Title: Fear of Losing the Habit of Regular Prayers Question: I have a problem regarding Salah . With the help of Allah I have, since a year prayed salah 5 times a day regularly. This has given me a great spiritual satisfaction and made me close to my religion and my Creator. But I feel there is a problem. Now, as I have prayed for so long, the Salah should be a habit for me, but I go around thinking about my prayers almost all the time, and I am extremely afraid of loosing my habit of Salah . Just the thought of missing a single prayer frightens me and I have taken the Salah as a burden. I know this sounds silly and stupid, but I can not stop thinking about it. What should I do? Jamal Hussain Mirza Norway Answer: Offering Sala'h is indeed our greatest privilege and honor in the life of this world. On the one hand, from a conceptual point of view, Sala'h is obligatory upon us, yet, on the other, from a practical perspective, offering Sala'h is completely voluntary. In other words, a person - voluntarily and with the willingness of his heart - puts each one of his worldly involvements aside to answer the call for the prayers which his Creator has made obligatory upon him and, thereby, reminds himself of the time when - willingly or unwillingly - he will have to leave all his loved ones and all his cherished possessions behind to meet His Creator and Master. Seen from a different perspective, offering Sala'h is to voluntarily make ourselves present in serving God, in expressing our deepest love and gratitude for Him, in standing, bowing and prostrating to Him, in glorifying and thanking Him and in praying and requesting Him to grant us our hearts' desires. If seen from the correct perspective, offering prayers is the pinnacle of man's existence in the life of this world. Deliberating over the significance of Sala'h and recognizing its true implications would not only remove all element of burden from one's mind but shall also render it the most cherished, looked forward and privileged moment of one's life. Nevertheless, it naturally follows that the more we recognize this great privilege, the more shall be our fear of losing it. Fear of losing a cherished possession is quite natural. What possession could be more cherished for a true believer than developing a pious habit? I congratulate you, therefore, for the great blessing that God has bestowed upon you in the shape of allowing you to develop a habit of offering regular prayers and I consider you to be fully justified in being fearful of losing this great favor in future. It is with this element of fear of losing this great privilege that we should pray: Our Lord, do not let our hearts falter [and go astray] after you have blessed us with guidance... ( Aal Imraan 3: 8) May the Almighty grant us the wisdom to relish the moments that are spent in His worship. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad January 10, 2003