The Quest of a Curious Muslim — Page 6
WHY DO WE PRAY? 6 One way is that it becomes a safeguard against vices, and restrains us against indecency and evil (Holy Quran, 29:46). Just the act of worship five times a day is enough of a distraction from evil works that it becomes a safeguard. The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa once said that the five daily prayers are an expiation of sins, meaning that any sins committed in the time period between one prayer and the next are essentially purged when the person offers the next prayer. 1 Similarly, he likened the five daily prayers to taking a shower five times a day, and said, “Allah wipes out the sins with them”. 2 Another way that prayer helps is that it provides us comfort and anchors us in a world of so many distractions. The Quran reminds us: ا َ 6 7 ِ ﻳ ۡ ﻦ َ ا ٰ ﻣ َ ﻨ ُ ﻮ ۡ ا و َ ﺗ َ ﻄ ۡ ﻤ َ ﯩ J ﻦ K ﻗ ُ ﻠ ُ ﻮ ۡ هب ُ ُ ﻢ ۡ ﺑ ِ ﺬ ِ ﻛ ۡ ﺮ ِ ا Q ّ ٰ ِ ؕ ا َ ﻻ َ ﺑ ِ ﺬ ِ ﻛ ۡ ﺮ ِ ا Q ّ ٰ ِ ا ﺗ َ ﻄ ۡ ﻤ َ ﯩ J ﻦ K ا ﻟ ۡ ﻘ ُ ﻠ ُ ﻮ ۡ ب ُ ؕ ﴿ ۲۹ ﴾ That is, “Those who believe, and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Aye! It is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find