Prayer and illuminated soul

“Whenever He releases your tongue to ask,

know that He wants to give to you.”

So said the great Sufi master Ibn Aṭā Allāh al-Iskandarī (1250-1309) in Kitab al-Hikam (The Book of Wisdom), acknowledged as an essential and classic treatise on the science of enlightenment.

One of the most esoteric concepts of our times is the practice of manifestation. Sufi saints understood this in a simple, direct manner. They believed that whatever an individual seeks from the Almighty with a clean and unblemished heart shall be granted to him.

One of the most powerful acts of a human being is his ability to offer prayer to the Divine. The beauty of prayer is manifested most gracefully when it does not revolve around results.

Yet this simple and powerful practice is lost to many today. One of the reasons why Gen Z is troubled is because many youngsters are not conscious of the power of prayer. They search for rest from the turmoil in their heart through ways and means ranging from the psychological to the psychedelic. Yet many among them do not turn to the elementary practice of prayer to seek solace from the strains and strife of daily life.

It is said that with prayer, a person flies in the divine throne while his body is on the carpet and sees the beauties of the unseen world. Prayer equips man with courage and perseverance amidst the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Prayer enables man to rise and stand firm, and when required – to take arms against a sea of troubles.

The great Sufi masters said that one of the most precious attributes of prayer is this – prayer is hopeful. It is the divine light in today’s dark human world. Prayer illuminates the soul, and this truth has been known to the Sufi saints for ages. Hazrat Mu’in al-Din Chishti (1143-1236), known reverentially as Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, used to say that just as the sunshine increases gradually in the morning, so does the Divine Light expand in one who offers prayers.

In today’s modern terminology, prayer may be said to be the technology that opens the locks to the most sublime doors of the human psyche. It is often man’s endeavour to be the best version of himself that he can be. Education equips us with the ability to find the ways and means by which we can be the best version of ourselves. Prayer is one of the ways which enables man to evolve and attain his zenith.

A heart full of prayer and devotion becomes one with the Almighty. Then there is no other; there is no duality. Only the Almighty is. Prayer is a way to communicate with God and to be in His presence. It is the way by which the drop becomes the ocean.

There is an old Sufi metaphor about the lover who went to the house of the Divine Beloved and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” asked the Divine Beloved.

“It is me,” replied the lover.

“Go away!” said the Divine Beloved. “This house does not have room for a you and a me.”

The lover went away into the wilderness to ponder these words. What did this mean? Love had pulled the lover to the house, and love continued to pull the lover to the house.

The lover went back and knocked again.

“Who is it?” asked the Divine Beloved.

“It is you,” replied the lover.

The door opened at once.

One of the most persuasive ways of seeking the blessings of the Divine is through a prayerful, accepting heart. In Sufi thought, the concept of Riḍā, or acceptance, is considered to be a gateway to God and a state of heaven on earth. The power of acceptance is regarded as a deeply powerful state of being that can help an individual to make wise choices, to overcome stress and to fully utilize one’s creative potential. The prayerful heart lovingly and gracefully accepts the will of the Divine. 

Understanding and collection of knowledge is important. Equally, one must appreciate that a lot of what is categorised as ‘knowledge’ today is merely information. A man who has excessive information may be regarded as a great scholar. But it may not be the knowledge that may help him on the spiritual path.

On the path of the divine, one chisels away ego and false sense of the self which create the feeling of otherness. These mental conceptions of one’s own self, which have been socially constructed and internalized over the years, must be chiselled away to reveal the heart which is filled with the truth and certainty of God.

It is said that the Sufi mystic Abu Said and his friend had studied together under the same teacher for many years. “Now you are a great teacher,” said his friend. “How did you learn so much more than I did?”

Abu Said said, “One day the lesson was ‘surrendering to God’s will is to be happy and content with what one has.’ What did you do with that lesson?” asked Abu Said.

“I wrote it down, memorized it, and then proceeded to the next lesson.”

“I memorized nothing,” said Abu Said. “I surrendered to God’s will and was happy and content, and on that path I reached the Truth.”

Such is the power of a prayerful heart. Not everyone shall find God in the same way. We all shall have our individual paths. And prayer shall show us the way. 

Abdul Quddus Gangohi (1456–1537), a Sufi poet and Chisti shaykh of India, used to say that the heart, in proportion to its purification, gets nourishment from the soul. When the soul illuminates, it becomes radiant and is strengthened to recourse to God Most High. When the soul is radiated, it flies into the Divine light and mysteries.

May we harness the power of prayer to find the illumination of the soul.