نماز گناہوں کا کفارہ

Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "When the time for an obligatory prayer comes and a Muslim performs his ablution well, then offers the prayer with full humility and devotion and proper bowing and prostration, that prayer will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this blessing of prayer will remain available to him always." (Muslim)

In its reality, prayer is a life-giving act; it is in truth turning towards Allah and drawing near to Him with fear, awe, love and devotion. In prayer the servant is honoured with speaking to Allah; prayer is the first outpouring of our faith-consciousness. In reality prayer is the expression, through heart, tongue and body, of servitude and worship before one's Lord and of His greatness and majesty. Prayer is the remembrance of Allah, thanks for His favours, and praise and glorification of the Eternally Beautiful; it is the melody of the heart's instrument, the solace of the restless soul, the call of human nature, and the essence of our life.

Prayer is a universal reality; it is the nature not only of man but of all existing things — the existence and survival of no creature can be imagined without it. Thus the Qur'an states that the whole universe is engaged in glorifying Allah the Exalted: "Do you not see that whoever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and the birds with wings outspread (also glorify Him)? Each knows its own prayer and glorification, and Allah knows what they do." (An-Nur 41). The way the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens obey and glorify Allah is all within His knowledge. Is this not a warning to men and jinn that, having been given consciousness and free will by Allah, they ought to glorify, praise and obey Allah more than other creatures? Yet the matter is the reverse: other creatures are engaged in glorifying Allah, while the creature endowed with consciousness and will falls into neglect.

From this noble hadith we learn that such is the effect and blessing of prayer that it becomes an expiation for previous sins and washes away the filth of former sins — on the condition that the person is not stained with major sins, because the impurity of major sins is so gross and its foul effects so deep that they can be removed only by repentance.

In one hadith it comes that whoever guards his prayer, it will be for him light, proof and salvation on the Day of Judgement; and whoever does not guard it will have no light, no proof and no salvation, and on the Day of Judgement he will be with Qarun, Pharaoh, Haman and Ubayy ibn Khalaf (people disobedient and rebellious against Allah). (Reported by Musnad Ahmad, Darimi, Bayhaqi.)

That is, when a person offers his prayer properly and with full care, not praying carelessly and inattentively but striving to keep his prayer correct in both its outward and inward aspects, then this prayer becomes for him light and proof in this world and will avail him in the Hereafter too. Such prayer saves people in this world from the evils that would divert them from the right path and destroy them; in the Hereafter too, through it he will deserve salvation and Allah's mercy. Prayer is salvation and light itself. Those heedless of prayer are in reality in darkness; neither is their mind granted the light that could be called proof, nor does their heart possess the light that could be termed radiance. When this is their condition in this world, how can any better condition be expected for them in the Hereafter?

Alas, what misfortune it is that, despite these sayings of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about prayer, a large portion of the Ummah is today heedless of prayer and, being careless, is depriving itself of Allah's mercy, kindness and favours and ruining its world and its Hereafter.