Session 42 Notes
What is prayer and supplication?
The Qur’an is also known as “the Book of Prayers” which interestingly has many verses that narrate the prayers of the prophets. We should pay attention to the manner in which the prophets expressed themselves in their prayers to God. There are narrations of the prophets communicating with God under certain conditions. Rather than compiling the list of prayers from the Qur’an, we will attempt to understand what prayers are and how the Qur’an teaches the essence of prayers to human beings who are in need of prayers.
Let’s take the example of grapes packaged under a particular brand name as shown in Figure 1 that came from the US state of California. This brand name gives the impression that the farm or factory manufactures the product.
Figure 1
Another example is mineral water which is claimed to be a “natural” product. This means there is no conscious intention in the existence of water.
In our daily language we also use terms such as “Georgia Peaches”, “Jersey Tomatoes”, “Medina dates”, “Pakistani Mangoes”, “natural wheat” etc. Do we notice that only the brand, the state and perhaps the farm and farmer may be mentioned, whereas there is no mention of their Creator, the True Owner? Who created and grew the grapes and prepared the water in our example? We discussed in our last session that the farmer is obeying the order in creation, and cannot be the one giving existence to any aspect of the result.
When the farmer or grower is working in the fields, does the result of the produce matter whether they are a believer in God or not? Even if the person is a strong believer or the most blunt atheist, they still need to do the same thing practically. Our physical relationship with the universe is the same regardless of our belief. There is no difference between a believer and non-believer when it comes to doing something physically. They both drink water when they get thirsty and eat food when they get hungry. Physically, we all interact and communicate with the same universe. The believer would connect his feelings, his mind to the Creator of the universe. The crucial difference for the believer is to recognize that he cannot create, he is in need of something or someone else who will create the result of harvest for him. He knows this Creator also created him with the need of the product and He will respond back to his need. When the product is created, he does not take any credit for himself for the creation of the product. He knows that this Creator is the One who created him with his need and He will respond to his need. What is created as a response to his prayer by practically obeying His order such as in farming, is his share allotted to him by His Creator. He uses the product modestly and thanks Him alone; does not take pride in the harvest as if he created it.
We studied verse 35 of Section Yasin in our previous session emphasizing the phrase “it was not their own hands that made all this”. Whatever we are consuming in this world is not the product of our own doing. The farmer in the example is not creating or giving existence to the grapes. The daily language used to describe the farmer is “producer”, such as “grape producer” which should not be taken literally. The Qur’an reminds us that this is incorrect, you are not producing anything but just using and consuming what has already been created. The farmer in our example has to till the soil and plant the seeds which is the order in creation using things that are already created; the farmer is not giving existence to either the seeds, soil, air, the sun light and even his own power and need for food . In his using already created things, he is praying, asking the Creator of the universe to create the result for him. The Qur’an is reminding us that we are all completely dependent on our Creator.
I see that the whole essence of my understanding of prayer has to do with my relationship and attitude with the universe. If I understand that I am not creating anything, but asking the Creator of the universe to create the result then I am conforming to my reality. When I follow and obey His order correctly, I am praying to the One who is creating the whole universe; He guarantees the result by creating it. We usually limit our understanding of prayers to verbal expressions only. The verbal expressions must be based on our relationship with the universe. For example, to dice up some tomatoes, I use my free will which acts as my prayer to get the result of diced tomatoes. Whatever I do involves my free will, which is the prayer to my Lord, beseeching Him to create the result. To really comprehend this reality we should be aware that no one and nothing can create the next moment after we use our free will to choose and comply with the way the universe has been created up to this moment.
The whole Qur’an draws our attention to this aspect that we are totally dependent on the Creator of the universe whether one believes in the Creator of the universe or not. That is how it gets the name “the Book of Prayer”. The farmers are not the “producers”, neither are the farms or corporations as they are not creating anything. There are no “Georgia peaches” but they are “God’s peaches”, “God’s dates”, “God’s grapes”, “God’s water” etc. The essence of the teaching of the Qur’an is that we are in need, beggars who are just consumers who cannot create anything, but wait to be created next moment. From a belief perspective, all of my relationship with the universe is based on prayer to its Owner. When I am thirsty, I want to quench my thirst. When I go to get the glass of water, it is a prayer. The water doesn’t know me to quench my thirst but the Creator of the universe employs the water to create the result of satiation. Regardless of my belief, I am praying whether I realize it or not. Everyone prays throughout their lives but one must be aware to whom they are praying to.
A Comparison: Everyone prays throughout his life… But praying to whom?
- Some are aware that they are expecting a conscious absolute Being who is the Creator of the universe and thus the Creator of human beings with their needs, is going to create what he is expecting to be created for him.
- Some others pray to nature. They believe that “Nature” (whatever they mean by it, is not explained at all) meets their innate emotions and needs blindly and without awareness. Imagine the psychological situation of a person who doesn’t believe in God. They are addressing something which has no consciousness. Consequently, they are satisfied only if “luck” is on their side; otherwise, their needs go unmet. What they imagine to meet their needs is unconscious. The things they do have no purpose. In the end, they feel that they simply will cease to exist with no result. They live a life that carries them to a meaningless death, which diametrically contradicts human feelings, as they claim everything is produced by unconscious “Nature”.
We hear popular statements such as “nature does not discriminate. It embraces everyone no matter their background and beliefs” and “nature is blind”. They are addressing something unconscious similar to standing in front of a big stone and asking the stone to do something for you. Everyone would see the craziness in this. The stone doesn’t understand you, that is what the concept of “nature” is. When one does not believe in a conscious Creator, their life becomes meaningless where they are going to disappear from existence. There is no hope at all for a future beyond death as they describe their existence as a result of evolution of random happenings executed by blind Nature within the limitations of this material world.
- Some others pray to absurd existence; they think that whatever they are doing has no meaning, devoid of intrinsic value. They are living in an alienated world but they have to struggle anyway to continue their lives in spite of no reality. For example, I am working very hard to excel in my career. Why do I work so hard when I know that I will disappear from existence when I die at the end. The things they do have no intrinsic value which is why many young folks say that they don’t know why they are doing what they are doing in their lives. The philosophers use the term “alienation” and thus struggle in this strange world with no meaning in anything. Unfortunately, many of us are influenced by the work of such philosophers in our understanding of living where we use and live by what they have stated in their books: “We have to continue our life anyway even when there is no reality to it”.
Compare the ideas of the materialist philosophers putting hopes in unconscious matter to the fundamental teachings of the Quran which introduces to us an absolutely conscious Creator of the universe, God, who has absolute free will and educates us here; it also introduces the next creation after our body dies; and that everything in the world is represented by angels with their meaningful existence. The Quran establishes all these concepts to essentially teach me my position on what I am doing in this world which is nothing but supplicating, invoking the creator of the universe, communicating with Him and presenting my neediness to Him. Prayer is the heart of worship. That is the fundamental teaching of the Quran that we need to remember in our daily life.
The Qur’an as a book of Prayer, Worship, and Invocation
“Prayer (Supplication) is the very heart of worship. It grows from a deep, honest belief. When you pray, you are aware that there is an Absolute Being, the Creator, who governs the entire universe. It is like saying:
“He knows the smallest details of my life, yet He is powerful enough to make my biggest aims come true. He sees everything I go through, and hears my voice. Just as He hears the cries of every living creature, He hears me too, because He manages the whole world. He is the One who created me with all my needs for eternity. I can trust Him with even my tiniest needs – I turn to Him for everything. I am His guest here and He is my host educating me here to get to know who is the owner of my existence.”
Many of us may think of prayers as the five daily prayers. Indeed, that is also the physical representative of worship. Worship to my Creator becomes meaningful prayers when I am conscious of what I am doing in my actions, understanding that I cannot create. Every form of worship needs consciousness towards our Creator. I am given consciousness where I can understand that I cannot create. No one can guarantee their next moment of existence. In my breathing, inhaling and exhaling are all acts of prayers to my Creator if I am conscious of this. Whenever I do an action, I must have this in mind that the Absolute Creator knows the smallest needs in my life, yet He is powerful enough to make possible the biggest aims of my life come true. He knows me because He is my Creator. He sees everything that I go through. He is the one who hears the cries of every living creature, takes care of the flies, ants and the birds, whose needs are all met. Through this display of care in the universe, He introduces Himself to me as my Owner, my Lord, my Host.
Notice how much peace and clarity this kind of understanding brings! It shows a pure, sweet connection to the Absolute Being, God. To truly understand this, look at what the Qur’an tells us:
قُلْ مَا يَعْبَؤُا۟ بِكُمْ رَبِّى لَوْلَا دُعَآؤُكُمْ ۖ
“Say, you would not have any value in My Lord if it weren’t for your supplication…“ (25:77)
This means that your worth before your Creator is measured solely by the bond you build with Him through your prayers (supplications). Can anyone imagine a moment not supplicating to their Creator? It is impossible to live in a minute without breathing, which is a prayer to the Creator of the universe to create a new universe in the next moment where I need to be alive. Indeed, regardless of believing in God or not, every one prays to God for his life to be given every moment when they breathe. Whenever we use our free will to do anything it is a supplication to God to create the result for us in the following moment. In this sense, every one is valuable in the “eye of God”; that is why He responds to our prayers and accepts it as long as He decides to have us here on earth as His guests. Depending on whether we accept this or not, accordingly we feel that we are precious guests of God or that an accidental being happened to exist here on earth with no meaning and purpose. This feeling is the result of my choice. The Qur’an delicately teaches us that whether one believes in their Creator or not, they are always in supplication, and only through this supplication we gain the value in our existence.
There is a beautiful saying that captures this perfectly. “If God did not intend to give, He would not have given us the need for it and desire to ask in order to satisfy this need. “ (Nursi)
If I am in need of something, I must not be afraid to ask for it. I must understand that I am always in need of my Creator, I cannot get out of my createdness. Is it a good thing to be needy? There is a famous saying among the Muslim population: “اَلۡفَقۡرُ فَخۡرِیۡ وَالۡفَقۡرُ مِنِّی” declaring human reality of being proud of one’s neediness before God by acknowledging that we cannot create, every moment of creation can only be from the Creator of the universe..This feeling can be understood by thinking of a person who is the guest of the president of a country. It is explicitly declared by the Qur’an that “يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ” “O men! It is you, who stand in need of God, whereas He alone is self-sufficient, the One to whom all praise is due.” (25:15) All my needs are given by Him giving me an opportunity to understand that He is the One who fulfills them. For example, I am created with a stomach and my sense of hunger, He is the One who satisfies it with the food and nourishment that He creates for me. I have the need for eternal satisfaction which nothing of this universe can create; this need is the guarantee that it would be fulfilled by the One who gave me that need.
Key Takeaways in Simple Terms:
Prayer is connection: It is not just a ritual, it’s a conversation with the One who creates and runs the universe. Rituals are the reminding means of connecting with our Creator.
No request is too small: The One who holds the stars in their courses, at the same time creates the running digestive system in the ant, equips it with the sense of how to feed itself, and provides its food according to that system. He can certainly help you with your daily struggles.
Desire is a Promise: If He had not wanted to give, He would not have instilled the feeling of wanting. If He had not wanted to meet the need for eternal life and happiness, He would not have created me with the need for eternal life and happiness. This creation of the need in me is His promise, warranty papers that it would be fulfilled by the Creator of my need.