Within the fabric of that last thin thread, I have one iota left of the will to live.

[Stanley Stunodd]

What does one do when they find themselves,
Within the fabric of that last thin thread, having one last iota of the will to live left. ?

In a popular song, there is a line I've been holding onto and have even used it on this forum.
"All the colors have been drained from my wings"

I bring up this topic on this forum because, as I understand Prayer,
one is not to ask for anything which would be of benefit to themselves but,
only pray for the benefit of others.
Believing this, leaves me with nowhere and nobody to turn in times such as these.
When one feels as if they consist of a single atom,
only gravity is weighing the heaviest upon them,
and they are standing upon a precipice (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=precipice) during a strong wind, it's hard to hold on.

In Islam, does one pray for benefits and assistance for themselves ?
That certainly would make it less lonely.

[sadia]

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem

Dua is the weapon of a believer. We should take the example of the Prophet Muahmmad (SAW) who was put through unimaginable pain and affliction during his Prophethood. In any difficulty, we are supposed to ask Allah first and foremost to pull us through. The Prophet (SAW) would always ask Allah for guidance and help in any matter. Dua is our conversation will Allah, especially when we have no one to turn to, as the Prophet (SAW) didn't. Dua trains us to be patient and patience is a beautiful thing.In fact, Allah loves it when we ask Him for help and guidance.

Hadith Qudsi 15:
On the authority of Abu Harayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Allah the Almighty said:
I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.

You should read Surah Yusuf (12) in the the Quran. It is a beautiful surah that reminds us that Allah is always there even when we are alone and suffering.

" Until when the messengers despaired and the people became sure that they were indeed told a lie, Our help came to them and whom We pleased was delivered; and Our punishment is not averted from the guilty people." (110:Yusuf)

Hope that helps

[muslimdaisy]

:start:

What does one do when "All the colors have been drained from my wings"?

Pray, pray to Allah. It is the Weapon of the Weak and the Wronged.
It is therapeutic to the soul- You cry out to the ONLY ONE who can save you- Allah subhanawatalla. Prayer of course is not only for the times when we feel helpless and needy, it is an act of worship, in some hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) Dua (prayer) is the essence of worship. If Dua is the essence of worship, and humans and jinn were created only to worship Allah, then Dua is a high priority for Muslims. It shows us that we are always needy of Allah's blessings, forgiveness, mercy, protection, etc. Dua/ Prayer makes us less arrogant as well, for however high mankind goes, they will ALWAYS have their hand open infront of Allah (when we pray/ make dua we hold our hands infront of us, palm side facing up.)

I also read Surat Ya Sin (36), the "Heart of the Quran" when feeling like "All the colors have been drained from my wings"


Prayer can be of two types
1. Matters pertaining to religion
2. Matters pertaining to the world.
The true Muslim asks from both the categories, realising that the good pertaining to the world is in reality a means of attaining the good in the Hereafter.

Prayer can also be of four types:
1. Good that exists
Ex. One is in good health, and one does not want this to be taken away.
2. Good that is desired
Ex. One does not have good health, but wishes for it.
3. Evil that exists
Ex. One may suffer from poverty or sickness, prayer is made to change the situation
4. Evil that does not exist
Ex. One might fear a certain disease or another trial, so prayer is made to avert the evil.


In Islam, one does pray for benefits and assistance for one's self.
In fact, Islamic etiquette is to begin the prayer with one's self.
Why?
1. A person should desire all good for him/her self, so it does not make sense to pray for others and forget one's self.
2. The fact a person prays for himself shows that what he is praying for is an important goal and objective.
3. Praying for one's self increases him/her in sincerity in the prayer, for man is weak and when he only makes prayer for his brother/sister, it is possible it will not be as sincere as when he makes a prayer for himself and his brother/sister.

In Surat Hashr, Ayat 10 it states
"O Allah! Forgive us, and our brothers (in faith) who have preceded us!"

In Surat Ibrahim, Ayat 41 it states
"O Our Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and all of the believers the Day that the Account will be taken!"

All words in italics are molded from Dua: The Weapon of the Beliver
by Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi.

A beautiful work on the concept of dua/ Prayer in Islam


thank you for your time

[Stanley Stunodd]

Bismillahirrahmanirraheem
Allah loves it when we ask Him for help and guidance.
Dua is the weapon of a believer. Dua is the weapon of a believer Thank you for your response sadia & muslimdaisy,
The one highlighted section in your post which stands out from the rest was :
"Allah loves it when we ask Him for help and guidance."
While a Father always keeps a watchful eye on his children, to step in and catch them as they fall,
I have been taught that it is only ourselves which we should depend upon
and then give unto others as well.

I believe, if one learns to depend upon God to greatly,
even in the most difficult times,
that weakens the human spirit as well as decreases the individuals character.

[muslimdaisy]

:start:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

your welcome for the response

"While a Father always keeps a watchful eye on his children, to step in and catch them as they fall,
I have been taught that it is only ourselves which we should depend upon
and then give unto others as well.

I believe, if one learns to depend upon God to greatly,
even in the most difficult times,
that weakens the human spirit as well as decreases the individuals character."

For Muslims, Prayer/Dua to Allah does not weaken the individual, infact it is an immaan (faith) boost that raises the individual's spirit.

"Allah created all things and He is the agent on which all things depend".
Surat as Zumar Ayat 62

"Verily, your Lord has said: "Call upon Me, and I will answer you!" Those who are arrogant to worship Allah will enter Hell, humiliated!"
Surah Ghafir, Ayat 65

"And I have only created Jinn and Mankind to worship Me."
Surah al Dhariyat, Ayat 56

Prophet Muhammed :saw: said: "Dua is worship".
narrated by Ahmad and the 4 Sunnans
Prophet Muhammed :saw: used to say:
:lahawla:
"There is no movement nor power except by Allah's will. "

Prayer/ Dua is an affirmation of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah:

Al-Muhaimin The Protector, The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.
Al-Ghaffaar The Great Forgiver, The Forgiver, The One who forgives the sins of His slaves time and time again.
Al-Wahhaab The Bestower, The One who is Generous in giving plenty without any return.
Al-Razzaaq The Sustainer, The Provider.
Ash-Shakoor The Grateful, The Appreciative, The One who gives a lot of reward for a little obedience.
Al-Hafeez The Preserver, The Protector, The One who protects whatever and whoever He willed to protect
Al-Muqeet The Maintainer, The Guardian, The Feeder, The Sustainer, The One who has the Power.
Al-Kareem The Generous One, The Bountiful, The Gracious, The One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status.

[ABDELWAHHAB]

:start:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

your welcome for the response

"While a Father always keeps a watchful eye on his children, to step in and catch them as they fall,
I have been taught that it is only ourselves which we should depend upon
and then give unto others as well.

I believe, if one learns to depend upon God to greatly,
even in the most difficult times,
that weakens the human spirit as well as decreases the individuals character."

For Muslims, Prayer/Dua to Allah does not weaken the individual, infact it is an immaan (faith) boost that raises the individual's spirit.

"Allah created all things and He is the agent on which all things depend".
Surat as Zumar Ayat 62

"Verily, your Lord has said: "Call upon Me, and I will answer you!" Those who are arrogant to worship Allah will enter Hell, humiliated!"
Surah Ghafir, Ayat 65

"And I have only created Jinn and Mankind to worship Me."
Surah al Dhariyat, Ayat 56

Prophet Muhammed :saw: said: "Dua is worship".
narrated by Ahmad and the 4 Sunnans
Prophet Muhammed :saw: used to say:
:lahawla:
"There is no movement nor power except by Allah's will. "

Prayer/ Dua is an affirmation of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah:

Al-Muhaimin The Protector, The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.
Al-Ghaffaar The Great Forgiver, The Forgiver, The One who forgives the sins of His slaves time and time again.
Al-Wahhaab The Bestower, The One who is Generous in giving plenty without any return.
Al-Razzaaq The Sustainer, The Provider.
Ash-Shakoor The Grateful, The Appreciative, The One who gives a lot of reward for a little obedience.
Al-Hafeez The Preserver, The Protector, The One who protects whatever and whoever He willed to protect
Al-Muqeet The Maintainer, The Guardian, The Feeder, The Sustainer, The One who has the Power.
Al-Kareem The Generous One, The Bountiful, The Gracious, The One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status.


as-Salaamu 3laykum wa-Ra7matullaahi wa-Barakaatuh Sister Moslemah Daisy
Gazaakee ALLAAHU Khair

[Stanley Stunodd]

I do sincerely thank you for offering your assistance in this thread but,
I must say one thing in regards to this :

Prayer/ Dua is an affirmation of the Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah:

Al-Muhaimin The Protector, The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.
Al-Ghaffaar The Great Forgiver, The Forgiver, The One who forgives the sins of His slaves time and time again.
Al-Wahhaab The Bestower, The One who is Generous in giving plenty without any return.
Al-Razzaaq The Sustainer, The Provider.
Ash-Shakoor The Grateful, The Appreciative, The One who gives a lot of reward for a little obedience.
Al-Hafeez The Preserver, The Protector, The One who protects whatever and whoever He willed to protect
Al-Muqeet The Maintainer, The Guardian, The Feeder, The Sustainer, The One who has the Power.
Al-Kareem The Generous One, The Bountiful, The Gracious, The One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status.
It clearly appears to me that these names above are individual deities which were then transformed to become one entity named Allah, with all the attributes of all the lesser gods that were being worshipped around the same time.

JUST LIKE : line 539 (http://www.ubook.org/cgi-bin/mfs/29/home/urantia/webdocs/upapers/ubpaper195.html?539#mfs): The stream of modern Christianity drains many an ancient pagan swamp and many a barbarian morass; many olden cultural watersheds drain into this present-day cultural stream as well as the high Galilean tablelands which are supposed to be its exclusive source.

[muslimdaisy]

:start:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

:lailah:
There is no God worthy of worship except Allah subhanwataalla.

A person named Ahmed can be nice, charming, a human, a man, a son , a father, a brother, a lawyer, a husband, etc.
The names I listed were charactersistics and attributes of Allah subhanwataalla, He is the Most Merciful etc. All of Allah's attributes or characteristics are uncomparable, because how can the created be like the Creator?

Individual smaller dieties do not make sense to me because Allah is the Most Powerful, and His powers are not shared.

One can not compare modern day Christianity with Islam, modern day Christianity is a compromise of what Prophet Jesus preached and the pagan culture of that era whereas what Prophet Muhammad :saw: preached is the final message with the Quran as the only unadulterated Book of Allah.

[muslimdaisy]

:start:
In the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Brother Moayyid said in another thread:

"For my non-moslem brothers and sisters, It is important to realize that in Islam, Allah is "Gam'i Al Sefaat" the accumilation, unifier (for lack of better term right now) of his Attributes. In the Qur'an alone, Allah has 99 different attributes/descriptions. The most Compassionate, the Most Mercifull, the First, The Guardian/the Preserver, The Powerful/the Irresistible, The Creator
The All-Knowing/the Omniscient and so on. "