THE REWARDS OF SALAAT

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) narrates that he heard Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) saying:
            "Islam is founded on five pillars: bearing witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (Sallallaho
alaihe wasallam) is His servant and apostle; establishment of salaat; paying of Zakaat; performance of Hajj: and
fasting in Ramadhaan.
             The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)  has compared Islam to a canopy resting on five support. The
Kalimah is the central support and other four pillars of Islam are, so to say, the remaining four supports, one at
each corner of the canopy. Without the central support, the canopy cannot possibly stand, and if any one of the
corner supports is missing a collapse will result in the defective corner. Now, let us judge for ourselves how far
we have kept up the canopy of Islam. Is there really and pillar that is being held in its proper place?
             The five pillars of Islam mentioned in this hadith signify the most essential duties of a Muslim. Although a
Muslim cannot do without any one of them, yet salaat in Islam occupies a position next only to Imaan. Hadhrat
Abdullah bin Mas'ood (Radhiyallaho anho) says:
              "Once, I inquired of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), which act (of man) was the dearest
to Allah. The Prophet replied,'salaat'. I then inquired whic act came next (in order of merit) and the Prophet replied,
'kindness to parents'. I again asked what was next and he answered 'Jihaad'."
               Mulla Ali Qari (Rahmatullah alaih) has quoted this Hadith in support of the belief that salaat is the most
important religious duty after Imaan. This is further corroborated by a Hadith, in which the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho
alaihe wasallam) is reported to have said:

Hadhrat 'Abdul Malik bin Umair(Radhiyallaho anho)

Hadhrat 'Abdul Malik bin Umair(Radhiyallaho anho) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)
said,"In surah Fatihah there is a cure for all ailments."
     The virtues of surah Fatihah are found in many ahadith.It is reported in one hadith,"a sahabi was
offering nafl salaat;Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) called him,but since he was offaring salaat
he did non respond.After completing the salaat he went to Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam),who
asked him why he did not respond as soon as he was called.He submitted that he could not do so because
he was offering salaat.Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) asked if he did not read the following
verese in Qur'an:
     Respond to the call of Allah and His Massenger whenever They call you.
Then Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said,"I tell you of a surah which is the greatest,the most
virtuos in the Holy Qur'an.It is surah Al-Hamd(The first surah of the Qur'an,which has seven ayaat.These
are the 'Sab'ul Mathaani' and represent the Grand Qur'an."It is said by some Sufira that whatever there
was in the earlier Divine Books is condensed in the Glorious Qur'an, and the contents of Qur'an are
condensed into' surah Fatihah; and that which is in surah Fatihah is found in Bismillah and that which
is in Bismillah is to be found in its first letter (ba).It is explaned that (ba) is a co-ordinating conjunction
and stands for uniting. Surely the ultimate aim is to effect union of a devotee with Almighty.Some 'Sufia'
have gone still further and have said the whatever there is in (ba) is to be found in its dot,which signifies
the Unity of Allah-a thing which is indivisible as a dot.

Hadhrat Ibn Abbas (Radhiyallaho anho)

Hadhrat Ibn Abbas (Radhiyallaho anho) has reportted,"Hadhrat Jibra'eel (Alayhis salaam)
Once informed Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) that many fitnahs will certainly apper.
Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) asked,'What will be the way out,O,Jibra'eel?'He
replied,'The Book of Allah."
To act upon the Book of Allah serves as a sateguard against fitnahs,and its blessed reciation is
ameans of relief from the evils.It has already been mentioned in hadith 22 that if the Qur'an
is recited in a house, peace and mercy descend upon it and Satan quits the place. The 'ulama
interpret fitnahs to mean the coming of Dajjaal (Islamic Anti-Chrst),the invasion by the
Tatars, and like incidents. A long riwaayat from Hadhrat Ali  (Radhiyallaho anho) also
includes the subject-matter of this hadith.
It is mentioned in this riwaayat of Hadhat Ali  (Radhiyallaho anho) that Hadhrat
Yahya (Alayhis salaam) told the Israelites:"Allah orders you to read His Book, and if
you do so, you will be like the people protected in a fort, so that on whichever side the
enemy wants to attack you, he will find there the Word of Allah as a guard to repulse him."

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho)

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)
said,"Whover remains steadfast in the five salaat will not be written amongst the neglectful;and
whoever reads one hundred ayaat in a night will be written among the qaaniteen (the obedient)."
Hadhrat Hasan Bosri (Radhiyallaho anho) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)
said,"Whover reads one hundred ayaat in a night will be exempted from the demands of the Qur'an,
and one who reads tow hundred ayaat will get a reward for offering salaat throughout the night
and one who recites five hundred to one thousand ayaat will get one qintaar.The Sahabah asked,"
What is meant by a qintaar?"Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) replied,"It is equal to twelve
thousand daraahim or danaaneer (Plural of  dirham and deenaar,respectivelyunit of currency used
in Hijaaz in the Holy Prophet's (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) days)."

Hadhrat Abu Zar ( Radhiyallaho anho)

Hadhrat Abu Zar ( Radhiyallaho anho) reports that Rasulullah ( Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said,"O,Abu Zar if you go in the morning and learn one ayat from the book of Allah,it will be better for you than your offering one hundred rakaat of nafl salaat,and if you learn one chapter of knowledge,which may or may not be practised at that time will be better for you than your offering one thousand rakaat of nafl aslaat. It is mentioned in many ahadith that acquiring knowledge of religion is more virtuous than worship. There are so many traditions on the virtues of learning that thay cannot all be mentioned here. Rasulullah ( Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said,"The superiority of an aalim over an aabid (worshipper) is like my superiority over the lowest among you." He is also reported to have said that a single faqeeh (jurist) is harder against Satan than one thousand worshippers.

Hadhrat Ibn 'Umar (Radhiyallaho anho)

Hadhrat Ibn 'Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) raports that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said,"Three persons are such as will have no fear of the horrors of the Day of Judgement , nor will they be required to render any account. They will stroll merrily on mounds of musk until the people are relieved of rendering their account. One is a person who learnt the Qur'an, mrrely seeking Allah's pleasure and therewith leads people in salaat in a manner that they are pleased with him; the second person is one who invites men to salaat for the pleasure of Allah alone. The third person is one who has fair dealings between him and his master, as well as between himself and his subordinates."

Hadhrat bin' Amr (Radhiyallaho anho)

Hadhrat  bin' Amr (Radhiyallaho anho) reports that Rasulullah (Sallalaho alaihe wasallam) said,"Whoerver reads the Qur'an secures the know ledge of prophethood within his ribs (bosom), though Divine Revelation is not Qur'an that he should be indignant with those in anger,nor should he indulge in any act of ignorance with those who are ignorant,while the Qur'an is there in his bosom."
Since the chain of wahi (revelation) ended with Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam),further wahi cannot come. But since the Qur'an is the Word of the Almighty Allah,it doubtlessly contains the knowledge of 'Nubuwwat (prophethood) and if anybody is blessed with this knowledge, it is incumbent upon him that he should display the best conduct, and should refrain from bad manners, Fudhail bin lyaadh (Rahmatullah alaih) has stated that a hafiz of the Qur'an is a bearer of the banner of Islam,and as such it does not behove him to join those who indulge in frivolous pursuits,or associate with the neglectful,or mix with the indolent.

This is the of my Allah.

"This is the of my Allah, this is the of my Allah."
The aforesaid contains briefly the spirit of the requirements of decorum as written in great detail by the Muslim scholars. It will further be explained in the following paragraph. In short, a Muslim should read the book of Allah not just as a servant, but as a slave in the spirit of complete humiliy toeards his Lord, Master and Benefactor. The Safia (Plural of Sufi-mystic) have written that, if a person feels his shortcomings in exercising due respect and reverence while reciting the Qur'an, he will continue to progress along the path of nearness to Almighty Allah but a person who regards himself with approval or pride will not advance further.

A Woman Dies On Seeing the Prophet's Grave.

A Woman came to Aishah (Radhiyallaho anha) and said:"Take me to the grave of the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam),so that I may be blessed with its sight." Aishah (Radhiyallaho anha)opened the room that contained the grave of the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and let her go inside.The woman on seeing the grave started crving in love and memory of the Prophet.In fact she wept so bitterly and incessantly that she swooned and expired there and then (May Allah bless her).The blessed lady recollected the happy days when the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) was alive, and then the pangs of separation proved fatal for her.Can the annals of history produce a parallel to such love and devotion?  

Anas bin Nadhr's (Radhiyallaho anho) Martyrdom in Uhud.

When the Muslims were faceing defeat in Uhud,somebody started the rumour that the Prophet(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) had been killed.You can imagine the Sahabah's grief and anguish over this tragic news. This, quite naturally, caused most of them to lose heart in despair. Anas bin Nadhr (Radhiyallaho anho) happened to see 'Umar and Talhah (Radhiyallaho anhuma) with a group of Muslims in a state of utter bewilderment. He said to them:"Why am I seeing you all so bewildered?" They said: "The Prophet(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) is slain." Anas (Radhiyallaho anho) exclaimed:" Then who will like to after him? Come, let us go forward with our swords and join our dear Prophet." No sooner did he utter these words than he plunged into the enemy lines and fought till he was martyred. In fact,Anas (Radhiyallaho anho) had such an extreme love for the Prophet(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) that he did not consider this life worth living without him.