There is no doubt about the fact that the first command of Allah conveyed by the Noble Messenger S.A.W to the people who accepted Islam as their religion was the obligatory daily prayers. Salat or Namaz is the first pillar in Furoedeen , the number one worship among the other obligatory religious practices in Islam.
In the Holy Quran Allah the Almighty continously commands us to offer our prayers. We also find many Ahadith of the Masumeen A.S about the importance and the essential meaning of prayer. The Holy Prophet S.A.W has said: “Praying is the salvation of the true beleiver , the pillar of faith and the light of heaven on earth.” Imam Ali A.S have stated : “Prayers are made compulsory for faithful Muslims.Have you not read in the Holy Quran, the reply of those who would be thrown into Hell? When they will be asked :What has brought you to Hell ? They will say:We were not amongst those who prayed.”
Namaz is the obligatory(wajib)duty of every muslim in the world. We are aware of that namaz is wajib and we will be rewarded by Allah when we offer it but punished if we don’t. An important Hadith of the Prophet of Islam S.A.W explains further:”If Allah accepts one’s Salat(Prayers),other good deeds of his will also be acceptable to Him.But if one’s Salat is rejected by Allah ,his other good actions will be surely rejected.” Through this hadith we can conclude that Namaz is the key of the acceptance of our all deeds but only if we have performed it in a righteous way that is acceptable by Allah and if we have offered it incorrectly then it will be useless.
Salat is known to be the Meraj of a Momin ,then how much higher can the standard of Namaz receive from Allah but yet this prayer is a burden to most of us. We are all muslims and not only muslims but we would liked to be called ourselves as a momin as well. But how many of us long for the moments of prayers or offer them on their point of time? Not many , and mostly our prayers are performed when we have “time” to offer them. What does this really mean? I can only think of one thing and that is ,that we are considering the prayers to be insignificant. It is written in the Quran about the punishment of such people who have this opinion of Namaz and we must remember that the punishment for those who feel the prayer to be worthless or a burden is equal to the penalty of those who never offer their prayers.
To pray with punctuality keeps the Shaitan blocked and gives him not a chance to be in the vicinity of you. But if we pray without regularity it will help Shaitan to deceive you with his temptations and you will be easily trapped in his claws and be guilty of major sins. Imam Jafar-e-Sadiq A.S have said:” My Shias will be distinguished by their punctuality of offering their prayers i.e if he or she really is a follower of the Ahlulbayt then he/she will perform their prayers on its punctual time.” Once our Holy Prophet S.A.W was asked about which deed is the best one in Islam? The Noble Messenger S.A.W answered:”The Prayer and to offer them regularly.” Now we should learn from these ahadith and try our best not to forget our prayers on their time because to not offer them regularly is similar to not offer the prayers at all. There is another Hadith of the Prophet of Islam S.A.W through which we may reconcider and this is:
“Those who neglect the obligatory prayers , Allah will encircle them by 15 sorts of worries and misfortunes which are: 1. His life and provision will decrease and loose the bounties of Allah. 2. The pious characteristic features will be gone. 3. The offering of other good deeds will be useless for these deeds will not be rewarded. 4. His/her supplications will not be answered. 5. The prayer performed of others for the wellbeing of all momeneen , will not include these people. 6. He/She will die with dishonour. 7.He/She will die hungry. 8. He/She will die thirsty. 9. After his/her death Allah will send an angel into their grave who will punish them with a horrible implement. 10. Allah will make their grave confined. 11. Their restingplace(grave) will be filled with darkness. 12. On the Day of Resurrection an angel will drag him before Allah in a way that will be seen by everyone. 13. On the moment of punishment there will be no mercy. 14. Allah will not give the blessings a chance to come near him/her. 15.
Without pardoning his/her sins Allah will surround them with great miseries and disasters. “
This hadith of the Prophet of Islam S.A.W surely makes us concerned . If we have the fear of Allah and are aware of His punishments then we will think again and try to do our best in offering our prayers which will help us to achieve the maximum of faith. If we wish to be blessed instead of punished we will indeed safeguard and fulfill our obligatory duties and at last we should never forget that Allah the Almighty is Forgiving and Merciful .
“ O you who believe ,if you fear Allah, He will grant you a distinctive knowledge and light, He will grant remission to you of your evil deeds and forgive you.
Allah is the Lord of Mighty Grace.”(Holy Quran: 8-29)
Courtesy: “Khasheyeen ki Namaz” (Written by Hazrat Ayatullah Shaheed Mehrab Sayed Abd-ul-Husain Dastghayb)