When Allah sent the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him to us the first thing he preached after Tawheed (to worship Allah alone without any mediators) was Salah, the second pillar of Islam as he stated in the authentic Hadith narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (RA): that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him said: “Islam is based upon five: the testimony of La Ilaha Illallah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of the Salat, giving the Zakat, fasting Ramadan, and performing Hajj.” [Bukhari & Muslim].
And if we read the Quran we can find more than 67+ verses or quotes about salah, which show the importance of Salah, the rewards of performing Salah, and warning of the dangers of missing Salah.
Salah is the only Ibada in Islam that Allah ordered the prophet by directly speaking to him, on the night of Meraaj, which was the only time Allah spoke to the prophet directly, while other obligations like fasting, pilgrimage, Zakat, etc. All of them he was told by the angel Gabriel, which makes Salah very unique.
On the night of Meraaj Allah told the prophet that He obligated us to perform five prayers during the day and night: Fajr at dawn, Aduher at noon, Asr in the afternoon, Maghrib at sunset, and Ishaa at night.
All these five prayers Muslims are obligated to do at certain times, Allah said in chapter 4:103 “Surely the Salah at fixed hours (of the day and night) has been enjoined upon the believers.”.
And as the prophet said when he was asked Which deed is the dearest to Allah?” He replied, “To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times.” [Bukhari 527].
And to show the importance of these five prayers Allah has warned us in many verses not to forget or delay these prayers, Allah said in chapter 107:4-5 “Woe to those who pray, (4) who are heedless of their prayers (delaying them from their prescribed times), (5)”.
Allah also said in chapter 19:59 “But the generation that succeeded them wasted their prayers and followed their desires, They are doomed to meet perdition.”
In this verse, we understand that wasting Salah is what brings us doom in this life and the afterlife.
Unfortunately, a lot of people nowadays do not care much for Salah, some of them pray every once in a while, and some haven’t prayed for all their life, and those are in very dangerous because the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said in the authentic Hadith was Abdullah bin Buraidah narrated that his father said:
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘The covenant that distinguishes between us and them is prayer; so whoever leaves it, he has committed Kufr.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah – Al-Tirmidhī – Sunan An-nasa’i].
The prophet Muhammad peace be upon him told us the benefits of performing each prayer at its fixed time to encourage us to take care of our Salah.
Related: Know the 6 ways to teach a child to pray Salah
Hadith on the Importance of Salah
➔ Abu Hurairah (RA) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Should I not direct you to something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates (your) ranks.” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah”. He said, “Performing Wudu’ properly, even in difficulty, frequently going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next Salat (prayer) after a Salat is over; indeed, that is Ar- Ribat”. [Muslim].
➔ Jundub bin Sufyan (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “He who offers the dawn (Fajr) prayers will come under the Protection of Allah. O son of Adam! Beware, lest Allah should call you to account in any respect from (for withdrawing) His Protection.” [Muslim].
➔ Jarir bin ‘Abdullah Al-Bajali (RA) reported: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he looked at the full moon and observed, “You will see your Rubb in the Hereafter as you see this moon having no difficulty in seeing it. So try your best to perform the prayers before the rising of the sun and that before its setting.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Here the prophet linked seeing Allah in the Hereafter by praying Al-Fajr and Al-Asr in their time without delay.
➔ Abu Hurairah (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “There are angels who take turns in visiting you by night and by day, and they all assemble at the dawn (Fajr) and the afternoon (‘Asr) prayers. Those who have spent the night with you, ascend to heaven and their Rubb, Who knows better about them, asks: ‘In what condition did you leave My slaves?’ They reply: ‘We left them while they were performing Salat and we went to them while they were performing Salat.”‘ [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
➔ Abu Zuhair ‘Umarah Ruwaibah (RA) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying: “He who performs Salat (prayers) before the rising of the sun and before its setting, will not enter the Hell.” [Muslim].
➔ Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (RA) reported: the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “He who observes the Fajr and ‘Asr (prayers) will enter Jannah.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
