The Importance of Prayer

Praise be to Allaah. 

The
importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be understated. It is the first
pillar of Islam that the Prophet (peace 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. Allah
has declared its obligatory status under majestic circumstances. For
example, when Allah spoke directly to Moses, He 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 (peace be
upon him) during his ascension to heaven. Furthermore, when Allah praises
the believers, such as in the beginning of surah al-Muminoon, one of
the first descriptions He states is their adherence to the prayers.

Once
a man asked the Prohpet (peace be upon him) about the most virtuous
deed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that the most virtuous
deed is 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 stated, “Jihad in the way of Allah.”
[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]

The
importance of prayer is demonstrated in the 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.” [Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, it is sahih.
Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.

The
importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions
one performs in his life, the msot important aspect is one’s relationship
to Allah, that is, one’s faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity
(ikhlas) and worship of Allah (`ibaadah). This relationship with Allah
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 (peace be upon him) himself stated.

In
reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of
Allah 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. He will be fearful as well as hopeful
of Allah. After that experience, he will not want to move from that
lofty position to one wherein he disobeys Allah. Allah has mentioned
this aspect of the prayer when He has said,

“Verily,
the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds” (al-Ankaboot
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. [Nadwi, p. 24]

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 niggardly
when good touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer those who
remain constant in their prayers…” (al-Maarij 19-23).

As
for the Hereafter, Allah’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely related
to the prayers. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) 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. 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.]
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.” [Recorded by Malik, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’I and
others. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami,
vol. 1, p. 616.] ]

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 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 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 (peace 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
(peace be upon him) then said, “That is like the five daily prayers:
Allah wipes away the sins by them.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari and
Muslim.)

In
another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

“The
five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are
expiation for what is between them.” (Recorded by Muslim.)