From the Honors of the Miracle of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj:

The Obligation of the Five Daily Prayers

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and those who follow him.

The miracle of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj is one of the greatest miracles with which Allah honored Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It carries profound and noble divine signs specifically for the Muslim Ummah. Among the unique blessings granted to Muslims during this blessed night was the institution of prayer. Prayer is the second pillar of Islam after the testimony of faith, and it is well-established that it was made obligatory for Muslims on the night of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj, during which Allah honored our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In a hadith recorded by Muslim: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was granted three things: He was given the five daily prayers…" [Moslim]. In another narration by At-Tirmidhi: "Allah granted him three things during that event, which were not given to any prophet before him..."  [At-Tirmidhi]. During this event, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led all the prophets in prayer as their Imam. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I saw myself in Al-Hijr, and Quraysh was asking me about my night journey. They asked me about things concerning Bayt Al-Maqdis that I could not recall, and I became so distressed as I had never been before. Then Allah raised it before me so I could see it, and I answered every question they asked about it. I also saw myself in the company of a group of prophets. Moses was there, praying—a man of dark complexion, with wavy hair, resembling the men of the Shanu’ah tribe. Jesus, the son of Mary, was also there, praying — of fair complexion, resembling the most similar among men to Urwah Ibn Mas’ud Ath-Thaqafi. Moreover, I saw Ibrahim, standing and praying — most resembling your companion (referring to himself). When the time for prayer came, I led them all in prayer." [Moslim].

One of the great honors bestowed on the night of Al-Isra and Al-Miraj is that prayer was initially prescribed as fifty prayers every day and night, then reduced to five prayers with the reward of fifty prayers. This was based on the suggestion of Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), advising him to request from Allah a reduction, saying: "Indeed, your nation will not be able to perform fifty prayers every day. By Allah, I have experienced people before you and have dealt with the Children of Israel with much difficulty. So, return to your Lord and ask Him for a reduction for your nation." [Al-Bukhari]. The Prophet (PBUH) asked, and Allah reduced it to five prayers. Then a caller announced, "I have decreed My obligation and reduced it for My servants." [Al-Bukhari].

The prayer was obligatory before the journey of Isra and Mi'raj as two rak'ahs in the morning and two rak'ahs in the evening. Ibn Hajar says: "There are many hadiths indicating that the Prophet (PBUH) used to pray in Makkah before the Isra and Mi'raj. However, it has been said that he was obligated to pray only two rak'ahs at the beginning of the day and two at the end of it, and then the five daily prayers were made obligatory on him during the night of Isra. This was stated by Muqatil and others. Qatadah said: "The beginning of prayer was two rak'ahs in the morning and two in the evening." [Ibn Rajab, Fath al-Bari/Vol.2/P.304].

What I want to focus on here is to clarify the importance and virtue of prayer in the religion of Islam, including:

First: Prayer is the first of the obligatory acts of worship, and it is the first thing a servant will be held accountable for on the Day of Judgment. Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: "On the Day of Judgment, the first thing a servant will be judged for, from among his deeds, is prayer. If it is sound, he will be successful and prosperous, and if it is corrupt, he will fail and be a loser. If there is any deficiency in his obligatory prayer, The Lord, Blessed and Exalted, will Say: "Look, does My servant have any voluntary prayers, so that he can complete what is deficient from the obligatory prayer?' Then his other deeds will be judged similarly." [At-Tirmidhi]

Second: Prayer is the last advice of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the last words of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) were: "Prayer, prayer! And fear Allah in those whom your right hands possess." [Abu Dawood]. It is also the last part of the religion that will be abandoned, meaning it will be the first worship of Allah that Muslims will leave behind. Abu Umama Al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "The bonds of Islam will be broken one by one, and whenever a bond is broken, people will hold fast to the next one. The first of them to be broken is judgment, and the last of them to be abandoned is prayer." [Ahmad]

Third: Prayer is the pillar of the religion. In a hadith narrated by Mu'adh Ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar, and the peak of its summit?" I said, "Yes: O Messenger of Allah." He replied: "The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and its peak is jihad." [Tirmidhi]. From this, it is clear that whoever establishes prayer has established the religion, and whoever neglects it has destroyed the religion.

Fourth: Whoever maintains the prayer has a covenant with Allah that He will admit them into Paradise, and whoever does not maintain it has no covenant with Allah. Allah may forgive them or may punish them. It is narrated by Ubadah Ibn Al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: "The five prayers are obligatory upon the servants of Allah. Whoever performs them without neglecting any of them out of disregard for their rights, has a covenant with Allah that He will admit them into Paradise. Whoever does not perform them has no covenant with Allah, and He may either punish them or admit them into Paradise." [Abu Dawood].

Fifth: In the Qur'an, we find that Allah The Almighty begins and ends the good deeds and acts of righteousness with prayer. Allah Says (What means): "Successful indeed are the believers, those who are humble in their prayers, and those who avoid vain talk, and those who give zakah, and those who guard their chastity, except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed they are not to be blamed. But whoever seeks beyond that, then they are the transgressors. And those who are true to their trusts and promises, and those who maintain their prayers. It is they who are the inheritors, who will inherit Al-Firdaus and they will abide therein eternally." [Al-Mu’minun/1-11].

Sixth: Prayer is obligatory for every adult, sane Muslim, under all circumstances:

• In times of peace and war, Allah says (What means): "And when you are among them and lead them in prayer, let one group of them stand with you and take their arms with them. And when they have prostrated, let them be behind you, and let another group who have not prayed come and pray with you, taking precautions and their arms with them. Those who disbelieve wish that you would neglect your weapons and your belongings, so they could attack you in a single charge. But there is no blame upon you if you are harmed by rain or are ill, that you may lay down your arms, but take precautions. Indeed, Allah has prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment." [An-Nisa/102].

- In times of health and illness, it was narrated from Imran Bin Husain (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I had hemorrhoids, so I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about prayer, and he said: (Pray while standing, and if you cannot, then while sitting, and if you cannot, then on your side.)" [Al-Bukhari].

- In times of residence and travel, Allah Says (What means):

"And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer if you fear that those who disbelieve may harm you. Indeed, the disbelievers are ever to you a clear enemy." [An-Nisa/ 101].

- Purification before prayer is obligatory for a Muslim, either through Ghusl (full ritual bath) if in a state of major impurity, or Wudu (ablution) in case of minor impurity. If one is unable to perform either, then Tayammum (dry ablution) is required. Allah Says (What means): "O you who have believed, when you rise for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state of major impurity, then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the restroom or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful." [Al-Ma'idah/6].

Islamic jurists have ruled that if a person is completely unable to perform any form of purification (neither Wudu, Ghusl, nor Tayammum), they must still perform the prayer and not abandon it. This condition is referred to as "the one who lacks both means of purification"

Seventh: The five daily prayers were assigned separately to some of the prophets and messengers, with each prayer being specific to a particular prophet or messenger. Then, these prayers were combined for our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his nation as an honor and distinction for them. It is mentioned in Mughni Al-Muhtaj (Vol.1/P.297): "Fajr was the prayer of Adam, Dhuhr was the prayer of Dawud, Asr was the prayer of Sulayman, Maghrib was the prayer of Yaqub, and Isha was the prayer of Yunus. A report has been narrated regarding this. Then Allah, The Almighty, combined all these prayers for our Prophet (PBUH) and his nation as a means of honoring him and increasing rewards for him and his followers."

Eighth: Islam commands the Muslim to perform prayer, which serves as a connection between him and his Lord, the Almighty. It also encourages performing congregational prayer, which strengthens the bond between Muslims and their Lord as well as among themselves, as they gather in the houses of Allah. Therefore, the command for prayer is sometimes given in the singular form and sometimes in the plural, as seen in the Words of Allah (What means): "Establish prayer at the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night and [also] the Qur’an at dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed." [Al-Isra/78] And His Words (What means): "And establish prayer and give Zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]." [Al-Baqarah/43] Moreover, the obligation of prayer is emphasized specifically for Muslims on Fridays, as Allah Says (What means): "O you who have believed, when [the call to] prayer is made on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew." [Al-Jumu'ah/9]

From this, it becomes clear that the miracle of Al-Isra and Al-Mi'raj is the miracle of prayer. A Muslim society in which prayer is established is a pure society loved by Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). That is why Allah Commanded us to maintain it, Saying (What means): "Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient." [Al-Baqarah/238] He also warned us against neglecting or abandoning it, Saying (What means): "But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil." [Maryam/59] And: "So woe to those who pray, [but] who are heedless of their prayer." [Al-Ma'un/4-5] The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever maintains it, it will be a light, proof, and salvation for him on the Day of Judgment. But whoever does not maintain it will have no light, no proof, and no salvation, and he will be with Qarun, Pharaoh, Haman, and Ubayy Ibn Khalaf on the Day of Judgment." [Ahmad].