In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Prayer

(Qur’anic Perspective)

1. Prayer Is a Means of Divine Mercy

Arabic:
وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

Transliteration:
Wa-aqīmū al-ṣalāh wa-ātū al-zakāh wa-aṭīʿū al-rasūla laʿallakum turḥamūn

Translation:
"And establish prayer and give zakāh and obey the Messenger so that you may receive mercy." (Al-Nūr 56)

Arabic:
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

Transliteration:
Wa-al-muʾminūna wa-al-muʾminātu baʿḍuhum awliyāʾu baʿḍ, yaʾmurūna bi-al-maʿrūfi wa-yanhawna ʿani al-munkar wa-yuqīmūna al-ṣalāh wa-yuʾtūna al-zakāh wa-yuṭīʿūna Allāha wa-rasūlah, ulāʾika sayarḥamuhumu Allāh, inna Allāha ʿazīzun ḥakīm

Translation:
"The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, establish prayer and give zakāh, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those are the ones upon whom Allah will have mercy. Indeed, Allah is Mighty, Wise." (Al-Tawbah 71)

2. Prayer Prevents Immorality

Arabic:
اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ ۖ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

Transliteration:
Utlu mā ūḥiya ilayka mina al-kitābi wa-aqimi al-ṣalāh, inna al-ṣalāta tanhā ʿani al-faḥshāʾi wa-al-munkar, wa-la-dhikru Allāhi akbar, wa-Allāhu yaʿlamu mā taṣnaʿūn

Translation:
"Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer restrains from immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows what you do." (Al-ʿAnkabūt 45)

3. Those Who Abandon Prayer Are Among the Polytheists

Arabic:
مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

Transliteration:
Munībīna ilayhi wa-ittaqūhu wa-aqīmū al-ṣalāh wa-lā takūnū mina al-mushrikīn

Translation:
"Turn to Him in repentance, fear Him, establish prayer, and do not be among the polytheists." (Al-Rūm 31)

4. Prayer Is a Means of Success

Arabic:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ
وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّىٰ

Transliteration:
Qad aflaḥa man tazakkā
Wa-dhakara isma rabbihi fa-ṣallā

Translation:
"He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself and remembers the name of his Lord and prays." (Al-Aʿlā 14–15)

Arabic:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

Transliteration:
Qad aflaḥa al-muʾminūn
Alladhīna hum fī ṣalātihim khāshiʿūn

Translation:
"Successful indeed are the believers — those who are humble in their prayers." (Al-Muʾminūn 1–2)

5. Hypocrisy in Prayer Leads to Destruction

Arabic:
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ
الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ
الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ

Transliteration:
Fa-waylun li-al-muṣallīn
Alladhīna hum ʿan ṣalātihim sāhūn
Alladhīna hum yurāʾūn

Translation:
"So woe to those who pray — those who are heedless of their prayer, those who perform it for show." (Al-Māʿūn 4–6)

6. Reflection on the Discipline of Prayer

Many people find the five daily prayers difficult, whereas Islam is a religion of ease and balance. It contains no unnecessary hardship. The five daily prayers teach discipline and consistency rather than hardship.

Can any student become a doctor or an engineer without discipline and effort? If a student considers continuous effort and examinations as hardship, will he ever succeed? If discipline is necessary for success in worldly life, can success in the Hereafter be achieved without discipline?

If even the attainment of worldly things — which are temporary and deceptive — cannot be achieved without commitment, then how can Paradise be attained without commitment? Why have we fallen into the deception of Satan? Why are we deceiving ourselves?

7. A Hadith on the Virtues of Prayer

It is reported in a hadith that prayer is a means of attaining the pleasure of Allah. It is beloved to the angels and the practice of the prophets. Through it supplications are accepted and blessings are placed in one’s provision. It is the root of faith and a source of comfort for the body.

It is a weapon against the enemy and an intercessor for the one who prays. It becomes a light in the grave and a source of comfort in its loneliness. It helps in answering the questions of Munkar and Nakīr. On the Day of Resurrection it will provide shade from the intense heat and light in the darkness.

It will serve as protection from the fire of Hell, add weight to the scale of deeds, help one cross the Ṣirāṭ swiftly, and it is the key to Paradise.

8. A Narration from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him)

It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) that once the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Say: O Allah, do not make any of us among the miserable and deprived.” Then he said: “Do you know who the miserable and deprived person is?” He then said: “The miserable and deprived one is the one who abandons prayer. He has no share in Islam.”

9. The Importance of Prayer in the Qur’an

Including these verses, the command to establish prayer appears approximately eighty-two times in the Qur’an. From this, one can clearly understand the immense importance that prayer holds in Islam.