Is it Friday yet?

Almost?

Good. An Islamically themed blog is in order then. :::rolls up sleeves, cracks knuckles:::

I like praying early. I’ve discovered this for myself only recently, though I’ve been hearing about how great it is my whole life from my father, who likes to pray two minutes after the azhan has been called. And so, having now discovered that praying early does, in fact, rock, it is now my duty to follow in my father’s barefootsteps (with prayer marks on the ankles) and talk about how great it is to pray early. (yes, I am talking in circles again. Yes.)

So, Praying early rox because…

1.You have enough time to perform your prayer deliberately, and you’re not hurried into doing what looks like a Muslim Macarena instead of an act of worship. When you have the time, you can stand on the prayer rug before saying Takbeer for as long as it takes you to get into a worshipful state of mind, to clear your congested brain from stress and the problems that insidiously surface when you’re trying to concentrate on prayer instead.

2.Having prayed early, you are free from the nagging thought of, “Gee, I haven’t prayed yet.” This same thought is what keeps you from being able to nap when you’re tired (I can’t lay down, I haven’t prayed yet) or doing anything that involves a commitment of a few hours. I’m not saying that praying is a nagging or annoying thing, I’m saying that putting prayer off till the last minute is mentally taxing.

3.Prayer early is a practical way of making your worship a higher priority. Though you may feel like you’d rather play a game of basketball first and then pray on the court afterwards, you logically know that your spiritual fitness is more important than your physical fitness, so you work on the more important one first.

4. Praying at the earliest time ensures that you never miss a prayer unless you’re dead or unconscious. Once the azhan is called (it isn’t in the US, but you know what I mean) you just drop whatever you’re doing and pray because actually, you have no guarantee whatsoever that your life won’t end within the day. Of course, you’re young so you may laugh there for a moment, but think about it. What, did you get a special promise from Allah that you would see old age? That you would never be included in the statistic of people who die suddenly, such as physically fit footballers who collapse and die in the middle of a game? Or pedestrians killed instantly by hit and run drivers? Lots of people die young. You’re not any more or less special than they are. Your life doesn’t come with a guarantee, so pray while you have the chance.

“…Race one with another for forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise…” 57:20-21

posted by Abez @ 10/09/2003 07:50:00 PM