Page 40 - Prayer in the Qur'an

38 PRAYER IN THE QUR'AN

Praying is one of the most important ways to protect oneself
against idolatry, since while praying, the supplicant acknowledges
Allah's existence and unity deep inside and recognizes that there is

no one to turn to other than Him. For this reason, supplication pro-
tects a believer against idolatry. Supplication is also an acknowl-
edgement of one's weaknesses before Allah and that He is the only
One who can help him. For this reason, prayer protects a believer
against idolatry.
As the verse "O Prophet! Allah is enough for you, and for the
believers who follow you." (Surat al-Anfal: 64) maintains, Muslims
know that the only being from whom help is sought is Allah. He is
the One Who is superior in every way, the Owner of infinite power,

and the One who sees and hears everything. He is Allah, Who is ex-
alted above anything. He holds all the power in the entire universe.
This being the case, help and forgiveness must be sought from no
one but Allah, the One Who is Rich Beyond Need, Praiseworthy. In
the Qur'an, Allah states the gravity of the error of praying to some-
one other than Allah:

So do not call on any other god along with Allah or you will be
among those who will be punished. (Surat ash-Shuara: 213)
In other verses, Allah describes the situation of those who pray to
others than Allah:

Those you call on besides Allah do not create anything. They
are themselves created. They are dead, not alive, and they are
not aware of when they will be raised. (Surat an-Nahl: 20-21)
Consequently, a sincere believer never prays to someone other

than Allah. He implores only Him and asks for His help alone. In
Surat al-Fatiha, the first surah of the Qur'an, Allah advises believers