Prayer is a supplication to Allah for the cleansing of hearts from the stains of sin and for the opening of the gates of the unseen.
Poetic Translation
Prayer cleanses the heart from sin
It opens and conquers the gate of the unseen
Prayer is the locus of supplication to the Truth
Prayer is the place where the Truth manifests intimacy
In prayer, one finds the vastness of the mysteries of the Truth
In prayer, one becomes a partner to the lights of the Truth
Explanation
Prayer is the sign of a servanthood attitude that has been made obligatory so as to be the ascension (miʿrāj) of the believer. Prayer is a distinguishing mark that separates kufr (disbelief) from iman (faith). Prayer is the well-known set of acts that includes witnessing Allah and contemplating the lights of hudā (guidance). Prayer is a special set of acts that are supplication to the Truth and the locus of samadāni influxes (divine effusions). Since prayer is among the divine obligations established by definitive proof, its denial is accused of kufr and its abandonment necessitates the punishment of Hell. There are also among the distinguished Companions (ṣaḥāba) those who have said that its abandonment constitutes kufr. According to the Shāfiʿī school as well, deliberately abandoning prayer necessitates kufr.
Since prayer is among the pillars of religion, if it is abandoned, it is considered that the religion would collapse; thus, there remains no doubt that deliberately abandoning prayer is a sin close to kufr. Just as prayer cleanses the hearts from the stains of sin, it also prevents the bodily limbs from evil. A prayer that does not possess this quality does not reach the acceptance of Allah the Exalted. For Allah the Exalted has said, "Indeed, prayer restrains from indecency and wrongdoing" (al-ʿAnkabūt, 45), and the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) also said, as mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: "Prayer is like a sweet river passing by the door of one of you, in which he bathes five times a day; do you think any dirt would remain on him?"
You are not capable of journeying through the horizons,
So journey within yourself, for prayer is the ascension of the believer.
Prayer is the source of proximity and pure friendship with Allah. The arenas of the qalb (the heart) and the sirr (the innermost secret) expand in prayer, and the lights of illumination shine therein.
Munājāt: To supplicate to Allah, to implore. Duʿā (supplication). A supplication for salvation from Allah. A prayer or poem written for supplication.
The fact that prayer is the locus of munājāt (supplication) is twofold. First: During prayer, when the servant recites Sūrat al-Fātiḥa, he contemplates that the mercy of Allah the Exalted encompasses all creatures; that He is the sole owner of the Day of Judgment and the unique creator of the entire universe, thus being the one truly worthy of worship and the absolute bestower of hudā (guidance). By recalling His beautiful attributes, the servant supplicates to Allah the Exalted. Second: As long as the servant performs the prayer, Allah the Exalted communicates to him through the bestowal and inspiration of divine (ladunnī) knowledge and spiritual secrets; thus, it is Allah’s munājāt to the servant.
The fact that prayer is the source of pure friendship and love is also twofold. First: During prayer, the servant turns wholly to Allah the Exalted, directing all his outward and inward faculties entirely to Him, so that in his qalb and conscience, nothing remains except Allah the Exalted; thus, the servant displays love and friendship to Allah the Exalted. Second: Allah the Exalted, by illuminating the heart of the one who prays with the light of witnessing and bestowing His grace, shows sincerity to the servant. This divine friendship, without doubt, is in proportion to the servant’s degree of sincerity toward Allah the Exalted, and is the highest degree among the levels of divine manifestation.
Accordingly, the qalb and the sirr, likened to arenas, expand in prayer and become the locus for the manifestation of divine secrets and the birthplace of the lights of gnosis. In summary:
Iqāma: To establish, to bring into being, to raise up, to stand. Ladunn: Hidden sciences, divine secrets. Sirr: A divine subtlety found in the heart. The rūḥ (spirit) is the locus of love, the qalb is the locus of maʿrifa (gnosis), and the sirr is the locus of witnessing. Without the sirr, the nafs (lower self) is incapable of action. Some say the sirr is the rūḥ, and that it is higher and subtler than the rūḥ. In view of these sacred states of prayer, as stated in the previous wisdom, what is required of the obligated servant is not merely the performance of prayer, but rather the establishment (iqāma) of prayer—that is, to fulfill it properly, to elevate and enliven it. For the prayer that brings a believer into the circle of salvation and success is the prayer performed with presence and humility, and not the prayer of the heedless. This is also the reason why prayer is the mother of acts of worship and the foundation of all good deeds.