Page 12 - Prayer in the Qur'an

10 PRAYER IN THE QUR'AN

to Him, which explains why understanding prayer and being dedi-
cated to it benefits everyone.
Prayer is the bond between Allah and people. Humankind inher-
ently possesses the need to establish a bond with Allah: this is their
very nature. Praying is an essential and natural part of a believer's

life, though the majority of people only think of praying during
times of insurmountable distress. Allah prefers that we pray to Him
during times of ease as well as in times of severe hardship. For this
reason, the Qur'an gives a detailed account of how to pray to Allah
sincerely.
In the Qur'an, 209 verses refer to praying directly or indirectly,
which indicates how important prayer is. As one reads these verses,
he or she can better understand the essential nature of this form of
worship.

Prayer Described in the Qur'an

Prayer means "calling on, addressing, making a fervent request,
asking for help." In the Qur'an, prayer is also described as "turning
to Allah with all one's soul" or the "acknowledgement of one's weak-
nesses and limited power before Allah's infinite might, and asking
for help from Him."
Anyone who has faith in Allah prays to Him in one way or an-
other. However, the majority of people turn to prayer as a last resort,
after having exhausted all possible alternatives during times of trou-
ble or stress. Once the hardship is over, they forget about remember-
ing Allah and imploring Him, until the next time they experience

trouble.
There are other people who misunderstand prayer completely.
For them, prayer is some incomprehensible ritual taught by the fam-