Originally posted 2019-07-25 10:02:40.

• To the One Who Has Abandoned the Prayer…

  O you who have abandoned the prayer—what remains of your Islam if you have forsaken its foundation? Do you not know that Salah is the backbone of Islam, and the clearest sign of your belief?

  O you who neglect your prayers! All of creation prostrates to Allah—except you. Allah, the Exalted, says:

  “Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth—the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many among mankind? But upon many, the punishment has been justified.”
  (Surah Al-Hajj 22:18)

  If you choose not to pray, are you not afraid of being among those on whom the punishment is justified?

  O you who have abandoned the prayer! Do you not realize that neglecting it is a form of disbelief? The Prophet ﷺ said:

  “The covenant that distinguishes between us and them is the prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved.”
  (Ahmad)

  O you who forsake Salah! Don’t you know that laziness in prayer is a trait of the hypocrites? Allah says:

  “Indeed, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but He deceives them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people and not remembering Allah except a little.”
  (Surah An-Nisa’ 4:142)

  The hypocrites in the time of the Prophet ﷺ prayed—though for show. Yet you do not pray at all. Where do you stand?

  O you who have left the prayer! Do you not fear the hardness of your heart and heedlessness overtaking you? The Prophet ﷺ warned:

  “Let people stop neglecting the Friday prayer, or Allah will seal their hearts, and they will be among the heedless.”
  (Muslim)

  O you who abandon Salah! Do you not know that it leads to Hellfire? Allah says about the people of Hell:

  “What led you into Saqar (Hell)?”
  They will say: ‘We were not of those who prayed.’”
  (Surah Al-Muddaththir 74:42–43)

  And do you not realize that abandoning prayer leads to misery and a miserable life? Allah says:

  “And whoever turns away from My remembrance—indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will raise him on the Day of Resurrection blind.”
  He will say, ‘My Lord, why have You raised me blind while I had sight?’
  [Allah] will say, ‘Thus Our signs came to you, but you forgot them. And thus will you this Day be forgotten.’”
  (Surah Ta-Ha 20:124–126)

  What a loss…

  How can you let the years of your life slip away while your heart remains veiled from the remembrance of Allah? How can you leave this world without ever tasting its sweetest joy—the joy of worship, gratitude, and closeness to your Creator?

  If prayer is no longer important to you, then what is left of your religion? Abandoning prayer leads to the abandonment of other acts of worship. It is the door through which faith slowly departs.

  Repent, O heedless one, before it’s too late—before death overtakes you while you are among those who abandoned the prayer.

  ---

  O You Who Are Negligent in Your Prayer…

  What will you do now that you know the great reward of prayer?

  What will you do now that you understand the severe consequences of neglecting it?

  Will you continue to treat prayer lightly?

  Will you still sleep through it or delay it beyond its time?

  Dear brother, dear sister:

  Where is your ambition for Paradise?
  Where is your determination?
  Where is your commitment to the prayer’s appointed times?
  Where is your eagerness for Jumu’ah and the congregational prayers?

  Do not let your soul die before you bring it back to life with Salah

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Source: Respond to the Call of Prayer’s Book.