Sh. Ibrahim Niyass رضي الله تعالى عنه آمين

Assalamu Alaikum to you all. Our this week's Baye book translation project continues from the previous week, which started from a new book(out of his 86 books) entitled:
"مجلس في المواعظ الحسنة",
"A Great Gathering of Lectures ", which Shehu Barhama Kaolack had delivered in Katsina, northern Nigeria in the sixties.
These three and half pages will take a reader through analysis of the three pillars of Islam, prayer, fasting and zakat or poor tax. Readers will be excited with two amazing stories he narrated about the positive impact of prayer and charity.

"....After that is is ((Prayer)). So a servant[of Allah] performs daily prayers, it is the greatest act with which Allah Almighty is worshipped. The proof for that is that all mandatory[compulsory] acts that Allah made mandatory on this earth and with the prayer, when He wanted to be worshipped, He took his servant[Prophet s.a.w] upon a nocturnal journey[ ascension or Isra’e wal mi’eraj] and he made it mandatory from the heaven.

Then prayer became an ascension and with prayer, a servant ascends until he becomes closer to Allah. The Prophet[PBUH] said ((The closest a servant gets to Allah is during prayer)) Allah has said: ((Prostrate and get near[to Me])) And the Prophet(PBUH) was ascended[to the heaven] with salat, it is in the same vain that we get ascended by it.

And Allah has timed prayer with His saying: ((Verily, prayer is to the believers a documented practice on time)). And He has commanded for its performance when He said, ((Establish prayer)) and paying attention to it, as He said, ((Pay attention upon your prayers)) and with reverence, as He said, ((Those who are reverent in their prayer)). And on its regular performance, He said, ((Those who are regular on their prayer)).

And the Prophets(PBUH) and those who came after them, may Allah make as among them, they have done all that. So Allah mentioned them when he said, ((They are the inheritors[of paradise])).

And a group had refrained from prayer. And their leader was Abu Ja’al, he and those who followed him had entered into hell. And those who entered hell asked them and said, ((…What has led you to the hell? they said: we never used to be among those who pray.))

And prayer is like the position of a head from the rest of the body, whoever paid attention to prayer has paid attention to the religion[Islam]. Whoever mistreated it, he has mistreated the religion. Nothing from Allah is gained but with prayer. Allah has said, ((Advise your family with prayer and be constantly persistent on it, We[Allah] would not ask you for provision, We will provide for you)). A verse.

And everyone who performed prayer Allah will enrich him, whether he is poor or rich. He who took prayer for granted, that (negligence of prayer) will be a pity to family. (So) take your prayer very important, take your prayer very important. If it becomes difficult for a man to be steadfast, then he should pay attention to prayer, that is where lies the steadfastness.

((It was narrated that an immoral person used to lust(have excessive desire for other women) and his neighbor has a beautiful wife and he tried to seduce her. She then tricked and told him; my room is weak or fragile, and he said, what is it? She said; pray with my husband fourty times and then come i will satisfy your need(have an affair with you). Then he accepted that and he joined her husband (in prayer). In less than fourty days, she came to him and he said to her; I do not need you. (anymore, which indicates the impact the prayer had upon him).

((Two)) Fasting in its time. The Prophet(PBUH) said, ((A blessed month has come to you. Allah has made fasting in it days an obligatory act, and prayer in its nights a superregatory act. Whoever fulfilled an obligatory act in it is like the one who has fulfilled seventy obligatory prayer.

And fasting is patience, and the reward of patience is paradise (including) for the one who fed a fasting person)).
It means the reward of the person who fed him is paradise. And he would have the reward of the person who fast.
They((the sahabah or companions said it is not all of us who is capable of feeding the fasting person. He the Prophet(PBUH) said: Whoever gives a fasting person a date or water to drink is like he has fed him)).

((Three)) Paying the zakat (poor tax). Whoever wants his wealth to last long, then he needs to spend out of it (by giving zakat).

((It was narrated that a man ask his Lord to enrich him, then Allah revealed to his Prophet to say to his servants; If i give him wealth in the half of his life, half of it he is poor and half of it he is rich, which one should come first? He then consulted his wife to seek her opinion. She said, let the wealth comes now. He said to her: poverty after richness is a difficult situation. She then said do not disagree with me. He said then, let the wealth come. When the wealth came, the woman said to him: Whenever you sew or made a new dress, do the same as a charity and whenever you did something(for your pleasure), do the same to the poor people. By so doing, the wealth lasted for a long time. That is why Allah Almighty said: ((Whatever you spend He(Allah) will replace it)).

Translated by: Husseini Yushau BabalWaiz, New York.