Saturday, October 22, 2011

Why is Salah SO Important?


In the name of Allah, Praise belongs to Allah, and Blessings and Peace be upon the messenger of Allah...

In the Qur’an, Allah says,

“Indeed, I am Allah. There is nothing worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me and establish the Salah for My remembrance.” (Quran 20:14)

These are the words that Allah spoke to Musa (as), to Moses, and Allah reminds us of them again in the Qur’an. There is no doubt that the Salah, the established formal daily prayer, has always been a fundamental part of Allah’s religion, even before the last messenger Muhammad (saws). Allah says elsewhere in the Qur’an,

“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid false gods." (Quran 16:36)

So why is the Salah so important? It’s simple. The Salah is so important because it is the precise way that Allah has instructed us to worship Him, and because worshipping Allah is the purpose of our creation, as Allah says,

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Qur’an 51:56)

In a video titled Prayer in Islam, I explained that in Islam there are different types of prayer, or different actions that are commonly translated as prayer, and that, aside from the Salah, the established daily prayer, there is also dua, the act of calling on Allah in prayer at any time or place, and dhikr, remembrance and continuous contemplation of Allah, and all these things are considered “prayer.” What’s interesting is that the Salah itself is in many ways an established form of dua and dhikr, calling on Allah and remembering Allah.

The importance of the Salah can also be understood though the ways in which the Salah benefits us.

It’s reported that the Prophet Muhammad (saws) was speaking to his companions, and he asked them, “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 dirt left on him?” The companions said, “No dirt would remain on him at all.” The Prophet (saws) then said, “That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

Subhanallah, think about the amazing mercy of Allah, that he gives us five prayers throughout the day, every single day, with which we can be purified of our sins.

The messenger of Allah (saws) is also reported to have said, "Allah has obligated five prayers. Whoever excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times, completes their bows, prostrations and khushu' (total concentration and spiritual connection) 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.]

Really think about that! If you maintain your prayers and pray them the way they’re meant to be prayed, Allah is giving you a guarantee of forgiveness! Who can give a better guarantee than Allah?

And not only does the Salah remove the sins you have, but it also protects you from further sins! In the Qur’an, Allah says,

“Indeed, the Salah keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds” (Quran 29:45)

Just think, at any given time during the course of the day, you either just finished praying or you are going to pray soon. That consistent routine of prayer continuously boosts your level of taqwa, conciousness of Allah. Since you’re always mindful of Allah, you’re aware that He sees everything you do, you’re less likely to commit sins.

According to Allah’s messenger (saws), the Salah is the most virtuous deed anyone can perform, and that’s why it’s so important to keep the prayer. Just as performing the Salah can be of tremendous benefit, neglecting the Salah can cause us tremendous harm.

As the Prophet (saws) informed us,

“The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the Salah. 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.]

So insha’Allah now that you truly understand the importance of the Salah, you can take the next step by perfecting your Salah. That can mean different things for different people. If you are inconsistent with your prayers, it could mean disciplining yourself to pray them every day in their time. If you always find yourself praying at the last minute, it could mean making an effort to pray as soon as the prayer comes in. If you have trouble focusing in your Salah, it could mean studying the meanings of what you are saying in prayer and concentrating on it more deeply while in prayer. If you are a new Muslim, it could mean beginning to learn and practice the Salah, and make it part of your regular routine. Whatever our individual cases may be, I hope and pray that we can all remember why Salah is so important to us and to stay motivated to always improve. Until next time, Assalaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

25 comments:

  1. salam. good article. salah is a power for muslims. keep up the good work. wasalam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. learn SALAT or NAMAJ here
      or
      http://skmijanur86.blogspot.in/

      Delete
    2. This is a vry gud article.Alhamdulillahi rabbal Alameen...May Allah bless u all behind this work.It helped me so much to understand the importance of Salah...so simple to read but give a lot to think....JazhakaAllah khair

      Delete
    3. Watch me now watch nae n a e lov e that song duhhhh

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  2. Thank you! I needed this, especially now.

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  3. When we're praying, that's when we are very close to Allah Subhaanahu Wata'ala.

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  4. MashaaAllah this is a beautiful article. I pray that Allah helps me to focus in my prayer and that the people I care for most will start praying their five daily prayers inshaa Allah. May Allah guide your family and mine. Ameen.

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  5. Through you, Allah has just made my wish come true. I have been telling every one around me how important sallah could be. You gave me more elaboration.thanks to you alhamdu lliLahi. Nurul Islam.

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  6. amazing MashAllah! really inspirational and motivating!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. learn SALAT or NAMAJ here
      or
      http://skmijanur86.blogspot.in/

      Delete
  7. Thank you so much, beautiful MashaAllah. this came at the perfect timing.

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  8. It's really good article. You write it simple and beautiful. It makes me thinking to be more Khusu when practice Salah, and do it better than before :) Very inspirational.

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  9. PRAY WITH ME

    The first mobile app of its kind.
    Pray With Me is a personal vocal assistant designed to help with perfecting the pronunciation of the Arabic verse for the 5 daily prayers (salat), while the user is actually performing salat.
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    ReplyDelete
  10. Allahumdulilah. May Allah reward whoever helped in the writing of this. I was trying to gather some information on salah for a kuthba in school, and this really helped

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. learn SALAT or NAMAJ here
      or
      http://skmijanur86.blogspot.in/

      Delete
  11. Jazak Allah khair
    I'm preparing for a lecture about the importance of Salat , your article will be my main source ...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you so much,
    learn SALAT or NAMAJ here http://skmijanur86.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete
  13. Asslamu Alaikum,

    Just want to say Jazak Allah Khair for writing this. Iknow it has been a while, and you probably forgot all about writing this post, but just wanted to let you know that mashallah the khair lives on in that it helped me today. I plan on using this information in my speech in my club meeting and may you gain the ajr :-).

    Salam,

    Your Sis in Islam

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  14. well written good definitions

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  15. Well done ma'sha'allah I especially need this for a talk today Ja'zakallah dawahaddict for teaching me

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  16. thanks this helped me with me homework

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  17. :D Thanks good homework complete :D thank you

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  18. Any of you wants to know daily salah timings on your smartphone, so just install this "Prayer Times" mobile application, with this app, you will be notified whenever the timing of any prayer (Salah) begins and you can also check the Qibla direction.

    ReplyDelete