God Almighty said: ) Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times [[An-Nisa 103]. This means that prayer is a mandatory, prescribed duty for believers (according to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Baqir, and Al-Sadiq), and it has also been interpreted as a 'prescribed, timed duty' (according to Ibn Mas'ud and Qatadah). Both sayings are close in meaning.
God Almighty has also testified to the success of those who pray in His saying: ) Certainly will the believers have succeeded (1) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive (2) [[Al-Mu'minun 1-2]. Prayer is a connection between the servant and the Worshipped, and since it is a connection between him and God, it is the right of the servant to be humble due to the majesty of Lordship over servitude. The successful are those who are humble in their prayer, and with the absence of humility, success is absent. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) saw a man fidgeting with his beard during prayer, he said: If the heart of this person were humble, his limbs would have been humble.
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Seek refuge in God from 'hypocritical humility'. It was said: And what is hypocritical humility?
He said: "Humility of the body and hypocrisy of the heart." When the Prophet (PBUH) was asked about humility, he said: It is humility in prayer, and for the servant to turn with his whole heart toward his Lord. God Almighty said: ) Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing [[Al-Ankabut 45]. Immorality (Fahsha') is every ugly word or action, and wrongdoing (Munkar) encompasses sins of speech or deed. The word 'Salah' (prayer) is derived from 'Salla', which means fire. When a crooked piece of wood is meant to be straightened, it is exposed to fire and then straightened. In the servant, there is crookedness due to the existence of the soul that incites evil; so the one who prays is like one warming himself by the fire, and whoever warms himself by the fire of prayer and has his crookedness removed by it, the fire of Hell is forbidden to him.
Prayer is also taken from 'Luzum' (adherence), from which comes 'Salla bi-al-nar' (he stayed by the fire) when one keeps close to it; the meaning here is the adherence to worship to the extent commanded by God Almighty.
God Almighty said: ) And establish prayer for My remembrance [[Ta-Ha 14]. If prayer is for remembrance, how can forgetfulness occur within it?! And He said: ) So woe to those who pray (1) [But] who are heedless of their prayer (2) [[Al-Ma'un 4-5]. It was narrated from the noble companion Ammar ibn Yasir from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that he said: Some of you pray the full prayer, some of you pray half, some of you pray a third, a quarter, or a fifth, until it reaches a tenth. In another narration, Ammar said of the Messenger (PBUH): Nothing of his prayer is recorded for the servant except what he understands.
God Almighty said: ) Do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying [[An-Nisa 43]. If someone speaks without knowing what they are saying, how can they pray when God has forbidden them from doing so? The intoxicated person says things without the presence of the mind, and the heedless person prays without the presence of the mind; therefore, they are like the intoxicated.
The Messenger (PBUH) shows us that prayer erases sins, saying: Do you see if there were a river at the door of one of you, in which he bathes five times a day, would any of his filth remain? They said: No, O Messenger of God. He said: That is the example of the five daily prayers, by which God erases sins.
Since prayer is only mandatory for the sane, adult Muslim, according to the saying of the Prophet (PBUH): The pen is lifted for three: the sleeper until he wakes up, the child until he reaches puberty, and the insane until he regains his reason; it has come in the noble Hadith: Command your children to pray when they reach seven, beat them for it when they reach ten, and separate them in their beds. This command for children to perform prayer was not as a mandatory obligation for one who has not reached puberty, but so that they may become accustomed to it.
Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz was asked: How does one enter into prayer? He replied: It is for you to turn toward God Almighty as you would turn to Him on the Day of Resurrection, and to stand before God with no translator between you and Him, while He is turned toward you and you are whispering to Him, knowing before whom you are standing; for He is the Great King.
It is said that God Almighty revealed to some prophets, saying: When you enter prayer, grant Me humility from your heart, submission from your body, and tears from your eyes, for I am near.
Ibn Abbas said: Two Rak'ahs in contemplation are better than standing in prayer for an entire night. This saying indicates the importance of spiritual investment, and that the true struggle in worship is not the struggle of the body, but rather, through contemplation, the believer conquers the greatest enemy of God, which is Satan, and through contemplation, the obedient soul ascends in the ladder of salvation to draw near to the True One, Almighty.
We conclude with the saying of the Prophet (PBUH): Save yourselves and work, and the best of your deeds is prayer.
And he (PBUH) said: I advise you to pray, for it is the pillar of religion and the foundation of Islam.
Dated: 7 Rabi' al-Awwal 1430 AH. Corresponding to 3/3/2009 AD.
Monotheistic Knowledge
Issued by the Office of the Sheikh Aql
The Unitarian Druze Community