1443H Week-49

26:136

قَالُوا۟ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْنَآ أَوَعَظْتَ أَمْ لَمْ تَكُن مِّنَ ٱلْوَٰعِظِينَ ١٣٦

They said, "It is all the same to us whether you advise or are not of the advisors.

— Saheeh International

তারা বললঃ তুমি উপদেশ দাও অথবা না’ই দাও, উভয়ই আমাদের জন্য সমান।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:137

إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا خُلُقُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ ١٣٧

This is not but the custom of the former peoples,

— Saheeh International

এটাতো পূর্ববর্তীদেরই স্বভাব।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:138

وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمُعَذَّبِينَ ١٣٨

And we are not to be punished."

— Saheeh International

আমরা শাস্তি প্রাপ্তদের অন্তর্ভুক্ত নই।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:139

فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَهْلَكْنَـٰهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةًۭ ۖ وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٩

And they denied him, so We destroyed them. Indeed in that is a sign, but most of them were not to be believers.

— Saheeh International

অতঃপর তারা তাকে প্রত্যাখ্যান করল এবং আমি তাদের ধ্বংস করলাম। এতে অবশ্যই রয়েছে নিদর্শন; কিন্তু তাদের অধিকাংশই মু’মিন নয়।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:140

وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ١٤٠

And indeed, your Lord - He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful.

— Saheeh International

এবং তোমার রাব্ব পরাক্রমশালী, পরম দয়ালু।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:141

كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٤١

Thamūd denied the messengers

— Saheeh International

ছামূদ সম্প্রদায় রাসূলদের মিথ্যা প্রতিপন্ন করেছিল।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:142

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُمْ أَخُوهُمْ صَـٰلِحٌ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ١٤٢

When their brother Ṣāliḥ said to them, "Will you not fear Allāh?

— Saheeh International

যখন তাদের ভাই সালিহ তাদেরকে বললঃ তোমরা কি সাবধান হবেনা?

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:143

إِنِّى لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ أَمِينٌۭ ١٤٣

Indeed, I am to you a trustworthy messenger.

— Saheeh International

আমিতো তোমাদের জন্য এক বিশ্বস্ত রাসূল।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:144

فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ ١٤٤

So fear Allāh and obey me.

— Saheeh International

অতএব আল্লাহকে ভয় কর এবং আমার আনুগত্য কর।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

26:145

وَمَآ أَسْـَٔلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ ۖ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلَّا عَلَىٰ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ١٤٥

And I do not ask you for it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds.

— Saheeh International

আমি তোমাদের নিকট এ জন্য কোন প্রতিদান চাইনা, আমার পুরস্কারতো জগতসমূহের রবের নিকটই রয়েছে।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

2:19

أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَـٰتٌۭ وَرَعْدٌۭ وَبَرْقٌۭ يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَـٰبِعَهُمْ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِم مِّنَ ٱلصَّوَٰعِقِ حَذَرَ ٱلْمَوْتِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ مُحِيطٌۢ بِٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ ١٩

Or [it is] like a rainstorm from the sky within which is darkness, thunder and lightning. They put their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps in dread of death. But Allāh is encompassing of the disbelievers.

— Saheeh International

অথবা আকাশ হতে বারি বর্ষণের ন্যায় যাতে অন্ধকার, গর্জন ও বিদ্যুৎ রয়েছে, তারা বজ্রধ্বনি বশতঃ মৃত্যুভয়ে তাদের কর্ণসমূহে স্ব স্ব অঙ্গুলী গুজে দেয়, এবং আল্লাহ অবিশ্বাসীদের পরিবেষ্টনকারী।

— Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

How Can You Live By This Name

1. Be both comforted and alerted by Al-Muheet.

Realize that Allah controls all beings and that whenever people wrong you, this is encompassed in the knowledge of Al-Muheet and He will deal with them accordingly. Also be alerted by the fact that nothing escapes nor is hidden from Al-Muheet, let this inspire you to purify your heart, your behaviour and your wealth and be just in dealing with others, regardless your position.

2. Realize your knowledge is limited.

Living in an era when knowledge seems to be very easily accessible through the internet and  rapidly developing know-how of technology, we tend to forget that our true knowledge is very limited. On many occasions in the Quran Al-Muheet mentions His attribute of complete encompassing knowledge and power as opposed to our very limited and dependant knowledge.

In Ayatul Kursee, an ayah we should read according to the sunnah daily after each obligatory prayer and before going to sleep, Allah reminds us of this fact: . . . and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills . . .[Quran, 2:255] Next time you read this ayah remind yourself your knowledge is completely dependant on Allah, get rid of any arrogance and submit fully to Him.

3. Don’t let your sins encompass you.

As human beings we sin and if we wouldn’t sin and turn to Allah seeking His forgiveness, Al-Muheet would replace us with another people who would sin and ask Him for forgiveness so that He would forgive them.

However, always strive to not be encompassed by your sins and let your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds.  Yes, whoever earns evil and his sin has encompassed him – those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.[Quran, 2:81]

A great tip is to follow up a bad deed with a good deed straight away, for example when you have gossiped, ask Allah’s forgiveness and straight away make dua for that person.

4.  Don’t be anxious about the future.

The majority of our worries are based on future concepts and expectations, which often turn out to not even occur! Allah knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, but they do not encompass it in knowledge. [Quran, 20:110] Don’t worry about the unknown, accept that Al-Muheet revealed exactly the knowledge to you, you need to navigate through this life successfully and don’t be anxious about the future as you will never know what will happen tomorrow.

Mubtilat-us-Salah: Things That Break The Prayer

There are certain actions you should be aware of before you pray. Since prayer is so important, it is also important for you to do everything you can to make your prayer count. There are several things that can break your prayer. They are called Mubtilat-us-Salah. If you do one of these things, then you must perform your prayer again. Let's go through each one.

1. Breaking Your Wudoo

You know that you need to be in a state of taharah (cleanliness, purity) before you pray. Of course, you also need to be tahir throughout the prayer. This means that if you break your wudoo', you also break your prayer. Let's review somethings that break your wudoo': 

• Using the restroorn

• Passing gas

• Sleeping 

2. Eating or Drinking

If you eat or drink anything during salah, your prayer is broken. Of course, you would not go and grab a candy bar during salah. But you need to make sure your mouth is clean before you pray. Otherwise, You might have bits of food left between your teeth that You may swallow during salah.

3. Speaking

Speaking during prayer will also break your salah. Other than reciting Al-Qur'an and making du'aa', speaking is not allowed. You can only speak to Allah when you pray.

4. Unnecessary Movements

If you make any motion on purpose that is not a part of the prayer, then your salah will be broken. This means that if you nudge the person next to you or step on his or her feet intentionally, your prayer will not count.

5. Missing Part of the Prayer

If you purposefully leave out an important part of the prayer, such as your first takbeer, Al-Fatihah, rukoo', sujood, and/or the last juloos, then your prayer is invalid. In this case, you need to make up the rakah or rak'aat that you did wrong, and you should make Sujood-us-Sahow at the end of salah before tasleem. It is a sujood you should perform to make up for a mistake you made during salah. The way to make sujood-us-Sahow is to make two sujoods before or after salaam. 

6. Laughing

It is wrong to laugh during the salah, because it is a disre­spectful act that makes you lose concentration. This is why laughing breaks the prayer. If you start laughing, but you control yourself and make no giggling sound, you can contin­ue your prayer. But if you laugh and it makes a sound, then your salah does not count, and you must start over.

7. Showing `Awrah

It is very important to cover most of your body during salah. Girls must cover all of their bodies except their faces and hands. Boys must cover most of their bodies except their heads, necks and below their knees during the prayer. Boys should cover from the shoulder down to the knees during salah. It is better, however, for boys to cover their bodies down to their feet. The parts that must be covered are called the 'awrah.

Sometimes girls show their hair, necks, arms, or legs dur­ing prayer. This is not accept­able during prayer, or when girls leave the house, especially if they have reached maturity. Similarly, boys sometimes pray while showing their backs, the area above their knees, or they pray without shirts. That is not acceptable, either. In ordinary situations, a boy can show the area above his navel and below his knees, but in prayer he must cover his shoulders down to his knees.

Once the Prophet (S) saw a man praying without a shirt, and he said, "If one of you wants to pray, he should cover his shoulders with something."

Another time Rasoolullah (S) saw a man showing his thigh and he said, "Certainly, the thigh is awrah." This means that it should be covered.

8. Praying Facing the Wrong Direction

You know that alt Muslims must pray toward Al-Ka'bah, or the sacred house in Makkah which is also called Al-Qiblah.

Praying facing Qiblah is a must in all prayers. If some­one knows the direction of Al-Ka'bah and still prays toward another direction, his/her salah will not count. Allah says in Al-Qur'an:

"Turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, turn your face towards it." [2:144]

Sometimes, you might not be able to tell the exact direction of Makkah. In this case, you should try your best to figure out the Qiblah and pray towards it. If you find out later that you have prayed facing the wrong direction, then your salah still counts, but you need to pray facing the correct direction for the next prayer.

Why do These Things Break the Prayer?

Most of the things that break your prayer are not allowed because they will ruin your Khushoo', or concentra­tion, during salah. Some scholars even say that if you lose your khushoo' or focus during all or most of your salah, then you need to repeat the prayer. Salah is not only a number of physical movements; it is your heart's connection with your Creator. This connection cannot hap­pen when you are not paying attention to your salah. It is not respectful to Allah if you are not sincere and attentive when you talk to Him.

The actions that break prayer are disrespectful to Allah if you do them during prayers. These include break­ing your wodoo', talking, laughing, eating, or showing the `awrah. Therefore, we should avoid these actions.

Once, Prophet Muhammad was sitting with a group of his companions in the Masjid. A man came and started to pray. While he was praying the man kept looking around. He did not look down at his sujood spot as he should have. The man also moved his hands around and repeatedly scratched his head. He also moved his cap around.

Prophet Muhammad (S) didn't like what he saw. He said to the Sahabah around him,

"If the heart of this man had been focused on the prayer, his body would have been calm and focused on the prayer too."

Questions

1. Name the things that will break your prayer.

2. In what case will laughing not break your prayer?

3. Describe the proper prayer 'awrah for boys during prayer.

4. Describe the proper prayer 'awrah for girls during prayer.

5. Does your prayer count if you accidentally pray facing in the wrong direction?

6. Why do you think Allah designated some actions as breaking our prayers?