The chap was at the zenith of joy when a prestigious company agreed to employ him. He went off in jubilee, for he was the only one from amongst his peers who was chosen for the job. The contract was signed and it entailed that the employee adheres to attendance, presents weekly reports about his performance and achievements, and accepts any criticism.

Days passed by, and one day the chap went to his boss and told him that he is not going to arrive on time from the first day, he won't present reports on time instead he'll intentionally delay preparing them, and he won't accept any criticism, in fact he won't even accept the boss to dismiss him.

If we just imagine this scene, we would burst out in laughter, depicting the chap, while some would even term him as being insane and foolish. How can a person expect to claim his rights while he is not fulfilling his duties?

Now how should we react to the fact that a lot of people are taking a stance similar to that of our chap, in fact an even graver stance; in regards to our duty towards Allah, Most High! How can a sane person allow himself to enjoy the bounties of Allah which surround him: food, beverage, clothing and many other bounties, while not performing the simplest of duties which has been ordained by Allah upon us, the daily prayer?! And should one perform the prayer, one performs it after its due time, in a rushed manner, while not giving oneself the chance to feel tranquillity and understand what one utters.

We asked the visitors of our website, voice of IslamWay, how many times they performed the fajr (dawn) prayer in its due time during the previous week, excluding whether it was performed in the mosque or not, in a survey in which 8800 of our visitors participated. The results were disappointing: 34% said they did not perform fajr prayer in its due time at all, while 15% said they performed it on time once or twice throughout the previous week. 19% said they performed it on time in a varying range of six to three times. 31% said they performed the prayer on time throughout that whole week, while a small percentage said they only missed performing it on time once. Surprising it is! We are not discussing a disputed matter or an optional sunnah which one may take or leave, we are discussing a fundamental of Islam, which is the daily prayer ordained upon the Muslim by Allah, Most High, regardless to one's circumstances.

Just as Allah, Most High, ordained prayers upon the Muslims, he gave a warning to those who perform prayers after their due time:

{So wayl[1] unto those performers of prayers. * Those who delay their prayers (from their stated fixed times).} 107:4-5

The scholars of Tafseer[2] said that this verse refers to those who delay performing the obligatory prayers until after their due times had passed. The scholars also said that "Wayl" is a valley of Hell, which is very deep and very dark. It makes us ask: Do the Muslim nations not believe the Book of their Lord?

Many a Muslim today neglects the fajr (dawn) prayer, as if it has been omitted from their minds, for they perform it many hour after its due time and some even perform it just before the next obligatory prayer, the źuhr (high noon) prayer. Some don't perform it at all. What is the reason for neglecting the right of Allah, Most High?

Do we not all claim that we love Allah, Most High, more than anything else on the face of the Planet? When one of us truly loves another person, one yearns to meet that person, usually spends a great deal of time thinking about that person and cannot sleep whenever the day in which they shall meet draws near, until one had met the person one loves. Do those who neglect performing the fajr prayer on time really love Allah? Do they really exalt Him and yearn to meet Him?

Let's imagine that a billionaire who owns a company made a deal with one of his employees which goes as such: The employee goes to the billionaire's home at 5:30AM every day to just wake him up and leave (a task which should not take more than ten minutes), in exchange for $1000 every day. The deal remains as it is as long as the employee wakes up this billionaire every day, but if the employee fails to wake him up once without a legitimate excuse, the deal is broken and the employee is requested to turn in all the money he had earned. Fellow Muslim, if you were in this employee's shoes, would you neglect to accomplish such a task? Would you not strive to wake up early every morning in order to earn the $1000? Should you fail in accomplishing the task, would you not search far and wide for a legitimate excuse to present before this billionaire?

Allah is Greatest. Therefore how can we possibly neglect it, fellow Muslim, while knowing that Allah is the Most Bounteous; He granted us everything and His bounties upon us are worth more than million of millions of dollars, for He said in the Holy Qur'an:

{...and if you count the Blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them...} 14:34

Does the Most-Merciful, Most-Gracious not deserve from us that we wake up at 5:30AM every morning in order to offer thanks to Him for His abundant grace?

Penalty of neglecting performing the Fajr (Dawn) prayer in its due time:

Allah, Most High, had said in the Holy Qur'an:

{...Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.} 4:103

Islam is a complete way of life, for it is a covenant between the servant and his Lord, in which the servant adheres to fulfilling all his duties before Allah, while Allah blesses him with bounties and reward. It is illogic to accept the covenant then to choose the portions of it which pleases you and neglect the other portions.

Allah, Most High, also says in the Holy Qur'an:

{O you who believe! Enter perfectly in Islam (by obeying all the rules and regulations of the Islamic religion)...} 2:208

The scholars of Tafseer said that this is an order to embrace all the laws of Islam. Allah's wrath befell onto the children of Israel when they started to follow what pleased them and rejected the rest, so it was said to them:

{...Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and Reject the rest?...} 2:85

The prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, described those who neglect performing the fajr (dawn) and ‘ishâ (evening) prayers with the congregation as an exploited hypocrite. What would be the status of one who does not perform it at all? The prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, "There is no prayer more difficult for a hypocrite to perform than the fajr (dawn) and ‘ishâ (evening) prayers. If they had realised what those (two prayers) entail (in regards to the immense reward), they would had attended the (congregational) prayer even if they had to crawl to it." Narrated by Al Bukhârî and this hadeeth is available in the chapter of Adhân.

Allah, Most High, disowns those who totally neglect performing the obligatory prayers. The prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, "Do not intentionally abandon prayers, for whoever intentionally abandons prayers loses the protection of Allah and His prophet." Narrated by imam Ahmad in his book of hadeeth.

After reading this article, one may ask for the remedy:

1. Each one of us must set his / her alarm clock to the time of the fajr (dawn) prayer every day.

2. Prayer must be given a substantial degree of attention in our lives therefore our daily duties should be organized in accordance to the times of prayers and not the opposite.

3. We must sleep early, wake up at dawn and start the day from then, for the time which precedes dawn is the time when Allah decrees the daily livelihoods of all humankind.

4. We must make friendship with good-hearted people who would phone to wake us up for the fajr prayer.

5. We must strive to read our evening supplications and invoke Allah to help us wake up for the prayer.

6. We must feel regret whenever we fail to perform an obligatory prayer in its due time and thus repent to Allah, promising not to commit such a grave sin again.

May we be of those who truly love Allah Almighty. May He grant us sincerity with all what we say and do. Whatever correct statement I have made in this article is from the grace of Allah, and whatever mistake I have made is from my own self and from the devil.

This article has been translated with slight modifications to the original text. Quotations are not accurate. Translations of Qur'anic verses were quoted from the King Fahd Complex translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan. The hadeeths have been freehandly translated.

Original text from http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=outdoor&iw_a=print_articles&article_id=9

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[1] Woe; destruction; a valley in hell.

[2] The science which is concerned with interpreting the Holy Qur'an.