At the end of the Treatise on Sincerity, Bediuzzaman says: “We beseech the All-Compassionate, the Most Merciful, making all of His Most Beautiful Names our intercessors, that He may grant us complete sincerity.” [1] What is the wisdom behind invoking the Divine Names as intercessors in attaining sincerity?

Answer:

Sincerity (ikhlas) means performing deeds solely because God commands them and seeking only His good pleasure as their outcome. Beyond this, one does not set one’s heart on worldly interests or even on rewards in the Hereafter. For worshipping God is not the price paid for blessings to be granted later; rather, it is an expression of gratitude for the blessings that have already been bestowed.

Nevertheless, when the matter is considered from the perspective of human need and necessity, there is no harm in asking for the blessings of the Hereafter. Although we do not attach our acts of worship to such rewards, nor serve God merely to obtain them, it is certain that we are in profound need of them. Just as in this world we need to believe in God, to know and recognize Him, to love Him, to feel connected to Him, and to rely and trust in Him, so too in the next world we are in need of being among those brought near to Him. We know that the only place where we may draw near to Him, behold His Divine beauty, and be encompassed by the breezes of the verse, “God’s good pleasure is greater than all else” (Qur’an 9:72), is Paradise. Therefore, we hope for and ask for Paradise and its blessings from His grace. For we cannot do without Him; and just as we cannot do without Him, we cannot do without Paradise.

Seeking refuge in the Divine Names

Sincerity is, in essence, a designation for truly knowing God, aspiring to attain His good pleasure, and showing reverence for His commands. For this reason, sincerity holds vital importance for every believer. The wisdom behind Bediuzzaman’s invoking the Divine Names as intercessors while asking God for sincerity lies precisely in this point. When we ask for what we value most in our supplications, we naturally seek intercession through what we hold most precious.

Moreover, the Qur’an recommends that we include the Divine Names in our supplications and invoke them as a means of appeal. One verse states, “The Most Beautiful Names belong to God; so call upon Him by them” (7:180).

This indicates that the Divine Names possess a profound influence connected to the inner meaning of servanthood, and that we should seek refuge in them in our prayers. Similarly, in the supplication of Jawshan, it is said, “I ask You by Your Names,” after which the Divine Names are mentioned, and through their honor deliverance from Hell is sought.

Bediuzzaman’s emphasis on sincerity

In his works, Bediuzzaman repeatedly stresses sincerity on various occasions and highlights its importance in powerful terms. He states that even an atom’s weight of action performed with sincerity surpasses tons of deeds devoid of sincerity. Despite the small number of people around him, he attributes the manifold fruits of their service to their sincerity, describing how their efforts yielded results far beyond their apparent capacity. While expressing this truth, he says: “God willing, you will attain complete sincerity, and you will also help me attain complete sincerity” [2].

Through these words, Bediuzzaman demonstrates humility, appreciates his companions, and at the same time offers an important reminder. For no matter how sincere a person may be, attaining perfect sincerity is not easy. It requires that not even the slightest ulterior consideration be mixed into one’s deeds, that everything other than the Divine be set aside, and that one’s heart be fully directed toward God alone. Moreover, sincerity once attained can easily be lost without one even realizing it. Even when one is very careful, it is difficult to claim that one has reached complete sincerity (ikhlaṣ al-tamm) or perfected sincerity (ikhlaṣ al-atamm). This represents a horizon that we strive for but find difficult to reach. To attain it, one must overcome many demanding obstacles and loosen the bonds of bodily and worldly attachments. Such a degree of sincerity belongs only to the distinguished servants referred to as the mukhlasin—those purified in sincerity.

Bediuzzaman was a monumental personality who carefully observed events around him, continuously drew lessons from them, and offered guidance whenever necessary. On one occasion, he recounts the following experience concerning sincerity: when he told his student Hafiz Ali that another friend’s handwriting was more beautiful than his and that this person would therefore contribute more effectively to the service, Hafiz Ali responded with complete sincerity and heartfelt purity. Rather than feeling disturbed, he expressed joy and took pride in his brother [3].

This example shows that sincerity is closely connected with brotherhood and fellowship. If we wish to understand the degree of sincerity present in our own efforts in the path of God, we may ask ourselves the following question: If I were confronted with such a situation, would I be able to show the same attitude?

May God grant us the ability to transcend our egos, establish a deep connection with our Lord, and act with genuine sincerity at this level.

The ascending spiral of sincerity

If, like Bediuzzaman, we carefully take a look around us, we will encounter many heroes of sincerity whose hearts beat for God. We admire their state and strive to be like them. There have been many such heroes who set out for many parts of the world without considering salary, often without even knowing the countries to which they were going, and they undertook journeys of migration devoted to altruistic service. Their attitude inspired us, revived us, and helped us regain our sense of purpose. No matter how much we thank God for granting us the blessing of being among so many dedicated individuals, it would still be insufficient. Indeed, if there had not been such devoted and sincere people, so many beautiful outcomes would not have emerged. This shows that the fruits arising from such service are extra favors granted by God to sincere intentions.

If sincerity is the foremost quality that the Divine seeks from us, and if it is like an ascending spiral that lifts a person toward His good pleasure, then it should also be our foremost aim. We must constantly ask God for sincerity. Especially at night, we should place our foreheads upon the prayer mat and say: O God, make us among Your servants who seek sincerity and who are granted sincerity.

We should seek sincerity in all of our actions and spend our entire lives striving for perfected sincerity (ikhlaṣ al-atamm). In our supplications, we ask God for matters such as livelihood, health, and family. There is no harm in these requests; however, none of them is as important as attaining sincerity, the Divine good pleasure, and knowledge of the Divine Creator. Therefore, at least as much as we pray for worldly needs and desires, we should also pray to obtain these higher aims.

It should also not be forgotten that sincerity is connected to faith. The stronger one’s faith, the stronger one’s sincerity will be. From this perspective, we must first believe in God with certainty surpassing mathematical certainty; in proportion to our faith, we should attain knowledge of Him (ma‘rifah), and in proportion to that knowledge we should establish a deep connection with Him. If we wish to attain perfected sincerity, we should strive to elevate our faith from certainty through knowledge (‘ilm al-yaqin), to certainty through direct perception (‘ayn al-yaqin), and finally to certainty through realized truth (haqq al-yaqin). If faith becomes deeply rooted within our being and we remain close to God, neither Satan nor the evil-commanding self (nafs al-ammarah) will be able to damage our sincerity.

Just as every precious thing is difficult to obtain, sincerity is not easily acquired. Yet the paths leading to it are not closed; they remain open. It is possible to reach sincerity through faith, knowledge, love, reflection, and prayer.

References

1. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Lem’alar, p. 208 (The Twenty-First Flash – Treatise on Sincerity).
2. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Lem’alar, p. 203 (The Twenty-First Flash, Third Principle).
3. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Barla Lahikası, p. 146. At that time, his Epistles of Light collection were written and reproduced by hand due to the political pressure and persecution directed against religious expression.

In Arabic, dua literally means to call out for help. In Islam, it refers to the personal calling of the believer to his Lord.[1] This is to be distinguished from the formal prayers (salah) that are prescribed for Muslims five times a day. Unlike salah, dua is not compulsory in Islam, in the legal sense, and is therefore more personal and intimate.[2] It is to be noted that Islamic scholars have translated dua in various ways, yet all of them evoke the meaning of a heartfelt cry of the believer to the Almighty. The purpose of this essay is not to go through every aspect of dua, but to more precisely dig into its particular role in the purification of the qalb, the heart, and aql, the intellect.

Qalb in Arabic is literally translated as heart. However, qalb in Islam is vaster and most often refers to one’s spiritual heart, the spiritual center of the body.[3] The qalb is considered to be the root of one’s emotions and spiritual connection to God. A verse in the Qur’an equates salvation in the Hereafter to only the believer “who will come to God with a pure heart (qalb-un-saleem) (26:89).” The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “There lies within the body a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body is sound; and if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Verily this piece is the heart (qalb).”[4] Many other verses and ahadith (sayings of the Prophet) suggest that Islam equates the very purpose of human existence, for the believer, as endeavoring towards purification of the heart.

Similarly, a believer is advised to develop their aql (intellect). Aql literally means perception. Aql helps people to intellectually engage with and contemplate the signs of God and accept belief in Him.

This understanding does not indicate understanding His essence (dhaat), but rather that aql paves the way to understanding spiritual realities and thus brings a person closer to God.[5] In one’s default state, the aql functions to remove the veils between a person and God[6]. It can serve as a ladder to spiritual development. But like the qalb, if it is corrupted by sins and passions, then it will lead a person away from God.[7] It is thus of utmost necessity for the traveler on the spiritual path to develop his aql which will then serve as a bridge towards God.

Having established the importance of the purification of the qalb and the development of the aql, it’s also necessary to mention that there are various tools in Islam given to achieve these two major aims. For the purpose of this essay, we will focus on one such tool, the dua. And more particularly, this essay will explore how dua actually achieve these aims.

Firstly, dua is an affirmation of tawheed, through which one purifies their qalb from all other than Him (shirk e khaffi) and also leads to developing the aql. When a believer turns to God in dua, he or she is putting his trust in Him. The believer is realizing that only God can help him or her attain whatever they seek. It is an acknowledgement that no one besides Him has any power, not even one’s own self.  The development of the aql is thus done through pondering and realizing (tafakkur) that all power rests with Him alone and not with causes.

One example out of many is seen in the dua of Prophet Jacob (Yaqub) (peace be upon him) mentioned in the Qur’an. When two of his beloved sons were missing and not only did he not know their fate, but all odds of finding them were against him, he turned to God and pleaded in one of the most perfect manifestations of tawheed: “Verily, I only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah” (12:86). This is encapsulated by Qadhi: “Part of the completeness of a person’s tawheed is that he does not complain to anyone else, in order to gain their sympathy and pity. Rather, the true Muslim submits all his affairs to Allah…”[8] It is important to note that this does not indicate that means are to be left. The means are being used, but the believer’s main hopes are in his duas to the One who owns and controls all the means (Musabab-ul-asbab). This necessitates intellectual understanding and heartfelt submission. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that dua is the “weapon of the believer.”[9]

Another major way to develop the aql comes from witnessing the cause and effect of dua. When a believer turns to God when all means have failed and places their hopes in Him, their conviction in God as the Real Doer (Fa’ail-e-Haqeeqi) and that He alone is worthy of being worshipped. He relies on God in absolute terms, an indication that the aql has developed to a higher level.

It is through the inculcation of tawheed, God’s being one and unique, in the heart of the believer due to supplication (dua) that the heart is also purified. Islamic scholars, such as Imam Ghazzali, have written much on the different diseases of the heart that the believer must try to cure.[10] As tawheed becomes more firm in the heart of the believer, he or she realizes that truly there is no-one other than Him that can help him in time of need. The result is the curing of various diseases, including relying on causes other than God as if they have real power, seeking reputation, ostentation, vanity, false hopes, and love of the world.[11] Thus, dua leads to the true tawheed in the heart of the believer and results in the purification of their heart.

Furthermore, supplication is the means through which the believer attains the closeness of God and His love (ishq-e-Illahi), which is essential for the purification of the heart and the development of the intellect. A verse in the Qur’an reads, “And those who believe have intense love for God.”[12] Professor Kamaluddin Ahmed, commenting on this verse, states that, “with the construct “those who believe,” God challenges the believers by describing a characteristic of true belief. It is as if His verse calls out, ‘O ye who claim to believe, who profess that the light [nūr] of faith is in your hearts, know that the true believers are intense in their love for Allah.’”[13] And thus, it is from such verses and hadith that scholars say with true love for God believers can attain the true salvation in the Hereafter.[14]

Much has been written about how to achieve the true love for God. Scholars have written that yearning for God, decreasing one’s dependence on the world, and reflection on the worldly and spiritual blessings bestowed by God, are all factors that increase a believer’s love.[15] All of these attributes are inculcated through dua. As the believer calls on their Lord and becomes dependent on Him for their every need, their yearning for Him increases, their dependence on the world decreases, and they realize the divine blessings. It is human nature to fall in love with the one who helps you, which in spiritual terminology is often referred to as ashiq-e-ihsani. When a believer falls extremely in love with God, then naturally all the attributes that a true believer needs start pouring over them. They fix their compulsory acts and work to make them better in order to please their Beloved. They work to remove all negative attributes that are disliked by their Beloved, such as anger and hate. As this is done, the believer begins to slowly purify their heart from all other than Him, until nothing remains except love for Him and love for His Sake.

And as a believer falls more in love with God, they start seeing His attributes manifested all around Him and his knowledge of the divine increases (maarifatUllah). The intellect thus views the world through the lens of which God wishes. He  or she becomes the living example of the hadith qudsi[16]:“I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him.”[17] The intellect is thus developed to its default state of purity and soundness; i.e. aql-e-saleem.

Furthermore, supplication makes a believer realize their true purpose in life: servanthood (uboodiyah) of God. A verse in the Qur’an states that, “I did not create the jinns and the human beings except for the purpose that they should worship Me” (51:56). In another place, the Qur’an says, “O mankind, you are fuqara (extremely needy) of God…” (35:15). These verses have a vital connection. As a believer realizes his or her true need (faqr) of God, only then will he or she truly be ready to fully submit to His commands and make their uboodiyah the purpose of their life. Supplication is the tool which can serve as that perfect bridge between the two states – of leading to a believer’s realization of their faqr and to the perfection of their uboodiyah.

As discussed earlier, when a believer turns to their Lord, they do so realizing that the power to help rests only with God. The believer realizes that he or she is not independent, but rather in deep poverty and needs God for their every need. This gets rid of any self-delusion or arrogance that may creep upon a person: “And your Lord has said ‘Make dua to Me, and I will respond to you” (40:60). As a person turns more frequently to God, the realization of their dependence does not allow any pride to develop. And as the believer internalizes further their uboodiyah, and the diseases of the heart such as vanity, false hopes, boasting and arrogance, love of the world, and relying on other than God, are cured.[18] The way he or thinks about every action begins to reform in accordance with what leads to the pleasure (radhaa) of God.

Supplication is thus potent in making a believer understand his or her need for God, which makes them internalize their servanthood, which then leads directly and indirectly to the purification of the heart, and reforming their intellect in accordance with the pleasure of God. It can thus be concluded that supplication plays an extremely important role in the purification of the heart and the development of the intellect.

Bibliography

Ahmed, Zulfiqar. Love for Allah. Translated by Kamaluddin Ahmed. Chicago: Faqir Publications, 2001.

Ghazali. Marvels of the Heart. Translated by Walter James Skellie. Fons Vitae, 2010.

Murata, S., & Chittick, W. C. The Vision of Islam. New York: Paragon House, 1994.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Sufi Essays. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1972.

Qadhi, A. A. Y. Dua: The Weapon of the Believer: A Treatise on the Status and Etiquette of Duʻa in Islam. Birmingham, England: Al-Hidaayah, 2001.

Usmani, Taqi. The Meanings of the Noble Quran. Karachi: Maktaba Maariful Quran.

Yucel, S. Prayer and Healing in Islam. New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2010.

Yusuf, Hamza. Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart. Bridgeview: Starlatch, 2011.

Zafar, Uthmani. Sufism & Good Character. Translated by Faraz Rabbani. London: White Thread Press, 2012.

Zuleyha Keskin. “Attaining Inner Peace According to the Risale-i Nur”. (PhDdiss., Australian Catholic University, 2016): 132.

[1] Murata, S. & Chittick, W. C, The Vision of Islam, (New York: Paragon House, 1994), 295

[2] Salih Yucel, Prayer and Healing in Islam, (New Jersey: Tughra Books, 2010), 8.

[3] Zuleyha Keskin. “Attaining Inner Peace According to the Risale-i Nur”. (PhDdiss., Australian Catholic University, 2016): 132.

[4] Nawawi, A. Z. “Hadith Nawawi.”: 6.

[5] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Sufi essays (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1972), 55.

[6] Zuleyha Keskin. “Attaining Inner Peace According to the Risale-i Nur”. (PhDdiss., Australian Catholic University, 2016): 135.

[7] Nasr, 1972, 55.

[8] Qadhi, A. A. Y, Dua: The Weapon of the Believer: A Treatise on the Status and Etiquette of Duʻa in Islam, (Birmingham, England: Al-Hidaayah, 2001), 83.

[9] Al-Mustadrak‘ala as-Saheehain1855

[10] Ghazali, Marvels of the Heart, trans. Walter James Skellie, (Fons Vitae, 2010).

[11] Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart, (Bridgeview: Starlatch, 2011).

[12] Qur’an, 2:165.

[13] Zulfiqar Ahmed, Love for Allah, trans. Kamaluddin Ahmed (Chicago: Faqir Publications, 2001), Translator’s Foreword.

[14] Uthmani Zafar, Sufism & Good Character, trans. Faraz Rabbani. (London: White Thread Press, 2012).

[15] Zulfiqar Ahmed, Love for Allah, trans. Kamaluddin Ahmed (Chicago: Faqir Publications, 2001), 101-111.

[16] Hadith qudsi refer to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in which he says that “Allah SWT says…”

[17] Fath al-Bari, 11.34041, hadith 6502.

[18] Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart, (Bridgeview: Starlatch, 2011).

Getting started in life

Intuitively, we know we can move the whole world with just one cry, setting up a kind of hotline to our parents. The number of this hotline is stored in our genetic code. Miraculously, we also know how to dial the various functions of this hotline. Cries with different undertones seem to be the only way to solve our problems, from the fly on our nose, to a dirty diaper – or even just being hungry. Once we cry, on the horizon, a friendly, loving face appears. And when it does, we can relax and feel comfortable again. Our parents save us from many difficult situations.

Over time, we mature and notice that the processes in our world are subject to conditions. With our free will we can influence events, albeit within a very limited space, and thus take responsibility for our destiny before it becomes our destiny. If we do not study, for example, for an exam, we must not complain about our failure. If we do not strive for social contacts, we should not be surprised if we are suffering from loneliness. If there are problems to solve and conflicts to eliminate, we can consult our social reference system, the legal system of our country, and perhaps even the internet.

But these worldly ways are quickly exhausted. We do what we can, knock on every door for support and help, but quite often we remain helpless and restricted. Plagued by pain and suffering, these are the situations we seek refuge from in prayer and supplications to God, whether we are searching for a cure or a twist of fate. And not unlike in early childhood, we cry again for help, trying to reach a hotline – but this time a hotline to God. Will He answer our prayers? And if so, what will His answer be?

For thousands of years theologians and philosophers have dealt with the issue of divine activity in our everyday lives. There are hundreds of theories, concepts, and explanations about the origins of the macro and micro universes. Cultures tend to believe that they own exclusive truths and show a willingness to stand up for the dissemination of these truths. And each individual has his own very personal way to ask God for support. For some, God created the universe with perfect laws, which run self-sufficiently without any further intervention. For others, He is omnipresent, ever creating anew. Sometimes, He even intervenes on a microbiological and atomic level. The existing theological literature offers countless exciting texts on this subject. But different religious beliefs are not supposed to be part of this article; we will leave them to the theologians.

Healing through supplications?

Consulting medical databases, it is to be noted that the experimental scientific investigation of the question of whether or not supplications for sick people have a positive effect on their healing has not been explored in depth until recently. For the first time in 1988, Byrd and colleagues examined whether supplications made by religious people had an impact on patients of a hospital’s heart unit – without these patients knowing that supplications were being spoken for them and without knowing the people praying for them. The researchers were able to state that in patients who were prayed for, fewer complications occurred and that their stay in the hospital was significantly shorter than in patients for whom no prayers had been made.¹ The patients for whom prayers were spoken had been picked at random, and the worshipers in turn only knew the first names of their patients, and no further details.

After 1999, numerous other studies came to the conclusion that supplications to God have positive effects for various patients. For example, there was a doubling of successful egg fertilizations and a doubling of successful pregnancies in assisted reproductive techniques²; there were shortened fevers³; hospital stays were shorter⁴; and there were overall reduced mortality rates⁵ and a significantly better well-being in cancer patients.⁶

Thus, several teams of researchers had dialed an international hotline to God. There was much praying for the patients, mostly without their knowledge and in some cases from a great distance. Some of the researchers involved came to the conclusion that it could be helpful to install prayer teams in hospitals alongside the usual medical care.⁷ This method was even researched on animals, which showed accelerated healing and better blood values. The positive here was that a placebo effect could be excluded.⁸

It is not so simple

Apart from these positive results, some researchers didn’t find any differences in patients who were suffering from diseases such as pregnancy complications, warts, or other health problems.⁹

In 2006, Benson even found a higher rate of complications in patients who knew that someone prayed for them. He postulated a so-called performance anxiety, i.e. that ​​the patients were thinking: “Am I really so sick that the hospital needs to engage a private prayer team for me?”¹⁰

Gaudia wrote in an article published in 2007 that even back then far too many researchers had dealt with the issue, which he regarded as senseless, and that far too much money had been wasted on it. In his view, these efforts are nothing other than an investigation into miracles or a study on the existence of God.

He began his complaint with the assumption of the existence of an incredible, breathtaking power that created the galaxies and complex molecular biological structures – and then after all this creation, that force is asked whether it could regulate the blood pressure of a randomly selected group of patients. Gaudia compared this approach with asking an incredibly talented composer about writing a melody to “Three Blind Mice.” He argued that with already prefabricated opinions and expectations it is possible in every study to state differences and deviations, which are then, however, likely due to chance, a placebo effect, statistical calculation errors, or to the bias of the basic assumption that there is a God at all. For him, prayer was a request asking God to change His mind about the current course of events. He considered the belief in prayer ridiculous and called it a superstition. In addition, he objected to the variables for measuring the differences in the studies, judging them not to be clear and transparent. Instead, he claimed it should be ruled out that these changing variables were exposed to any physical or psychological mechanisms, so that there would be no other explanation other than divine work. The growth of amputated limbs through prayer, for example, would meet this requirement.¹¹

In 2009, Jorgensen advocated for further investigations on this issue, but also concluded that the studies up to that time suffered some questionable deficiencies. He stated that researchers attach too much importance to positive results while tending to hide negative results. In addition, he described the results presented as no more convincing than the results of placebo-controlled trials. He suspected the positive results were affected by the expectations of the investigators. He spoke of an “immunization research hypotheses,” which means that the researchers involved in these studies tend to believe in the effectiveness of their intervention; their findings are therefore not in accordance with the experimental results, but with the strength of their faith in God. He identified three basic assumptions: first, that God exists; secondly, that the worshiper can travel around in the cosmos and reach out to God; and thirdly, that God will answer to prayers and thereby act over a long distance. He found it hard to imagine why God should help patient Peter in hospital bed A, just because someone chosen by chance prayed for him, while dropping patient Paul in bed B because nobody prayed for him. This would be in conflict with our ethical understanding of fairness.

Thus, the studies to date leave too much room for interpretation. It is possible to state happiness, bias, or even fraud as the reasons for their results. In Jorgensen’s view, however, these studies are neither evidence of God answering supplications, or ignoring them. If the human capacity to understand God is really as limited as the Holy Scriptures emphasize, then God’s work should be subtle enough not to be tracked down in a simple experimental design.¹²

Chittaranjan, in turn, regarded prayer as a special kind of meditation whose positive effects have been proved in many a study. He insisted that religion will always remain a matter of faith, and asked: If research could prove the positive effects of prayer without any doubts left behind, wouldn’t that mean that we could manipulate God or statistically predict his behavior? And anyway, why should God participate in a study trying to prove His existence? On the issue, Chittaranjan considered randomized controlled trials neither appropriate nor effective.¹³

Conclusion

The results of experimental research on our subject until now are – thanks to God – quite sobering. There have certainly been some mistakes, and they didn’t yield clear evidence for a positive effect of prayers and supplications. But objectivity can’t be accredited to the critics of these studies either, especially as most of the mentioned points of criticism could also be applied to a large number of studies from other fields of medicine.

People still, and repeatedly, deal with this issue, a fact certainly not least due to our personal everyday experience that things have often turned positive after having asked God wholeheartedly and sincerely for help. Millions of people worldwide can report innumerable reactions from God to their supplications.

But the mystery of the existence of God and the question of whether or not he responds to our prayers will always remain a matter of personal faith. Even a visit to the doctor ultimately is a kind of supplication, which can be answered in different ways. Perhaps he prescribes medicine, or he recommends us to entirely do without medication because he deems it detrimental to us.

For everyone, it requires special insight to recognize whether God answers, how to interpret his answer, or else to find out why we wait in vain for an answer. Our experience may speak a different language, but even upcoming new studies most likely won’t provide us with a definitive answer to this question. However, we should at least consider the criticisms submitted, so the studies can be designed to ensure objectivity.

Imagine yourself facing a very burdensome problem, and suddenly, out of the blue, a friend or even a complete stranger provides you with the solution to this problem without your having asked him for it. Perhaps then the perspective that we are not alone in the universe will occur to you. And if it already happened to you, you may have subconsciously dialed the code for the hotline to God genetically anchored in our essence – just as we all used to dial the number of the hotline to our mother when we were small, thirsty children.

Notes

1. Byrd RC, “Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population”. South Med J. 1988;81:826-829
2. Cha KY et al. “Does prayer influence the success of in vitro fertilization-embryo-transfer? Report of a masked randomized trial.” J Reprod Med. 2001;46:781-7
3. Leonard Leibovici, “Effects of remote, retroactive intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients with bloodstream infection: randomized controlled trial”, BMJ 2001;323:1450-1
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Olver IN et al. “A randomized, blinded study of the impact of intercessory prayer on spiritual well-being in patients with cancer.” Altern Ther Health Med. 2012 Sep-Oct; 18(5):18-27
7. William S. Harris et al. “A randomized controlled Trial of the Effects of Remote, Intercessory Prayer on Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Coronary Care Unit”. Arch Intern Med. 1999;159:2273-2278 Leonard Leibovici, “Effects of remote…”
8. Lesniak KT. The effect of intercessory prayer on wound healing in nonhuman primates. Altern Ther Health Med. 2006;12:42-8
9. da Rosa MI. “A randomized clinical trial on the effects of remote intercessory prayer in the adverse outcomes of pregnancies.” Cien Saude Colet. 2013 Aug; 18(8):2379-84
10. Benson J et al. “Study of the therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: a multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer”. Am Heart J. 2006;151:934-942
11. Gil Gaudia, “About Intercessory Prayer: The Scientific Study of Miracles”, Med Gen Med. 2007;9(1):56
12. Jorgensen K. J. et al. “Divine intervention? A Cochrane review on intercessory prayer gone beyond science and reason”. Journal of negative Results in BioMedicine 2009,8:77
13. Chittaranjan et al. “Prayer and healing: A medical and scientific perspective on randomized controlled trials”. Indian J Psychiatry. 2009 Oct-Dec;51(4):247-253

He is the one who knows the sorrows of broken hearts, who alleviates incurable troubles, and who eliminates the loneliness and depression in our souls with breezes from His realm. Those who turn to Him turn to an opened door; those who supplicate to Him have realized the very purpose of existence.

Those who recognize Him through His works, those who truly know and feel Him through their consciences, need to learn nothing else. In the minds of those who attain knowledge of Him, pieces of that knowledge become crystal domes over diamond pillars. For the souls who do not recognize Him, knowledge is apprehension and all existence we explore with science becomes nothing more than a collection of lifeless bodies.

In the radiant climate of belief, all creation becomes clear as water, from beginning to end; thoughts and events become distilled and everything flows to Him. Those who turn and implore Him with such pure feelings and thoughts are the most fortunate among us.

Given this, wherever we are in the world, whatever the time of day, whenever we feel lonely, let us turn to Him with our whole being, open the doors of our heart to Him, and one by one, confide in Him our sufferings, pains, desires, and wishes, great or small. Then we will feel our pain alleviated, our suffering replaced with contentment, and our souls will be enveloped by the breezes of Divine favors.

Those who confine themselves within the material world will likely never feel Him. Still, with thousands of signs for those who see, He will make His presence felt in our consciences, that He is not distant, and make our hearts smile.

Nights are openings to such inspirations. The souls awakened to the truth, who turn their hearts into bright mirrors shining with Divine epiphanies, wait for blessings to pour on their prayer rugs. We, too, can watch for the surprise blessings of the night, even when we are alone. Such moments can be our time of reunion, when we can stand in His presence and open up the secrets of our heart to Him. Only share your troubles with Him, moan in His presence, and bring your head to prostration, which is the first threshold on the path leading to Him, and wait! Then you will feel doors opening to your heart, one after the other. You will melt under the lights of His being; your respective presence will vanish like a drop falling into the ocean, and in a zone beyond considerations, you will become one being united with the gigantic waves.

The deeper you allow yourself to fall into Him, the deeper the realms that will open to you, and the higher the peaks you will scale. If you set sail to these inner depths with full conviction, you’ll think you’ve skirted the eternity of Paradise, the pristine atmosphere of the realms beyond. With every new step, you will see a different favor of being closer to God.

The souls who see nothing but the material reality and fail to attain the many levels of greatness, magnificence, and inner depth will continue to stagger in darkness, never managing to break free of deprivations and depression.

If only they, too, could feel the depths within their soul, as deep as clear skies and as vast as the universe. If only they, too, could discover the light inside them, and use that light to illuminate the secrets of our Creator’s realms.

Some fail to find these radiant ways which exist as a seed inside them and lead a life unaware of this lofty truth. They fail to blossom and are trapped in physical longevities instead of discovering roads to eternity. I do not know if we should feel pity for them or pray that their eyes open to truth.

In the past few decades many studies and articles on the subject of religion, spirituality and health, from both Western and Muslim perspectives, have been published. In this book, Salih Yucel’s quantitative and qualitative studies support previous research findings which suggest that religion and health are not mutually exclusive and that there is clearly a positive correlation between prayer and wellbeing.

This book comprises a research study taken from the author’s doctoral thesis, The Effects of Prayer on Muslim Patients’ Well-being. Also included in this book is a qualitative study which contains examples of many case histories and anecdotal evidence from Muslims who have benefited from the healing power of prayer, which includes salat (Islamic ritual prayers), dua (formal and informal supplication to God), and dhikr (remembrance of God, based on the Sufi concept of connectedness to the universe. Also included are Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s “twenty-five remedies” for the sick which explains the concept of illness and how Muslims should view it in the light of belief.

The aim of this research has been to investigate the physical and spiritual effects of prayer on Muslim patients. Sixty adult Muslim in-patients, consisting of equal numbers of women and men from different educational backgrounds and nationalities, were recruited from the patient population at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated institution in Boston, Massachusetts. The research included a pre-test questionnaire in order to assess the spiritual level of the patients and a post-test questionnaire after prayers were completed. The surveys were based on Islamic sources, with the second survey split into two sessions: the first contained readings from the Qur’an while the second consisted of texts from a non-religious source, serving as a control in order to determine the effect of prayers on the patients.

Unlike previous studies, this research has provided guidelines for prayer which is based on the Qur’an, the Prophetic Traditions and the works of a number of Muslim scholars. The guidelines are a reminder that prayers should if possible be carried out under certain conditions, which include both physical and spiritual preparation prior and after prayer. Examples include taking ablution and ensuring clothes are clean prior to prayer and so on. Also some of the spiritual advice is extremely helpful, such as the understanding that prayer will always be answered but not necessarily in the way that individuals may expect it, thus reducing the disappointment patients may feel if they do not get exactly what they have asked for after prayer. However, other conditions, such as offering prayer “sincerely,” may not be so easy to ensure.

The findings of the preliminary survey were used to determine the level of religiosity/spirituality of patients from an Islamic perspective. These findings were consistent with previous studies, showing a strong correlation between religiosity/spirituality and hopefulness/confidence. The post-test survey based on self-report measures of religiosity and wellbeing following the prayer session also showed higher scores in comparison to the control group. With regard to vital signs and the positive physical effects of prayer on health, however, the data was not considered to be clinically significant. The author admits to some of the limitations of the study such as the hospital environment itself which is not conducive to prayer conditions. One of the main limitations has been the omission of compulsory prayers (salat) from the survey, as many bed-ridden patients were unable to take part in this activity. A longitudinal study with a larger participant group and a more convenient environment might possibly have produced better results.

However, the qualitative study included in this book, which consists of many case studies of people who have benefitted from the healing power of prayer, provides further support for the importance of including prayer as part of treatment. The main strength of the book lies in its approach, which is based mainly on Said Nursi’s ideas of remedies for the sick. These remedies enable patients to move away from reliance on the realm of causality and are able potentially to empower them to try to understand their condition in a much broader context that includes the concept of the Hereafter.