Salah is the most important pillar of Islam, second only to the testimony of the Oneness of Allah. It’s the first duty ordained on every Messenger from Adam to Muhammad. Allah addressed the Prophet Musa saying: “Truly I am God, there is no god but I. So worship Me, and perform the prayer for the remembrance of Me.” (Qur’an: 20:14)
Salah is the hallmark of faith, integral to our faith, a sure means of salvation, and the key to paradise. The benefits of Salah are countless. Once we recognize the significance of Salah, we can never afford to neglect the Salah.
With this purpose in mind, let us mention the Ten Benefits of Salah:
1. Salah is the direct line of communication between man and Allah, the Creator and the Sovereign Lord. In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah refers to it as a dialogue and exchange between Him and His servant. Thus through Salah, we engage in communion with Allah without any intermediary or intercessory; it bestows dignity upon us and dispenses with all intermediaries who diminish our spiritual worth.
2. Salah is the hallmark of faith, as it is the mainstay that sets the believer apart from others.
3. Salah serves as the light illuminating a believer’s passage through the challenges and vicissitudes of the world. It thus saves him from being swept away by temptations that keep him away from the meaning and purpose of life. And in the next world, as they rise from the dead, thanks to the effects of Salah, light will shine forth from their front, back, right, and left as others are grope blindly, gripped by terror and fear.