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The Importance Of The Prayers - By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
The Importance Of The Prayers
By Shaykh Ashraf Salah
Dear Muslims:
Prayer is the first pillar of Islam that
the Prophet (PBUH) mentioned after mentioning the testimony of faith, by which
one becomes a Muslim. It was made obligatory upon all the prophets and for all
peoples. Allah (SWT) has declared its obligatory status under majestic
circumstances. For example, when Allah spoke directly to Moses, He (SWT) said,
"And I have
chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to you. Verily, I am Allah!
There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer prayer perfectly
for My remembrance." [Taha 13-14].
Similarly, the prayers were made
obligatory upon the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his ascension to heaven.
Furthermore, when Allah (SWT) praises the believers, such as in the beginning
of surah al-Mu’minoon, one of the first descriptions He (SWT) states is their
adherence to the prayers.
Once a man asked
the Prohpet (PBUH) about the most virtuous deed. The Prophet (PBUH) stated that
the most virtuous deed is the establishment of the prayer. The man asked again
and again. The first three times, the Prophet (peace be upon him) again
answered, "The prayer," then on the fourth occasion he (PBUH) stated,
"Jihad in the way of Allah." [This is form a hadith reported by Ahmad
and ibn Hibban].
The importance of
prayer is demonstrated in many of the Prophet’s statement. For example, the
Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"The first
matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is
the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it
is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad." [Reported by
al-Tabarani].
Dear Muslims:
The importance of the prayers lies in the
fact that no matter what actions one performs in his life, the most important
aspect is one’s relationship to Allah (SWT), that is, one’s faith (imaan),
God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of Allah (‘ibaadah).
This relationship with Allah (SWT) is both demonstrated and put into practice,
as well as improved and increased, by the prayer. Therefore, if the prayers are
sound and proper, the rest of the deeds will be sound and proper; and if the
prayers are not sound and proper, then the rest of the deeds will not be sound
and proper as the Prophet (PBUH) himself stated.
In reality, if the
prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of Allah (SWT) and turning
to Him for forgiveness – it will have a lasting effect on the person. After he
finishes the prayer, his heart will be filled with the remembrance of Allah
(SWT). He will be fearful as well as hopeful of Allah (SWT). After that
experience, he will not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein he
disobeys Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when
He (SWT) said:
"Verily, the prayer keeps one from
the great sins and evil deeds" (al-‘Ankaboot 45).
The aim of the
prayers is to generate within the subliminal self of man such spiritual power,
light of faith and awareness of God as can enable him to strive successfully
against all kinds of evils and temptations and remain steadfast at times of
trial and adversity and protect himself against the weakness of the flesh and
the mischief of immoderate appetites.
Dear Brothers And Sisters In Islam:
The overall effect
that the properly performed prayers should have upon humans is described in
other verses in the Quran:
"Verily, man
was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and niggardly when good
touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in
their prayers…" (al-Ma‘arij 19-23).
As for the
Hereafter, Allah’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely related to the prayers.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
"Allah has obligated five prayers.
Whoever excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times,
completes their bows, prostrations and khushu‘ [Khushu‘ in the prayer is where
the person’s heart is attuned to the prayer. This feeling in the heart is then
reflected on the body. The person remains still and calm. His gaze is also
lowered. Even his voice is affected by this feeling in the heart]. “Whosoever
does this has a promise from Allah that He will forgive him. And whoever does
not do that has no promise from Allah. He may either forgive him or punish him”.
[Reported by Malik, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’I and others].
Dear Muslims:
The prayers are a
type of purification for a human being. He turns and meets with his Lord five
times a day. As alluded to above, this repeated standing in front of Allah (SWT)
should keep the person from performing sins during the day. Furthermore, it
should also be a time of remorse and repentance, such that he earnestly asks
Allah (SWT) for forgiveness for those sins that he committed. In addition, the
prayer in itself is a good deed that wipes away some of the evil deeds that he
performed. These points can be noted in the following hadith of the Prophet
(PBUH):
"If a person
had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you
think he would have any filth left on him?" The people said, "No
filth would remain on him whatsoever." The Prophet (PBUH) then said,
"That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by
them." (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
In another hadith,
the Prophet (PBUH) said:
"The five
daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for
what is between them." (Reported by Muslim.)
Dear Muslims:
The companions of
the Prophet (PBUH) and their pious followers understood well the importance of
the prayers. Following are some examples showing this:
‘Adi bin Hatim (RAA) said: "Ever
since I became Muslim, I always made sure to have Wudu’ when the Adhan is
called". He said also: "Every time the prayer time falls, it falls
while I am eager for it and ready to perform it (i.e. having wudu’).
‘Umar became unconscious after he was
stabbed, and it was said: "Nothing
would wake him up except the call to prayer, if he is still alive." They said to him, "The prayer has
finished, O Chief of the Faithful!". He woke up and said, "The
prayer, by Allah! Verily, there is no share in Islam for whoever abandons the
prayer". He performed the prayer
while his wound was bleeding.
Abu Bakr bin Abdullah al Muzani
said: "Who is like you, O son of
Adam? Whenever you wish, you use water
to make Ablution, go to the place of worship and thus enter the presence of
your Lord (i.e. start praying) without a translator or a barrier between you
and Him!".
Abu Al ‘Aliyah said, "I would
travel for days to meet a man and the first thing I would notice about him is
his prayer. If he would establish the prayer perfectly and on time, I would
stay with him and hear the knowledge he had.
If I found him to be careless concerning the prayer, I would leave him
and say to myself that for things other than the prayer, he would be even more
careless".
Also, when ‘Ali bin Al Husain used to
perform Wudu’, his color would change.
His family asked him why this happened to him every time he performed
Ablution, he said, "Do you know before Whom I am about to stand (in
prayer)?".
May
Allah (SWT) accept our prayers, make us from those who perform it properly,
forgive, guide and bless us all (Ameen).
