Only 41% of Muslim Americans Pray 5 Times a Day

The Pew Research Center recently published a comprehensive 102-page study on Muslims in the United States entitled Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream. The study covered various aspects of the community, among them the population of Muslims in the United States, demographics, religious belief and practice, identity and assimilation, challenges and problems, political and social values, and finally foreign policy, terrorism and extremism.

The study was based on a survey conducted of 1,050 American Muslims from January 24 to April 30, 2007.

I will be the first to admit that the findings of this study should not be granted carte blanche trust. That being said, however, there are some striking, and in some cases even shocking, results in the study.

Perhaps the most shocking of the results was the response to a question about daily prayer. Only 41% of the people surveyed responded that they pray five times a day. If this is even somewhat representative of the community at large, that means that not even half of the community performs its most basic requirement to Allāh.

The Messenger of Allāh (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) said:

“The first thing people will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Allāh will say to His angels, “Look at my servants’ prayers. Were they complete or not?” If they were complete It will be written as complete. If they were not fully complete Allāh will say. “See if my servant has voluntary prayers.” If he has them Allāh will say, “Complete his obligatory prayers shortage with his voluntary prayers.” Then the rest of his deeds will be dealt with in the same manner.”

(Reported by Imāms Ahmad, Abū Dāwūd, an-Nisā'i, and al-Hakim)

For our own personal salvation, we must solidify our five daily prayers. It will be the primary determinant of our final eternal destination. Furthermore, for the sake of our condition in the dunya (this world), we must realize that Allāh will not grant us success until we fulfill this most basic obligation. As Allāh tells us clearly in the Qur’ān:

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ

Inna Allāha lā yughayyiru mā biqawmin hattā yughayyirū mā bi'anfusihim.

Allāh will never change the condition of a people until they change that which is within themselves.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat ar-Ra‘d, Āyah 11)

Read more:

• The Pew Research Center Report: Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream

Homeland Security Using Muslims to Help Prevent Radicalism

It is very unfortunate that some Muslims allow the Department of Homeland Security to help dictate what is defined as radicalism and how to prevent it. Islam already a very rich history of advancing a moderate society and rejecting extremism. Working with agencies that have proven to be unjust and outright anti-Muslim is not an effective method for Muslims to combat extremism in our communities. Rather, it helps an anti-Muslim agenda more effectively.

As Allāh says in the Qur’ān:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

Wa kadhālika ja‘alnākum ummatan wasatan litakūnū shuhadā'a ‘alā n-nāsi wa yakūnu r-Rasūlu ‘alaykum shahīda.

We have made you a justly-balanced Ummah (worldwide nation), so that you may be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger may be a witness over you.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah, Āyah 143)

An excerpt from a San Francisco Chronicle article:

After nearly six years of intense law enforcement scrutiny of Muslims in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is reshaping his agency’s approach to Muslims and invited four prominent Muslims to help the agency prevent homegrown radicalism.

The four leaders Chertoff called on -- a former ambassador from Pakistan, a Santa Monica author who grew up in San Jose, a Houston city councilman and an Austin, Texas, blogger -- suggest increasing youth services, working with bloggers to fight extremist ideology on the Web and even changing the terminology the government uses to describe terrorists.

The May 8 meeting -- the first of its kind the Homeland Security secretary has called with Muslims -- was part of a series of gatherings that Chertoff told Congress in March would be “an unprecedented level of cooperation” with various ethnic and religious communities to “prevent radicalization.”

Read more:

• San Francisco Chronicle: Security agency enlisting Muslims to rebut radicals

Of Mice and Men

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلاَّ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

Wa mā min dābbatin fī l-ardi wa lā tā’irin yatīru bijanāhayhi illā umamun amthālukum mā farratnā fī l-kitābi min shay’in thumma ilā rabbihim yuhsharūn.

There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-An‘ām, Āyah 38)

How often do we appreciate the amazing order and structure that Allāh has placed in every facet of every system He has created? From the organized structure of the incredibly minute atoms that build up all the molecules within an organism, to the complex social structures that are manifest among a species of those organisms. A video follows showing us just a glimpse into the amazing social dynamic that exists among the animals with which we share this earth. Watch it to the very end for something rather unexpected.



One cannot help but be reminded of one of the lessons that Allāh has taught us through Prophet Sulaymān (Solomon), may Allāh grant him peace. That these communities that we so often blindly pass off as being less “evolved” are actually much more sophisticated than we think. Perhaps these reminders can help us gain a better appreciation for Allāh’s creation and the hidden beauty that lies right underneath our feet...

حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِي النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ

Hattā idhā ataw ‘alā wādī n-namli qālat namlatun yā ayyuhā n-namlu dkhulū masākinakum lā yahtimannakum Sulaymānu wa junūduhū wa hum lā yash‘urūn.

Fatabassama dāhikan min qawlihā wa qāla Rabbī awzi‘nī an ashkura ni‘mataka llatī an‘amta ‘alayya wa ‘alā wālidayya wa an a‘mala sālihan tardāhu wa adkhilnī birahmatika fī ‘ibādika s-sālihīn.

At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: “O ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it.”

So he smiled, amused at her speech, and he said: “O my Lord, so order me that I may be grateful for Your favors, which you have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work righteousness that will please You. And admit me, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants."

(Qur’ān, Sūrat an-Naml, Āyāt 18-19)

The Butcher of Chechnya Is Dead

Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin died today from heart failure at the age of 76. He will certainly not be missed by the people of Chechnya. In 1994, he launched a brutal invasion of Chechnya. Two years later, when the dust had settled, 80,000 to 100,000 Chechen civilians were killed, and 500,000 more were forced to become refugees.

No matter how much power, resources and wealth a ruler may have, as Allāh says in three places in the Qur’ān:

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ

Kullu nafsin dhā’iqatu l-mawt.
Every soul shall taste death.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat Āli ‘Imrān, Āyah 185,
Sūrat al-Anbiyā’, Āyah 35,
and Sūrat al-‘Ankabūt, Āyah 57)

Read more:

• Wikipedia: First Chechen War

Amazing Qur’ān Recitation from Young Boy

Length: 2:30



Video originally taken from Ryadh-Quran.

Fear a Day in Which You Will Be Brought Back to Allāh

Shaykh Muhammad Jibrīl led Salāt at-Tarāwīh (a special night prayer performed during Ramadān) tonight, and he recited the following verse a total of five times in two rak‘ahs, placing an incredible amount of emphasis on it:

وَاتَّقُواْ يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللّهِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

Wa ttaqū yawman turja‘ūna fīhi ilā Llāhi thumma tuwaffā kullu nafsin mā kasabat wa hum la yudhlamūn.

And fear a day in which you will be brought back to Allāh. Then every soul will be paid in full that which it has earned, and they will not be wronged.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah, Āyah 281)

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The Arabic text from Surat al-Baqarah was taken from Fahrasat al-Qur’ān al-Karīm.

The English translation of the verse was adapted from The Majestic Qur’ān: An English Rendition of its Meanings, translated by Ali Özek, Nureddin Uzunoğlu, Tevfik R. Topuzoğlu and Mehmet Maksutoğlu, edited by Abdal Hakim Murad, Mostafa al-Badawi and Uthman Hutchinson.

Reflections from the Qur’ān: The Conditional Covenant with the Children of Israel

It is often said by Zionists that Palestine is the promised land of the Jews by virtue of the fact that they are God’s chosen people. They imply that His chosen people have had favors bestowed upon them that others have not, and this is what entitles them to occupy other people’s land.

What they fail to mention, however, is that they were chosen to fulfill a covenant with God. And this is a covenant that by any measure, today’s Zionists have failed to uphold.

Allāh explicitly describes the covenant in Sūrat al-Baqarah:

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لاَ تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءكُمْ وَلاَ تُخْرِجُونَ أَنفُسَكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ

ثُمَّ أَنتُمْ هَـؤُلاء تَقْتُلُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَتُخْرِجُونَ فَرِيقاً مِّنكُم مِّن دِيَارِهِمْ تَظَاهَرُونَ عَلَيْهِم بِالإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَإِن يَأتُوكُمْ أُسَارَى تُفَادُوهُمْ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ إِخْرَاجُهُمْ أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ فَمَا جَزَاء مَن يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ مِنكُمْ إِلاَّ خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَى أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ وَمَا اللّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

Wa idh akhadhnā mīthāqakum lā tasfikūna dimā’akum wa lā tukhrijūna anfusakum min diyārikum thumma aqrartum wa antum tashhadun.

Thumma antum hā’ulā’i taqtulūna anfusakum wa tukhrijūna farīqan minkum min diyārihim tadhāharūna ‘alayhim bil-ithmi wa l-‘udwāni wa in ya'tūkum usārā tufādūhum wa huwa muharramun ‘alaykum ikhrājuhum. Afatu’minūna biba‘di l-kitābi wa takfurūna biba‘d. Famā jazā’u man yaf‘alu dhālika minkum illā khizyun fī l-hayāti d-dunyā. Wa yawma l-qiyāmati yuraddūna ilā ashaddi l-‘adhāb. Wa mā Llāhu bighāfilin ‘ammā ya‘malūn.

(O Children of Israel, remember) when We made a Covenant with you, saying: “You shall not shed blood among yourselves, nor expel one another from your homes.” And you confirmed it, and were witnesses thereto.

But in spite of this (the solemn promise you made), you were slaying your own brethren and driving them out from their homes and helping others against them with sin and aggression. And when they come to you as captives you ransom them, although the expulsion (itself) was unlawful for you. Do you believe in one part of the Scripture and disbelieve in another part? Those of you that act thus shall only be rewarded with disagrace in this world, and with the most grievous punishment on the Day of Resurrection. Allah is not unaware of what you do.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Baqarah, Āyahs 84-5)

Moroccan Boy Reciting Qur'an

Please wait a few moments for video to load. The video clip is 42 seconds long.

Courtesy of IslamicVideos.net.

The Night Journey and the Ascension to Heaven

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ

Subhāna lladhī asrā bi‘abdihī laylan mina l-Masjidi l-Harāmi ilā l-Masjidi l-Aqsā lladhī bāraknā hawlahū linuriyahū min āyātinā. Innahū Huwa as-Samī‘u l-Basīr.

Transcendent is He Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs, for He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.

(Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Isrā’, Āyah 1)

Tonight (Monday, August 21, 2006) will be the 27th night of Rajab in the Islamic calendar, which according to many scholars corresponds to the night of al-Isrā’ wa l-Mi‘rāj. It is a night so momentous, that Allāh begins Sūrat al-Isrā’ (the 17th chapter of the Qur’ān entitled “The Night Journey”) with its mention.

It was on this night, 10 years after the first revelation of the Qur’ān (620 CE), that Prophet Muhammad (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) traveled by night from Makkah to al-Quds (Jerusalem) and ascended to the Heavens. The trip culminated with him coming into the direct Presence of Allāh.

The Muslims were facing terrible persecution at the hands the Quraysh, the ruling tribe of Makkah. Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had recently returned from the city of Tā’if, having been attacked with stones by the children of the city.

It was soon after this low-point that Angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) awakened the Prophet (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) at Masjid al-Harām in Makkah, and ordered him to mount a swift animal named al-Burāq.

The highlights of the first part of the night journey, named al-Isrā’, include:

• Stopping to pray in Yathrib (later to renamed to al-Madīnah).
  
  
• Stopping to pray on Jabal at-Tūr (Mount Sinai) where Allāh spoke directly to Prophet Mūsā (Moses), may Allāh grant him peace.
  
  
• Stopping to pray in Bayt Lahm (Bethlehem), the birth-place of Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus), may Allāh grant him peace.
  
  
• Arriving at Masjid al-Aqsā (the Farthest Mosque) in al-Quds (Jerusalem), where Prophet Muhammad (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) encountered every prophet from Prophet Ādam to Prophet ‘Īsā (may Allāh grant them all peace) and led them in prayer.
  

Afterwards, Angel Jibrīl (may Allāh grant him peace) led Prophet Muhammad (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) on the second part of the journey, named al-Mi‘rāj.

Highlights of this journey include:

• Being greeted by several prophets (may Allāh grant them all peace) in different Heavens, where each prophet warmly welcomed him and testified their faith in his prophethood:
• Prophet Ādam in the First Heaven.
• Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus) and Prophet Yahyā (John) in the Second Heaven.
• Prophet Yūsuf (Joseph) in the Third Heaven.
• Prophet Idrīs (Enoch) in the Fourth Heaven.
• Prophet Hārūn (Aaron) in the Fifth Heaven.
• Prophet Mūsā (Moses) in the Sixth Heaven.
• Prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham) in the Seventh Heaven.
  
  
• Seeing first-hand the pleasures enjoyed by the inhabitants of Jannah (Paradise) and the torments suffered by the inhabitants of Jahannam (Hell-Fire).
  
  
• Finding Prophet Ibrāhīm (may Allāh grant him peace) resting against al-Bayt al-Ma‘mūr (the Much Frequented House), which is the Heavenly equivalent of the Ka‘bah with 70,000 new angels encompassing it each day - never to return - until Yawm al-Qiyāmah (the Day of Judgement).
  
  
• Being taken to Sidrat al-Muntahā (the Remotest Lote Tree), which Allāh shone His Light upon. Prophet Muhammad (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) told his companions afterwards that he was unable to capture the beauty of this tree in words.
  
  
• Coming into the direct Presence of Allāh and conversing directly with Allāh. This is where Allāh ordained daily prayers.
  
  
• Being advised by Prophet Mūsā (may Allāh grant him peace) to return to Allah and have the number of daily prayers reduced from 50 to eventually five.

This night is a source of joy and celebration for every Muslim for it was a respite for the Prophet (may Allāh bless him and grant him peace) and his companions, it was a night of grand miracles, and it was the night during which the five daily prayers were ordained.

We should make it a point to learn the details of this night and reflect upon the lessons learned from it. Furthermore, we should make a habit out of recounting this story to our families and friends, especially our children.

Read more about al-Isrā’ wa l-Mi‘rāj:

• Amr Khaled Official Website: On the Path of the Beloved Episode 13: Al-Israa and Al-Mi'raj
  
  
• Miracle Of Al-Isra & Al-Miraj
  
  
• The following three selections of Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace):
  
• Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 429
  
• Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 227
  
• All of Chapter 75 of Sahih Muslīm
  
  
• Glimpses of History: The Night Journey
  
  
• Islamweb - Al Isra' and Al-Mi'raj

You can also purchase The Isra' & Mi'raj: The Prophet's Night-Journey and Ascent to Heaven by Huda Khattab.

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The Arabic text from Surat al-Isrā’ was taken from Al-Qur'an Al-Kareem: Arabic text and English Translation.

The English translation of the verse was adapted from The Majestic Qur’ān: An English Rendition of its Meanings, translated by Ali Özek, Nureddin Uzunoğlu, Tevfik R. Topuzoğlu and Mehmet Maksutoğlu, edited by Abdal Hakim Murad, Mostafa al-Badawi and Uthman Hutchinson.