Getting Motivated to Perform Salah 

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The five daily prayers, our first and most important duty, are the key to the happiness in this life, preventing us from starving spiritually, and in the Hereafter, bringing us eternal Paradise.

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There are three separate booklets in Risale-i Nur written in order to make people eager for salah (i.e. five daily prayers) under the title of the 4th, the 9th and the 21st Words.  Some explanations that motivate us to salah in the 21st Word, which is the most detailed one of those risales, can be compiled as follows:

The First One: The most important reason that makes people bored of salah is their assumption that they will eternally live in this world in comfort. However; the time of death is hidden and there is no guarantee that we will live through the night and reach tomorrow alive.  Remembering death frequently would, undoubtedly, suffice in order to realise how brief and worthless this life is.

The Second One: Another important reason for laxity in performing salah is “not knowing that salah is the spiritual nutrient of the spirit and how much that nutrient is needed.” If man, who does not get bored of eating three times a day, knew the great spiritual nutrients he would get by turning to his Lord in salah, surely he would run for salah in order to nourish his desperately starving spirit more eagerly than his running for meal three times a day.

The Third One: Another important reason for not observing salah is not to be able to be patient and assigning the power of patience to the past and future days, which is a big mistake that causes losing patience. Whereas the patience given by Allah (swt) is able to stand up to every difficulty if it is used for today instead of assigning its power to the past and future. If man thought only the duty of today, patience would be enough and he would never find salah difficult to perform.

The Fourth One: Another reason for laxity in performing salah and worship is not to think about the reward and prize that will be given in return for performing them. Whereas Allah The Almighty, Who never retracts His promise, promises such a price as Paradise and a gift as eternal happiness.

The Fifth One: Another reason put forward by people who don’t perform salah is the struggle to make a living and workload of worldly life. No one can work without having breaks. If one performs salah during breaks, he will rest well and also make a very important eternal investment to attain his happiness in hereafter.

In summary, in order to perform salah eagerly, one should understand following points:

• There is no eternal life in this transient world,
• Salah is nutrient of spirit,
• Power of patience should be assigned to today,
• There is a very big and eternal reward for salah: Paradise,
• The most important and first duty of man in this world is to worship.