The religion of Islam and the Muslims feature prominently in the media nowadays; unfortunately, they are often depicted as fanatical or extreme for simply following the basic tenants of Islam. The information that is circulated is often incorrect or inadequately explained.  Basic practices and pillars of Islam begin to take on strange connotations when the reality is that they are acts of worship that denote piety and God consciousness.  Muslims testify with certainty that there is none worthy of worship except God alone.  They believe that Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is His messenger.  They fast, they give in charity, and they perform  pilgrimage once in a lifetime for those who can afford the journey.  Muslims also pray five times a day.

Five times!  When some hear this, they throw their hands up in horror and wonder about the amount of time this must take and how it can be slotted into one 24 hr period.  Others, who are used to communicating with God in their own form of prayer will often question the rules and regulations that are attached to prayer in Islam.  God, they say, is accessible at any time.  According to Muslim belief that is correct.  God is accessible at anytime and in any place.  Muslims call on God frequently throughout the day and night.  They raise their hands in supplication and ask for His help, mercy, and forgiveness.

This, however, is not the act that Muslims refer to as prayer.  This is called making dua(supplications) and it is similar to Christian prayer in that it is calling on God, asking for His help and  acknowledging His greatness.  For Muslims prayer denotes a set of ritual movements and words said throughout fixed times in a day and night.  God says in Quran, “Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours”.  (Quran 4:103)  Muslims pray in the early morning before sunrise, in the middle of the day, in the afternoon, at sunset and at night.  Muslims pray in obedience to God because they believe God created humankind for no other purpose except to worship Him.

“And I did not create man...except to worship Me Alone” (Quran 51:56)

Consequently, for a believer, worship is a way of life.  Prayer at fixed times  serves as a reminder of why we are here and helps to direct a person’s thoughts and actions away from sin and onto remembrance of God.  Prophet Muhammad emphasized the importance of prayer when he explained its ability to remove sin.  He said, “What would you think if there was a river by the door of any one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would there be any trace of dirt left on him?”  They said, “No trace of dirt would be left on him.”  He said, “That is like the five daily prayers, by means of which God erases sin.”[1]

Prayer is just one act amongst many acts of worship however; it holds a very special status in Islam because of the way it was enjoined.  It was not brought down to earth by an Angel rather it was bestowed upon Prophet Muhammad during his unique ascension into the heavens.  Fifty prayers were first enjoined upon the believers but this was eventually reduced to five, while the reward for prayer remains as if it were still fifty.[2]  This reduction shows just how great God’s love for humanity is, a few minutes throughout the day is rewarded as if it were continuous worship.

Muslims pray five times per day.  If possible men should pray in a mosque or in a congregation of men.  Women have the option of praying at home. The believers stand alone, or surrounded by others, they stand in their homes and workplaces, the parks and the mosques.  They stand, bow, prostrate, and sit.  Their voices are sometimes raised and sometimes silent, but the words remain the same.  When a Muslim prays they address God in the Arabic language and use the same words and movements as every other Muslim across the globe.  Muslims unite in the ritual and language of prayer.

For prayer, Muslims stand facing the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where the Holy House of God, known as the Kaba is situated.  If a person is ill or injured it is possible to pray sitting, or even lying down. The leader of the prayer, known as an imam, is not an intermediary between the people and God; rather, he is usually the person able to memorize the most Quran.  Women may also pray with a congregation of women.  When Muslims pray together they stand shoulder to shoulder. Their proximity to each other demonstrates unity.  No one person is better than another except by his or her piety.

Kings stand next to the poor, white stands next to black, Arabs stand beside Europeans.  The believers then raise their hands to ear level and say ‘Allah Akbar’, which means ‘God is the Greatest’.  This indicates that the prayer has begun and that all matters related to this world are left far behind.  The connection is made and in the few minutes, it takes to pray each person stands before God in full submission.  Interestingly the Arabic word for prayer is Salat and it means to connect.  Next Muslims recite the opening chapter of the Quran and sometimes another chapter from Quran.  They then go through a set of ritual movements bowing and then prostrating, all the while proclaiming God’s greatness, glory and majesty.

In prostration, when the forehead touches the ground, the believer is closer to God than at any other time.  There is now an opportunity to make supplication, asking God for help, mercy or forgiveness (this can be in any language).  Towards the end of the prayer, Muslims sit to praise and ask God to bless Prophets Muhammad and Abraham.  The prayer concludes with the words Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah (May God’s peace and blessings be upon you) spoken while turning the head towards the right and then the words are repeated while turning towards the left.

The prayer has now ended and the world comes rushing back.  However, for those few minutes the believer was alone with God.  Whether he or she was praying alone or within a congregation, the connection was between God and the individual.  It was a moment of bliss, peace, and tranquillity.  Prayer is a reminder and a comfort.  Every hour of every day somewhere in the world, a Muslim is praying.  The believer is seeking the comfort that comes from feeling close to God, the peace that comes from feeling God’s love and mercy and the serenity that comes from knowing that God is real.

The importance of the prayer in Islam cannot be understated.  It is the first pillar of Islam that the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, mentioned after mentioning the Testimony of Faith, by which one becomes a Muslim.  It was made obligatory upon all the prophets and for all peoples.  God has declared its obligatory status under majestic circumstances.  For example, when God spoke directly to Moses, He said,

“And I have chosen you, so listen to that which is inspired to you.  Verily, I am God! There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer prayer perfectly for My remembrance.” (Quran 20:13-14)

Similarly, the prayers were made obligatory upon the Prophet Muhammad during his ascension to heaven.  Furthermore, when God praises the believers, such as in the beginning of the chapter entitled ‘al-Muminoon’ (the Believers), one of the first descriptions He states is their adherence to the prayers. 

Once a man asked the Prophet about the most virtuous deed.  The Prophet stated that the most virtuous deed is the prayer.  The man asked again and again and for the first three times, the Prophet answered, “The prayer,” then on the fourth occasion he stated, “Jihad in the way of God.”[1]

The importance of prayer is demonstrated in many of the Prophet’s statements.  For example, the Prophet said,

“The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer.  If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound.  And if it is incomplete, then the rest of his deeds will be incomplete.”[2]

The importance of the prayers lies in the fact that no matter what actions one performs in his life, the most important aspect is one’s relationship to God, that is, one’s faith (imaan), God-consciousness (taqwa), sincerity (ikhlas) and worship of God (ibaadah).  This relationship with God is both demonstrated and put into practice, as well as improved and increased, by the prayer.  Therefore, if the prayers are sound and proper, the rest of the deeds will be sound and proper; and if the prayers are not sound and proper, then the rest of the deeds will not be sound and proper, as the Prophet himself stated. 

In reality, the prayer is performed properly – with true remembrance of God and turning to Him for forgiveness – it will have a lasting effect on the person.  After he finishes the prayer, his heart will be filled with the remembrance of God.  He will be fearful as well as hopeful of God.  After that experience, he will not want to move from that lofty position to one wherein he disobeys God.  God has mentioned this aspect of the prayer when He has said,

“Verily, the prayer keeps one from the great sins and evil deeds” (Quran 29:45)

Nadwi has described this effect in the following eloquent way,

Its aim is to generate within the subliminal self of man such spiritual power, light of faith and awareness of God as can enable him to strive successfully against all kinds of evils and temptations and remain steadfast at times of trial and adversity and protect himself against the weakness of the flesh and the mischief of immoderate appetites.[3]

The overall affect that the properly performed prayers should have upon humans is described in other verses in the Quran:

“Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and ungenerous when good touches him.  Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…” (Quran 70:19-23)

As for the Hereafter, God’s forgiveness and pleasure is closely related to the prayers.  The Messenger of God said,

“God has obligated five prayers.  Whoever excellently performs their ablutions, prays them in their proper times, completes their bows, prostrations and khushu[4], has a promise from God that He will forgive him.  And whoever does not do that has no promise from God.  He may either forgive him or punish him.”

The prayers are a type of purification for a human being.  He turns and meets with his Lord five times a day.  As alluded to above, this repeated standing in front of God should keep the person from doing sinful acts during the day.  Furthermore, it should also be a time of remorse and repentance, such that he earnestly asks God for forgiveness for those sins that he committed.  In addition, the prayer in itself is a good deed that wipes away some of the evil deeds that he performed.  These points can be noted in the following hadith of the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him:

“If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?” The people said, “No filth would remain on him whatsoever.” The Prophet then said, “That is like the five daily prayers: God wipes away the sins by them.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

In another hadith, the Prophet said,

“The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them.” (Saheeh Muslim)