Tradition 11

لَو كانَ عَلى بابِ اَحَدِكُـم نَهـرٌ فَاغتَسَلَ مِنهُ كُلّ يَـومٍ خَمـسَ مَرّاتٍ هَل كانَ يَبقى عَلى جَسَـدِهِ مِنَ الـدّرَنِ شَيء اِنّما مَثَـلُ الصّلاة مَثَلُ النّهرِ الّذي يُنقي كُلّما صَلّى صَلاة كـانَ كَفّارَة لِذُنُوبِهِ إلّا ذَنبٌ اَخرَجَهُ مِنَ الإيمانِ مُقيمٌ عليه.

Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) said: “If there be a stream at the house of one of you in which the one washes himself five times a day, will there remain anything from the dirt over his body? Verily, the likeness of prayers is the same as the stream. The person who establishes ritual prayers clears out his sins thereby, except for the sin that takes him out from Faith he believes in.”