Salāh (Prayer)

The Fourth Admonition

O my foolish nafs! Do you imagine that prayer yields no benefit, or that its reward is too small, and that this is why you grow weary of it? If someone were to offer you money or intimidate you, he could make you work from morning until evening without your growing tired.

Yet prayer provides sustenance and strength for your powerless and needy heart in this guesthouse of the world. It provides nourishment and light for your soul in the grave. It serves as a certificate of acquittal on the Day of Judgment. And it provides you with light and a mount upon the Sirāt, over which you must inevitably pass.

So tell me, does such an act of worship as prayer truly yield no benefit, or is its reward too insignificant?

If someone promised you a gift, even a modest one, he could keep you working for a hundred days. Even though it is possible that he may break his promise, you would still trust him and work for him without complaint. Yet your Lord—for Whom it is inconceivable to break a promise—promises you a reward such as Paradise and a gift such as eternal happiness, and employs you for only a short time in a most pleasant task.

Do you not realize that when you neglect this task, perform it reluctantly as though you were being forced, or carry it out half-heartedly, you are effectively questioning His promise and treating His gift lightly? Do you not think that such behaviour deserves a severe reprimand and a serious punishment?

Although fear of imprisonment in this world motivates you to perform the most difficult tasks without complaint, does the fear of an everlasting imprisonment such as Hell not encourage you to perform the lightest and most pleasant of duties?

The Fifth Admonition

O my world-loving nafs! Does your negligence in worship and prayer stem from the multitude of worldly occupations? Or is it because you cannot find time due to your struggle for livelihood? Do you think you were created solely for worldly life, such that you devote all your time to it?

You know that, in terms of your capacities, you are superior to all other living creatures. Yet you also know that, when it comes to providing yourself with the necessities of life, you cannot even compete with a sparrow. Does this not show you that your true task is not to live like an animal, but to strive for a genuine and everlasting life?

Moreover, the worldly occupations over which you trouble yourself so much are, for the most part, not truly your concern. They consist of unnecessary matters in which you involve yourself and allow yourself to be absorbed. You neglect the most essential duties while wasting your time on the most trivial information as though you had thousands of years to live. You squander your precious time on matters such as the nature of Saturn’s rings or the number of chickens in America, as though such things could bring you perfection.