CHAPTER – 3

DOCTRINE
OF
NECESSITY

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‘O God! If I worship Thee in fear of Hell,
burn me in Hell;
and if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise,
exclude me from Paradise;
But If I worship Thee for Thine own sake,
Withhold not Thine Everlasting Beauty!’

…….…. Rabiah Basri

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 Let us now look into the preparatories one has to observe before he
stands before his Creator for begging for His Mercy. As a general code, prayer is
to be called with a clean, free from any sort of filthy, prejudice or any other evil
thoughts in the light of the teaching of Holy Quran or the Hadith. The Qur-an
says: “For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who
keep themselves pure and clean:. (2:222) The Sayings of the holy Prophet points:
(1) They will enter the Garden of Bliss who have a true and merciful hearts. (2)
Religion is admonition, and it means being pure.

Mention in the Qur-an are a number of verses and saying of the holy
Prophet and the subject of purity of mind, body, clothes, etc. A verse which has
promptly reflected itself is: “And thy garments, keep free from stain”. (74:4).
Nevertheless,there can be no proper approach to God with an unclean, criminal
or filthy mind. While at a prayer, a person is required to withdraw his attention
from all the worldly affairs and to apply his mind solely to the contemplation of
God and His Infinite Mercy. Worthy to quote here: “The only lasting beauty is
the beauty of the heart”. – Hazrat Jalaluddin al-Rumi. Then follows the a total
cleanliness of ones body with water which should include all the requirements of
a normal ablution.

A faithfull is required to put on decent and clean clothes before he

prepares himself for the purpose. As a matter of fact, these performances are
identical as one prepares for the usual five-time prayers. This is then followed by
the neatness and cleanliness of the place where one sits to call upon God. This
could be any place where one can offer a usual prayer.

Thus, the further knowledge on prayer, supplicate or calling upon God is

followed from the Sunnah or Hadith. The sayings and the deeds of the holy
Prophet contain a treasure of innumerable prayers. Here let us quote just a few
Sayings of the holy Prophet on the human modesty itself:

 True modesty is the source of all virtues.

 Modesty and chastity are parts of the Faith.

 Meckness and modesty are two branches of Iman; and vain talking and
embellishing are two branches of hypocrisy.

 All kinds of modesty are best.

 Life maintenance on honest and legitimate sustenance for every

perceivable point of view whatsoever.

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 Individual cleanliness of body, clothes, location/place and with
prescribed ablution as per the prescribed values and guidelines.

 With utmost reverence to God, the Great.

 Sincerely, purity, reason and truth of intention and purpose.

 With humility, humbleness, meakness, modesty of all kinds, merciful

heart and with sincere tears.

 Before calling upon God some holy deed(s) be performed. This may
include-special optional prayer (may be only 2 rkats), optional fast,
charity of any kind acceptable in Islam. Be sure, every good act is
charity.

 Face to Ka’ba (Qibla).

 Sit as in Jalsa, i.e. sitting down in a reverential posture, keeping the right
foot erect on the toes and the left one in a reclining position under the
rumps. This position is also known as Qaidah.

 The hands of the person may not be higher than his chest and more than
6 inches away from the chest. Also the eyes must be pinned on to the
palms of the hands. Both hands be together.

 A worshipper is said to be nearest when he is in Sajdha position, i.e.,

postrating in such a way that both the palms of the hands, the forehead,
the nasal bone, the knees and the toes of both feet touch the ground; there
must be sufficient space between the arms and the chest and the legs and
the belly so that they do not touch each other but remain separate.

 Before and after calling upon Him, one should glorify Him by whatever
the appropriate words one can muster.

 At the beginning and at the end of his prayer, one should recite Darud.
Drud is begging God to shower His blessings on our holy Prophet and his
descendants as He showered His blessings on Abraham and his
descendands. Verily He is Praise-worthy, the Glorious.

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 Druds are in different words. One may recite according to his will and
wish. However, “Durud Ibrahimi” (as recited in nmaz or prayer) is
preferred. Darud is repeated for few times. However, no limit is fixed. It
is said least for twice.

 One may be so much involved in praying that he should not look here
and there. It told one shouldn’t look at the sky. God is before us and we
are before Him.

 The Lord be called upon by His “Beautiful Names”.

 No rendering of any poetry witten by someone else.

 Reference could be given of any good deed(s) done in the past.

 Reference by names could be given of the Prophets, holy men of past, the
holy mosques, places and the heavenly Books.

 Keep low voice, audible to oneself only.

 Repentance of one’s own sins, human and personal faults and drawbacks
should precede the desired supplicate.

 The prayers should be comprehensive in their contents and may be as per

the contents as directed by the Prophet (pbuh).

 It may start for oneself personnel, extended for the parents and then for
all the muslims on the globe.

 If due is led by someone his wording should be in plural i.e. he should

not use the word “I” but “we”.

 The prayer should call with earnest hope that his call will be definitely
granted However, it should satisfy all the required dimensions and
parameters necessary.

 State of love and fear of God.

 Should call upon the Most Mercyful from the very depth of his heart.

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 The caller to repeat his aim again and again in most befitting words and
supreme ethical manners.

 The servant of God should not stress upon his Creator that He should
accept his prayer.

 The worshipper is forbidden to ask for success committing any sin or

wrong against the injunctions of Quran, Sunnah.

 The matters destined as they are, could not be asked, for reversal, e.g. a
woman praying to become a man, etc. In other words, not to ask for
something which your own conscious tells is impossible. That is to say
no one is allowed to make such type of requests to his Benefactor, the
Most Merciful.

 One shouldn’t be miser in prayer, e.g. to say that God may forgive him
alone (and not others). Here one is reminded of a sayings of Prophet
(pbuh): “No man hath believed perfectly until he wish for his brother that
which he wisheth for himself.” “No man is a true believer unless he
desireth for his brother that which he desireth for his brother that which
he desireth for himself.

 For big or small problems, one should call upon the Omnipotent, the
Most Mercyful.

 Put your heart and soul in the supplicate.

 After the completion of the prayer one should say, “Amen!” i.e. “may
Almighty accept what He has been requested for”. One should also say
“Amen” if he is in congregation.

 After the completion of the supplicate both the hands (which are already
in the position as described earlier) be gently brushed (once) on the face.

 One shouldn’t abruptly conclude that his call had not been accepted or
turned down.

 A muslim shouldn’t forget that we, the human beings are the humble
servants of the Sovereign Lord. His Will is the final. Can their be any
argument from his subjects? No, never! It is up to Him to accept, out-
rightly reject or fix a time for its acceptance as and when He desires so. A
muslim should be patient and go on calling upon Him day on and day off.

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 He is Most Merciful. One shouldn’t loose heart. The Last Scripture
enunciates this point:

How many of the Prophets

Fought (in God’s way),
And with them (fought)
Large bands of godly men?
But they never lost heart
If they met with disaster
In God’s way, nor did
They weaken (in will)
Nor give in. For God
Loves those who are
Firm and steadfast. (3 : 146)

Put thy trust in God

For God loves those
Who put their trust (in Him) (3: 159)

And obey God and His Apostle;

And fall into no disputes,
Lest ye lose heart
And your power depart;
And be patient and persevering:
For God is with those
Who patienty persevere: ( 8 : 46)

Situations, Moments

Islam is a religion which specifically aims at human progress; and shows the
proper way of it in a number of divine commands covering every avocation of
man’s daily life, his social interaction, politics as well as every prompting of his
mind and spirit. Sacred Laws, whether from the Holy Scripture or the Hadith,
should be obeyed without any discrimination or acrimony. The success promised
by Islam is not the success of one human being at the expense of others, nor of
one nation to the detriment and despair of others. But it promises the success of
mankind as a whole. Islam is an organic and dynamic religion and not theoretical
or formal. Let us sort out what are the fundamental directions prescribed in the
context of situations and moments at which the prayers are promptly answered:-

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 - After the end of hearing the call (Azan) for Obligatory Prayers.
- During the time period between the Azan and Takbeer (second call),
i.e. during the period between Azan and Iqamat.
- Being arranged before the start of the fighting in Jihad (fighting in the
name of God).
- During intense fighting periods during the Jihad.
- After the Obligatory congregation prayers in the leadership of a
Prayer Leader (Imam).
- At the time of Sahri and Iftar of a fast during the month of Ramdhan.
- During the fasting period.
- After the recital of the Qur-an
- Requesting for dua to anyone who had completed the recital of the
entire Quran.
- At the time of drinking water of Zam Zam Spring.
- By a person who is about to die.
- At the time of raining.
- At the times of cocks crow.
- At the time of closing the eyes of a dying person.
- In the religious gatherings praying or with the congregation.
- At the first sight of Ka’aba without winking.
- Prayer of a father for his children.
- Calling upon God after two-thirds of the night.
- Prayer of a Haji after performing Hajj.
- Prayer in Lalitul Qadir.

Let us now have a reflection of the places or the locations at which the prayers
are said to be most likely be granted by God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful:

- Praying while circumambience Ka’aba as an optional exercise.

- After circumambulation Ka’aba and two rakats optional (nafil) prayer
at the “Station of Ibrahim” (slab of stone on which Prophet Ibrahim
used to stand to build the Ka’aba). It bears his foot prints and is
referred to in the Qur-an as “Mukam-e-Ibrahim” or the Station of
Ibrahim”. It is still preserved near Ka’aba in a glass case with a brass
top. Every person, after circumambulation the Ka’aba, is tradionally
required to offer two “rakats” or “nafil” prayer near this site.

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 - Also near the spring place of Zam Zam. The place is marked on the
courtyard floor opposite to Ka’aba (one can locate it on observation).
- While walking between Sfa and Murwa hillocks and standing on
them.
- Inside Ka’aba (if possible to enter).
- Under the spout (Meezab) of Ka’aba.
- At the time of kissing “Hajra Aswad” or the black stone fixed at a
particular corner of Ka’aba.
- In “Hatim” (which is considered as a part of Ka’aba
- Near “Multzim”, i.e. the portion of the wall between the door-step of
Ka’aba and Hijra Aswad.
- At the ground of Arafat.
- At the ground of Muzdalfa.
- At Mina.
- At all the three symbolic Satan’s columns on which pebbles are hit by
the Hujaj.
As so, all that which could be attempted is perhaps to pointout some salient
features that characterize the outlook of the prayers and to indicate in outline the
large and liberal perspective from where His subjects may call upon Him.
Paradoxically speaking, as Oscar Wild famously observed, “it is not the priest
but the confession that grants us absolution”. The Divine Book says:

If any one does evil

Or wrongs his own soul,
But afterwards seeks God’s forgiveness, he will find
God Oft-forgiving,
Most Merciful.

And if any one earns

Sin, he earns it against
His own soul: for God
Is full of knowledge and wisdom.

But if any one earns

A fault or a sin
And throws it on to one.
That is innocent,
He carries (on himself)
(Both) a falsehood

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 And a flagrant sin. (4 : 110 – 112)

Commenting on the above verses three cases are observed:

- if we do ill and repent, God will forgive;

- if we do ill and do not repent, thinking we can hide it, we are wrong
as nothing is hidden from God, and we shall suffer the full
consequences in the life to come, for we can never evade our
personal responsibility;

- if we do ill, great or small, and impute it to another, our original

responsibility for the ill remains, but we add to it something else; for
we tie round our necks the guilt of falsehood, which converts even
our minor fault into a great sin, and in any case brands us even in this
life with shame and ignominy.

As a matter of fact, real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s
going to know whether you did it or not.

Man has to realize his absolute dependence on the natural laws which
govern all existence. He should reflect upon inability to breathe or raise an arm
without obeying laws he never made. The spectacle of day and night; the law of
consequences which attends on all his acts. As a matter of fact, all these
phenomena should be perpetual reminders to him that his sovereignty or the
jurisdiction of free-will is strictly bounded, and always at the mercy of an
infinitely greater power. But, unfortunately, these facts of life are a little
reminders to his dependence on the Nature. “It is only in the microscope that our
life looks so big. It is an indivisible point, drawn out and magnified by the
powerful lenses of Time and Space.” – Arther Schopenhauer.

Before concluding the discussion, let us have a panoramic lens on a

reflection by Hazrat Ali (A. S): Do not give up hope if the answer to your
request is slow in coming, for surely what you receive depends on the strength of
your request. This also reminds us a quote by Victor Hugo: Have courage for the
great sorrows of life and the patience for the small ones; and when you have
laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

Admittedly, is patently clear that the authors of this writing have trodden
into a most magnificent and spiritual field of the Heavenly Book. They have
ventured to highlight the kaleidoscope of the most fascinating and versatile

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supplicates and to reflect their spiritual vision and beauty. So much so, it is
hoped that the reading of this book will prove for a readers a prerogative to a
giant leap for enhancing their knowledge further. But one should reflect upon
what Cowper wrote: “Oars alone can ne’er prevail To reach the distant coast;
The breath of heaven must swell the sail, Or all the toil is lost”. It is be a
prerequisite that the reader’s inner purity is a must. It’s then the mind will
capture the mysticism of the prayers. Inanity and insensibility on the part of the
reader will seem to their minds are blank, unevolved, in infancy, or degenerated
or even not reached to human hood. That reminds us of the beautiful lines in
Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

“Imperious Ceasar dead and turn’d to clay,

Might stop a hole to keep the wind away;
O, that earth which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall to expel the winter’s flaw”.

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