18 Islamic quotes about prayer, salah: what the Quran says about it, how the Prophet ﷺ spoke of it, and why it was his comfort. Each card gives its exact source. Copy a quote, or make an image to share.
إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ
Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.
Said to Musa at the burning bush: prayer is for the remembrance of Allah.
إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ
Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater.
Quran 29:45, Surah Al-Ankabut, part of the ayah
A prayer done well keeps a person away from what is shameful.
وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَٰشِعِينَ
And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah].
Patience and prayer together are the help a believer leans on.
حَٰفِظُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٰتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا۟ لِلَّهِ قَٰنِتِينَ
Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle prayer and stand before Allah, devoutly obedient.
Guard the prayers, especially the middle prayer, which most scholars say is Asr.
إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَٰبًۭا مَّوْقُوتًۭا
Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.
Quran 4:103, Surah An-Nisa, part of the ayah
Each prayer has its time. See today's times on our prayer times page.
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿١﴾ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَٰشِعُونَ
Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
Quran 23:1-2, Surah Al-Muminun
The first quality of the successful believers: humility in their prayer.
وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ طَرَفَىِ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًۭا مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ذِكْرَىٰ لِلذَّٰكِرِينَ
And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.
Good deeds wipe out bad ones, and the prayers come first among them.
رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ
My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.
The dua of Ibrahim for himself and his children.
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ صَلَاتُهُ، فَإِنْ صَلَحَتْ فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ وَأَنْجَحَ، وَإِنْ فَسَدَتْ فَقَدْ خَابَ وَخَسِرَ
The first of his deeds that a servant will be asked about on the Day of Resurrection is his prayer. If it is sound, he has succeeded and prospered; if it is corrupt, he has failed and lost.
Jami at-Tirmidhi and Sunan an-Nasai, narrated by Abu Hurayrah. Graded sahih by al-Albani
أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ أَنَّ نَهَرًا بِبَابِ أَحَدِكُمْ يَغْتَسِلُ فِيهِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ خَمْسًا، هَلْ يَبْقَى مِنْ دَرَنِهِ شَيْءٌ؟ قَالُوا: لَا يَبْقَى مِنْ دَرَنِهِ شَيْءٌ، قَالَ: فَذَلِكَ مِثْلُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ، يَمْحُو اللَّهُ بِهِنَّ الْخَطَايَا
If there were a river at your door and you bathed in it five times a day, would any dirt be left on you? They said: none. He said: that is like the five prayers; by them Allah wipes away sins.
Sahih al-Bukhari 528; Sahih Muslim 667
أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ، فَأَكْثِرُوا الدُّعَاءَ
The closest a servant is to his Lord is when he is in prostration, so make plenty of dua then.
Sahih Muslim 482, narrated by Abu Hurayrah
وَجُعِلَتْ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلَاةِ
And the coolness of my eyes has been placed in prayer.
Sunan an-Nasai, narrated by Anas, part of the hadith. Graded sahih
"Coolness of the eyes" is the Arabic way of saying deep joy and comfort.
يَا بِلَالُ، أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ، أَرِحْنَا بِهَا
O Bilal, call the iqamah for the prayer, and give us rest through it.
Sunan Abi Dawud, from one of the Companions. Graded sahih by al-Albani
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا حَزَبَهُ أَمْرٌ صَلَّى
Whenever something worried the Prophet ﷺ, he would pray.
Sunan Abi Dawud, narrated by Hudhayfah. Graded hasan by al-Albani
إِذَا قُمْتَ فِي صَلَاتِكَ فَصَلِّ صَلَاةَ مُوَدِّعٍ
When you stand for your prayer, pray as if it were your farewell prayer.
Sunan Ibn Majah and Musnad Ahmad, narrated by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. Graded hasan by al-Albani
إِنَّ بَيْنَ الرَّجُلِ وَبَيْنَ الشِّرْكِ وَالْكُفْرِ تَرْكَ الصَّلَاةِ
Between a man and shirk and disbelief stands the abandoning of prayer.
Sahih Muslim 82, narrated by Jabir
وَالصَّلَاةُ نُورٌ
And prayer is light.
Sahih Muslim 223, part of the hadith that begins "Purity is half of faith"
Prayer brings provision, protects health, wards off harm, drives away illness, strengthens the heart, brightens the face, gladdens the soul and removes laziness.
Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Maad, in the chapter on the Prophet's ﷺ medicine (abridged)
Tap Copy to copy a quote with its source, or Make image to download a 1080x1080 picture. Images are drawn in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Quran Arabic: Tanzil Uthmani text; English: Sahih International. Hadith and scholars' English is our translation.
Guide
Salah is the second pillar of Islam and the first deed a person will be asked about on the Day of Resurrection. The Quran calls it a remembrance of Allah (20:14), a guard against wrongdoing (29:45) and a help in hard times (2:45). The Prophet ﷺ called it the coolness of his eyes, and when something worried him he would pray. These quotes gather those words with their sources, so you can read them, copy them or share them as images.
"The key to Paradise is prayer" is often shared as a hadith. It is reported by at-Tirmidhi and Ahmad with a weak chain, so we have not put it on a card. The meaning that prayer leads to Paradise is true from other texts, but the wording should not be quoted as the Prophet's ﷺ words.
If you want to start or improve your prayer, learn it step by step in how to pray, check today's prayer times for your city, and learn the adhkar after salah. Begin with one prayer you often miss, and keep it every day for a week.
For more, see quotes about patience, since the Quran pairs patience and prayer together.
Other themes: quotes about life, quotes about death, quotes about patience, quotes about peace, and Quran quotes in Arabic.
Questions
"Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing" (Quran 29:45), or the Prophet's ﷺ words "the coolness of my eyes has been placed in prayer" (Sunan an-Nasai, graded sahih).
That it is the first deed a person is asked about (Tirmidhi, sahih), that it wipes away sins like a river (Bukhari and Muslim), and that a person is closest to Allah in sujud (Muslim 482).
It is reported, but with a weak chain, so it should not be quoted as an authentic hadith.
20:14: "Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance."