The Ahlul Bayt’s Love for Salah

The Holy Prophet and the Imams adored worship and they loved Salah more than any other action because it was the best act of worship. The Holy Prophet states:

‘Allah, Exalted be His Praise, has made Salah the light of my eyes and has made Salah as beloved to me as food is to a hungry man and water is to a thirsty man. The hungry man, however, is satisfied when he eats, and the thirsty man is quenched when he drinks, but I can never be satisfied by my Salah.’

Out of intense love and gratitude to Allah, the Holy Prophet engaged in long hours of worship through the night. A’ishah, one of the wives of the Holy Prophet, narrates that the Prophet would stand in prayer for so long that his feet would swell. When she questioned his actions, the Holy Prophet replied:

‘Should I not strive to be a grateful servant [of Allah]?’

Lady Fatimah (S) followed her father’s example in his love for Salah. Hasan al-Basri, a companion of the Holy Prophet, states that, ‘Amongst the Ummah, there has been no one more devoted [to prayer] than Fatimah; she would stand so long [in prayer] that both her feet would swell.’ The Holy Prophet himself praises the worship of Lady Fatimah (S) saying:

‘As for my daughter Fatimah, she would stand before Allah, the Exalted, while her light was as brilliantly evident for the angels as the stars are for the people of the Earth, and Allah would say to the angels, “Look at how my servant, Fatimah, the princess of My servants, is trembling out of fear before Me and is wholeheartedly worshipping Me.”’

The Holy Imams similarly devoted their nights to prayer, worshipping Allah so tirelessly that their palms were coarse, their foreheads were bruised from long prostrations, and their ankles and feet were swollen. When they prayed, their faces grew pale in their humility and fear of Allah and they wept in prostration before the Almighty.

Their connection with Allah through Salah was so profound that even as the time of Salah approached, they trembled in anticipation of their meeting with Allah. When Imam Hasan (A) was asked why his face paled and his body shook as he performed Wudhu and prepared for prayer, he replied:

‘It is only fitting for one who stands before the Lord of the Throne that his face should change colour and his joints should tremble.’

During his Salah, Imam Ali (A) was so absorbed in his longing and love for Allah that he did not even feel the pain when an arrow was once pulled out of his leg during Salah. The arrow had struck the Imam during the Battle of Siffin and the pain was so agonising that the arrow could not be removed. Following the advice of Imam Hasan (A), the companions removed the arrow whilst Imam Ali (A) was engaged in prayer; the Imam was so deeply focused on his worship that he did not even notice.