The Most Important Prayer of Your Life | The Other Side: Barzakh and Beyond Ep. 21
The dead with regrets have one wish in regard to this world: to return to it and make just two more rak'ahs of prayer.
The dead who have communicated their joy to us testify to the same source of joy, over and over: salah. Prostration. Worshiping Allah in the depths of the night. So often overlooked in this life, prayer is a gift from Allah. And when we prioritize it the way we prioritize the trivial aspects of our days, then the reward will be not just bountiful, but infinte.
NOTE: All depictions of Barzakh are purely conceptual and only vocals were used in the making of the soundtrack.
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References
- Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ passed by a grave and said: “Who is the occupant of this grave?” They said: “So-and-so.” He said: “Two rak'ahs are more beloved to him than everything that remains of your worldly life.” [At-Tabarani, Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Adding two light rak‘ahs, which you may perform voluntarily and regard as insignificant, to the deeds of the deceased is dearer to him than your entire worldly life.” [Ibn al-Mubarak, Az-Zuhd]
- A’ishah reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “The two rak’ahs performed [before] Fajr prayer are better than this entire world and what it contains.” [Sahih Muslim #725]
- Imam al-Muzani (ra) said: “If you want your salah to benefit you, say (to yourself): perhaps I will never pray another.” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Qasr al-Amal]
- The Prophet ﷺ would say: “O Bilal, call the iqamah for prayer; give us comfort by it.” [Sunan Abi Dawud #4985]
- Anas ibn Malik reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “On the night of my ascension (Isra), I passed by Musa at the red sand dune, and he was standing in his grave, praying.” [Sahih Muslim #2375]
- Thabit al-Bunani (ra) was seen in a dream praying in his grave. And it was mentioned that he used to make du’a for the ability to pray in the grave. [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah; Ad-Dhahabi, Siyar Alam an-Nubala’]
- Jabir reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “When the deceased enters the grave, the sun is made to appear as if it is setting. He sits up, wipes his eyes and says: ‘Let me pray.’ The angels say, 'You will, but first, answer these questions.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah #4272; Sahih Ibn Hibban]
- Al-Ajlah said: "I saw Salamah ibn Kuhayl in a dream and asked him, 'Which deeds did you find to be the best after death?' He replied, 'Standing for prayer at night (Qiyam al-Layl).’” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Al-Manamat]
- Katheer ibn Murra said: “I saw in my dream as if I had entered a high level of Paradise, and I began to walk around it in amazement. Then, I saw a group of women from the masjid in one part of it. So I went over and greeted them, then asked, ‘How did you reach this lofty station?’ They replied, ‘Through prostrations and small acts of charity.’” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Al-Manamat]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration. The Fire will consume the children of Adam, except for the marks of prostration, for Allah has forbidden the Fire from consuming the marks of prostration.” [Sahih al-Bukhari #7437; Sahih Muslim #182]
- Abu Hurayrah reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “The closest a servant comes to his Lord is while he is in prostration (sujood), so increase your supplications.” [Sahih Muslim #482]
- Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ passed by a grave and said: “Who is the occupant of this grave?” They said: “So-and-so.” He said: “Two rak'ahs are more beloved to him than everything that remains of your worldly life.” [At-Tabarani, Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “Adding two light rak‘ahs, which you may perform voluntarily and regard as insignificant, to the deeds of the deceased is dearer to him than your entire worldly life.” [Ibn al-Mubarak, Az-Zuhd]
- A’ishah reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “The two rak’ahs performed [before] Fajr prayer are better than this entire world and what it contains.” [Sahih Muslim #725]
- Imam al-Muzani (ra) said: “If you want your salah to benefit you, say (to yourself): perhaps I will never pray another.” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Qasr al-Amal]
- The Prophet ﷺ would say: “O Bilal, call the iqamah for prayer; give us comfort by it.” [Sunan Abi Dawud #4985]
- Anas ibn Malik reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “On the night of my ascension (Isra), I passed by Musa at the red sand dune, and he was standing in his grave, praying.” [Sahih Muslim #2375]
- Thabit al-Bunani (ra) was seen in a dream praying in his grave. And it was mentioned that he used to make du’a for the ability to pray in the grave. [Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah; Ad-Dhahabi, Siyar Alam an-Nubala’]
- Jabir reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “When the deceased enters the grave, the sun is made to appear as if it is setting. He sits up, wipes his eyes and says: ‘Let me pray.’ The angels say, 'You will, but first, answer these questions.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah #4272; Sahih Ibn Hibban]
- Al-Ajlah said: "I saw Salamah ibn Kuhayl in a dream and asked him, 'Which deeds did you find to be the best after death?' He replied, 'Standing for prayer at night (Qiyam al-Layl).’” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Al-Manamat]
- Katheer ibn Murra said: “I saw in my dream as if I had entered a high level of Paradise, and I began to walk around it in amazement. Then, I saw a group of women from the masjid in one part of it. So I went over and greeted them, then asked, ‘How did you reach this lofty station?’ They replied, ‘Through prostrations and small acts of charity.’” [Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, Al-Manamat]
- The Prophet ﷺ said: “The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration. The Fire will consume the children of Adam, except for the marks of prostration, for Allah has forbidden the Fire from consuming the marks of prostration.” [Sahih al-Bukhari #7437; Sahih Muslim #182]
- Abu Hurayrah reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “The closest a servant comes to his Lord is while he is in prostration (sujood), so increase your supplications.” [Sahih Muslim #482]
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.Prayer is life, even after death. How many times have you skipped over an opportunity to pray an extra prayer? You might wake up 10 minutes before Fajr but decide to go back to sleep instead of praying that short tahajjud. You might have a few minutes before needing to go out to work, but instead of praying two rak'ahs of duha, you think it's not really worth it. You regularly pass up on the sunnah after the obligatory prayers, when you really didn't need to rush back to whatever it was you were doing. It seems like in this dunya, extra prayer is at the bottom of the priority list. It will only get done as long as I have nothing else to do at that time. But in the barzakh, it's the most precious of provisions. If the dead could speak, what do you think they would say? We actually know the answer and it's surprisingly a very specific one. The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by a grave and he said to the companions, who is the occupant of this grave? And they said, so and so. He said, you see this man? Two rak'ahs are more beloved to him than everything of what remains of your worldly life. In another narration, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, two light rak'ahs, which you regard as insignificant, but which this person could have added to his deeds are more beloved to him than everything that remains of your worldly life. If you look at most of the dreams of the salaf where they were asked what they wish they could do now that they're dead, it's pray two rak'ahs. And the emphasis on the khafifatani, the light ones, is that the Prophet (ﷺ) is
not talking about these long qiyam nights. It's the two rak'ahs that take a few minutes and that's really all it takes. Think about the sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ) before Fajr. It was so short that the companion said it seemed like he was only reciting Al-Fatihah in both rak'ahs. But the Prophet (ﷺ) said about those two rak'ahs that they are khayrun minad dunya wa ma fiha. They are more beloved to me and better than this entire world and what is in it. Our Prophet (ﷺ) used to treat those voluntary prayers like they were once in a lifetime opportunities. And if you treated your prayer that way, you might feel the same. And Imam al-Muzani said, if you want your salah to benefit you, then say to yourself before every prayer, perhaps I will never pray another prayer in my life. And I want you to think about how the people of Gaza pray literally between bombs, not knowing if they're going to live to see the next salah. Imagine how much khushu' you have in a tent of a refugee camp when your death is that near. And imagine how much peace it gives to the heart of someone who has nothing and no one else but Allah. But if you know your prayer enough, even if you have everything else, salah is still what your heart and soul crave. Remember how the Prophet (ﷺ) would say, arihna biha ya Bilal, comfort us with the prayer, O Bilal. What if the prayer is still comfort in the grave? The scholars say that prayer was more beloved to the Prophet (ﷺ) than even his food and drink. So even though he and the other prophets don't have to pray in the barzakh anymore, they still want to. So when the Prophet (ﷺ) was on the journey of al-Isra' wa-l-Mi'raj, he passes by the grave of Musa (عليه السلام) and he says, I saw him qa'imun yusalli, I saw him standing up and praying in his grave. What was that salah? The scholars say that that salah is not one
that's meant to increase your record because you can't do that anymore when you die. But it's actually part of the reward for some of the righteous that Allah lets them still in the grave. So for example Thabit al-Bunani (رضي الله عنه) was seen in a dream praying in his grave. And it was mentioned that he used to make du'a for the ability to be able to pray salah in his grave. And while we may not want to pray in our graves as a form of reward, if we're accustomed to never missing salah, it's the first thing we'll think about when we wake up in our graves. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that when a dead believer is sat up in his grave, he will see the sun looking like it's about to set. So the first thing he's going to say is, let me pray. And the angels will say, you will pray, but first we need to ask you these questions. Now think about the disoriented believer waking up in this dunya and thinking, did I miss Fajr or did I miss Maghrib? Nothing else matters to him until he prays. And in this case, he's not even thinking about who these two creatures are in front of me. Just don't let me miss salah. But even though this believer realizes that he hasn't missed any obligatory prayers, he's still going to wish he prayed more in this dunya, especially the voluntary prayers at night. One of the salaf said, I saw Salama ibn Kuhayl (رضي الله عنه) in a dream. And I said, which deeds have you found to be superior? He said, nothing availed me more in this life than my qiyam. When Musa al-Hamdani (رحمه الله) died, a relative of his saw him in a dream and his forehead resembled a shining star. So he asked him, what is that that I see on your forehead? He said, that's light from the dust of my sujood on earth. So he asked him, and what is your position in the next life? He said, it's the best. I'm in a garden in which we will never die nor be forced to leave. And as you're thinking about the groups of believers that are crowding
the houses of Allah, especially in these last 10 nights, Kathir ibn Murrah said, it appeared in a dream that I entered into an upper level of Jannah. So I began to walk in amazement. And as I was walking, I reached a group of women who appeared to be in a masjid. So I asked, how did you get here? They said, through our sajda and our takbirat, through our prostration and our proclaiming the greatness of Allah. So we find the moments that people in the barzakh value the most in their life was their head on the floor in the depths of the night. Remember how the Prophet (ﷺ) said that a skin with the Quran would not be touched by fire? The same is true for the place of sajda on your forehead. Allah has forbidden the fire to consume it. That was the portal to your soul's ascension, not a mark of pride, but a mark of humility. The closest you are in your prayer is in your prostration and the greatest act of worship to connect to Allah with is your prayer. But sometimes the greatest way for Allah to connect you to him is through a difficult trial.
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