A Quranic Analysis of Prayer, part 1
قُلۡ مَا يَعۡبَؤُاْ بِكُمۡ رَبِّي لَوۡلَا دُعَآؤُكُمۡۖ
25:77 Say, “You would not even matter to my Lord if not for your prayers to Him?”
We should not limit our understanding of prayers to the daily five ritualistic prayers and the supplication, rather prayers include more understanding about our living conditions here. The very first addressee of the Quran is the Prophet (pbuh), and everything in creation including human beings, angels, Jinns, and also other beings because,. if the Creator of the universe is speaking, then He must be speaking to every created thing. For example, when the Quran says that everything is declaring the Absolute qualities of the Creator, it means glorifying the Almightiness of its Lord i.e. “tasbeeh” in Arabic. We must be ready to understand that “prayers” include the whole universe, but primarily human beings.
- What do you understand from “prayer”?
For example, if your mother is ill, you do need to pray to something you believe that has some sort of “superposition” than yourself, may it be God or “nature” or “lack or chance” or “wish” to heal your mother. However, we must know the psychological aspect of such prayers as well.
For example, as a believer in God, when you perform the ritualistic prayers, it is obvious that you are praying. What about fasting? The act of fasting is also a prayer.
For example, you pray to whatever you see that has “superposition” expressing your need within your feelings if only I can get to my destination quickly and not experience the train delays. A believer in God expresses their feelings verbally as well generally by saying “If God wills” in Arabic “inshaAllah.”
When an animal is suffering from hunger, it makes noise, and you can see from the face that the animal is hungry. The animal is praying from its appearance. Similarly, the plants are created in a position that they beg for water i.e. prayer. It is their prayer.
- Do we not have any value for God if we do not pray to Him?
Can I say that anytime that I am not praying in a general sense, I do not have any value before God?
- Do you think that there are times that you do not pray? Aren’t you worthless at those times?
Common answers: While doing my job at work I am not praying.
Common answers: While sleeping I am not praying.
When we are sleeping, we are praying. When we are consciously working, we are praying.
If we understand that “Prayer” has two meanings: 1- Verbal prayer that is supplications, 2- Praying by action. That is while we are using our free will we choose from among the already created beings presented to us and by obeying the orderly creation, then our prayers are always accepted.
In this verse it is stated that if we do not perform one or both of these types of prayers God says we have no value for God. That means He will not respond to us and create for us anything. For example, if I do not obey His way of creation I will have no response from God as if I have no value for Him at that moment. It does not mean that my existence has no value for Him since He is the One who keeps my existence as long as I exist. If I had not had any value He would not have created me at all. He does not have to create me, but I exist. I know I myself do not have to exist by myself.
- Even if I do not believe in God, does not He provide anything for me? What is extra in the meaning of “prayer”? Does it also include our labor, how do you pray with your labor?
If anyone does not pray to God, would they not have any value in the eyes of God? However, we see that the non-believers may get more than the believers in this world physically. As a human being in this world, my comprehension of my status in this world is different from realizing that I am a creature. The deniers, when they are hungry, eat like the believers. We all eat because we want to be satisfied. The non-believer while doing an act of getting the desired result to be created where s/he may wrongly attribute the action of that which is created to himself/herself is still a prayer but an unconscious prayer. The non-believers may not realize that they are praying to God, rather may think that they are praying to nature or the unconscious matter itself. The direction in his/her mind is different but the action is the same as any other human being. The non-believer’s mind is not praying but his/her action is a prayer, because s/he is waiting for the next moment to be created. God treats everyone in this world equally, as He promised, as long as they obey the way He creates. This is called in the Qur’an “universality of the manifestation of God’s Mercy (Rahman).
Question: Are we all, regardless of one’s belief in God or something else, not in a state of prayer if we are following and acting in line with the order of the universe?
While we are sleeping, our body is consciously breathing. The Quran reminds us that you take care of the direction of your prayer because you are already existentially praying. Be aware of your consciousness, why are you eating, for example? The physical results for any act of the believer and the unbeliever are the same, what about the spiritual result? As a believer, I feel that I have a Creator who is taking care of me, that is a guarantee, He knows me and He is the Owner of the universe, He has arranged everything consciously and deliberately for me and I am happy. On the other hand, the unbeliever says that I am lucky for I have food while other people may be unlucky, and they could not get a chance to get food. If I am lucky again, I will eat again and benefit from the universe until I die. One attitude is happy because all the needs are eternally satisfied by the One who creates them consciously. The other attitude is happy because the needs are satisfied naturally until death, and as a result of chance but it has an inevitable dead end forever.
- The spiritual experience is different, but the physical experience is the same for both attitudes.
The Qurans asks us to think about our acts and attitudes seriously, for you have been doing this for a while. If you realize that you are blessed with all that you need by a conscious Creator, only then will you feel how worthy it is to live in this world.
Again, prayer is not only verbal, but doing the action is also a prayer. Our action is asking and calling upon. For example, the infant wants to be fed by the mother while crying, isn’t that an expression of prayer? Yes. Similarly, when you see an old man panting while carrying weight, wouldn’t you run to help? Yes, because the panting of the old man is an expression of prayer. Let us take another example; while sleeping, someone closes your nose, doesn’t your body react? Yes, because the body is in constant prayer with the act of breathing, digesting and sleeping. Unfortunately, the unbelieving attitude does not know to whom and to what they are praying but they are physically performing the act. Now the Quran comes and lets us know that since you are working, breathing, or doing anything else, be conscious of it and see that you are breathing in order to ask the Creator to keep your existence for the next moment of your life. These are all acts of prayers. The Quran says to call upon your Creator, those people who do not follow the Quranic message and guidance, and choose to be unconscious of the reality, they call upon nature or accidental happenings.
Comment: Every single part of my body is in prayer, including my cells and organs.
Indeed, our heart, lungs and everything is praying according to their capacity. When we go further in these series, we will cover different kinds of prayers including verbal supplication. Physically, we may not be conscious that we are praying, but we are praying.
If I follow the way the things are created, I am following the will of the One who is creating. According to me, it is the Creator of the universe, God, but according to materialists, it is accidental and random happenings.
Intention gives value to our spiritual side. If your intention is that you are acting by obeying the order of the Creator of the universe, then you are obeying the will of the Creator. Our perception of creation lies in our direction towards the Creator. Consciousness and the physical side are operated at the same time.
It is important to bear in mind that God’s mercy is to everyone (Ar-Rahman), but He treats mercifully towards the believers (Ar-Raheem) by creating the feeling in them that they experience the happy feelings that their Creator is the Owner of the universe and He is an Absolute Being. They understand that this Absolute Being has given them the need for security in their existence and feelings of permanent satisfaction of their feelings and He is promising that He will satisfy them. This feeling of the believers is because of God’s treatment of them with His Infinite Mercy (Ar-Raheem). In order to experience the permanent satisfaction they need to be created in a condition that they will be satisfied in a perfect way and continuously in the next creation which is called Paradise.
But as far as our actions are concerned in this world, God’s mercy (Ar-Rahman) treats everyone equally as long as they obey the way that things are created in this world. For a believer, God’s will, for a non-believer, natural laws are the direction of their perceptions.
God’s guidance i.e. Revelation is needed towards directing our perception of creation. For example, if two farmers sow seeds, one is a believer, and the other is a non-believer, do they both get crops? Yes. Now, God’s guidance comes and says that only the One who creates your body, and your brain cells arranges and creates it in a way that it functions. Materialists don’t think deeply but say that it is natural laws developed in this way and bring in several theories none of which has proved the existence of these “natural laws”. The claims of any of their theories have not been proven but they only say that “it appears as it is.” For example, look at me, I can speak. That is how I am made with the ability to speak. But they claim that “I am creating my speech” although I am not aware of how my speech occurs at all. I am only using the ability already created in me and choosing what I want to say. I am not even aware of how I am speaking and using my organs involved in speech and I experience that immediately the next moment the result is created as I have chosen.
Can you give existence to your next moment? Can you keep your present moment? No. Whether we are aware or not we are in constant prayer for our existence. My existence keeps evaporating.
لَهُۥ دَعۡوَةُ ٱلۡحَقِّۚ وَٱلَّذِینَ یَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ لَا یَسۡتَجِیبُونَ لَهُم بِشَیۡءٍ إِلَّا كَبَـٰسِطِ كَفَّیۡهِ إِلَى ٱلۡمَاۤءِ لِیَبۡلُغَ فَاهُ وَمَا هُوَ بِبَـٰلِغِهِۦۚ وَمَا دُعَاۤءُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِینَ إِلَّا فِی ضَلَـٰل
13:14 “The only true prayer is to Him: those they pray to besides Him give them no answer any more than water reaches the mouth of someone who simply stretches out his hand for it- it cannot do so: the prayers of the disbelievers are all in vain.”
We must have the right understanding of God’s guidance before going into the verses as discussed in the first verse where we got some basics about prayers.
The message i.e. Revelation is teaching me that you are aware that you are praying to an Absolute Creator, not something part of the universe or an imaginary being. The way the things are created is orderly, wisely and purposefully. How can it be created like this? These are “laws” which materialists emphasize on. However, what do you mean by “laws”? Is there such a thing apart from how things are created in an orderly manner? What we call “laws” are nothing but how we observe the things coming into existence. Let us take the example of a law book that tells the lawyer when to put someone in jail. When the criminal goes to jail, they say that the law puts him in jail. However, there is a whole judicial system involved in the execution of this law to take place. Can the law by itself put someone in jail? No. Similarly, how can the laws of creation create things or be the explanation of existence?! There is a confusion between observing how the things are coming into existence in an orderly manner, and naming this orderly creation as “laws” as if these “laws” have independent existence. Coming into existence in an orderly manner logically necessitates that there must be a conscious Agent behind it. “Laws” are nothing but our naming of what we observe, the way things are being created purposefully and in an orderly manner.
- When a believer does the same thing, will the water come to him?
Will water come to me if I see it flowing in front of me, without me getting up and filling my cup with it? No. Even if I am a Prophet, the water does not come to me until I stretch my hand. Physically, everyone experiences the same thing whether believer or unbeliever. Will the believers be favored in terms of the way that things are created? No.
- What does the ‘prayers of the disbelievers are all in vain’ mean?
The idea of disbelief is in vain, not the person as a disbeliever is in vain. As long as they obey the orderly creation, which ultimately means obeying the Will of the One who creates the universe in an orderly manner, the results of their choices are created. But as disbelievers, their desires of all of their human expectations which expand to eternity are in vain. As they get what they want in this world, immediately they start feeling that they will lose them at every moment as time passes and they also believe that they will disappear from existence and leave everything they obtained in this world naturally or by accidental luck.
- I am a believer, when I pray, should I expect the orderly creation will change if my prayer is accepted?
Everything is God’s will, including the miracles of the Prophets. Only if God wills, He creates it. The Prophet is needy as a human being like anyone else. As a Prophet, He needs favor to attract people’s attention towards the message of God, hence a miracle from God is created which is an unusual way from the conventional familiar way. This is only to attract people’s attention towards the message of God, and to take the Prophetic message seriously. Human nature usually gets alarmed with things that are unconventional to their regular routines. When you ask for guidance, you are physically also expressing yourself to the Creator of the universe, which is a sign of being alarmed with the reality of this universe. If a prayer is not consciously done, then that is not a prayer, if your mind is everywhere.
Question: can we ask for something that is not in the order of creation? For example, in the desert, in a desperate situation hoping for water.
Next time, we will go over the questions #2 and #3, including the question above.