Describe the importance and philosophy of prayer,also explain its individual and collective benefits.

Ans:MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF PRAYER:

Prayer,Salat or Namaz are the words used for the obligatory prayers which are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God.Prayer is the most primary and the most important of obligations.It is the embodiment of submission,pure obedience in the name of Allah,the Creator and the Sustainer of mankind.

Prayer is the source of strengthining the foundations of ones Faith and belif in God.It enables a man for the observence of the life of virtue and promotes sincerity,purity of heart,advancement of soul and the enrichment of the morals.Prayer can be conceived as a way of developing and reminding the man's conciouseness of one's duties and obligations towards his Creator.It develops the fear of God and maintains a feeling within a man that he has to abide by the laws presented to man by Him.
According to the Holy quran

"A believer who is possessed of strength is better and dearer to God than a believer who is weak"

The above mentioned extract shows that how much preference is given to those who place their firm faith in God and advance spiritually even with the enjoyment of pleasures of worldly life.The prayers serve to distinguish the ones who do really have faith and wish sincerely to serve God from those who are content with lip service.The prayer is significant to the extent that the Holy prophet (PBUH) said,

"Prayer is the pillar of the islamic religion and whoever abandons it ,demolishes the very pillars of religion."

This shows the emphasis and stress to perform the act of prayer as it is a source and a way of moulding
one's life purely according to the principles and teachings of ISlam.

PHILOSOPHY OF PRAYER:

PRAYER: THE FAITHFUL'S LADDER

The stress for the significance of prayer in Islam has been made again and again throught the whole book of Holy Quran,

"Say to My worshippers who believe that they should keep up the prayer..."


Prayer is a spiritual journey in which man traverses the distance between him and Allah, It is a practical institution of worship which aims at discovering consciously the relation between the devotee and the Creator. It is intended to awake in man the spiritual awareness and lively, vivid conscience to be in close contact with the great Divine love.

During prayer, the individual proclaims his lowliness and servitude to his Creator.The veils between the individual and the God are lifted and the divine beauty and love shine brilliantly on the human soul.It is a source of intense joy and provides deep satisfaction.

ABANDONMNENT OF SIN:

In prayer can be concieved as a real attempt to abandon sins and secure salvation from its evils. It awakens an an urge to restore the soul to its original state of purity.A person when faces Allah shows his determination to abandon wrong habits and boldly attempts to be freed from the chain of materialism and lust.

It is a return to the Source, after the daily activity of material life.Prayer is a designe to recall one's personal behaviour and dealings both with people and the Creator. Such reflection helps to check one's mistakes, wrong impulses and encourages corrective measures.

A WAY TO FORGIVENESS:

When a person fails to perform his obligations to Allah ,evil desires take over him .On realization of the wrong deeds which go against the code of life individual stands before
. Allah, humbly leans against Him for forgiveness and promises to abandon disbelief, with a determination to be upright and virtuous. In other words we can say that prayer provides man with an opportunity to seek forgivenss of the Divine ,Allah the most merciful,Benficent.Islam wants man to be in communion with his Lord.Islam desires that man should observe ceaseless vigilance over his desire so that his life may become a source of his welfare in life and in the life to come.AS Quran says,

"Seek the abode of the hereafter in that which Allah has given to you."

Prayer is a way which can lead man to the blessed world hereafter and for the attinment of good place in the eyes of Allah,man seeks and begs for His forgiveness through the opportunity of prayer given to him.

Man acknowledges his humbleness towards the Creator during the process of prayer and proclaims both repentance and a great desire to choose the righteous path. In this way he renews the covenant with Allah and promises to streamline one's life. Praying regularly enhances good traits, weakness evil impulses and diminishes potential for wrongdoing. Consequently will grows stronger.

Thus, prayer is a practical system of worship specifically intended to protect the soul from its whims and deviant desires. It is an original cure for all its spiritual diseases that subtley cultivates good habits and inclinations.

PURITY OF THE SOUL:

The Prophet (PBUH) described prayer's paramount significance, and its role in chastening the soul, and straightening human behaviour by saying
"The daily prayer like the moving river; whenever one says the prayer, his/her sins will be forgiven"

A man approached the Prophet (PBUH) and requested, " O Messenger of Allah, advise me'. The Prophet (PBUH.) replied,

'Never purposefully quit prayer. Whoever abandons it intentionally has in fact quit Islam"

Prayer stengthens one's belief and purifies the soul .Holy prophet Muhammd(PBUH) regarded man's reason for weak beliefs in his Creator in the following words,

'What keeps unbelief distant from faith is giving up prayer"

The Prophet (PBUH) also empahsized,

'Everything has a characteristic symbol, and the character of your religion is prayer. Thus, never defile the visage of your religion'.

He is also quoted as having said:

'Whoever makes light of his prayer, he is not from me. He will never meet me at the fountain"

It is due to the outstanding importance of prayer that it was ordained by Allah as a religious duty in every divine message propagated by the prophets, as it is the relationship between the slave and his Creator , and a veritable staircase the individual ascends to the pinnacle of righteousness.

The Holy Qur'an, when talking about the prophets and their messages in this life declares:

"And we made them Imams who guided (people) by Our command, and we revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of the alms, and Us (alone) did they worship".

Prayer is indeed the motto of the faithful and the ummah (the Muslim nation). It is precisely the boundary separating the faithful from those who do not belong to the faithful ummah:

"keep up prayer. surely prayer is a timed ordinance for the believers"

COLLECTIVE BENEFIT OF PRAYER

The reforming effect of prayer is certainly not confined to the individual only. It encompasses a wide range of social domains, so that the life is organized and straightened according to Allah's will.

In order to fulfill the objectives of prayer, the Qur'an links keeping up prayers to social reformation and doing good deeds.

REFORMATION OF OCMMUNITY THROUGH SPEECH:

The Holy Qur'an declares:

" You shall speak to people good words and keep up prayer and pay zakat "

Prayer is always linked to good speech men are desired to apply good and constructive words .He should avoid lies, backbiting, vilifying or cursing..The use of defamatory words and virtues promote evil.. Prayer develops in man a tool to attain the use of the words of reformation and faith.Speech plays an effective role in reforming the community
and the individual ideologically and educationally. It is conducive in establishing healthy psychological and social ties:

"Have you not considered how Allah sets forth a parable of a good word (being) like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches are in heaven. Yielding its fruit in every season by the permission of its Lord? And Allah sets forth parables for people that they may be mindful. And the parable of an evil word is as an evil tree pulled up from the earth's surface; it has no stability".

MISTREATMENT OF THE INDIVIDUALS:

Prayer abstains from mistreating people, and teaches people in avoiding the
unjustice among the individuals.Islam does not accept those people who encroach upon the the rights of the people and their property, souls, honoursand anything that belongs to the other individuals of teh society.Islam tecahes the individuals to refrain from the performance of such acts and strengthen their belief
in Allah by offering prayer ,

"Have you not seen those to whom it was said: Withhold your hands, and keep up prayer..."

Thus has been revealed that crime and transgression be rooted out entirely and peace and stability prevails if an individual moves in life according to the basic beliefs that the religion of Islam offers.

SOURCE OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION:

"And We made them imams who guided (people) by Our command and We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer"

It has been stressed again and agin that prayer is linked to doing good
which calls man to righteousness,instrucs mankind to do what is beneficial, and endeavoursto fulfill humanity's objectives of progress in social construction, politics, economics, sociology, ethics
and in fact. the entire sphere of life.

The Holy Qur'an says:

"And We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of the alms and Us (alone) did they worship".

Prayer is also linked to enjoining good and forbidding wrong:

"Surely prayer keeps (one) away from indecency and evil".

Linking prayer to social reform, fighting against corruption and decadence as personified in evil and wrong,
produces the best reformatory results in the life of both the community and the individual.

Thus the individual and the community that maintains prayer, are centres of enlightenment, human reform, and uprightness, because prayer cultivates deep inside man the concious awareness through continuous worshipping of Allah, fear of committing sins and shame of disobeying Him. A devotee can not commit any crime and disobey Allah when he stands in front of him five times a day and asks for His forgiveness and reward.

"Recite that which has been sent down to you of the Book and keep up prayer surely prayer keeps (one)away from indecency and evil. and certainly the rememberance of Allah is the greatest and Allah knows what you do".

Prayer nurtures in man the desire to repent, and turn to righteousness by continually asking Allah's renission of sins and seeking refuge with Him from committing further sins. Inwardly the gap between man and sins widens and the desire to righteousness and reform is intensified.

CONCLUSION:

All the above mentioned observations vividly bring out the true features and characteristic significance of the element of prayer as it cultivates in man love of good for others and saves him from bearing grudges and egoism which are the source of myraid evils and human misadventures in all the domains of life.

In prayer the worshipper asks good for all people. He or she requests for them goodness and forgiveness. Consequently, feelings of love, and benevolence in their broader, general social context are encouraged.
Loving of what is good is expressed by dua which develops in him the most noble feeling of sicerity for the whole humanity and builds man's belief in Allah on strong basis.