The prayer as such has extraordinary power to make us attain to greater and greater heights of obedience and worship, which is quite obvious. Consider now how much more enriched it becomes, how greatly its efficacy increases in transforming us, when the prayer is performed in congregation. Indeed, in this one single act of prayer, Allah (SWT) has given us His choicest gift.

But first, recollect what worship is and how the prayer prepares us for it. Worship means making yourself slaves of Allah (SWT), living in submission to His will, and remaining always ready to obey Him. The qualities that enable you to attain this state of worship are all developed by the prayer. These are consciousness of being a slave to Allah (SWT); faith in Allah (SWT), in His Messenger and His Book; belief in the live to come; fear of Allah (SWT); awareness that Allah (SWT) knows everything and is always close to you; strength of will and preparedness to obey Him; and knowledge of His commandments.

1. D. Fellowship

Again, you see and meet each other not like enemies or strangers, but like friends and brothers. As such, when you notice that one brother is in ragged clothes, another seems unhappy, another does not have enough to eat, while others are disabled, crippled, or blind. Inevitably, compassion is aroused in your hearts. Those of you who are well-off will help the poor and needy; the afflicted will find the courage to approach the rich; you will visit those who, for some reason, cannot get to the mosque; and if one of our brothers dies, you will also join in his funeral prayer and share the grief of the bereaved family. All these things strengthen the spirit of mutual affection and make you mutual helpers.

1. E. The sacred purpose

Think further. You have gathered at a sacred place for a sacred purpose. This is not an assembly of thieves, drunkards, gamblers, or exploiters, but a gathering of slaves of Allah for the purpose of worshipping Allah in Allah’s house. In such settings, a sincere person would, automatically, feel ashamed of his sins. But his shame would be overwhelming, and he would particularly want to repent if any of those who were affected by his sin or who witnessed it were gathered with him. Indeed, the blessings of congregational prayer will multiply manifold if you also know how to counsel each other and help each other in correcting yourselves, with sympathy, love, and understanding. Individual deficiencies will then easily be removed, and the whole community will quickly grow together in virtue and piety.

1. F. Brotherhood

This is how merely getting together to pray benefits you. But there are many more blessings in the way the congregational prayers are performed. You stand in a row, shoulder to shoulder with each other. No one is higher or lower in status than his neighbor. In the Divine court, in the presence of Allah (SWT), you all belong to one class, you all have the same status. Nobody feels polluted if a fellow-worshipper’s hand or body touches him. We are equally pure because we are all human beings. We are all slaves of Allah and believers in one Din.

All ethnic and linguistic prejudices are also destroyed. Although there are differences among Muslims in family, tribe, and country, some are Sayyid, some are Pathan, some are Rajput, some are Jat, some belong to one country and some to another, some speak one language and another, yet all stand in one row, worshipping Allah. This signifies that you are one people, belong to one nation. Divisions on family, tribal, or national lines have no basis whatever. What binds you together is that you all serve and worship Allah. When you are in one prayer, why should you be divided about other things?

1. G. Uniformity in movement

Again, when you stand shoulder to shoulder with each other, you look like an army presenting itself for service before its monarch.  By standing in a line and by making movements in unison, a remarkable spirit of unity develops in your minds. You are made to do this practice, to become one in the service of Allah, in such a manner that all of you raise your hands together and move your feet together as if you are not ten, twenty, one hundred, or one thousand people, but have become one person.

1. H. Uniformity in prayers

What do you do after standing together in one line? With one voice, you submit to your Master: Iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka nasta’in (Thee alone do we worship. Thee alone do we ask for help). Ihdinas-siratal mustaqin (Guide us to the straight path). Rabbana lakal hamd (Our God! All praise is for Thee only). Assalamu ‘alaina wa ‘ala ‘ibadillahis-salihin (Peace be upon us and on all true servants of God). Then, when you finish the prayer, you pray thus for peace, mercy, and grace upon each other. Assalamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullah (Peace be on you all, and the mercy of God).

This means that all of us wish each other well. Everyone unites to pray to one Master for the well-being of all. None of us is alone and by himself. None of us asks for everything for himself only. Everybody’s wish is that Allah’s benevolence be bestowed on all, that all be granted the ability to walk on the one straight path, and that all share the blessings of Allah. In this way, the prayer unites your hearts, creates harmony in your thoughts, and develops among you in relationship of well-wishing towards each other.   (To be continued)

Abul A’la Maududi