It's 6am and your awakened by your alarm going off. You struggle to open your eyes, wondering why you would set your alarm so early on a weekend. And then it hits you, fajr.... Groaning, you push snooze and allow yourself a few more minutes of sleep. After 10 minutes the alarm goes off again, irritated you roll over and push snooze. After pushing snooze 3 more times you finally turn off your alarm and go back to sleep. You'll pray fajr later, right now your too tired to get up.....Fast forward to monday morning. Youve been scheduled to work the early shift and need to be to work by 5am. Your alarm goes off at 430am, you jump up, push the alarm off and quickly get dressed, eat, and grab your keys. You cant be late, otherwise your boss will get pissed off and you wont be able to get any more overtime.
What a sad world we live in that a muslim is more afraid of his boss and losing his job then Allah. A muslim can easily get up early if it means making a profit, whereas praying fajr is seen as a chore.
Then there are the muslim men who will work through jummah because they dont want to upset their boss by leaving for prayer. Even though it is fard for them to attend jummah they skip it so that they can make a profit.
A lot of immigrants that come to the US are so obsessed with working and making money that they sell their religion for a price. They stop dressing islamic, praying, anything to fit in. They order their wives who wore hijab to take it off and to assimilate into mainstream society.
This is very dangerous..... mAY Allah (swt) wake up this ummah and remove the veils from our eyes before its too late. Ameen
5 comments:
I guess it is really difficult sometimes to think clearly about these things... I mean, the threat of losing your job or having any consequence is immediate and very concrete. It's forced motivation in a way, while religious things mostly rely on self-motivation.
Ohh Sis! How about when you pray Fajr in the morning (but wait you did sleep in until 9 or 10am) and then don't pray for the rest of the day because you have "THINGS" to do ie college, social stuff, studying ect. Then at 9pm or 10pm you play speedy through 4 prayers that you missed..Ohh that's right you are going to make up all of your prayers that you missed and think that your going to get away with that because your still praying...Remember Allah(swt) hears all of them and will forgive you for being late.
BUT WAIT, THIS IS EVERYDAY NOT JUST ONCE! And traveling to and from a destination doesn't count as "TRAVEL" Where you can combine your prayers.
Yeah, it's wrong how people think this way. I can't say that I'm on time for Fajr prayer 100% of the time (Believe me I try) But I don't hold my prayers off either, I've prayed in the snow, in the rain, on a boat in public, in the metro waiting area, I've prayed with no mat on the ground and I've prayed on the sandy beach. And no matter what, you don't think of what your "image" will be, think of Allah(swt)and what we're going to be held to on the day of judgment. Is being with your friends or showing people you are a Muslim so bad, believe me I would rather show people that I'm a Muslim and get my prayers in then to disappoint Allah(swt).
BTW, in reply to Candice's Post. I worked for the biggest retail employer in the world for 7 years as a manager. 3 of those years I was Muslim Al-Hamdulillah. I told my job what my rights were when I reverted, what my religion was, what they would expect and what I was protected under. When it came to Legal, they couldn't question it, because it's a Right (Especially in the United States) That we have the freedom to practice our religion as long as it doesn't bring conflict to the company. Once I "talked" with them, they were perfectly fine and If your employer won't accept your religious practices and give you 10 minutes out of the day or 2- 10 minute breaks(depending on how long you work). Are they worth working for? No one should be scared of their job or their boss because no matter what position you hold, you can be replaced no matter what. Is it better to be scared of Allah(Swt) or to be Scared of your Employer. I don't think that needs to be answered because the answer is very clear.
I fear Allah(swt) above everyone else.
SubhanAllah that is an excellent reminder! It is a sad world that we live in today when the Ummah places a profit before worshipping Allah The Majestic :(
Surah Jumu'ah verses 9-11 Allah The Wise says:
"O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salat (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu'ah prayer), come to the
remembrance of Allah [Jumu'ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salat (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing), that is better for you if you did but know!
Then when the (Jumu'ah) Salat (prayer) is finished, you may disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allah (by working, etc.), and remember Allah much, that you may be successful.
And when they see some merchandise or some amusement [beating of Tambur (drum) etc.] they disperse headlong to it, and leave you (Muhammad ) standing. Say "That which Allah has is better than any amusement or merchandise! And Allah is the Best of providers."
SubhanaAllah! MashaAllah beautiful post! May Allah reward you immensely! Love you for the sake of Allah!
This is so true! I used to do the same thing. I'd hit snooze for fajr but if I woke up early to study or complete an assignment I'd be up before the alarm went off. Many of us need to set our priorities straight, another excellent post!
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