CHAPTER ONE — The Essence of Religion

The Essence of Religion It is a situation of love and fear in which man runs towards the very Being he fears, hoping to receive from Him His divine blessings. It is a state of mental anguish, yet at the same time it is a state of complete solace. Thus we learn that prayer is basically a psychological experience rather than an external event. Man, in the last analysis, is a sensitive thinking being: so in its definitive form, prayer in relation to man, is the expression of an inner state rather than of an external happening. The Prophet has clearly stated that “righeousness is a thing of the heart.” According to the Quran, the essence of worship is to be God-fearing. This finds expression in a hadith. Once the Prophet observed pointing to his heart, ‘The fear of God lies here,’ (At Taqwa ha huna) (Bukhari). The Quran states: ‘O men, serve your Lord Who has created you and those who have gone before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil’ (2:21). Worship, in terms of external expression, means bowing before the Sustainer, while in its inner sense it stands for that deep realization of and strong attachment to God in which man is so involved that he can experience the very presence of God. The Prophet is reported to have said, “Pray to God as if you are seeing Him.” (Mishkat, Chapter on Faith). According to this saying, the most sublime form of worship is that in which the worshipper is so lost in thoughts of God that he finds himself very close to Him. His apprehension of the divine presence should be as keen as if God were actually seeing him. This state of psychological proximity is the most sublime state of prayer. All rites of worship are aimed at arriving at that state. The postures to be adopted in the performance of these rites are ordained by God Himself. Anyone who asserts that it is possible to pray to God independently of these God-ordained rites, is making a false claim. Without performing these rites, no one can become a worshipper, in the real sense of the word. Although man is another name for that particular soul which is not visible to us, it is also a fact that man’s existence cannot be conceived of in this world