Salah has central position in Islam. This is the pillar of the deen and the key to heaven. The first thing that will be taken into account from the believer on the Day of Resurrection is salah . The Qur’an mentions Salah in the dhikr of all the prophets. It is mentioned in prayer of Ibrahim AS,in the praise of Ismail AS.The first command given to Musa AS was to establish Salah, Luqman advised his son to establish Salah, Jesus cried out that he has been ordered to establish salah.Prophet Muhammad SAW was commanded “Oh messenger Recite the Book which has been revealed to you by revelation and establish Salah. The virtue of the successful believers is that they guard their Salah with khush’u and khuzu’u. It is a form of worship that must be performed in the sojourn, in the journey, in peace, in fear,in war and in every situation, but those who do not establish it and waste it are promised the torment of hell. One day the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned the Salah and said, “Whoever protected the Salah on the Day of Resurrection, it will be a source of light, proof and salvation for him, and whoever does not protect it will not have light. Neither proof nor salvation and on the Day of Resurrection he will be with Qarun,Firaun, Haman and Abi bin Khalaf” (Tirmidhi). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:The one whose Salah died then as though he suffered a loss in his wealth and children.
Salah was the first act of worship imposed on the believers and is an act of worship that has to be performed five times a day with repetition so that it becomes a spiritual ‘bath’ for Muslims with which they can cleanse themselves from the neglect of their hearts and their sins. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used this fact as an example and said”Think,if a water stream is flowing by the door of one of you and he baths in it five times a day,then is any dirt will remain on his body? . The Companions replied, “No.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “This is the example of the five prayers with which Allah erases sins.”
But in Islam, Salah is not merely a spiritual act of worship, but it is cleansing, purification, beauty and decoration from impurity.Allah because of this commanded that clothes,body and place must be cleansed and purified from every type of dirt. ۔ So the key to heaven is prayer and the key to prayer is cleanliness. Salah is also a spiritual and psychological force. It helps the believer to cope with the difficulties of life and the sufferings of the world. If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had any trouble, he would take help from Salah. (Ahmad). Salah is also a moral force that helps the believer. It gives him the strength to do good and to forsake evil, it prevents him from approaching obscenity and evil.It comforts him in times of loss and suffering and helps him to remove obstacles in the way of goodness. It sows the seed of Allah’s care and attention in the heart of the believer.
Benefits of Salah:
In order to worship Allah in the true sense, it is necessary that you are repeatedly reminded that you are a servant of Allah and you have to worship Him alone at all times. This is what prayer does. That’s what it reminds you of when you wake up in the morning and before you do anything. Then it repeats it three times a day and at night for the last time. The second benefit of prayers is that it creates the quality of performing one’s duty, conveying it and performing it diligently. The third benefit is that prayers do an exercise of obedience. Just as the trumpet is blown many times in the army and the soldiers are ordered to be present in one place, so also the prayer trumpet is sounded five times a day so that the soldiers of Allah may hear it and run from all sides and prove that they steadfast in obeying every command of Allah. A Muslim who listens to this trumpet and does not move from his place actually proves that he does not recognize the duty or if he does recognize it, then he is so incompetent that he is not fit to be in the army of Allah. If they do not stop after hearing the trumpet of the Divine Parade, then it becomes clear that they are not ready for the practical life of Islam. After that, their belief in Allah and the Prophet SAW is simply meaningless. The fourth benefit of Salah is that it creates fear of Allah. This fear prevents man from violating the commands of Allah Almighty. By the force of this belief, he is compelled to observe the limits of halal and haraam which Allah has established in the affairs of life. If this belief is weakened, then a Muslim cannot live like a true Muslim. That is why it is obligatory to offer prayers five times a day in order to strengthen this belief again and again. The fifth thing is that Salsh acquaints one with the law of Allah Almighty. This is why the Qur’an is recited in prayers. The Friday sermon is also for you and muslims to be familiar with the teachings of Islam. The sixth thing is that the Salah is an exercise of congregation. Let all Muslims be a strong group and help each other to worship Allah, that is, to obey His commands, to obey His laws, and for establishing the law of Allah in the world help each other. The thing that creates this collective strength is prayer. The five-time congregation, then the big Friday gathering, then the Eid gathering, all these together make the Muslims like a strong wall and in them they create unity and practical unity. Which is necessary to make Muslims help each other in daily practical life.
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