The prayers is one of the many types of worship in our religion. They are an outwardly expression of our belief and submission to Allaah, subhanaho wata’ala. It is also a practical sign of obedience to the command of Allaah. As such it is something that is performed on a daily basis so that we will always stay mindful of the One who created us and provided for us with all that we can see and observe on this earth - all of which has been subjected to us, for our use and benefit. Allaah said:
And He has subjected to you [for your use and benefit] all that is in the Heavens and the Earth. It is all as a favour and kindness from Him. Verily in this are signs for a people who think deeply. Al-Jaathiyah (45:13]
Allaah mentions the prayer in many ayaat in the Qur’aan:
And be steadfast in prayer; practise regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship). Al-Baqarah (2:43)
Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah, His Messenger, and the (fellowship of) believers,- those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in worship). Al-Ma’idah (5:55)
And to perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat)", and to be obedient to Allah and fear Him, and it is He to Whom you shall be gathered. Al-An’aam (6:72)
Even though Allaah mentions salah, the prayer, many times in the Qur’aan, it has become one of those acts of worship that more and more people abandon these days. If we look around in the world we see that the state of the muslim ummah is in a terrible condition. The muslim ummah used to be a outstanding ummah, high developed, the muslims were the ones who were developing, and educating others, we were advanced in our knowledge compared to the rest of the world. But today we are nothing compared to what we used to be. Many muslims today has abandoned the worship of Allaah, they have abandoned the prayer, reading Qur’aan, fasting in Ramadhaan, zakat. And yet we complain over how weak we are, how difficult it is to be muslim, how oppressed we are. Forgetting what Allaah has said in the Qur’aan that he will not change the condition of a people unless they change what’s in their hearts.
Today muslims have come to treat the prayer as something unimportant. Attentiveness and humility in it have been taken away, except from those whom Allaah, subhanaho wata’ala, wills. The hearts have become darkened and the people's distressed state has become grave. They have searched for the causes and strive to find a cure, but are unable to find it. They have looked into everything except their Prayers, which are the closest of affairs to them... Indeed the well being of the soul begins with rectification of one's belief (aqeedah) and one's Prayer, and I do not think that I am exaggerating when I say that prayer done with full attentiveness and humility is one of the most important means for the success and victory of this ummah. The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions we performs in our lives, the most important aspect is our relationship to Allah, that is, our faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) 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. 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, aleyhi salato wasalaam, himself stated in a hadeeth: "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." [Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.] In reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of Allah and turning to Him for forgiveness – it will have a lasting effect on us. After we finishes the prayer, our hearts will be filled with the remembrance of Allah. We will be fearful as well as hopeful of Allah. After that experience, we will not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein we disobey Allah. Allah has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when He has said,
Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that you do. Al-Ankaboot (29:45)
To attain this humility and attentiveness, in other words, to have khushoo’, is very important. When Iblees, the enemy of Allaah, vowed to mislead and tempt the sons of Adam and said “Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left” [al-A’raaf 7:17, interpretation of the meaning], one of his most significant plots became to divert people from salaah by all possible means and to whisper to them during their prayer so as to deprive them of the joy of this worship and cause them to lose the reward for it. As khushoo’ will be the first thing to disappear from the earth, and we are living in the last times, the words of Hudhayfah (raa) are particularly important to us: “The first thing of your religion that you will lose is khushoo’, and the last thing that you will lose of your religion is salaah. There may be a person praying who has no goodness in him, and soon you will enter the mosque and not find anyone who has khushoo’.” (al-Madaarij, 1/521). And Allaah says in soorah al-Mominoon:
“Successful indeed are the believers, those who offer their salaah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness” (23:1-2)
There are a few ways of increasing ones khushoo’:
a. Remembrance of death—Helps us pray the prayer as if we had no more chances to ask forgiveness, increasing our sincerity. It is a prayer of farewell to all aspects of this dunya. The worshipper who pays attention in his Prayer “is found weeping and shedding tears since Paradise and the Hell-Fire seem closer to him than the strap of his shoe (16). The Prophet (S), Abu Bakr and Umar (R) all used to cry profusely in their prayers.
b. Reflecting on the words which one says in the Prayer—when saying Allahu Akbar, when seeking refuge, etc, we should understand what we are asking of Allaah
c. Abandoning Sins—Sins are an obstacle to achieving khushoo (ex: a man married to a woman of evil character, giving wealth to one lacking in intellect, making a loan without witnesses, a slave fleeing from his owner and a woman disobedient to her husband). Likewise, acts of obedience to Allaah bring khushoo closer (ex: kindness to and feeding of the orphan)
d. Avoidance of excessive laughter since it kills off the heart and empties it of humility (khushoo)
e. Choosing suitable work—earning money in a halaal way, work should not conflict with the times of prayer, and it should not be so strenuous that the worshipper cannot pray properly
f. Avoiding being preoccupied with this world—take only from this world what is necessary, if one business is enough to sustain you and your family, do not start another to occupy more of your time
g. Frequently reciting the Noble Qur’aan and other authentic adhkaar “will soften the heart and repel Satan” (22).
h. Coming to Prayer in good time (early)—when you are running late, you tend to get flustered and agitated, you should not arrive to the Prayer in this mnner
i. Straightening the rows and standing closely together—leaving gaps allows for Satan to come between you, “failing to straighten the rows causes alteration in and dissension between the faces and the hearts”(23)
The overall affect that the properly performed prayers should have upon humans is described in other verses in the Quran:
"Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and niggardly when good touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer, those who remain constant in their prayers" al-Maarij (70: 19-23).
As for the Hereafter, Allah’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely related to the prayers, and He, subhanaho wata’ala, wipes away sins through the five daily prayers. The Messenger of Allah, aleyhi salato wasalaam, said, "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." [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.] ]
The prayer is an expiation of what is committed between them, as long as major sins are avoided, the Prophet, aleyhi salato wasalaam said: "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 (peace be upon him) then said, "That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) In another hadith, the Prophet, aleyhi salato wasalaam, said, "The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them." (Recorded by Muslim.)”]
The Messenger of Allaah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “You will be burned, you will be burned. So if you perform the morning prayer it will wash them away. Then you will be burned, you will be burned. So if you perform Dhuhr prayer it will wash them away. Then you will be burned, you will be burned. So if you perform the Asr prayer it will wash them away. Then you will be burned, you will be burned. So if you perform the Maghrib prayer it will wash them away. Then you will be burned you will be burned. So if you perform the Ishaa prayer it will wash them away. Then you sleep and nothing will be written against you until you awaken."[5]
Anas bin Maalik (ra) said: The Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: "To Allaah belongs an angel which calls at every prayer: O Children of Aadam! Stand and attend to the fires which you have set alight that you may extinguish them." [6]
Amr ibn Marrah al-Juhainee (ra) said: "A man came to the Prophet, aleyhi salato wasalaam, and said: O Messenger of Allaah! Do you see that if I testify that there is none that deserves worship except Allaah alone and you are His Messenger, then perform the five prayers, give the zakah, fast the month of Ramadan and remain upon that, amongst whom will I be? He, aleyhi salato wasalaam, said: "Amongs the truthful and the martyrs."[9]
Abu Uthmaan said: I was with Salmaan (ra) under a tree and he took a dry branch and began to shake it until its leaves fell to the ground. He said: O Abu Uthmaan! Will you not ask me why I am doing this? I said: Why are you doing this? He said: The Messenger, aleyhi salato wasalaam, did the same to me while I was with him under a tree. He took a dry branch and began to shake it until all the leaves fell to the ground. Then he said: O Salmaan! Will you not ask me why I am doing this? So I said: And why are you doing this? He said: "Indeed (each time) the Muslim performs wudhoo and beautifies it, then performs the five prayers his sins fall from him jusst like these leaves have fallen" and then he recited the verse:
Establish the prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night. Indeed the good deeds remove the evil deeds. This is the reminder for those who remember.” Hud (11:114) [11]
Uthmaan (ra) said: The Messenger of Allaah, aleyhi salato wasalaam, said: "There is no muslim who when the time for the obligatory prayer approaches, beautifies its wudhoo, and performs it while beautifying its khushoo' and its rukoo' except that it becomes an expiation for the sins that were before it, as long as he did not commit any major sins and this is for all time." [12]
Abu Ayyoob (ra) said that the Prophet,aleyhi salato wasalaam, used to say: "Every prayer reduces the sins which are before it."[13]
As I already mentioned, Allaah says in soorah al-Ankaboot, that Allaah says: Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that you do. (29:45)
Prayer is supposed to prevent us from performing any kind of wickedness. If the prayer is not helping us do that, then there is something wrong with our prayer. Let’s examine what is wrong and seek to find a cure. “Just as we seek to treat our bodies from illness, then it is even more appropriate that we should seek to find a cure for our souls."
“If the prayer is corrected then the rest of the actions will be corrected . ”A person should be able to pray and become closer to Allah. And that cannot happen until a person’s “aqeedah is corrected, and what that comprehends: being mindful of Allah, the Most High, and fearing Him, and remembering that one will have to stand before Him for the Reckoning, and being terrified of His Fire”. When this is the case, the person will have the ability in his heart to resist temptation and say no the wrong and immoral actions. He will prefer “the lasting good to that which will perish and pass away”.
The fear of committing a sin is a healthy fear. It comes from a person having taqwa and being mindful of Allah. As the Prophet, aleyhi salato wasalaam, said: "Indeed there is in the body a piece of flesh which if it is sound then the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. Indeed it is the heart." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim] When the heart is in good shape, the body will not do the things that have been forbidden.
The unsound heart is healed through Prayer that is prayed with khushoo.
This is some of the effects of Prayer, and some of its benefits, so we should make our prayer such that we pray with fear, humility and attentiveness so that Allah, the One free from all imperfections, accepts it from us, and so that we may receive the fruits and benefits which spring from it, so that the society in which we live may change, such that eeman becomes its foundation, and so that it adheres and clings firmly to the laws and regulations of Islam. May Allah send praise, blessings and peace upon Muhammad, his family, his followers and companions.
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