In a hadith reported in Sahih Muslim, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
بُنِيَ الإِسْلاَمُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلاَةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ
The building of Islam is raised on five (pillars):
- To testify (Shahaadah) that there is no god but Allah and Sayyiduna Muhammad ﷺ is His bondsman and Messenger.
- Establishment of Salaah - the five daily obligatory prayers; namely, Fajr, Zuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib and 'Ishaa.
- Payment of Zakaah - the obligatory alms-giving.
- Pilgrimmage to House (Ka'bah) Hajj - the once-in-a-lifetime obligatory Pilgrimage.
- Fast of Ramadaan - the obligatory fasting in the month of Ramadaan.
Praying five times a day is obligatory (Fard) upon every Muslim who has reached the age of puberty and is of sound mind.
Praying five times a day is one of Allah’s categorical commands in the Holy Qur'an.
To disbelieve that the five daily prayers are Fard is Kufr, and to believe in the obligation but not to perform Salaah is to commit a great sin.
After the Shahadah, Salaah is the most virtuous and perfect act of worship - it is the superior act of worship.
Lexically, the word Salaah means supplication, mercy and to beg for forgiveness from Allahu ta'ala. Since all these three meanings are present in the act of Salaah, it is called Salaah.
There are numerous verses of the Holy Qur'an that highlight the importance of Salaah, such as:
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ
"And establish prayer and give Zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]." (Surah al-Baqarah: verse 43).
وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱصْطَبِرْ عَلَيْهَا
"And enjoin prayer upon your family and be constant therein..." (Surah al-Tahaa: verse 132)
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ . وَذَكَرَ ٱسْمَ رَبِّهِۦ فَصَلَّىٰ
"He has certainly attained success, [he] who purifies himself. And mentions remembers his Lord and prays." (Surah al-A'laa: verses 14-15)
The Holy Qur'an informs us that the first sin Muslims will be accountable for and if deserved, punished for in Hell, is for abandoning Salaah.
قَالُوا۟ لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُصَلِّينَ
"They will say, "We were not of those who prayed." (Surah al-Muddaththir: verse 43)
The significance of Salaah is highlighted by the fact that it is not allowed to be missed even under extraordinary circumstances such as illness, travel; in fact, concessions are granted to enable a person to still perform the Salaah even in such circumstances.
We are informed in a Hadith that Salaah is the guardian of protecting one's religion and neglecting it is a means of other Divine Commandments being neglected. (Mu'atta, Imam Malik)
When the Leader of the Believers, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be best pleased with him) was fatally stabbed and lay unconscious the Companion, Mishwar (may Allah be best pleased with him) said:
"Call him to prayer! Nothing else other than [the fear of missing] the Prayer scares and awakens him."
Upon hearing them call him to perform Salaah, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be best pleased with him) immediately regained consciousness and said, "Yes, I swear by Allah, those who abandon the Salaah do not get any share of Islam" and immediately stood up and performed his Salaah in spite of the bleeding wound. (Haythami, Muwatta, Ibn Sa'd).
Attaching importance to Salaah runs parallel to realising the essence of Islam. It is when there is religious heedlessness that there is an immediate effect on the attention we pay to our Salaah.
Praying five times a day is a form of worship that was commanded to us on the night the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was granted the M'iraaj (the Night Journey); it is for this reason, Salaah is said to be the M'iraaj of the Mu'min (true believer).
There are numerous verses of the Holy Qur'an and Prophetic Traditions (Ahaadith) that highlight the merits of Salaah.
From the Prophetic Traditions (Ahaadith) we learn:
"Your best deed is your Salaah." (Muwatta)
"Salaah is the key to Paradise; and cleanliness is the key to Salaah." (Ahmad)
"There is no good in religion without bowing [i.e. establishing Salaah]." (Abu Dawood)
The virtues of the obligatory Salaah are innumerable, one of the most important ones is that it is a means of obtaining Allah and His Messenger's ﷺ pleasure.
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رَبِّ ٱجعَلنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّل دُعَآءِ My Lord! Make me one who establishes regular Prayer, and also (raise such) among my offspring, Our Lord! Accept my supplications. |