O devotees of the Prophet! In today’s speech, we will explore the significance, virtues and benefits of the prayer, as well as the harms of not praying.

Fire in the Grave

The leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ writes an admonishing account in his booklet Disclosures from Shroud Thief:

A man’s sister passed away and after he buried her, he realised that his money bag fell in the grave. When he returned to his sister’s grave and started digging, he saw flames blazing from her grave. He immediately covered the grave with soil and cried with grief as he went home.

He asked his mother, “What were my sister’s actions like?”

She replied, “O my son, why do you ask?”

“I saw fire in my sister’s grave,” he responded.

The mother wept and said, “Your sister was lazy in offering the prayers, and she performed them after their time had ended.”^[1]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                          صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Dear Islamic brothers! From this admonishing incident, we learn how laziness with regards to the prayer is a great sin and a means of punishment in the grave. Whilst refraining from laziness, we must enthusiastically perform the five daily prayers with the congregation in the masjid because laziness with the prayer is a sign of hypocrisy. When