Do Prayers Really Bring About A Change?

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 5 October 2022 " Na Dozakh Ka Dar, Na Khauf-E-Khuda Hans Kar Maine Maut Se Loha Liya " -Adil Rampuri (Neither hell nor Allah am I fearful of/ I challenged death with a grin on my face) " Prayers can only have a Placebo effect on a person or they can apparently minimize the severity of a situation. That they can change a hopeless situation dramatically, is a very big self-deception. Prayers are for frightened and religiously conditioned humans. " Ahmed Harqan, Egyptian Human Rights activist and an outspoken atheist Recently, famous comedian Raju Srivastava passed away despite the whole country earnestly praying for him for nearly two months. My friend's young sister died of cancer, though her family called Pandits from UP to recite Maha Mritunjay Jaap continuously for many days. Alas, nothing could help her survive. A complete nonbeliever at Adelaide hospital in Australia, sternly told his near and dear ones not to pray for him as he had no faith in any god and the effectiveness of prayers. He recovered miraculously though all doctors gave up on him. He had faith in himself that he'd survive. My point is that unwavering self belief and courage of conviction can help a person sail through even the toughest challenge(s) in life sans a skerrick of faith in any god, prayer or religion. There's no arrogance about it. Readers may be aware that when a complete atheist Bhagat Singh was about to be hanged at Lahore Central Jail on March 23, 1931, the fatherly jailor came to him and politely requested him to pray. Bhagat Singh said, ' I'm not scornful of your belief in some divine power, but I've never had any faith in any heavenly power. So, at this juncture, I cannot compromise on my conviction. Please let me die faithless.' Imminent death can make anyone vulnerable. Yours truly is no exception. But one can triumph over the fear of impending death by having absolute self belief and this belief is his/her 'spiritual' anchorage. Self belief sans any esoteric mumbo-jumbo is true spirituality. I saw my professor and mentor Dr Zaifa Ashraf die. She too died of cancer at The Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, London. A complete non-believer, Dr Ashraf chose to embrace death despite writhing in extreme pain. She never prayed in life or had any faith in religion (read Islam). Doctors attending to her were amazed by her self-belief and fortitude. My atheist mother was instructing doctors to give away her whole body for medical research without praying or fearing for death. Yours truly never prayed (and will never pray) throughout his life. Yet, he has got everything and all his wishes have come to fruition. I know, death is inevitable. So, why should I worry or pray to stave it off? Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib wrote, ' Maut Ka Ik Din Muayyan Hai/Neend Kyon Raat Bhar Nahin Aati ?' (The day of death is predestined/Why does sleep elude all night?). So very true. When death is unavoidable, welcome it with utmost calmness, equanimity and dignity. If the majority of people in the world are religious and believers, there are also people who've no faith and are totally godless. For such non-believers, approaching death mustn't be so overwhelming as to degenerate them into believing something they never believed during their lifetime. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/prayers-atheist-faith-divine/d/128109 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism