The importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be
understated. It is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet, may the mercy
and blessings of God be upon him, 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. God has declared its obligatory status under majestic
circumstances. For example, when God spoke directly to Moses, He said,
“And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to
you. Verily, I am God! There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me
and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance.” (Quran 20:13-14)
Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory upon the
Prophet Muhammad during his ascension to heaven. Furthermore, when God praises
the believers, such as in the beginning of the chapter entitled ‘al-Muminoon’
(the Believers), one of the first descriptions He states is their adherence to
the prayers.
Once a man asked the Prophet about the most virtuous
deed. The Prophet stated that the most virtuous deed is the prayer. The man
asked again and again and for the first three times, the Prophet answered, “The
prayer,” then on the fourth occasion he stated, “Jihad in the way of God.”[1]
The importance of prayer is demonstrated in many of the
Prophet’s statements. For example, the Prophet 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 incomplete, then the rest of his
deeds will be incomplete.”[2]
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 God, that is, one’s faith (imaan),
God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of God
(ibaadah). This relationship with God 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 himself stated.
In reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true
remembrance of God 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 God. He will be fearful as well as hopeful of God.
After that experience, he will not want to move from that lofty position to one
wherein he disobeys God. God has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when He
has said,
“Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil
deeds” (Quran 29:45)
Nadwi has described this effect in the following
eloquent way,
Its aim 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.[3]
The overall affect 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 ungenerous when good touches him. Except for those devoted to
prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…” (Quran 70:19-23)
As for the Hereafter, God’s forgiveness and pleasure is
closely related to the prayers. The Messenger of God said,
“God has obligated five prayers. Whoever
excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times,
completes their bows, prostrations and khushu[4],
has a promise from God that He will forgive him. And whoever does not do
that has no promise from God. He may either forgive him or punish him.”
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 God should keep the person from doing
sinful acts during the day. Furthermore, it should also be a time of remorse
and repentance, such that he earnestly asks God 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, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon
him:
“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
then said, “That is like the five daily prayers: God wipes away the sins by
them.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)
In another hadith, the Prophet said,
“The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until
the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them.” (Saheeh Muslim)
Footnotes:
[1] This
is form a hadith recorded by Ahmad and ibn Hibban. According to al-Albani, the
hadith is hasan. Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Sahih al-Targheeb wa
al-Tarheeb (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1982), vol. 1, p. 150
[2]
Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, it is Sahih. Al-Albani,
Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.
[3]
Nadwi, p. 24
[4]
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. For more details on this concept (as well as the
difference between it and khudhu`), see Muhammad al-Shaayi, al-Furooq
al-Laughawiyyah wa Atharahaa fi Tafseer al-Quran al-Kareem (Riyadh: Maktabah
al-Ubaikaan, 1993), pp. 249-254
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