The second pillar is prayer

 


الصلاة

The Prayer



The prayer is the link between the slave and his Lord, if it is correct, the whole work is correct, and it is the first thing the slave will be asked after his death.


A person should believe that Allah has made it obligatory for every adult, sane Muslim to performfive daily and nightly prayers , which he performs in purity, standing before his Lord every day in purity, humbly thanking Him for His blessings, asking Him for His bounty, asking Him for forgiveness for his sins, asking Him for Paradise, and asking Him for protection from the Fire.

The obligatory prayers for the day and night are five prayers: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha, and there are Sunnah prayers such as Qiyam al-Layl, Taraweeh prayer. There are also Sunnah prayers such as Qiyam al-Layl, Taraweeh prayer and other Sunnah prayers.

Prayers, whether obligatory or not, represent the sincerity of turning to God alone in all matters, and God has commanded all believers to keep them in congregation by saying: “Keep the prayers and the middle prayer: Keep the prayers and the middle prayer, and stand up to God with reverence, Al-Baqarah/238

The five prayers are obligatory for every Muslim man and woman on every day and night: The prayer was a time-bound book for the believers, An-Nisa/ 103.

The importance and status of prayer in Islam was emphasized during the journey and miracle of Isra' and Mi'raj, which took place before the Prophet's migration to Medina, as Allah, the Almighty, imposed it in the seventh heaven on His Prophet (peace be upon him). The narrations of Isra' and Mi'raj are numerous in the authentic biographies and hadiths of the Prophet, each of which refers to a part or aspect of this blessed journey. One of these narrations is narrated by Muslim from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: (... Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was taken up to Sidrat al-Muntaha, and Allah revealed to him what was revealed to him, and the prayer was imposed on him fifty prayers every day... Moses, peace be upon him, recommended him to return to his Lord to ask him to ease it, so the Prophet continued doing so until it became five instead of the fifty prayers. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, returned to Beit al-Maqdis and prayed the morning prayer in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the prophets behind him.) The scholars are unanimous that the five prayers were not imposed until this night. Ibn Kathir said: “When it was the night of Isra', a year and a half before the Hijrah, Allah imposed the five prayers on His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and detailed their conditions, elements, and related matters afterward, little by little.” Ibn Rajab said: “The scholars are unanimous that the five prayers were imposed on the night of Isra'.”

Determining the times of the prayers:

Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Gabriel came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) when the sun had gone down and said: “Get up, O Muhammad, and pray the noon prayer when the sun tilted, then he stayed until the man's shadow was the same as his, then he came to him for the afternoon prayer and said: “Get up, O Muhammad, and pray Asr.” Then he stayed until the sun went down: “Get up and pray Maghrib,” and he prayed it when the sun went down the same way, then he stayed until the twilight was gone, then he came to him and said: Get up and pray the evening prayer, so he prayed it, and then he came to him


How to pray, the number of rak'ahs and times, was taught by Gabriel to the Prophet (peace be upon him) as proven in many hadiths, including what was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others and authenticated by al-Albani from Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Gabriel prayed for me twice at the house (Ka'ba). The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to teach his companions to worship, sometimes by word, sometimes by deed, and sometimes by both. He said in Hajj: “Take from me your rituals,” narrated by Muslim, and in ablution: “Whoever performs ablution like this ablution of mine,” narrated by Muslim, and in prayer: “Pray as you have seen me pray,” narrated by Bukhari, Mubarakfuri said: “He said: ‘Pray as you have seen me pray,’ meaning in observing the conditions, elements, sunnah and etiquette. It is well known that our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is our role model in his worship, morals, words and deeds, and all his conditions, Allah says: {You have had a good example in the Messenger of Allah}(Al-Ahzab:21), Ibn Kathir said: “This verse is a great asset in imitating the Messenger of Allah in his words, deeds and conditions.


Through the stages of the imposition of prayer and the miracle and journey of Israa and Mi'raj, the importance of prayer and its status in Islam was revealed and confirmed. God Almighty imposed it in the seventh heaven on His Prophet (peace be upon him) directly and without an intermediary, and this takes care of it and increases its honor, which is the second pillar of Islam after the two testimonies, as it is reported from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet said: “Islam is built on five: The testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, the establishment of prayer, the payment of zakat, the fasting of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to the house for those who are able to do so. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) emphasized on maintaining and performing them in travel and civilization, security and fear, peace and war, health and sickness, and it is the first thing a Muslim will be held accountable for on the Day of Judgment. Because of its importance, it was one of the last commandments the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recommended to his nation before his death, as Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “It was among the last commandments of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): Prayer, prayer, and what belongs to you, until the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began to struggle with it in his chest and his tongue would not let go of it.) Narrated by Ahmad and authenticated by Al-Albani. Al-Sindi said: “(Prayer): That is, observe it, pay attention to it and do not neglect it.”