⏰🏃🏽‍♂ IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING EARLY AND ON TIME 🏃‍♂⏰

إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا
"Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed times."
(Surah An-Nisa, ayah 103)

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was asked,
أَىُّ الْعَمَلِ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللَّهِ
“Which deed is the most beloved to Allah?”
The Prophet said,
الصَّلاَةُ عَلَى وَقْتِهَا
“Prayer upon on its respective times” (Al-Bukhari)

In another narration,
عَنْ أُمِّ فَرْوَةَ، قَالَتْ سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَىُّ الأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ
The Prophet ﷺ was asked – what are the best of deeds? He said,

"الصَّلاَةُ فِي أَوَّلِ وَقْتِهَا"
“Prayer at its early (beginning) times”
(Abu Daud, graded sahih by Al-Albani)

📆📌We should plan our daily schedules to prioritize our solah: Plan our solah first, plant that as our scheduled high priority task, and then plan everything else around it. 

The problem with many of us is, we do the opposite: we plan pretty much every other aspect of our daily schedule first – and plan the solah around the schedule. We pray when is ‘convenient’ or ‘when we are free’.

⏳In fact, the earlier, the better

The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ فِي صَلاَةٍ مَا دَامَتِ الصَّلاَةُ تَحْبِسُهُ، وَالْمَلاَئِكَةُ تَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ‏.‏ مَا لَمْ يَقُمْ مِنْ صَلاَتِهِ أَوْ يُحْدِثْ
"As long as any-one of you is waiting for the prayer, he is considered to be praying (I.e. Rewarded as if he is in the prayer), and the angels (make du'aa for him) and say:
"O Allah! Be merciful to him and forgive him",
(and go on saying so) - unless he leaves his place of praying or passes wind (i.e. breaks his ablution).” (Al-Bukhari)

Consider this: Even waiting for the prayer, you are rewarded as if you are in prayer!
It’s like going to work early before your shift, and you get paid before your shift starts – even if you do nothing. Amazing ما شاء الله

🌃⚠ EMPHASIS : MAGHRIB

Especially in the month of Ramadhan, we should pay special attention to Maghrib.
What tends to happen is that we get so absorbed in iftar to satisfy our hunger and almost neglect Maghrib prayer, delaying it unnecessarily.

The best thing we should do is just break our fast and iftar with a simple light meal, get hydrated, and immediatley head out to the prayer - and after prayer only then have our proper meal.

As long as we adhere to praying Maghrib early, it will be a continuous source of blessings and barakah in ourlives. 

The Prophet ﷺ said,

لاَ تَزَالُ أُمَّتِي بِخَيْرٍ - أَوْ قَالَ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ - مَا لَمْ يُؤَخِّرُوا الْمَغْرِبَ إِلَى أَنْ تَشْتَبِكَ النُّجُومُ
"My nation will continue to be upon goodness - or upon fitrah (natural disposition of goodness) -
as long as they do not delay the Maghrib prayer until the stars are seen (on the skies, i.e. when it gets dark as the sun sets)"
(Narrated by Abu Daud, graded hasan sahih by Al-Albani)

🥇The 5-Daily prayers are the first and most important deed that will be evaluated on the Day of Judgment :even before fasting, Zakat and other deeds

The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ صَلَاتُهُ. فَإِنْ صَلُحَتْ فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ وَأَنْجَحَ، وَإِنْ فَسَدَتْ فَقَدْ خَابَ وَخَسِرَ، فَإِنْ انْتَقَصَ مِنْ فَرِيضَتِهِ شَيْءٌ، قَالَ الرَّبُّ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: انْظُرُوا هَلْ لِعَبْدِي مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ فَيُكَمَّلَ بِهَا مَا انْتَقَصَ مِنْ الْفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ سَائِرُ عَمَلِهِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ
The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers.
If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost.
If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers.
Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion
(Narrated by At-Tirmidzi, Abu Daud, ibnu Majah, An-Nasa’i)

In this hadith the Prophet clearly stated the importance of our fardh (obligatory) 5-daily prayers – Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha – are the first criteria of Allah’s righteous slaves on the Day of Judgment – and that the sunnah / additional prayers: such as tarawih, qiyamullayl, duha, are only supplementary to top up these main 5-daily prayers if there are defects in them. 

Therefore these 5-daily prayers should definitely be our priority.

May Allah make us amongst those who are steadfast in performing our prayers in its early times. Amin.

BarakAllahu fikum.

📖 EXCELLENCE OF THE QUR'AN 📖

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ ۚ
“The Month of Ramadhan in which it was revealed the Qur’an – a guidance for mankind, and a clarification (bayan) from the Guidance (of Allah), and a criterion (of distinguishing good and evil)”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 185)

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ، وَأَجْوَدُ مَا يَكُونُ فِي رَمَضَانَ، حِينَ يَلْقَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ، وَكَانَ جِبْرِيلُ ـ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ ـ يَلْقَاهُ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، فَيُدَارِسُهُ الْقُرْآنَ فَلَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَجْوَدُ بِالْخَيْرِ مِنَ الرِّيحِ الْمُرْسَلَةِ
Ibnu Abbas (radhiAllahu anhuma) narrated : 

The Prophet (ﷺ) was the most generous of all the people, and he used to become more generous in Ramadan when angel Jibreel met him. 
Jibreel used to meet him every night during Ramadan to revise the Qur'an with him. (And in Ramadhan), Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to be more generous than the fast blowing wind
(Al-Bukhari)



🔊 The Qur’an will come on the Day of Judgment to intercede (Shafa’ah) for its Companions

Let us strive to develop ourselves to be amongst the companions of the Qur’an this Ramadhan. Among some of the ways we can do so:
✅ Get into the continual habit of reciting Qur’an – setting aside and prioritizing your daily schedules for Qur’an
✅ Understanding, learn and ponder the meanings behind the words of Allah and learn its tafsir – either from books or from lectures
✅ Develop our overall competency of the Qur’an: learning tajwid, memorization – and/or help others towards it
✅ Organize groups amongst family / friends to help us achieve this 


اقْرَءُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَإِنَّهُ يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ شَفِيعًا لأَصْحَابِهِ اقْرَءُوا الزَّهْرَاوَيْنِ الْبَقَرَةَ وَسُورَةَ آلِ عِمْرَانَ فَإِنَّهُمَا تَأْتِيَانِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كَأَنَّهُمَا غَمَامَتَانِ أَوْ كَأَنَّهُمَا غَيَايَتَانِ أَوْ كَأَنَّهُمَا فِرْقَانِ مِنْ طَيْرٍ صَوَافَّ تُحَاجَّانِ عَنْ أَصْحَابِهِمَا اقْرَءُوا سُورَةَ الْبَقَرَةِ فَإِنَّ أَخْذَهَا بَرَكَةٌ وَتَرْكَهَا حَسْرَةٌ وَلاَ تَسْتَطِيعُهَا الْبَطَلَةُ

“(Keep) Reciting the Qur'an, for on the Day of Resurrection it will come as an intercessor for its companions. 
Recite the two bright ones, al-Baqarah and Surah Al 'Imran, for on the Day of Resurrection they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them. 
Recite Surah al-Baqarah, for to take recourse to it is a blessing and to give it up is a cause of grief, and the magicians cannot confront it.  
(Muslim)

أنَّ رسولَ اللهِ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ ... [قال: الصيامُ والقُرآنُ يَشفَعانِ للعَبدِ؛ يقولُ الصيامُ: ربِّ، إنِّي منَعْتُه الطعامَ والشَّهَواتِ بالنَّهارِ فشَفِّعْني فيه، ويقولُ القُرآنُ: منَعْتُه النومَ باللَّيلِ فيُشَفَّعانِ].
The Messenger of Allah said, “The deeds of Fasting and Qur’an will come as two intercessors for a slave. 
The deed of fasting will say : “My Lord, verily, I have prevented him (i.e. this slave) from food and desires in the day – so make me an intercessor for him!”
The Qur’an will say, “I have prevented him from sleep at night” – so they both will intercede (for the slave)” 
(Narrated by Abu Nu’aim, Al-Munziri. Authenticated by Al-Hakim)


📝 Every Letter is Equal to Ten Rewards from Allah: A virtue that no other book in this world has been given

مَنْ قَرَأَ حَرْفًا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُ بِهِ حَسَنَةٌ وَالْحَسَنَةُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا لاَ أَقُولُ الم حَرْفٌ وَلَكِنْ أَلِفٌ حَرْفٌ وَلاَمٌ حَرْفٌ وَمِيمٌ حَرْفٌ
Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, then he receives the reward from it, and the reward is ten times the likes of it. 
I do not say that “Alif Lam Mim” is a letter: but “Alif” is a letter, “Lam” is a letter and “Mim” is a letter."
(At-Tirmidzi who graded it hasan sahih)

☝🏼 To be Amongst the Noblest of Companions, or to Have Double Rewards

مَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهْوَ حَافِظٌ لَهُ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ، وَمَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهْوَ يَتَعَاهَدُهُ وَهْوَ عَلَيْهِ شَدِيدٌ، فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ
“The one who has masters the (recitation of) Qur’an will be with as-Safaratul Kiram (the Noble Messengers, i.e. the Angels), 
and the one who recites the Qur’an and stutters in it, and it is difficult upon him, will have two rewards.” 
(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)


✨ The Best of Mankind – those who Learn Qur’an and Teach it to Others

خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ
“The Best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it (to others)” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

🎖️ VIPs in the Sight of Allah

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏"‏ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ أَهْلِينَ مِنَ النَّاسِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَنْ هُمْ ‏
Anas bin Malik said: "The Messenger of Allah said: 'Allah has His own special (chosen) people among mankind.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, who are they?' 
قَالَ ‏"‏ هُمْ أَهْلُ الْقُرْآنِ أَهْلُ اللَّهِ وَخَاصَّتُهُ ‏"
He said: 'The people of the Qur'an: they are the people of Allah and those who are His Chosen ones (closest to Him)'"
(Ibnu Majah, graded hasan)

RAMADHAN HALF TIME REFLECTION: WHEN YOU FEEL YOU HAVEN'T QUITE "DONE YOUR BEST"

As we pass through the halfway mark through this blessed month, it's time to take a good reflection of ourselves and how we have done so far:

If - like me 😣 -  you feel that you have been lacking in your ibadah performance this Ramadhan and haven't quite stretched the best you can, here are three reminders to lift our spirits, get back in the game and look forward for the remaining days: the best is yet to come, insha Allah!

🔓 1. EVERY NIGHT IN RAMADHAN, ALLAH FREES SOME OF HIS SELECTED SLAVED FROM THE HELLFIRE

As said by the Prophet ﷺ:
"إنَّ للهِ تعالى عند كلِّ فطرٍ عُتَقاءَ من النارِ ، و ذلك في كلِّ ليلةٍ"
(Narrated by Sahih Al-Jami' of Al-Albani, graded hasan)

Every day in Ramadhan, Allah is so Pleased with the efforts of some of His slaves that He selects them to be saved from the Hellfire : and this happens every day of Ramadhan.

So if we feel that perhaps we may have "slacked" in the beginning and potentially "missed" this opportunity, let's be optimistic: this opportunity is still available today. And tomorrow. And the days after that, up to Shawwal.

🏁 2. FORGET WHAT HAS PASSED. WHAT TRULY MATTERS IS THE ENDING: HOW WE FINISH

The Prophet  ﷺ  said,
وَإِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالْخَوَاتِيمِ ‏
"Verily all deeds are only judged by their endings (i.e. how they end)"
(Al-Bukhari)

Don't get disheartened or demotivated - What has passed, has passed us by. If we buck up now and strive to improve, perhaps our best opportunities still await us in the future.

So let's get back in the game, and finish on a high! 

🌌 3. LAYLATUL QADAR - AND THE BEST TEN NIGHTS OF THE YEAR - STILL AWAIT US!

The night better than a thousand months is still yet to come, إن شاء الله . The Prophet ﷺ said:

تَحَرَّوْا لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ فِي الْعَشْرِ الأَوَاخِرِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ
"Look for the Night of Qadr in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadhan"
(Al-Bukhari)

And that is why he himself - towards the final ten nights - would ramp up his efforts even greater and move his family to do so too.

كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا دَخَلَ الْعَشْرُ شَدَّ مِئْزَرَهُ، وَأَحْيَا لَيْلَهُ، وَأَيْقَظَ أَهْلَهُ‏

"With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers" (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

If this was the practice of the Prophet - whose sins are forgiven entirely and promised Paradise - then how much more are WE in need of putting on a serious effort towards the end of Ramadhan?

As they say: in a hundred meter sprint, it is the last ten meters that makes all the difference whether you win or you lose.

So let's make it count ✊🏼

BarakAllahu fikum