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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Culture and Religious Studies Book - 1 Lesson 22 : Praying Salat in Congregation Afif the son of Qays was sitting with Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib when he saw a man approach the Holy Ka'abah. The man stood facing the Holy house, a youth and a woman came and stood behind him. When the man bowed, the youth and woman bowed too and when he prostrated on the ground, they followed him in action.

Afif turned to Abbas and asked him if he knew who the man was and what he was doing. Abbas replied "O Afif! The man standing right in front is Muhammad, son of Abdullah. And the handsome boy is Ali, son of Abu Taalib. That lady is Khadija, wife of Muhammad. Muhammad says that he has been given divine orders from the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and that he has been bestowed with the Risalah so as to guide mankind to the right path.

"He also says 'Allah (S.W.T.) has commanded me to enjoin mankind towards the virtues of prayers.' and thus they pray in congregation in this manner." It is true that the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.w.) enlightened us towards the worship of Allah (S.W.T.) and taught us the beautiful form of Salaat. He taught us that, "Prayer is only in congregation". This means that we must attempt to pray in congregation at all times and should only pray alone if the circumstances force us to.

Islam encourages peace, love, harmony, co-operation and social interaction with between Muslims so as to create unity and brotherhood amongst them. Such encouragement towards communal practices can be seen in all acts of Ebaadah. Prayer in particular is one of the most adorable acts of worship, especially when performed in congregation. The history of Islam clearly shows that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.)'s constantly advised his followers to pray in Jama'at (Congregation).

During his Be'that, he guided the Muslims to not only pray for one another but love and care for each other in order to spread the true word of Islam. This unity allowed the Muslims to withstand all the tortures and attacks from the Kuffar. In fact, they loved to pray together so much that several incidents are found where they followed the Prophet (s.a.w.w.) up the mountains so that they could pray behind him in Jam'aat.

Even in midst of battles, they tried not to miss a single opportunity of praying in congregation. One of the greatest examples of the importance of Salaat is that shown to us on the day of Ashoora.