The basis of maturity and guidance is that prayer, which is your appointment with your Lord, be the apple of your eye, so you hasten to it with the call to prayer, and strive hard for your prayer to be extremely good because God is aware of it, and God is sufficient as a witness.
There is nothing that sheds its blessings, guidance, and lights on the life of a servant like prayer, taking care of it, and performing it in the correct manner.
The more the servant pays attention to his prayers, is humble in them, and improves them; This brought good and prosperity to his entire life, because it is the root of reforming the servant’s religion and world.
The measure of the status of Islam in your eyes is the status of prayer in your life, and the extent of your care for it and your interest in performing it. That is why Imam Ahmed said: (The value of Islam is in your heart, as the value of prayer is in your heart).
Here is a great matter, whoever is guided to it has been guided to a straight path, and it is one of the greatest signs of God’s will to do good for the servant. That is, hastening to prayer with the call to prayer or before it, and arriving early to it. This is the condition of one who longs to meet God, and whoever loves to meet God, God will love to meet him.
Going to the mosque with the call to prayer has a great impact in opening the doors of good deeds for the servant and in improving and guiding him.
The basis of maturity and guidance is that prayer, which is your appointment with your Lord, be the apple of your eye, so you hasten to it with the call to prayer, and strive hard for your prayer to be extremely good because God is aware of it, and God is sufficient as a witness.
One of the many commandments of the righteous is that whoever has the door to prayer opened for him; The doors to the rest of the acts of obedience were opened for him, because they are the basic pillar towards the servant’s path to God, and if they are correct, all the work will be correct.
It is not too much for prayer to sacrifice everything in order to establish it as God has commanded, and to hasten to it, and nothing is an aid to that like the servant’s supplication to his Lord, and asking him to help him in establishing prayer in the way that pleases Him. This is why it was one of the supplications of the prophets, peace be upon them, (Lord, make me the one who establishes prayer and from my descendants).
I remember that one of the students of knowledge used to advise a newcomer to be upright and repent, or to whomever he sought advice for something that would benefit him, on three things:
1- Hasten to prayer with the call to prayer.
2- Daily roses in reading the Qur’an.
3- Praying at night, even if it is two rak’ahs, and it is performed during the dawn prayer before dawn.
To which I add:
4- Increase your supplication and always turn to God.
These are great commandments. Whoever acts upon them and takes them strongly will succeed, God willing. They are the first thresholds for faith education and deepening the connection with God.
It is nice for those who have been entrusted by God with the responsibility of education and guidance to be keen to instill such meanings in their students, especially in their early years, because whoever grows up with something will grow up with it.
One of the nice books on this is the book From the Fruits of Coming Early to the Mosques by Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sadhan.
Perhaps reading this book will be an aid to this great project that cannot be lost.
