Statistics show that there are approximately 6 billion people on Earth. Of these 6 billion people, 1.2 billion are Muslims. That is twenty percent or one-fifth of the world population. In this twenty percent, only 5 people out of every 100 offer their salah! Out of the 6 billion people, twenty percent being Muslim and eighty percent non-Muslim, only five percent offer their prayers! Therefore it is vitally important to discuss the importance of Salah: the reason for it, the rewards of guarding them, and the punishments for discarding this essential pillar of faith.
Creation of Man:-
When Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) decided to create man, He informed the angels of His plan and said,
"So when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down prostrating yourselves to him." (Al-Hijr 15:29)
So the angels all fell prostrate except for Iblis, or Satan. He refused through pride and said,
"Why should I prostrate myself to a mortal whom You have created out of potter's clay of dark putrid mud?" (Al-Hijr 15:33)
The All-Mighty then banned him from Paradise, but Satan begged to be reprieved until the Day of Resurrection. Allah granted his low request and caused him to be of those who fall under His curse and wrath. As told in the Qur'an, Iblis replied,
"He said: 'My Lord! Because You have sent me astray, I shall verily adorn (make fair-seeming) the path of error for them in the earth and shall mislead them everyone, except for your perfectly devoted slaves." (Al-Hijr 15:39-40)
"Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them, from their left and their right and You shall not find most of them thankful." (Al-A'raaf 7:17)
The Plan of Satan:-
In the Glorious Qur'an, Allah reveals to us the plan of Shaytaan--to lead mankind astray, despised, and banned from Paradise, away from the mercy of Allah, just as he is.
Then Allah warns us how Iblis plans to do this:
"O you who believe! Strong drink, games of chance (gambling), idols, and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan's handiwork so leave it aside in order that you may succeed. Satan seeks only to cast enmity and hatred by means of strong drink and gambling and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allah and from (His) worship. Will you then have done it? Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and Beware!" (Al-Ma'idah 5:90-92)
"...Do not follow the footsteps of Satan, for, he is an open enemy for you." (Al-An'am 6:142)
Look at the mercy of Allah in these divine verses! How Great He is to warn us that Shaytaan is indeed the enemy of man, who only seeks to beguile mankind with his false promises, from his true goal in life, eternal Paradise,
"The devil promises you destitution and enjoins on you lewdness, but Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself with bounty. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing." (Al-Baqarah 2:268)
"He promises them and stirs up in them desires and Satan promises them only to beguile." (An-Nisaa' 4:120)
"Satan says to him 'disbelieve', but when he disbelieves, Satan says, 'I am free of you! I do fear Allah, Lord of the worlds!" (Al-Hashr 59:16)
The Shayateen are after the soul of every single human being, whether he be the "lowest of the low" or the most religious, pure and pious person of all of mankind. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "Verily an ifreet (strong and powerful evil jinn) from among the jinn spat on me last night trying to break my Salah. However, Allah let me overpower him..." So the devils were even trying to stray the best of all creation, the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam).
Protection Against the Accursed:-
What can protect us from Satan? Allah gave us the answer in the previous verses of Surah Al-Ma'idah--the constant remembrance and worship of Allah. We do not pray because Allah needs our worship, for, He is Independent of all things, but salah has been enjoined on the believers for their own good as Allah says,
"If you do good, you do good for your ownselves and if you do evil, it is for them (in like manner)..." (Bani Israel 17:7)
"And whoever strives, strives only for himself, for lo! Allah is altogether Independent of all (His) creation." (Ankabut 29:6)
As Al-Haj Muhammad Masoud said in his book, The Islamic Prayer Book, "Salah is the heart of faith. It saves from evil and helps to lead a pure life." It is also a means of safeguarding oneself from the temptations of the devil,
"Recite that which has been inspired in you of the Scripture (the Qur'an) and keep up prayers regularly. Indeed prayers save from shameful and unjust deeds and remembrance of Allah is the greatest and Allah knows what you do." (Ankabut 29:45)
"...Prostrate in adoration and bring yourself close (to Allah)." (Al-Alaq 96:19)
The Pillars of Islam:-
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "A slave is closest to Allah when he is prostrating." We are given the recipe to success in attaining Allah's pleasure--the observance of salah, prayer. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said in a hadith, "Islam is founded on five pillars: bearing witness that there is no god, but Allah and Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is His servant and messenger, establishing salah, paying zakah, performing Hajj, and fasting during Ramadan." The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), then, compared these pillars to a canopy which rests on five supports, the shahadah being the main support and the other four pillars standing in each corner helping to hold up the canopy. Without the main support (shahadah) the canopy will not be able to stand and if one of the other corner supports is missing, this will result in a collapse of the canopy. Let us judge how well we have been keeping up the canopy of Islam.
Virtues and Rewards of Salah:-
The Noble Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said the likeness of the five daily prayers is the likeness of a stream in which one bathes five times a day. Just as no dirt will remain on the body after bathing five times, likewise, one will become clean of his sins from the performance of the five daily prayers. A companion narrated that he (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "At the approach of the hour of a salah, an angel is deputed to proclaim, 'Arise, O Children of Adam! And extinguish the fire that you have (by committing sins) kindled to burn yourselves. So, the people rise, perform wudhu and offer their Dhuhr prayer. This causes forgiveness of their sins committed since day-break. The same is repeated at Asr, Maghrib, and Isha. After Isha, people go to bed, but there are some who busy themselves in good, and others in evil deeds."
"Establish salah at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night.Verily, good deeds remove evil deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful." (Hud 11:114)
What is implied is that the salah is a great blessing. One which has the powerful virtue of removing one's sins. Indeed salah is a favor and bounty, which Allah has bestowed upon His servants. It is as the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "The coolness of the eyes." It is the peace of mind and only through it can one attain peace in his mind, heart, and life:
"Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah; verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." (Ar-Ra'd 13:28)
Salah is a means of communicating with the All-Mighty to thank and glorify Him, to cry to Him, to ask of Him. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), whenever a calamity occurred, always turned to his Lord in prayer. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said that Satan says, "Woe unto me! The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated and Paradise was entitled to him and I was commanded to prostrate, but I refused and am doomed to Hell." A companion once said to the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), "Inform me about an act which would entitle me to Paradise and remove me away from Hellfire." The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "You have asked a matter (which appears to be difficult), but it is very easy for those whom Allah has made it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, establish prayer, pay zakah.....Should I not direct you to the highest level of the matter to the pillar on which (it rests) and its top?" The companion eagerly replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)!" He (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "The uppermost level of the matter is Al-Islam. Its pillar is prayer and its top is Jihad..." Another companion inquired of the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) which act was most dearest to Allah. He (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) replied, "Salah, at its fixed time." In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "Salah is the best of all that has been ordained by Allah."
From the above narrations, we can conclude that salah is the most important act of a Muslim next to Iman (faith). Salah distinguishes a believer, a Muslim, from a non-believer, a kafir. It is the light of a mu'min. It is a mark of Islam and is the first thing one will be questioned about on the Day of Judgement. Only through the salah can one show true devotion and love for Allah. It is the key to paradise. It scares away the devil so long as one is regular in his salah. When a person stands in salah, the gates of Paradise are let open and all the veils between him and his Lord are lifted. A devotee of prayer is closest to Allah and the fire of hell will not touch the parts of the body, which touched the ground while performing prostration if he is thrown into Hell for some major sin. Allah says in His beautiful Kalaam,
"Those who patiently persevere, seeking the countenance of their Lord, establish regular prayers, spend out of that which we have bestowed for their sustenance secretly and openly and turn off evil with good; for such there is the final attainment of the (Eternal) Home. Gardens of bliss, they shall enter there, as wellas the righteous among their fathers, their spouses, and their children and the angels shall enter unto them from every gate (with the salutation): Peace be unto you for that you persevered in patience. Now how excellent is the Final Home. But those who break the covenant of Allah after having plighted their world thereto and cut asunder those things which Allah commanded to be joined and work mischief in the land, on them is the Curse; for them is the (most) terrible Home." (Ar-Ra'd 13:22-25)
The Discard of Salah:-
When one rejects salah, it is like rejecting Allah, the Lord and Creator and, choosing Satan as a protector and friend. The Qur'an says,
"Whoever forsakes Allah and takes Satan as a friend, has of a surety suffered a manifest loss." (An-Nisaa 4:119)
"O Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you as he seduced your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame; for he and his tribe see you from a position where you cannot see them; We made the devils friends (only) to those without Faith." (Al-A'raaf 7:27)
"Some He has guided; others have deserved the loss of their way; surely they took Satan as friend and protector instead of Allah and think that they are on the right path." (Al-A'raaf 7:30)
The most severe punishment of neglecting salah is being thrown out of the fold of Islam, therefore, becoming a kafir and it is well-known that the abode of the kafiroon is in the Hellfire. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "Hurry up with your salah when it is cloudy (lest you miss the correct time), for, to discard salah is to become a kafir."
Even after such stern warning, most people still discard salah. People most often use the excuse, "I can't pray at work!" And a whole list of other excuses will follow as to why they can't pray at work. This is one of the most lame excuses of missing salah one could make. Nowadays, non-Muslims employers are well aquainted with Muslim practices, including the salah, and most do not have a problem with it, especially if it is done during break or lunch time. Other reasons, which lead one to neglect salah, is being in the company of friends and family, who, themselves, do not perform salah and so one may become "embarrassed" to call out that it is prayer time. When people are out of the house, for example, when they go to weddings or other parties, they will intentionally neglect salah because they are having too much fun to leave the worldly pleasure for worship of their Lord or making wudu in elegant clothing becomes a "hassle" at such events. And others neglect salah because they are "too busy" or because they "have a business to run." Those who make excuses to get away with worship and prayer should know that the Blessed Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "A person who has missed one salah is like one who has lost all his family and wealth." The greatness and reward of salah is such that if a person misses even one prayer, it is like he has lost the two things which he holds most dear in his life. If we miss even one salah at its fixed time, our emotion and reaction should be such as we've lost our parents and spouses and children and siblings and all our money and property. But with the majority, it is the opposite.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, while talking on the subject of salah, "For its votary, salah shall, on the Day of Judgment, be a light for him, an argument in his favor, and a means of deliverance. Whereas, there will be no light, no defense, no deliverance from doom for him who does not guard his salah and he shall meet the fate of Fir'aun, Hamaan, and Ubay bin Khalaf." Fir'aun was one of the worst and most rebellious transgressors against Allah. He was full of pride and persecuted the Children of Israel mercilessly. He killed his own wife by putting pegs in her body and placed a stone on top of her back, killing her for her belief in the God of Moses (alaiyhis-salam). His helper was Hamaan. Not only did they commit these heinous crimes, but Fir'aun called himself God!
"And Fir'aun said: O chiefs! I do not know of any god for you besides myself..." (Al Qasas 28:38)
"And (We destroyed) Qaroon, Fir'aun, and Haman." (Ankabut 29:39)
"If front of the Fire will they be brought, morning and evening, and on the Day of Judgement when the Hour comes to pass (it will be said): Cast the people of Fir'aun in to the severest penalty." (Al-Mu'min 40:46
:-Prayer Method:-
( Before Salah, Niyat, Takbeer-e-Tahreemah, Sana )
(Taawaz & Tasmiyah, First Rakat, Ruku )
(Qumah, Translation, First Sajdah )
( Jalsha, Second Sajdah, Second Rakat )
(First Qadah, Tashahhud )
( The Third Fourth
Rakat,
Second Qadah )
(Dova After Durood Shareef, Saalam )
(Completion of Salah )
(Correct Positions of Qiyam, Ruku,
Sajdah, Qadah & Tashahhud )
Sajdah, Qadah & Tashahhud )
( The Eidain Salah )
(Mustahabbat of Eidain, Eid-ul-Fitr)
(Mustahabbat of Eidain, Eid-ul-Azha )
(The Witr Salah, Manners
of
performing Witr Salah)
of
performing Witr Salah)
(Dua-e-Qunoot )
( The time of Witr Salah )
