Glorified is He (Allah) who did take His Servant for a journey by night from the sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did bless, in order that we might show him of Our Signs; for He is the All-Hearing the All-Seeing.” [XVII; 1].

Verily, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing; He hears His servants’ supplication and sees their conditions. The tenth year of the Holy Prophet’s mission was a year of grief, because of the death of his wife, Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her - the most truthful of all women, who sympathized with him at times of distress and consoled him at times of hardship with her self and wealth - and because of the death of his uncle Abu Talib, who had shown much nobility and truthfulness as a sponsor and supporter, after whose death Quraish did more harm to the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH).

In that same year, the holy Prophet (PBUH) went to Ta’if, a town near Makkah, calling its people to Islam and seeking their guidance. But they rejected his call most insolently, mocked him and even incited their fools to against him.

Beyond a shadow of doubt, the holy Prophet (PBUH) bore in that year many more troubles and hardships than any other human being could ever bear, unless he be a Prophet.

Such troubles and hardships, drove the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), to turn to Allah with prayer and invocation. He complained to Him about his weakness, helplessness and contempt.

Complaint to Allah and seeking refuge with Him bespeak manifest servitude and consciousness. He All High is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. Whosoever takes refuge with Him All Mighty is well protected, even if all creatures in the heavens and earth plot against him.

On that unique journey, Allah, Praise to Him, took His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Makkah to Jerusalem, and, then, raised him up in body and soul into the heavens, where the holy Prophet (PBUH) approached and came closer to the Lord All Mighty, Who revealed to him whatever He revealed. The Prophet’s heart did not lie in what he (PBUH) saw. Indeed he saw of the Greatest Signs of his Lord All Mighty.

In fact, the holy Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascension were not only a kind of redemption of the past injuries and encouragement for the holy Prophet but also reassurance of the future of the call to Islam and recompense by heavenly honor for earthly roughness and by Divine hospitality for cruelty of mankind.

In such a unique Divine journey, the holy Prophet saw that Allah was with him in His Care and Protection, and that He All Mighty conferred upon him an unmatched honor and let him know that he is the best of all mankind. He (PBUH) was made to see the Kingdom of the heavens and earth and even the world to come. Verily, he was made to see the Greatest Signs of his Lord.

Beyond a shadow of doubt, the Prophet’s miraculous journey was a most prominent event in Islamic history, because it was preceded by the Prophet’s Mission and followed by his Emigration to Madinah and later conquest of Makkah.

Now, the question is: what does this miraculous Journey teach us after Allah revealed Koranic verses thereon to be read till the Judgment Day?

In fact, the Prophet’s unmatched miraculous Journey embraces a great many significations!

*It teaches us that the present world is and abode of trial and not comfort, of hardship and not ease. He who knows it does not rejoice at weal or grieve at woe. Allah has made it an abode of test, and He has made the Hereafter an abode of recompense. He has made the test of the present world a reason for His recompense in the Hereafter, and He has made His repay in the Hereafter a recompense for the present world test. He takes in order to give; and tests to repay.

*It teaches us that trials and hardships are meant to drive people to the Way of Allah and cause them to turn to Him All Mighty with servitude and submission and incite them to pray to Him for Divine Help.

*It teaches us that hardships and obstacles should never prevent us from perseverance and firm resolution.

*It teaches us that so long as Allah is the Commander, He is no doubt the Protector, Supporter and Helper.

*It teaches us that without strife and perseverance, Allah would not have been worshipped on earth and Islam would not have spread all over the world, and that we would not be now celebrating Allah’s Oneness and Glory in this mosque.

*It teaches us that ease always comes with distress, that victory always comes with perseverance and that weal always comes with woe.

*It teaches us that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, honored the holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by this unmatched journey and ascension to bring him nearest to His Divine Self, and that He, All High, honored the nation of Islam by enjoining the Salat (prayers) on them as nearness and spiritual exaltation to Him, Lord of the heavens and earth.

*The Salat (prayer) was enjoined on the holy Prophet and his Muslim nation when he (PBUH) was nearest to Allah, Praise be to Him.

*The Salat was enjoined by direct revelation when the holy Prophet was at sidrat Al-Montaha (a late-tree of the Utmost Boundary over the seventh heavens beyond which none can pass), near the Paradise of Abode, where he approached and came closer and was at a distance of two bows’ length or even nearer.

*The Salat was enjoined because it is the Pillar of Islamic religion. He who performs the Salat firmly establishes religion; but he who neglects it destroys religion. This is because the essence of Islamic religion is: to be connected with Allah and to do good to His creatures. Truly, mankind are of two types, wretched and happy. The wretched ones are those who are disconnected with Allah, disobey him and do evil and injustice to His creatures. The happy ones are those who are connected with Allah, obey Him and do good to His creatures.

*The Salat was enjoined because it saves man from the world of illusion and falsehood to the world of Reality, and from the world of materialism to the world of values. It saves him from evil lusty desires to the ecstasy of nearness to the Lord All Mighty, from insane trivialities to sublime nobility, from degradation to exaltation. It changes to the better man’s status and rank in the present world and the world to come.

Mankind are, by nature, very impatient. They are irritable and discontented when befallen by evil and niggardly when visited by good. They take great care of their personal safety and wealth. Such a human frailty drives man to seek refuge with Allah and attain happiness thereby. Were man created self-sufficient, his self-sufficiency would incur wretchedness and mischief. However, those who are devoted to the salat are safe from such human weakness. Allah, Praise to Him, says, “Verily, man was created very impatient, irritable when evil touches him, and niggardly when good touches him, except those who are devoted to Salat (prayer).” [LXX; 19-22].

Allah, Glory be to Him, in the Divine Hadith, says, “I and the Jinn and mankind are in a great issue; I create, and others than are worshipped; I provide sustenance, and others than I are thanked. My good goes down to them, and their evil comes up to Me. I endear Myself to them by My Favors, and they cause Me to hate them by their misdeeds and they need Me most of all. Whosoever of them comes unto Me, I receive from far, and whosoever of them turns away from Me I call unto him from near. Those who remember Me are worthy of My Friendship. Those who are thankful to Me are worthy of My Increase. Those who disobey Me, I cause them not to despair of My Mercy. Should they repent, I be their Lover; but should they not repent, I be their Doctor: I try them with mischief in order to purify them from sins and defects. A good deed is recompensed ten folds by Me, but an evil deed is recompensed only one fold by Me, and I pardon. And I am more kind to My slave than a mother is to her babe.”

As Allah, Glorified and Exalted, desires it, Prayer is far from being mere physical movements and senseless murmurs.

*It is nearness to Allah All Mighty: “…Prostrate and draw near to Allah.” [XCVI; 19] with nearness there is submission.

*It is consciousness, “O you who believe! Approach not the Salat (prayer) when you are in a drunken state until you know (the meaning) of what you utter…” [IV; 43] With consciousness there is comprehension. The Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says, “Man is not recompensed for his Salat (prayer) except what he comprehends thereof.”

*The Salat is spiritual exaltation, “The Salat is the believer’s ascension (to Allah).” With spiritual exaltation there is discourse with Allah, Glory be to Him, “Were the worshipper to know to whom he talks, he would not get distracted (in prayer).” Had your eyes seen of Our Beauty that they have seen, You would not have turned away from Us to others.

Had your ears heard the Beauty of Our speech, You would have taken off the cloak of arrogance and come to Us. Had a breeze from near Us blown to you, You would have perished of alienation and yearning to Our nearness. Had you tasted of the sweetness of love a little bit, You would have excused him who has become captive of Our Love.

Had a Light of Ours Shone unto you, You would have quite all creatures for Our sake.

Whosoever comes unto Us willingly, We shall exalt him in honor, and rid him of worry, grief and distress.

But Whosoever deviates from us, Is far astray in work and cult, And will taste of deprivation and attain no hope.

However, the Salat will not be nearness, submission, comprehension, consciousness, ascension or supplication unless it is based on good knowledge of Allah, for it is impossible to invoke someone you do not know. The Salat will not be truthful unless it is preceded by adherence to Allah’s Commands and His holy Prophet’s Sunna, for it is impossible to seek nearness to someone you disobey. Verily ignorance is an obstacle, and disobedience is a barrier.

If we contemplate creation of the heavens and earth we know the Maker; if we carry out The Maker’s Commands, we worship Him. And if we know and worship Him, we achieve the purpose of our creation, “And I (Allah) created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (alone).” [LI; 56].

The Salat, therefore, is an accurate scale of man’s knowledge of Allah and worship to Him. To this effect, the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), says, “The parable of the enjoined Salat is that of a scale; he who gives full measure gets full measure.” In other words, he who performs prayer properly gets its fruits promised by Allah, All Mighty.

Now, what are the fruits of prayer which Allah has promised?

*It purifies the worshipper’s soul and grants him self-abstention from committing evil deeds and reprehensible actions on the basis of self-motivation rather them outer deterrence. To this effect, Allah All Mighty says, “Surely, prayer forbids indecency and dishonor; and Allah’s remembrance is greater…” [XXIX; 45] This verse denotes that Allah’s remembrance is the greatest fruit of prayer. Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, the venerable and well-known companion of the Prophet’s, one day wanted to try a shepherd who was tending his sheep, out of town. He said, “sell me this sheep, and I’ll give you money for it”. The shepherd said, “It’s not mine”. “Tell its owner that it has died”, said Omar. The man said nothing. Omar continued, “Tell its owner that it has been eaten by a wolf… , and I’ll give you money for it.” The man said: “By Allah! I am in bad need for its money; and if I said to its owner that it had died or had been eaten by a wolf, he would believe me, because I am honest and faithful in his sight…, but where is Allah?!!” Such abstention from coveted things is the fruit of Prayer.

*Prayer, besides its being purification, it is enlightenment for the believer, as confirmed by the holy Prophet. Allah All Mighty also says, “Is he who was dead, and We gave him life, and appointed for him a light to walk by among the people as one whose likeness is in the shadow, and comes not forth from them?” [VI; 122]. Such light is the fruit of prayer; by it man’s vision of things is corrected and rightly guided; and once vision is corrected, work becomes correct, too.

*Besides its being purification and enlightenment, prayer causes spiritual happiness, which can be achieved only by one’s being connected with the Lord All Mighty. To this effect, Allah, says “… and perform the prayer of My remembrance.” [XX; 14], “Surely, in Allah’s remembrance do rest the hearts (of those who believe).” [XIII; 28]

Whenever befallen by a serious matter, the holy Prophet (PBUH) would always hurry to prayer. He (PBUH) used to say: “O Bilal, relieve us with it (i.e. prayer).”

A’yshah, may Allah be pleased with her, also said, “The Messenger of Allah would be talking to us, and we talking to him, but when the time of prayer has come, he would be a complete stranger to us (as if he didn’t know us or we knew him).”

And may Allah be pleased with Sa’ad Ibn Abi Wakkas, the well known venerable companion, who said, “I am a real man in three things, and in other things I am an ordinary one; One of these three things is: I have never performed a prayer wherefrom I was distracted until I finish it.”

To sum up, we bring forth the Divine Hadith narrated by the holy Prophet (PBUH), in which Allah says, “Not everyone who performs prayer is a worshiper… but I accept prayer from him who humbles himself to My Majesty, holds back his desires from the things I consider as sacrosanct, does not insist on disobeying Me, feeds the hungry, clothes the bare, and has mercy on those in distress, and provides shelter for strangers. All this he does (only) for Me. (I swear) By My Might and Majesty! The light of his face is brighter to Me than sunlight; I shall turn for him ignorance into clemency, darkness into light. Should he invoke Me, I shall answer him. should he beg Me, I shall give him. should he swear by Me, I shall fulfill his oath. I shall protect him in My custody, and entrust him to My angels. He is for Me like Paradise, Whose fruit is always ripe, and whose state does not change.”

Prayer is the pillar of religion, the tight bond of true Faith, the best and foremost of all of man’s righteous deeds that bring him near to the Lord All Mighty. It is the paramount work of obedience and spiritual enhancement. It is the only repeated daily pillar of Islam, from which no Muslim is exempt. It is the basis of all acts of devotion, the origin of all the deeds that bring near to Allah, and the source of all acts of obedience. It is the basic and foremost pillar of Islam and the first thing that man will be questioned about on the Day of Resurrection and will never prosper without. To this effect, Allah, says, “Prosperous are the believers who in their prayer are humble.” [XXIII; 142]. Humbleness in prayer on the part of man before the Lord All Mighty is not a merit but a duty thereof.

It should be mentioned in this context that the Salat was one of Allah’s Favors that He bestowed upon mankind by virtue of the holy Prophet’s Night Journey and Ascension to the Lord All High.