Twenty-First Word

But if you claim that what exhausts you and keeps you from worship is not such pointless matters, but rather the necessities required to earn your livelihood, then listen to what I have to say:

Suppose you work for a daily wage of one hundred euros, and while you are working, someone approaches you and says: “Spend ten minutes digging here, and you will find a diamond and an emerald worth one hundred thousand euros.” Would it not be a most foolish excuse to refuse because ten euros would be deducted from your daily wage and your income would decrease?

Likewise, you labour in this garden for your livelihood. If you neglect the obligatory prayers, the fruits of all your efforts will be restricted to a worldly livelihood that is insignificant and deprived of blessing. But if you spend your moments of rest in prayer—which brings ease to your soul and relief to your heart—you will acquire, in addition to a blessed worldly livelihood, two spiritual treasures that will serve as provisions and supplies for your life in the Hereafter.

The first treasure is this: through a sincere intention, you receive a share in the tasbīhThe glorification of Allah by declaring Him free from all imperfections. and dhikrThe remembrance of Allah through the repeated recitation of a word or short phrase as an act of worship. offered by every plant and tree that you cultivate in your garden.

The second treasure is this: whatever is consumed from the produce of your garden—whether by a human being or an animal, a cow or a fly, a customer or a thief—will be counted as a sadaqahVoluntary charity given for the sake of Allah. on your behalf. This is on the condition that you act in the name of the RezzāqThe Provider; the One Who provides sustenance for all creation., within the bounds of His permission, and regard yourself as a distributor who delivers His property to His creatures.

Indeed, consider how great a loss a person suffers by neglecting prayer, and what immense wealth he lets slip away. Consider how bankrupt he becomes by depriving himself of these two treasures, which provide tremendous motivation for work and a powerful spiritual energy for labour. Furthermore, as he grows older, he will become weary of gardening. Thoughts such as, “What is the point? I will leave this world anyway, so why should I continue exhausting myself?” will arise within him and lead him into laziness.

The one who performs the prayer, however, will say: “In addition to my worship, I shall devote even more effort to lawful worldly work, so that the light in my grave may shine more brightly and my provisions for the Hereafter may increase.”

In short, O my nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits.! Know that yesterday has passed, and that you have no guarantee of reaching tomorrow. Realize that your life consists only of the day in which you presently find yourself. Therefore, dedicate at least one hour of your day to the Hereafter by spending it in the mosque or upon the prayer mat, as though depositing savings into a treasury established for the life to come.

Know also that every new day opens the door to a new world for you and for everyone else. If you do not perform the prayer, the world of that day will pass in darkness and misery and will testify against you in the Hereafter. For every person possesses, each day, a personal world in addition to the actual world. The condition of that personal world depends on the state of his heart and his deeds.