Page 20 - Prayer in the Qur'an

18 PRAYER IN THE QUR'AN

mind us of death and the power of Allah.
Abeliever who complies with Allah's command which says,
"Remember the Name of your Lord, and devote yourself to Him
completely." (Surat al-Muzzammil: 8) turns to Allah alone, and sub-
mits and pleads to Him.

Striking a Balance between Hope and
Fear While Praying

In the Qur'an, Allah refers to Himself as, "... the Most Merciful of
the merciful..." (Surat al-Anbiya': 83). It is also stated that, provided
that one asks for repentance, anyone who does evil will find Allah
forgiving. (Surat an-Nisa: 110) For this reason, people must reflect
upon this attribute of Allah and pray with hope. No matter how se-
rious an error a person may have committed, and is in deep remorse
over it, it is not a reason for him or her to despair of Allah's forgive-
ness. Thus, the state of mind caused by erring and committing a sin
must never become an impediment for a prayer of hope for forgive-
ness, for Allah states in the Qur'an that only disbelievers lose hope
in Allah's mercy:

"... Do not despair of solace from Allah. No one despairs of so-
lace from Allah except for people who disbelieve." (Surah
Yusuf: 87)
In addition, no one is immune to punishment in Hell. Indeed
Allah warns people against this, saying, "No one is safe from the
punishment of his Lord." (Surat al-Ma'arij: 28) For this reason,
everyone must fear Allah as much as he or she can. Human beings,

whose life is a test, are always vulnerable to Satan's cunning decep-
tions and are thus very likely to go astray and turn away from the
righteous path. Nobody is guaranteed a place in Paradise. This