بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِالسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is a word from the people who built Deeny. We are Muslims like you. We hear the same adhan, and we pray the same prayer.
We say that knowing we will answer for it before Allah. And we built Deeny for the greatest thing in our day: standing before Allah, five times.
The prayer first
The prayer is the pillar of this religion, and the bond between us and our Lord. It is not for whatever time we have left over. It has its own time, written by Allah:
إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَـٰبًا مَّوْقُوتًا
Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.
He commanded it for His remembrance. He said to Musa, peace be upon him:
إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ
Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.
It protects whoever keeps it, and holds them back from what Allah does not love:
وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ
… and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater.
And our Lord commanded us to guard it:
حَـٰفِظُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٰتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا۟ لِلَّهِ قَـٰنِتِينَ
Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
Guarding it means praying it on time, with a present heart, as we were commanded.
The Prophet ﷺ was asked which deed is most beloved to Allah. He said: “The prayer at its time.” (al-Bukhari 527, Muslim 85)
What pulls us away
We say this to ourselves before we say it to you. We all know what keeps us from our prayer: a phone that never leaves the hand, one notification after another, scrolling that never ends. Then the adhan is called, and we say: in a minute.
In His Book, Allah praised those whom this world could not keep from His remembrance and from their prayer:
رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَـٰرَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَن ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِيتَآءِ ٱلزَّكَوٰةِ
… men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah and performance of prayer and giving of zakah.
In their day, trade was what occupied people most. What we hold in our hands today distracts far more.
That is why we built Deeny: so that when the call to prayer is made, the prayer comes first.
And whoever among us falls short should not despair. The way back to Allah is open, and the next prayer is near.
From one prayer to an ummah
One prayer on time is not a small thing. An ummah is set right when its people are set right. Allah's way with His servants is in His words:
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا۟ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ
Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.
We grew weak only when we changed what was in ourselves, and our state will not change until we begin with ourselves.
And Allah commanded us to hold together upon His religion, and not to divide:
وَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا۟
And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.
In the prayer we stand in one row, facing one qibla, rich and poor side by side. That is the ummah we want: one in its word, one in its ranks, strong through its religion.
It is time to turn things around.
From division to unity. From weakness to strength. From heedlessness to remembrance.
Honor is sought from Allah alone, and He gave it to His Messenger and to the believers:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِۦ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers …
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said it on his way to Sham:
إنا كنا أذل قوم فأعزنا الله بالإسلام فمهما نطلب العزة بغير ما أعزنا الله به أذلنا الله
We were the lowliest of peoples, and Allah honored us with Islam. Whenever we seek honor through anything other than what Allah honored us with, Allah will bring us low.
Islam honored the first of us, and it will honor the last of us.
Begin with the next prayer
So let us begin with what is closest to us: the next prayer. Let us pray it on time, then the one after it, and help those around us with theirs.
And let us ask what Ibrahim, peace be upon him, asked:
رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ
My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.
O Allah, make us among those who establish the prayer and guard it. Honor Islam and the Muslims, and unite them upon the truth.
May Allah accept from us and from you. Wa as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
The founder of Deeny, on behalf of the whole team.
Meanings of the verses: Saheeh International translation.
