The virtue of prayer

It is narrated from Silah bin Ashyam that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever prays two rak'ahs in such a way that no thought of the world comes into his heart, whatever he asks of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty will grant it to him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A servant has not been given anything in this world better for him than being granted the opportunity to pray two rak'ahs and then praying them."

Abu Hazim said: Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by a grave in which a dead person had just been buried. He said: "Two light rak'ahs, which you consider insignificant, are better in his sight than the whole world."

Abu Uthman said: A man bought an orchard in Madinah and made a profit of a hundred full palm trees from it. At this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you of something better than this? A man who performs ablution well and then prays two rak'ahs in a cave or at the foot of a mountain gains more than this."

Ka'b, concerning the saying of Allah Almighty: "Indeed, in this is a message for a people who worship" [Al-Anbiya: 106], said: This refers to the five prayers.

Abu Bakr bin Umarah bin Ruwaybah al-Thaqafi narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Umarah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever prays before the sun rises and before it sets will not enter Hell." A man from the people of Basra asked him, "Did you hear this saying yourself from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said, "I bear witness that I heard it myself from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); my ears heard it and my heart retained it."

Zirr said: We used to present the copies of the Qur'an to Sayyiduna Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) (may Allah be pleased with him). A man from Thaqif asked him, "O Abu Abd al-Rahman! Which deed is the most virtuous?" He said, "Prayer; and whoever does not pray has no religion."

Masruq said: Apart from being in the path of Allah, the time when a person's supplication is most likely to be answered is when, in prostration, his face is covered in dust.

Malik bin al-Harith said: I was told that Masruq used to say: Whoever is regular in these prayers will not be counted among the heedless, and in neglecting these prayers there is ruin.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever does not pray has committed disbelief.

Ali bin Thabit said: The sacrifice (qurban) of the God-fearing is prayer.