Majed Jarrar

Some people need to go to the bathroom during lectures. Some people need to answer that phone call from their prospect boss calls (who would miss the opportunity after that awesome job interview, right?!)
Right. Your God is your creator, provider, sustainer, protector and inheritor. Everything you do comes from Him and to Him all things return. There is nothing more important in your entire existence than showing up when He calls, and doing so professionally and punctually.
Next time the devil whispers to you that if only your prayer schedule was more convenient and compatible with your life, remind him that your prayer schedule was fixed before you were born; it is your class schedule that is inconvenient with your life.

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Plus, imagine the incredible head-start opportunity of showing your professionalism, communication skills, and manners - and teaching someone about Islam - by simply sending an email to your professor in the beginning of the semester to inform them that during those specific lecture days, you will need to excuse yourself for ten minutes (or maybe 5 if your prayer speed is on cocaine) to do your daily prayers.

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A few centuries ago, Muslims reigned the world and aced every discipline in life. It was when schools were built by mosques, not corporates, and classes were dismissed by the call to prayer, not factory bells.

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Your success depends on what you value the most in your life.

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1.55km is less than 3 minutes on a bicycle.

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Congregation prayer is obligatory. Not only that, it is the single greatest deed in this world. If you miss it at the mosque, try to find friends to pray it with, even if not at the mosque. If you can't find anyone, go to the mosque and pray, albeit by yourself. The prayer in congregation is 27 times greater than praying alone, and the prayer at the mosque is 25 times greater than praying at home or work. If you miss one of the two boosts, then don't miss the other.

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Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Whoever would like to meet God tomorrow as a Muslim, let him offer these prayers regularly when the call to prayer is given, where the call is given; for God has prescribed for your Prophet the path of guidance and this is part of that guidance. If you were to pray in your houses as this man who retarded to his home, you would have given up the path of guidance of your Prophet, and if you give up a path of guidance of your Prophet you will go astray. There is no man who does wudoo’ and does it well, then goes to one of these mosques, but for every step he takes Allaah will record one hasanah (good deed) for him, and erase one bad deed. I recall a time when no one stayed away from the prayer except a hypocrite whose hypocrisy was well known. And I recall a man would come [with his legs] flailing between two others [out of sickness] until he could stand in the line to pray.” Narrated by Muslim, 654.

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Lastly, there was a companion (may God be pleased with him) who used to live in the outskirts of Madina. He was one of the farthest people to live from the Mosque of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Despite all that, he never missed a single prayer of the five daily prayers behind the Prophet. On top of that, he used to always walk, and never ride to the mosque. It was said to him, “Why do you not buy a donkey that you can ride when it is hot and when it is very dark at night?” He said, “I would not like my house to be close to the mosque; for I want my walking to the mosque and back to my family to be recorded.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “God will grant you all of that.” then God Almighty revealed the verse in the Quran - recited until today in memory of that hero's work, saying "Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life, and record what they have put forth and what their footsteps [i.e. their legacy, but the meaning here is taken literally for this story], and all things We have enumerated in a clear register. [36:12]

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I learnt that hadeeth just as I travelled to go to college. When I was in college I was in a small town, and the nearest mosque was 45 km away in the next town. There was no public transportation. Yet, I do not recall once being late for jumua, despite having to miss an entire day of classes and make it up on the weekend.

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May the Almighty assist you and reward you for seeking to be a better Muslim in the prime of your youth.

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I have ijazas in forty six books of hadeeth, not just the six books.
I could go on, and list to you the number of scholars of Fiqh that I have studied under and my ijazas in Fiqh.
However, the number of ijazas is not an indication of knowledge nor understanding. And I don't resort to scholars in every matter of fiqh before answering it, neither will I necessarily get their approval on every opinion i have stated.
Tell her that scholarly qualifications are measured in effectiveness and efficiency of effort made. I have answered over a thousand questions on this site since I became active on it four months ago. If there's anything I've answered seems odd to you or your wife (to be specific, any Sharia related answer seems odd with that which the mainstream scholarly opinion has been regarding that matter for the past thousand years) then you may question me on that. You can also always feel free to walk away to seek advice from someone else without any blame from me or anyone else.

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