For this reason...

For this reason, in this letter, Imam (as) teaches his son to be aware of the fact that in this world the worldly affairs are not effected solely through material and physical agents. Rather, spiritual factors, such as supplication and worship are also at work. The second point emphasized in this letter is the fact that if man, through his sins, temporarily distances himself from God, he can compensate for it through his repentance to gain, once again, God’s favour.

The Role Of Supplication And The Conditions For Its Fulfillment In order for man to come close to God, to gain spiritual peace of mind, to attain ethical values, to stay away from sins, to cleanse mental disturbances, to avoid Satan’s temptations, to strengthen his intelligence and cognitive powers, and to satisfy his physical and mental needs, he needs to worship God.

For this very reason, the major part of the Prophet’s educational programs in general and the Prophet of Islam’s program in particular consists of teaching people to carry out prayers. But in today’s world more than ninety percent of people suffer from some sort of nervous and mental disturbance. Every day we witness millions of crimes in the world.

A lot of people, due to distresses and worries and because of their indecisions, resort to narcotics and drugs and tranquilizers and alcohol and pornographic films. Most of them, towards the middle part of life, give up their education, jobs and families to engage in suicides or live a parasitic life.

It seems as if Alexis Carrel’s prediction had come true when he said, "This is the price we pay for the industrial civilization and for the changes of life we are receiving."[^1] At such a time, we even need more prayers and supplication.

Dale Carnegie presents the following statistics for the American community: "In the United States, in general, every thirty five minutes one person commits suicide and every two minutes a person goes mad." He then adds: "If people went after the peace which is contained in religious supplications, most of these suicides and mental diseases could be avoided"[^2] Elsewhere Alexis Carrel is reported to have said, "The greatest power man can produce is through supplication and worship.

Such a power acts like gravity whose existence is real and touchable. In our medical life we have come across patients who were not treated through medicines but were cured through supplication and worship.