The Importance of Prayer

“Enjoin prayer on your people, and steadily adhere to it. We do not ask from you a sustenance. We provide for you. And the (good) end is for guarding against evil.” —Holy Qur'an 20:132(FinalCall.com) - Prayer is a universal institution, which has existed throughout the most ancient of times of humanity until this very day. Prayer has been practiced by all of the prophets, on them be peace. It is a tradition so strong in our natural urges that it will never be abolished. Prophets had the practice of offering prayer in the morning, the night and some are recorded in the Bible as having prayed in midday. It is the symbol of humble reverence before the Creator of the heavens and the earth and it represents the justice and equality we find as servants in surrender to the Will of Almighty God.

Prayer is the soul of all religions and it has always formed an essential part of Islam. Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, guided by Divine inspiration, established prayer five times a day. When telling how prayer was prescribed for his followers he said, “I asked Allah and He said these are five prayers and they are equal to fifty and what has been said will not be changed.” In Islam the five prayers of the day are equal in reward to fifty prayers! Yet, even with this exponential blessing we must ask ourselves, ‘Do I neglect my prayers?', ‘Could I be more perfect in my communication with my Lord?'

The word ‘prayer' within Western context does not fully capture what in the religion of Islam is an institution as a system of self-purification, which among its many benefits is designed to build the spiritual will of its practitioner.

Among the signs of the Muslim's Prayer (salah) is the symbol of humble reverence and thankfulness before the Creator of the heavens and the earth. It is we that need the Blessing of provisions from Allah, not He that is need of our prayer to add or take away anything from His Might and Glory. If we reflect on the Muslim prayer, understanding that it is prime among the five principles of Islam we will find all other principles may be excused from practice under certain conditions except the Muslim's daily prayers. Prophet Muhammad said that, “the prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam, which Islam is raised upon.” As a building has a foundation that holds the structure from collapsing the Muslim's daily prayer service has been established as a foundational purpose for the demonstration of the principle of obedience to the Will of Allah (God).

Whatever has been said about prayer, whatever has been practiced of prayer throughout ancient times, it is part of our very nature to establish a strong connection with the Creator. Allah (God) says in chapter two of the Holy Quran “And when my servant asks concerning Me, surely I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So they should hear My call and believe in Me, that they may walk in a right manner.” Where there is no prayer there can be no purification. It is the remedy for the ills that beset our hearts. The heart is the seat of will and must be cleaned of impurities of mind and spirit that need to be washed away through an open and physically deliberate act of obedience to Allah (God). With these impurities covering our will, so to speak, we find impediments in our other actions.

Allah (God) has prescribed for us words of protecting guidance throughout His Scripture stating that prayer is a protection from, “indecency and evil,” Prayer is a protection from the chastisement of evil, a spiritual and physical purification of the ‘self' through the mental and physical surrender to the Lord of all the worlds.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan concerning surrender states, “Surrender to what? Not surrender to a man, then you are a slave again. Surrender to a principle, surrender to a teaching, surrender to a new idea that is the embodiment of a new vision that will bring you a new mind.” As we enter the Month of Ramadan let us practice being more prayerful as is the practice of the Muslim to show forth our thankfulness and seek redemption from all of our transgressions. It is on Allah (God) alone upon whom we rely and in Him alone we put our ultimate trust.

(Sultan Rahman Muhammad is the great-grandson of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and teaches Arabic at Muhammad University of Islam. He teaches a Prayer Class every Sunday at Mosque Maryam, The National Center 1:00PM-2:30PM)

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