What do Muslims gain from prayer?

Prayer (salah) is one of the most important pillars of Islam, a means of developing God-consciousness (taqwa) and attaining spiritual and psychological benefits. As the famous Sufi poet Rumi highlighted in an insightful parable: "A man asked Maulana Jalal Uddin Rumi, 'What do you gain by worshipping Allah every day?' Rumi replied, 'Nothing, but I have lost many things - pride, arrogance, anger, anxiety, greed, the joy of lying, the taste for sin, impatience, frustration and lack of confidence.'" (Mathnawi I:3635-3644) Rumi's words capture how salah helps purify the heart and soul of negative traits while inculcating discipline, humility, and contentment. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The five daily prayers are an expiation (for sin), between one and the next, as long as major sins are not committed." (Muslim) Beyond spiritual purification, salah provides psychological benefits like tranquility, focus, and stress relief as one turns completely towards Allah. The Qur'an states: "Truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." (13:28) Sheikh Ratib an-Nabulsi writes: "Through salah, the heart finds tranquility, harmony and peace." (Jami' Karamat al-Awliya) Salah also regulates the believer's day by establishing multiple periods of physical, verbal, and spiritual remembrance of Allah amid the chaos of distractions. As Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya notes: "The soul has periods of presence and absence...but through the five prayers, its periods of absence from Allah are limited." (Al-Wabil al-Sayyib) Ultimately, salah is a means of gaining closeness to Allah spiritually, psychologically and physically - a rendezvous multiple times a day in anticipation of the final meeting in the Hereafter. As Allah says: "And establish prayer for My remembrance" (20:14).