The word Salah is derived from the Arabic word meaning “connection”. Salah is the main media through which a Muslim can establish a direct connection with his\her Creator and is a practical sign of obedience to the commands of Allah. Salah is the only act of Ibadat which was revealed directly to our Prophet PBUH in the night of Miraj without any messenger in between. After the Testimony of Faith (Kalima)Salah is the second and most important pillar of Islam. Salah is considered the most important act of worship and is thefirst deed for which a person will be called to account on the Day of Judgement. We renew our commitment of our faith to Allah every time we perform Salah. Due to its importance, Salah has been emphasized about 500 times in the Quran.

Direct link to Allah: Salah establishes a direct connection between the worshipper and Allah with no earthly intermediaries. Allah says, “Pray to me and I will hear your prayer” [40:60] - Prophet PBUH said, “When any one of you stands to pray, he is communicating with his Lord, so let him pay attention to how he speaks to Him.” - Allah says, “And whoever turns away from My remembrance, indeed for him is a life of hardship. And We will raise him on the Day of Resurrection, blind. He will say, “My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was (once) seeing?” (Allah) will say, “Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot (disregarded) them; and thus will you, this Day, be forgotten.” [20:124-6]

Prayer wipes away sins: Human beings are prone to error and sin, however, Allah has provided through prayer a way to wipe out those sins.Just as the water cleans one's body, the prayer purifies one's soul.Prophet PBUH once asked his companions "Do you think that if there was a river at the door of ones house and he bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt remain upon him?" They said, "No dirt would remain upon him." He PBUH then said, "That is how it is with the five daily prayers; through them Allah washes away the sins." [Bukhari] - Allah says, “And perform prayer… surely the good deeds remove the evils deeds.” [11:114] - Prophet PBUH once took a dried tree branch and shook it until all the leaves fell off. Then he said "The sins of those who pray drop off just like the leaves of this branch fell off.” - Prophet PBUH said, "There is not a man who commits a sin, then stands and performs the purification, then prays and seeks Allah's forgiveness except that Allah forgives him.”

Prayer enriches soul and heart: Prayer satisfies our spiritual need to be in contact with our Creator and this gives our soul peace and contentment. By constantly turning to Allah, we are reminded that we only need to rely on Him to achieve peace and comfort. Allah says: "... Say, [O Muhammad], 'Verily Allah sends astray whom He wills and guides unto Himself those who turn to him in repentance.' Those who believe and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." [13:27] - Allah says, “Without doubt, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.” [13:28] -Prophet PBUH said, “The position of Salah with respect to religion is similar to that of the head with respect to the body.”

Prayer earns one Paradise: Salah is not merely a mechanical set of moves and recitations, if one performs obligatory prayers with full concentration only to please Allah, then he\she is promised a place in Paradise. Once a man asked the Prophet PBUH about the most virtuous deed, He PBUH responded “the most virtuous deed is the prayer”. The man asked again and again and for the first three times, the Prophet answered, “The prayer,” then on the fourth occasion he stated, “Jihad in the way of God.” – Allah says, “(The people in Hell will be asked:) What has caused you to enter Hell? They will say: We were not of those who used to pray…” [74:42] – Allah says, “Truly, those who believe and do righteous deeds, and perform Salah, and give Zakah, they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.” [2:277] - Prophet PBUH said, “The key to Paradise is Salah”.