Purpose of Praising God. Self benefit or obligatory or expectation of favours.

[miracle114]

Salaam all
i have had a look on the forum and cannot find any specifics on this.
What is the purpose of praising God? I am aware that God does not need our salat nor glorifying as it does not subtract nor add to his greatness as he is and always will be the greatest .
I can assume its for our own benefit as mentioned a few times in the quran as one can only arguably truly worship God if they are in awe of them and hence see the logic behind constant praise, reverence, glorification of him.
Now my real question. Does true heartfelt praise and glorification of God, if it makes no difference to God's greatness or glory does it actually please him? and in the times of most needed favours and blessings from God do our remembrance or dhikr of him act as supplications because i can admit that apart from supplicating i do use a lot of praises in hope that he will hear and answer those supplications.
As usual i would love direct Quran support but real life experiences are fine too.   

Peace and Regards


 

[ilker]

salam

We really feel need to praise someone/something when we love them, when we feel happiness through them or need them desperately. It's perfectly natural. We praise Allah because we love Him, His blessings, His help, His company... We are weak, powerless before Him, asking His aid through our sincere prayers. Alhamdulillah, when I'm so depressed, exhausted, words of praise come out of mouth naturally, like  "Ya Rahman ya Rahim ya Fattah, you see what i'm going through, have mercy on me. Open my chest and guide me ...." It's all about keeping oneself aware of Allah's greatness.

Like Prophet Ayub (as): "And (remember) Ayyūb (Job), when he called his Lord saying, “Here I am, afflicted by pain and You are the most merciful of all the merciful.” (21:83)"

"The Most Excellent Names belong to God: use them to call on Him, and keep away from those who abuse them- they will be requited for what they do." (7:180)

Think of a prayer without praising Allah, calling His names. Wouldn't it sound dull or artificial ?

All the prophets mentioned in the Quran prayed like this. By glorifying Him, we acknowledge, remember His greatness once again. We become more aware as to how He could solve our issues, repair our broken hearts with His unlimited power. Praising Him with sincere heart reminds us of who we ask for help!

As Zakariyya, (Zechariah) as he called out to his Lord, "Lord! Leave me not out single, (i.e., without offspring) and You are The Most Charitable of inheritors!" (21:89)

Jesus, son of Mary, said, ‘Lord, send down to us a feast from heaven so that we can have a festival- the first and last of us- and a sign from You. Provide for us: You are the best provider.’ (5:114)

He said, "My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom such as will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower." (38:35)


"And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah ]" (2:45)

Take care:)

Sorry for my English by the way:)

[miracle114]

Salaam Ilker
Awesome reply I love it. I fully agree.
Your English is great too.

[Abu Hafsat]

 As-Salaam alaikum,
  On this question/issue of Praising Allah, Azzah Wa Jallah, again... We must realize that Allahu Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala does NOT become pure by our chant of, for example, SUBHANALLAH (Praise be to Allah). His Purity is ABSOLUTELY INHERENT.

 When we say: 'SUBHANALLAH', expressing our conviction of His Purity, then it is in its Sadaqah (benevolence) and in its wake that Allah purifies us. Aah!! How can one adequately express the essential grandeur and magnificence of Allah??

  ALLAHU  AKBAR!   ALLAHU  AKBAR!!    WA LILLAHIL HAMD!!!