SIX FUNDAMENTALS
Second Lesson: Salaat
When a muslim has firmly believed in kalimah Tayyibah, he has made a sacred pledge to obey all the commandments of Allah; of which the first and foremost is salaat which must be observed by every adult, male or female, five times a day. In other words, those who perform the prayer regularly, after believing in the kalimah, they practically fulfil their promise with Allah, made through the kalimah; and those who are not regular at the prayer, they practically belie their promise with Allah, to be His faithful servants; of them said Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) “Whoever abandoned the prayer intentionally, he become an infidel”. In another hadith he says, “Whoever gave up the prayer, he will be raised among Qaaroon, Fir’own, his minister Haamaan, and the famous hypocrite Ubayy bin Khalaf, on the Day of Resurrection.”
Next to the kalimah, prayer is the most distinguished of all good deeds. It has been mentioned in the hadith that the first thing brought to account on the Day of Judgement, will be the prayer. If one’s prayer is perfect in every respect, he will certainly attain salvation, otherwise he will be deprived of all the boons and favours of Allah, and will suffer a great loss. Therefore, one should observe the prayer at the appointed times, with good wudu and complete devotion, that one may not be raised with the infidels, and should be delivered from the hell-fire.
Whatever is read in the Prayer (that is, ‘Subhaanak-Al-lahumma’ and Attahiyyaat etc), should be remembered well, that no mistake should occur during the prayer. One must know the fardh, the sunnah, and all the conditions of prayer, so that it may be correct, and by having concentration, it should be performed well.
A great merit of the prayer is, that all the limbs of a worshipper, namely, hands, feet, head, waist, nose, forehead, tongue etc., are wholly and solely devoted to Allah, that is, every part of a worshipper’s body is engaged in an exercise of the obedience of Allah’s commandments. If a Muslim performs the prayer with all its conditions, he is not likely to commit sin by any limb, on times other than the prayer. It has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan that the prayer prevents a Muslim from shameful and forbidden things. The believers have been commanded hundreds of times in the Holy Qur’aan to perform the prayer properly. In the hadith also the prayer has been enjoined and emphasized many a time. For instance, Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, “One’s sins from one prayer to another are forgiven by Allah”.
In another hadith he says, “If one has a stream at one’s door, and he has a bath in it, five times a day, he will have no dirt on his body; similarly if one performs the prayer five times a day, his sins will be pardomed be Allah, and he will be clean of them”. In another hadith Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) says, “When your children are seven years old, instruct them to perform the prayer, but when they are ten years old, beat them to perform the prayer.”
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