Virtues of Salaat 4

Hadhrat Abu Usman (Radhi Allaho anho) says:

"I was once sitting under a tree with Hadhrat Salmaan (Radhi Allaho anho). He caught hold of a dry branch of the tree and shook it till all its leaves fell off. He then said to me, "0, Abu Uthman! (Radhi Allaho anho) Will you not ask me why I am doing this?" "Do tell me," I entreated. He said, "The Apostle of Allah had done exactly like this before me, while I was with him under a tree. He caught a dry branch of it and shook it, till all its leaves fell off". At this he said:

'0, Salmaan! (Radhi Allaho anho) will you not ask me why I am doing this?' I replied: 'Do tell me why you are doing this?' He remarked: "Verily when a Muslim takes wudhu properly and then observes his salaat five times a day, his sins fall off just as these leaves have fallen off. He (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) then recited the following verse of the Holy Qur'an:

[Meaning] "Establish salaat at the two ends of the day, and at the approaches of the night. Verily, good deeds annul ill deeds. This is a reminder for the mindful. (XI: 114)"

[Ahmad, Nisai, Tibrani]