"The key to Paradise is salat (prayers), and the key to salat is wudu,"
[Jami at-Tirmidhi]
Abu Huraira reported; The Messenger of Allah PBUH, said, "The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, he will have prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, he will have failed and lost. It there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, then the Almighty Lord will say: 'See if My servant has any voluntary prayers that can complete what is insufficient in his obligatory prayers.' The rest of his deeds will be judged the same way."
[Sunan al-Tirmidhi]
Salah (prayer) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is a great significance in the life of a practising Muslim. It is a way to connect to our Lord, Allah SWT and a form of worship.
Just as our bodies require food and water, our souls have spiritual needs. Our soul needs prayer and acts of worship in order to be healthy. You may see many people who have extremely healthy outward appearances, but they are spiritually dead.
The Prophet SAWS said, "The comparison of one who remembers Allah and one who does not, is like that of the living and the dead."
So be very careful and cautious of appearing to be religious, if you are in fact starving your soul of its spiritual nourishment. And also be careful and cautious of coming across these types of people. Hence the saying, 'don't judge a book by its cover.' Allah is the Judge and we will be judged by Him and He will not be unjust.
Our ultimate goal, which is Jannatul Firdaus, is what we ought to be trying to attain, not the praise of others for praying, doing a good deed, but the pleasure of Allah and Allah Alone. All we can do is what we have been told to do in our Book, the Qur'an, and that is to: "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me."
[Quran: Surah adh-Dhariyat (The Wind That Scatter) 51, verse 56]
"No salah (prayer) is more burdensome to the hypocrites than the Fajr (dawn) prayer and the 'Isha (night) prayer; and if they knew their merits, they would come to them even if they had to crawl to do so."
[Sahih Muslim & Sahih al-Bukhari]
"The Prophet was asked: 'Which deed is the best?' So he said: 'Salat in the beginning of its time.'"
[Jami at-Tirmidhi]
"Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive, And turn away from ill speech."
[Qur'an: Surah al-Mu'minun (The Believers) 23, verse 1-3]
"Whoever observes the practice of performing four Rak'ah before Zuhr prayer and four after Zuhr prayer, Allah will shield him against the Fire (of Hell)."
[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]
What are the benefits of prayer?
So we have the physical benefits and the spiritual benefits.
- Prayer shields us from evil.
we were created weak and without Allah and seeking help, it would be impossible to refrain from evil.
"Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do."
[Qur'an: Surah al-Ankabut (The Spider) 29, verse 45]
- The prayer humbles us
When praying we are submitting ourselves to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. We realise through prayer that we depend upon Him and of His Greatness. Humbleness is a quality which Allah associates with success.
"Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive, And turn away from ill speech."
[Qur'an: Surah al-Mu'minun (The Believers) 23, verse 1-3]
- Prayer erases sins
We were not created to be perfect, we sin from time to time. But Allah created this way in order to ask Him for forgiveness, through supplication (Dua) and prayer.
Prophet Muhammad SAWS gave a beautiful example to hos companions, he SAWS said, "Consider if one of you had a river by his door in which he bathed in five times a day. Would any dirt remain on him?" They said, "No." Then the Prophet SAWS replied, "Likewise, Allah wipes away sins with the five daily prayers."
When we perform wudu (ritual ablution) before prayer, this is a means of purification not only for the outer body but for the removal of sins, when done correctly and to please the Creator, SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah).
Uthman b. 'Affan reported: The Messenger of Allah SAWS said, "He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails."
[Sahih Muslim Hadith]
- Brings Muslims together
When the prayer is performed in congregation, it brings about brotherhood (sisterhood), equality and humanity amongst Muslims. Without any distinction of race, nationality, wealth, status or family, we all pray together, shoulder to shoulder, as if we were one body.
Narrated by 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: "The reward of the congregational prayer is twenty seven times greater (than that of the prayer offered by a person alone)."
[Sahih al-Bukhari]
Add comment
Comments