The Sensibility of Islam

In this life, everyone talks to you about the sins and good deeds you have in Islam, but today I will speak to you about the emotional dimension of Islam.

I have always emphasized the rational aspects of Islam, believing that prayer and all acts of worship are obligations we owe, and that we must fulfill them. I performed my worship solely for this reason—because I felt I owed my Lord, who has granted me the very best of everything.

Later, however, prayer and worship became difficult for me because I viewed them as duties and obligations. I would perform the same five daily prayers, rising from the same spot on my prayer mat. One day I said to myself: there are eight billion people in this world, and each has a unique fingerprint. Their thoughts, their entire being, are all different. So why do we all perform the same acts of worship and recite the same supplications? When I asked myself this, many things began to change for me. Because from then on, I stopped reciting my prayers in a fixed manner and began to engage with them as conversations, as heartfelt talks. It was then that I truly began to find joy in life. This became such a beautiful fate for me...

Because now I perform my worship not out of obligation or duty, but because I am genuinely happy. At every call to prayer, I am invited to the prayer mat, where I converse with my Lord. Some may say to me: conversation implies reciprocity. Does He answer you? Do you hear Him? No—but when I open my heart and speak to Him about my joy, my sorrow, and all my inner states, I feel something within me that is indescribable. This feeling cannot be put into words; it must be lived. That is why my advice to you is to perform your worship not as a duty or obligation, but because you truly love it, believe in it, and find peace in it. Only then will you fully understand what I mean.

I will not pray that Allah grants you the ability to worship; instead, I will offer you a far more beautiful prayer: may Allah grant you the ability to feel and to experience that indescribable emotion. Amin.

Wa as-salam...