Spiritual DevelopmentWorship and its Fruits

Prayer Decides the Judgment

عنه : يسأل شيء فأو$ل ، بالعبد يدعى القيامة يوم كان إذا.    النار في زج$ $ وإال تام$ة بها جاء فإذا ، الصالة

Prophet Muhammad (saw): “Take care of your daily prayers, for, on the Day of Resurrection, when Allah the Exalted, will bring His servant to account, the first thing that He will ask him about will be the daily prayers. If one brings it completely, he will be of the people of salvation, otherwise, he will be thrown into Fire."

Wasailul Shia, n. 4430

Prayer Cleanses the Soul

"If there was a stream at your house, and you washed yourself in this stream five times a day, will there remain any dirt on your body? Surely, prayer is like such a stream. The person who upholds prayer clears out his sins with it, except for the sins that take him out of the faith he believes in”

Imam al-Sadiq (as), Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 82, p. 236

Prayer Shields from Sin

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“Recite what is revealed to you of the Book, and establish prayer: for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and the remembrance of Allah is surely greatest. And Allah

knows the (deeds) that you do.”The Holy Qur’an, 29:45

Prayer puts out the Fire of Sins

"At the (appointed) time of every prayer (salat), I hear a caller who calls out and

says: "O children of Adam! Keep up prayers in order to extinguish the fire you have lit against yourselves (by committing sins)."

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Mustadrak-ul-Wasa'il, vol. 3, p. 102

Prayer Protects from Satan :    الشيطان يزال ال صلى الله عليه وآله الله رسول قال

الخمس الصلوات على حافظ ما المؤمن من q ذعرا. العظائم   في فأدخله عليه أ تجر$ $عهن$ ضي فإذا ، لوقتهن$Prophet Muhammad (saw): “Satan

remains afraid of a believer as long as the believer maintains his five prayers during their stipulated times. If the believer then ignores the prayers, Satan becomes daring towards him and causes him to commit major sins.”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4426

Establishing Prayer“When a person maintains his prayer and offers it at its stipulated time, it

ascends in the form of a pure white light and calls out to him:  “You have guarded me, may Allah protect you.”

 But if he does not maintain his prayer and does not offer it at its decreed

time, it ascends as a dark and gloomy form and says to him:  You have

destroyed me, may Allah destroy you.” Imam As-Sadiq (as), Al-Mahajjatul Baidha, Volume 1, Page 340

Taking Prayer Seriously

:    ليأتي $ه إن ، والله عليه السالم عبدالله أبو قالمنه الله قبل وما سنة خمسون الرجل على

والله ، هذا من أشد$ شيء فأي ، واحدة صالةلو من وأصحابكم جيرانكم من لتعرفون $كم إن

ستخفانه ال منه قبلها ما لبعضكم يصل$ي كانيقبل فكيف ، الحسن $ إال يقبل ال الله إن$ ، بها

! به؟ يستخف$ ما

Taking Prayer SeriouslyImam al-Sadiq (as): “By Allah, fifty years

of a person’s life may pass while Allah has not accepted a single prayer from him. What is worse than this? You know yourselves that you would not accept the prayer of some your neighbours or friends if they were praying on your behalf because they take the prayer lightly. While Allah accepts only that which is good, so how would He accept that which has been taken lightly?”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4414

Giving Prayer its Due Time

جعفرعليه السالم أبي  عن صلى الله عليه  : الله رسول بينا قاليتم$  وآله فلم ، يصل$ي فقام دخل إذ المسجد في جالس

:    كنقر فقر صلى الله عليه وآله فقال ، سجوده وال ركوعه. ديني غير على ليموتن$ صالته وهكذا هذا مات لئن ، الغراب

Imam al-Baqir (as): “A man came into the mosque while the Prophet was sitting there. He began to pray, but he did not perform his ruku’ or sujud properly. The Prophet (saw) said: ‘he is pecking like a crow, if he dies and his prayer is like this, he will die on a religion other than mine.’”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4434

Giving Prayer its Due Time عبدالله أبي   : عن في  العبد قام إذا قال عليه السالم

لمالئكته : وتعالى تبارك الله قال ، صالته فخف$ف الصالةغيري بيد حوائجه قضاء أن$ يرى $ه كأن عبدي إلى ترون أما

. بيدي حوائجه قضاء أن يعلم أما ،Imam al-Sadiq (as): “If a servant prays

quickly and leaves the place of prayer, Allah, the Exalted and Blessed, says to his angels: ‘Look at my slave, it is as if he sees that the fulfilment of his needs is in the hands of other than Me, does he not know that the fulfilment of all his needs is in My hands?’”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4447

Poise during Prayer

إذا هو فال ، بصالته أحدكم يستخف$ أن $اكم إيقوي q شيخا كان إذا هو وال ، أتم$ها q $ا شاب كان

قام فإذا ، الصالة سرقة من أشد$ وما ، عليهارفع وإذا ، $ن فليتمك ركع وإذا ، فليعتدل أحدكم ، $ن ويتمك فلينفرج سجد وإذا ، فليعتدل رأسه

. يسكن حتى فليلبث رأسه رفع وإذا

Poise during PrayerImam al-Sadiq (as): “…be wary to never take your prayer lightly. Do not be like the one who when he is young does not pray properly, and when he is old he does not have the ability to pray well. What is worse than stealing (from) the prayer? So if you stand up to pray, stand upright, and if you go into ruku, be stable in that position, and when you raise your head, stand upright again, and when you go into sujud, spread your limbs and be stable in that position, and when you raise your head from sujud, sit till your body is stable.”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4446

Solemnity in Prayer

“Successful indeed are the believers. Those who offer

their Salat (prayers) with all solemnity and submissiveness”

(23:1-2)

Solemnity in Prayer

The Prophet (saw): “A person will pray but only a sixth or a tenth of it will be written (as reward) for him. Only that which he was conscious of will be written for him.”

The Scale of Wisdom, n. 3626

The Rewards of Prayer

:    قامالعبدالمؤمنفيصالتهنظرالله إذا قالرسولاللهصلى الله عليه وآلهحتى : عليه الله أقبل قال أو ، إليه وجل$ عز$

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من زلت وال التفت$ ما تناجي ومن إليك ينظر. q أبدا موضعك

The Rewards of PrayerProphet Muhammad (saw): “If a believing servant stands to pray, Allah (SWT), the Exalted, looks at him, or gives him His attention, for as long as he continues to pray. He will be covered by the Mercy of God, from above his head up to the heavens. The angels will surround him, from his sides up to the heavens. Allah (SWT) will appoint an angel who stands at his head and says: ‘O you who is praying, if you knew who is looking at you and who you are speaking to, you would never turn away and would remain in this place of yours forever.”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4437

Abandoning Prayer

“There is nothing between a Muslim and a kafir except that he abandons an obligatory prayer deliberately or takes it so lightly that he does not pray it.”

The Scale of Wisdom, n. 3642

Abandoning Prayer

: :     ال فقال يارسولاللهأوصني، جاءرجلإلىالنبيصلى الله عليه وآلهفقال. فقدبرئتمنهمل$ةاإلسالم q منتركهامتعم$دا ،فإن$ q الصالةمتعم$دا تدع

Prophet Muhammad (saw): “Do not abandon your prayer deliberately, for one who abandons prayer deliberately is disowned by the community of Islam.”

Wasailul Shia, n. 4466

Never Cease Prayer

The Prophet (saw) said: “As long as you are praying,

[know that] surely you are knocking at the door of the

Almighty King, and the King’s door opens for

whoever knocks persistently thereat.”

[Makarim al-Akhlaq, v. 2, p. 366, no. 2661]

The Night Prayer

“When a servant stands alone before His Master in the middle of the dark night and speaks to Him, Allah will establish light in his heart…Then Allah (SWT) will say to His angels: ‘My angels, look at My servant, He is standing alone before Me in the middle of the dark knight, while the oblivious are sleeping and occupied. Be my witnesses that I have forgiven him.”

The Scale of Wisdom, n. 3654

Supplication

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“Your Lord has said: ‘Call me and I will answer You. Surely those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell in humiliation” (40:60)

Supplication

“The best worship is supplication, for when Allah gives permission for His servant to supplicate, He has opened a door of Mercy for him. Surely, the one who supplicated will never be destroyed”

The Scale of Wisdom, n. 2087

Supplication

“Do not belittle the smallest of your needs, for the most beloved of the believers to Allah is the one who asks him the most.”

The Scale of Wisdom, n. 2107

Supplication: A Constant Connection

Allah, the Exalted, says to Prophet Musa (as): “...ask Me even for the salt of your food and the laces of

your shoes...”It is narrated that Allah revealed to Prophet David (as): “Remember me

in the good days so that I may answer [and assist] you in the bad

[and difficult] days.”[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 93, p. 303, no. 39]

Persistence is fruitful

• "Ask (Allah) for your needs and insist on demanding because Allah likes the persistence of the believers among His servants”

Imam al-Sadiq (as), Wasa'il-ush-Shi'ah,voI. 7, p. 60

• "Treat your ailments with charity and repel varieties of affliction by invocation.”

Imam al-Sadiq (as), At-Tahthib, vol. 4, p.112

Fruits of Worship

Submission Real Freedom Freedom from social and political

pressures Tranquillity: freedom from stress and

anxiety about small issues Healthy Life: freedom from a sinful

and self-destructive lifestyle

Success from Allah

“...When the servant says: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, Allah, Great is His Glory, says: "My servant has started with My name, and it is incumbent upon Me that I should complete his works

for him and bless him in his affairs...”

Love for Allah

وما ، °ق¥ل¥وب® ال على °ر®ك ®ذ®ك ب ® °هام ®ل اإل خواط®ر ألذ± ما إله®يوما ، ¥وب® °غ¥ي ال ®ك® مسال ف®ي ® ®األو°هام ب °ك إلي ير °مس® ال أح°لى

®ك ب ق¥ر° ب ر° ش® أع°ذب وما ¼ك، ب ح¥ طع°م أط°يب“My Lord, how pleasurable for hearts are the thoughts inspiring Your remembrance, and how sweet is the journey to You through the imagination across the paths of the unseen worlds, how pleasant is the taste of Your love, how delightful is the drink of Your proximity…”

Munajatul Muhibbeen