BENEFITS OF 'SALAH'

Now keep in mind this meaning of ilbadat and think out as to what attributes are necessary to perform such a big lbadat and how does Salah produce thew qualities in a man.

Consciousness of being Slave

First of all it is necessary to make yourself earnestly feel that you arc a slave of God and that you have to maintain subservience to Him every moment of your life and in every work you do. This continuous reminding is necessitated by the fact that concealed in man's Nafs is a sawn who continuously instigates him by saying : "You are my slave there are millions and millions of satans spread sill over the world and each one of them tells man : "You are my slave". The wizardry of these safaris cannot be

smashed unless man reminds himself several times in a day that he is not a slave of satan but of God. This work of admonition is performed by Salah Soon after you get up in the morning, Salah reminds you of this very tact before you start your daily work. When you are busy doing your job owing the day, it reminds you of this fact three tunes and when you are about to go to bed, this admonition is repeated for the last time. This is the first benefit of Salah and on this basis Salah is described as "Remembrance" in the Quran, that is to say, it is remembrance of God.

Sense of Duty

Sine at every step in your life you have to carry out the commandments of God, it is also necessary that you develop in yourself the quality of identifying what is lard and along with it cultivate the habit of performing it with alacrity. One who does not even know what duty implies, cannot become a dutiful person. So is the case of the person who understands its meaning but his training is so defective that even after realizing what duty he does not care to perform it is. Obviously, he can never be expected to actively carry out numerous orders given to him during the twenty-four hours of day and night.

Practice of obedience

Those who had occasion to serve in the Army or Police know how in both these services they are made to understand and practice duty. Bugle is blown several times during day and night. Sepoys are ordered to gather at a place where they are made to do parade. All this is done to accustom them to carry out orders and to dismiss them from service in the very beginning those who have proved themselves unfit by being so lazy and useless as to stay at home even after hearing the sound of the bugle or those who do not march in the parade according to orders. Thus in the same manner the call for Salah is raised five times a day so that on hearing it Allah's soldiers briskly gather from all sides and prove that they are active in obeying the commandments of Allah. That Muslim who does not move from his place after hearing the call, in fact proves that either he does not even understand what is duty or if he does understand it, he is so stupid and worthless that he is quite unfit to remain in the army of Allah.

It was for this very reason that the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) said : "I feel like going and setting fire to the houses of those who do not stir out after hearing the sound of Adhan". And this is why in a Hadith Salah has been made a line of demarcation between Kufr and Islam. During the period of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) and his successsor-companions no person was considered a Muslim unless he joined the congregational Salah so much that even hypocrites were not rebuked for not performing Salah but for the half-hearted and tardy manner of their getting up for Salah. .

“When they stand up to worship- they perform it languidly." (4: 42)

From this it is clear that there is no room in Islam for a person to be considered Muslim who does not perform Salah because Islam is not a mere matter of faith but a practical creed so much so that a Muslim has to practise Islam and struggle against Kufr and evil every moment of his life. For leading such a strenuous practical life it is essential for a Muslim to be always brisk in carrying out the Divine Injunctions. Whoever is devoid of this briskness is totally useless for Islam. That is why Salah has been compulsory five times in a day so that those who claim to be Muslims are tested again and again to know whether or not they are really Muslim and whether or not they are actually vigorous in obeying the commandments of God in their practical life. If they do not stir on hearing the bugle for the Godly parade, it becomes clearly known that they are not ready for the practical life of Islam After this, their belief in the messenger is absolutely meaningless. That is why it is said in the Quran:

"And truly it (Salah) is - hard save for the humble minded." (Z 45)

This means that Salah is hard only on those who are not ready for leading a life of obedience to God, and that one on whom Salah is hard, himself provides the proof of not being fit for the servitude and obedience of God.

Creating fear of God

The third factor is the fear of God which is necessary to be kept alive in the heart uninterruptedly. A Muslim can never practise Islam unless he believes that God is watching him all the time at every place, that God is aware of every action of his, that God sees him even in darkness and that God is with him even when he is alone. It is possible to hide oneself from the whole world but it is impossible to be concealed from God A man can escape from the punishments of the whole world but it is impossible to escape from the punishments of God. It is this belief which restrains man from violating the injunctions of God. It is on the strength of this belief that he is compelled to observe those limits of Halal and Haram which Allah has imposed in the affairs of life. If this belief is weakened, a Muslim can never lead the life of a Muslim in its true sense. For this reason Allah has made compulsory five-time Salah every day so that it keeps on strengthening this belief in the heart of the faithful. God has Himself thus described in the Quran this benefit of Salah:

 "Salah prevents nan from evil and lewdness." (A: 45)

With a Iitte thought you can yourself undersund the mason. behiad this process. For instance, Salah is offered when yotit are clean and have done *Ws. But if your body is filthy and you have not taken a bath, or if your clothes are unclean and you have not changed them or if you have not done Wudu', but claim that you have done it and so offer Satah, who is there in the world to catch you? But you never do such a thing. Why? Because you are sure that this sin cannot be concealed from God_ Similarly, if what is recited in a low tone in Salah is not recited at all, nobody will know about it, but you never do it Why? Because you believe that God hears everything and He is nearer to you than your jugular vein. In the same way, you say Salah in the jungle as also in your house when you are alone, although nobody is there to see you offering Salah nor can anybody know, that you ha% e not performed Saiali_ What is the reason for this? Only this that you are afraid of violating God's commandment even in concealment and are certain that it is impossible to hide any crime from Him. From this you can judge how Sala) evokes and revives in the heart of man fear of God and the belief in His being Omnipresent. Seer and Knower. How can you perform 'Ibadat and servitude of God throughout the twenty-four hours of day and night unless this fear and this belief are revived continuously in your heart? If your heart is devoid of this feline, how is it possible for you to adhere to goodness and avoid evil for. fear of God in the course of affairs you have to deal with day and night in this world_

Awareness of Divine Law

The fourth thing that is extremely necessary for Ibadat is that you should be aware of Divine Law because if you have no knowledge of law at all, how can you follow it? This task

is also fulfilled through Salah. The Quran that is recited in the Salah is intended to keep you informed of the commandments and law of God. The Friday sermon is also meant for acquainting you with Islamic teaching. One of the advantages of congregational Salah and Friday Salah is that scholars and commonmen keep on assembling at one place and thus an opportunity is provided to the participants of prayers to know the commandments of God. Now this is your misfortune that you do not try to know what you recite in the Salah. The sermons read out to you from the pulpit on Fridays are such that you do not acquire from them any knowledge of Islam. And when you gather for Salah neither your scholars teach anything to the ignorant among you nor do the latter seek any knowledge from their brothers. Salah provides you an opportunity to derive all these benefits. if you do not avail yourselves of it, how can Salah be blamed?

Practice of Collectivism

The fifth thing is that no Muslim should be left alone in this tumult of life. All Muslims should get together and constitute a strong community and help each other in establishing the system of the lbadat of God, i.e. in enforcing adherence to His commandments, in following His law and promulgating it in the world. You know that in this life there are on one side Muslims, i.e. the obedient slaves of God and on the other, unbelievers, i.e. the rebellious ones. Struggle goes on all the time between obedience and rebellion. The rebels break law of God and enforce against it satanic laws. If every Muslim is isolated, he cannot single-handedly succeed in opposing this transgression. It is, therefore, necessary for the obedient slaves of God to get together to smash this revolt with their collective strength, and enforce the law of God. Salah is the greatest instrument to build up this collective strength. The daily-five-time congregational Salah, then the big congregation of Friday, then the congregation of two 'Ids-all these combined make the Muslims like a strong wall and create in them that singleness of purpose and practical unity which are necessary to make of purpose and practical unity which are necessary to make them helpers of each other in the day-to-day practical life.