Question from Abby:

Abby said... Thankyou very much for your long and thoughtful answer, Amaana! (Hope I got your name right!) What you say is very interesting. You do seem to share a lot in common with how Christians pray.

Do you ever ask for things in prayer? Would you say, Dear Allah, my sister is ill, please heal her? Or are the prayers more ritualistic? Are you encouraged to ask for things?

In my prayers, I pray through 4 points, acronym "ACTS" - start with Adoration, then Confession of sins, then Thanksgiving for prayers answered and then Supplication, asking for things from God. It's just a good discipline to remind me to give God the glory before asking for things and being me-centred. I should be God-centred. :) I do not have to pray this way, there are many different ways for Christians to pray, but for me it is a good discipline.

Thanks for taking the time to speak to me. Abby


Hi Abby,

Yes we do ask for things from Allah when we pray. We are in constant need for God. There is a teaching of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) that says that a person who keeps doing wrong and goes back to ask for forgiveness, is mentioned by God in the company of all the Angels. God says look at my servant that knows that I am here to forgive them. God loves the servants that ask Him for what they need. This asking and prayer makes our faith more solid in that we know that the only One that can provide for us is God...no human being can. We turn to Him for everything. Prayer is that connection that we need. You can go to http://muslim-canada.org/salaat.html to find out more about the physical aspects of the way we pray...I believe that that site also gives examples of verses that we say while in prayer. Take care and I hope that helps :)

~Amaana03