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[quote]Prayer

Prayer shows a deep sense of appreciating one’s weak and helpless state before one’s Creator. It is a clear indication of the fact that the human being is a frail creature who can never satisfy his needs or attain his goals alone, unless they have Allah's  blessing. Prayer is the purest, most explicit and most honest way of expressing one’s status as a servant before one’s Creator. In the Qur’an it is stated that a basic attribute of the believer is his “calling on Allah morning and evening”:

And keep your soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure; and let not your eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds. (Al-Kahf, 28)

The true meaning and content of prayer should be well grasped, since what most people understand by prayer considerably differs from what the Qur’an actually tells us about it. This is solely because information about prayer is mostly gathered from sources outside the Qur’an, such as tradition, parents, ancestors, etc. That is why the Qur’anic standpoint and the morale it inculcates should be well comprehended.

The Qur’an explains the kind of prayer which is made “with humility” While praying, man should deeply recognize his weaknesses and frailty in the presence of His Creator and feel that he is desperately in need of His guidance. His prayer will  thus surely meet the criteria set by Allah, as stated in the following verse:

Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah does not love those who trespass beyond bounds. (Al-Araf, 55)

The prayers of the believers in the Qur’an set an example for all believers. That of Zakariya is one of them:

Behold! he cried to his Lord in secret, praying: “O my Lord! infirm indeed are my bones, and the hair of my head glistens with grey: but never am I unblest, O my Lord, in my prayer to you! Now I fear what my relatives and colleagues will do after me: but my wife is barren: so give me an heir as from yourself.” (Maryam, 3-5)

Another attribute of a believer’s prayer is being in a mood of mingled “fear and hope”.

They forsake their beds, while they call on their Lord, in fear and hope: and they spend in charity out of the sustenance which We have bestowed on them. (As-Sajda, 16)

The believers fear Allah with sincere and true respect, while hoping for His grace and mercy. Allah accepts the sincere prayer  intended to seek His good pleasure.

When My servants ask you about Me, I am indeed close to them: I answer to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: let them also, listen with a will, to My call, and believe in Me so that they may walk in the right way. (Al-Baqara, 186)

And your Lord says: “Call on Me; I will answer your prayer: but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!” (Al-Ghafir, 60)

While praying, man should certainly know that Allah will respond to his call. He should be aware that Allah is the Master of all, Omnipotent and Omniscient; that He is All-Knowing and All-Seeing. In an ardent expectation, a believer never becomes despondent and patiently awaits for the response of Allah. Having a firm belief in His justice, he avoids taking an anxious and desperate attitude. The mind of a believer adhering to the guidance of the Qur’an never harbours doubts about the answer Allah would give to his call. Anyone who is beset by doubts would from the very beginning display a contradictory attitude to the reasoning of the Qur’an. Beneath the very essence of prayer, there lies a sincere approach and deep faith in Allah, as the prophet Salih said, “...my Lord is always near, and ready to answer.” (Hud, 61) The believer fully trusts in Allah.

However the fact that Allah answers his servants’ calls does not necessarily mean that the suppliant will get whatever he wishes. This is because sometimes an individual may ask for something which is harmful for him. Such a call will certainly not be answered, and Allah will grant something better to his servant.

An example given by a famous Islamic scholar Said-i Nursi, illustrates this subject very well. A physician is called to see a sick child. The child asks the physician for a particular medicine he likes. However, the physician knows from experience that that particular medicine is no cure. So, he provides a totally different treatment and heals his young patient.

Allah totally encompasses man and knows exactly he his needs. He always responds to a sincere call, yet His answer might not be in accord with the desires of the devotee. As the Qur’an puts it: “You may dislike a thing which is good for you, and love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows, and you do not know.” (Al-Baqara, 216)

Like the child in the aforementioned example, a man may not distinguish good from evil. Hence it is quite possible that he may be asking his Creator for something detrimental: “The prayer that man should make for good, he makes for evil; for man is given to hasty (deeds).” (Al-Isra, 11)

Accordingly, man should primarily seek the Will and Mercy of Allah. He should ask Him for an honourable and mature soul. Allah knows what is best for man. The prayer of Solomon sets a good example for all believers: “...O my Lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Your favours, which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good works that will please You...” (Al-Naml, 19)

Furthermore, believers are welcome to ask for anything praised in the Qur’an. In a sincere and honest spirit, man should not restrain himself from asking for anything he would like to have. Allah knows exactly what His servants wants. As a matter of fact, He is the One placing all the desires and wishes in his soul.

Allah answers the sincere prayers of the believers. The past communities destroyed by the prophet's prayer's are examples to this;

They (prophets) sought victory and decision (there and then), and frustration was the lot of every powerful obstinate transgressor.(Abraham, 15)

In the Qur’an many examples are cited. Allah has rewarded the messengers and the believers with many graces :

And remember Job, when He cried to his Lord, “Truly distress has seized me, but You are the Most Merciful of those that are merciful.” So We listened to him: We removed the distress afflicting him, and We restored his people to him, and doubled their number, as a grace from Oursef, and an admonition to all who serve Us. And remember Isma’il, Idris, and Zul-kifl, all men of constancy and patience; We admitted them to Our mercy, for they were of the righteous ones. And remember Yunus, when he departed in wrath. He imagined that We had no power over him! But he cried in the darkness, “There is no god but you: glory be to you: I was indeed wrong!” So We listened to him: and delivered him from distress: and thus do We deliver those who have faith. And remember Zakariya, when he cried to his Lord: “O my Lord! do not leave me without offspring, though you are the best of inheritors.” So We listened to him: and We granted him Yahya: We cured his wife’s barrenness for him. These three vied with each other in good works and called on Us with love and reverence, and humbled themselves before Us. (Al-Anbiya, 83-90)

The worshipper who prays realizes that Allah is All-Knowing and All-Seeing and expresses his respect for and fear of Him. He never hesitates to admit his status as a servant before Him.

Since prayer is an important worship, it is not only done to make a wish. Every need or wish signals the time of this worship. Since man constantly needs and demands things, he should also pray consistently. There of course, are particular times for prayer: regular night and morning prayer times are mentioned in the Qur’an as the proper moments for prayer in the Qur’an.

Nevertheless, man should consistently pray all day long since every course of action proceeds under the control of Allah. Man should turn to Him for guidance and help in all his deeds. Moreover, he should pray for Allah’s acceptance of his services. The prayer of Abraham is an example:

And remember Abraham and Isma’il raised the foundations of the House with this prayer:

Our Lord! Accept this service from us: For you are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.(Al-Baqara, 127)

The believers who pray to Allah, and turn to Him under all circumstances are described in Surat’Al-Imran, as “men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides...” (Al-Imran, 191). The believers are naturally praised in the Qur’an for this attitude.

For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing of faults, compassionate, and devout. (Hud, 75)

Abraham was indeed a paragon, a devoutly obedient to Allah, and true in Faith, and he associated no other gods with Allah. (Al-Nahl, 120)

Have patience at what they say, and remember our servant David, the man of strength: for he always turned to Allah. (Sad, 17)

“ Truly We found him (Ayyub) full of patience and constancy. How excellent he was in Our service! He always turned to Us! (Sad, 44)

The verses below are a key to understanding the significance of prayer:

Say (to the Rejecters): “My Lord would not care for you were  not for your prayer. But you have indeed rejected Him, and soon will come the inevitable (punishment)!” (Al-Furqan, 77)

In the Qur’an, one point is repeatedly stressed: now and then pagans also pray to Allah. However a great difference exists between the prayer of pagans and that of the believers.

The believers turn to Allah under all circumstances. Whether in times of ease or difficulty, their attitude never changes; they keep praying being conscious of their frailty before Allah.

Pagans, on the other hand, keep themselves constantly distant from Allah. Only hardship makes them feel their weakness before Allah and leads them to turn to Him. Their prayer said in times of trouble, is indeed a sincere one. Yet, sooner do things take a turn for the better than they forget that they prayed for the mercy of Allah and remain ungrateful:

We find several references in the Qur’an to this pagan attitude . Here are some examples:

When misfortune befell man, He cried to Us in all postures- lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We relieved his affliction, he went on his way, as if he had never cried to Us for our help. Thus the deeds of transgressors seem fair in their eyes!(Jonah, 12)

When We bestow favours on man, he turns away, and holds himself aloof; but when evil seizes him, he comes to us and is loud in prayer! (Fussilat, 51)

When evil befalls man, he prays to his Lord, turning to Him in repentance: but when He bestows His favour upon him, he forgets what he has cried and prayed for, and he sets up rivals to Allah, thus leading others away from Allah’s Path. Say, “Enjoy your blasphemy for a little while: truly, you are one of the Companions of the Fire!” (Az-Zumar, 8)

Now, when evil befalls man, he cries out to Us: but when We bestow a favour upon him from Ourself he says, “This has been given to me because of a certain knowledge I have!” By no means! This is but a trial, but most of them do not understand! (Az-Zumar, 49)

When evil befalls men, they cry out to their Lord, turning back to Him in repentance: but when He gives them a taste of His Mercy, behold, some of them pay part-worship to other gods besides their Lord. (Al-Room, 33)

In some of the verses, the example of a ship is given. In a sinking ship, man understands the emergency of his situation and sincerely prays, expressing his repentance and asking for salvation. This is surely a time of desperation when a person comprehends that no other soul can save him. It is then that he turns to Allah. However, when Allah rescues him, he again assumes his former attitude. This is certainly a great distortion of true piety:

It is He Who enables them to travel over land and sea. They board their ships; they set sail, rejoicing in a favourable wind. Then comes a raging tempest and the waves surge upon them from all sides, and they think they are being overwhelmed. They cry out to Allah, sincerely offering their allegiance to Him saying, “If you deliver us from this, peril, we shall truly show our gratitude!”

But when He delivers them, behold! they transgress insolently in the land in defiance of right! O mankind! your insolence is against your own souls. Take your enjoyment in this life: in the end, to Us you shall return, and We shall show you the truth of all that you have done. (Jonah, 22-23)

When a wave covers them like the canopy of clouds, they call to Allah, offering Him sincere devotion. But when He has delivered them safely to land, some of them falter between right and wrong. But none reject Our Signs except the perfidious and ungrateful! (Luqman, 32)

Say: “Who delivers you from the perils of land and sea, when you call out to Him in humility and in silent terror saying: ‘If only He delivers us from these dangers, we vow we shall truly show our gratitude’?” Say: “It is Allah who delivers you from these and all other afflictions, and yet you worship false gods!” (Al-Anaam, 63-64)

Believers should constantly pray to Allah and put their trust in Him, knowing that there is no one else to help or guard them.

Call then upon Allah with sincere devotion to Him, even though the Unbelievers may detest it. (Al-Ghafir, 14)

Say: “I do no more than invoke my Lord, and I do not associate any false god with Him.” (Al-Jinn, 20)

The believer attains true gratification only when he asks for the help of Allah. He feels the security of being cared for and guarded by his Creator. This is the highest degree of happiness that one can ever attain both in this world and the hereafter. Thus, prayer is a source of great satisfaction which will also continue in the hereafter. The Qur’an states that believers will keep praying also in the hereafter:

Those who believe, and do good works will be guided by their Lord because of their faith: beneath them will flow rivers in gardens of bliss. (This will be) their cry therein: “Glory be to You, O Allah!” And “Peace” will be their greeting therein! and the close of their invocation will be: “Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!” (Jonah, 9-10)

http://www.harunyahya.com/basicconceptstext_prayer.php[/quote]

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