BENEFITS OF `SALAH`

BY MD. HADIUL ISLAM (FARUK) 

Now keep in mind Its meaning of `Ibadat` and think out as to what attributes are necessary to perform such a big `Ibadat` and how does Salah produce these qualities in a man.

Consciousness of being slave

First of all it is necessary to make yourself earnestly feel that you are 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 mans Nafs is a satan who continuously instigates him by saying:``You my slave``. And there are millions and millions and millions of satans spread all over the world and each one of them tells man:``You my slave``. The wizardry of these satans 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 fact before you start your daily work. When you are busy doing your job during the day, it reminds you of this fact three times. 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.

Since 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 Fard 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 a that even after realizing what is duty he does not care to perform it. 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  are police know how in both these services they are made to understands 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 don't 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 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 successor-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.