The Easiest Form of Worship
Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah

35. Remembrance is easy for the servant-whether he lies in bed or journeys, in health or in illness, in comfort and luxury, in his daily work, standing, sitting or lying down, on his way or at home. No [other] act can be performed so often and in so many situations. In fact, it is so easy that he could sleep in his bed and still be ahead of the one who stands [in worship] but is heedless. The sleeper rises having traversed a great distance, all the while stretched out on his bed; whereas the one standing heedlessly rises seated on his mount. ‘And that is the grace of God which He gives to whomever He pleases.’ [57:21]

It is recounted that there once was an ascetic [rajul min al-`ibad] who stayed the night with a man as a guest. The ascetic spent the entire night standing in prayer, while the host was stretched out in his bed. When he rose in the morning, the ascetic said to the host, ‘The caravan has gone on before you,’ [sabaqak al-rakb, by which he meant, ‘I have surpassed you in the journey to God’] or words to that effect. To which the [host] replied, ‘It is unimportant that one spend the night travelling and then wake up with the caravan. What is important is that one spend the night in bed but wake up having crossed a great distance.’

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A Brief Summary of all the Major Sins
by al-Hâfidh Abî ‘Abdullâh Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Uthmân bin Qayyim Dhahabî

1. Associating partners with Allah (Shirk) Great Shirk: worshipping beings other than Allah (proof all over Quraan) Small Shirk: Riya The Prophet (saws),

“Should I not inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? It is the hidden shirk: A person stands to pray and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him”. (Sahih; Sunan ibn Majah)

2. Committing murder: (Furqan; 68)

3. Performing Sorcery (2: 102)

4. Not performing the Prayers (Maryam: 59)

5. Withholding the Zakat (Charity) (3: 180)

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Chapter on Repentance
From Imam Nawawi’s Gardens of the Righteous

Scholars say that it is s a duty to repent of every wrong action. If it is disobedience which occurs between a person and Allah and does not involve the right of another human being, repentance has three preconditions:

The first is that one divest himself of disobedience.

The second is that he regret doing it.

The third is that he resolve not to ever return to it.

If one of the three is lacking, then his repentance is not sound.

If it involves to another human being, repentance has four preconditions: these three and that he discharges his duty to the other person. If it is money or the like, he pays it to him. If it is a hadd-punishment because of slander and the like it, he give shim power over him or seeks his pardon. If it is slander, he undoes it, He must repent of all wrong actions. If he repents of some of them, the people of truth say that his repentance of them is sound, but he still has the rest. There is much evidence in the Book, the Sunna and the consensus of the Community about the obligation to repent.

Allah Almighty says, “Turn towards Allah, O believers, every one of you, so that perhaps you will have success,” (24:31) and the Almighty says, “Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then turn in repentance to Him,” (11:3) and the Almighty says, “O you who believe! Turn in sincere repentance to Allah.” (66:8)

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The Time Between Suhur and Fajr – Seven Points
Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani
Anas reported that Zayd bin Thabit said: “We had suhur with the Prophet, and he then got up to pray.” Anas then asked: “How much time was there between the adhan and the suhur?” He answered: “Fifty verses.”

In ‘Fath al-Bari’ (4/164), Ibn Hajar made the following points on this hadith:

* al-Muhallab and others said: “Shown in this narration is the fact that they would measure time with physical actions, and the Arabs would measure time with actions, such as their saying that such-and-such took the same amount of time that it would take to milk a sheep, or the amount of time it would take to slaughter a camel. So, Zayd bin Thabit similarly estimated the time using the recitation of the Qur’an, indicating that this time was used for the worship of reciting the Qur’an.”

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Sincerity Towards Allah
by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Allaah says,

“There is not a single thing except that its depositories and treasures are with Us.” [Al-Hijr (15): 21]

This verse comprises a [great] treasure from the treasures [of the Qur`aan], this being that nothing is sought except from the One Who possesses its depositories and treasures, the One in Whose Hands lie the keys to these treasures. Seeking [things] from anyone else is seeking something from one who does not possess them or possess any authority over them.

The saying of Allaah,

“And that to your Lord is the final goal.” [An-Najm (53): 42]

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