By Khalid Baig
In one of his circulars Sayyidna Umar ibn Khattab, Radi-Allahu anhu, sent instructions to all his administrators saying, “In my opinion, salat (Islam’s prescribed act of worship or prayer. The word prayer, though, is also used for supplication or dua and is therefore avoided in this article.) is the most important of your obligations. Whoever takes good care of it and safeguards it safeguards his religion and whoever neglects it will neglect other things even more.” He then added instructions about the times for the five salats and admonition against dozing off before Isha. [Muwatta Imam Malik. Hadith No. 5]

This letter from the ruler of a vast empire to the officials of his government — shall we call it Executive Order? — gives us a lot to reflect upon. For salat is among the most emphasized commands in Shariah. Unfortunately it is also a grossly neglected obligation in our life today.
This closeness of the beleiver and Allah during the salat (prayer) is the most valuable gift for the believer. It is the source of all strength and all goodness in his life. It is the light that shows him the right from wrong in all walks of life. It is the river that bathes and cleans him of all sin and contamination. In the hardships of life, it is the source of solace and strength. It is the regulator of the Muslim life, the daily schedule of a believer being built around the five daily salats. It is a source of joy and happiness, of spiritual nourishment and purification. It is the key to all success. It is the key to paradise.

On the other hand, neglecting the salat is key to hell. Qur’an says, “Woe to the worshippers who are negligent in their salat.” Hadith says: “Salat stands between man and unbelief.” Another hadith says: “Salat is the pillar of religion. Whoever destroys it has destroyed the religion.” Even if an unfortunate Muslim were never to open the Qur’an or a hadith book in his life, he cannot not notice the call to salat that comes from every masjid throughout the world five times a day. It repeatedly reminds him: “Come to Salat. Come to Success.” The distribution of mosques in the world today is such that the call to salat can be heard round the clock in a never-ending stream as one moves around the globe. One can begin with Fajr adhan in Indonesia and follow it at small intervals in Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt etc. etc. By that time Zuhr adhan has already started in Indonesia. Twenty-four hours later when the Muezzins of Indonesia are again calling out Fajr adhan, the Muezzins in Africa are calling out the adhan for Isha. How can one plead ignorance in the presence of this massive and continuous universal call?

As people run out of excuses they sometimes try rationalizations. What good is salat if one’s mind wanders all over the place? Well our job is to try to concentrate not to achieve concentration. We are doing our job if we are simply making the effort. What good is salat if one is still involved in other sins, like the proverbial person who steals and prays? The simple answer is that our lives are combinations of good and evil. Our goal is to increase the good and reduce or eliminate the evil. And that won’t happen by putting the good on hold until we can get rid of the evil. It may also be helpful to remember that the greatest theft is that of salat itself.

Ref: Food for Thought