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Ibaadat only comes into place after Imaan and Aqeeda, and the greatest
of all Ibaadaat is Salaah. It is also the first Fardh in
Islam after Imaan and Aqeeda. The excellence of Salaah can be derived from this,
that all the other Faraa'idh were revealed on
earth, but Namaaz was granted to Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) on
the night of Me'raj even further than the Arsh
and Qursi. Namaaz is that Ibaadat which was performed by every Nabi in his time
and in his way. It is the only Ibaadat which
is performed five times daily by men, women, old, young travellers, the rich and
the poor. Namaaz spiritually exalts man and
cures his physical and spiritual illnesses. It protects man from sins and
vulgarism.
Huzoor (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) once asked the Sahaba if any dirt would
remain on the body of a person who bathed
five times daily in a stream in front of his home. They said that no dirt would
remain. He then said: "This is the example of the
five daily Salaah. Any person who reads his five daily Salaah, is purified of
his sins and bad doings by Allah".
Hazrat Abu Zar (radi allahu anhu) states that it was winter and the Holy
Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) came out of
his Hujra. He went to a tree, held it's branch and shook it. This caused it's
leaves to fall off easily. He then said, "O Abu Air
and I replied, 'I am present Ya Rasoolallah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam)'". He
said: "When a Muslim reads Namaaz for
Allah, then his sins fall like the leaves of a tree".
Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was questioned concerning which
actions were the most loved and closest to
Allah. He replied by saying: "To perform Namaaz in its appointed time, and he
who leaves Namaaz has no Deen."
Namaaz is the pillar of Deen, the Me'raj of a Mu'min and a sign of success. An
intelligent man is one who goes from a low
position to a higher position, and an ignorant man is one who proceeds from a
high position to a low position. Mustahab is
greater than Mubah. Sunnah is greater than Mustahab. Waajib is greater than
Sunnah. Fard is greater than Waajib. Greater
than all Faraa'idh is Namaaz. Even though we make Urs, Fateha, etc, we should
remember that the greatest Ibaadat is
Namaaz. Without this, all our other Ibaadaat is incomplete. The Prophet (sallal
laahu alaihi wasallam) has stated: "When
your child reaches the age of seven teach him Salaah. When he reaches ten, shun
him if he does not read his Salaah".
He also said: "Read your Salaah before your Janazah is read".
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