Remember that when it comes to religion, “do it properly or don’t do it at all” is the madhab of the shaytan.
Some people don’t pray at work, because they don’t have time to pray 10 raq'at for duhr (4 Sunnah, 4 fardh, and 2 Sunnah). So instead, they pray when they get home, if they remember.
Make no mistake that the sole architect of this type of thinking is shaytan. The logic is inherently flawed, and if you think back, you’ll realise that it has never benefitted your imaan.
It’s the same type of thinking that persuades you that you shouldn’t pray in the park/at town/in uni, because you’ll be rushed and won’t have khushoo’, and instead you’ll pray at home once the time has elapsed.
In what world is not doing something at all better than doing it insufficiently? We would never think this way, except in matters of religion, because shaytan has an ulterior motive.
Remember, you are not necessarily going to be judged on Qiyama by the amount of raq'at you prayed, or the amount of money you gave to charity, or the amount of Quran you read or memorised. You are going to be judged by the effort you exerted in praying those raq'at/giving that money/memorising those verses.
If you took a quick toilet break from work, and found a small space to hastily pray your fardh, you may be rewarded greater than someone who prayed the same prayer for half an hour. Allah SWT understands your situation; He understands that this little action took a lot of effort, both psychologically and logistically. You are rewarded for the effort as much as you are rewarded for the quality of act itself.
So next time you think of omitting an act of worship because you won’t be doing it perfectly, just realise that shaytan is tricking you.
Upon analysis, also realise that this is the exact same logic that convinces people not to worship because they’re too sinful.
“Pray? I just committed Zina. Who am I kidding? I’ll be a hypocrite.”
It’s strange how something so stupid can be perceived as so convincing. But then again, shaytan has a lot of life experience when dealing with humans.
You pray *because* you sinned.
A young man came to the prophet (saw), depressed and in despair, confessing his sin of being intimate with a woman. The prophet (saw) ignored him, and instead went to lead the prayer. The boy grew in his despair, but prayed behind the prophet (saw) anyway. After the prayer, the prophet (saw) called the boy over and asked if he prayed with him, to which he replied in the affirmative. So the prophet said: “don’t you know that good deeds replace bad deeds?” The boy, ecstatic and gleeful, asked: “O messenger of Allah, is this for me, or for everyone?” To which the prophet (saw) confirmed that it is indeed for everyone.
So next time you think “I can’t do it properly now so i’ll do it later/won’t do it” or “how can I worship if i’ve done xyz” then just remember:
Madhab of the shaytan = all or nothing
Madhab of Allah and His messenger = good replaces bad
