Wa al-Thaman al-Janna
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dār al-Qāsim
Wa al-Thaman al-Janna (And the Price is Paradise) is an Arabic devotional treatise by the contemporary author Abd al-Malik bin Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin al-Qasim, focused on the obligation and virtues of prayer (salah) and the exemplary devotion of early Muslim generations.
Purpose and Scope
The book constitutes the second installment in the author's moral-exhortation series titled Ayna Nahnu min Ha'ula' (Where Are We Compared to Them?). The author compiled it as an admonition addressing modern negligence, lethargy, and worldly distractions regarding ritual prayer. By recalling the zeal, discipline, and endurance of early Muslim figures (al-salaf al-salih), the work seeks to revive spiritual vigilance and encourage steadfastness in religious practice.
Structure and Contents
The treatise is organized into thematic sections combining scriptural proofs, historical anecdotes, and practical legal determinations:
- The Status of Prayer: Highlights prayer as the central pillar of Islam, quoting Quranic verses and prophetic traditions regarding its supremacy, warnings against neglecting it, and its place as the Prophet's final deathbed counsel.
- Devotion of Early Generations: Recounts stories illustrating the predecessors' yearning for prayer and strict adherence to the call, including figures like Said ibn al-Musayyib, Rabia ibn Yazid, and Umar ibn al-Khattab praying while bleeding from mortal wounds, as well as parental instruction of young children in prayer.
- Congregational Prayer (Salah al-Jama'ah): Explores the obligation of communal attendance at the mosque, punctuality before the adhan, eagerness for the first row, catching the opening takbir (takbirat al-ihram), and the deep grief felt by pious predecessors when missing a congregational prayer.
- Standing Before God and Humility (Khushu'): Details the internal state of worshipers during prayer, recounting models of physical stillness and prolonged prostration from figures such as Muslim ibn Yasar, Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, and Sufyan al-Thawri. It also quotes Hatim al-Asamm's description of his prayer and categorizes worshipers into five spiritual tiers.
- The Legal Ruling on Abandoning Prayer (Hukm Tarik al-Salah): Concludes with a legal analysis based on a fatwa by Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, asserting that the complete abandonment of prayer constitutes apostasy and enumerating its legal repercussions, including marriage nullification, prohibition of consuming slaughtered meat, inheritance denial, and the withholding of Islamic funeral rites.
Sources
The author drew his biographical narratives and historical reports from classical and modern Islamic texts, including Abu Nu'aym's Hilyat al-awliya', Ibn al-Jawzi's Sifat al-safwa, al-Dhahabi's Siyar a'lam al-nubala' and Tadhkirat al-huffaz, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's Ihya' 'ulum al-din, Ibn Kathir's al-Bidaya wa-l-nihaya, and Ibn Rajab's Jami' al-'ulum wa-l-hikam.
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