Significance of Salat
Sirajuddin Aziz
Prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam. There is hardly any Surah in
the Holy Qur’an that does not expound or refers to the Significance of
Salat. It has been enjoined and made compulsory on every Muslim adult
five times a day. The reason for it is apparent, because from this
practice stems all that is righteous. Prayer is a communion between the
Creator and the creation – an interaction between Divinity within and
Divinity overhead. Salat serves as the launch pad for attaining
spiritual perfection. A person who resolves to Salat, his spirit starts
shining in its pristine purity and the soul radiates its original
brilliance. The significance of prayer lies in the fact that it is one
of the most important injunctions of Islam. It gives a unique
opportunity for a man to have a direct contact with his Creator and
sustainer. The Holy Quran states:
‘Successful indeed are the believers who are humble in their prayers’.
Prayer keeps man away from all evils and lifts him from the mirth of his
misdeeds to a heightened position. It cleanses him from all sins just as
water removes dirt. The essential principle of Islam is to infuse the
conviction that Allah is there and to make His existence a living and
driving force in man; and Salat is the means by which this great end is
achieved. It is enjoined in the Holy Quran: ‘O ’ye who believe! Bow down
and prostrate yourselves and worship your Lord and do good, that happily
ye may prosper’
Salat imparts loftiness to character and personality; people who
practice it abound in such qualities as truthfulness thankfulness,
beneficence, fortitude, endurance, forgiveness and loyalty. A society
composed of such men is worth living. Salat infuses in man a great
degree of determination and trust in Allah. A person who is regular in
his prayer can never feel despondent or broken hearted; when he attains
such a stage he is the true and a fit example of the Diving Vice-gerency
as exhorted in the following Ayat: ‘Verily shall I place my vice-gerent
on earth’. Prayers are a source of daily invitation to the delinquents
for shedding evil away and putting on a garb of humility. Salat
sanctifies the human personality, it cuts the carnal self to its size;
brightens human virtues; reactivates pious resolves; infuses order,
obedience, enriches the soul and purifies the body; thereby influencing
the personality of a Muslim. Throughout history the Prophets have
communicated about the Salat made compulsory by Allah to their
respective peoples, and have been role models for all believers by
abiding by this observance in the best and most correct manner.
From Prophet Abraham: “My Lord! Make me and my descendents people who
establish Salat. My Lord! Accept my Prayer! (Surah Ibrahim, 40) Allah
has said in the Holy Qur’an: “I have not created the jinn and humankind
for any other purpose except that they should worship me.” Salat
strengthens the foundations of our faith. It prepares a person to live
the life of goodness and obedience to Allah and it builds courage and
determination. Every time we perform Salat, we renew our commitments to
Allah and we rid ourselves from worldly pressures 5 times a day.
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said “The person that observes prayer
properly, the prayer itself, blesses him with good wishes.” According to
a hadith a companion of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) came to him one day
and asked him “What is the thing that Allah (s.w.t.) loves most?”
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) replied “The thing that Allah (s.w.t.) loves
most is when his people pray salah on time.”
The Morning Prayer, that is offered before sunrise, has been enjoined so
that it may facilitate the understanding of how the negritude of night
is outstripped by the light of day, calmness breaks into an uproar and
the static turns into motion. It is said that each dawn is the key to
the door of understanding of the Divine Being, for the discerning. Islam
preaches moderation. A Muslim is supposed to participate in the normal
activities of life and amidst these activities he must resort to
prostration before Allah. The Holy Quran says: ‘Men whom neither
merchandise nor sale beguileth from remembrance of Allah, who pay the
poor their due; who fear a day when hearts and eyeballs will be
overturned’A new chapter of Allah’s understanding opens up before man
when he goes to his nightly rest after the Isha prayer and he has a
glimpse of the world’s end as light turns to darkness. Salat is that
pillar of Islam, which is to be complied with under all conditions.
There is severe penalty for abandoning prayers which is hellfire. What
is between belief and disbelief is leaving prayer. The sick person who
cannot pray standing can sit and pray; who cannot pray sitting prays
lying down, one who can’t pray lying down may pray with his eyes. Salat
has to be performed. Salat is way to provide nourishment to our souls.
It must be continued 5 times a day to attain closesness to Allah. The
Holy Quran enumerates a number of benefits of enjoining Salat: Salat
protects believers from evil and vice “Observe the Salat for it
prohibits evil and vice.” 29:45. The Salat strengthens our belief and
make us attain certainty. “You shall glorify and praise your Lord and be
with the prostrators, and worship your Lord until you attain certainty.”
15:98-99. Salat (along with charity) is the best investment in the
hereafter.
“Surely, those who recite the book of God, observe the Contact Prayers
and are charitable both discreetly and openly can hope for an investment
that never loses. He will recompense them generously and will multiply
His blessings upon them. He is Forgiving, Appreciative.” 35:29-30 Above
all, the Salat is to commemorate God. Surely, the most important
objective of the Salat is to commemorate God. “You shall recite what is
revealed to you of the Scripture, and observe the Salat (Contact
Prayers), for the Salat prohibits evil and vice. But the remembrance of
God (through the Contact Prayers) is the most important objective. God
is aware of all that you do.” 29:45. “I am God, there is no other God
but Me, you shall worship Me and observe the Salat (Contact Prayers) to
commemorate Me.” 20:14. Prayer has got great political and social value,
it is considered as the mightiest force in the unification of Muslim
community. Congregational prayers have been made compulsory on Muslims:
‘Establish worship, pay the poor their due and bow your heads with those
who bow (in worship)’ 2:43.
The very fact that Muslims gather five times a day in one line, to
prostrate before Allah is a testimony to the fact that Islamic bondage
shuns all sorts of national, colour, creed and racial discrimination.
The low and high, the rich and poor are brought on one platform and even
the least worthy of whom kneels to invoke the blessings of Allah feels
no malice from the rest. Moreover it establishes the principle of
discipline and leadership. Many historians have remarked that Islam has
embodied military discipline in its congregational prayers.
Today when the world is being engulfed by corruption, the practicing of
this fundamental injunction of Islam is becoming all the more necessary.
If all the believers resort to Salat regularly then all festivities and
evil amusements that are rampant in the society can be expunged, because
a society composed of such men would be sustained by mercy and charity.
Salat erases from the believing soul every evil, it perfects and
liberates the human spirit and directs it towards common welfare.
Prayers help both overtly and covertly in establishing a righteous and
stable society. |
