DO WE PRAY WHILE WE ARE DRUNK ?

….worship Allah! ye have no other god but Him…..(Al-Araf 59)

…..set up regular prayers: for such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.(An-Nisa 103 )

Two things Allah has given to mankind , to all the Prophets from Adam (AS) to Muhammad(SM) are : Salah & Saum. The forms and timings may vary but the essence was always the same.

Salah is like a petrol station that enables the believer to fill up five times a day for a pleasant and smooth journey to Allah. Among us there are who prays five times a day but their tank never gets filled up. We are queuing up for petrol for years but our tanks are still empty. But why?

It is only because we have problem of absentmindedness and we are drunk & drowned by the race to acquire more material goods. Owning material things is not a problem but today, however as never before, it is being actively promoted as the only yardstick of progress and prosperity. And we are running after and working hard and saving time (by skipping salah or mechanically doing salah in super fast speed) to achieve the illusionary riches.

Salah does not only influence our lives, Salah is also influenced by our lives. The idea that Salah takes only few minutes is foolish. when one cooks one does not pour water and all the masalas and boils it to make a great meal. What preceded it? is the masalas, onions are fresh? how tender is the meat? Just like that cocking preparation we also need a preparation for our Salah.

O ye who believe! approach not prayers with a mind befogged until ye can understand all that ye say….. (An-Nisa 43)

We may not consume alcohol but how often the results are same for us, like we do not remember whether we read Fatiha or immediately after prayers we cannot recall which short section we read at all. And how often we are not drunk during the Salah with some business proposals, meetings, accounts, new ideas and etc.

Prophet Muhammad (SM) said “And know that Allah does not answer the prayers of a wandering heart”.

So to be real a successful and to achieve highest point in the measuring yardstick of Allah (SWT) :

The Believers must (eventually) win through (Al-Muninun 1)
Those who humble themselves in their prayers (Al-Muninun 2)
And who (strictly) guard their prayers (Al-Muninun 9)

So establish regular Prayer give regular Charity and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protector the Best to protect and the Best to help! (Al-Hajj 78)