11-24-2003, 06:32 PM
The Prophet of Allah (saw) said, "The Head of the Matter is Islam and its Pillar is Salah [prayers] and the Peak of this Matter is Jihad."
So as you can see from the above Hadeeth of the Prophet, the Prayer is very important in Islam, Ali Ibn Abi Talib (ra) narrated that the last words that Allah's Messenger (saw) spoke were: "Prayer, Prayer and Fear Allah about those whom your right hands possess"
Ibn Abbas, sai'd bin Jubyr & others among the Salaf said that the good righteous deeds that last are the five daily Prayers ....{See Tafseer at-Tabaree}
Likewise the Prophet said, "Do you think that if there was a flowing river at the door of anyone of you and he bathed in it five times everyday, would there be any dirt on him? They said, "No, O Messenger of Allah!" He [The Prophet] said, "This is like the five daily Prayers, for Allah uses them to wipe away the sins and wrongdoings."