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The Importance of Prayer
أهمية الصلاة
The importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be understated. It
is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet, may God praise 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. God has declared its obligatory status under
majestic circumstances. For example, when God spoke directly to
Moses, He said,
“And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to
you. Verily, I am God! There is none worthy of worship but I, so
worship Me and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance.”
(Quran 20:13-14)
Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory upon the Prophet
Muhammad during his ascension to heaven. Furthermore, when
God praises the believers, such as in the beginning of the chapter
entitled ‘al-Muminoon’ (the Believers), one of the first
descriptions He states is their adherence to the prayers.
Once a man asked the Prophet about the most virtuous deed.
The Prophet stated that the most virtuous deed is the prayer. The
man asked again and again and for the first three times, the
Prophet answered, “The prayer,” then on the fourth occasion he
stated, “Jihad in the way of God.” 1
The importance of prayer is demonstrated in many of the
Prophet’s statements. For example, the Prophet 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 incomplete, then the rest of
his deeds will be incomplete.” 2
1 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
2 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 most important aspect is
one’s relationship to God, that is, one’s faith (imaan), Godconsciousness
(taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of God
(ibaadah). This relationship with God 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 himself stated.
In reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true
remembrance of God 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 God. He will be
fearful as well as hopeful of God. After that experience, he will
not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein he
disobeys God. God has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when
He has said,
“Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil
deeds” (Quran 29:45)
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. 3
The overall affect that the properly performed prayers should
have upon humans is described in other verses in the Quran:
3 Nadwi, p. 24
Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches
him and ungenerous when good touches him. Except for those
devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…”
(Quran 70:19-23)
As for the Hereafter, God’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely
related to the prayers. The Messenger of God said,
“God has obligated five prayers. Whoever excellently
performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times,
completes their bows, prostrations and khushu4, has a promise
from God that He will forgive him. And whoever does not do that
has no promise from God. He may either forgive him or punish
him.”
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 God should keep the
person from doing sinful acts during the day. Furthermore, it
should also be a time of remorse and repentance, such that he
earnestly asks God 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, may
God praise 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 then said, “That is like the five daily
4 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.
prayers: God wipes away the sins by them.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim) In another hadith, the Prophet said, “The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them.” (Saheeh Muslim
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