Namaz

Namaz

Namaz one of the most beautiful gifts of Allah to humanity and yet the most misunderstood. Most people can’t understand why Allah has made Namaz five times a day compulsory(audhubil lah). They feel it is a restriction on them and it limits their time. One needs to ask one self why Allah who has been so kind and benevolent that He has guided us towards what is good and stopped us from that which is bad for us, why would He do anything that would go against us???

Let us examine how Namaz is an enabler for us rather than a restriction. Namaz timings have been set up in such a way that they force us to develop discipline. We have to do that bit of extra jehad to include Namaz in our day. We have to get up a little bit early to pray fajr, we have to finish our work on time to pray our dhur and asr, we have to wind up quickly if we want to make it for the maghrib and isha.

Tell me what motivation would we have to get up in the morning had it not been for the fajr Namaz to get up early? The fajr Namaz ensures that we avoid late nights so that we are able to wake up the next morning. See we are already one step ahead in life over those who have no motivation to get up early.

It is said that any dua done in the morning is quickly accepted. What better time to ask of your Lord but when the rest of the world is sleeping? Allah is more that happy to grant the wishes of those who are sincere enough to get up in the morning to remember Him. It is said that the fajr Namaz can only be prayed by one who sincerely loves Allah for the most difficult thing for one to give up is sleep.

Let’s now examine the afternoon prayers. This is the time where we are very busy and we have to put in the extra effort to remember our prayer time. When we slow down to pray our Namaz we also remember to eat our lunch. While others who are busy rushing in this part of the day also rush past their lunch but Allah ensures that we are living healthy!!!

When asr time comes we are again forced to slow down our pace and take a little break and give our body and soul a little rest. Allah has not made any redundant thing in the universe so why would He make us pray a Namaz that was not required?

Then comes maghrib Namaz. When the day is at its close and as night descends shaitan becomes most active. Why else is it said, that at maghrib you should not step out of your home? Also children who are playing outside should remain indoors at least twenty minutes from maghrib time. Our maghrib Namaz becomes a shield and protects us from his evil who wants to tempt us into all sorts of sins such as zina and alcohol. Is it not wonderful that our Master has provided us a remedy against all evil and ill doing?

Isha beckons the time to wind down and move towards wrapping up the day. The isha Namaz gives us the time to reflect on our day’s activities and to gauge our efforts to reach our goals. We try to figure out if our actions throughout the day have been in line with Allah’s wishes or we have slipped somewhere. It prevents us from being in places where it would be difficult for us to offer our Namaz and thereby protecting us from haram activities.

Our obligations and debts to other humans are to be very strictly judged by the Almighty. It is said that even if one is a matyr who dies a thousand times, if he owes a debt to anybody and dies without paying is he will go to jahannum. Namaz is a debt we owe to Allah. Imagine how strictly we will be judged and punished if we take it to be a light debt.

Calculations show that if one were to live for 70 years, the five Namaz each day would total up to only 5 months of our lives. May Allah grant us the good sense to be sincere and regular in praying all our farz Namaz so that we may go in front of our Lord proudly having paid Him his dues. Ameen.