, according to real teachings of islam? and please guide me to select minimum real wazaif for seeking blessings from God.
Thank u very much.

Name Provided

Answer:

Assalamu Alaykum,
 
My dear brother, if as you say you do not do your daily prayers but do lots of supplications and Istighfar and read the Qur'an, etc. then in answering your question about whether you have got your priorities right I can assure you that the answer is a definite "No".
 
When the Qur'an differentiates between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, one of the very few criteria that are mentioned is "performing daily prayers" (9:5, 9:11).
 
In the verses 74:38-47 of the Qur'an, a dialogue is reported that will take place between the people who go to heaven and those who go to hell. When people in heaven ask people in hell what led them to hell, in their response, people in hell count four things. The first one is not doing prayers:

"Indeed, we were not among those who prayed" (74:43).
 
In explaining the above verse, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi writes:
 
"It is evident from this that just as Tawhid is the foremost belief of Islam, salat is the foremost deed. It relates a person to his Creator." (http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=775#25).

In the Qur'an the expression "Wayl" (that can be translated as Woe) has been used a number of times. In Arabic, Wayl is an expression that denotes an extremely severe and serious warning for a very bad attitude or deed, promising a very severe punishment.
 
This expression has been used in the Qur'an mostly for Deniers of Truth, Kuffar and Mushrekeen etc. Now think about this please:
In 107:4 it has been used for those who are not mindful about their obligatory prayers:
 
"So woe be to these who pray being unmindful of their prayers ..."
(107:4)
 
Although this verse with the verses after are in particular referring to the clergy of Baytullah at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) who were Mushrik, it certainly carries a general message for all about the importance of prayers.
 
My dear brother, I am in no way suggesting that God is angry with you or that you will be God forbidden punished in the hereafter. Only the Almighty knows what is in the heart of His servants and only He can judge about them. He certainly forgives those who had a shortcoming in their obligatory deeds because ofa geniun mistake or misunderstanding. As far as I see from your e-mail, you are a very sincere person and very much mindful about your religion. The very fact that you have written to us shows your love and passion for the Almighty and your religion. I simply think that you have not had an opportunity to come to understand and appreciate the importance of prayers. As harsh as it might have sounded above, I have only tried to bring this (the importance of prayers) to your attention as straightforward as possible.
 
I would also like to suggest that you look at an answer given to a similar question and a relevant article that might help with improving our prayers here:

http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.aspx?type=question&qid=3371
 
and here:

http://www.understanding-islam.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=195&Itemid=136
 
As for the minimum of what you have to do, my suggestion is that you make sure that you are doing all that is obligatory for you as a Muslim, most importantly doing daily prayers and paying Zakah. If you follow what is obligatory for you and avoid things that are Haram to you then this is a very good position to be at and is in deed enough to make your Lord satisfied with you and to result in your salvation in the hereafter with His blessing. Obviously if at the top of that, you also perform other good things like the ones that you have referred to as Waza'if then it will be even better.
 
Beside the above please also note some of the moral standards that as a Muslim we are expected to observe. You can find a list of some of the most important moral standards in verses 23 to 38 of the Sura of al-Asra of the Qur'an.
 
In need of your prayers.
 
Abdullah Rahim
UIUK
22nd of July 2010

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