Page 84 - The Basic Concepts in the Qur’an

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!”