AL-ISLAAH PUBLICATIONS
Special Rewards for the worshipper(ie. performer of salaat) of Rasulullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam's) Ummat
_______________________________________________
Special Rewards for the worshipper(ie. performer of salaat) of Rasulullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam's) Ummat
1. Ka'b (R.A.) says that he saw in the Taurat that Allah Ta'ala said to Musa (AS): 'O Musa! For the two rakaats of Fajr prayer that the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) will perform, We will forgive all their sins of the whole day and night and enter them into the fort of Our security. 0 Musa! For each of the four rakaats of Zuhr, which the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) will perform, the reward is separate. For the first rakaat, the reward is forgiveness of sins, for the second rakaat, the reward is that his good deeds will be made heavy on the Day of Judgement, for the third rakaat, the reward is the angels making Du'a for their forgiveness and asking My mercy for them; for the fourth rakaat, the reward is the opening of the doors of Heaven and the Hoors (damsels) of Paradise looking at them. 0 Musa, when Our last Prophet and his Ummat will pray the four rakaats of Asr salat, there will be no angel on earth and heaven who will not pray for their forgiveness. And We will not punish those for whom the angels pray for forgiveness. 0 Musa, when Our last Prophet's Ummat will pray the three Rakats at the time of Maghrib, then the doors of the heavens will be opened, and We will fulfill whatever they will ask . O Musa, the four rakaats of Isha are better than all the earth's kingdoms and wealth. After performing this salat, they will be as purified of their sins, as a new born baby.'
2. Once Isa (AS) was walking along the bank of a river, when he saw a white bird rolling in the mud until its body was covered with mud. Then the bird came out and washed itself in the river and became clean as before. And the bird did this five times. Looking at this, Isa (AS) was surprised and began wondering why the bird behaved so strangely.
Jibreel (AS) came and said: 'O Isa! This bird was shown to you so you may understand the example of the worshippers of Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)'s Ummat. This mud is their sins. And this river is their salat. And rolling in the mud is the example of their committing sins. Here they committed sins, and there they performed salat, and all their sins were washed away.'
3. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said: 'if there is a brook running in front of someone's house, and if he bathes in it five times everyday, will there be any dirt left on his body?' Then he said that this is the example of the five times salat, by virtue of which Allah T'ala removes the dirt of His servant's sins.' [Tirmizi]
4. It was "Autumn" and the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) went towards the jungle. He held 2 branches of a tree and shook them. The leaves began to fall to the ground. At this, he addressed Abu Zar (R.A.) and: ' 0 Abu Zar! When my Ummati performs salat with the intention that his Lord may be pleased with him, his sins fall from him just as these leaves are falling from this tree.'
5. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said: 'The one who performed two rakaats of salat in such a way that his attention was in the salat, then in return, Allah forgives all his previous sins.' [Mishkat]
6. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said: 'One day I saw my Lord in His best form. He said to me: 'O Muhammad! What are the Highest Angels discussing about?' I said: 'O Allah! You know full well (i.e. I have no knowledge).' At this, Allah Ta'ala placed His Hand of power between my shoulders, and I felt its solacing coolness in my chest, and after this, I gained the (necessary) knowledge of the entire universe.' As Allah says: Wa kadhalika Nuri lbrahima Malakutas-Samawati wal Ardi Waliyakuna Minal-Mu'qinin. [Surah An'am : 75]
Translation: 'And thus did We show Ibrahim the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might have certitude.'
Then, after giving me this knowledge, Allah again asked me: 'Do you know what the High Chief angels are discussing?' I said: 'They are conversing about the deeds that cause the shedding away of sins. The sins are shed away by sitting in the masjid and doing zikr after salat, by sitting in the masjid waiting for the next salat, by walking to the masjid to perform salat with Jama'at, and by performing proper Wudu (i.e. fulfilling all the Sunnahs and Mustahabs of Wudu) in the condition of sickness or cold weather, and whoever did these acts, will live a blessed life, and will die a blessed death, and will be as pure of his sins as a new born baby.' [Mishkat. Vol. 1]
7. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said. '(When you wake up,) you kindle the fire (of your sins), and keep burning it until, when you perform the Fajr salat, the fire gets extinguished. From Fajr to Zuhr, you rekindle and flame the fire of your sins and keep burning in it. But when you perform the Zuhr salat, the fire becomes cool. Then from Zuhr to Asr, you rekindle the fire for yourselves, and you do the acts that cause you to burn in it, and then the Asr salat again cools it. Then from Asr to Maghrib, you kindle the fire of your sins, and the fire wants to destroy you, but the Maghrib salat extinguishes it. In this way, you kindle the fire from Maghrib to Isha, but when you perform the Isha salat, the fire gets extinguished, and you go to sleep being pure from sins. Then, in the condition of sleep, no sin is recorded for you, until you wake up.' [Targhib Manzari]
8. Abu Mas'ud Ansari (R.A.) relates that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said: 'On the approach of the time of every Salat, Allah Ta'ala appoints an angel who proclaims: 'Arise, 0 people! and extinguish the fire that you have (by committing sins) kindled to bum yourselves.' So, the worshippers rise up, make their Wudu and perform their salat, due to which their sins are forgiven. For those who ignore Allah's Orders, i.e. those who do not get up to pray, their sins stay on their heads, and in this condition, they remain deprived of Allah's forgiveness. So they stay as they were, i.e. they do not attempt to get out and purify themselves from the quicksand and misfortune of their sins.' [Kanzul A'mal]
9. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said: 'Perform the five times salat, fast during Ramadan, give zakat from your wealth, follow the true scholars of Deen, then enter your Lord's Paradise.' [Mishkat]
10. Ibn Mas'ud (R.A.) relates that the piece of earth where salat is performed, feels proud over the earth that surrounds it, and its happiness knows no bounds, and then the limit of its happiness travels through the seven earths. [Kanzul A'mal]
11. Sahib-e-Zawajir Makki (R.A) says that whenever someone offers a good Salat at its earliest time, then immediately this salat, becoming Nur (light), passes beyond the sky, reaches close to the 'Arsh of Allah, and from that time until the Day of Judgment, it makes Du'a of forgiveness for the worshipper, and addresses him as follows: 'May Allah Ta'ala safeguard you as you have safeguarded me.' [Zawajir Makki]
12. Imam She'rani (R.A.) says that when a Muslim performs salat, provided Allah Ta'ala accepts it, then from the Nur of this salat, an angel is created, whose only duty is to perform salat until the Day of Judgement, so that the reward of the angel's salat is constantly credited to the Muslim's account. [Lataif Al-Munan]
13. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that whoever performs the four rakaats before and after the Zuhr salat with constancy, Allah Ta'ala makes the fire of Hell haram (forbidden) for him. [Mishkat, p. 104; Tirmizi, Abu Da'ud, Nisai, Ibn Majah]
14. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that after the worshipper prays the four rakaats of Zuhr salat, the doors of heaven are opened, i.e. the salat becomes accepted by Allah, and the cause of its acceptance comes down on the worshipper as rays of mercy. [Mishkat, p. 104]
15. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that there are 360 joints in a human body. Man should give charity for each of those joints. The Companions (R.A.) asked: 'O Prophet of Allah Who has the ability to give so much charity?' The Prophet replied: 'To clean any filth or dirt in the Masjid, or remove some harmful object from the road, is also charity. If you do not find something which would be a charity equivalent to the 360 joints, then the two Rakats of Ishraq Salat will be enough for you.' (Mishkat; Abu Da'ud p. 115)
16, The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that whoever prayed twelve rakaats at the time of Chasht, then Allah will, as reward, prepare a palace of gold for him in Paradise. [Mishkat, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah]
17. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that whoever, after finishing Fajr salat, kept sitting at the place of prayer, and prayed the Ishraq salat before getting up from there, provided he did not engage in any worldly act or conversation during that time, and instead, remained in Allah's Zikr (remembrance), then all his sins are forgiven, even if they are as much as the foarn of the ocean. [Abu Da'ud] The scholars have written that during this time, the person should take care to sit facing the Qiblah. Sheikh Shahabuddin Soharwardi (R.A.) used to say that the action whose reward is obtained right away in this world, is that a person, after Fajr salat, facing Qiblah, does Zikr of Allah until Ishraq. After a few days the person will gain inner spiritual light (Nuraniyat).
18. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that the person who, from morning to evening, goes towards the Masjid to perform salat, every time he goes to the Masjid, Allah Ta'ala prepares the Paradise for his welcome. [Mishkat]
19. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that there are seven people who will be under Allah's shade on the Day of Judgment, when there will be no other shade besides His. The first is the just ruler. The second is the young person who spent his youth in the worship of Allah. The third are two people who loved each other only for Allah's sake, who gathered together for Allah's pleasure, and who separated for Allah's pleasure. The fourth is the worshipper who came out of the Masjid after performing his Salat, but his heart was still in the masjid, waiting for the next salat. Then he went back to the masjid at its proper time, and performed the next salat with Jama'at. Fifth is the person who, in privacy, was engaged in Allah's zikr, and, while in zikr, tears would come out of his eyes. Sixth is the youth who was invited to sin by a beautiful girl of noble family, but he refused because of fear of Allah. Seventh is the person who, for the sake of Allah, gave of his wealth in such a way that his left hand did not know what the right hand gave. [Mishkat). Keeping under His shade means that Allah will keep the person safe from the difficulties of the Day of Judgment, and will give him a place under His special Mercy i.e. under His Arsh.
20. During his time Danial (AS), while praising the salat of the Ummat of Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam), said: 'That Ummat will perform such salats that if the people of Nuh (AS) had performed them, they would certainly not have perished in the flood, and if the people of Hud (AS) had prayed like that, they would never have perished by the furious wind.' What Danial (AS) meant was that, even though the people who perished were unbelievers, had they prayed like that, at least in this world they would not have perished. This is because these salats have such a quality that whosoever is constant in them, even if he is an unbeliever, will not be subjected to such worldly punishments. Of course, in the Hereafter, the salat of the unbeliever will be of no benefit to him. [Ruhul Bayan]
(Excerpt taken from "MY SALAAT" by Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Idris Ansari Saheb; translated by Dr. Imtiaz Kamal Madani Saheb)