By Abdullahi Jamaa
For many Ratibs the idea of praying at home is a thing of great apprehension. It is a completely different environment of establishing obligatory prayers away from the Masjid, marking a new adjustment to our spiritual life – courtesy of COVID-19.
The dedicated discipline of praying in the first row for decades and decades is an effort that many Ratibs in our masjids have been building; losing this spiritual feat all of a sudden certainly breaks the spirit.
Just walking into a Masjid for a prayer erases our sins while earning boundless rewards from our Lord. The Masjid offered a golden opportunity for simple yet meritorious acts of ibadah, a chance that has now been closed.
When one steps into the door of a Masjid he makes a powerful prayer asking Allah to open the door of mercy, an infinite blessing that marks the beginning of delightful moments of worship. The pronouncement of this supplication awakens by itself an unreplaceable feeling of spiritual satisfaction.
The prayer environment in the Masjid, with a mass of people that bow and prostrate together not only enhances the quality of prayer but also increases chances of its acceptance. This is a true environment that strengthens loyalty and obedience.
For a person who has been praying in the Masjid in his entire life, obligatory prayer at home enormously disturbs his psych. It becomes a broken routine of a discipline so cherished. This is a reality that disturbs the minds and hearts of faithfuls.
Coping with life without the place of Masjid requires forbearance. While we thank Allah for everything that happens and as we hope for the best that soon things will return back to normal, the agenda of this article is to give an approach to making our spiritual life at home more rewarding and satisfactory.
The most important thing is to keep the quality of our prayers in high standards as it was when we were praying in the Masjid. It means making adjustment and fine tuning our home roles and environment for proper spiritual admiration.
Imam at home
Create a special space within your home dedicated for praying and other forms of worship. This gives you an opportunity to lead prayer from your own home. It means becoming an Imam for your family members and to continue with the spirit of congregational prayers.
The messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the people of his house and he is responsible. A woman is the shepherd of the house of her husband and she is responsible. Each of you is a shepherd and each is responsible for his flock.”
The opportunity of becoming an Imam and leading prayer from home gives you a sense of religious responsibility, raises the quality of your prayers and that of your family members. Although with a little less congregation than that of the Masjid, it imparts a feeling of spiritual excitement.
Take up the full of role of your local imam: engage in teaching the deen at home, send reminders to family members, offer short lectures and motivational speeches. Follow the idea of propagating the teachings of one verse, one hadith after every prayer.
Prayer on time
Strictly observe the prayer timings. Follow the local Muazin and observe all pre-prayer arrangements and planning. The goal is to offer quality prayer since praying on time is one of the desirable deeds in Islam.
Dress code
As Muslims, at all times, we are required to keep up the spirit of Ihsan so as to achieve success in this world and in the hereafter. It means a lot to stand in front of our creator and benefit immensely from the spiritual conversation.
We must dress honourably just as we dress for the Masjid. Putting the effort into what we wear during prayers will have positive effects on our overall performance. Our spiritual confidence grows.
Spiritual seclusion
Turn the current medical isolation into spiritual seclusion, a kind of I’tikaf at home. Encourage family members to engage in dhikr and fikr, supplication, repentance and recitation of the magnificent Quran especially around prayer times.
Voluntary prayers
Make efforts to pray the additional twelve units (rak’ahs) of voluntary daily prayers in their prescribed times either before or after an obligatory prayer. These are special deeds that you can easily perform at home to earn a lot of rewards.
The Messenger of Allah said: “There is no Muslim slave who prays twelve rak’ahs to Allah each day, voluntarily, apart from the obligatory prayers, but Allah will build for him a house in paradise” (Muslim)
Fudayl ibn Iyad said: “Compulsory prayers are the capital and the voluntary prayers are the profits”
