For a servant whose heart is filled with the love of God, one of the greatest joys in the life of this world is being able to turn directly to his Lord and ask Him for everything. Man is a limited being in many respects. His knowledge is limited; it is impossible for him to know everything about the universe, life and the future. His power is limited; he cannot accomplish everything he desires. His lifespan is limited; he cannot escape death and does not know how long he will live. Nor does he have complete control over the circumstances in which he finds himself or the outcomes of events. No matter how many precautions he takes or how much effort he makes, he cannot know what results will arise from the countless causes surrounding him and his environment. Indeed, God has revealed that man was created weak:
God desires to make things lighter for you. Man was created weak. (Surat an-Nisa, 28)
Yet despite being weak and limited, there is a door before man that leads to God, the Possessor of infinite might. A servant can disclose his wishes, complaints and requests to God, tell Him what is in his heart, present his needs to Him and address his Lord directly. In the life of this world, there may be things that a person wishes to do but cannot, some doors may be closed in his face and some means may be exhausted. Yet the door of turning to God is always open. Wherever he may be, a servant can pray to God, and God certainly hears His servant’s prayer.
Prayer is not merely asking for something; it is one of the most powerful forms of the direct bond man establishes with God. It is the servant turning to his Lord, acknowledging that he is in need of Him and knowing that God has absolute dominion over all causes. When he prays, he knows that his own power is limited and turns to his Almighty Lord, the Possessor of infinite power. Through prayer, he expresses his need for Him, his admiration, submission, love and devotion. When a servant takes refuge in and beseeches his Lord in this way, a very powerful spiritual bond is established between him and God.
In the Qur’an, prayer is given a special meaning when the nearness between God and His servant is described. In the 60th verse of Surah Ghafir, God’s words, “... Call on Me and I will answer you...” draw attention to this special closeness. In the 186th verse of Surat al-Baqara, when His servants ask about Him, God says, “... I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me...” God’s direct expression of His nearness to His servant and His response to him through prayer reveals the special significance prayer bears in the closeness between God and His servant. God’s revelation to His servants that they should ask directly from Him and that He will answer when they pray to Him is an incomparable blessing and favor for the servant.
The life of this world is a world of causes. Everything in the world takes place through certain causes. Therefore, throughout his life, man resorts to various causes. When he falls ill, he takes medicine; when he is thirsty, he drinks water; and he makes an effort to meet a need. Each of these takes place within the causes created by God. Man acts by relying on these causes with the means granted to him and expects to attain a result. Yet above all these causes is God, Who creates them and brings about their results.
Prayer is also a cause, a means of turning to God and drawing closer to Him. Yet it holds a special place among these causes. That is because when man prays, he does not turn to another cause created by God, but personally and directly to God, the Creator of all causes. In this sense, although prayer takes place within the world of causes, it is distinct from other causes in that it is a cause through which one turns personally and directly to God. Indeed, in the internal functioning of the universe, causes always follow one another. Man turns to water to quench his thirst and takes medicine as a means to healing. In each of these, man resorts to a cause created by God and awaits the result. When he prays, however, he turns directly to his Lord and asks from Him.
Something that appears impossible to a servant is not impossible for God. When praying, man must not be constrained by the limits of his own means, but must take God’s infinite might as his basis. Indeed, something that appears impossible for man to come about is very easy for God. Since man evaluates matters according to his own limited means and knowledge, he may regard some things as possible and others as impossible. Yet for God, creating is one. The Qur’an reveals that when God wills a thing, He merely says to it, “Be,” and it immediately is.
The event experienced by the Prophet Zachariah is a clear example of this. His astonishment at being told that he would be given a child despite his advanced age is understandable by human standards. When Mary learned that she would be given a child, she too asked, “How can I have a boy when no man has touched me and I am not an unchaste woman?” In both cases, the answer God revealed through the angel is the same: “That is easy for Me.” (Surah Maryam, 9 and 21) In these examples, the difference between the limits of human means and God’s might can clearly be seen. As in these examples, God has the power to bring about anything He wills without being in need of causes.
Therefore, prayer cannot be limited by the greatness or smallness of what is asked from God, or by whether the human mind regards it as possible or impossible. In terms of God’s might, there is no difference between the fulfillment of a request that appears very great to man and the fulfillment of one that appears small. In the presence of God’s infinite might, all causes and results are subject to His will.
The special position of prayer is also clearly understood from the verse, “Say: ‘What has My Lord to do with you if you do not call on Him?'…” (Surat al-Furqan, 77) The fact that man’s worth is associated with prayer shows what a special place prayer holds in the relationship between God and His servant.
The relationship between prayer and destiny must also be understood correctly. Prayer is not an intervention that takes place outside destiny. When we pray, it must not be thought that events change outside destiny. That is because both the servant who prays and the result of his prayer are within God’s eternal knowledge and will. The servant’s prayer and the result that will come about in response to his prayer are both contained within the entirety of destiny determined in eternity. The servant prays because God causes him to pray. Indeed, even man’s will cannot come about apart from God’s will. The words in the Qur’an, “But you will not will unless God wills...” (Surat al-Insan, 30) reveal this truth. Attention is drawn to this fact in another verse as follows:
The kingdom of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. All things return to God. (Surat al-Hadid, 5)
For this reason, whether praying or striving, the servant must not think that his own effort will determine the result. Resorting to causes and doing all that he can are the servant’s duty and worship, but it is God Who will create the result that emerges at the end of all causes and efforts, or rather, Who has created this result in eternity. It is very important not to expect that a development outside destiny will take place when praying. Prayer means supplicating directly to God through this special cause, this special means that God has created within destiny and emphasized in the verses, regarding this opportunity as a great favor and blessing. Here, the servant must know and never forget that it is God Who creates these causes, Who brings about the results and Who caused him to make that prayer in eternity.
The servant must be aware of the great blessing he possesses: At any moment he wishes, he can turn to his Lord, open his heart to Him and present his needs and wishes directly to Him. What he must do is make the best use of this extraordinary opportunity granted to him in order to draw closer to God.
