He prays punctually? Then, that’s the tip of his iceberg!

[Ali Hammuda]

One’s relentless punctuality towards his/her five prayers at their *fixed* times is indicative of many .. many things with regards to this person.

Abul ‘Aaliya – from the second generation Muslims – says,
" كُنَّا نَأْتِي الرَّجُلَ، لِنَأْخُذَ عَنْهُ، فَنَنْظُرُ إِذَا صَلَّى، فَإِنْ أَحْسَنَهَا، جَلَسْنَا إِلَيْهِ، وَقُلْنَا: هُوَ لِغَيْرِهَا أَحْسَنُ. وَإِنْ أَسَاءَهَا، قُمْنَا عَنْهُ، وَقُلْنَا: هُوَ لِغَيْرِهَا أسْوأُ "
“We used to approach a person to seek knowledge from him. We’d first assess his commitment to his prayers. If he perfects them, we would sit with him, having said to one another, ‘we assume his other affairs are even more perfect’. If his prayers are lacking however, we would walk away from him, having said to ourselves, ‘we assume that his other affairs are even worse’
(Narrated by AdDaarimi in his ‘Sunan’)

Amazing. This couldn’t be any closer to the truth, for reality illustrates this till this very moment in time.

Look deeper into the life of the one who’s relentlessly committed to Salaah, you’ll find that they are the furthest of all people from Haram, the rarest of backstabbers, the humblest of all people, the furthest from intoxicants, the best to their family, the most committed to the circles of knowledge, the strictest in her Hijab and the farthest from flirtatious behaviour with other than his/her spouse ..

Look deeper into the life of the one who’s in and out of Salaah, praying some and sleeping through others, you’ll find that they’re most easily influenced by sin, the most eager pursuer of erroneous scholarly opinions, the most laid back when it comes to doubtful matters, the quickest to speak without knowledge .. and the list continues.

“So where do I start if that person is me?!”

With what Abul ‘Aaliya and his friends started with;

Salaah.