In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The story of Maryam, daughter of ‘Imran.
Peace be upon her.
Maryam and the sanctuary of worship.
Maryam, peace be upon her, was raised in a righteous upbringing.
She remained steadfast in worship and obedience.
So much so that she designated for herself a private sanctuary in which to worship.
And she would seclude herself in intimate conversation with Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Allah the Exalted alluded to this in His saying:
“And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food)? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will.” (3:37)
And Zakariyya took charge of her.
“And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food)? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will.” (3:37)
He said, "O Maryam, from where have you gotten this?"
“And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food)? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will.” (3:37)
“And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food)? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will.” (3:37)
The *mihrab* (sanctuary) is a place of worship.
This indicates the frequency of her prayers and her devotion to her sanctuary.
Al-Tahir Ibn ‘Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
She used to worship in a place she had taken as a sanctuary.
And Zakariyya would oversee her worship.
She placed her sanctuary, where she worshipped, to the east of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).
Allah the Exalted said:
“And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East,” (19:16)
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Meaning, she secluded herself from them and withdrew from them.
She went to the east of the Holy Mosque.
Maryam did this for a specific reason:
To devote herself to worship, far away from people.
So that she would not be preoccupied with them, nor they with her.
Abu Zahra, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The meaning is that she withdrew from people and cast them aside.
She isolated herself to worship Allah alone.
And let nothing fill her heart except His remembrance.
The meaning is:
She withdrew from her family to an eastern place.
That is, she isolated herself from her family in a place to the east of Bayt al-Maqdis.
Where her sanctuary was located.
And the sanctuary of her guardian, Zakariyya, peace be upon him.
Behind this seclusion,
She took a veil to serve as a barrier between her and them.
Maryam, peace be upon her, was not content with merely distancing herself physically from people and isolating.
Rather, she went further by taking a veil to screen herself from people.
So that she could devote herself to the worship of her Lord.
Allah the Exalted said:
“And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East,” (19:16)
“And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.” (19:17)
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
He says:
She took, apart from her family, a screen to hide her from them and from the people.
And Ibn ‘Atiyya, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
She took it to conceal herself from people for her worship.
And al-Sa‘di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
This distancing of hers and the taking of the veil,
Was to seclude herself and be alone in the worship of her Lord.
And to stand before Him in a state of sincerity, humility, and submission to Allah the Exalted.
Therefore, my noble sister,
If you wish to be among the righteous female worshippers,
You must emulate Maryam, peace be upon her.
The first step in emulating her is:
Designating a place in your home for your prayer, your dhikr, and your recitation of the Qur’an.
The second step:
Distancing yourself from all distractions that occupy you from your worship,
Or that corrupt your heart.
Among the most dangerous of these distractions:
The mobile phone.
So, when you stand to worship your Lord,
Turn off your phone completely.
So that the heart is not preoccupied with it.
These are the steps for preparing a place for worship.
After that, you must take steps to train your soul for worship gradually.
For a small, consistent deed is better than a large, interrupted one.
Therefore, I advise you, my noble sister, with two things,
To achieve the first steps on the path of the righteous female worshippers.
The first matter:
Attending to your prayers, both the obligatory and the supererogatory.
For maintaining the obligatory and the supererogatory,
Elevates you to the rank of Allah’s love for you.
According to the Hadith Qudsi which the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, narrates from his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic:
Where He said:
Indeed, Allah said:
"Whoever shows enmity to a friend (wali) of Mine, I have declared war against him.
And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him.
And My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds until I love him.
So when I love him,
I become his hearing with which he hears,
And his sight with which he sees,
And his hand with which he strikes,
And his foot with which he walks.
And if he asks Me, I will surely give him,
And if he seeks My refuge, I will surely grant him refuge.
And I do not hesitate about anything I do as I hesitate about the soul of the believer;
He dislikes death, and I dislike harming him."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
So the path of sainthood (wilayah) begins with maintaining the obligatory duties.
Then the supererogatory deeds that follow the obligatory ones.
Allah has granted you flexibility in the time of prayer.
And He has not made congregational prayer in the mosque mandatory for you.
So accustom yourself to a prayer filled with khushu‘ (humility) and deliberation.
And choose for it the time most suitable for you.
For khushu‘ and intimate conversation with Allah are the essence of prayer.
And among the most important supererogatory prayers you should maintain:
The regular Sunnah prayers (al-sunan al-rawatib).
Umm Habiba, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
"Whoever prays 12 rak‘ahs in a day and night,
A house will be built for him in Paradise because of them."
Umm Habiba said:
I have not abandoned them since I heard them from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Narrated by Muslim.
The regular Sunnah prayers are four rak‘ahs before Dhuhr,
And two rak‘ahs after it,
And two rak‘ahs after Maghrib,
And two rak‘ahs after ‘Isha’,
And two rak‘ahs before the Fajr prayer.
And among the important supererogatory acts in your life to become a worshipper:
The Duha prayer.
It is the prayer of the oft-repentant (awwabin).
As the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"None maintains the Duha prayer except the oft-repentant."
He said: "It is the prayer of the oft-repentant."
Narrated by Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih.
The Mother of the Believers, ‘Aisha the Truthful, may Allah be pleased with her, daughter of the Truthful,
The beloved of our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his wife in Paradise,
The one declared innocent from above seven heavens in a Qur’an recited until the Day of Resurrection,
Used to maintain the Duha prayer.
‘Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would abandon a deed,
Even though he loved to perform it,
For fear that people would perform it and it would become obligatory upon them.
And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, never prayed the Duha prayer,
But I pray it."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
As for the foundation of the worship of the righteous,
It is the night prayer (qiyam al-layl).
About which the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"You must perform the night prayer,
For it was the habit of the righteous before you,
And it is a means of drawing near to your Lord,
And an expiation for sins,
And a deterrent from transgression."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Khuzayma.
This is among the most noble deeds of the righteous female worshippers.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, encouraged his wives,
To perform the night prayer in more than one way,
And on more than one occasion.
Among these:
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, encouraged women,
To perform the night prayer when tribulations descend.
For Umm Salama said:
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, woke up one night,
And said:
"Subhan Allah!
What tribulations have been sent down tonight!
And what treasures have been opened!
Wake up the inhabitants of the chambers (his wives),
For many a woman clothed in this world will be naked in the Hereafter."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
In this is an indication of the importance of raising a young woman to perform the night prayer,
In facing the tribulations of this time.
Just as the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, encouraged,
A woman to cooperate with her husband in performing the night prayer,
And to invite him to it,
And to respond to him if he invites her.
For Abu Sa‘id and Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with them, said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"If a man wakes his wife at night,
And they both pray two rak‘ahs together,
They are recorded among the men and women who remember Allah much."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
This is the first matter of the first steps on the path of worship.
Once you follow it and remain steadfast upon it,
It will, by the permission of Allah, bring you the other steps with ease and simplicity.
As for the second matter of the steps on the path of worship,
It manifests in controlling the tongue.
And controlling the tongue involves several matters.
Among them is that it be occupied with the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
For Yasira, may Allah be pleased with her, who was among the emigrants (Muhajirat),
Said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to us:
"You must perform tasbih (saying Subhan Allah), tahlil (saying La ilaha illa Allah), and taqdis (sanctifying Allah),
And count them on your fingertips,
For they will be questioned and made to speak.
And do not be heedless, lest you forget the mercy."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
And Umm Hani’, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said:
"O Messenger of Allah,
Guide me to a deed,
For I have grown old, become weak, and gained weight."
He said:
"Magnify Allah (say Allahu Akbar) one hundred times,
And praise Allah (say Alhamdullilah) one hundred times,
And glorify Allah (say Subhan Allah) one hundred times,
It is better for you than one hundred horses bridled and saddled in the cause of Allah,
And better than one hundred camels (for sacrifice),
And better than freeing one hundred slaves."
Narrated by Ibn Majah.
This, as you notice, my noble sister,
Is a great reward for a deed that is easy for those whom Allah makes it easy.
And it is the remembrance of Allah, His glorification, and His declaration of oneness.
The other matter in controlling the tongue,
Is distancing oneself from wronging people with it.
And the one a woman wrongs most with her tongue is her husband.
Therefore, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, forbade,
The woman from being ungrateful to her spouse (kufran al-‘ashir).
He said:
"O assembly of women, give in charity,
and seek forgiveness frequently,
for I have seen that you constitute the majority of the inhabitants of the Fire."
A sensible woman among them asked,
"And why is it, O Messenger of Allah, that we are the majority of the inhabitants of the Fire?"
He replied:
"You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your spouses.
I have not seen anyone more deficient in intellect and religion
who can more effectively sway the heart of a sensible man than you."
Narrated by Muslim.
Thus, the primary reason a woman enters the Fire is her tongue,
which may even nullify her righteous deeds.
For it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
A man said, "O Messenger of Allah,
a certain woman is known for her frequent prayer, fasting, and charity,
but she harms her neighbors with her tongue."
He said, "She is in the Fire."
The man asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
what about another woman who is known for having little fasting, charity, and prayer,
and she only gives small pieces of dried yogurt in charity,
but she does not harm her neighbors with her tongue?"
He said, "She is in Paradise."
Narrated by Ahmad.
Therefore, the quality of a true worshiper is not realized
except by combining two matters:
drawing near to Allah through righteous deeds,
and restraining your harm from people in all its forms.
We shall continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.