In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Echoes from the Pulpit.
Echoes from the Pulpit.
The importance of arriving early for prayer.
A sermon by the honorable Sheikh,
Khalid ibn Abdullah al-Humudi,
May Allah preserve him.
Praise be to Allah, the All-Finding, the Glorious, the Accepter of Repentance,
The Forbearing, the Generous, the Bestower.
“The Forgiver of sin, the Accepter of repentance, the Stern in punishment, the Bountiful. There is no Allah save Him. Unto Him is the journeying.” (40:3)
Praise be to Allah, always and forever.
Praise be to Allah in times of ease and adversity.
Whenever we praise Allah, we find from Him that which satisfies us.
O Allah, to You be all praise.
O Allah, to You be all praise.
O Allah, to You be all praise until You are pleased.
And to You be praise when You are pleased.
And to You be praise after You are pleased.
To You be praise; we cannot enumerate the ways to praise You.
You are as You have praised Yourself.
And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, alone, with no partner,
The Forbearing, the Generous, the Forgiving, the Kind, the Merciful,
The Bestower, the Gentle.
If the doors of the world close upon you, be content,
For the door of Allah never closes.
So stand at His door and beseech Him in your distress,
With the sincerity of one who is drowning.
And rejoice, for His bounties will pour down upon you,
For He whom you call upon is the Bestower, the Gentle.
And I bear witness that our master, our Prophet, and our beloved, Muhammad, is the servant of Allah and His Messenger,
His chosen one and His intimate friend.
The most beautiful of people and the most excellent of them.
The most generous of people and the most noble of them.
The most pleasant of people in scent.
Brave, patient, and generous,
To the believers, he is compassionate and merciful.
O you who hope for a great request,
Win by sending prayers and peace upon the Prophet.
How many a sinner, after prayer, has had his sins
Erased, so he returns as if he had never sinned.
And one burdened by worry, all his concerns
Have vanished, followed by a clarity of spirit.
O Muslim, send peace upon him,
Do not neglect his Sunnah, and do not turn away.
Send prayers and peace upon him, O you by whom
You have attained the pride of the highest star.
May Allah send prayers upon you, O you whose light
Is a sun that never sets throughout the ages.
O Allah, send prayers, peace, and increase blessings
Upon Your servant, Messenger, Prophet, and beloved, Muhammad,
And upon his good and pure household,
And upon his noble and blessed Companions,
And grant them abundant peace until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows, O servants of Allah,
I advise you and myself to fear Allah,
For it is the commandment of Allah to us and to those who came before us.
“Unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. And We charged those who received the Scripture before you, and (We charge) you, that ye keep your duty toward Allah. And if ye disbelieve, lo! unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and Allah is ever Absolute, Owner of Praise.” (4:131)
“Unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. And We charged those who received the Scripture before you, and (We charge) you, that ye keep your duty toward Allah. And if ye disbelieve, lo! unto Allah belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and Allah is ever Absolute, Owner of Praise.” (4:131)
O community of believers,
Our topic today is about the delight of the believers' eyes,
And the ascension of the righteous.
It is the firm pillar,
The pillar of the religion and the foundation of the faith,
And the salvation of those who act.
It is salvation, security, and life.
There is no share in Islam for one who abandons it.
It is the prayer, O servants of Allah.
But our topic today
Is the reproach of a loved one
To those who are late for prayer.
Many, praise be to Allah, pray,
And maintain it in the mosque,
But our topic today
Is the reproach of a loved one
To those who are late for the congregational prayer.
For in these times,
Most worshipers have become accustomed
To being late for the mosques,
Often not arriving until the iqamah is called or after it.
And frequently, they miss the prayer,
Or a part of it.
The prayer may be established
While in some mosques
There are only a few people,
Then they arrive after the iqamah,
And you see them forming several rows,
Despite having waited for fifteen minutes or more after the adhan.
This lateness
Causes them to miss out on immense goodness.
And here, O servants of Allah,
Are some proofs
Of what these people miss.
First:
The loss of tranquility and dignity.
For it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"When you hear the iqamah,
Walk with tranquility and dignity,
And do not rush."
Agreed upon.
The rushing that many do
Causes them to lose tranquility and dignity.
Second:
Missing the angels' seeking of forgiveness
For one who waits for the prayer in the mosque before the iqamah,
And his status as being in a state of prayer.
For it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"Indeed, one of you,
When he performs wudu and does it well,
And comes to the mosque,
Desiring nothing but the prayer,
He does not take a step
But Allah raises him a degree thereby,
And removes a sin from him.
And when he enters the mosque,
He is in a state of prayer
As long as the prayer detains him,
And the angels pray for him
As long as he remains in his place where he prays,
'O Allah, forgive him,
O Allah, have mercy on him,'
As long as he does not cause harm
Or break his wudu therein,
They say: 'O Allah, forgive him,
O Allah, have mercy on him.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
And in another narration:
"One of you remains in a state of prayer
As long as the prayer detains him;
Nothing prevents him
From returning to his family
Except the prayer."
Third:
In being late,
One usually misses the first row,
Along with the virtue it contains.
For the Prophet,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"If people knew
What is in the call and the first row,
And then they could find no other way
But to draw lots for it,
They would draw lots.
And if they knew what is in the early arrival,
Meaning arriving early,
They would race to it."
Agreed upon.
And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"The best of the men's rows
Is the first,
And the worst is the last."
Narrated by Muslim.
Fourth:
In being late, one usually
Misses the opening takbir (takbirat al-ihram),
And it is the best of the takbirs.
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever catches the opening takbir
For forty days,
An acquittal is written for him:
An acquittal from the Fire,
And an acquittal from hypocrisy."
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
And declared hasan by al-Albani.
Fifth:
This lateness
Causes one to miss the regular Sunnah prayers
That precede the obligatory ones,
Such as the Sunnah of Fajr.
Muslim narrated in his Sahih
From our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her,
That the Prophet,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"The two rak'ahs of Fajr
Are better than the world
And everything in it."
And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to
Pray before Dhuhr
Two rak'ahs,
And sometimes four rak'ahs,
As narrated by al-Tirmidhi.
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever prays
Four before Dhuhr
And four after it,
Allah will forbid him from the Fire."
And from Ibn Umar,
He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"May Allah have mercy on a person
Who prays before Asr
Four rak'ahs."
So whoever is late
Has deprived himself of this immense goodness.
Sixth:
This lateness
Causes one to miss the time when supplications are answered,
Which is the time between
The adhan and the iqamah.
For Abu Dawud narrated,
And al-Tirmidhi, who declared it hasan,
Before the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said that the supplication
is not rejected between
the adhan and the iqamah.
Seventh, many people
miss what the latecomer misses:
responding to the mu'adhdhin,
and the supplication after the adhan.
For responding to
the mu'adhdhin with dhikr and sincerity,
along with the prescribed supplication,
is a cause for entering Paradise,
as narrated by Muslim
from 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.
Al-Bukhari also narrated
from Jabir
that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said when he heard the call:
"O Allah, Lord of this perfect call
and the established prayer,
grant Muhammad the intercession and the excellence,
and raise him to the praiseworthy station
that You have promised him,"
for whomsoever says this,
intercession becomes due for him
on the Day of Resurrection.
Eighth, this delay
may cause one to miss
the congregational prayer.
If he misses the final rak'ah,
yet the congregational prayer
is superior to the prayer of the individual
by twenty-seven degrees.
The two Shaykhs narrated
from Ibn 'Umar,
may Allah be pleased with them both,
that the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, said:
"The congregational prayer
is better than the prayer of the individual
by twenty-seven degrees."
It was narrated by Muslim.
Ninth, this delay
may cause one to miss
reaching the right side of the row,
based on what is established from the Prophet,
peace be upon him,
regarding the virtue of praying on the right side
of the row. For our mother,
'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
said that the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, said:
"Indeed, Allah and His angels
send blessings upon
the right sides of the rows."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
Tenth:
Coming early to prayer
and caring for it
is evidence that
the person is among those
whose hearts are attached to the mosques.
And at that time,
he will be among those whom Allah shades
on the Day of Resurrection in His shade,
on a day when there is no shade but His.
As is established
in the authentic hadith:
"Seven whom Allah will shade in His shade
on a day when there is no shade but His,"
and he mentioned among them:
"A man whose heart is
attached to the mosques."
Eleventh:
This delay
causes one to miss engaging in dhikr, supplication,
and reciting what is easy of the Qur'an.
For the one who comes early
to the mosque at the time of the adhan,
or shortly thereafter,
remains in the mosque
for about an hour,
or close to it,
during the time of prayer, before it, and after it,
drawing closer to Allah
through various acts of worship,
such as dhikr, supplication,
reciting the Qur'an,
listening to it,
reflecting on His signs,
being in seclusion with His remembrance,
whispering to Him, and detaching
from the world and its worries,
so that this may be
an incentive for turning
toward the prayer and having khushu' (humility)
in it. Unlike
the latecomer, who
turns to his prayer
while his heart is preoccupied
with his worries and sorrows,
so he does not focus on his prayer,
nor is his heart present in it.
So let us strive, servants of Allah,
let us strive for this
goodness, for khushu'
and tranquility
are the soul and essence of prayer.
So strive, O servant of Allah,
to attend the congregation early
in the house of Allah.
For phones have preoccupied us
from our prayer and wasted
our time.
As soon as you hear
the call and the adhan:
"Allah is the Greatest,"
know that Allah is greater
than everything,
so do not put anything before Allah.
By Allah, O servants of Allah,
life is an opportunity.
I swear by Allah the Almighty,
if we were to ask someone in the grave
who has been buried,
"What do you wish for?"
He would say, "To pray one rak'ah,
or to say one tasbih,
or to read one verse
of the Qur'an,
so that I might do a righteous deed
for what I left behind."
No, you are now, O servant of Allah,
you are now in this world,
so do righteous deeds to gain.
We ask Allah to grant us success
in the righteous deeds
that please our Lord
with us, to conclude our lives
with goodness, and to grant us
sincerity, devotion, and acceptance.
O Allah, Amen.
May Allah bless me and you
with the Great Qur'an,
and benefit me and you with what is in it.
“This (which) We recite unto thee is a revelation and a wise reminder.” (3:58)
I say what you hear,
and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and for you,
so seek His forgiveness,
for how successful are those who seek forgiveness.
Praise be to Allah for His benevolence,
and thanks be to Him for His guidance
and favor.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
and may Allah send peace and blessings upon him.
To proceed:
Servants of Allah,
there is no doubt that those who delay
until they hear the iqamah,
most of them
are busy with
nothing.
So let us strive, O servants of Allah,
for this goodness.
If a person were to accustom himself
to coming early to the mosque
time after time,
the matter would become easy for him,
and it would become beloved to him,
finding more delight in his sitting
in the mosque
than his delight
with his family and children.
So let us strive to come early
so that we are not
among those of whom the Prophet,
peace be upon him, spoke.
Listen, O servant of Allah,
to this hadith,
so that we are not
among those of whom the Prophet,
peace be upon him, spoke:
The hadith narrated by Muslim in his Sahih:
"A people will continue
to delay
until Allah delays them."
So hasten, O servant of Allah,
before you depart.
It is true
that you are upon great goodness,
that you are praying,
and secondly, that you are praying in the mosque,
but the believer
is not satisfied with anything but more
goodness.
So strive for this great goodness.
We ask Allah the Almighty
to grant us success in every
deed He loves and is pleased with,
And may He make us
among those with whom He is pleased and who are pleased with Him.
O Allah, forgive
our sins and conceal our faults,
and accept our repentance,
and conclude our deeds with righteousness.
O Allah, we ask You for Your pleasure
and for Paradise, and we seek refuge in You
from Your wrath and from the Fire.
O Allah, rectify our intentions
and our offspring.
O Allah, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor,
O Allah, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor,
we love You,
so do not withhold from us, because of our sins,
Your bounty; O Allah, grant us security
in our homelands,
and rectify our leaders and those in authority over us,
and grant victory to our soldiers at the borders,
and grant victory to our oppressed brothers and sisters
everywhere.
O Allah, O Ever-Living, O Sustainer,
just as You have gathered us in this place,
gather us in the highest level of Paradise
with our Prophet and our beloved,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his noble Companions,
and our parents and those we love.
O Allah, overlook our shortcomings,
forgive the sins that You have concealed,
and erase the evil deeds,
those known to people and those known only to You.
O Allah, You know
our faults, so conceal them;
You know our deeds, so accept them;
and You know our needs, so fulfill them,
O Fulfiller of needs.
O Lord, forgive our fathers
and our mothers,
and our brothers and sisters,
and all the Muslims.
O Allah, whoever among them is alive,
bless them with health and well-being
in obedience to You,
and whoever among them is dead,
O Allah, reward them
for their good deeds with further goodness,
and for their evil deeds with pardon and forgiveness.
My Lord, have mercy upon them as they raised me when I was small.
We have called upon You, our Lord,
as You have commanded us,
so answer us as You have promised us.
“Glorified be thy Lord, the Lord of Majesty, from that which they attribute (unto Him)” (37:180)
And peace be upon the messengers,
and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.