Even at the end of the day and before sliding into the...

Even at the end of the day and before sliding into the relaxing comforts of his bed, he engages himself in communion with his Lord, illuminating his heart with His Light. In addition to the above, as he engages himself in the preliminaries of the prayers, he washes and cleans himself and keeps away usurped and forbidden things from himself after which he proceeds to present himself before his Friend.

All these things effectively serve as a deterrent, preventing him from treading the path of indecency and evil. But ultimately, every prayer shall only keep one away from evil and indecency in the same measure as the conditions of perfection and the spirit of worship, which it happens to possess. At times it keeps one away from evil, completely and wholly, whereas at other times it does so partially and incompletely.

It is impossible that a person offers his ritual prayers correctly but they do not have any effect on him – however superficial the prayer and however polluted the person. Obviously, the effects of such prayers are less, but had such individuals not been offering these prayers, they might have been in a much more polluted state.

Stating this more clearly, ‘refraining from indecency and evil’ possesses numerous levels and ranks, and every ritual prayer, depending upon the conditions of the prayers that have been taken into consideration (while offering it), possesses some of these ranks. It has been reported in a tradition that a youth from the Ansar (Helpers) used to offer his prayers with the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a), but despite this, he was prone to committing sins and evil deeds.

When this was brought to the notice of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.a), he said: إِنَّ صَلاَتَهُ تَنْهاهُ يَوْماً “His prayers deter him one day.” (2) This effect of the ritual prayers is so significant that some of the traditions refer to it as a gauge for distinguishing the accepted prayers from those that that are not.