Allah says in the holy Quran:

Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.

Salah, or prayer is a fundamental pillar of Islam, so important that it is the first deed a Muslim will be asked about on the day of Judgement and the very last words of advice to be uttered by the final beloved Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The first thing among their deeds for which the people will be brought to account on the Day of Resurrection will be prayer. Our Lord will say to His angels, although He knows best, ‘Look at My slave’s prayer, is it complete or lacking?’ If it is complete, it will be recorded as complete, but if it is lacking, He will say, ‘Look and see whether my slave did any voluntary (naafil) prayers.’ If he had done voluntary prayers, He will say, ‘Complete the obligatory prayers of My slave from his voluntary prayers.’ Then the rest of his deeds will be examined in a similar manner.”

Performing the five daily prayers enjoined upon a Muslim in their appropriate times is of the most excellent and complete of actions.

'Abdullah b. Mas'ud reported: I said: Messenger of Allah, which of the deeds (takes one) nearer to Paradise? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: prayer at its proper time

It is inevitable that a University, that contains multitudes of Muslim students observes one of their most primary needs, that is the provision of a prayer room where both Male and female Muslims are able to fulfil this divine obligation. The prayer room acts as the main meeting point for Muslims during term time, furthermore it is where most study circles and lessons take place.

My brother and sister, take the time to answer the call of Allah, when the caller calls out “come to prayer, come to success”, because through prayer success and reassurance will be attained both in this world and the next. In addition to this, prayer is a means of wiping off misdeeds and mistakes accumulated I our daily University days.

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds."

Alhamdullilah at UWE we have been blessed by Allah with two seperate prayer rooms, one large room to accomodate many Brothers and a newer room for the Sisters giving us a beautiful space. The Bathroom facilities for the Brothers have been completely renovated, and now the Sisters have a completely private Wudu' (ablution facilty). This comes after a huge renovation project that was due to the grace of Allah upon us.

So “come to prayer, come to success!”.

See the prayer area renovation that took place!...