/ Shall I not guide you to what Allah erases the sins and elevates the ranks with?

Shall I not guide you to what Allah erases the sins and elevates the ranks with?

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not guide you to what Allah erases the sins and elevates the ranks with?" They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: "Performing ablution thoroughly despite the hardships, frequent steps to mosques, and waiting for one prayer after another; such is the Ribāt (garrison)."
Narrated by Muslim

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) asked his Companions if they wanted him to guide them to deeds that would be a means of forgiving sins and erasing them from the records of the guardian angels and elevating ranks in Paradise. The Companions said: Yes, we want this. He said: First: Completing and perfecting the ablution despite hardships like coldness, scarcity of water, physical pain, and hot water. Second: Frequent steps—distance between the two feet—made to mosques, given the remoteness of the house from the mosque and the frequent repetition. Third: Waiting for the time when the prayer becomes due, having one's heart attached to it, getting ready for it, and sitting in the mosque for its sake, waiting for the congregation. Then, on performing the prayer, one stays in his prayer area waiting for another prayer. After that, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that such things represent the real Ribāt (standing at the frontline of danger against the enemy) because it blocks the devil's ways to the self, overpowers personal desires, and prevents the self from accepting the devil's whispering. This way, the party of Allah defeats the devil's soldiers, which is the major Jihad, and that puts it in the same position of standing guard at the frontline against the enemy.

Hadeeth benefits

  1. The importance of observing the congregational prayer in the mosque and assigning good care to prayers without being distracted from them.
  2. The Prophet's good approach and how he aroused his Companions' interest as he started by mentioning a great reward in the question form, which is one of the educational methods.
  3. The benefit of presenting an issue in a question-and-answer form: To make the speech more effective given the fact that it involves ambiguity and clarification.
  4. An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: Such is Ribāt, i.e., the encouraged Ribāt, and Ribāt originally means being tied to something, as if one ties himself to this act of obedience. It is said: It is the best Ribāt, as it is said: Jihad is striving against oneself. It could probably refer to the available and accessible Ribāt, i.e., it is one of the types of Ribāt.
  5. The word "Ribāt" is repeated and used with a definite article "the" to stress the great status of such deeds.