Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I have a problem that i get some silly ideas and thoughts in my mind when my heart is not willing to offer a particular Farz, sunnah or Nafal.

For example, sometimes becasue of pressure of sleep i think to read only Farz and Sunnah Rakats of a Namaz but asuddenly a thought comes in my mind that if i do not read nafal aur sunnah rakats of that namaz, any of my family memebr or dear ones might get injured or hurt or even might die as a punishment from Allah.
I try to make myself understand that such a thought is from Shytaan. But again i think why he will make me think such reasons to say prayer while he want us to abstain from Ibadat and worshioping Lord Almighty.
Please help me and guid me to reveil from this problem 

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Answer:

Pray sunnah with fard

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Firstly, please allow us to clarify the difference between Fard, Sunnah and Nafl prayers.

Fard prayers: These are the five obligatory prayers at their appointed times of the day. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there will be a severe accounting and punishment.

Nafl prayers: These are the voluntary prayers. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin.

Sunnah prayers: These are the Nafl or voluntary prayers which were prayed by the Messenger of Allah (saws), and thus they become his (saw’s) Sunnah for us. If one prays them, he will earn a huge reward from Allah Subhanah; and if one does not pray them, there is no sin. The most that can be said of one who does not pray the Sunnah prayers is that he lost a great opportunity to earn huge rewards from Allah Subhanah.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 863 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is prayer. Our Lord, the Exalted, will say to the Angels - though He knows better: ‘Look into the prayer of My servant and see whether he has offered it perfectly or imperfectly’. If it is perfect, that will be recorded perfect. If it is defective, He will say: ‘See there are some optional (Sunnah and Nafl) prayers offered by My servant.’ If there are optional prayer to his credit, He will say: ‘Compensate the obligatory prayer by the optional prayer for My servant.’ Then all the actions will be considered similarly.

Your Statement: if i do not read nafal aur sunnah rakats of that namaz, any of my family memebr or dear ones might get injured or hurt or even might die as a punishment from Allah.

Dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, first and foremost you must realize that the Sunnah and Nafl prayers are not obligatory like the Fard prayers. If one prays the optional Sunnah or Nafl prayers one will receive a huge reward from Allah Subhanah, and if one for any reason is not able to offer them, there is absolutely no sin.

Secondly sister, Allah has ordained the life of this short and transitory world only as a time and place of trial….it is only in the Hereafter that the Lord Will Decide with Justice who amongst His slaves passed the trial and thus deserve His Mercy and Grace and who amongst His creation failed the trial and thus deserve His Wrath and His Anger.

Thus rest assured, that if one errs or sins, The Lord does not (although there is none to stop Him if He Wills to do so) immediately catch the sinner and punish him for his sin….but the Lord in His Infinite Mercy towards His creation, gives the sinners time so that they may repent and turn back to Him seeking forgiveness.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 58:

58 But your Lord is Most Forgiving Full of Mercy. If He were to call them (at once) to account for what they have earned then surely He would have hastened their Punishment: but they have their appointed time beyond which they will find no refuge

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah Fatir verse 45:

45 If Allah were to punish men according to what they deserve He would not leave on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term: when their Term expires verily Allah has in his sight all His servants.

Thus the fear that a family member or loved one might get injured or hurt or even die because one has committed an error is absolutely baseless and without merit. What one does need to fear is that One Inevitable Day all will be gathered in the Presence of the Lord Most Majestic to give a full accounting of their deeds….for that is the fear or ‘taqwa’ that alone enables and empowers man to resist the temptations of this lowly worldly life.

Your Question: I try to make myself understand that such a thought is from Shytaan. But again i think why he will make me think such reasons to say prayer while he want us to abstain from Ibadat and worshioping Lord Almighty.

Dear and beloved sister, the accursed and avowed enemy of man, the Shaytaan will turn no page unturned in his attempt to get the slaves of the Lord to despair of the Mercy of their Lord Most Merciful. Without an iota of a doubt the thought that if you do not pray your optional prayers, Allah might punish your loved ones through injury, pain or even death is a classic ploy of the accursed Shaytaan!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verses 118-121:

118 Allah did curse him (the Shaytaan) but he said: "I will take of Thy servants a portion marked off.”

119 "I will mislead them and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah." Whoever forsaking Allah takes the Shaytaan for a friend hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest.

120 The Shaytaan makes them promises and creates in them false desires; but the Shaytaan's promises are nothing but deception.

121 They (The Shaytaan and his dupes) will have their dwelling in Hell, and from it they will find no way of escape.

Beloved sister, when the Shaytaan realizes that there is no way he can stop one amongst the believing slaves of Allah from worshipping the Lord, he tries to build false guilt in their hearts guiding them to despair of the Mercy of the Lord Most Merciful. At long last the accursed Shaytaan so convinces the slave that there is absolutely no way he can repent of his errors and sins (even at times when no sin was committed), and that he is bound for punishment no matter what he does….the one who listens and gives ear to these false warnings of the Shaytaan so despairs of the Mercy of the Lord that he gives up even the good he was doing…..thus falling in the classic trap of the accursed Shaytaan!

Sahih Muslim Hadith 144 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

When the son of Adam recites the Verses of Sajdah and then falls down in prostration (to the Lord), the Shaytaan goes into seclusion and weeps and says: ‘Alas! Woe unto me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate, and he prostrated and Paradise was entitled to him; and I was commanded to prostrate, but I refused, and am doomed to Hell.’

Dear and beloved sister in Islam, rest assured that nothing, absolutely nothing hurts and pains the Shaytaan more than when he sees one amongst mankind worshipping the Lord. He will bring his full force and cavalry and do and say whatever lies it takes to take the worshipper away from his worship…..At times he uses the weapons of laziness to subdue the worshipper, at times procrastination, at times thoughts of impurity, at times sleep and tiredness, etc…..and the absolute dangerous weapons he uses is the weapon of despair…..thus recognize well the weapons used by the Shaytaan, and defuse it by immediately seeking protection from the Lord Most High from the evil whispering of the Shaytaan by declareing ‘Aoodo billahe minas Shaytaan ar-Rajeem’ and by reciting the Muawidaat (Surah 113 Al-Falaq and Surah 114 An-Naas) as often as you can or is easy for you; it is expected that your Lord Most Gracious Most Merciful will protect you from the evil ploys of the accursed Shaytaan.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan