‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah) was a very pious man. He was from the descendants of the great Sahaabi, Sayyiduna ‘Umar bin Khattaab (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).
When ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah) was young, he was living in Egypt. However, his father wanted to send him to the blessed city of Madeenah Munawwarah so that he could study and learn under the great ‘Ulama of Madeenah Munawwarah. When sending him to Madeenah Munawwarah, his father was worried about who would look after his son and make sure that he was learning the right things and becoming pious. So, his father asked a pious man in Madeenah Munawwarah, whose name was Saalih bin Kaysaan (rahimahullah), to check on his son and look after him.
One day, Saalih bin Kaysaan (rahimahullah) noticed that ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah) was not in the masjid for salaah. As soon as he saw this, he went to check on him and ask him why he had missed his salaah with jamaat in the masjid. When he came to him and asked him, ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah) told him that he had missed the salaah in the masjid because he was busy combing his hair and making it neat.
Saalih bin Kaysaan (rahimahullah) was disappointed to hear this and wrote a letter to the father of ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah), telling him that his son had missed salaah in the masjid because he was too busy worrying about his hair. When the father of ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah) received the letter, he was also disappointed and worried. He was worried that his son cared more about his hair than salaah!
So, he immediately sent a person, all the way from Egypt to Madeenah Munawwarah. He told the person, “Go to my son in Madeenah Munawwarah, and as soon as you see him, shave his head and cut off all his hair!”
The man came to Madeenah Munawwarah and shaved the head of ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah), and in this way, the father of ‘Umar bin ‘Abdil ‘Azeez (rahimahullah) taught him that his salaah with jamaat in the masjid must always come first.
Lesson:
Salaah is the most important ‘ibaadah in a Muslim’s life. Salaah must always come first, before everything else. Girls must make sure that they perform their salaah on time, and big boys must make sure that they go to the masjid and perform their salaah with jamaat. If we want to do anything or go anywhere, we must first make sure that we will be able to perform our salaah correctly. If we always look after our salaah, then Allah Ta‘ala will always look after us.
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