The command for five-times daily prayers(solat) was revealed straight to the hands of our Prophet SAW by Allah, instead of going through the angel Jibril like any other divine revelations. This shows the gravity of the command of Allah regarding prayers. Islam is not all about ritualistic practices(ibadah). Every ibadah commanded to us has nurturing values; it moulds us into a better person, should we carry it out properly.
Solat, for instance, is not about standing and bowing; solat has all the ingredients to make us a successful human being, as promised by Allah:
“Victorious shall the believers be; those who in their prayers humble themselves.” (Al Mukminun 23:1-2)
Solat teaches us to extricate ourselves from the mundane everyday things, and humbly face the Almighty. When we perform solat with full concentration, we actually train ourselves to concentrate and focus our mind on the majesty of Allah.
Such quality is also needed beyond the five daily prayers. In order for us to be successful, we need a high level of focus and dedication in whatever we do. Imagine the life of a person who is not focused or dedicated; everything he does will either end up unfinished, or a product of low quality.
To show the importance of focus and dedication towards a course, Allah said:
“Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his body.” (Al Ahzab 33:4)
Granted, there are many responsibilities and obligations that await us, always competing for our undivided attention; our family, our job, our studies, our community, our country, and many others. To accomplish all this, we need proper planning, and a strong dedication to execute our duties well.
Look, at how solat can mould us to be an effective and productive Muslim. By applying the qualities needed in daily prayers in our everyday life, will mould us into a person of strong focus and high dedication. And there is also the added reward of Allah’s pleasure, as said by our Prophet:
“Verily, the kind of acts loved most by Allah, are those that are done with dedication.” (Hadith)
Other than humility and focus, in solat also lies another ingredient for success and victory, as told by the Almighty:
“And those whose prayers are strictly guarded.” (Al Mukminum 23:9)
A successful believer would guard his solat, by performing it when it is due. And therein lies the lesson of time management.
Time management requires discipline, and all successful people are highly disciplined. A smart, successful Muslim would be disciplined too: he would be punctual when meeting his clients, for instance. And all his free time will not be wasted on mundane affairs.
Time is gold. It is so important for us to make the most out of it, that Allah has sent down one whole chapter about time in the Quran:
“By Time, Verily Man is in loss; except for those who have faith and do good deeds; and enjoin in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience.” (Al Asr 103:1-3)
How true, that one of the ingredients in the recipe of success is to observe time. And let us all take solat as our practice in keeping time.
I would summarise today’s sharing in two points:
1. Solat teaches us focus and dedication in performing our tasks and
2. Solat also teaches us to manage our time and make full use of it and filling it with beneficial activities
Surely there are many other values that could be learnt just by observing our solat on top of the two points above. For that, let us all perform our solat, and seek to understand its importance, meanings and lessons.
Hopefully with our deep understanding about our ibadah, may we be more diligent in performing our daily solat and other ibadah, and with it InsyaAllah, we will become better Muslims who are successful in all spheres of life, as well as able to bring benefits and blessings to all.
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Acknowledgement:
-Holy Quran
-Hadith
-Khutbah Friday Prayers