Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.
PRAYER: Expression of Heartfelt Attachment to God
Prayer, calling upon God, is an unceasing activity. It is an expression of one’s unending and heartfelt attachment to God at all times.
Prayer means calling upon God. This means that God’s servant calls to Him asking for something for his needs, or to express his willingness to serve Him. This call in itself is a form of worship.
God is a living and eternal existence. He hears, He sees, He has the power to do what He wants and sets the course of events in whatever direction He wants.
It is this conviction about God which arouses this feeling within a person that he should call upon Him. When a person achieves God realization, he naturally has an urge to call upon God to meet his needs. He should call upon God for the blessings of this world and the Hereafter. He should acknowledge God as his Sustainer and Provider.
There is no time or method set for prayer nor does it require a separate language. At all times, an individual can call upon God in any form and in any language. If calling upon God has come from a sincere heart, this prayer will instantly reach God. God will hear it and accordingly will decide upon its acceptance.
There are certain prayers which are repeated in different forms of ritual worship. But most prayers are those which are not linked with any particular activity. For instance, when a person goes to bed at night, some words of prayer come to his lips. Similarly, when he gets up in the morning, he begins to pray for a better beginning for the new day. The same thing happens when he meets someone or eats or drinks something or boards some conveyance to go on a journey, or during his business dealings. Or even in any other situation, in relation to it some words of prayer are uttered by him, for example, ‘O God, in this matter grant me something better.’ This action of prayer in a believer’s life occurs continually in different forms.
Prayer means calling upon God. And calling upon God is an unceasing activity. It goes on in all situations. Prayer is an expression of one’s unending and heartfelt attachment to God. The life of a believer is not at any time free from prayer.