Blessings of Prayer — Page 20
20 Barakātud Du'ā is obvious that all prayers are not obligatory, since in some instances Allah has praised those who practice patience and forbearance and commit themselves entirely to Him. The main argument in this regard is that God does not only make this prayer obligatory but, pronouncing it as 'worship', warns of the punishment of hell in case of disobedience. It is obvious that such a warning does not accompany the other forms of prayer. Sometimes even Prophetsas have been admonished for praying. The following verse, for example, testifies to this: إِنِّي أَعِظُكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنَ الْجُهِلِينَ 100 It is obvious that if every prayer was worship, then why should Noahas have been reprimanded with the words لَا تَسْتَلْنِ ]Ask not of Me!]. There are times when saints and Prophetsas consider it disrespectful to pray for a certain thing. At such times, the sages have acted upon the dictates of their hearts; which means that when they were confronted with a trial they would pray if their heart's dictate was to pray, but if it called for endurance they would endure and refrain from prayer. Besides, God Almighty has never promised to accept all prayers, but has said clearly 10 I advise thee lest thou become one of the ignorant. -Hūd, 11:47 [Publishers]