Really, we do not how valuable salaat is ! The Holy Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) was often heard saying, "The comfort of my eyes is in salaat." This is an expression of his love for salaat. As such, what else can more valuable than salaat ? 

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* Hadhrat Ibn Mas'ood (Radhiyallaho anho) narrates that he heard the Holdy Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) saying : "At the approach of hour of a salaat, an Angel is deputed to proclaim, 'Arise, O Children of Aadam ! and extinguish the fire that you have (by committing sins) kindled to burn yorselves. So, the people rise up, perform wudhu  and offer their Zuhr prayer. This causes forgiveness of their sins committed since day-break. The same is repeated at Asr, Maghrib and Ishaa. After Ishaa people go to bed, but there are some who busy themselved in good, while some others in evil deeds."

Hadhrat Salmaan (Radhiyallaho anho) says, "After Ishaa the people get divided into three groups. There are some for whom the night is a source of blessing and gain. They are those who spend it in the worship of Allah, while other people are asleep. For them the night brings great reward from their Lord. There are others who turn their night into a burden and curse for themselves, for they indulge in various dark deeds in the dead of night. To them the night brings woe and misery. There is the third group of people who go to bed immediately after Ishaa; they neither gain nor lose."

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* Hadhrat Abu Qataadah bin Rab'iyy (Radhiyallaho anho)  says, "He heard the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) saying, Allah has said, "O Muhammad ! I have ordained five times daily salaat for thy followers.  I have made a convenant with myself that whosoever is regular in performing his salaat at its fixed hour, he shall be admitted into the paradise. Those of thy followers who do not guard their salaat, are not included in this convenant."

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* Ibn Salmaan says that he heard one of the companions of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) narrating, "When we had won the battle of Khaibar, we bagan to buy and sell among ourselves the booty that had fallen to our lot. One of us went to Holy Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and said, "O, Apostle of Allah, no one else has earned so much profit as I have obtained in today's trade.' 'How much did you earn ?' asked the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam). He replied, 'I kept on selling and buying till I earned a net profit if three 'Ooqiyyah' of silver.' The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "Shall I inform you of something better than that ?" He exclaimed, 'Do tell me, O, Prophet of Allah !' The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) remarked "Two rakaats nafl after (fardh) salaat." 

Three hundred Ooqiyyahs of silver come to about three thousand rupees. According to Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), the perishable gain of this world stands no comparison with the everlasting gain of the Hereafter. Our life will be pleasant and worth living if we develop our 'Imaan' to an extent where two rakaats of salaat, in our sight, are more valuable than all the riches of this world. Salaat is really a great treasure and that is why the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) has called it 'the comfort of his eyes' and had been enjoining its observance right up to his last breath. Umme Salamah (Radhiyallaho anho) narrates that the last words of the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), which he could hardly utter, were about guarding the salaat and kindness towards the slaves. There is a similar hadith narrated by Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) as well.

The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) once deputed in Jihaad a Jamaat towards Najd. They returned victorious vary soon with a handsome booty. When the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) saw the people envying them and wondering at their quick and lucrative return, he said to them, "Shall I inform you of a group people who earn much more in a much shorter time ? They are those who perform their Fajr with Jamaat and keep sitting after prayer till a little while after sunrise and then offer two rakaats of salaat." According to Shaqeeq Balkhi, a very famous Shaikh, five things could be acquired through five channels; an increase in provisions through 'Chaasht' a light in the grave through Tahajjud, a very satisfactory answer to Munkar and Nakeer through the recitation of the Qur'an; an easy crossing of Siraat through fasting and alms, and room under the shade of Allah's Throne on the Day of Judgment through seclusion (i.e. Zikr).

(Courtesy : "Fazail-E-A'mal" by Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariyya (Rah.))