Those Who Keep Themselves Away From Prayer

Those who keep themselves away from prayer…

A saint of Allah warns those who are not among those who pray:

“Those who refrain from prayer because of worldly possessions will be resurrected and assembled with Qarun for judgment. Those who do not pray because of being possessed by their power of ruling and administration will be resurrected with Pharaoh. Those who do not pray because of being a high and influential official will be resurrected with Haman (the minister of Pharaoh) and those who keep away from prayer because of inordinate love of gaining profit in business will be resurrected with Ubay bin Khalaf , an enemy of the Prophet.”

Those who neglect prayer live an unproductive life. They do not have the light of Divine beauty in their faces. None of their deeds are rewarded. Their supplications to Allah are not accepted. They are also deprived of the love of saintly people. Their entire experience is in pain in accordance with the maxim “you die as you live.” Their graves turn into a pit of hell where they find the rage of Allah against them. They are questioned strongly and finally thrown into hell .

As narrated in a hadith of Bukhari, the Prophet (J) used to ask the companions after morning prayers if they had any dreams. Those who did used to tell their dreams and the Prophet (J) used to interpret them. One day he again asked and then said:

“I had a dream. Two persons came and took me away.”

Then he told them the rest of the dream describing to them the features of paradise and hell, particularly the suffering there. The story of a man in hell was related as follows: One of the men was being struck on the head with a stone. The stone hit so strongly that it was bouncing off. This happened over and over again.

The Prophet (J) asked the two persons who took him away:

“– Who is this person?”

They answered:

“– This man preferred sleeping to offering the obligatory prayers and he gave up reading the Qur’an though he earlier had learned how to read it.”

Satan particularly tries to keep the servant away from prayer. Satan wants to make sure that the servant is kept away from Divine Mercy, as he knows the fact that “he who has no prayer has also no religion.” (Taberani)

Therefore, foresighted believers protect themselves from the traps of Satan in this regard and they care about prayer and do their best to make up the prayers they had been unable to offer in their proper time.

The Prophet (J) says:

“Whoever forgets his prayer, let him immediately offer it whenever he remembers; there is no other way to atone for it.” (Muslim, Masajid, 314). If the message of this saying to make up what is owed is not observed, the servant will be afflicted with a wretched state in the Hereafter.

Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş, ISLAM SPIRIT AND FORM, Erkam Publications