Dought & clear, - The status of prayer in Islam.

I hope that you can explain to us the status of prayer in Islam.
Praise be to Allaah.
Prayer occupies a great status in Islam that is not shared by any
other act of worship. This is indicated by the following:
1 – It is the pillar of the religion, which cannot stand without it.
According to a hadeeth narrated by Mu'aadh ibn Jabal (may Allaah be
pleased with him), the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you of the head of the
whole matter and its pillar and top?" I [Mu'aadh] said, "Yes, O
Messenger of Allaah." He said, "The head of the matter is Islam, its
pillar is prayer and its top is jihad." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2616;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2110.
2 – It is second in status to the Shahaadatayn (twin testimony of
faith) as further proof of the soundness of a person's belief and as
visible evidence of the beliefs that reside in the heart.
The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Islam is built on five [pillars]: the testimony that there is
no god but Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger,
establishing prayer, paying zakaah, performing pilgrimage to the
House, and fasting Ramadaan." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 8; Muslim, 16.
Establishing prayer means performing prayer in full with all its words
and actions, at the appointed times, as it says in the Qur'aan
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, As-Salaah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours"
[al-Nisa' 4:103]
i.e., at defined times.
3 – Prayer occupies a special position among other acts of worship
because of the way in which it was enjoined.
It was not brought down to earth by an angel, rather Allaah wanted to
bless His Messenger Muhammad(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) by taking him up to heaven and addressing him directly concerning
the obligation of prayer. This is something that is unique to prayer
among all the rituals of Islam.
Prayer was enjoined on the night of the Mi'raaj [Prophet's ascent to
heaven], approximately three years before the Hijrah.
Fifty prayers (per day) were enjoined at first, then the number was
reduced to five, but the reward of fifty remains. This is indicative
of Allaah's love of prayer and its great status.
4 – Allaah erases sins by means of prayer
Al-Bukhaari (528) and Muslim (667) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the
Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said –
and in the hadeeth of Bakr it is narrated that he heard the Messenger
of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say – "What do
you think if there was a river by the door of any one of you and he
bathed in it five times a day, would there be any trace of dirt left
on him?" They said, "No trace of dirt would be left on him." He said,
"That is like the five daily prayers, by means of which Allaah erases
sin."
5 – Prayer is the last part of religion to be lost, and if it is lost
the whole religion is lost.
It was narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Between a man and shirk [associating others with
Allaah] and kufr [disbelief] there stands his giving up prayer."
Narrated by Muslim, 82.
Hence the Muslim should be keen to perform the prayers on time, and
not be lazy or take the matter lightly. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"So woe unto those performers of Salaah (prayers) (hypocrites),
Those who delay their Salaah (prayer from their stated fixed times)"
[al-Maa'oon 107:4-5]
And Allaah warns those who cause their prayers to be lost by saying
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up
As-Salaat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaat (prayers) to be lost,
either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by
not offering them in their proper fixed times] and have followed
lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell"
[Maryam 19:59]
6 – Prayer is the first thing for which a person will be brought to
account on the Day of Resurrection:
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) say: "The first deed for which a person will be brought to
account on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayer. If it is good
then he will have prospered and succeeded, but if it is bad then he
will be doomed and have lost. If anything is lacking from his
obligatory prayers, the Lord will say, 'Look and see whether My slave
did any voluntary prayers, and make up the shortfall in his obligatory
prayers from that.' Then all his deeds will be dealt with likewise."
Narrated by al-Nasaa'i, 465; al-Tirmidhi, 413. Classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Jaami', 2573.
We ask Allaah to help us to remember Him, give thanks to Him and to
worship Him properly.
Reference:al-Salaahby Dr. al-Tayyaar, p. 16;Tawdeeh al-Ahkaamby
al-Bassaam, 1/371;Taareekh Mashroo'iyyat al-Salaahby al-Balooshi, p.
31.