The word “Sala’t”
has been used in the Glorious Qur’an 98 times. Prayer is the first “Branch of
Islam” and is obligatory on every adult Muslim. It is performed five times a
day.
The Glorious Qur’an
starts with these Ayahs: “There is no doubt that this Book is a guide for the
pious. It is the pious who believe in the unseen, attend to prayer, and give in
charity part of what We have granted them.”Surah Ankabut Ayah 45: “Prayer keeps one away from
indecency and sins.”
Prayer is the connection of man with his Creator;
Allah brings about the purity of the soul, cleanliness of the heart, achieves
the spirit of piety, trains and makes him wary of sin and disobedience. In
order to keep away from sins, one should remember Allah. One who forgets Allah
does not think about his actions and to fulfill his desires, never thinks of
any limits. Remembrance of Allah keeps us away from sensual desires. Allah is
All-Aware; He knows small and big deeds, and also what is in our hearts. Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.)
said: Remembrance of Allah is a hindrance between the person and the sin.” Surah
Taha Ayah 14: “I am Allah, the only ‘ilah (One deserving to be worshiped).
Worship Me and be steadfast in prayer to have My name always in your mind.”
From the Traditions, it is established that prayer is the
most important of all worships. If prayers are acceptable to Allah, He will
accept other types of worships other than prayers. When the prayer is rejected,
worships other than prayers are also rejected. The Traditions specify that one
who prays five daily prayers, is purified from sins just as if one bathes in a
river every day and night five times, uncleanness is removed and no impurities
remain.
Consequences of deliberately
omitting prayers: Intentionally
omitting prayer is one of the “Greater Sins”. Surah Maryam Ayah 59: “But there
came after them an evil generation, who neglected prayers and followed sensual
desires, so they will meet destruction.” The Noble Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: “There is no difference between
faith and infidelity except prayer.” He (s.a.w.s.) further said: “A person who
neglects prayers and is lazy in its fulfillment is inflicted with 15 calamities
by Allah. Of these, 6 are related to this life, 3 are related to the time of
death, 3 occur in the grave and 3 calamities strike him in Qiyamah-Day of
Judgment.
Calamities in this life: Almighty Allah
reduces his life span, terminates his sustenance, signs of righteousness disappear from his face, none of
the good deeds are accepted nor rewarded, invocations not accepted, and supplications of righteous
people will not benefit him.
Calamities at the time of death: Disgraceful
death, die in hunger, unquenchable thirst.
Punishment in the grave: An angel will
squeeze and chastise him; grave will be made narrow, darkness.
Calamities on the Day of Judgment: Drag
out of the grave to be witnessed by people, strict accounting, Almighty Allah will not look at him with
Mercy, will not purify him and given terrible punishment.
Because Islam is a complete code of life which
encompasses not only individual success and salvation but also collective unity
and cohesion, hence more emphases are placed on congregational prayers.
For the acceptance of the prayers, one should concentrate
on it, perform it with humility and fear of Allah considering oneself as an
insignificant servant before the Almighty, and understand the meaning of every
word one recites.
Our Infallible Imams, while praying used to be completely
immersed in the prayer, and became unaware of the surroundings. Once, an arrow was struck in the foot of the
Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s), hence his companions pulled off the
arrow from his foot and he did not feel the pain.
Conditions for the
acceptance of prayers: In addition to the initial requirements for proper
praying, one should seek repentance from his sins and seek forgiveness from
Almighty Allah before prayer. Avoid all
types of disobedience and sins like back-biting, jealousy, arrogance. All
conditions necessary for the peaceful performance of prayers should be
implemented. One should wear neat, clean and pure clothes, comb hair, wear
perfume and should have the ring of Aqeeq in hand.
The Infallible
Imam Zain-al-Abedin (a.s.) said: “The criteria for the acceptance of prayers
are the acknowledgment of our Wilayah
and dissociating oneself from our enemies.” (Bihar-ul-Anwar volume 84 page
285)
All obligatory prayers should be performed at its
earliest time.
In one of the battles, Imam Ali (a.s.) was frequently looking
towards the sun. When one of his companions inquired as to why he was looking
frequently towards sun, the Imam replied: “I am looking for the time of Zuhr
Prayer”. The companion asked: “Are you planning to pray Zuhr?” The Imam (a.s.) replied:”We are fighting for
the establishment of prayers!”
Kinds of
Obligatory (Wajib) Prayers:
Daily Prayers
of five times
Jumah (Friday) Prayer
(Wajib Takhyiri in the ghaybah of Imam)
Prayer of Ihtiyat
– related to the daily prayers
Prayer for the
dead (Salat al-Maiyyat)
Qaza Prayers of
the Parents (obligatory on the eldest son)
Prayer of Ijarah.
If the eldest son cannot pray for his parents himself, he may ask another
person to pray for the dead.
Prayer of Nazar
Prayer of Qasam
or oath
Prayer of Ahad
(Promise to Gad)
Prayer of Eidayn
(Eid-al-Azha, Eid –ul-Fitr) Not obligatory during ghaybah of the Imam
Prayer after wajib
tawaf of Ka’bah
Prayer of A’yat
(for earthquake, eclipses of sun or moon)
Recommended
Prayers: There are many recommended Prayers; some of which are Prayer of: the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.s.),
Imam Ali (a.s.), Lady of Paradise Fatima Zahra (s.a.), Imam of the Time
(u.t.f.), Jaffer Tayyar, Haja’at,
Nawafil for five time daily prayers, night prayers (Namaz-e-Shab), for parents
salvation etc.
Sources used:
The Glorious Qur’an
Islamic Laws by
Ayatullah Shaikh Nasir Makarem Shirazi
Survey of Rulings by
Ayatullah Shaikh Nasir Makarem Shirazi
Islamic Studies by
Allama Saeed Akhter Rizvi
Greater Sins by
Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Hussayn DasteGhayb
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