The importance of prayer

Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: The Messenger of Allah, ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Whoever performs
ablution in the best manner and he says, ‘I bear witness there is no god but Allah
alone, without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and
his messenger. O Allah, make me among those who repent and make me among
those who purify themselves,’ then the eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him
and he may enter through whichever he wishes.”

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, "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 bad, then the rest of his deeds
will be bad."
The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions one
performed in his life, the most important aspect is one’s relationship to Allah, that is,
one’s faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlaas) and worship of
Allah (ibaadah). This relationship with Allah is both demonstrated and put into
practice, as well as improved and increased, by the prayer.

In reality,if the prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of Allah 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 Allah. He will be
fearful as well as hopeful of Allah. After that experience, he will not want to move
from that lofty position to one wherein he disobeys Allah. Allah has mentioned this
aspect of the prayer when He has said,

"Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds" (al-
Ankaboot 45).

As for the Hereafter, Allah’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely related to the
prayers. The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said,

"Allah has obligated five prayers. Whoever excellently performs their

ablutions, prays them in their proper times, completes their bows,
prostrations and khushu` (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) 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."

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said: “What do you think if there was a river by the door of
any one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would there be any
trace of dirt left on him?” They said, “No trace of dirt would be left on
him.” He said, “That is like the five daily prayers, by means of which
Allaah erases sin.”

In another hadith, the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, "The five daily prayers and the Friday
Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them."

The Messenger of Allaah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Between a man and shirk [associating

others with Allaah] and kufr [disbelief] there stands his giving up prayer.”

The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬emphasised the calamity of missing the Asr prayer and
described it as loss of family and wealth, when he said: “Whoever misses ‘Asr
prayer, it is as if he has lost his family and his wealth.”

The Messenger of Allaah ‫ ﷺ‬said: “Whoever prays Fajr is under the protection
of Allaah”

Abu Dharr reported: The Prophet,‫ ﷺ‬came out during the winter while the leaves
were falling from the trees. He took hold of two branches and shook them until the
leaves fell. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, “O Abu Dharr!” I said, “Here I am, O Messenger of
Allah.” The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Verily, when a Muslim servant performs prayer seeking
the approval of Allah, his sins will fall away just as these leaves fall from this tree.”

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬was approached by one of his Companions, Rabi’ah ibn Ka’b {may
Allah be pleased with him}. He used to serve the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said,
“Ask me what you want from me. Look at what they wanted, he said, “O Prophet of
Allah, I ask for your companionship in Paradise.” This is what they lived and worked
hard for. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Anything else?” The Prophet was giving him room to
ask and the Companion said, “No, that’s it.” At this the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Help me by
offering as many Sujood as you can.” It means offer prayers as much as you can
Therefore this above mentioned Hadith is an indication that the more you pray the
closer you are to Paradise and to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.