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Salah, the prescribed prayers, are very valuable for a Muslim. It is the pillar of the religion. It is the first thing that Allah will hold us to account for in the day of judgement. If a Muslim can successfully give account for Salah, he will easily pass all the other judgements inshaallah; because Salah keeps a Muslim away from wrongdoings and sins in his life.
Our souls, however, does not want to perform this great worship which almost guarantees our eternal happiness. There are numerous and unreasonable reasons for this lack of interest in Salah. If we understand what makes our souls lazy to practice this worship, and then find reasonable explanations to prevent our souls from finding excuses, we can convince our souls and silence the Satan.
Although we make a little physical effort to perform Salah, the laziness and to be fond of comfort cause many people not to perform this worship. Taking ablution, going to mosque, giving a brake to your studies at work (which seems to interrupt the work, especially the afternoon prayer), or even the movements in the prayer can be seen as burdensome and requiring too much endeavour. However, our souls, who always listen to Satan, miss a point. In our daily life, at work for example, we do even the hardest and heavy works to earn our living. Most people keenly do their jobs (which quite normal) although it causes them to get tired. And if our boss came to us and say “Work overtime today and I will pay you more,” most of us would accept it. That is, we work every day for hours for this worldly life with much effort. If we ignore the fact that what little effort is required to perform Salah and what great benefit we will get from it, it will be a great loss.
Indeed, such a little effort is required for Salah that only one hour is sufficient to perform five daily prayers in a day. To spend twenty-four hours for worldly works and needs, and not to give just one hour to Salah (and to lose the great reward in the hereafter) is the most unreasonable thing a Muslim would do.
“To perform Salah five times a day again and again bores me,” says the soul. This is another fallacy of many of us. What makes us bored is actually that we assume we will live a long life and die in seventies. The soul thinks that Salah will always be a burden in the entire life although it has no guarantee to be alive next year, or next month, or even tomorrow (and it is even impossible to say we will certainly reach the next prayer).
And we eat, drink, and sleep every day. Are we ever fed up with them? Not really; because they are our needs. Just as our stomach and entire body have some needs, so too our spirit and soul have needs. The worships, Salah at first, are our crucial needs.
Salah is the greatest way of presenting our gratitude and worship. Man has been created for nothing but to worship Allah. Man has an inclination to thank anyone who helps him even if it is nothing much important. We thank to a salesman although we buy with our money. We thank our parents, our teachers, or friends. What about the real owner of everything. Shouldn’t we thank Him, too?
There are so many things He has bestowed upon us that we cannot count them in any way. He has given us existence, first of all; created as human and as Muslim; given us parents, health, and so on. He loves us, is merciful to us. So, we have to show our love and respect to Him, too, don’t we? And how should we do that? He says us to perform Salah. If we do not accept His invitation to be His servants, any sensible Muslim can understand what a great loss he will be in.
We ask Allah (SWT) to keep us on the right path, and among those who truly perform Salah. Amen.