Why do Muslim Pray?

I used to ask myself this question a lot when i first embrace Islam...Why do Muslims pray? It always makes me wonder why on earth do people pray or worship God, why do human need religion?

Have you ever wonder why people of different faith also need to pray? Or why is it when a person befell with calamities or near death, they would seek higher supreme power for help?

You see, it is built in our conscience and innate nature (fitrah) that we would always have the need to rely on a higher authority.

Once upon a time our ancestors prayed to the trees, mountains, volcanos and what not with human sacrificial in order to seek peace and harmonious living. Some pray to the sea and rivers so that flood won't occur or to the sun so that drought would end. People would pray to pagan and idolatry in order to seek happiness and prosperity etc.

The fact is, everyone pray. Some pray to God, some pray to the deity, some pray to the spirit world and creature, some pray to the materialistic world, political leaders and bosses, some even pray themselves thinking that they are a god, etc. The truth is, everyone pray.

Without the correct knowledge, people would simply go and pray to things they thought are or have higher powers. They need to rely on something more superior than themselves.

It was through the Revelation of the Supreme Creator, the Almighty God has revealed to us through His many Messengers to educate us the proper way of Praying. And we should all be thankful and grateful to Him for His Revelations. It was through His Revelations that we were emancipated from all other superstitious beliefs.

For example, the Quran teaches us that the Prayers reminds the people of Allah and keeps them from all forms of evil:

"Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish solat. Solat precludes indecency and wrongdoing. And remembrance of Allah is greater still. Allah knows what you do." (QS 29:45)

Prayers softens the heart of a Muslim and it naturally prevents us from committing sins because it teaches and disciplines us to be humble.

"So be steadfast in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the Sun and before its setting. And glorify Him during part of the night and at both ends of the day, so that hopefully you will be pleased."(QS 20:130)

Meanwhile, in the hadiths, it teaches us on many things about prayers, for example:

Reported by Jabir Ibn Abdullah (r.a): The Prophet (pbuh) said: “The key to Paradise is prayer; the key to prayer is wudu (ablution).” (Musnad Ahmad)

"If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?" The people said, "No filth would remain on him whatsoever." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, "That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim)

How can someone who takes bath five times a day become dirty? The same applies to the five daily prayers; it cleanses and purifies the soul of a Muslim.

Throughout history, the many Prophets sent by God had taught us how to communicate with God through Do'a and Solat. Establishing prayers means performing this religious observance in the presence of our Almighty God by feeling His might and grandeur, with fear and respect.

With this action of Prayer, we have fulfilled a part of our innate requirement so that we could live our life to the fullest in a proper and righteous way without the feeling of an empty soul. Just like food, eating it fills our stomach. Praying fills our hungry soul...


Wallahu'alam