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The prophet (PBUH) before he declared his prophethood, where would he go? Every single day he would go to the Cave of Hira. He would spent some private time with himself and Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. We spend time with everyone in society, except our Creator. We come back, we are tired, we fall asleep, we miss even our morning salah, and then we rush back to work. This is not fair. We claim we love Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى, but practically, how much do you actually love Him? A point of our day needs to be dedicated to some private time. The best time is in the middle of the night... It is ideal, shortly before the morning prayer. Even if you get up for ten minutes. Ten minutes. Spend some quiet time with Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. What do you have to lose? The hadith tells us if you shed one tear, a single tear - in the middle of the night, out of your love and fear for Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى - this drop of tear is so valueable in the eyes of God, that it can extinguish oceans of hellfire. This is the effect of it. Oceans of hellfire can be extinguished and put off by one single tear in the middle of the night. You will find that this will be the most bueatiful moment every day. You will look forward to it. All of the stress throughout the day, the best place and the best time for you to get rid off all of it and to start a new full energized day is in those 10-15 minutes. By dividing our day properly, we will be on the right track. We will not overstress ourselves. Some people work too much. You shouldn't work too much! Some have three shifts! I discourage them. Take it easy. You dont need to work three shifts and destroy yourself and family. Take it easy. You are not going to starve and die. Yes, maybe you will have less privileges, you can spend less. But that's fine. Life is not all about spending. If you divide your day properly, you will find that comfort. And it is the best way to remove the stress. But it requires you that you make the decision. And number two, actually apply it, because the decision itself is not that important. The first step comes is the intention and decision. But that is not important. Many people, you know, make the decision and intentions they want, but once it comes to the time of application, they actually don't. I mean, how many times have you heard of this bueatiful lecture which has so many good points, you have read that good book and all you think to yourself: these are some good points! this was a very cool book! It is only cool and good if you actually implement it. Sometimes you hear of a very bueatiful hadith. I hear some people they say: that is such a cool hadith! You know, in islam there is nothing cool unless you actually apply it. It becomes cool, when you apply it. The decision itself does not have the full value. This is why the Qu'ran keeps on reminding us: "Those who have good faith, and offer good deeds". They show their faith through their actions. Without showing that you really believe, without offering your actions, without practicing what you believe, it does not have that full value in the eyes of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. The decision itself is important, but it actually won't do the job. Let me ask you a question here. Let's see how smart you are. We have five birds on a brench of a tree and two of them decide to fly. How many do we have left? Three? You should thank Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى I am not your math teacher. How many? Five. Why? They just decided. You get the point. We have got five birds on the tree, but two decided to fly, but did they actually fly? We people are good at deciding, coming up with intentions, but when it comes time to actually implement them, most of us dont really care. We lose, you know, that motivation after a while. That is why the Imam (as) tells us: if you want to truly be one of the followers of Ahl al-Bayt (as), you have to judge yourself every single day. Before you go to bed, just simply ask yourself: What did I do today? Did I achieve my goal today? If you have sinned, ask for istighfar [forgiveness] the Imam (as) tells you. Say: "O'Allah, today I have sinned, and I realize that, I admit that and I feel regretful". Seek the forgiveness of God and make the determination to really not sin the following day. If Allah blessed you on that day, say: "O'Allah I thank you for blessing me on this day. And the way that I shall thank you tomorrow is by using that gift the proper way". We know how to judge ourselves when it comes to the economy and business. Every single company, they make up charts, graphs to asses where they are. Where did they fail? Where did they advance? But when it comes to our spiritual life, we don't care. To be successful and to be sure that what you are doing is correct and that you are on track all the time is to judge yourself five minutes before you go to bed. The Prophet (PBUH) tells us: "Judge yourself, before you are judged on the Day of Judgement". We ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى to guide us all to the straight path. We ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى all those who are ill and need our dua to give them a speedy recovery, and to help them with their problems. We ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى to grant us the intercession, the shafa'a, of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). And the shafa'a of the Ahl al-Bayt and finally we ask Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى to hasten the reappearance of our Master and Leader Imam al-Mahdi (as). Wa sallallahu ala Muhammad wa ala tahirin. Do the people think that they would be left to say, "WE BELIEVE" and they will not be tested? Holy Quran 29:2

I know many of us (believers) have been through this, and I personally experienced my boat sinking and I know it is tough getting it back up. But if you won't understand why you have to get back up then you're definitely going to drown. My point of bringing this topic up is not to scare you away by telling you about the torment of hellfire or the agony in the grave, surely I'll do that by the end of our short exchange, but before everything else I want you to know what benefits and positive change prayers can bring to your life! BENEFITS OF PRAYING There are actually a lot; me and you could go on and on about how practicing Islam can benefit you and the people around you, but this once, let me just mention a few of those that I experienced first-hand. Health Prayer can be a source of exercise for most people. It keeps check on your physical fitness. All the obligatory acts in prayers benefit greatly to ones health. For example, going to ruku and sajda and tash'had saves one from back pain and knee-joints pain. Prayer also wards off many illnesses. Down to Earth When you go down in sujood, it gives you a feeling of how small and insignificant you are in front of all the blessings and creations of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. He made so much, and still blesses you and showers upon you from good. Prayer kills your ego and brings you closer to Allah and the reality. Focusing on how you're alone in this world, and how only Allah is your supporter and benefactor even in the time of adversity. Strengthens the heart and the belief Prayer gives you the strength that you are lacking when facing adversity. It becomes a driving force when met with a lot of short-comings. It strengthens ones resolve to keep moving forward and facing new challenges while knowing that Allah never burdens a soul more than what it can bear. Closeness to Allah When we recite the verses sent down to us Humans by Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى, we naturally feel close to Him. His words are the reflection upon our own-selves. When we make dua to Him and kneel down to Him, it shows that we are ready to give in our desires for pleasing Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى. And that: He is the only "one" we can turn to in the time of adversity... There's nobody else, is there? Countenance and Spiritual Pleasantness Did you know that prayers make your face and spirit brighter? Who wouldn't want their face glowing with happiness and zeal. This not only allows others to look at you in good light but also brings a smile to their faces (especially your family). And it takes off a lot of tension from their shoulders (for some reason). Keeps you away from sins and keeps sins away form you Now this is note-worthy, because both sound just about the same. So where lies the difference? The difference is that there in you will come a sense of responsibility and a sense of accountability once you start praying. You will become more aware of your performance near Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى, and you'd want to please him more and more. Who wouldn't want beautiful reward from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى?And alternatively, Allah will keep you away from sins with his authority over you if he finds your actions pleasing. And no doubt, he is the most merciful and the most benevolent. Along with oft-forgiving. Gets rid of laziness and grooms punctuality Most of the time we are extremely lazy when it comes to our responsibilities and obligations. But once we start being punctual in prayers habitually, we (Insha'Allah) will become more aware of the limited time we have and the utilization of it. Prayer somewhat grooms the instinct of time within you. When you start praying five times a day, you'll begin to realize if you're spending the remaining time the right way. You will have thoughts like: Am I fulfilling my religious obligations correctly? Is Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى going to be pleased enough with the current me? Have I been listening to every words my parents say? Have I done the job that I must in time? Sense of Accountability I know I am kinda repeating myself here, but I couldn't just skip this point. Because this one is very significant when it comes to prayers. In our daily life, if we skip a prayer, do you know how many things go wrong then? How many times we attempt sins and bad acts? Have you ever reflected upon them?Prayer gives you a chance of reflection. And in the future it keeps you intact and in-check that you don't fall astray to bad acts from Satan. Keeps you pure and clean Before going to prayer, you remember, that you have to be Tahir (pure from any impurity). Thus this single remembrance can keep you more than enough clean and pure. Also, performing ablution three-to-five or more so times a day, protects you from Satan and his devilish whispers. Takes away nightmares and bad dreams I am sure many of us had nightmares or dreams that were bad, something you wish you'd never seen. But if you sleep after doing a wudu, and with faith that Allah and His angels will protect you from such dreams (that come from Satan), you'll be protected. WHAT DOES THE QURAN SAY ABOUT PRAYERS? I hope this thread will open your eyes to the importance of prayers and will bring you closer to Allah. If I made a mistake somewhere in the text, then it is solely from me. Forgive me, as I am only human. P.s. Thanks to my brothers and sisters here, they gave me confidence enough to post my material here. lol. I have some serious confidence issues. :P Anyways, thanks to everybody for reading and supporting! Jazak Allah Khair. Hope it will be helpful to at least a single soul!

Salaaam alaikum I sometimes travel out of town ans have to catch the bus before fajr salat. I was wondering can i during this time pray fajr before the prescribed time due to my special circumstance or not. Not sure if praying in the bus is an option as not sure if its clean and the direction of the qibla Kindly advice

Salam There is consensus amongst Shias and Sunnis that fajr begins when there is a faint glow of the morning Sun across the horizon, before the Sun actually rises above the horizon. This is referred to in the verse in Surah Baqara v187: وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ And eat and drink until the white thread becometh distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn. The white thread of dawn referred to in the verse is that faint glow of white across the horizon. This was fairly easy to see in the past when people lived in small communities without loads of buildings in the way, and without modern day light pollution. For most of us today, its a lot harder if not impossible to determine the start of fajr directly, so we rely on prayer timetables. Unfortunately there is no agreement amongst prayer timetables as to the start of fajr, with both Sunni and Shia timetables disagreeing with each other on the exact time. The disagreement basically boils down to what angle the Sun has to be below the horizon before the condition mentioned in the above verse is met, namely the appearance of a white thread across the horizon. Some say fajr begins when the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon- this is known as the astronomical twilight. Others, such as Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi believe that fajr begins when the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon- this is the nautical twilight. See here : https://www.al-islam.org/articles/al-fajr-sadiq-new-perspective-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi I've checked najaf.orgs timings against different angles, and cant seem to figure out what their method is : http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/surfbin/placefinder_beta.cgi?program=Prayers&ticket=d57af32f57c40e74 Recently, the OpenFajr project based in Birmingham has tried to determine the exact timing of fajr using a 180 degree camera, and a panel of experts, including the Seminary in Najaf (according to their paper). They have found that the timing of fajr isnt fixed to a particular angle of the Sun below the horizon, but seems to vary from 12 to 15 degrees in Birmingham. It could be different in other parts of the world. See here : http://www.openfajr.org/#about All this presents us with 2 problems: When are we supposed to pray fajr, and when do we begin our fasts? I havent been able to find anything from Sayid Sistani [ha] other than the general rule in the above verse. Caution seems to dictate that we pray at 12 degrees, but then when do we begin our fast? We can do Imsak, but for what time period? On Jan 1st in London, the Sun is at 12 degrees at 6.43am, and is at 15 degrees at 6.23, so 20mins Imsak gets us 3 degrees extra. But this is different at different times of the year Any suggestions or corrections welcome.

What do you do between Suhoor & Fajr

Are we obliged to wake up for Morning prayers? Or can we sleep and if we wake up during the time of Fajr then we pray Or can we sleep past the time of morning prayers and wake up at 9am and then do the prayers? Currently what I am doing is that I am not setting any alarm clocks, I go to sleep and I wake up when I naturally feel rested. If I set up an alarm, it will wake me up before I am rested and then I will feel tired the whole day. So now when I wake up I pray but I don't set an alarm to wake me up on time, most days I wake up when the sun has risen. So am I obliged to set up an alarm for morning prayers? or can I sleep until I wake up and then pray?

As Salaam Alaykkum, I'm a revert and my parents aren't aware of my intention to be a Muslim. I can go to mosque to pray only for asr and dhuhr because a mosque is opposite to my school. I just join the Muslims making their way towards the mosque. But if I am sweating after playing, should I change cloths just before prayer? My Muslim friends bring cloths but, my mother asks y I need extra cloths? Just wudu would do to purify me? Or anything else I should do?? Regards, Saleem Khan.