Why do we....?

[anonymous]

Why do we muslims pray 5 times a day? I do pray but I've never really thought about it I think it will help me pray my Salah on time if I know for what purpose we pray also what do I tell non-muslims who are always asking me?

[yasin ibn Ahmad]

there would be some academical replies to you but these answers may be good ones to all these questioning people around you
*coz our Creator wants us to do so
*I am doing this therefore I never forget I am slave of Allah
*Why shouldnt I ? I feel great!
*Dont you want to see or meet him/her all the time if you had a love
*it keeps me clean.I have to make wudu before praying

[Ansariyah]

Summary of the Lessons, Rewards and Benefits of Prayer

You should know - that the following has been authentically reported from our Messenger (saw) regarding the lessons, benefits and rewards of the five daily prayers:

1. That Allah the Exalted wipes away sins by the five prayers.

2. That the five prayers are expiation for what occurs between them, if major sins are avoided.

3. That sins burn and destroy a person and thus it is necessary to extinguish that with the prayers.

4. That the Muslim reaches the level of the truthful and the martyrs on account of his prayers, charity and fasting.

5. The superiority of prayer [1] over other actions.

6. That Allah the Exalted bestowed a favor upon that companion by entering him into Paradise before his brother who died as a martyr because he prayed more than him.

7. That the prayer is light which illuminates the path of the servant in this world and the hereafter.

8. That an abundance of prostrations and prayers is the way to accompany the Messenger (sas) in Paradise.

9. That a two rakah prayer is more loved by the dead person than the world and what is in it.

10. That emptying the heart for Allah in the prayer puts a person in the same condition as the day when his mother gave birth to him.

[Ansariyah]

11. That should a person enter the Fire - refuge is sought from that - the angels will remove him from it and will recognize him by the marks of prostration. [2]

12. That the prayer participates in undoing the knots, which Shaytaan places at the top of ones head.

13. That the night prayer is the most excellent prayer after the obligatory prayers.

14. That the one who prays at night obtains a reward which most of mankind do not.

15. Gratitude is shown to Allah with the (obligatory) prayer and night prayer.

16. That the prayer most loved by Allah is the prayer of Daawood (as), which is to pray for a third of the night and to sleep for two thirds of the night. [3]

17. That has Allah has bestowed a favor upon His servant by the hour during the night in which the supplication is answered. It is befitting for the Muslim that he aspires for it and seeks to find it so that he is given the good of this world and the Hereafter.

18. That the night prayer is an evidence for righteousness and taqwaa and it expiates the sins and prevents one from falling into them.

19. That Allah Azzawajall covers the husband and wife who help each other in performing the night prayer with His mercy. If one of them refuses the other sprinkles water on his or her face.

20. That two rakahs of prayer at night makes a person amongst the men who remember Allah often or the women who remember Allah often.

21. That Allah is amazed by the man who gets up from his sleep, leaving his bed sheet, his wife and his love for her in order to perform prayer. Allah laughs at him and informs the angels about him.

22. That there is no jealousy or competition except with regard to two men, one of who prays at night reciting the Qur'an which Allah has bestowed upon him.

23. That whoever recited ten verses in the night (in prayer) will not be written amongst the heedless, a Qintaar of reward will be written for him and Allaah the Exalted will say to him: "Recite and rise by one degree with every verse", until he comes to the last verse he knows. Allah favors him by giving him eternity.

24. That whoever prays at night with a hundred verses is written amongst the devout worshippers and whoever prays with a thousand verses is written amongst the Muqantareen and whoever prays with two hundred verses is written amongst the devout worshippers and sincere ones.

25. That the one who walks to the prayer (in the mosque) is raised in ranks and has his sins removed, both while he goes to the mosque and when he returns from it.

26. That for every step he takes he receives ten good deeds.

27. That the Muslim is written amongst the worshippers from the time he leaves the house till he returns to it.

28. That the one receiving the greatest reward for the prayer is the one who walks the furthest towards it and then the one further than him (from the mosque).

29. That one step which a servant takes to the prayer in congregation is counted as an act of charity for him.

30. That taking many steps towards the mosque is from ar-Ribaat (guarding the frontiers)

31. That every time a servant leaves for the mosque in the morning or the evening Allah prepares for him a feast in Paradise.

32. That Allah makes the light of those who walk through the darkness to the mosques complete and perfect on the Day of Judgment.

33. That the reward for the one who leaves his house in a state of purity for the obligatory prayer is like the reward of the pilgrim in the state of ihraam.

34. That the one who leaves for the mosque has a guarantee from Allah in that he should provide for him sustenance and suffice him (in his affairs).

35. That the one who walks for the prayer in congregation, after having beautified his wudhoo and travels to visit Allah the Exalted, is bestowed with a great favor in that Allah honors those of his servants who visit Him, and Allah’s honoring of them is increasing their Eemaan, showing benevolence to them, rewarding them, raising their ranks, removing their difficulties and making their hearts content and happy.

36. The obligation to pray in congregation.

37. That the Prophet (sas) did not make a concession for the old blind man by allowing him to leave the congregational prayer. How then can those who are fit and well be allowed a concession?

38. That whoever abandons the congregational prayer has been threatened with heedlessness and having a seal placed on his heart.

39. That staying away from the congregational prayer is a sign of hypocrisy.

40. The extreme striving of the Companions (ra) for attending the congregational prayer inspite of difficult circumstances.

Footnotes:


1
Its condition is that the Aqeedah of the person is correct, sound and in accordance with the Pious Predecessors of this Ummah.

2
The condition for being removed from the fire due to the intercession of the angels (and others) is that a person should be from the People of Tawheed. Intercession is only for the People of Tawheed.

3
Due to his (sas) saying: "...He used to sleep half the night, then prayer for a third and then go to sleep for a sixth of it." When a half is added to a sixth they give two-thirds.

English Translation by

Amjad ibn Muhammad Rafiq

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[Ansariyah]

The Messenger of Allaah once said: "Prayer is the pillar of religion." (Narrated by Al-Baihaqi) He also informed us that Islaam is built upon five pillars, the second being to establish prayer five times a day. (Narrated by Al-Bukhaari) This makes the image very clear: Islaam is like a building supported by five columns; remove just one column and the entire building weakens. In the same way, when a person stops praying, his faith becomes weak, and the mildest blows can cause it to crumble. The prayer is so very important that the Prophet (saw) said: "Verily, between man and polytheism and disbelief is abandoning prayer." (Narrated by Muslim)

[yasin ibn Ahmad]

Jazakallahu khairan
It is very beneficial

[Saimah Ali]

Because between every prayer, your sins are washed away.

[islamirama]

Praying - Why Do We Pray

A simple, conventional answer may be that we pray because our forefathers have been praying and told us to pray, just as we tell our children to pray. Or that we pray because God has asked us to pray. But for many people who are sincerely searching for a more meaningful answer, this may not be satisfactory. First of all, God has given us freedom of choice for everything, including prayer. So we do not have to pray if we do not want to. In fact, in good times, most of us don't. Only when some personal tragedy strikes or when we reach old age that many of us start praying regularly. For example, consider a plane full of people about to crash. In this helpless situation, every one will be praying for life and survival. If the situation seems completely hopeless, and they realize that they are going to loose their lives, people will be praying for God's mercy, forgiveness, His pleasure, and personal salvation in the hereafter. But nevertheless, everyone will be trying his/her best to survive until the very end. This instinct of self-survival is inherent in every living being, including humans. Other beings have defense mechanisms given by God for their survival.

But humans find themselves helpless and defenseless against many living beings and natural catastrophes.Naturally primitive man tried to pray to them, as he had not developed tools for self-defense. He prayed to various natural objects that threatened or benefited his survival. When human beings developed tools for self-defense and gradually advanced in science,they tended to drift away from religion.They found security in science rather than prayer because science gave them control over the forces of nature. Priesthood considered this attitude as an attack on religion itself. This led to a continuous battle of religion with science. History bears ample testimony to this continuous struggle. A classic example of this is the battle of creation versus evolution. But this is a whole new topic.

Thus we see that there seems to be no single reason as to why people pray. Everyone can come up with his or her own answer and feel satisfied. In fact, this is what we normally do. But as we mentioned before, the answer that transcends space,time,circumstance and human emotion can only come from God which means His book, the Quran.



See Also,


Why we pray: http://shariahway.com/prayer/prayer-why.htm

[alcurad]

prayer is a way to face life, to recharge between and after the toils of the day.