God, the All-Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate,
revealed in the Qur’an that He is close to man and will
answer people when they pray to Him. One of the relevant
verses is as follows:
If My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer
the call of the caller when he calls on Me. They
should therefore respond to Me and believe in Me so
that they will be guided aright. (Surat al-Baqara: 186)
As stated in the verse above, God is close to everybody.
He has knowledge of everyone’s wishes, feelings, thoughts,
every word uttered, anything whispered and even what is
concealed deep in one’s thoughts. Consequently, God hears
and knows everyone who turns to Him and prays to Him.
This is God’s blessing on mankind, and a manifestation of
His mercy, grace and infinite power.
God has infinite might and knowledge. He is the
every object, from the seemingly most powerful people to the
greatest riches, from the magnificent celestial bodies to a tiny
animal dwelling on the Earth, all belongs to God and are all
A person who has faith in this truth can pray to God for
anything and can hope that God will answer those prayers.
For example, a person who is seized by an incurable disease
will surely resort to all forms of medical care. Yet, knowing
that only God restores health, prayers will be offered to Him
for recovery. Alternatively, a person with some kind of fear or
anxiety can pray to God for relief and to remove all forms of
fear. Aperson who encounters difficulties in accomplishing a
task can turn to God for the removal of difficulties. One can
pray to God for countless things; for guidance to the true
path, for acceptance into paradise with other true believers,
for a better grasp of paradise, hell and the Might of God, for
good health and so on. This is what God’s Messenger, peace
be upon him, stressed when he said:
Shall I introduce to you a weapon which will protect you both from
the evils of enemies and increase your sustenance? They said: Yes, O
Messenger of God. He said: Call your Lord day and night, for
‘Prayer’ is the weapon of a believer.
However, there is another secret disclosed in the Qur’an,
which deserves mention at this point. As God states in the
verse,
“Man prays for evil just as he prays for good. Man isprone to be impetuous.”
(Surat al-Isra’: 11). Not every prayerby man may be beneficial. For example, a person may ask
God for more property and wealth for his children’s future.
However, God may not see any goodness in this request. It
may well be that prosperity will turn the children away from God. In this sense, God hears this person’s call, accepts it as a
form of worship and answers it in the best way.
Alternatively, a person may pray not to be late for an
appointment. However, it may well be that it is better for him
to reach the destination after the specified time and instead,
meet someone who would contribute something beneficial
for his eternal life. God knows this and He answers the
prayer, not in the form the person thought, but in the best
way. That is, God hears that person, but if He sees no good
for him in his prayer, He creates what is best for him. This
itself is a very important secret.
When prayers appear to go unanswered, those unaware
of this secret assume that God did not hear their call. This is
indeed a perverted belief of ignorance because
“God is closerto man than his own jugular vein”
. (Surat Qaf: 16) Heknows every word one speaks, every thought and every
instant pertaining to one’s life. Even while one is asleep, God
knows what he experiences in his dreams. It is God Who
creates everything. Consequently, each time one prays to
God, he should be aware that God will accept his prayer as a
worship and believe that God will answer his call in the most
appropriate time and create what is best for him.
Prayer, as well as being a form of worship, is also a
precious gift from God to mankind. This is because, through
prayer, God enables man to attain anything He deems good
and beneficial for him. God relates the importance of prayers
in the verse stating:
“Say: ‘What has My Lord to do with youif you do not call on Him? But you have denied the truth,
so punishment is bound to come.’ ”
(Surat al-Furqan: 77)
