Who cannot be perceived by the physical eye of man. The second, which follows immediately the belief in the Unseen, is the keeping up of prayer, thus showing that belief in the Unseen is turned into a certainty of the Divine existence, a realization of the Divine within man, by means of prayer; and it is with reference to this realization that we are told, a little further on: “And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and this is hard except for the humble, who know that they will meet their Lord and that to Him they will return” (2:45, 46). The third requisite, spending out of what God has given, is the natural sequel of the second, and shows that the realization of the Divine in man leads to the service of humanity. In one of the earliest revealed chapters of the Holy Qur’ān, it is stated that prayer is useless unless it leads to the service of humanity: “So woe to the praying ones, who are unmindful of their prayer, who do good to be seen, and refrain from acts of kindness” (107:4-7).

The experience of humanity

The universal experience of humanity bears out the truth of what the Holy Qur’ān has said. Though to most people nowadays the existence of God amounts to little more than a theory, yet in every age and in every nation there have been men who, through prayer, have realized the great truth of the Divine existence within their hearts, and have laid down their lives for the good of humanity. In their case belief in the existence of God was a moral force which not only brought about a complete change in their own lives but also enabled them to transform the lives of entire nations for centuries and change the histories of peoples and of countries. Their selflessness and truthfulness were beyond reproach, and their testimony, which is really the testimony of all nations in all ages, establishes one fact, that belief in the existence of God becomes a moral force of the first magnitude when once it is realized in the heart of man through prayer to the Divine Being; so great a moral force is it, indeed, that even the most powerful material forces give way before it. Is not the experience of those great personalities a beacon-light for others showing them that they also can make God a moral force in their lives? The powers and faculties that are given to one man are also given to another, and through their proper use one