Re: Major turn offs
Peace bbbcd
It is the belief of Muslims that Prayer is prescribed to us … Everything that is made “mandatory” to us by Allah (SWT) is for our benefit, because it betrays our understanding of Allah (SWT) to assert that we would be given anything harmful or useless as a requirement by Allah (SWT). So one way to understand prayer is to take it like we take “air” - we breathe it in and never question - why is “air” necessary for us and until we get our answer we stop breathing … No, despite not getting any reason we are happy to continue breathing and eating and drinking. Yet we stop praying thinking we don’t need to pray …
Yes, Allah (SWT) is needless of our prayers … because it follows that before we and the rest of creation were created who worshiped Allah (SWT)? No one … He is not contingent on His creatures … He is Self-Subsistent and His Majesty is unaltered whether we are here or not. You ask about punishment as a form of counter-argument from the position that He is needless of our prayer - that means in your mind - that threatening someone for not doing something is directly linked to some need one has in themselves. Let’s put that assumption to test … Say there is a road sign on a curved and winding road that warns the oncoming cars of a cliff edge and for them to slow right down … Is it fair to say that the ones who put the sign up did so because they want to gain something from the drivers? No, yet they can be blamed by the drivers that their “sign” is a type of threat … Allah (SWT) is Giving us signs and warning us - these are not threats of punishment. It seems that way because Allah (SWT) has control over everything … If we don’t pray then it is like not taking heed of that sign and driving too fast - the consequence is that we will fall down the cliff.
Actually a well formed and focused prayer is an act of love … But before it manifests as an act of love it is a requirement for us … and even if our hearts are not in it we should still pray. Here is why:
Although Allah (SWT) does not need us and we need Him … He as our Lord has Rights … Divine Rights and It is His Right to be worshiped. We say Alhumdulillahi Rabbil’Alameen … That “All Praises are for Allah, The Lord of the Entire Universe” we are saying here that we believe “Allah has The Right to be worshiped as He is The Lord Who made all things - that is a sense that we cannot betray”
We betray that sense then that is what leads to punishment … A person may not pray but if he does not pray out of a sense that “he does not NEED to pray” or that “It is not Allah (SWT)'s Right because He is needless” then that is kufr deserving of punishment - or should I say that is the act that leads to falling down that cliff.
We should think of ourselves as a slaves or even servants who have signed up to a contract to this human life … if we betray that contract then the Customer will not pay us … That lack of payment is what we can understand to be punishment. Think of the best slaves … they are the ones who don’t ask their Master why? They simply execute the command of their king or lord … And so must we … it is the Right of our King, our Master to be Worshiped although all benefit of that worship is not His … it is ours … and then we will understand that is truly Love …