Salah is an act of worship involving prayer and remembrance of Allah, which is to be established at specific times and has significant spiritual benefits.
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Commandment to Establish Prayer
The Quran commands believers to establish prayer and give zakah.1,2Establishing prayer and giving zakah, and obeying the Messenger, may lead to receiving mercy.3Those who establish prayer, give zakah, and are certain of the Hereafter are described in the Quran.4
Times and Performance of Prayer
The Quran instructs to establish prayer at the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night, and also the Qur'an of dawn, noting that the recitation of dawn is ever witnessed.5,6The Quran also mentions establishing prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night, stating that good deeds do away with misdeeds.7In a hadith reported by Anas, the Prophet ﷺ said that if anyone forgets a prayer, they should pray it when they remember it, as there is no expiation except to pray the same.8
Significance and Benefits of Prayer
In a hadith reported by Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that the five prayers, and from one Friday prayer to the next Friday prayer, are an expiation for sins committed in between, if major sins are not committed.9,10The Prophet ﷺ gave the example of five daily baths in a river at one's door, stating that no dirt would be left, and added that this is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out evil deeds.11
Congregational Prayer
In a hadith reported by Abu Huraira, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that prayer said in a congregation is equivalent to twenty-five prayers compared with the prayer said by a single person.12Another hadith reported by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri states that prayer in congregation is equivalent to twenty-five prayers, and if one prays in a jungle and performs its bowing and prostrations perfectly, it becomes equivalent to fifty prayers.13