i am very conscious of Allah and my responsibilitys as a muslim, but i become extremely lazy for salaat, i always make excuses. what can i do to rectify this major problem.
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
Alhamdulillah, it is good to read that you have developed a consciousness of Allah Ta‘ālā and are aware of your responsibilities to Him. May Allah increase you in your piety and consciousness. In regards to being lazy in salāh, it is normal to feel somewhat lethargic since it requires effort from your side, which your nafs does not crave. The nafs urges one towards fulfilling its animalistic wants and desires and it dissuades one from acts of piety and spirituality. Allah Ta‘ālā created man with both the animalistic and spiritual elements. Salāh as well as other spiritual exercises prescribed by Allah Ta‘ālā assist man in overcoming his animalistic qualities and elevate him to a lofty spiritual pedestal. Obedience to the lowly insinuations and dictates of the nafs, whether involving perpetration of sin or abstention from fulfilling compulsory injunctions of the Sharī‘ah, will lead man to perdition and loss. In order to create a greater zeal and enthusiasm for Salāh and any righteous act, one must ponder over the rewards in store for carrying out the act. He should also ponder over the repercussions of disobedience. Both hope in reward and fear of retribution will serve as a catalyst to action. In this light, we highly encourage you to read Fadhā’il al-A‘māl by Shaykh Zakariyah Kandalwi رحمه الله . It is a concise compilation of various narrations of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم which encourage towards good actions and dissuade from bad actions. One chapter of the book is dedicated to performance of Salāh. It has proven to be extremely beneficial for many people and we would recommend that you read a portion of the book on a daily basis. Inshallah, it will create the desired zeal, as well as inhibit the feelings of laziness, to perform salāh.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub,
Student Darul Iftaa
Concured by:
Muhammed Zakariyya Desai,
Assistant Mufti
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah