An Hour in the Company of The Beloved

14/07/2018| IslamWeb

Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration, and from what We have provided them, they spend. And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes as reward for what they used to do.} [Quran 32:16 -17]

The Prophet said: "Whoever stands (in prayer at night in) Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain the reward of Allah, his past sins will be forgiven." ‘Out of sincere faith’ here means believing in the rewards that Allah The Almighty has promised to grant, and ‘hoping to attain the reward of Allah’ means neither showing off nor seeking fame or authority.
The Prophet also said: “The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the voluntary night prayer." [Muslim]

This is why a Muslim is encouraged to perform the Tahajjud and Qiyaam (voluntary night prayers) -- either individually in his house or in congregation in the mosque with his family, relatives, neighbors, friends and loved ones. The Imam should recite from the portion of the Quran that he has memorized or read from the Mus-haf (copy of the Quran). We should be diligent in calling others to this praiseworthy deed in order to make our scale of rewards heavier in the Hereafter.

Let us be eager to utilize the means that help us do so, such as sleeping early after 'Ishaa’ prayers and not staying up late, eating less, consuming lawful food and abandoning acts of disobedience and sins. We should invite everyone we know to wake up for the Qiyaam prayers by phone calls, knocking on the doors of those who wish to pray or any other means that Allah The Almighty may guide one to.

The Prophet said: "Whoever calls (people) to righteousness, there would be a reward (assured) for him like the rewards of those who adhered to it, without their rewards being diminished in any way."

We invite people towards this act of worship so that our supplications would be answered, and so that the mercy, forgiveness, closeness, good pleasure, guidance and support of Allah The Almighty strengthen His allies against His enemies. Those who obey Him gain admittance to His Paradise, He accepts the repentance of those who disobey Him, His company is His righteous slaves, His blessings, light and gifts go to His allies and favorites who are prostrate frequently, perform Tahajjud, remember Him, seek His forgiveness at dawn and recite His Noble Quran. These allies are those who pray for the houses of the Muslims to become abodes of light, faith, guidance, Islam, Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation) and righteousness, filled with bounties from the Generous and the Most Merciful. These allies pray for their fellow Muslims to obtain the blessings of Allah The Almighty and to witness His inevitable victory.

They pray for their fellow Muslims to enjoy the blessings of an hour in the close company of the Beloved, the Living, the Sustainer of all existence, the One, the One who recompenses, the Ever Merciful and the Most Merciful.

Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {….and make your houses [facing the] Qiblah and establish prayer and give good tidings to the believers.} [Quran 10:87]

The Prophet said: "There is an hour during the night in which no Muslim will ask Allah for good in this world and the Hereafter without His giving it to him; and that applies to every night." [Muslim]

The Prophet also said: “Adhere to the voluntary night prayer, for it was the way of the righteous before you. Night prayer is a means of gaining closeness to Allah The Almighty, of avoiding sins, expiating bad deeds and keeping away illness from one’s body.”

In addition, the Messenger of Allah said: "Our Lord the Exalted descends every night to the nearest Heaven in the last third of the night saying, ‘Is there anyone to supplicate Me, so that I may respond to him? Is there anyone to ask Me, that I may grant him? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’" [Al-Bukhari]

A method that helps one to perform the Tahajjud and Qiyaam prayers:

- Sincerity, certainty and knowledge of the rewards of those who perform Tahajjud, enjoying the pleasure of standing between the Hands of Allah The Exalted and the fact that He is watching you among those who prostrate, taking the Master of Prophets and his noble Companions as your role models.

- Striving against the accursed devil, taking oneself to account, rebuking oneself, weeping for all the times one has transgressed against the right of the Lord of the heavens and the earth and sensing the presence of Allah The Almighty, His Paradise and Hell.

- Relinquishing the life of this world, remembering death, not having extensive hopes in this life and accusing yourself of negligence.
Start with one hour near the Beloved, then increase the time you spend close to Him until the time you spend with Him is so long by the last ten days of Ramadan that you attain the blessings of the Night of Al-Qadr by performing Qiyaam all night.

Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.} [Quran 97:3] which makes 83 years and four months. The Prophet said: "Whoever stands (in prayer at night on) the Night of Al-Qadr, his past sins will be forgiven."

You will never attain this reward unless you feel the pleasure of worshiping Allah The Almighty, have a sincere intention, and believe with certainty in the reward of the Lord of the worlds. You should commit yourself to obeying Him not just in Ramadan, but throughout your life until death comes to you and you become among those who are successful and attain happiness.

Some of the rewards granted to those who practice Qiyaam are:

- elevation of their ranks
- forgiveness of their sins
- satisfaction
- nearness to the Lord of the heavens and the earth
- keeping away from grave sins and misdeeds
- attaining the gardens of Paradise
- eternal happiness
- divine blessings
- pardon
- forgiveness
- the mercy of the Most Merciful
- salvation from Hell and protection from the devil.

The time of the Tahajjud prayer is half past one am. Call and awaken others in order to obtain an equal measure of reward of those who pray and perform Qiyaam.

Among the blessings of the season of obedience is that one reward is counted as ten or multiplied up to seven hundred times, Allah The Almighty multiplies the reward for whom He wills. ‘Umrah (minor pilgrimage) is rewarded as if it were Hajj (pilgrimage), supplications are answered, voluntary acts of worship are given the same reward of the obligatory ones, the door called Rayyaan is open for the fasting people, the devils are chained, Paradise is opened, Hell is closed, and every night Allah The Almighty saves some people from Hell. The fasting person has two occasions of joy, his breath is sweeter than the fragrance of musk and the reward of fasting is requited only by Allah, the Lord of the worlds.