day and that you imagine you know and understand very well; so much so
that you imagine it would be impossible to understand the majority of
them any better than you do already. But that is not always true.
Sometimes you may heara different account or witness something that
leads to a brand new door, a new horizon youhad never contemplated
before, opening up on a subject you thought you knew so well. Your
whole perspective changes, not only momentarily but fundamentally. You
acquire a new perspective on that long familiar subject, as if youwere
encountering it forthe first time.
One of these subjects about which one constantly acquires a new and
more profoundconception during the various stages of one's life is
'prayer.' A believer knows that Allah will heed all prayers, and
trusts in that truth with all his heart. But the more a person's
closeness to Allah, depth of faith and understanding of destiny grow,
the more his perspective toward prayer deepens and is perfected.
Although he knows the verses of the Qur'an very well, the spiritual
power that Allah instills in his heart through those verses constantly
increases whenever he reads themagain. And for someone who is
determined in faith, this situation is repeated constantly untilthe
end of his life.
One piece of knowledge regarding prayer that will again be
instrumental in the opening of his heart when he hears it is that
prayer 'is the key to destiny.' This is part of the law of Allah. When
Muslims beseech Allah with love and passion, by His leave, what they
desire will come about.
This is a secret mystery of Allah that very few people are aware of.
When one prays, Allah's destiny goes into motion. Mass prayer
especially has a particular power; when Muslims request something
determinedlyand en masse , and whenthey embrace natural causes, then
by Allah's leave, something that people thought would never happen
does in fact come to pass. Allah has created the world bythat law.
Allah is He Who heeds every prayer
Allah has cited many examples in the Qur'an so that people can
understand this secret ofdestiny: the Prophet Jonah (pbuh) frequently
prayed to Allah from inside the stomach of the whale, and Allah
rescued him in an incomparable manner. When the Prophet Moses(pbuh)
and his people were trapped between Pharaoh's army and the sea, the
Prophet Moses (pbuh) prayed to Allah infull submission, and Allah
created a miraculous escape for him and his people. Rasulullah (saas)
placed all his trust in the infinite might of Allah when he and a
friend were in the cave, and Allah spared him from the traps of the
unbelievers and grantedhim victory. In the same way, when the Prophet
Joseph (pbuh) was thrown down the well, Allah in His infinite mercy
sent him help. Allah again manifested His infinite mercy when the
Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was about to be cast into the flames, and made
them cool for him. The Prophet Zechariah (pbuh) prayed to Allah, and
despite their advanced age, he and his wife were blessed by Allah with
the birth of the Prophet John (pbuh).
Some of the verses of the Qur'an that reveal how Allah heeds the
sincere calls of His prophets are as follows:
Jonah too was one of the messengers. When he ran away to the fully
laden shipand cast lots and lost. Then the fish devoured him and he
was to blame. Had it not been that he was a man who glorified Allah,
he would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are raised
again. So We cast him uponto the beach and he was sick; and We caused
a gourd tree to grow over him. We sent him toa hundred thousand or
even more. They believed and so We gavethem enjoyment for a time.
(Surat as-Saffat, 139-148)
And when the two hosts came into sight of one another Moses'
companions said, "We will surely be overtaken!" He said, "Never! My
Lord is with me and He will guide me." So We revealed to Moses,
"Strike the sea with your staff." And it split in two, each part like
a towering cliff. And We brought the others right up to it. We rescued
Moses and all those who were with him. Then We drowned the rest. There
is certainly a sign in that yet most of them are notbelievers. (Surat
ash-Shu'ara', 61-67)
If you do not help him, Allah did help him when the unbelievers drove
him out and there were two of them in the Cave. He said to his
companion, "Do not be despondent, Allah is with us." Then Allah sent
down His serenity upon him and reinforced him with troops you could
not see. He made the word of the unbelievers undermost. It is the
wordof Allah which is uppermost. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
(Suratat-Tawba, 40)
When they declared, "Why! Joseph and his brother are dearer to our
father than we are although we constitute apowerful group. Our father
is clearly making a mistake. Kill Joseph or expel him to some land so
that your father will look to you alone and then you can be people who
do right." (Surah Yusuf, 8-9)
But when, in fact, they did go out with him and gathered all together
and agreed to put him atthe bottom of the well, We then revealed to
himthat: "You will inform them of this deed they perpetrate at a time
when they are totally unaware." (Surah Yusuf, 15)
Some travelers came that way and then dispatched their water-drawer
who let his bucket down. He said, "Good news for me, I've found a
boy!" They then hid him away among their goods. Allah knew very well
what they were doing. They sold him for a pittance, a fewsmall coins,
considering him to be of little worth. (Surah Yusuf, 19-20)
The Egyptian who had bought him told his wife, "Look after him with
honor and respect. It's possible he will be of use to us or perhaps we
might adopt him as a son." And thus We established Joseph in theland
to teach him the true meaning of events. Allah is in control of His
affair. However, most of mankind do not know. And then when he became
a full-grown man, We gave him knowledge and right judgement too. That
is how We reward all doers of good. (Surah Yusuf, 21-22)
They said, "Who has done this to our gods? He is definitely one of the
wrongdoers!" They said, "We heard a young man mentioning them. They
call him Abraham." They said, "Bring him before the people's eyes so
they can be witnesses." (Surat al- Anbiya', 59-61)
They said, "Burn him andsupport your gods if youare resolved to do
something." We said, "Fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham!" They
desired to trap him but We made them the losers. (Surat al- Anbiya',
68-70)
And Zechariah when he called out to his Lord, "My Lord, do not leave
me on my own, though You are the Best of Inheritors." We responded to
him and gave him John, restoringfor him his wife's fertility. They
outdid oneanother in good actions,calling out to Us in yearning and in
awe, and humbling themselves to Us. (Surat al- Anbiya', 89-90)
Then and there Zechariah called on his Lord and said, "O Lord, grant
me by Your favor an upright child. You arethe Hearer of Prayer." The
angels called out to him while he was standing in prayer in theUpper
Room: "Allah givesyou the good news of John, who will come to confirm
a Word from Allah, and will be a leader and a celibate, a Prophet and
one of the righteous." He said, "My Lord, how can I possibly have a
son when I have reached old age and my wife is barren?" He said, "It
will be so. Allah does whatever He wills." (Surah Al 'Imran, 38-40)
Some people who encounter similar situations to these cited in the
Qur'an in their own lives fall into the error of thinking that "it is
impossible" for their prevailing circumstancesto ever change. Since
their attitude is essentially one of despair and lack of faith,they
fail to properly appreciate the might of Allah and do not pray to Him
with a genuine and absolute submission to Him. And this stems from
these people being unaware of the secret ofdetermined prayer, and
being unaware that prayer is the key to destiny.
Yet if Allah so wishes He can immediately make those things that
people mistakenly think of as "impossible" a reality. In the same way
that Allah sent His help to messengers and true believers in the past,
andthat situations regarded as "impossible" were made a reality, so
this also applies to the lives of everyone today.
Praying with absolute faith
Everyone may face situations wherein they may truly want from Allah
but that look impossible to happen. But people must never be deceived
under thesecircumstances. It is very important not to forget that
prayer is the key to destiny and that when one prays, so Allah's
destiny goes into motion, and thus to beseech Allah with an absolute
faith. In the same way that our Lord smoothed the way for the Prophet
Moses (pbuh) and helped the prophets Jonah (pbuh), Abraham (pbuh) and
Zechariah (pbuh), so all sincere Muslims hope for Him to respond to
their prayers with mercy.
Of course, however, a believer who really wants something to happen
must frequently call on Allah, just like theProphet Jonah (pbuh) and
must, just like our Prophet Muhammad (saas) and the Prophet Moses
(pbuh), say "Of course, our Lord is with us," without losing
heartunder even the most difficult of conditions; he must trust in
Allah's might with a powerful faith, feeling no doubts at all. And
then the secret in prayer will come about and, by Allah's leave,
destiny willbegin to work in the desired direction.
The great Islamic scholarImam Rabbani reminds believers of this great
and certain truth in the following passage:
"To ask for something is to obtain it; because Almighty Allah will not
allow His servant to uttera prayer that He will not heed." (Imam
Rabbani)
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