Hearing this, the Prophet (s.

Hearing this, the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) then told them, "Five times a day, through Salaat, Allah (S.W.T.) purifies a persons soul, washing away all diseases of the Nafs and removing all stains of sin." In another incident, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) entered the mosque and noticed a man praying, who was careless in his performance of Ruku and Sajdah. The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) watched him and then said that if the man died not having corrected this flaw, he would not die a Muslim.

Another famous hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) regarding Salaat is as follows: "Prayer is like a pillar of a fortress. If the pillar is firm, the whole fortress will stand upright but if the pillar breaks then the entire structure would collapse." Thus, we can say that pillar is a foundation of our relationship with Allah (S.W.T.) and every other aspect is based on it. A final hadith regarding the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) will perhaps drive home the true status of prayer in the life of a Muslim.

One of the wives of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) says: "The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) used to converse with us but as soon as the time for prayer dawned, he would change as though he did not recognize us and hatily proceed towards Salaat. When he stood for prayer, the colour of his face would become pale in awe of Allah (S.W.T.). Humility and fear would reflect on his expression and he would stand for hours on end, praying, reciting du'a and munajaat." 2.

Hard work Since his childhood, (s.a.w.w.) was a very active person. When he was still with his foster mother - Halima - he once saw her other sons going out and asked her, "Where are my brothers going?" Halima explained that they were going to graze the sheep and the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) immediately insister that he wanted to join them. After that he would go out often and graze the sheep with them.

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.) had no respect for people who chose to be idle despite having the capability to work. A group of his companions once came across the following words in the Holy Qur'an: "Whoever obtains piety, Allah will open ways for him to solve his problems and bless him with sustenance." Upon reading this, they all stopped working and began to concentrate on praying.

When the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) heard of this, he asked them why they had done such a thing and the companions answered that it was because of the ayat they had read.