Importance of Salah in Islam: Salah (Salat, Namaz) (Prayer according to Islam)

Allah (SWT) has said in the Noble Qur'an: "I have not created the jinn and humankind for any other purpose except that they should worship Me." (Noble Qur'an 51:56)
It is clear from the above verse of Noble Qur'an that the purpose of our birth and of our life is no other than that of the worship of Allah (SWT). There are many acts of worship (Ibadah, Ibadat) in Islam, and Salah is one of the most important obligatory acts.
Salah (Salat, Namaz) is the ritual prayer practiced by Muslims in supplication to Allah (SWT). The term is commonly used to refer to the five daily prayers, which are compulsory upon all mature Muslims. Salah (Salat, Namaz) is considered the most important act of worship (Ibadah, Ibadat) in Islam and its importance is such that under very few circumstances it can be omitted.
Salah (Salat, Namaz) strengthens the foundations of our faith. It prepares a person to live the life of goodness and obedience to Allah (SWT), and it builds courage and determination. Every time we perform Salah, we renew our commitments to Allah (SWT) and we rid ourselves from worldly pressures five times a day.
According to a Hadith a companion of Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) came to him one day and asked him "What is the thing that Allah (SWT) loves most?" Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) replied "The thing that Allah (SWT) loves most is when his people pray Salah on time."
Salah (Salat, Namaz) is a practical sign of obedience to the commands of Allah (SWT). Its importance has been emphasized about 500 times in the Noble Qur'an.
Once Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) shook a dry branch of a tree so that all of the leaves of the branch fell off than the Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said "The sins of those who pray Salah, drop off as the leaves of this branch fell off."
Before Salah, we make Wudu. Wudu (Ablution) is a unique way of cleansing certain parts of our body so we are clean before bowing down to the one who created us, who created the universe the one and only Allah (SWT).
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) once asked his companions "Tell me if there was a river at the door step of one of you in which you washed five times a day would any of your dirt remain?" When Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) received the reply that none of it would remain he then said "That is like the five times Salah, with which Allah (SWT) wipes out sin.
The last thing that Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) emphasized at his deathbed was Salah. He also said the first thing we will have to answer about on the day of judgement is Salah.
While in Salah one communicates with Allah (SWT) and experiences his presence. That's why a Hadith says: Salah is the Meraj of a Momin (Namaz is called as Meraj-ul-Momineen).
The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) also said "The key to Heaven is Salah. The key to Salah is Purification."
"Namaz is a pillar of Religion. If Namaz is accepted all other deeds are accepted. If Namaz is rejected then all other Deeds are rejected." (Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh))

The Importance of Namaz (Prayer)

Namaaz is the soul of all our Ibaadaat (prayers). The Pious predecessors have stated that if a person does not perform his Salaah, then no other Ibaadat performed by him or her is accepted and if a person loves Namaaz and is punctual in his Namaaz then Allah Willing, his or her wrongs will all be forgiven. We should thus try our best to perform our Namaaz and also show strictness in our homes so that our families may also perform their Salaah.   Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) once passed by a river. There he saw a beautiful and elegant looking bird lying in a puddle of mud and dirt. The bird's entire body was covered with filth. He then noticed this bird come out of the mud and then dive into the river until it was clean and beautiful again. Thereafter, the bird once again flew into the dirt and mud and became covered with filth. Once more, the bird left the mud and flew into the river again until it was clean and beautiful again. This astonishing act was repeated five times. Hazrat Esa (alaihis salaam) began to wonder as to the reason for this strange sequence of events. Sayyiduna Jibraeel?e?Amin (alaihis salaam) descended and told him: �This bird is equal to a human from the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). Each time he sins he becomes unclean, and when he performs his Salaah, then Almighty Allah purifies him just like the mud and dirt that was cleansed from the bird�.   It has been narrated that when a persons Namaaz is accepted, then as a reward Almighty Allah creates an Angel that remains in Ruku and Sujood making Tasbeeh until the Day of Qiyamah. The Sawaab of all the Ibaadat of this Angel is recorded in the books of the Namaazi.   It has been stated in authentic sources that on the Day of Qiyamah as the people will be passing over Pul-Siraat, which is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword, there will be a group of people who will say that they are too scared to cross over the bridge. Sayyiduna Jibraeel (alaihis salaam) will ask them how they used to cross the oceans in the world. They will say that they did so with ships. On hearing their answer, the Musjids that they worshipped in will be brought and they will sit in these Musjids and pass safely over Pul-Siraat.   It has been stated that on the Day of Qiyamah, will come in the form of white camels whose feet will be made from Amber, their necks from Saffron, their heads from musk, and their reigns from emeralds. Those who gave Azaan will be in front, the Imams of Musjids will guide them forward from behind and behind the Imaams will be the musallees who sincerely read Namaaz in Jamaat behind the Imaam. When the others will see this on the Day of Qiyamah they will enquire whether these people are Angels or Prophets. It will be said to them that they are neither. They will be told that such are the Ummah of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) who were punctual in their Salaah.   Dear Muslim brothers and sisters! Perform your Namaaz, for Namaaz will assist us in this world, in our graves, and on the Day of Qiyamah.

Importance Of Namaz

SAYINGS (HADITH) OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (Sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam)
The one who neglect the prayers will receive Fifteen punishments from Allah.
Six punishments in this lifetime

Three while dying
Three in the grave &
Three on the Day of Judgment.

THE SIX PUNISHMENTS OF LIFE:
1. Allah takes away blessings from his age (makes his life misfortunate)
2.Allah does not accept his plea (Dua's)
3.Allah erases the features of good people from his face.
4.He will be detested by all creatures on earth.
5.Allah does not award him for his good deeds. (No thawab)
6.He will not be included in th! e Dua's of good people.


THE THREE PUNISHMENTS WHILE DYING:
1. He dies humiliated.
2. He dies hungry.
3. He dies thirsty. Even if he drinks the water of all seas he will still be thirsty.

THE THREE PUNISHMENTS IN THE GRAVE:
1. Allah tightens his grave until his chest ribs come over each other.
2. Allah pours on him fire with embers.
3. Allah sets on him a snake called "the brave", "the bold" which hits Him
from morning until afternoon for leaving Fajr prayer, from the afternoon until Asr for
leaving Dhuhr prayer and so on. With each strike he sinks 70 yards under the ground.

THE THREE PUNISHMENTS ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT:

1. Allah sends who would accompany him to hell pulling him on the face.
2. Allah gives him an angry look that makes the flesh of his face fall down.
3. Allah judges him strictly and orders him to be thrown in hell.


Note: If you get this copy, please make copies of it and distribute them among all Muslims. You will be earning a Reward as well as helping to show your brother or sister the Right Path. May Allah give guidance to all of us.
!!!!Ameen Summ-a-ameen!!!!

IMPORTANCE OF NAMAZ

ness although he believes that it is the first duty, is a fasiq. He is not the peer of a saliha girl, that is, he does not deserve and is not suitable for her."
As it is seen, not performing the fard namaz causes one to die without iman. Continuing to perform namaz causes the enlightenment of the heart and the attainment of endless bliss. Our Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) declared, "Namaz is nur," that is, it brightens the heart in the world and illuminates the Sirat in the next world. Do you know what happens to Allah's beloved ones in namaz and how they attain to their wishes in namaz?
Story: Abdullah Ibn Tahir, the Governor of Khurasan, was very just. His gendarmes captured some thieves and reported them to the Governor. One of the thieves escaped. A blacksmith from Hirat was caught on his way back from Nishapur at night. He was brought to the presence of the Governor with the thieves. The Governor said, "Imprison them!" The blacksmith performed an ablution and namaz. He stretched his hands and supplicated, "O my Allah! You alone know that I am innocent. Only You can free me from this jail. O my Allah! Protect me!" That night, the Governor woke up just as four strong men were about to turn his throne upside-down in his dream. He immediately performed an ablution and two rakats of namaz. He went to sleep again. He again woke up upon dreaming that those four men were about to pull his throne down. He realized that he oppressed someone. As a matter of fact,
the poem says:
Thousands of cannons and rifles can never make,
What the tears have made at the time of dawn,
The bayonets that make the enemy flee,
Are usually made into dust by a believer's prayer.
O Allah! Only You are Great! You are so great that superiors and inferiors, when in trouble, entreat only You. Those who entreat only You can attain their wish.
The Governor immediately called the director of the jail at that night and asked him whether there was a prisoner kept unjustly. When the director said, "I cannot know him. But there is someone who performs namaz, prays much and sheds tears." The blacksmith was brought to the presence of the Governor, who asked him questions, realized that he was innocent, begged his pardon and said, "Please forgive me for having done an injustice to you, accept my gift of one thousand silver coins and come to me whenever you have a wish!" The blacksmith said, "I forgive you and accept your gift. But I cannot come to ask my affairs or wish from you." When he was asked its reason, he said, "Does it befit a slave like me, a humble person, to take my wishes to someone other than my Proprietor who several times overturned the throne of a Sultan like you? He made me attain so many wishes of mine. How could I take refuge in someone else? While my Rabb has opened the door of His Treasure of Endless Mercy and spread His Table of Infinite Endowment for every body, how can I have recourse to others? Who has asked and He has not given? Who has come to Him and returned empty-handed? One cannot attain if one does not know how to ask. If one does not enter His Presence with proper manners, one cannot attain His Mercy.
Poem:
Whoever puts his head on the threshold of worship one night;
The Darling's Kindness certainly opens thousands of doors for him.
Rabiat-ul-Adwiyya 'rahmatullahi alaiha', one of the great awliya, heard a man pray, "Oh Allah! Open Your door of Mercy!" She said to him, "O you ignorant person! Has Allahu ta'ala's door of Mercy been closed up to now so that you want it to be opened now?" [Though the source of Mercy is always open, the hearts, the receivers, are not open in everybody. We should pray so that they may open!]
Oh Allah! You, alone, are the One who relieves everybody from distress. Do not leave us in distress in this and the next worlds! Only You are the One who sends everything to the needy! Send auspicious, useful things to us in this and the next worlds! Do not leave us in need of anybody in this and the next worlds! Amin." Translation from Riyad-un-nasihin is completed here.
While beginning its subject about namaz, the book Kitab-ul-fiqh 'alal-madhahib-il-arba'a says: "Namaz is the most important of the arch-stones of Islam. Allahu ta'ala made namaz fard so that His slaves would worship Him only. The hundred and third ayat of Surat an- Nisa' purports that namaz became fard, the times of which are definite, for the believers. A hadith ash-Sharif declares, 'Allahu ta'ala has made it fard to perform namaz five times each day. Allahu ta'ala has promised that He will send to Paradise a person who performs namaz five times each day esteeming it highly and observing its conditions.' Namaz is the most valuable of worships. A hadith declares, 'He who does not perform namaz has no share from Islam!' A hadith ash-Sharif quoted in Mishkat, and in Kunuz-ud-daqaiq, and in Sahihayn, and in Halabi declares, "Difference between man and disbelief is to give up namaz!" It does not mean, "Men and disbelief are two separate beings. Between them lies not to perform namaz. When not to perform namaz goes away from between them, that is, when a person performs namaz, the connection between him and disbelief goes up, the two can not be united, and man will not be a disbeliever." But it means, "Disbelief is a property. It does not exist alone. It exists with some people. People who have disbelief have ' (not performing namaz)'. But people who do not have disbelief do not have ' (not performing namaz)'. Difference between a person who has disbelief and one who does not have disbelief is not performing or performing namaz." This hadith ash-Sharif is like the saying, "Difference between man and death is 'not to breathe.' " A person who has death does not breathe. But a person who does not have death, does not have (the property) "not breathing." When a person does not breathe, it will be understood that he is dead. This hadith vehemently threatens those who are lazy in performing namaz. To perform namaz is to realize one's inferiority before Allahu ta'ala, thinking of His greatness. A person who realizes this always does what is good. He can never do evils. The namaz which is performed by a person who follows his nafs is fruitless, even if it may be accepted. The heart of a person who intends that he is in the Audience of his Rabb five times each day gets filled with ikhlas. Every action that one has been commanded to do in namaz provides uses for one's heart and body. Performing namaz in jamaat in mosques attaches Muslims' hearts to one another. It provides love between them. Thus they realize that they are brethren. The elder become merciful towards the younger. And the younger become respectful towards the elder. The rich become helpers for the poor and the powerful for the weak. The healthy, not seeing the sick in the mosque, visit them in their homes. They race with one another for attaining the glad tidings in the hadith, 'Allahu ta'ala is the helper of a person who runs to the aid of his brother in Islam'."
A hadith ash-Sharif, quoted in the book Qurratul'uyun, declares, "If a person does not perform namaz though he has no good excuse, Allahu ta'ala will give him fifteen kinds of plague. Six of them will come in the world, three will come at the time of death, three will come in the grave, and three will come when rising from the grave. The six plagues in the world are:
1 - Person who does not perform namaz will not have barakat in his lifetime.
2 - He will not have the beauty, the loveableness peculiar to those who are loved by Allahu ta'ala.
3 - He will not be given thawab for any good he does. [This hadith ash-Sharif shows that the sunnats of those who do not perform the fard prayers in time are not acceptable. That is, they will not be given thawab for their sunnats].
4 - His prayers (duas) will not be accepted.
5 - No one will like him.
6 - Blessings that (other) Muslims invoked on him will do him no good.
Kinds of torment he will suffer when dying are:
1 - He will expire in an abhorrent, unsightly, repugnant manner.
2 - He will die hungry.
3 - Much water as he may have, he will die with painful thirst.
Kinds of torment he will suffer in the grave are:
1 - The grave will squeeze him. His bones will intertwine.
2 - His grave will be filled with fire, which will scorch him day and night.
3 - Allahu ta'ala will send a huge serpent to his grave. It is not like terrestrial serpents. It will sting him at every prayer time each day. It will never leave him alone any moment.
Kinds of torment he will suffer after rising are:
1 - Angels of torment that will drag him to Hell will never leave him alone.
2 - Allahu ta'ala will meet him with wrath.
3 - His account will be settled in a very vehement manner, and he will be flung into Hell."