'Salat': A Pillar of Islam
Allah
has established five pillars for the maintenance of the balance and
strength of Islam, and Salat is the second, after the Shahada
(Laa-Ilaaha Illallah Muhammadur
Rassullullah); that is to say, the attestation of the
oneness of God and the recognition of the status of Muhammad (pbuh)
as the Messenger of Allah. As a result, all the good deeds we perform
depend on Salat because it is the main prayer. So much so that
even the other pillars such as fasting (Sawm), obligatory
alms-giving (Zakaat) and the Pilgrimage (Hajj) depend on
the Salat.
Narrated
by Abu Huraira (ra) that our beloved prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh)
said: “The first action for which a
servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection
will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have
prospered and succeeded. If they are lacking, then he will have
failed and lost.” (Tirmidhi).
Salat
in other words is the key to the believer’s temporal and eternal
success. Without the Salat, no one can access Allah, because
Salat is the link, and even the essence of the relationship
between man and his Creator. It is through the Salat that man
can see God through the eye of God. It is the sacred rendezvous
between the Creator and His creature, a daily appointment which is
obligatory upon him. For the true believer, this meeting with the
beloved is not a burden or a difficult task to accomplish, but a real
pleasure, and as a result, he will reap the paradise and the eternal
pleasure of God.