All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance, and we ask Him to forgive us. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the consequences of our bad actions. Whomever Allah guides cannot be led astray by anyone, and whomever Allah leaves to stray cannot be guided by anyone. I testify openly that no one deserves any type of worship whatsoever, except for Allah, alone, without partners. I further testify openly that Muhammad was his worshipful slave and messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace). As for what follows:

Dear believing brothers in Islam,

After having the correct creed and believing in Allah as He has commanded, then it is a must upon each and every one of us that:

• We are obedient to Allah.
• We establish His religion in our lives.
• We actualize servitude within our worship.
• We are wise and put everything in its place.
• We actualize the benefits of our worship so that we attain some tranquility and some piece and mind in this world.
• We become people with clean hearts, far away from foul deeds of an illicit nature and all evil deeds.
• We are people of upright good character.
• We are believers in truth, far away from showing off in insincerity, hypocrisy and all its forms, and far from disbelief in Allah.

If you have heard these words, and you say, “That’s a lot to embody as a person,” then please know, dear brothers in Islam, that you can do one single thing in your religion to bring all of this together! You can establish one thing that is already an obligation on you, but it will bring all of these affairs that you have heard together for you. It is the establishment of the five daily prayers! Do not overlook it, and do not downplay the significance of it! Sometimes we look for secret ways to become really close to Allah, or special ways of piety! However, there is no replacement for that old ancient way of the Prophets and their followers, to worship Allah with regular prayers!

1. The Five Daily Prayers are Obligatory

There is no replacement for it, dear brothers! For indeed, the divine command is found in the Book of Allah dozens of times, “Establish the prayer!” To be obedient to Allah, you cannot abandon the daily prayers. You have to take care of your prayers with sincerity in their proper times, knowing the rulings of the prayers, praying them properly, with humility and servitude to Allah. It is the main pillar of the religion after the two testimonies! The great open symbol of Islam is to be obedient to Allah and establish your daily prayers.

2. The Prayer is the Deen (Religion)!

By performing your daily prayers, you will be establishing the religion properly, because the prayer has been referred to in the Book of Allah the entire Deen (Religion), when the people in the town of Madyan said to their Prophet, Shu’ayb (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace):

“O Shu’ayb! Is it your prayer that is ordering you to have us abandon all of those things our fathers worshipped, and that we are not allowed to do whatever we want with our wealth?” (11:87)

They referred to the Religion of Shu’ayb, which was towheed, surrender and submission to Allah in worship and servitude, they referred to that religion as “his prayer”! They literally said, “Is your prayer stopping us from the worship of other than Allah?”

3. Prayer is True Servitude and Worship Which Allah Praises in the Quran

And if you were to establish the five daily prayers properly, with sincerity, you would be establishing your life upon servitude properly, servitude to the one true God, whom there is no one worthy of worship other than Him. That is how Allah has described and praised the true servants of ar-Rahmaan, the Most Merciful:

“And the true servants of ar-Rahmaan (the Most Merciful) are those who walk upon the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant people address them, they say words of peace. [They are] the ones who spend their nights worshipping their Lord with prostrations and standing…” (25:64)

“Prostrations and standing” is the prayer! May Allah make us from the utmost, the very best of His worshippers, establishing the prayer, the Salaat, this open symbol of Islam. The disbelievers do not know much about Islam. They do not know about why we were created and what we are actually here for! Yet, they do surely know that the worship of the Muslims, specifically this prayer that we perform, is the most humble and devout show of open servitude, the greatest and most obvious way to manifest the greatness of our Creator and worship Him! And that is why they imitate us at times, mocking us, with their bowing and prostrations, when they want to honor their revered figures! They know the way in which a person shows his humility in his worship to his Lord more than we may assume! They know the symbol of true worship, submission, and servitude! So dear brothers, establishing the prayer establishes your clear and open servitude to Allah, aiding you in fulfilling what you have been created to fulfill.

4. Establishing the Prayer Develops Wisdom and Self-Mastery

Fourthly, dear brothers, you will be a wise person who gives every important matter its due place, its due priority, if you establish your prayers. That means you understand its importance and so you fulfill your obligation unto Allah, that which you will be asked about firstly on the Day of Judgment, because our Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) said [what means]:

“The very first thing that a worshipper will be held to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer.”

SOURCE: Musnad Ahmad (9494), Jaami’ at-Tirmithee (413), and others; authenticated in Saheeh al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer (2020).

In one version of the hadeeth, reported by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him):

“If his prayer is sound, then all of his deeds will be sound. But if his prayer is corrupt, the rest of his deeds will be corrupt.”

SOURCE: Al-Mu’jam al-Awsat (as mentioned in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah, no.1358).

Dear brothers in Islam: If you focus on offering your five daily prayers in their times, properly established, with submissiveness and surrender unto Allah, then Allah will grant you wisdom in your affairs. You will be able to put everything in this life in its proper place, because you give the top priority its due right, and so everything after that falls right into place. Yet, if you neglect the prayer, if you approach it with laziness or abandon it sometimes, or pray only in the presence of the people, and things like this, then your prayer is corrupt! As a result, the rest of your deeds on the Day of Judgment will then be corrupt, us understood from this statement by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace).

5. Finding Precious Moments of Solace and Tranquility

Fifthly, dear brothers in Islam: Through your performance of these prayers, you can attain beautiful moments of solace, peace, and tranquility in this difficult life! Despite all the strife and commotion around you, you can enter into prayer and find true peace in your heart and be in a real state of much-needed relaxation, returning to that which you were created for! Don’t you know that our Messenger (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) was very busy with serious affairs of great magnitude, far more significant than any demands on us, yet when he wanted peace and relaxation, he would tell Bilaal (may Allah be pleased with him) [what means]:

“O Bilaal! Give us some rest with it (i.e. the prayer).”

SOURCE: Musnad Ahmad (23088), Sunan Abee Daawood (4985); authenticated in Saheeh al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer (7892).

Meaning: Call the athaan, and call the iqaamah, give us some rest and relaxation by way of the prayer! We ask Allah to make us from those who find attain this rest and relaxation in our prayers, those who truly establish our obedience and servitude to our Lord and Creator, the Mighty and Majestic.

6. Establishing the Prayer Purifies the Heart

If we establish the prayer, dear brothers, we would be people who have clean hearts. W would be from those people who manage to rectify their hearts and clean them, the way our Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) directed us to, when he explained:

“The example of the five daily prayers is like a river that flows with abundant water, right at the door of one of you, so he takes a bath in that river with abundant clean water right by his house, five baths every single day. Then what could possibly remain behind of any filth?”

SOURCE: Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (528) and Saheeh Muslim (667), from the report of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)

Our lives will end, and we will all return to Allah! The affair is then about: Who has a clean heart, and who has a heart overwhelmed with sin and transgression? The five daily prayers purify the heart! Allah has described this return back to Him:

“The day when no wealth nor any children will be of any benefit, except for the one who comes unto Allah with a clean heart.” (26:88-89)

We ask Allah, the Most Merciful, to make us from them!

7. Establishing the Prayer is an Expiation of Sin

The Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) said [what means]:

“The five daily prayers, as well as one Jumu’ah to the next Jumu’ah, are an expiation for all that is committed between them, so long as he avoids the major sins.”

SOURCE: Saheeh Muslim (233), from the report of Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah have Mercy on him).

8. Establishing the Prayer Keeps One Away From Lewdness

If you establish this prayer, dear brothers, you will be far away from fawaahish (foul, reprehensible behavior). You will be distant from fornication, adultery and illicit deeds, because Allah says [what means]:

“The prayer prevents one from evil deeds of an illicit nature and the evil deeds [in general].” (29:45)

9. Establishing the Prayer Perfects Our Character

Dear brothers: If we establish the prayer, we would have the very best character imaginable! If we could truly establish the prayer properly, with sincerity, with true following of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace), it would refine our character greatly! Allah has said [what means]:

“Verily mankind has been created to be haloo’ (upset, disturbed, angry, and miserly). When some evil reaches him, he is upset and frustrated. When good comes to him, he is stingy, not wanting to share it, except for those who establish the prayer.” (70:19-22)

All you have to do is establish your prayer, something you’ve been ordered to do anyway, and Allah will refine your character! May Allah make us like this, how Allah describes those who establish their prayers:

“Those who remain ever vigilant over their prayer.” (70:23)

10. Actualizing Faith is Accomplished Through Establishing the Prayer

If we want to be true believers, in the real sense of the word believer, we need to actualize that word in we all do! May Allah aid us! Think about what Allah has said [what means]:

“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are recited to them, they are increased in faith. And they put their trust in their Lord. They are those who establish the prayer and spend from what we have provided them…”

Do you, once again, see the important nature again of establishing the prayer?

“…Those are the real, true, genuine believers; they have levels raised with their Lord, forgiveness and plentiful provisions.” (8:2-4)

11. Establishing the Prayer Keeps One From Hypocrisy

If we could establish the prayer with sincerity, we would be away from showing off! We would be away from destroying ourselves with hypocrisy!

“On the Day when Allah lays [His] Shin bare, and all the people are called to prostrate. They [all prostrate, except those who] are unable…” (68:42)

Who are these people who are unable to prostrate on the Day of Judgment? They are the hypocrites who bowed down and prostrated without sincerity in this life. As the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) explained:

“Our Lord exposes His Shin, and then every believer, male and female, prostrate to Him, After that, there remains every person who use to prostrate in this worldly life out of showing off or to be heard about. He tries to prostrate and the bones of his back turn into one single bone!”

SOURCE: Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (7439) and Saheeh Muslim (183), from the report of Aboo Sa’eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him).

Fear Allah, dear brothers! Make sure you establish this prayer with sincerity! Those of us who only pray sometimes, you only pray at Jumu’ah, or you only pray when you come to the masjid, you are in great danger! Don’t you realize that this is hypocrisy? That when you are alone you do not establish the worship of Allah, but when you come among the believers, you establish the worship of Allah, only in front of the people! Do you not fear having an end like the hypocrites? Do you not fear hypocrisy for yourself? The companions were known to fear hypocrisy for themselves, while they were the most sincere of the people, the most distant from hypocrisy! Who are we!? One of us will only pray Jumu’ah, or only offer a prayer once in a while, only when the people are around, only when the eyes of the people are on him, and yet he feels he is safe from hypocrisy, and the hypocrites are those people over there! May Allah grant us safety and refuge with Him!

12. Establishing the Prayer Keeps One Distant From Apostasy

And lastly dear brothers: If we can establish the prayer, we will be far from apostasy and disbelief, that which our Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) spoke about when he said [what means]:

“The covenant that exists between us and them is the prayer; whoever abandons it has disbelieved.”

SOURCE: Musnad Ahmad (22937), Jaami’ at-Tirmithee (2621), Sunan an-Nasaa’ee (463), and Sunan Ibn Maajah (1079), from the report of Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him; authenticated in Saheeh al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer (4143)

Allah mentions the dialogue that goes on between the people of Paradise and the people of the Hellfire in the Hereafter:

“Except for the people of the right, in gardens asking about the criminals: “What caused you to go to the blazing Fire?” (74:39-42)

The very first thing they will say is:

“We did not use to be among the people who prayed. We used to not feed the poor, we used to talk loosely with the loose talkers, and we used to belie the Day of Judgment, all the way until certainty (i.e. death) came to us. So no intersession [of any kind] will be of any benefit to them.” (74:43-48)

We ask Allah to grant us success in establishing the five daily prayers, until He takes our souls, and we ask Him to remove from our lives whatever it is that gets in the way of this noble aspiration.

Source: A Friday khutbah delivered by Moosaa Richardson at al-Masjid al-Awwal in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA) on 1443.2.24 (click here to listen).

Transcribed by: Umm Hamzah al-Makkiyyah

Edited by: Moosaa Richardson