History and types of prayers with their importance

Prayer is a form of worship and is the second pillar of Islam after Shahada. It is
performed 5 times daily and it is revealed to be mandatory in the Quran and was
taught by the Prophet (PBUH)
Eleven years after prophethood, Gibrail had taken the Prophet up into heaven
where he met Allah. This journey to the heaven is known as Mi’raaj. This was
when Allah had urged fifty prayers to be performed daily. Then the Prophet
kept requesting Allah to reduce it as his Ummah would not be able to bear fifty
prayers daily. It was then decreased to five daily prayers.
There are four different types of prayers in Islam, including Fard (obligatory
prayers), Wajib (required prayers), Sunnat and Nafl (voluntary prayers). One of
the obligatory prayers is Fajr which is also known as the morning prayer. A
hadith states, “Whoever performs the Prayer before the rising of the sun and
the Prayer before its setting will not enter Hell.” (Muslim) This hadith clearly
states the importance of performing Fajr and Maghrib prayer in regularity. Also,
Angels are sent down by Allah to witness Fajr prayer being offered.
The afternoon prayer or Zuhr prayer is composed of 10 rakahs. A hadith
narrates the importance of offering Zuhr prayer, “Whoever observes the
practice of performing four rakaats before Dhuhr Salah and four (2 Sunnah,
2 Nafl) after the Dhuhr prayer, Allah will send him against the Fire (of
Hell).” (Tirmidhi) Another importance is that during this time, the gates of
heaven are opened and one should do good deeds. The third prayer is performed
during the evening which is Asr. In hadith Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said:
“This prayer (salat ul Asr) was ever obliged to the people before you, but they
wasted it. So, whoever keeps this prayer, hence for him the reward is doubled
“(Muslim)
The fourth prayer is the Maghrib prayer that is performed during sunset. The
Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever prays six rakahs after maghrib and does
not speak evil (bad) between them they will be made equivalent to twelve years
worship.” At last is the Esha prayer or the night prayer. The Prophet (PBUH)
said, “If people knew about the reward for the Isha and Fajr prayer, they
would come (to the mosques) even if they had to crawl.”
Prayer is nothing but a way to communicate with Allah. He has not made us go
through anything that we cannot bear and given us innumerable ways to find
our way back to him. The Prophet (PBUH) referred to prayers as gifts for a
reason.