It was Ibn al-Qayyim al Jawziyyah (rh) who said:

”Shaitan has misled most people by beautifying for them the performance of certain voluntary acts of worship such as voluntary prayers and voluntary fasting while neglecting other obligatory acts of worship such as enjoining the good and eradicating the evil, to the extent that they do not even make the intention of performing them whenever they are able to. Such people are considered by the scholars to be on the bottom of the scale of religion: For the essence of our religion is to perform what Allah (SWT) ordered us to do.

The one who does not perform his obligations is actually worse than the one who performs sins. Anyone having some knowledge about the revelation of Allah, the guidance of the Prophet (SAW), and the life of the companions would conclude that those who are pointed at today as the most pious people are in fact the least pious. Indeed, what kind of piety is there in a person who witnesses Allah’s sanctities being violated, his religion abandoned, the Sunnah of His Messenger shunned, and yet remains still with a cold heart and a shut mouth? Such a person is like a dumb Shaitan!

In the same way the one who talks falsehood is a speaking Shaitan. Isn’t the misfortune of Islam due only to those who whenever their life and food are secure, would not care about what happens to the religion? The best among them would offer a sorry face. But if they were challenged in one of the things their heart is attached to like their money, they would spare no efforts to get it back. These people, besides deserving the anger of Allah, are afflicted with the greatest calamity without even knowing it: They have a dead heart. Indeed the more alive a person’s heart is, the stronger its anger for the sake of Allah and the more complete his support to Islam and Muslims.”

Dear Muslims, we should never lose sight that the obligatory actions come before the optional actions. The failure to perform them makes one liable for the punishment of Allah (SWT). The one who understands this would not prioritise the Taraweeh which is an optional preferred prayer above the obligatory prayers. The one who understands the Fard and the Mustahab would not focus on the voluntary actions which come easy, to the exception of the obligatory actions which require sacrifice, commitment and difficulty.

Indeed the greatest of all obligations today is the establishment of the Khilafah upon the method of the Prophet (SAW) and the resumption of the Islamic way of life. This is because the vast majority of Shari’ah obligations cannot be fulfilled in the absence of the Islamic State.

The greatest minds of this Ummah and the best of our scholars saw the issue of Khilafah as absolutely critical, referring to it as being, “from the necessities of the shari’a that simply cannot be left” (al-Ghazali), “from the greatest interests of the Muslims and greatest pillars of the deen” (al-Amidi), “a pillar from the pillars of the deen” (al-Qurtubi), “one of the greatest obligations of the deen” (Ibn Taymiyya), and “the most important of obligations” (al-Haskafi). A few of many similar statements from important figures of this Ummah.

We should therefore be careful not to allow our focus on the voluntary actions to deviate us from this priority. May Allah (SWT) grant us knowledge and understanding. Ameen.

Abu Tha’laba Al-Khushani reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said,

“Verily, Allah has made duties obligatory, so do not neglect them. He has set limits, so do not transgress them. He has made some things sacred, so do no violate them…”

[Imam An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith – Sunan Al-Daraqutani]