Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
11. The Concept of Spirituality in Islam
~ 148 ~
spirituality is needed for the nourishment of the soul. Both are
required for the complete development of the human personality.
The human body is nourished by material food as is known to
all of us. But the question arises as to how our soul receives its
nourishment. The position of the soul can be likened to ore, and
the position of spirituality can be likened to steel. Then how this
ore is to be developed into spirituality? High thinking alone
provides the answer to this question. This means thinking by rising
above the mundane.
Meditation in Islam aims at bringing man closer to God. When
man worships God, when he remembers Him, when his heart is
turned towards Him with full concentration, when he makes a
request or a plea, he establishes a rapport with his Maker. In the
words of the Hadith, at that particular moment he comes to
whisper with his Lord. He has the tangible feeling that he is
pouring his heart out to God and that God in turn is answering his
call.
When this communion is established between God and man,
man can feel himself becoming imbued with a special kind of
peace. His eyes are moist with tears. He starts receiving inspiration
from God.
According to a
hadith
the Prophet Muhammad said the highest
form of worship is to pray as if you were seeing God. We learn
from this
hadith
the true sign of a superior form of worship. The
true sign is for man to sense the presence of God during worship,
