COMMUNICATING SILENTLY VERSUS COMMUNICATING LOUDLY:
It is in this context that Allah says in the Qur’an that supplications should be made humbly, silently and not loudly: “Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret” (al-A’raf, 55). About Prophet Zakariyya (Zechariah), Allah says: “When he called to his Lord a call in secret” (Maryam, 3).
The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) also admonished some people who raised their voices while supplicating: “Be merciful to yourselves (i.e., don’t raise your voices), for you are not calling a deaf or an absent one, but One Who is All-Hearer, All-Seer. The One Whom you call is closer to one of you than the neck of his animal” [Sahih al-Bukhari].
It follows that if a person feels he has to pray or supplicate loudly, lest he might be unheard or misunderstood, he needs to examine his faith, for there are, surely, some serious flaws in it. Life is all about drawing closer to Allah and feeling how near He with His Knowledge, Might, Compassion and Munificence, is. The closer to Allah a person gets, the more overwhelmed, more benevolent, more tranquil and, at times, even more introvert he becomes. His total being becomes engrossed in enjoying and “feasting” on the boons generated by his spiritual triumph. He increasingly loses interest in frivolous and worthless things and pastimes, regarding them as serious distractions and deviations. They tend to rob a person of his most precious moments, experiences and opportunities.
His communication patterns with his beloved Creator and Master then becomes impeccably effective and high-yielding. Most of the time, such patterns do not exceed the softness of the whispers, even though the whole spiritual kingdom resonates with them. Such is the relationship between Allah and His true servants that sometimes the mere vibrations of their hearts, or the reflections of their minds, connote the most potent, most effective and most hearkened supplications. Outward silence is often the best communication mode. Indeed, a believer’s heart is a place that effectively never sleeps, and is always connected with the highest spiritual order of things, meanings and experiences. The closer to Allah he gets, the quieter, more inaudible, more discreet and more tranquil in his worship activities he becomes.
This paradigm applies to any relationship with individuals who genuinely love and care for each other. They are often seen not talking much to one another, and when they do, they do so softly and quietly. They simply whisper, or speak in undertones, to each other. This is so because their hearts are together, and are one. And it is right in their hearts that most of their communication unfolds and mutual understanding takes place. Their united hearts talk, though the separated physical bodies appear still and silent. Regardless, they perfectly understand each other.
On the diametrically opposite side stand relationships with individuals who gravely misunderstand each other. They often, as a rule, quarrel, screaming and shouting at one another. They do so because, even though they are physically side by side, their hearts are worlds apart. They recognise that very well and so, feel they have to scream and shout. They know, no matter what, they will not be heard by the one(s) on the other side. Hence, such squabbles never solve anything. They are simply vain attempts to out-scream and out-shout one another. There is rarely any room for reason and sanity in such situations.