Prayer is one of the central elements of Islamic practice and worship. Indeed, it is the second of the Five Pillars of Islam and, along with the testimony of faith, the pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting the month of Ramadan and paying the poor tax, forms the essential framework of religious life for Muslims. More than that, the observance of the ritual prayer forms the framework of each Muslim’s day, from the pre-dawn morning prayer to the night prayer that precedes sleep.
Prayer’s Importance in Islam
Prayer, in the ritual sense, is an obligation of the faith, to be performed five times a day by adult Muslims. According to Islamic law, prayers have a variety of obligations and conditions of observance. However, beyond the level of practice, there …show more content…
This word is also used in the context of close relations (šilat ar-raħim) whose connections with an individual are due to blood ties and are therefore imperishable in the eyes of the Divine. In this sense, prayer is seen as the unseverable bond between the individual and his or her Lord.
Commenting on this, another renowned Qur’ānic exegete, Al-Qurtubī said:
The word šalāt derives from the word šilat, one of the names of fire as when it is said, “The wood is burned by fire.”
Al-Qurtubī attributed six different meanings to the word šalāt in his commentary of the Holy Qur’ān:
Prayer is the invocation of Allah; it is mercy, as when one says, “O Allah, bestow prayers on Muhammad”; it is worship, as when Allah says, صَلاَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ “And their worship at the (holy) House”; it is a supererogatory prayer, as when Allah says, وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاة “And enjoin upon thy people worship”; and it is Allah’s praise, as when He says, فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَان مِنْ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ “And had he not been one of those who glorify (Allah)...” Prayer is also
Prayer’s Importance in Islam
Prayer, in the ritual sense, is an obligation of the faith, to be performed five times a day by adult Muslims. According to Islamic law, prayers have a variety of obligations and conditions of observance. However, beyond the level of practice, there …show more content…
This word is also used in the context of close relations (šilat ar-raħim) whose connections with an individual are due to blood ties and are therefore imperishable in the eyes of the Divine. In this sense, prayer is seen as the unseverable bond between the individual and his or her Lord.
Commenting on this, another renowned Qur’ānic exegete, Al-Qurtubī said:
The word šalāt derives from the word šilat, one of the names of fire as when it is said, “The wood is burned by fire.”
Al-Qurtubī attributed six different meanings to the word šalāt in his commentary of the Holy Qur’ān:
Prayer is the invocation of Allah; it is mercy, as when one says, “O Allah, bestow prayers on Muhammad”; it is worship, as when Allah says, صَلاَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ “And their worship at the (holy) House”; it is a supererogatory prayer, as when Allah says, وَأْمُرْ أَهْلَكَ بِالصَّلَاة “And enjoin upon thy people worship”; and it is Allah’s praise, as when He says, فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَان مِنْ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ “And had he not been one of those who glorify (Allah)...” Prayer is also