Page 18 - Prayer in the Qur'an

16 PRAYER IN THE QUR'AN

As the verses reveal, the form of worship described in the Qur'an
is far from ostentation. It is not performed to impress people: the
sole purpose is the due fulfillment of one's duty towards the

Creator. The Qur'an emphasizes this point strongly. In verses related
to prayer, there are strong references to "calling on Allah, making
one's religion sincerely His," which means, performing one's prayer
to earn Allah's good pleasure alone and not seeking any other pur-
pose. We can see this from verses such as the following:
He is the Living—there is no god but Him—so call on Him,
making your religion sincerely His. Praise be to Allah, the Lord
of all the worlds. (Surah Ghafir: 65)

So call upon Allah, making your religion sincerely His, even
though the disbelievers detest it. (Surah Ghafir: 14)
Say: "My Lord has commanded justice. Stand and face Him in
every mosque and call on Him, making your religion sincerely
His. As He originated you, so you will return." (Surat al-A'raf: 29)

The religion belongs to Allah alone. All forms of worship are per-
formed to earn Allah's good pleasure. The only way to attain this
goal is to perform our worship in the form Allah describes.
Those who do not make their prayers or any other form of wor-
ship sincerely Allah's, that is, those who seek "ostentation," are in
great delusion. As Allah says:
So woe to the praying ones, Who are unmindful of their

prayers, Who do [good] to be seen. (Surat al-Maun: 4-6)

Feeling Allah's Existence While Praying

One of the essentials of prayer is having firm faith in Allah. In sit-
uations in which one feels desperate, people feel no doubt about