The Five Obligatory Prayers Absolve Sins

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ أَنَّ نَهْرًا بِبَابِ أَحَدِكُمْ يَغْتَسِلُ مِنْهُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ خَمْسَ مَرَّاتٍ هَلْ يَبْقَى مِنْ دَرَنِهِ شَيْءٌ قَالُوا لَا يَبْقَى مِنْ دَرَنِهِ شَيْءٌ قَالَ فَذَلِكَ مَثَلُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ يَمْحُو اللَّهُ بِهِنَّ الْخَطَايَا

Abi Hurairah narrated:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Look, if there were a river by the door of any one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would there be any dirt left on him?” They (a group of the Companions) replied, “No trace of dirt would be left on him.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then said, “That is the likeness of the five prayers by which Allah erases sins.”

Narrated in Jami’ at-Tirmidhi, hadith no. 3107

Grade: sahih (authentic)

Reflections:

1. The five daily prayers erases lesser sins that a person accumulates in between performing them.

2. Offering the mandatory prayers is akin to cleansing oneself in a river five times a day.

May our prayers expiate our sins.