 I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed. In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. May Allah bless Muhammad, the Merciful. Peace be upon you, dear viewers, and welcome back to this final edition of this series where we are examining the life and legacy of Fatima al-Zahra, insha'Allah, today's final episode. We'll be looking at the Salah of Fatima al-Zahra, and what we can learn from the immense prayer of this fantastic lady. And it's hard to help me guide through this topic. I'll be joined by my dear guest, Sheikh Muhammad al-Halil. Thank you for joining us once again. Really appreciate you being here. So when we look at the prayer of Fatima al-Zahra, I'm sure there's a plethora of lessons that we can learn in our own lives. Of course prayer, as we know, is something that we do five times a day. That's if we don't do the extra mustahab prayers. In terms of the way we perform our prayer, I feel like praying day to day, you can almost lose track of what you're doing. It becomes more of a habit than a conversation with God and something to elevate you. So insha'Allah, hope that in this episode we can look at the prayer of the greatest woman that ever lived and ask ourselves how we can improve our prayer based on that. So just to begin, tell us how PB Fatima al-Zahra performed her prayers. There's no doubt that one of the most beloved actions of the Ahal al-Bayt was Salah to them. In every angle we look at their lives, we see that they were so eager. Starting with Rasulullah, you would say, O Bilal, give me ease, give me comfort by reciting the adhan. Then you have, of course, Amir al-Mu'mineen, Salam al-Lahi, believing and saying firmly that his greatest moment was in Salah when he was struck first to Arab al-Kaaba. And you have Imam al-Husayn, alaihi salam. When it comes to the planes of Karbala, he would make sure that despite the arrows being showered at him, he would perform the Salah, Salat al-Khawf at that time. And you have Imam al-Husayn, alaihi salam, who would be pale when approaching Salah and would say, do you know who I'm about to stand before? And you have Imam Zayn al-Abideen, alaihi salam, who is Sayyid al-Sajideen, you know, Prolonges al-Sajda and so on. And you have therefore these examples of individuals who did not perform Salah only because of obligation, but they did it because it's something beloved to them. This is a key aspect in the development of the human being, because if we love Allah, we know that He has instructed us to do certain deeds for our own benefit. There is not a single iota or benefit that comes back to Allah when it comes to SubhanAllah, when it comes to Salah. It is all to do with us. And so when we recognize that we approach Salah in a different manner. Now, one thing I would like to mention about Sayyid al-Nisa, Lady of Light, Fatima al-Zahra, Salamatullah, and Salamu alayhi salam. There are a number of narrations which highlight her association and her connection and relationship with prayers. One of them is regarding the performance of the prayer and the reward of those who perform prayers. In a conversation she had with her beloved father, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Salallahu alaihi wa salam, remembering that sometimes we get lost in this discussion of how we should perform our Salah, our concentration, and we have to remind some people to actually pray. I remember once in a center I was giving a medallist about how Qur'an speaks about punishment in Jahannam and how we should be wary. Someone after I finished came to me and said, you're talking about punishment in Jahannam, but there are some people who don't believe in Jahannam. So you have to prove, you have to show that there is Jahannam. Sometimes we forget the first step and that is actually to pray. This is a key because not everyone does so and we have to constantly remind ourselves. Now, Qur'an tells us that there is a conversation that takes place in Jahannam. The conversation is between the people of Hell. They would say, Why are you in an area in Jahannam known as Saqr? So the response would be, The first thing that the people of Jahannam would respond in answering why they've ended up where they are is because they have not performed their prayers. And similarly, we are told the famous Hadith of the Holy Prophet, Salallahu alaihi wa salam, Salatu Amud al-Din, If prayers are accepted, everything else will be accepted. And if it's rejected, everything else will be rejected. Now, what is interesting is there is this narration which is from the Holy Lady of Light which highlights the importance of performing the Salat. This is a conversation she says to her father, the Holy Prophet, What is the repercussions of those who take their prayers lightly from men or women? The Holy Prophet says, Those people who take their prayers lightly or don't pray will receive 15 things and Allah will punish them by 15 ways. So it's interesting that these 15 are then mentioned. The Prophet says 6 in Dunya, 3 at the time of death, 3 in the grave and 3 in Qiyamah. So let's just remind ourselves what they are. 6 things that will happen in Dunya if you don't pray, the Prophet says to Fatima. Number one, Allah will remove barakah from your lifespan, meaning that in our understanding, and this is a lengthier subject but summarized, we have an opportunity to expand or increase our lifespan due to our own deeds to a certain level that Allah has promised. But if we don't do certain deeds, it will go to the minimum. So the Prophet says, You don't pray and the barakah, the blessings, the divine favours upon you when it comes to your life will be removed. Number two, rizq is also reduced. Some people come forward and say, I've been trying my hardest to increase my business. It's not working out. Can you give me a du'a or a tasbih or a ta'weez? People say that. Have you been praying? Have you missed fajr? Because fajr is one that a lot of people miss, not in the winter but in the summer often, isn't it? Because the fact they have to wake up at 4 or something like that. And so it seems to be that the only fajr that some people pray is June the month of Ramadan because they have to wake up before to make sure that they eat, especially when they have a 20 hour fast. So the Prophet says, rizq will be removed. Then he says to Sayyid-ul-Fatima, there's a message for all of us. Yemhu allahu az-zawajil si'ma'u s-salihina min wajhe. You know, there is some kind of a light or some kind of a facial element associated with those who are righteous. Allah says that is removed from them if they miss prayers. Number four, every deed that they do, they will not be given the thawab for it. This is heavy. This is very strong. Allah, you know, the Prophet is saying, whatever you do, because it's related to that narration. If it's accepted, everything else is accepted. If it's not, nothing else will be. Number five, the dua will not be answered by Allah in dunya. And number six, the dua of others will not be answered for them. So please bear in mind these six things in dunya for those who miss prayers, those who take their prayers lightly or do not perform them deliberately. Now, the three are death, he says to Sayyid-ul-Fatima. He says that they will die in a state of disgrace. Number two, they will die hungry. This hunger is not physical hunger, it's spiritual hunger as well. And thirdly, they will die thirsty as well. Really desperate for water or quenching of their thirst. Very scary points. Very, you know. And then the three in the grave, the Prophet says, the repercussions of not praying, he says Allah will make sure that there is an angel with that person always that will annoy him or her in the grave constantly. Number two, there will be more pressure and the squeezing of the grave. And number three, the grave will be dark. Now remember, all graves are dark. But we're talking about the soul here, not the body. We're talking about how the soul then experiences and what sees and so on and so forth, missing of prayers has severe repercussions. Then finally, the Prophet says three things will happen on the Day of Qiyamah. Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, will appoint an angel who will constantly strike him on his face whilst the other of his creation look at him or her. So it will be a source of disgrace. He will be severely held accountable. He will be held accountable. He will be held accountable. He will be held accountable. He will be held accountable. He will be held accountable. Which is the worst of the worst. Absolutely cannot get worse than this. Allah will not look at him in compassion, does not purify his deeds and for him or her there is severe punishment. So it's a reminder for us not to really take Salah lightly in case we think that we will have the intercession of Sayyid-ul-Fatima. Salah will say, yeah, I have the Ahlul-Bayt. I'm not going to pray, but they will help me on the Day of Qiyamah. The day of Qiyamah, the Shafa'ah. And Imam Al-Sadaq gives us categorically, لن ينالوا شafa'atuna من استخف بصلاة. Anyone who takes their prayers lightly will not gain our intercession. Just to interject, you mentioned it's not just about people who don't pray, but also about those who take their prayer lightly. What does that mean specifically? Well, that's important that you ask this question. It means that when I come to pray, I don't respect the Salah the way it should be. Meaning that, for example, I'm dressed inappropriately, for example. I don't pray and it's time. I leave it till the last minute. I have distractions around me that make me think about all kinds of things. I do not encourage the establishment of prayers wherever I am in the mosque or wherever I'm thinking of other things. It's not a major thing in my life. It's something that I just have got to do and leave. So it is about taking prayers to a level which is disrespectful towards Salah. We're going back to actually the prayer of Fatima Zahra. How did she pray? How is the antithesis of all of this? So we have a beautiful narration which highlights how Sayyida Fatima used to pray. It's from the holy prophets. It's the narration that we use. To deduce the name of Sayyida Fatima as Zahra. You know, as Zahra means the illuminating one. And so this is from this narration. My daughter Fatima, she's the chief lady of the women of the past and the future from the beginning until the end. She's part of me and she's the apple of my eyes. She's the joy of my eyes. She's the soul that exists between my two shoulders. She is the one who is formed from Jannah and also a human being. This is the part. Every time she stands in her place of Salah between before her Lord, the light from her illuminates the heavens for the Malaika. Just like how the comets and the stars, they illuminate the night for the people of the earth. Then the prophet says, Be a witness or look at my servant Fatima. She is Qa'ima. She's standing there praying. I bear witness that I have safeguarded her from Jannah. What is interesting is this is later on described by some people who said that There was no one in this community who was perhaps out of the ladies who was as devout and worshipped Allah just like Fatima. Every time she stood in Salah, her knees would be swollen and her ankles would be swollen. This is not to be understood wrongly because some people will force themselves. This is due to the love of Allah in worshipping Allah in such a manner. I would call her Salah, the illuminating light, a prayer. Because the Hadith of the prophet says when she stands, she illuminates the heavens. Such was the powerful Salah that not only was she performing it in this earth it actually impacted the heavens. And the other aspect that we have to remind ourselves about what the Salah of Fatima is is what she said in her Khutba. Very, very important. What can we learn from that? I know it's quite self-explanatory but what can we pick up from that thing of Fatima? It means that if you are praying and you are arrogant then your Salah is worthless. You have to do it in a sense if you don't say, oh, you know what, fine, I'm arrogant, I won't pray then. No, you have to perform it because it's a difference between performance of Salah and acceptance of Salah. Performance is just, I pray, it's a stick. I won't get punished if I don't. But whether I'm benefiting from it is another matter. So the Quran says in the Salah Tanah in Fahshai 1 Mulkara definitely, verily, prayers prohibit a person who does it from committing vice and evil. One of those that say the Fatima is demonstrating and one of the most important ones is self-settingness, selfishness or arrogance of feeling that people think that they are better than others. You see, at the time of the Holy Prophet, Salallahu Alaihi Wasalam, they came to him and said, Ya Rasoolallah, some of them, we, you know, want to pray but we can't put our forehead onto the ground because we've never done that for anyone. It's too much for us. Can you excuse us from that? Is there a possibility that we can do a prayer without the Sajdah? The Prophet says, no. You know, sometimes people compromise when it comes to Islamic teachings. The Prophet here said, no, you can't have a part-time half-fulfilled Salah. You have to do it properly. You have to do it completely. Sajdah is key. And Sajdah is putting the highest point of your body, lowest point to the ground. It is a demonstration of humility, nothingness before Allah, annihilation of the Self. Because the moment you annihilate yourself before Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and then act humbly before others, the moment that you are demonstrating morals and principles and the moment you understand that you are nothing before God and therefore you start to be monitoring of yourself, self-interrespecting, purifying and not thinking that somehow you're already sorted and you're already in Jannah. So Salah has to be a school of training. It has to be an institution where we gain every time we pray. If I've been praying for 30, 40 years and my akhlaq, my spirituality, my outlook in life is getting down, I have to go back to basics. Am I praying properly? Have I examined the fiqh? Am I making common errors and mistakes and wudhu and wusul and the actual Salah itself? Number two, do I understand what is it that I'm saying? Is it that just regurgitating some things that I've learned is the oscillation of the tongue? Or as the hadith says, As-Salatu Mi'raju al-Mu'min is the heavenly journey. And number three, I need to monitor that I need to ensure that I look after what is known as adab al-salah, the etiquettes of the prayers. For example, putting on perfume. For example, wearing good clothes. For example, doing the adhan and the iqam. For example, being in an area with less destruction. For example, praying in its time. All these, there are so many literature out there. So many recommendations, websites, lectures. It has to constantly play in our minds. It has to be something that is key that we always worry about in our lives. So, you spoke about how prayer should really be like a source of education. Learning from the prayer of Fatbun Sahara, what practical tips can we learn from her prayer to help improve our own Salah? Yes, well, I think one key thing that of course we have to realize when we look at the Ahl al-Bayt, Sayyida Fatima, peace and blessings be upon her, is what makes Salah so successful in the lives of this Ahl al-Bayt. And of course, as demonstrated by the Quran, because they are the walking Quran, is Khushuq. Qad-aflha al-Mu'minun, al-Ladheena hon fi Salatihim khasharon. Some people struggle. They say, you know, it's so difficult for me. These are all theoretical. It's so hard. You know, I come back from work or I'm in the middle of work and I'm all over the place in my mind. It's just all over the place. And, you know, in the moment I start and say Allahu Akbar, I remember where I've put something that I've misplaced. Or I've solved an equation for those who are doing GCSE level maths. They say, if you've forgotten something when you pray, you'll come back to you. Yeah, indeed. I mean, there's a number of people who actually would share this and actually agree that shaitan becomes so strong all of a sudden, you know, and it becomes, sadly, a means by which our attention goes somewhere else. One of the scholars famously said, if you want to know the relationship between you and Allah and how much you love Allah, examine the relationship between you and Salat and how much you love Salat. If you look at Salat as something that's a chore and you despise it and you just want to do it and you're seriously in trouble as far as your relationship with God is concerned because it is an appointment to refresh the soul. The Prophet of Islam says in a famous narration, don't you want to go and wash your body from impurities five times a day? That's what, essentially, you're doing. What we learn from the Ahlul Bayt, alaykum as-salām, is the approach and the mindset to come towards Salat has to be key and it has to be somehow supported by the family. See, the Quran says wa umur ahlaka bil salati wastabur alayha. Allah says to the Prophet, command your family with Salat, for Salat. So, the Prophet of Islam and his Ahlul Bayt would be individuals who would be commanded by Allah SWT to be the best in Salat. But the Quran then goes to say wastabur alayha. In Quran, the word istabur is not the same as sabr. Sabr means patience. Istabur has different meanings. Some say istabur means have more patience. But more likely istabur means be persistent and don't give up and ensure that as your time go on you're more and more inclined towards the Salat and the patience. Now, we need help in our lives. Sometimes people say I need help in my Salat. Interestingly, the Quran says if you're in trouble in your life you don't know what to turn to. If you're down, if you're thinking that everything is dark and everything is blocked wa sta'i no basabri wa Salat go and seek help in patience. Some narration says that's fasting and Salat. And then Allah SWT says Inna Allah ma as-sabri and another verse says wa inna ha la kabiratun illa alal khaasha'in Those who have khushu' will be the only ones who don't think it's a huge burden that falls on their shoulders. One of the lessons I feel that we can take from the blessed lady Fatima Salamullahi alayha is the prayers which are known as Nawafil because we struggle in our day-to-day lives as far as normal prayers are concerned and yes, concentration makes all we may not be focused but Sayyida Fatima of course all the Ahlul Bayt love to perform Salatul Layl She raised her children with the love of performing Salatul Layl Sayyida Zainab would not miss Salatul Layl on that night of Shama Ghariba She would never, you know even sitting down Imam al-Husayn Salamullahi alayha on the night of Ashura would be performing Salatul Layl reading the Quran and performing dua This is all because they were trained in the school of Ali and Fatima who were trained in the school of the Holy Prophet all of them to love Salat but also to perform recommendatory Nawafil including Salatul Layl Imam al-Asgiri alayhi salam comes forward and says Alamatul Mu'un 51 these 51 how many of them do we do at least if we can't do the Nawafil if we can't do the two for Fajr and the eight for Zohar and the eight for Asr and we can't do the four for the Maghrib and two for the Asha let's do the eleven for the Salatul Layl and if we can't do the eleven for Salatul Layl let's do nine if we can't do nine let's do seven five three one if we can't do it standing we can do it sitting if we can't do it sitting we can do it lying on our beds as long as we have vovo we can do Salat and for ladies they just need to cover their head now this Salatul Layl is so powerful that we are told Sayyid-ul-Fatim was performing it and it's when Imam Al-Hassan heard her praying for others before praying for themselves and so we are told out of recommendation if we even miss Salatul Layl Imam Sadaq says anyone of us who doesn't perform Salatul Layl is not one of us you know what is interesting is if we miss it we can perform it as Qadar the next day Qadar it's so highly recommended for us to actually do we can actually do it whilst walking you know sometimes people are walking somewhere and they have vovo I can just do Salatul Layl or whilst driving but make sure their focus is on the roads yes and probably it's a good way to focus because sometimes people feel sleepy and so on but you know they are a bit have encouraged us and highlighted to us the need to perform these recommendatory prayers so that we enrich our Wajah prayers it's a major support and it really helps us to develop an understanding of the significance and the importance of prayers well it's been wonderful discussing this topic with you and I hope that inshallah our viewers and myself can really learn from what you've put forward which is of course the prayer of Fatima which is in itself a school of lessons for all the lovers of Salat and inshallah hopefully we can learn from and obey the narration of the al-Bait al-Islam who advises when it comes to Salat any final parting words? Yes I would like to mention that I think the subject of prayer is maybe overwhelming for some people and Shaitan plays a role here because there are some who think you know what I'm just barely praying you know I have to go through all this business of trying to know what is it I'm reciting and understand what is it I'm reciting and understand why I'm doing Rukh or why I'm doing Sujood any errors maybe too much for people I say take a step-by-step approach have groups of people have circles and seek knowledge and advice from alims and respected individuals check your Salat with them make sure you're doing it properly but don't be overwhelmed in the sense that for example a Yama Fatima use it to improve one aspect of your Salat the birth and the Shahadahs of the A'im use this to memorize or learn a Hadith about Salat the month of Ramadan make sure this month of Ramadan that's coming up is better than the last month of Ramadan so take step-by-step and that has been shown and positive encouragement from people around you sometimes if the family together they have a program in which they support each other in prayers and let's not forget the absolute necessity and the importance of Salat-ul-Jamaa the prayers which is congregational it's so key there's so much thawab and in the household husband for example the children the wife can all pray together it cements a very harmonious wonderful connection together and it's highly rewarding and it's a good example for the children as well take small steps rely on Allah beg Allah will definitely help you because he wants you to succeed in this particular objective and I can guarantee that the more you improve your Salat the closer you will become to Ali Muhammad including Sayyidat-ul-Nisa'a Fatima wonderful Thank you for those gems of wisdom of course gems of wisdom you've been providing for us over this past series we hope that inshallah Fatima Zahara al-Islam intercedes for you for me and for all of you inshallah you've been watching this series on the life and legacy of Fatima Zahara al-Islam as I mentioned before we pray that she intercedes for us and of course also that we take on both the lessons from her life and her legacy into her own lives and hope that inshallah each of us me included can do what little we can to serve the legacy of Fatima Thank you so much for watching As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuh