قَالَ رَسُولُ اللٌّهِ )ص):أَوَّلُ مَا افْتَرَضَ اللٌّهُ عَلى أُمَّتِي الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ وَ أَوَّلُ مَا يُرفَعُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمْ الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ وَ أَوَّلُ مَا يُسْأَلُونَ عَـنْهُ الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five prayers; and the first thing from their acts of worship that shall be taken up will be the five prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five prayers.”
How important is salat to you?
Stranger: Salat is really important. It’s that connection a person has with Allah and it’s a time to take a break from the hectic day and just take a breather. I think about this a lot. One major thing that I heard about growing up was Buddhism and Hinduism is so amazing because you’re reaching nirvana and you get to focus on yourself. Not comparing religions here, but I feel like salat is in a way that. You’re taking a minute to not focus on yourself but to focus on something greater than yourself. You’re focusing on God.
Beforehand, I always thought Allahu akbar meant God is great. But I learned it doesn’t just mean God is great, it means God is greater and saying it in salat just brings you back. Sometimes when I’m praying and my mind wanders and I say Allahu Akbar it’s like “okay focus, God is greater than anything else you’re thinking about.”
How do you feel when you’ve delayed salat?
Stranger: Well, obviously there’s disappointment in myself especially when I’ve been on top of my prayers. It’s kind of embarrassing going back like you’re saying “hi God, I know I’m late, skipped our meeting again.” It has an effect on your heart. Going to make it up isn’t the same as praying on time. It’s a completely different feeling. There’s a different sort of mental and physical peace when you’re praying it on time within the schedule. It feels like you haven’t done your part.
What are the specific challenges for you related to salat?
Stranger: I hate daylights savings because that always throws me off. As a female, coming back to it after a week is hard. I know it’s often said by scholars when you’re menstruating, just go and read tasbih or something but it’s very hard because it’s not the first thing on your mind. That’s kind of ironic because when you’re feeling that way, the best thing to do is probably thikr.
When I’m “busy” with running around and appointments and stressed about assignments, I’m like okay I have to go pray. But then I have to rush off to this meeting or that assignment. Because we live in a place where we're trying to get as much stuff done in as little time, I feel like I have to force myself to get up.
It honestly depends on my mental state at the time. Sometimes it’s a break from everything and I can do wudu and it’s relaxing and therapeutic. And then I can come back with a clear state of mind.
Why do you think these challenges exist for you? Where do they stem from?
Stranger: My childhood problem of, according to my parents, being naturally inclined to being lazy. I’ve always been a very low-energy person so the thought of putting effort into getting up and moving to do things is kind of off-putting. I guess as a society we’re generally… we have devices that do half our work for us. Forgetfulness too because sometimes I’ll be very into a task and then it’ll be time for prayer. I think, “I’ll go in two minutes after I finish reading this sentence.” Next thing I know, athan for the next prayer is happening. Maghrib is the hardest because it’s right when I am sitting down to study.
What actions do you take to overcome them?
Stranger: Apps and alarms and family members. Scheduling it into my routine where instead of having a schedule and thinking you’ll do it when it’s time. For example, today I scheduled a meeting where I knew I could pray right after the meeting.
What do you think life would be like if you didn’t pray?
Stranger: It would be a lot more detached. When I’m not praying or when I’m delaying my salat, it becomes detached. Prayer reminds you of your place in this world and it’s temporary nature. When you’re not praying, you become a lot more caught up in… I guess the best way to say it is the dunya becomes more real than the akhira. Prayer reminds you which one is more real.
It would be more stressful too because prayer is a necessary break. When you’re praying, everything in the dunya is out of your mind. If I try to take a break from studying by going to eat, I’m always trying to multitask. If I’m eating, I’m reading something on my phone or if I’m watching TV, I’m knitting. But with salat, I’m forced to forget everything else.
Have you ever had an “out of this world” experience in salat? Can you describe it?
Stranger: There was one specific time where I had the most khushoo3 I’ve ever had in salat. I don’t know how to describe it. It was just complete focus. I wasn’t trying to remember which rukoo3 I was on. It was completely balanced in an instinctual kind of way. I wasn’t focused on what I was doing but more on God and the meaning of what I was saying.
Also, every time I pray in jama3a and tarawih, it’s amazing.
How do you think your experience will be relevant if you have children?
Stranger: There would be greater emphasis on praying on time and praying as a family even before it's fardh (obligatory) for them. If prayer isn't a constant in your life and then suddenly you're told you have to pray them as fardh, it's a sudden leap. You can't expect the child to implement it on their own; it's difficult. So build it up continuously. Also, from a young age have the children pray together with other children as well during play dates and dinner parties and so on.
What advice would you give to others struggling with salat?
Stranger: Don’t ever give up on it. It’s there for your own benefit; nobody else is getting anything out of it. Continue and even when you don’t feel like doing it, do it. Going through the motions is better than not doing anything at all.
Can you think of any community resources/projects/initiatives that would be helpful when it comes to this issue?
Stranger: Making an effort to pray jama3a with the people around you. It adds a sense of community. It’s such a personal thing that the biggest community resource is probably friends and family. Or actively take the initiative yourself and be like “hey, let’s go pray.” Once you hit the stride of it, it’s easier to keep it up.
From an activist perspective, it’s such an individually regulated type thing so maybe, I don’t know, salat-holics anonymous where you keep track of what you’ve missed and work to make them up together. In addition to making sure you pray the 5 daily prayers regularly. Kind of like a support group.
The challenge is people not wanting to admit their struggle because salat is something that is so stressed in Islam. Also having a greater focus on it when it comes to children. Sometimes when my family was out at events it was always like
"the adults need to pray." So I assumed that was the situation until you hit puberty and then it becomes like: Okay, 5 times a day, go!
END NOTE:
Please take this moment to make duaa for our stranger who shared her struggle with us to learn and grow from.
Feel free to share, like and comment. If you'd like to be interviewed, email me through the contact form linked at the top of the website.
H.Al
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five prayers; and the first thing from their acts of worship that shall be taken up will be the five prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five prayers.”
How important is salat to you?
Stranger: Salat is really important. It’s that connection a person has with Allah and it’s a time to take a break from the hectic day and just take a breather. I think about this a lot. One major thing that I heard about growing up was Buddhism and Hinduism is so amazing because you’re reaching nirvana and you get to focus on yourself. Not comparing religions here, but I feel like salat is in a way that. You’re taking a minute to not focus on yourself but to focus on something greater than yourself. You’re focusing on God.
Beforehand, I always thought Allahu akbar meant God is great. But I learned it doesn’t just mean God is great, it means God is greater and saying it in salat just brings you back. Sometimes when I’m praying and my mind wanders and I say Allahu Akbar it’s like “okay focus, God is greater than anything else you’re thinking about.”
How do you feel when you’ve delayed salat?
Stranger: Well, obviously there’s disappointment in myself especially when I’ve been on top of my prayers. It’s kind of embarrassing going back like you’re saying “hi God, I know I’m late, skipped our meeting again.” It has an effect on your heart. Going to make it up isn’t the same as praying on time. It’s a completely different feeling. There’s a different sort of mental and physical peace when you’re praying it on time within the schedule. It feels like you haven’t done your part.
What are the specific challenges for you related to salat?
Stranger: I hate daylights savings because that always throws me off. As a female, coming back to it after a week is hard. I know it’s often said by scholars when you’re menstruating, just go and read tasbih or something but it’s very hard because it’s not the first thing on your mind. That’s kind of ironic because when you’re feeling that way, the best thing to do is probably thikr.
When I’m “busy” with running around and appointments and stressed about assignments, I’m like okay I have to go pray. But then I have to rush off to this meeting or that assignment. Because we live in a place where we're trying to get as much stuff done in as little time, I feel like I have to force myself to get up.
It honestly depends on my mental state at the time. Sometimes it’s a break from everything and I can do wudu and it’s relaxing and therapeutic. And then I can come back with a clear state of mind.
Why do you think these challenges exist for you? Where do they stem from?
Stranger: My childhood problem of, according to my parents, being naturally inclined to being lazy. I’ve always been a very low-energy person so the thought of putting effort into getting up and moving to do things is kind of off-putting. I guess as a society we’re generally… we have devices that do half our work for us. Forgetfulness too because sometimes I’ll be very into a task and then it’ll be time for prayer. I think, “I’ll go in two minutes after I finish reading this sentence.” Next thing I know, athan for the next prayer is happening. Maghrib is the hardest because it’s right when I am sitting down to study.
What actions do you take to overcome them?
Stranger: Apps and alarms and family members. Scheduling it into my routine where instead of having a schedule and thinking you’ll do it when it’s time. For example, today I scheduled a meeting where I knew I could pray right after the meeting.
What do you think life would be like if you didn’t pray?
Stranger: It would be a lot more detached. When I’m not praying or when I’m delaying my salat, it becomes detached. Prayer reminds you of your place in this world and it’s temporary nature. When you’re not praying, you become a lot more caught up in… I guess the best way to say it is the dunya becomes more real than the akhira. Prayer reminds you which one is more real.
It would be more stressful too because prayer is a necessary break. When you’re praying, everything in the dunya is out of your mind. If I try to take a break from studying by going to eat, I’m always trying to multitask. If I’m eating, I’m reading something on my phone or if I’m watching TV, I’m knitting. But with salat, I’m forced to forget everything else.
Have you ever had an “out of this world” experience in salat? Can you describe it?
Stranger: There was one specific time where I had the most khushoo3 I’ve ever had in salat. I don’t know how to describe it. It was just complete focus. I wasn’t trying to remember which rukoo3 I was on. It was completely balanced in an instinctual kind of way. I wasn’t focused on what I was doing but more on God and the meaning of what I was saying.
Also, every time I pray in jama3a and tarawih, it’s amazing.
How do you think your experience will be relevant if you have children?
Stranger: There would be greater emphasis on praying on time and praying as a family even before it's fardh (obligatory) for them. If prayer isn't a constant in your life and then suddenly you're told you have to pray them as fardh, it's a sudden leap. You can't expect the child to implement it on their own; it's difficult. So build it up continuously. Also, from a young age have the children pray together with other children as well during play dates and dinner parties and so on.
What advice would you give to others struggling with salat?
Stranger: Don’t ever give up on it. It’s there for your own benefit; nobody else is getting anything out of it. Continue and even when you don’t feel like doing it, do it. Going through the motions is better than not doing anything at all.
Can you think of any community resources/projects/initiatives that would be helpful when it comes to this issue?
Stranger: Making an effort to pray jama3a with the people around you. It adds a sense of community. It’s such a personal thing that the biggest community resource is probably friends and family. Or actively take the initiative yourself and be like “hey, let’s go pray.” Once you hit the stride of it, it’s easier to keep it up.
From an activist perspective, it’s such an individually regulated type thing so maybe, I don’t know, salat-holics anonymous where you keep track of what you’ve missed and work to make them up together. In addition to making sure you pray the 5 daily prayers regularly. Kind of like a support group.
The challenge is people not wanting to admit their struggle because salat is something that is so stressed in Islam. Also having a greater focus on it when it comes to children. Sometimes when my family was out at events it was always like
"the adults need to pray." So I assumed that was the situation until you hit puberty and then it becomes like: Okay, 5 times a day, go!
END NOTE:
Please take this moment to make duaa for our stranger who shared her struggle with us to learn and grow from.
Feel free to share, like and comment. If you'd like to be interviewed, email me through the contact form linked at the top of the website.
H.Al