The importance of Salah

Salah is Farz and compulsory. One must do it 5 times per day and every day. Illness or travelling is not an excuse to neglect it. One must perform it under all circumstances. Besides being in the state of Haiz and Nifaas, a person does not have the right to leave it out under any circumstances. Sometimes, people make excuses that their bodies are not clean or their clothes are dirty. But these also are not valid excuses. There are principles that apply in these circumstances also so that a person may adopt them in order to perform his Salah. For example, let’s consider a case where a person finds himself in a place where there is no water within the distance of a mile or more. He does not have Wudhu or Ghusl. The clothes on his body are Napaak (impure). He does not have any other clothes nor does he have any means to wash the dirty clothes he is wearing. In such a condition also, he must not neglect his Salah. He must perform Tayammum in lieu of the Wudhu or Ghusl and he must perform Salah with those very unclean / dirty clothes. This also is not a valid excuse for neglecting Salah. Now, if after performing Salah, he reached a place where he find the means to purify himself, in this case, it is not necessary to repeat that Salah which he performed with his dirty clothes.

We should perform Salah and we should perform it in its prescribed time. We should not postpone any Salah. Many people have the habit of postponing Salah for reasons such as an engagement, a wedding or an outing. And they feel content when they replace it after its time. But we should understand that postponing a Salah from its time is a major sin that must be avoided at all costs. One will be reckoned for that by Allah Ta’ala. The first question to be asked on the day of Qiyaamah will be regarding Salah. If this is in order, then everything will go smoothly.

[English version of "L’importance namaz" – Al Jamiat – Vol.5 No.2]