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THE
IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER “O
man, what has made you careless concerning your Lord, the Most Generous.
Him Who created thee. Fashioned
thee in due proportion and gave thee a just bias.
In any form He willed, He put you together.
Quraan 82: 6-8 Allah
the Almighty, Creator of the Heavens and Earth addresses mankind,
reproaching them: What has seduced you, O man, into such a state that you
neglect the One who created you in love and mercy, inducing you to disobey
Him and feel secure from His punishment, neither admitting His right upon
you nor showing gratitude for the countless blessings bestowed upon you... ? "O
my people, worship Allah. You have no other deity but Him"
Quraan 11: 84 That
was the message of every prophet sent to mankind. It was not a new message,
but a reminder of the inherent truth that all men carry deep in their souls,
that Allah the Creator, alone is worthy of worship. No
other form of worship can be compared to Formal prayer or “Salat”. It is the basis of religion, without which there is no
religion. Prayer was practiced
in some form by the earlier prophets and their followers as an essential
part of the religion of God. Prophet
Ibrahim asked Allah's support in this duty: "O
my Lord! Make me one who establishes regular Prayer and also (raise such)
among my offspring O our Lord! And accept my invocation. Quraan
14: 40 Allah
spoke to Prophet Musa saying: "Verily
I am Allah: none has the right to worshipped but I: so worship me (only) and
establish regular Prayer for celebrating My praise. Quraan
20: 14 Prophet
Isa says of his Lord: "And
He has made me Blessed wheresoever I be and has enjoined on me Prayer and
Charity as long as I live;” Quraan
19: 31 And
Allah orders Prophet Muhammad
: “Recite
what is sent of the Book by inspiration to you, and establish regular
Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance
of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the
(deeds) that you do.
Quraan 29: 45 Islam,
which is the final religion, the completion and confirmation of monotheistic
religion, considers prayer essential. The
denial of prayer removes one from the ranks of Islam.
Prayer was the first duty ordered of the Muslim community, having
been made obligatory upon them in Makkah about three years before the Hijra
(emigration) to Madinah. All
Islamic obligations were revealed to Prophet Muhammad
upon
the earth, while prayer alone, due to it’s importance, was ordered in
heaven on the night of Israa' and Mi'raj.
This is proof enough of the Creator's great concern that this
communion between Himself and His servants be established. Prayer
is expected of every Muslim (and Muslimah) who is sane and of age.
It is reported that the Prophet
said: "The
pen is raised for three groups [of people]”--that is, they will not be
responsible for their actions—“the insane until they become sane, those
who are sleeping until they awaken, and the young until they reach
puberty.” Ahmad,
Abu Dawud, and At-Tirmidhi. All
others are responsible for their duties before Allah, and the foremost of
these duties is prayer. Prayer
is ordered continuously throughout Quraan. Allah, in His mercy emphasizes
it's importance over and over so there can be no doubt. He tells us: “Guard
strictly your (habit of) Prayers, especially the middle prayer and stand
before Allah in a devout (frame of mind).”
Quraan
2: 238 And He
says: “When
you have finished the (congregational) Prayers, celebrate Allah's praises
standing, sitting down or lying down on your sides; but when you are free
from danger, set up regular Prayers: for such Prayers are enjoined on
believers at stated times.” Quraan
4: 103 It
should be noted as well that in Islam, the establishment of prayer is
emphasized: The Quraan does not tell us: “pray”, but it tells us:
“establish prayer”. Prayer
should not to be merely a series of words and movements practiced
occasionally, without thought. But
it must be established in the heart, if it is to give the desired result.
Prayer is to be established for the individual at it’s proper times
and according to it’s definite conditions. It is to be established in the
home, in the family, and finally in the community as a whole.
This is because the prayer, when established and practiced in the
proper fashion ties the individual (and the group) to Allah in a positive
and fruitful way. It awakens
the believer's heart to his Lord and to himself, and reminds him of that Day
on which he will stand before his Creator with nothing between them. The
Messenger of Allah
said
“The first act that the slave will be accountable for on the Day of
Judgement will be prayer. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be
good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil.”
At-Tabarani We
know from the sayings of the Prophet
“Recite
what is sent of the Book by inspiration to you and establish regular Prayer:
for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of
Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the
(deeds) that you do. Quraan
29: 45 The
importance of keeping the prayer is affirmed in every situation: at home or
while travelling, in security or fear, in peace or war, in health or
illness. Even if it is not possible to fulfill the usual required conditions
of prayer, such as cleanliness or proper dress, permission to neglect or
postpone the prayer altogether is never given. Allah, in his Mercy, has
given us concessions or substitutes in certain circumstances one might face,
such as making Tayammum (using dust or soil for purification instead of
water) and Kasr wa Jama’ (shortening and joining the prayers) during a
journey. However, the only
permission to neglect or postpone the prayer, is for a women at the time of
childbirth or her monthly cycles. Even
the person too ill to move or threatened by an enemy must pray, if only with
his eyes or in his heart - as much as he is able, and as long as his mental
faculties are intact. During the last breaths of his life, the Messenger of
Allah
There
are several authentic sayings of the Prophet
"Between
a person and disbelief is discarding prayer." Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah “The
covenant that is between us and them is (on the basis of) prayer, so he who
(abandons it, in fact shows) infidelity (to Allah).” Ahmad,
Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah Some
scholars have interpreted this to mean that anyone who does not pray is to
be considered from the kuffar or non-Muslims. Others
have divided such persons into categories, judging them by intention since
the Prophet
“The
reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the
reward according to what he has intended…” Sahih Bukhari
1:1 They
hold the view that ¨
The person who denies the words of Allah and His messenger, that
prayer is obligatory upon him and refrains from it deliberately removes
himself from Islam because of his disbelief. ¨
The person who admits that he should pray, neglecting it due to
laziness or pre-occupation with worldly pursuits is still considered a
Muslim, although an extremely disobedient one subject to severe punishment
in the hereafter. Sheikh
of Islam, Ahmad bin Taimiyyah said: “But most people perform prayers at
times and leave them at times, not keeping to it regularly. These are the
ones who come under the threat, and it is them about whom the saying of the Messenger of Allah
“Allah
has laid five prayers upon His slaves. Whoever fulfills them and does not
miss any of them will have a pact with Allah that He will let him enter
Paradise. Whoever does not come with them will have no pact with Allah. If
He wishes, He may punish him, and if He wishes, He may forgive him.”
Ahmad, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah So the
keeper of prayer is the one who prays at it’s given times, as Allah has
ordered, and does not postpone it or neglect it’s essential parts.
The one who neglects the times or essentials of the Prayer is subject
to the decision of Allah the Exalted. Alhamdulillah
(all praise is due to Allah alone) that we might have some extra prayers
(nawafil) to complete any shortcomings in our obligatory prayers… The
Prophet
Any
person, who has never been informed of his duties in Islam and therefore is
ignorant, is not responsible until he has this knowledge. But once he knows
that prayer is binding upon him as a Muslim, he is to be judged according to
his response. A
number of the Prophet's companions were of the view that refraining from
even a single prayer deliberately, until its time has passed, is reversion
to disbelief punishable by death. Among them were Omar bin al-Khattab,
Abdullah bin Masoud, Abdullah bin Abbas, Muath bin Jabal and others. None of
the other companions were known to have disputed this view. Do the
negligent Muslims of today belong to this category of deliberate rejecters,
or are they simply ignorant of their duties? Could any believer commit such
a sin except out of ignorance? On the other hand, is it possible that
ignorance could be so completely widespread? Refusing
the invitation of our Creator to establish this permanent relationship with
Him is the ultimate ingratitude and rejection of His mercy.
On the contrary, the person who responds and strives to please his
Lord will be loved by Him and gain the happiness of both worlds. As the
above hadith said, he is the only one who has a covenant with Allah.
The reward of the righteous servants of Allah are mentioned in His
book: Now
no person knows what delights of the eye are kept hidden (in reserve) for
them as a reward for their (good) Deeds. Quraan
32: 17 Finally,
no soul should despair because of sin. The door of taubah (repentance) is
open to all, whatever their previous condition. Most scholars are of the
opinion that sincere repentance and regret for the past and determination to
correct the situation is all that is needed to be accepted by Allah. One can
start anew at any time, without the burden of compensation for years of past
neglect. Abu
Bakr reports: I heard the Prophet
The
final word is spoken by Allah Himself: “Say:
O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the
Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving Most
Merciful.” Quraan
39: 53 And:
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, in concern for his
community continued to remind them: “The prayer ... the prayer...”.
