Concealing righteous deed and Adornment of prayer

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ.

All Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, peace and blessings on him, is His servant, and His messenger.

Dear Brothers and Sisters …                                     السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ –

O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

Be conscious of Allah Almighty in all your affairs and sincerely dedicate your worship to Him. For Allah, Glory be to Him, is ever watching over you, aware of your actions, and knowledgeable of what is in your hearts:

Faatir (35) 38: Indeed, Allāh is Knower of the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and earth. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.

Outward actions are a reflection of the heart, and on the Day of Resurrection, accountability will be based on what is in the hearts:

أَفَلَا يَعْلَمُ إِذَا بُعْثِرَ مَا فِي الْقُبُورِ * وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُّدُورِ * إِنَّ رَبَّهُمْ بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَخَبِيرٌ-الْعَادِيَاتِ

Al-Adiyat (100) 9-11: (9) But does he not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered (10) And that within the breasts is obtained (11) Indeed, their Lord with them, that Day, is [fully] Aware.

And the heart can only be rectified through sincerity to Allah, the Exalted. Allah, the Exalted, accepts only the deeds done solely for His sake. In a Qudsi Hadith, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says:

I am the most self-sufficient of partners, free from needing any partnership. Whoever does a deed in which he associates someone else with Me, I will leave him and his act of associating others with Me. [Muslim 2985]

Oh People, A few deeds from a sincere and genuine person is better than many deeds from a hypocrite and insincere person.  For among the seven whom Allah, the Exalted, will shade on the Day of Resurrection are:

A man who gives in charity and conceals it so much so that his left hand does not know what his right hand spends, and a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes overflow with tears. [Bukhari 1423, Muslim 1031a]

The common factor between them is sincerity. The charitable person goes to great lengths to hide his charity, and the one who remembers Allah Almighty, is humbled in seclusion where no one sees him. Allah, the Exalted, praises those who pray in the depths of the night because it is a time of sleep, leisure, and heedlessness:

As-Sajdah (32) 16-17: (16) They abandon their beds, invoking their Lord with hope and fear, and donate from what We have provided for them

(17) And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes [i.e., satisfaction] as reward for what they used to do.

Some of the righteous predecessors said that they hid their deeds for Allah, the Exalted, so He hid their reward. The Prophet ﷺ informed us about three whom Allah, the Exalted, loves:

A man who came to some people and asked them for the sake of Allah, and he did not ask them due to any relationship between him and them, but they refused him. Then one of them gave him secretly so that only Allah and the one whom he gave knew about it. And a group who travelled all night until sleep became more beloved to them than anything equal to it, then they stopped and placed their heads down, but one of them stood up and prayed to Me and recited My verses. And a man who was in a small troop that engaged the adversary, and they were defeated. But he engaged the adversary until he was overcome or victorious. [Ahmad 21355]

These three shared the trait of worshipping Allah, the Exalted, discreetly, maintaining their devotion solely between themselves and Him, unnoticed by others. Allah, the Exalted, loves those who engage with Him discreetly, away from the sight of others, while others are heedless.

Also, the Prophet ﷺ said:

إِنَّ اللهَ يُّحِبُّ الْعَبْدَ التَّقِيَّ  الْغَنِيَّ  الْخَفِيَّ-مسلم  2695

Allah loves the servant who is pious, self-sufficient, and discreet. [Muslim 2695]

We ask Allah to make us among them.

Also, the Prophet ﷺ said:  Whoever among you can have hidden deeds of righteousness, let him do so. [Reported Al-Khatib in At-Tarikh (11/263) authenticated by Al-Albani in As-Sahihah (2313)].

Concealed righteous deeds are those that no one knows about, free from showing off, and done sincerely for Allah, such as performing voluntary prayers in the depth of the night, giving charity in secret, or any other righteous deed done discreetly.

Also, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Good deeds protect one from bad endings, secret charity extinguishes the anger of the Lord, and maintaining family ties increases lifespan. [Reported by At-Tabarani in Al-Awsat (943) and authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih Al-Jami’ 3797].

Regarding concealing one’s good deeds, Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: To pray one rak’ah in the middle of the night is more beloved to me than praying ten rak’ahs during the day.

Brothers & sisters, the prayer has a great status before Allah Almighty. It is the act of worship through which Allah spoke directly to Muhammad ﷺ without an intermediary. And it is the first pillar of Islam after the two testimonies of faith. Its conditions, pillars, obligations, and recommended actions are discussed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah more than any other act of worship. It is the only worship for which the call is made to people five times each day and night.

Congregational prayer is obligatory for men, and it holds numerous religious and worldly benefits. It has great virtues in the religion of Allah Almighty, and abundant rewards. Those who frequent masjids are guests of the Most Merciful. So, who is more honoured than them? For those who go to the masjid, Allah prepares a hospitability for them in Paradise every time that they go.

A Muslim adorns themselves appropriately for each situation and place. Undoubtedly, the places most deserving of adornment are the houses of Allah – blessed and exalted is He – which are the most beautiful places and the most beloved to Allah. Allah Almighty says:

Al-A’raf (7) 31: O Children of Adam! Dress properly whenever you are at worship. Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely, He does not like the wasteful.

Hasan ibn Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, used to wear his best and finest clothes when going to the masjid. When asked about this, he said, “Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty, and I adorn myself for my Lord, and He says:

Any person invited to an event prepares for it by bathing, wearing perfume, and choosing clothing suitable for the occasion, their role in the event and the status of their host. A guest of the kings of this world is not like a guest of ordinary people. Then what do you think of one who is a guest of the King of Kings, the Lord of the Worlds, and the Creator of all?

Since those attending congregational prayers in the masjids are guests of Allah Almighty, certain acts and etiquettes have been prescribed for them, appropriate to this great occasion, which no worldly occasion, no matter how great, can match. The reward for these guests of Allah is proportionate to their adherence to what Allah Almighty has ordained for this great ritual.

And so that they give the prayer the preparation and readiness that it deserves. Imam Muslim narrated that Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, performed wudu in the best fashion one day and then said:

I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ perform wudu and perfecting it, and then said: Whoever performs wudu like this and then proceeds to the masjid only for the sake of prayer, will be forgiven his previous sins. [Muslim 232a]

Many people forget this important reflection, of remembering the greatness of prayer, before setting out to the masjid.  Indeed, what demonstrates the greatness of prayer in the religion is what has been ordained for it in terms of purification and wudu, despite it being repeated five times each day. There are great rewards for wudu, including the expiation of sins with each limb washed, and the opening of the gates of Paradise for those who complete their ablution and perform the prescribed remembrance afterwards.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ، إِلا فُتِحَتْ لَهُ أَبْوَابُ الْجَنَّةِ الثَّمَانِيَةُ يَدْخُلُ مِنْ أَيِّهَا شَاءَ –

There is no one among you who performs wudu and does it well, then says, Ashhadu an la ilaha ill-Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu was rasuluhu (I bear witness that there is no rightly worshipped diety except Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger) but the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him and he will enter through whichever one he wants. [Muslim 234]

This purification befits the honour of this great occasion. Thus, it has been ordained to adorn oneself with clothing and perfume and use a miswak (tooth-stick) to purify the mouth. The Prophet ﷺ said:

لَوْلاَ أَنْ أَشُقَّ عَلَى أُمَّتِي لأَمَرْتُهُمْ بِالسِّوَاكِ عِنْدَ كُلِّ صَلاَةٍ

If it were not for the hardship, it would cause my community, I would have commanded them to use the miswak (tooth-stick) before each prayer. [Bukhari 887, Muslim 252]

However, it is a form of disrespect to the masjid and to the prayer for a worshipper to attend in inappropriate attire such as sleepwear, sports attire, or dirty and smelly clothing. There is a strict prohibition in attending the congregation with unpleasant odours. Because that conflicts with the greatness of the occasion, and the angels and believers are harmed by it. Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them, narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

Whoever eats garlic or onion should remain away from us or from our masjid and stay in his house. [Bukhari 7359, Muslim 564b]. And in a narration from Muslim: Whoever eats onions, garlic, and leeks should not approach our masjid because the angels are harmed by what harms the children of Adam. [Muslim 564c]

In another hadith from Umer, I have seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, if he noticed their smell coming from a man in the Masjid, commanded that he be taken out to Al-Baqi’. Whoever eats them, let him cook their odor out. [Muslim 567a]

If the prohibition was not strict, the Prophet ﷺ would not have commanded that the man be exited from the Masjid to Baqi’.

It is not permissible for a Muslim to go to the masjid with the smell of garlic or onions or smoke, or the stench of unclean socks or clothes. Whoever eats garlic or onions should not come to mosque and should not offend the worshippers with their smell.

Likewise, the odor of smoking is offensive. If there was no harm in smoking, other than offending the angels and worshippers with the smell, this alone should be enough to deter those afflicted with smoking and incentivize them to strive their utmost to quit.

Some worshippers are lax in wearing tight, shorts above knees, or transparent clothing, which contradicts Allah’s command to adorn oneself at every prayer.

So, be conscious of Allah, and maintain the prayer at its appointed times. Perform it with all its conditions, pillars, and obligations, and establish it in the best manner and state. Encourage your families and those under your care to maintain this prayer, educate them to revere and honour it, and teach them its rules and the etiquettes of standing before their Creator

By Imam Mahboob Rasool