The importance of prayer in Islam cannot be underestimated. It is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet mentioned that God’s blessings and peace were on him right after the mention of the creed that made you Muslim. It was made a duty for all prophets and all peoples. God has declared his mandatory status under majestic circumstances. For example, when God spoke directly to Moses:
“And I chose you; so listen to what is revealed. Verily, I am God. It is not a god other than me; therefore serve me and perform the prayer in my memory. ” (Quran 20: 13-14)
Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory to Prophet Muhammad during his ascension. Furthermore, when God praises the believers, as at the beginning of the chapter entitled ‚al-Mu’minun‘ (the believers), one of the first descriptions is their adherence to prayers.
Once a man asked the prophet about the most virtuous deed. The Prophet said that the most virtuous act is prayer. The man asked again and again and the first three times the prophet replied: „Prayer,“ then, the fourth time, he said: „Jihad in the way of God.“ [1]
The importance of prayer is shown in many prophet statements . For example, the Prophet said:
“The first thing the servant is held accountable for on the day of judgment is prayer. If it’s good, the rest of his deeds are good too. And if it is incomplete, then the rest of its actions are incomplete. ”[2]
The importance of prayer lies in the fact that no matter what you do in your life, the most important aspect is our relationship with God, that is, our faith (Iman), our awareness of God (Taqwa), our sincerity ( Ikhlas) and our worship of God (Ibadah). This relationship with God is both shown and put into practice by prayer, as well as improved and enhanced. Therefore, if the prayers are good and right, then the rest of the deeds will be good and right; and if the prayers are not good and right, then the rest of the deeds will not be good and right, as the Prophet himself explained.
If the prayer is carried out correctly – with true remembrance of God and turning to Him for forgiveness – then it will have a lasting effect on the person. After she finishes her prayer, her heart will be filled with God’s memory. It will be both fearful of God and hopeful. After this experience, she will no longer want to move from this sublime position to one in which she would be disobedient to God. God mentioned this aspect of prayer when He said,
„Verily, prayer keeps you from shameful and hideous things.“ (Quran 29:45)
Nadwi has described this effect in the following beautiful way:
His goal is to generate in the subliminal self of man such spiritual strength, a light of faith and God-consciousness that enables one to strive successfully against evil and temptations of all kinds, and to stand firm in times of temptations and adversities and protect yourself against the weakness of the flesh and the mischief of excessive appetite. [3]
The overall impact that correctly performed prayers should have on people are described in other verses of the Quran:
“Truly, man has been created (by nature) with little faintness. If a calamity strikes him, he panics, but if he gets (something) good, he is stingy. Not so are those who pray and keep their prayers … ”(Quran 70: 19-23)
As for the hereafter, God’s forgiveness and contentment are closely related to the prayers. The Messenger of God said:
“God made five prayers a duty. Those who do their prayer washes excellently, pray them at the right times, complete their bows, prostrations and khushoo ‚[4]; God promised that he would forgive him. And whoever does not do this has no promise from God. He can either forgive him or punish him.
The prayers are a kind of purification for man. He turns to his Lord and has a meeting with Him five times a day. As indicated above, this repeated standing before God restrains the person from doing sinful things during the day. Furthermore, it should also be a time of insight and repentance so that she sincerely asks God to forgive her sins that she committed. In addition, prayer itself is a good deed that wipes out some of the bad deeds it has done. These things are mentioned in the following hadith of the Prophet, God’s blessings and peace be upon him:
„If someone had a river outside their door and they would bathe there five times a day, do you think there would be some dirt left on them?“ People said, „No more dirt would stay on him.“ The Prophet then said, „It is like the five daily prayers: God wipes away sins through them.“ (Sahieh Al-Bukhari, Sahieh Muslim)
In another hadith, the Prophet said:
„The five daily prayers and the Friday prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what lies between them.“ (Sahieh Muslim)
Footnotes:
[1] This comes from a hadith by Ahmad and ibn Hibban. According to al-Albani, this hadith is hasan. Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Sahih al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami, 1982), vol. 1, p. 150
[2] Reported by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, he is sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol. 1, p. 503.
[3] Nadwi, p. 24
[4] Khushu` is in prayer when a person’s heart is fully focused on prayer. This feeling in the heart shines again in the whole body. The person remains calm and calm. His eyes are down. More details on this concept (as well as the difference between it and khudhu`) can be found in Muhammad al-Shaayi, al-Furooq al-Laughawiyyah wa Atharahaa fi Tafseer al-Quran al-Kareem (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ubaikaan, 1993) , Pp. 249-254.
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/die-wichtigkeit-des-gebets