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The salât
(prayer or namâz) is a duty upon Muslims which cannot be
overemphasized. There are books and collections of hadîth detailing the
importance and benefits of prayers. Due to space and time constraints, we
will not be mentioning all of these in this article but will simply
suffice by recalling the saying,
“Prayer is the key to Paradise.” [Ihyâ]
Namely, our ultimate success in
the Hereafter very much depends on the performance of salât.
Allâh has not enjoined prayers simply as a burden upon His servants. In
fact, it is a special privilege and a gift which was the “coolness of
the eyes” of the Prophet Muhammad (
 ).
Furthermore, as the title of this article reminds us, prayer is said to be
the “Mi’râj” of the believers. Mi’râj refers to the miraculous
ascension of the Prophet (
)
to the heavens and his direct communion with Allâh there, among other
things. (It was also on this journey that the five daily prayers were made
obligatory.) In the same way, the salât is the direct means of
communication with Allâh for every believing Muslim man and woman. It is
through this medium, not through the medium of any intercessors as in
other misguided religions and belief systems, that a Muslim can express
his praise to Allâh, his thanks for His favors, his seeking for His mercy
and forgiveness and his requests for any type of need- be it dînî
(spiritual) or dunyâwî (worldly).
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The attainment of the true pleasure and purpose of salât is granted only
by Allâh to whom He wills and especially to those who strive hard to
achieve it. Thus, in order to motivate ourselves and the entire Muslim
ummah (nation) towards the practice and upkeep of the obligatory and
superogatory prayers, we have composed this short article summarizing the
various types of prayers that are established from the life of the Prophet
Muhammad (
).
Again, due to constraints of time and space, we will not mention the
entire details of the methods of saying these prayers in this article. For
that information, one should learn from someone who knows, or read about
them in reliable Islamic textbooks.
May Allâh grant us the felicity of attaining the “coolness of our
eyes” in the performance of salât. May He accept our humble prayers and
forgive our copious sins and shower us with His pleasure. Aameen.
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A voice of the Muslim Ummah
