The punishment for not praying in the
Noble Quran:
My dear beloved brothers and sisters in Islam. As'salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatu Allah Wa
Barakatuh (May GOD's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you) and upon your families as
well.
I would like to share my little story with you regarding prayers. I am a Muslim who used to hardly pray because he thought that (1) Praying was just too hard to perform everyday; and (2) Allah Almighty never really mentioned any punishment for not praying in the Noble Quran.
I never really knew that performing prayers was really a great deal in Islam. Let me present some Noble Verses from the Noble Quran regarding this issue:
"What led you into Hell-Fire? They will say; 'We were not of those who prayed;' (The Noble Quran, 74:42-43)"
"So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their Prayers, those who (want but) to be seen (of men). (The Noble Quran, 107:4-6)"
"Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for Righteousness. (The Noble Quran, 20:132)"
"The hypocrites--they think they are over-reaching Allah but He will over-reach them: When they stand up to Prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance. (The Noble Quran, 4:142)"
"Their eyes will be cast down--ignominy will cover them; seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration, while they were whole (and had refused). (The Noble Quran, 68:43)"
"So he gave nothing in charity, nor did he pray! (The Noble Quran, 75:31)"
"And when it is said to them, 'Prostrate yourselves!' they do not so. Ah woe, that Day, to the rejecters of Truth! (The Noble Quran, 77:48-49)"
I hope that the above Noble Verses prove the importance of Praying to Allah Almighty in Islam. Praying in Islam can not be compromised. It has to be the first priority in our daily lives. My dear brothers and sisters, it only takes 2-5 minutes to wash our (hands, mouths, noses, faces, arms, necks, ears, hairs and feet) which is mandatory before every prayer unless you don't output gas from your body, then you can only wash yourself once if you never output gas after that, and 2-5 minutes to perform the actual prayer. So in other words, it takes a maximum of 1 hour to perform prayer everyday. Many of us spend long hours everyday at the gym trying to stretch and workout, while we can perform all of that in praying. The actions of praying in Islam are actual workout for the body.
Islam came to give the bigger picture:
If we trace down praying in Allah Almighty's religions, we would see that He always commanded His followers to bow down to Him in worship. The Jews bow down to Allah Almighty in worship every Saturday; See the picture below:
And the Bible teaches its followers to Prostrate to the One True Living GOD Almighty:
"Then David said to the whole assembly, "Praise the LORD your God." So they all praised the LORD , the God of their fathers; they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD and the king. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Chronicles 29:20)"
"Then once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the LORD's sight and so provoking him to anger. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 9:18)"
"the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: (From the NIV Bible, Numbers 24:16)"
"When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!" (From the NIV Bible, 1 Kings 18:39)"
Jesus peace be upon him taught his followers to bow down to Allah Almighty in worship; "Going a little farther, he [Jesus] fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.' (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 26:39)"
Islam, the ultimate system, came and gave the bigger picture of how to pray to Allah Almighty. We must bow down to Allah Almighty in worship 5 times a day. He is the Almighty that must be Worshiped.
We must worship Allah Almighty for the sake of His worship only. We must not show ourselves off to try to look good according to Noble Verse 4:142 above.
According to Islam, Allah Almighty allowed the Muslims to worship Him in any place on earth, even in the public places. But it must not be for the purpose of showing off. If someone worships Allah Almighty in the public (such as the Mosque or anywhere the people can see him), then he must not do it for the sake to be seen by others, but for the sake of Allah Almighty only. Allah knows what's in the hearts, and certainly knows who's a hypocrite and who is a True Worshiper.
Islam also came to give a bigger picture in fasting. Jews fast 3 days every year. The Muslims fast the entire month of Ramadan, which is normally 30 days long.
Why did Allah Almighty allow praying in the public?
Allah Almighty loves to see unity and brotherhood among the Muslims. He loves to see us stand in organized lines to worship Him. He doesn't like individualism, because it helps Satan to isolate his prey. It also equalizes between all races.
Conclusion
Praying in Islam is very important. It should come as the first priority in our daily lives. Allah Almighty created His Servants to Worship Him only. True believers should perform prayers regularly.
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