Invest in Your Prayer

Last week we talked about the laws favours upon us

how he transports us by sea and on land, and even through the air and brings us home safe and sound and time and time again.

Then Allah subhanho wa Taala reminded the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Ani, he was some of some of his papers that were specific to the Prophet sallallahu Adi he was under, such as the guidance and the strength to deliver his holy message and to not compromise it in exchange for supporters.

And just as Allah azza wa jal pointed out how most people are not grateful. Most people will relax when hard times are over and long to strive to show that they are thankful. Allah subhanaw taala will now tell the prophets of Allah somebody exactly what it looks like to be grateful to Allah, our Creator and guide Allah azza wa jal says, after the Salah for at Lucas Shamcey ILA also the lady will pour another treasure in Nepal and especially Karen and ash Buddha

established a prayer when the sun starts to decline until the darkness of the night, and also the Koran of dawn. Certainly, indeed, the Koran of Dawn is ever witnessed.

The very first thing that Allah azza wa jal guides us to is the Salah, the prayer, the second of the five pillars that most of us have been learning about since we were children.

As many scholars have pointed out, Allah subhanahu Altana never tells us to merely perform the prayer nor does he ever tell us to just pray somebody or some of them, he always tells us up the salah or even salah

This word comes from the roots off wow, I mean, bomb at Google pm and which means an empty saw while being upright and determined. Allah subhanaw taala said earlier in the same chapter in the hardcore arena. Yeah, let's see here at the one. Certainly this core and guides to that which is most upright and from that roots where we get up on my up most economists. And the difference between this and the root word is that it is transitive, Matan D, which means that it requires someone to do the action and something to receive the action. We could translate this as making something stand up erecting something or establishing something. You also know this word karma. This is when we make

everyone stand for prayer, as opposed to the event, which is simply the announcement or the call to prayer.

This word IBAMA that Allah subhanaw taala uses for the prayer gives us a picture in our mind, and that's no accident. When you think of the prayer of Salah or namaz as something that has to be erected something that has to be established as if it were a monument as if it were a building or a house. There's a reason we call it a pillar.

You are being taught by ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada that not only do you have to put in the work to build it in the first place, you have to maintain it. So it does not tip over. Or crumble. Allah subhanaw taala is trying to get us to think of our Islam as a house.

And the pillars of that house, keep the whole thing upright. Take away the pillars and the whole building will collapse right on top of you. Let the pillars get weak means living on the edge of danger. It's like neglecting the foundation of your house.

And just as houses need maintenance and upkeep, they require investments, even to keep their value.

They require even more investment if you want the house to become more valuable over time.

All of us want a nice house to live in. And Islam is our spiritual house that is held up by this pillar.

Prayer, we should ask ourselves, what type of investment do I need to make? If I want my spiritual house to become more valuable?

Sometimes when we think about a prayer,

and we think about how to make it better, our thoughts go right to the rules. Where do I put my hands? When praying? How do I hold my finger? Into chef? What about this piece of clothing? In that piece of clothing? Am I covered properly? Am I facing the exact correct direction? Did I clean myself properly? Although

as someone who studied in the Faculty of Islamic law, I personally find the rules very, very interesting. However, following all the rules does not guarantee that you will have a valuable or transformative prayer.

The rules of prayer are like the building codes. Yes, everyone should follow them. Yes, if you violate the codes, you might have to fix it. But it's every house that is up to code value.

Is every house that is up to code pleasant to live in?

No, of course not. You can have a house that passes inspection, no problem, and the person who lives there is miserable.

Maybe because the house is ugly. Maybe because they live alone. Or they don't get along with the other people who live there. As we say in aggregate. The job title of the neighbor is more important than the house. And this brings our attention to one thing in particular that makes our prayer valuable. One thing that makes it transformative one thing that makes it enjoyable and that is who you pray with a prophet so nobody ever said I'm sad it's all natural and equal

to see you're on so that's it he fee suit the one at bid the brand, one wrestling, Allah's Apostle, so the law while he was some of them said the congregational prayer of any one of you is more than 20 times more valuable than his prayer in the market or his prayer at home.

Without it coming out of the movie, that's the accident mobile thermometer messaging. Let you bring in the salata lie and hazard in the Salado lab, we have to have gotten goofy, we had our

own thoughts, and we'll be half of the

four if he performs the evolution completely and then goes to the mystery

with the sole intention of performing the prayer, and nothing urges him to proceed to the masjid except the prayer.

If that's the case, every single step that person takes an MSgt he will be raised to one degree or one of his sins will be forgiven.

But Mala to solve the other radical murder of the masala elderly use only fee.

Allah salire Allah will not have the angels will continue to ask Allah forgiveness and blessings for those people who are in their place of prayer. So long as he keeps sitting in his place of prayer, the angels will say, Oh, bless him, Oh, I'll be merciful to him.

praying together is one of the most significant ways we can invest in our prayer to make it more valuable. And if we want to make this particular investments in our prayer, we need to have a place to do is

we need to have the facilities. We need to have a message it

has to be that our community has taken the first step, the first commitment to showing a loss of how to Motala that we are serious about the prayer that we have the intention to establish the prayer as a community. We've raised the money, almost all of it. The building is close to being done. We're in the final stages. It's almost ready to open.

The next step is that we have to show up.

What is the point of a machine if no one comes to pray? What is the point of building a house if no one lives there?

This is a skill

And the habit that we have to develop now, not wait until the new machine is built, do we think that we can flip the switch that easily? Do we think that we can go from not praying in the WSG for days and even weeks at a time. And then all of a sudden, we're going to become regulars in the first row. Once the new MSG is open,

it's very likely that things will not happen that way.

We need to commit ourselves to pray at the MSG that now so that we are ready to receive this new blessing in our community, the messages and so we are ready for day from day one to show Allah subhanho wa Taala that we are grateful for it and that we will use it.

Now I'm reminding myself first before anyone else. I live right next to the mystery. And I don't make all my prayers in the mystery. Sometimes I'm at one of the colleges, sometimes I'm across town, sometimes I'm on the road in the car. Sometimes even when I'm home. Something happens to prevent me from praying in the masjid. I have three young children. Sometimes they need help with something sometimes my wife just needs a break. Sometimes I fall asleep.

But if I'm free, and I'm able, my intention should be to pray in the masjid as much as possible. If something happens to prevent me from coming, that's one thing. But if I don't make any intention to go at all, and days, and weeks go by without once making the intention to go straight in the recipe.

Something's not right.

The shape pawn will always give you reasons to not go to the question. Not legitimate reasons, like we mentioned just a minute ago, but reasons that contradict our IP then reasons that defy how Allah azza wa jal told us the world works.

If you're worried about the gas money, that's the shape talk. Allah azza wa jal is not going to make you any poor for driving to the mesquite every single day. The opposite is true. Allah Subhana Allah Allah will bless you and your money and make it go even farther.

If you're worried about your business, you're worried about losing money. If you close up shop and you put up a sign that says I'll be back in 15 minutes.

As the shape on

your wealth has been written, and you leaving isn't going to change it one bit. Allah azza wa jal will bless your money if you take a break to go pray in his house.

But the real heart of the issue is that we don't realize the value of prayer in the masjid the prophets of Allah Allah who have a sudden said, lol Yeah, I don't know Ness. Math in the daddy was suffering our only thought Muslim LJ do Illa Allah And yesterday, morally, the standard? What are we doing our market tanjirou Plus data with AD, what are we

doing was something that I told Huma, why don't have one.

If people knew the excellence of the man in the front row, they wouldn't draw a lot score. It's if that was the only way to get it.

And if they knew the excellence of joining the prayer from the first tech beer,

they would have raced each other for it.

And if they knew the excellence of Orisha and feta prayer in the best shape, they would have certainly come to it, even if they had to crawl to get there.

I can tell you from my own personal experience, and I am reminding myself first, because I struggle with the same things you all struggle with. But I can tell you from my own personal experience, that the most blessing time in my life was the time I spent in with you. When ever I had an issue whenever I had a problem it was as if Allah subhanaw taala sent help right away.

And I am convinced that the reason why was because my friends and I used to walk one hour to the prophets messaging each way for federal prayer. One hour there one hour.

It's a hassle. Yes.

It's inconvenient, sure,

but your life will not be transformed by the prayer until you make the prayer your top priority Akula probably had a lot of stuff that Allah Hollywood accompanies them equally that first of all in a world of warcraft

I'm happy to be there how like I said, we're shuffling what I tell him that he wants in and Washington and block wagon would actually be in the hotel leave and be shuttling Washington and so you didn't Mohammed and Abdul was over there and give me one solo for a while. He was having him on this one was selling what's a schema for hero.

Every single one of us should make a goal that makes sense.

You have the prayer chart on your phone. You know the Obama times. If you live nearby, we're talking a year to come New Hartford area. Try to commit yourself to praying five times every week in the messenger. If you live farther away to Frankfurt, Rome these areas maybe once or twice a week. Give it a shot. Just try it Do your best. You will be surprised how Allah azza wa jal will help you when you make one small, sincere effort. And it is imperative it is imperative that after someone struggles against their neffs and overcomes the shape on and makes it to the last day for the first time in who knows how long it is imperative that they not be turned away because of a door being

locked in their face or even worse and unwelcoming atmosphere inside.

This is especially true

for our women, who often feel unwelcome in the messenger.

They have just as much right to the message as the man the prophets of Allah why he was so upset let him now lead let me echo Amen Hola. masajid Allah do not prevent the women from Allah's masajid. from Allah's places of prayer, this hadith is both inside people on the inside the Muslim.

Now you can prevent women from coming to the masjid in obvious explicit ways, like telling them not to come.

And you can also prevent them from coming in subtle, implicit ways. Many times our women come to the masjid by themselves, and that side door is locked. And unlike the front door, it does not have code that they can press to get in. By the way, that code is 96 Zero for anyone who needs it. Sometimes the women make it inside, but the barriers have been moved or removed so they have no privacy.

These types of things prevent women from coming to the masjid in the first place. And I encourage everyone who is involved in building a new Masjid to think hard to resolve these issues and make the new MSG more than accessible, but actually welcoming to everyone, especially our women.

When you aren't able to come to the masjid, when you have appointments and commitments that prevents you from coming and this happens to all of us, you can still make investments into your prayer and make it more valuable.

To see how let's go back to imagining the prayer as a pillar. The image of a pillar is very useful because in the types of tents that the Bedouin Arabs use to have the pillar was right in the middle. Everything was set up around that pillars Allah azza wa jal is asking us to make our prayer, the pillar that we revolve around that we keep turning back to again and again. And again.

It's similar to that feeling you get when you're watching your favorite show, or playing a game or reading a great book for those who still do that. And then you're interrupted by something. So you have to pause what you're doing. Think about that feeling how you can't wait to get back to it. Believe it or not, that's how the prophets Allah, Allah wa ala son sallam, and the Companions called Abella salah. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, Jewry, let's go over to our a&e. This is my comfort.

has been provided in the Salah and when it was time to pray the promises of low volume and some of these to tell you that yeah, emptiness, Salah

OB that established the prayer, give us comfort or give us relief by it. They couldn't wait to get back to the prayer. It was the refuge, it was their leisure.

Our leisure today is just entertainment. It distracts us for a while till it's over. We need another distraction, their leisure, leisure of the companions, nourishes their souls and made them better human beings.

How we can get there, especially if we have children, or other family members at home with us is to make the prayer and event call the event. Maybe the armor, set out the roads, get dressed in special clothes, do the little things that make it special.

In the end, no matter where you pray. The most important thing is that your life revolves around the prayer instead of your prayer being crammed into the leftover corners of your life.

We shouldn't think let me quick go through so I can get back to what I was doing. In reality, our mindset should be letting me take care of what I have to so I can go get back to prayer on time.

The last way that we can invest in our prayer the pillar of our faith is hidden in this area Allah says me so that's I think that okay, Shashi that must be leading for an infection in the bullpen in February, Canada's

established prayer from when the sun starts to decline into the darkness of the night and also the poor and affected certainly the core an offender is ever witnessed ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada, calls the fetcher prayer,

the poor and fetch a core en of the Dawn Allah azza wa jal uses the prayer and the postman interchangeably here.

It's like when you see someone passing by in their car, we say that we saw that person, we didn't really see every inch of them we just saw the face.

But since the face is the most important part of that person, we use it to refer to the whole thing Allah azza wa jal us, says, the poor man here to refer to the entire prayer teaches us that the most essential part of the prayer is the floor. And

this is the next way to invest in our prayer, not just memorizing, more quantity, which is important, no problem. But understanding the poor air quality pondering over the poor and reflecting upon the poor and and applying it in our daily lives.

Just like we should keep gravitating toward the prayer, we should always gravitate toward the poor and everything else in our life should be made second priority, and shouldn't be made to fit around the poor. And

we have seen in just this one verse, how to be grateful. establish prayer. Invest in the prayer, prioritize the prayer, by praying the messaging, by organizing your life around it by enhancing your relationship with the poor and that you recite in that prayer.

Next, Allah subhanaw taala shows the prophets of Allah embodying those to them, more ways to be grateful, I mean a lady for to help Jeff be Nafion a term that as a book upon muda and from part of the nitrate and additional worship for you, it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to appraised station Allah azza wa jal tells the prophets Allah Allahu Allah, he wants to do extra worship when no one else is looking.

This is the secret of the righteous, and the pious people. worshipping Allah and secret is the true test of sincerity. You're not getting any recognition for it. No one's patting you on the back and telling you what a good job you're doing, or how great you are. Whether it's prayer, or something else, like fasting or charity, every single one of us needs to keep at least one act of worship, a secret between us and a loss of Chronicle. It's our audit, so that we can rely on it in our hour of need.

And last, Allah azza wa jal teaches the prophets of

Hello my name is how to make dua and how to ask Allah azza wa jal, local rugby nfld Who the fantasy that they will have originally moved on to say nothing was happening in network and so on and so on and say My Lord caused me to enter a sound entrance and to exit a sound exit, and grants me from yourself a supporting authority.

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pray to Allah is proof of your trust in Allah is proof of your reliance upon Allah. And if you're asking for the right things, it's proof of your priorities and your focus on the afterlife. The prophets of Allah Allahu Allah He was son of was given to us as an example to follow. And here in these few areas, Allah azza wa jal showed us through the prophet Sall Allahu Adi, he was telling them how to be grateful the discipline of establishing the prayer, the sincerity of worshiping at night and the reliance of making dua, the masala Louisa automobile, aluminium

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