 In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds Then his prayers and greetings to the most honored prophets, Muhammad and his good people, the righteous Allah, his prayers and greetings to Muhammad and his people, Muhammad dear viewers, Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you We were thankful to Allah, the Almighty, that has blessed us with this opportunity to discuss the holy verses of Quran and the narrations of Ahl al Bayt, and asking Allah, the Almighty, by his mercy to continue his blessing upon us in order for us to learn more from these verses of Quran and the narrations of Ahl al Bayt, and to be able to apply them into our daily lives. As we promised, we, insha'Allah, will answer a very important question, which we've got to Surat al-Baqarah where Allah, the Almighty, says, This is the verse that we are discussing, insha'Allah, who believe in the unseen and maintain the prayer and spend out of what we have provided for them. If you have followed us within the previous episode, we discussed about a very important question that's been asked many times, how can we concentrate within our prayer that our mind, how can we concentrate within our prayer that our mind, how can we control our mind for us to be able to understand what we are reciting and to be able to gain more and more and more from this opportunity that Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, has provided for us on a daily basis five times to communicate with him. Let's just think about this. Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, the creator of the whole universe, all the universes he has allowed us on a daily basis to communicate with him, ask him and beg him and ask him the important dua that we have within Salah. So the question again is, how can we concentrate within our prayers? I'll give you, insha'Allah, three action plans, which insha'Allah will help. It's been a study based on something else, but we can take it and apply it to our prayers also. In Japan, they did a study and they wanted to see how can they increase the grade of the students. They wanted their students to get better grades at testing and they wanted their testing result to be better and higher. So they brought two groups of students. The first test that they did, it was that the first group, they had a set place where they would pray, where they would take the test. They would come every day to be examined in the same place. The second group, every day they took them to different states, different places. One day here, the other day there, the other day there, and they find out that the first group, which they were tested at the same place every time, they had better results. Why? Because their mind started, as soon as they came to the testing center, their mind and physically and mentally, they were ready for the test. So they knew they were programmed to be tested in this place. But the other group, their mind was not ready and the mind didn't know in this place what I need to do, how I need to function. So what did we learn? Within our house, if we have one room, let us dedicate an extra room, let us dedicate that room, have a prayer mat, have maybe a banner about the names of Ahle-baytah, and the words of the Holy Qur'an on the wall, make a small message in your house and always pray in that room. So slowly, slowly you see that as soon as you come to that room, your mind is ready for prayer because it has been given a routine and that routine, a mind likes to have a routine. That kind of likes to always do the same thing again and again and again the same place at the same time. The second test that they did, the first group, they were tested in a place that everything was organized. Few objects and every object was its own place. The second group, they were examined in different rooms and in those rooms, there were many, many objects, many materials, many sofas, frame, books, shelf, you name it, and none of them were organized. Everything was on top of one another and again, you can see it is very obvious that the first group where they were in the room that everything was organized and few objects were there, they got better grading and better result. The same thing for us, we can do that to the room that we are praying most of the time that we pray in the house or place that we mostly pray. Let us have organized, let it be organized, maybe a good Bukhu or something so when we come there physically and mentally, we are ready for Salah. So that's the second step that we can take to increase our concentration in our prayer. And the third thing, the third test that they did, it was the first group they brought them to the testing center 10 to 15 minutes before the test. They had them come, they sat, 10, 15 minutes later they gave them the test. Second group, as soon as they came they gave them the test. Again, it was obvious that the first group they were getting better results and they were getting better grades. Why? Because when they came they waited for the test mentally they were ready for it. Rather than being rushing suddenly coming, not knowing what is happening give them the test. Okay, the mind switching from one scenario from one mood from one perspective, from one environment to another environment and going under stress of test it didn't function that way. It didn't function easily going through that transferring. So, for us, and that's what we have in Ahadith of Ahlul Bayt, A.S. where the Ameer al-Mu'mineen the commander of the faithful states that the right of the prayer upon you is to sit on the prayer mat before the time of Adhan waiting for Adhan to be set. That's an action plan it's a very important action plan at least those days that we are home we are not working during the day that we have break or even if we can manage at work or if we are at school if we can manage that okay, we let our coworkers we let our manager we let our classes we, I remember when I was in George Mason University I tried my best sometimes I was successful sometimes I wasn't that I would get my classes and somehow that between two classes would be the time of prayer so when I leave one class I have time to go to the prayer hall pray and then go to the other class I tried my best so if by yuqimuna salam means what that again our schedule goes around salah not that we schedule everything suddenly in the middle of work in middle of studying in middle of cooking middle of helping middle of whatever it is suddenly we remember oh my God time to be my Salah to be Qadah and I haven't prayed no, that's the meaning of establishing Salah yuqimuna Salah that's the second sign of the pious individual so the action plan will be from now on let us schedule our day let us schedule our week let us schedule our meetings let us schedule our gatherings everything either we do something that inshallah people we will gather together two hours before Salah so we keep mentioning this this becomes a culture that as a family as a community we start with our own family we want to go to someone's house we say inshallah we will meet up after prayer that's the timing we pray and then we come or inshallah we come and we pray at your place where we are raising kids with having the culture of knowing the importance of Salah that our time is Salah time inshallah all of our Salah is on time so that's how we raised our kids inshallah inshallah we'll talk about actually let us discuss it right now also because it is very important people have parents have complained that how can we teach our kids the importance of Salah it's not verbally saying it it's always with our action our kids and people that's why it is very important for us to teach other people with our action not verbally this is from the Hadith of Ahlul Bayt a.s. where Ahlul Bayt have said be the prayer of people without your action invite people to the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the religion of Islam to the Madhab of Ahlul Bayt a.s. without your tongue means with your action so at home action plan another action plan mother or the father time of Adhan comes for those days that they're home or for those prayers that everybody has home typically Maghriban Asha time of Maghriban Asha comes standing in the middle of the house Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar say Adhan that's slowly slowly raise a generation that they remember okay my dad used to say Adhan within the house that was the time of Salah we finish our food by Salah or we eat food after Salah so again our programming should be Salah Salah Salah Salah and within the house we can pray Salatul Jama'ah the father leads the prayer inshallah he can perfect his pronunciation and the mother and the kids they can pray Salatul Jama'ah it is allowed and it is possible it has tawaab in it so for the times again times that we are at home Salatul Subh or Maghriban Asha or on the weekends we pray Salatul Jama'ah and again that becomes slowly slowly as a culture which is very very important and we said that another action plan will be we sit on our prayer mat 10 to 15 minutes maximum don't make it more before Salah we read a page or two of the Holy Quran and if you have followed our lectures you know our action plans from the previous that we read 50 verse day and read the translation of those 50 verse and take one verse and think about it that takes 10 to 15 minutes and take one hadith from the Kitab to have al-ukul that we have introduced and read it think about it ponder about it and to see how can we bring this hadith and one verse and to our lives and where we can see after one year 365 verses of the Holy Quran how much it has changed us and has enhanced our life and our relationship with other people and same thing 365 narrations of ahlul bayt alayhum as-salam that's good to the hadith and their narrations of ahlul bayt alayhum as-salam about the importance of Salah because we want to be from those people who are pious why? because we want Quran to be guidance for us Imam Amir al-Mu'minin the commander of the faith for Ali ibn Abi Talab as-salam states and this is within the book Ghura al-Hakam and Dura al-Ruqala Dura al-Ruqala page number 175 Imam says Imam says beautiful hadith amazing what a beautiful tangible actionable item that's the beauty of ahlul bayt alayhum as-salam they teach us every little small detail Imam says I have a person who is praying knows how much blessing he is receiving from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when he is at sujud he wouldn't take his head out of sujud he would kept being at the condition of sujud where another hadith says Imam says when you are in the condition of sujud when you are prostrating to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the same way that the leaves of the tree fall in the season of fall the same way your sins will fall so a very important action plan again salat al-subh when we wake up which is very very recommended for us to be awake from salat al-subh fad your time until sunrise take the tasbih put your head on the turba and a hundred times say start your day asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgiveness after salat and when you come at night time when you come home from all what you have seen outside from the challenges difficulties God forbid we might have sin we might have light or our eyes have seen left and right we might have heard left and right here are the things that we supposed not to hear we says things that we supposed not to say when we come home after Maghrib and Aisha we put our head on sujud and we go to sujud and we hold the tasbih of Karbala insha'Allah we have and we say a hundred times start for Allah do this for one week one two weeks and see how much you will feel better insha'Allah another hadith this is in Qafish Sharif Noble Qafi Volume 3 page 270 where Imam tells his son Ya'bunay انه لا ينال و شفاعةنا من استخف بالصلاة God forbid insha'Allah we are not from these those people who don't receive the intercession of Ahl al-Bayt A.S. on the day of judgment because we believe as the 12 words we believe on the day of judgment insha'Allah that we must be doing good in this world as much as possible trying to be good people God forbid if we had sins here and there Allah has given this authority to Ahl al-Bayt A.S. to intercede for us insha'Allah but among places a condition he says لا ينال و شفاعةنا our intercession won't reach home a person من استخف بالصلاة who thought of Salat to be less value didn't give Salat the value that Salat had not it doesn't it's not talking about the person who doesn't pray no that's kuf if a person knows about Salat and the importance of Salat and purposely and intentionally he doesn't pray that's kuf no Imam says من استخف بالصلاة meaning I'm watching a show maybe I'm watching a football or soccer between two teams or a TV show or an episode whatever it is I'm between a game Allah Akbar Allah time of Salat comes I delay Salat I go do something else and I go do something else and I go do something else five minutes before it becomes Qadha I pray that is called استخف بالصلاة meaning lowering and listening the value of Salat in our eyes Imam says our Shafa'a our intercession won't reach that or we are sitting within a gathering family sitting together time of Christmas comes Thanksgiving or we just got together on a weekly basis insha'Allah we as the lovers of Al-Bayt Al-Masala we are recommended to get together discuss our issues our affairs and try to be as one united community we sit together time of Salat comes and we just keep talking and talking and talking and we don't get up everybody as Jama'a for prayer that is استخفاف بالصلاة which insha'Allah we hope we are not amongst those people so insha'Allah we receive the Shafa'a of Ahlul Bayt Al-Masalaam the rest insha'Allah in the next episode we will conclude by asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the most important dua'a which we have been prescribed by Ahlul Bayt Al-Masalaam to increase the dua'a by Imam Zaman which he said pray abundantly that you pray asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to hasten his reappearance Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem Allahumma kulli wali'ka Al-Hujjat Ibn Al-Hasan Salawatu ka alayhi wa ala wa'ih fi hazeh sa'at wa fi kulli sa'at wali'an wa hafidha wa qa'idan wa nasirah wa dali'lan wa aina hatta tuskinuh wa adhaka taw'a wa tumatta'a wa fiha taw'ila barahmatika ya arhaman rahameen