When a Prayer Can Be Dangerous

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 17 May 2023 Here's a favourite of the Sufi Master Sa'di of Shiraz: A friend of mine was delighted that his wife was pregnant. He ardently desired a male child. And he made vows to god with this in mind. His wife gave birth to a boy. My friend rejoiced and threw a party for the entire village. Years later, on my return from Mecca, I passed through the village of my friend and was told he was in jail. “What happened?" I asked. “His son got drunk, killed a man and ran away. So, his father has been thrown into prison. " To persistently ask god for what we want is laudable---and perilous as well. “The Universe is aware of every individual's needs and wishes. There's a perfect scheme of things for everyone. Don't spoil that with your fervent prayers and entreaties," wrote Paulo Coehlo in his book “Manual of the Warrior of Light." Prayer is good but it often degenerates into begging. Humans pray for two reasons: Pestering god, universe or some unknown higher power to fulfil their quotidian wishes AND as an indoctrinated and inculcated habit. We seldom pray for the beatitude and a state of ineffable bliss. Rumi says, ' a desireless prayer pleases the Almighty.' There was an episode in the life of the great Iranian mystic Bayazid Bastami (804 CE-874 CE). It could be apocryphal but is important to understand the profound timelessness of a desireless prayer. One day at the age of 29, Bayazid sat for a prayer and went into a state of trance. When he regained consciousness after some time, he realized that more than a year had elapsed! “I thought it was just a fraction of a second." He heard a voice, “No, you transcended time." His prayer transcended time and space and it transformed him. It's said that after that indescribable experience, Bayazid became all the more mellowed and compassionate. Earlier, he was fanatically against the Zoroastrians (his ancestors embraced Islam from Zoroastrianism; Bayazid's grandfather, Sorushaan, was a Zoroastrian, who converted to Islam), but his rigid stand towards them changed completely. A wordless and desireless prayer can transform an individual. But that's for the seekers and evolved souls. Most of us are abject beggars, asking for a new job, a beautiful wife, a sprawling house, increment or promotion. Because, that's the (limited) range of spiritual wisdom we're endowed with. We cannot remain silent even during our prayers and keep asking for something or the other like nagging mendicants! ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/prayer-dangerous/d/129793 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism