Session 47 Notes
In this series on “prayers”, we discussed the harmony, perfect correspondence between the order of the universe and the order in the way our mind works.This shows that the universe has been created deliberately for human beings including their ability to understand the meaning in the universe. The one who created the human mind and logic also created the universe with a relationship to work in harmony with this mind and logic. Through the comprehension of the universe, we realize our Owner, who is also the Owner of the universe. Let’s examine Figure 1 which shows a God believing family enjoying their walk.
Figure 1
Is the little girl a scientist that is measuring the physical elements of the flower? No, she is simply enjoying the creation of those beautifully created flowers. Her brother is also enjoying taking pictures of the beautiful mountainous landscape, the sunrise and the flock of birds all created to entertain human beings. Obviously, he is not taking the picture of the flocks of the birds to count their number, he loves them flying together and enjoying their fly. How are the birds able to recognize their species to fly together without any mixing up with other species? The birds seem happy, the environment is pleasant and the human beings are seen as having a good time. Human feelings are involved in this relationship with the universe. It is not only a logical communication but involves emotions and feelings known as the human spirit.
Since the topic is on prayers, can we turn this enjoyment into a form of prayer? Absolutely. We are being hosted, treated, and entertained here as the guests of the Creator of the universe. By acknowledging this reality, I can turn these events and experiences into prayer.
Human Beings must pray in unity with the universe
Order in the universe and Human Feelings and Mind
- The harmony between mind as well as feelings and the message of the universe is striking. For example, we experience security, meaning, hunger, pleasure, taste, etc. I feel right at home in this universe. Everything is created to serve us in a beautiful way for whatever we need. We love to see beautiful things such as sunrises and sunsets. The sun, clouds, air in the universe are all employed in this way. We are also given the sense to dislike ugliness. When something smells bad or is harmful to my being, I don’t want it. My senses perfectly correspond to what is created in the universe. While using my free will, I must be thankful to my Creator for either the enjoyment of something beautiful or for letting me know to stay away from the things that are displeasurable and harmful to me.
- The creation of the universe and the creation of human beings which correspond to each other in their physical as well as spiritual relationship, points to a shared origin (the Creator of the universe.)
Praying in action
- Only by recognizing the Creator while practicing our free will can we turn our action into prayer. For example, one may be cleaning their room, they can turn this into worship by communicating with their Creator. Our Creator has given us the love for cleanliness and has also given us the free will to exercise and practice the act of cleaning. Through the action of cleaning, we are communicating with the Creator of the universe while we are practicing our free will. In fact we are asking the Creator to create cleanliness for us. If one is conscious of their action then they can turn those moments into prayers, i.e. communicating with the Creator of the universe and acknowledging that the results of our choice are going to be created by Him.
- When we pray with this awareness, even our everyday chores become worship. This allows us to live in a constant state of God’s presence. When we turn our lives into worship by keeping our awareness alive, we can live a life in the presence of the Creator of the universe on every occasion.
Let’s examine Figure 2 which shows a lady that is enjoying gardening. With the awareness of the act of gardening realizing that everything is beautifully created by God, that act of gardening becomes a means of worship.
All the tasks and chores that one does such as cooking, reading, studying, cleaning can all become prayers with awareness. One can connect their mind and feelings to their Creator. The lady is not growing the plants but is expressing her need, asking the Creator of the universe to grow the plant for her.
Figure 2
We can now examine Figure 3 which shows a lady with a bucket of freshly picked tomatoes and a prayer rug.
Figure 3
She just performed her prayer by gardening, picking up some produce by acknowledging that they are all God’s bounties. The prayer rug signifies her performing prayers as a direct communication with God after her performing the action wise prayer of gardening. Her mind and feelings have always been with God through the creation of other things but now she will pick a place to directly communicate with God: “I see that everything in the universe, all plants around me, the sun, the atmosphere, my mind and feelings acknowledge Your Mercy, Wisdom, Benevolence, Power and Authority. By gardening, I am expressing my needs for provision which only You can create and provide. Neither matter nor can I give existence to the tomatoes, to the sun, the water and air. Nothing in this universe can give existence to the order in creation. I am immensely grateful to You and I am always in need of Your help.”
The 5 daily ritual prayers are the pinnacle of our direct relationship to our creator through interacting with the universe. These prayers are also described as the ascension of the believer by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We must try to be conscious in our daily activities which is like climbing the ladder of recognition in reaching God and the daily ritual prayers is the final step to communicate with God expressing my acknowledgment of Him.
Let’s examine the verse:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
“When my servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I answer the call of the one who calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me so that they will be rightly guided” (2:286)
The verse doesn’t say “tell them I am near” but says “indeed I am near” meaning that God’s presence is always eminent in our life; He is directly always with us in our daily life. We only need to be aware of this. For example, we don’t need someone to tell the gardner that the tomatoes are created by your Creator so you have to thank Him. No, the verse is saying that through the action of gardening, the creation of the tomato, the creation of the person’s mind and feelings, God is Himself answering: “I am near. I answer the call of the one who calls upon Me”. Whenever I use my free will, I am calling upon God to create what I want. If I am conscious, I will realize that He is always there answering my call.
Let’s look at the following verse:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ
“Your Lord says call out to Me; I will answer you.” (40:60)
This verse uses the same phrasing of “calling out to God” and He will answer me. The question always comes up when we pray to God to please give me something I want but it doesn’t always happen. The scholar Nursi explains this with an example on how the prayers are always answered even though the result may not be to our liking.
The Question: Do we receive answers to all of our prayers? Some of our prayers seem not to be “answered”.
The Answer: There is difference between answering and accepting
Think of a sick child calling for a doctor. The doctor always answers: “I am here, what do you need?”. But the doctor doesn’t always give the child the specific medicine that he wants. Based on his wisdom, the doctor will:
- Give exactly what was asked for,
- Give something even better or,
- Give nothing at all because it would be harmful
We will finally look at the following verse:
فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّى وَضَعْتُهَآ أُنثَىٰ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ ٱلذَّكَرُ كَٱلْأُنثَىٰ ۖ وَإِنِّى سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّىٓ أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
“When she delivered her, she said, ‘My Lord, I have delivered a female’ – and God knew best what she had delivered – and the male is not like the female. ‘I have named her Mary, and I seek Your Protection for her and her descendants from Satan, the accursed.’ ” (3:36)
We are mostly familiar with the story of Mary in the Qur’an. The mother of Mary is an example for us to pay attention to. She was expecting a male who would be serving the temple but instead gave birth to a female. At that time, the temples did not accept female students to become scholars. In this verse, we are told that God knows what is better for her and He chooses and decides what to create. His choice is the best response to her prayer. One may say that her prayer was not accepted, but the prayer was answered according to His Will. She names the child Mary and her communication with God continues in seeking protection for her and her descendants, the prophet Jesus, from Satan, the accursed. Thus, Mary’s mother’s prayer was accepted with a better choice. Instead of having a boy serving in the Temple, God blessed him with a girl who gave birth to a prophet who not only served in the Temple but corrected all the corruption which was going on at that time in the Temple with a new message from God, The Bible.
We usually have the understanding that God didn’t hear my prayers which is why I didn’t get what I asked for. It is not important to get what we want but it is important to express our need to be fulfilled by our Creator. I should turn to Him and trust Him as He knows what is best for me. We shouldn’t really emphasize on what we want but be aware that I am presenting my need to my Lord who creates what is best for me. I don’t know the future; I must put my trust in the One who knows the past, present and future.