Sub-section Three: Salat (prayer):

Following are some verses pertaining to prayer:   

“Enjoin prayer on your people, and be constant therein.” (XX: 132) “And perform regular prayers at the two ends of the day and during the night.” (XI: 114) “For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.” (IV: 103) “Who perform regular prayers and spend (freely) out of the gifts We have given them for sustenance.” (VIII: 3) “Nay, seek (Allah’s) help with patience and prayer. It is indeed hard except for those who bring a lowly spirit.” (II: 45) “And be steadfast in prayer; practice regular charity; and bow down your heads with those who bow down (in worship).” (II: 43) “Tell My bondmen who believe to perform regular prayers.” (XIV: 31) “Lo! Man has been created anxious, fretful when evil touches him; and niggardly when good reaches him, except those devoted to prayer.” (LXX: 19-22) “and perform regular prayer, for prayer restrains (one) from shameful and unjust deeds.” (XXIX: 45) “So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their prayers, and who only show off.” (CVII: 4-6) “When you travel far, there is no blame on you if you shorten your prayers.” (IV: 101)

Prayer is the first worship enjoined on man; nay, it is the symbol of being a slave to Allah. “It is, on the one hand, a recognition of the limitless Grace of Allah on man; the Grace that is represented by the bounties Allah has granted him and the things He has made available to him in this life. So he prays for the continuity of this grace. On the other hand, prayer represents a continuous link between man and his Lord and Sustainer so that he may not forget the relationship between him and his Lord and the reality of the Divine Power that controls and dominates him. Prayer would always remind him of the absolute Divine Dominance on the universe and the individual.”[1] Prayer satisfies the need of human nature appropriately and correctly.

Prayer in Islam has limitless advantages and distinctive features, but we can mention some of them below:

1.     Prayer is divine, for Allah (SWT) alone has determined its features, how many times it is to be performed, its pillars, its conditions, the time it is to be performed, etc. It is not acceptable of any person, irrespective of his religious knowledge or piety, to innovate unusual forms and formulae for the prayer on the pretext of pleasing Allah (SWT). Should anyone do such a thing, he in reality legislates something not permitted by Allah (SWT), and his deed, being an innovation and misguidance, is rejected as a counterfeit coin is rejected by a cashier.”[2]

2.     It reflects unity and regulation: Islamic prayer contains all the elements of unity and harmony. You see those engaged in the prayer performing the same activity that is in harmony with the spirituality and magnificence of the prayer in that they are not distracted by external discourse.[3] They perform the prayer with submissiveness and humility through movements that indicate submission and humbleness before the Creator (SWT). These movements are performed according to a delicate regular system, so that the congregational prayer in the great mosques, such as the Great Mosque in Mecca, reflects the most sublime kind of global order.

3.     Through it equality is realized: In the mosques—where congregational and Friday prayers are performed—equality assumes its practical form, in that all differences that distinguish people are disregarded; whoever arrives first shall take his place in the first rows even if he were the poorest or the lowest of status; whoever comes late shall take a back position, irrespective of his status.[4]” So, they are all equal in the sight of Allah (SWT): they face the same Qibla and offer the same bowings, prostrations, saying                                                             s and acts.

4.     Sins are forgiven through it: Sins are forgiven and defeated through prayer, for the prayer is a means to renew the relationship and the pledge and wash the past and open a new era with Allah (SWT). “The five prayers and two successive Friday prayers expiate the sins committed in between, unless major sins are committed.”[5]

5.     Direct communication: Prayer in Islam is direct communication between the servant and his Lord and requires no intermediaries and deputies between the servant and his Lord, as is the practice in Christianity, where the prayer is accepted only in the presence of the priest, and no repentance or penitence is accepted unless the priest approves it. Sometimes the priest himself may be more sinful that the person appealing to him to accept his repentance.

6.     The comprehensiveness of prayer: Prayer involves the heart worship represented by the intention and humbleness and submissiveness; the verbal worship, i.e. the words uttered during the prayer; physical; namely, the acts of the prayer. Dr. Yusuf al- Qaradawi says: “The prayer worship represents the worship of the tongue through recitation (of the Qur’an), uttering takbir (Allah is the Greatest), tasbih (Glorification of Allah) and supplication; the worship of the body through standing, sitting, bowing and prostrating; the worship of the mind through meditating and thinking of the meanings of the Qur’an; the worship of the heart through humility to and love for Allah and the feeling that Allah is watching us.”[6]

Moreover, there is another implication of the comprehensiveness of        prayer, in that it involves the full life of the Muslim under all circumstances: when in good health and when sick, in peace and war, when traveling and when settled down, in childhood when reaching the age of puberty and in adulthood. But it is lightened for the patient, who may perform two prayer together; for the traveler, who may shorten the prayer; and for the fighter in the battlefield, who can perform it in the state he happens to be. All this is permitted so that the link between the servant and his Lord may not be interrupted.