Qur’an verses and hadith about prayer
The five daily prayers — what they ask of the one who keeps them, and what the passages here say is promised in return. Each one carries its full source and a short explanation of what it was answering.
- The most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little.Sahih al-Bukhari 6464
- Supplication is worship.Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3372
- The first thing for which a servant will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection is his prayer. If it is sound, he has succeeded; if it is deficient, he has failed and lost.Sunan al-Tirmidhi 413
- The five daily prayers, and one Friday to the next, are an expiation for what lies between them, so long as major sins are avoided.Sahih Muslim 233
- The coolness of my eyes has been placed in prayer.Sunan an-Nasa'i 3940
- Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing.Quran 29:45
- Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah, hearts are assured.Quran 13:28
- And seek help through patience and prayer.Quran 2:45
- Worship Me, and establish prayer for My remembrance.Quran 20:14
- He has succeeded who purifies himself, and mentions the name of his Lord and prays.Quran 87:14-15
- Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds.Quran 11:114
- My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and from my descendants. Our Lord, accept my supplication.Quran 14:40
- And enjoin prayer upon your family, and be steadfast therein.Quran 20:132
- Maintain with care the prayers, and stand before Allah devoutly obedient.Quran 2:238
- Pray to your Lord, and sacrifice.Quran 108:2
- Worship Allah, and be among the grateful.Quran 39:66
- Certainly will the believers have succeeded: they who are during their prayer humbly submissive.Quran 23:1-2
- The observers of prayer, those who are constant in their prayer.Quran 70:22-23
- Establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger, that you may receive mercy.Quran 24:56
- He has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive.Quran 19:31
- Bow and prostrate and worship your Lord, and do good, that you may succeed.Quran 22:77
- And from the night, pray as additional worship for you; perhaps your Lord will raise you to a praised station.Quran 17:79
- Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth.Quran 3:191
- And remember the name of your Lord, and devote yourself to Him with complete devotion.Quran 73:8
- Remember Allah standing, sitting, or lying on your sides. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers at specified times.Quran 4:103
- Truly in the heart there is a void that cannot be removed except with the company of Allah.Ibn al-Qayyim
- The heart on its journey to Allah is like a bird: love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings.Ibn al-Qayyim (Madarij al-Salikin)
- These hearts are only vessels — so occupy them with the Qur’an, and do not occupy them with anything else.Abdullah ibn Masud
- Remembrance is to the heart what water is to a fish — so what becomes of the fish when it leaves the water?Ibn Taymiyyah
- “Abu Sa‘id, I complain to you of a hard heart.” He said: “Melt it with remembrance.”al-Hasan al-Basri
- To spend the night asleep and wake up regretful is dearer to me than to spend the night in prayer and wake up pleased with myself.Mutarrif ibn Abdullah
- The most important of your affairs, to me, is the prayer. Whoever guards it and keeps to it has guarded his religion, and whoever neglects it will neglect everything else even more.Umar ibn al-Khattab
- A servant stands before Allah twice: once in prayer, and once on the Day he meets Him. Whoever gives the first standing its due will find the second made easy.Ibn al-Qayyim (al-Fawaid)
- Look for the sweetness in prayer, in the Qur’an and in remembrance. If you find it, carry on and rejoice; if you do not, know that the door is shut.al-Hasan al-Basri
- Whenever ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn made wudu, he turned pale. His family asked, “What is this that comes over you at wudu?” He said, “Do you know before whom I am about to stand?”Ali ibn al-Husayn
- I place the Ka‘bah between my eyebrows, the Bridge beneath my feet, Paradise on my right, the Fire on my left and the Angel of Death behind me, and I think of it as my last prayer.Hatim al-Asamm
- For thirty years, the muezzin has not called the adhan without my already being in the mosque.Said ibn al-Musayyib
- If you load your heart with the worries and burdens of this world and neglect its daily devotions — its food and life — you are like a traveller who overloads his mount and does not feed it. How quickly it will stop beneath him.Ibn al-Qayyim (al-Fawaid)
- Hearts have times of eagerness and turning towards, and times of weariness and turning away. So make the most of them when they are eager, and leave them be when they are weary.Abdullah ibn Masud
Questions on this
- When are the five daily prayers?Qur’an 17:78 · Sahih Muslim 612
- How do I make wudū’?Qur’an 5:6 · Sahih Muslim 223
- What do I do about all the prayers I’ve missed?Qur’an 20:14 · Sahih al-Bukhari 597
- Can I pray before I’ve learned Arabic?Qur’an 2:286 · Sunan Abi Dawud 832
- Do I have to pray in a mosque?Qur’an 62:9 · Sahih al-Bukhari 645
- How do I pray when I'm travelling?Qur’an 4:101 · Qur’an 4:103