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Prayer
And Forgiveness: The Five Obligatory Daily Prayers Erasing
All Sins
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals Arab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi
Abu Hurayrah states that he heard the Prophet (peace
be upon him) as he said to some of his companions:
“Suppose that a stream runs just outside a person’s
door, and he bathes there five times every day. How
much dirt is left on him?” They answered: “This will
make him absolutely clean.” He said: “This is exactly
the same with the five obligatory daily prayers. They
erase all sins.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
God has created us all with two parallel tendencies:
to steer a pious and God-fearing way of life or to
yield to temptation and fall in sin. He has given us
the ability to choose either way, and the will to
implement our choice so that our actions give credence
to what we profess. Our choices give our life its
color and character. The God-fearing way is one of
purity, cleanliness and aspiration to a higher level
of humanity. It translates into love for fellow human
beings, willingness to sacrifice one’s interests for
the common good, readiness to help those who need
help, and looking always to improve oneself
spiritually and materially. By contrast, sins impart
an air of impurity, selfishness, individualism and
profanity.
This is not to say that societies that are not based
on religious principles are devoid of good values.
Good moral values are universal. However, in a godless
environment, such values are thin, and people are
willing to shed them for slight material gain.
By its values and practices, Islam helps man to steer
a healthy and goodly life, aiming to bring out the
best in human beings. The five daily prayers God has
made obligatory to us, spread as they are along the
length of the day, are instrumental in helping us to
lead a life of piety and purity once we have made this
our choice. In the Hadith we have quoted the Prophet
(peace be upon him) describes how this is
accomplished. He begins with citing the example of a
person washing himself five times every day, using the
clean water of a stream running just outside his
doorstep. It is easy to get the water and easy to use
it for cleanliness. The Prophet asks his companions if
such a person is left with any dirt on his body. The
answer is readily given. Such a person is always very
clean.
The Prophet then compares prayers to this clean stream
and the physical dirt to the mental one produced by
sin. When Muslims stand up to perform prayers, they
address themselves to God. They had already performed
their ablutions which is a physical symbol of the
spiritual purity they achieve through prayers. They
address God, turning to Him in perfect submission,
stating that they worship Him alone and seek help from
no one other than Him. They appeal to Him to guide
them along His straight path. As this is repeated time
after time throughout the day, and every day of the
week, they maintain a constant and interactive
relation with God Almighty. This imparts real purity
to their whole life. Thus, they live in this world,
but they feel their close relation with the world
beyond, the world of God and the angels. They feel the
presence of God wherever they turn, and they realize
that they can seek His help whenever they need it,
knowing that it is handy and extended to them at all
times. They have perfect peace in their lives. They
are free of worry, fear and pressure. The dirt the
five daily prayers remove from them is not the
physical one washed off by the water of the stream, as
in the Prophet’s example, but it is the dirt that
attaches to souls and brings hardship to hearts and
minds.
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