Prayers are Paramount
Part 1: Its Importance
The first question being asked on the Day of Judgement and the second pillar of Islam, prayers (salah) is something that we can never take lightly. If we are consistent with it, then it is bountiful in terms of reward, but if we do not, then it is also heavy in terms of punishment. Consider this: because of it's importance, salah is even more important than other acts of ibadah such as fasting or charity; it is also classified as a major sin, beside other major sins such as theft, zina and gambling. As ultimately it is Allah who measures our good and bad deeds, we are not to say exactly how heavy prayers weigh on the Mizan. However, it would be a great error to downplay its importance, due to the many Quranic verses and hadith relating to it. One of them that had the most impact to me is the following hadith:
Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "That which differentiates us from the disbelievers and hypocrites is our performance of Salat. He who abandons it, becomes a disbeliever."
At-Tirmidhi, Riyad As-Salihin 1079
In this hadith, prayers - and not other fard ibadah such as fasting and zakat - has been singled out to be the line between belief and disbelief. Therefore while not performing fasting during Ramadan might be major sins as well, not performing your prayers is a sign of disbelief. While most scholars say that skipping prayers does not make one a disbeliever, the wording used in the hadith should be strong enough to deter anyone who might take prayers lightly.
Another evidence for it's importance is the many concessions or "variants" given for prayer, that is not given to other ibadah. Examples for this are: shortening and combining prayers during travel, illness and difficulty, alternating group prayer during fear (war), praying sitting down, praying while lying down, taking wudoo with dirt (in the absence of water or due to illness), praying whilst taking care of children, making up prayer if it is missed due to sleep or forgetfulness, as well as the many concessions in prayer given to beginner Muslims. Therefore, Allah is telling us not to leave our prayers in all conditions!
It has been my understanding that prayers are important because they are a form of connection between yourself and Allah, 5 times a day. Even if many of us do not understand Arabic during our prayers, we should know that Allah responds to us during our prayers (evidenced from a hadith). This connection is important as this constant remembrance of Allah is what keeps you away from falling into sin. It has deep-reaching effects from which our iman may take root. When we notice a change in ourselves then we know that it has flourished. Prayers are also a source of purification for us:
Narrated by Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him):
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds."
Sahih al-Bukhari 528
and
Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, when a servant stands to pray, his sins are placed on top of his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, they fall away from him.”
Sahih ibn Hibban 1734
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Part 2: For the brothers and sisters who are struggling in upholding or are neglecting their prayers
I hope that reading thus far has reignited a sense of taqwa. Yet there are still many obstacles which may prevent a person from being consistent in their prayers. I have identified some of them, which I will be addressing inshaAllah. They are: feeling that prayer is unnecessary, feeling unworthy of prayer, laziness and being too busy.
Feeling that prayer is unnecessary:
As Muslims we need to understand. Allah doesn't need us. But WE need Him.
I'm sure all of us face many problems in our everyday lives. We can try our best in solving our problems but at the end of the day, it is Allah who decides our outcomes. Allah is the One who is in control of all matters. He is the Al-Malik, The King. It might seem that overcoming our problems is like climbing a mountain, but to Allah, easing all our burdens would not even be as difficult as lifting a grain of sand. Only Allah can solve them, so we should ask from Him as much as we desire! And what better time to ask from Allah than during our prayers, when we are closest to Him?
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself, so make supplication (in this state)."
Sahih Muslim 482
Know that prayers are also a sign of gratefulness to Allah. We acknowledge that he sustains us and hence we pray to fulfil our obligation to Him out of gratefulness. Therefore skipping out on prayers is a sign of ungratefulness. And if we are ungrateful to Allah, then the fault lies on ourselves if He punishes us with misfortune.
"And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.' "
Quran, Surah Ibrahim : Ayah 7
Feeling unworthy of prayer:
It is one of the greatest tricks of shaytan to make a Muslim believe he is not worthy of Allah. It is a great error to believe that Allah won't forgive us, or accept us. The truth is, that statement is close to disbelief! There is nothing He cannot do. As Muslims, we are required to think positively about Allah.
Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him)reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah Almighty says: I am as My servants expect of Me. If he thinks good of Me, he will have it. If he thinks evil of Me, he will have it.”
Sahih Ibn Hibban 639
It doesn't even matter if we still are upon committing sin day in, day out or if we are in a bad habit that we can't get out of. Actually, the more we sin, the more we should turn back to Allah and pray. All that Allah requires of us is to be sincere, and to admit that we are weak and in need of Him. There is no need to feel ashamed to turn to Allah, even if we sin again and again. What matters is how are we going to answer to Allah on the Day of Judgment, a day when no repentance will be accepted. There is a story about a man who killed 99 people but Allah forgave him because Allah moved the land so that the place where he was going to ask for forgiveness became closer. Using this as an example, if you start praying now, and if you pass away after your next fard prayer (and before the next fard timing ends), then inshaAllah the angels will record you as someone who prays, even though you may miss a majority of your prayers. Imagine that! So please, I urge you to take the first step and start praying.
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: “All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often."
At-Tirmidhi
and
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: "Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it."
At-Tirmidhi
Laziness:
I would say a vast majority of us miss on prayers out of laziness. I understand, having to drop whatever you are doing just to take get yourself wet by taking wudu', finding a place to pray (if not at home) and actually spending 5 minutes to pray might seem a task that is too troublesome. I would say: it is not worth it. That few minutes of discomfort that we would have experienced due to praying cannot be compared to the punishment that we would face if Allah were to do so in the Hereafter. Actually, prayer should not be a form of discomfort. We should see prayer as having to take a break from our worldly affairs and instead dedicate that few minute to Allah. Wudu' can be seen as freshening up our body and spirit. Lastly, if we dedicate ourselves to our prayers, then it will feel like a spiritual recharge as we connect ourselves to Allah. Nonetheless, whether or not we taste the sweetness of our ibadah is not relevant. Prayer is an obligation so we must all perform it!
Being too busy:
I get it. In between juggling work, family and friends, we often miss our prayers. The way to change this is by firstly changing our mentality. Prayer should not come as an afterthought, or be an activity we perform only if we have free time. Instead, we should plan our lives around our 5 daily prayers and make our lives fit into our prayer timings instead. Not finding a nice place to pray in our busy lives is also an excuse. Allah has made this earth a place of prayer. It doesn't have to be a dedicated masjid or musollah. A staircase landing, a corner away from foot traffic or an empty parking lot are all well and good. Finding a place to pray just takes a little effort. If we can strive hard to fulfill our worldly desires such as finding a good place to eat or a nice spot to go for a date, why can't we spend just a fraction of that effort to worship our Lord? The area being cramped or dirty is just an excuse. If we all knew what Heaven and Hell looked like, we would desperately find a place to pray, even if it is on the roadside. Best case scenario is that we could politely write an email to the management of our company or a shopping mall that we frequent and request a place for praying. It doesn't even need to be dedicated place for Muslims. Imagine the reward you would get. A share from everybody who finds comfort in praying in that spot!
Lastly, I want you to reflect over this: Not praying due to being busy shows an underlying problem - that we do not prioritize Allah. So How can we not prioritize Allah and be grateful to Him, even though He IS the One who blessed us with the work, family and friends that we busy ourselves with?
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Part 3: Conclusion
In general, I hope that you realise the importance of prayer, above all else. If we knew that we will die in 10 minutes, the only thing we would want to do is worship Allah. Unfortunately, we do not have that privilege. Therefore, the key is for us to try our best. It doesn't matter if we don't pray all 5 times a day, or if we 'speedrun' our prayers, each taking less than 2 minutes. As long as we persevere, our iman will grow and we will be praying all fard as well as sunnah prayers in no time!