Our soul is blessed with the impression of the Glory of God whenever our lips praise God.
Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Related Material by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
Compiled by Wahiduddin Richard Shelquist – wahiduddin.net
There is a necessity for praise in prayer, praise of the Beauty of God, for we must learn to recognize and praise the Beauty of God as manifested in all creation. In this way we impress beauty on our souls, and we are able to manifest it in ourselves, and we become the friend of all and are without prejudice. For this reason the Sufis cultivate their hearts. The emblem of the Sufi is a heart between two wings, meaning that when the heart is cultivated one can soar up into the heights of heaven.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume V – Spiritual Liberty, Part V: Pearls from the Ocean Unseen – Prayer )
“Why does God need praise from me? Who am I that I should offer God praise?” True, we can never praise God enough; never can our praise be sufficient, but our souls are blessed with the impression of the Glory of God whenever we praise God. The soul could praise God every moment and yet wanting to praise God yet more, it is constantly hungering and thirsting to find the Beauty and Perfection of God. By the praise of God the soul is filled with bliss; even to utter the Name of God is a blessing that can fill the soul with light, joy and happiness as nothing else can do.
( from Unpublished papers from the Nekbakht Foundation Archives: Prayer )
One might ask what effect prayers can have upon the soul, which is pure and aloof from everything. The soul, when it sees the external self bowing before God, rejoices and is glad. Prayer gives nobility to whomever prays, rich or poor. The attitude of a prayerful person towards God is that of a lover towards the beloved, of a child towards its parents, … of a pupil towards the teacher, of a soldier towards the commander. …
There are many virtues, but there is one principal virtue. Every moment passed outside the Presence of God is sin, and every moment in God’s Presence is virtue. The whole object of the Sufi, after learning this way of communicating is to arrive at a stage where every moment of our life passes in communion with God, and where our every action is done as if God were before us. Is that within everyone’s reach? We are meant to be so. Just think of those who are in love: when they eat or drink, whatever they do, the image of the Beloved is there. In the same way, when the love of God has come, it is natural to think of God in everything we do.
( from the Sufi Message Series, Volume IX – The Unity of Religious Ideals, Part I: Prayer )
Commentary by Murshid S.A.M. (Sufi Ahmed Murad)
Samuel L. Lewis
This praise is the one thing which surely pierces the mind-mesh. In the first place, the praise we give to God is the one praise for which we cannot possibly expect return; this lack of expectancy of return shows unselfishness, and unselfishness is the one thing that blesses the soul.