PRAYER (continued...)

Why Prayers Of Even Perfect People Are Not Always Accepted

Some ignorant people ask why some of the prayers of those who are perfect are not accepted. The answer is that God Almighty has under His control the manifestation of their beauty. When this great manifestation takes place and their beauty shines forth in respect of any matter, then the particles of the universe are drawn to it and the impossible happens which, in other words, is called a miracle. But this spiritual manifestation does not appear always and at every place and depends upon external elements. This is because, as God is Self- Sufficient, He has invested His elect also with the quality of self- sufficiency. Like God they are also self-sufficient and till someone puts in motion their mercy with full humility and sincerity that quality of theirs is not activated. These people possess the quality of mercy to a greater degree than the rest of the world, but it is a matter of wonder that it is not within their own power to activate it. They often wish that it should be manifested, but it is not manifested without the Divine will. They have no regard for those who deny them and for the hypocrites and for the weak in faith and consider them like dead insects. Their self-sufficiency is of the type which is possessed by a beloved person who conceals his face behind a beautiful veil. One aspect of this self-sufficiency is that when a wicked person thinks ill of them they often foster this ill thinking, for they take on Divine qualities. With regard to their ill-wishers, God Almighty has said: In their hearts there is a disease and God causes their disease to grow worse (2: I I). When God desires that they should display a miracle, He creates an eagerness in their hearts and they become restless and disturbed for the achievement of a particular purpose. Then they put aside the veil of self-sufficiency and their beauty, which is not visible to any except God Almighty, is disclosed to the angels of heaven and to every particle. The removal of their veil means that with their perfect sincerity and fidelity, and with the spiritual beauty on account of which they have become the beloved of God, they turn to God in such an extraordinary manner and such a condition of welcoming God is produced in their hearts which draws the extraordinary mercy of God Almighty to itself and along with it every particle of this universe is drawn to them, and the heat of their loving warmth collects in heaven and discloses its countenance to the angels like the clouds. Their pains, which have the quality of thunder in them, create a turmoil in heaven. Then, by the power of God Almighty, those qualities are created which send down the rain of achieving the mercy that they desire. When their spirituality with its full yearning attends to the resolution of any difficulty, it draws God's attention to itself, inasmuch as they are counted among those who are beloved of God on account of the personal love that they entertain for God. Then everything which is under the command of God Almighty becomes eager for their help and Divine mercy gets ready for a new creation in order to fulfill their purpose, and those matters are manifested which appear impossible to the worldly and which are unknown to the pursuers of lower knowledge. These people cannot be called God, but their relationship of love and closeness to God is so sincere and faithful that God appears to descend into them and the Divine Spirit is breathed into them as it was breathed into Adam. They are not God, but their relationship to God is such as a piece of iron has to fire when it is heated in the fire to such a degree that it assumes the color of the fire. When this happens, all that is under the command of God Almighty comes under their command, and the stars of heaven. and the sun and the moon, and the oceans and air and fire hear their voice and recognize them and serve them. Everything loves them naturally and is drawn to them like a true lover, except the wicked who are the reflections of Satan. Worldly love is ill-omened. It arises on one side and dies on the other, and also it is based upon beauty that is subject to decline and there are few people who come under its influence. But how wonderful is that spiritual beauty which is generated in a person by good behavior and purity and righteousness and, after the manifestation of Divine love, possesses a universal attraction, and draws eager hearts to itself as honey draws ants and not only men but every particle of the universe is affected by its attraction. A person who has true love for God Almighty is the Joseph for whom every particle of this universe has the quality of Zulaikha. His beauty is not manifested in this world for this world cannot endure it. God Almighty says in His Holy Book, the Quran, that the light of the believers is displayed in their countenances and a believer is recognized by the beauty, the name of which in other words is light (Zameema Braheen Ahmadiyyah Volume V , Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984) vol. 21. pp.62- 64).

Why The Acceptance Of Supplications Is Delayed At Times

Sometimes it happens that a seeker supplicates with great yearning and pain, but he observes that the result of his prayers is being postponed and delayed. In this connection it is necessary to remember that there is a gradualness in the affairs of the world. How many stages has a child to pass through before becoming a full grown person. How much time is taken by a seed to become a tree. In the same way, Divine matters are also completed gradually. There is also this Divine purpose in such a delay that the supplicant should become confirmed in his resolve and courage and his understanding should be strengthened. To the degree to which a person desires to acquire high rank and gradations to that degree he is called upon to work hard and to wait. Perseverance and resolve are such excellent qualities that without them a person cannot traverse the stages of success. It is necessary, therefore, that he should first pass through difficulties. That is why it is said: After hardship there is ease (94.7)(Malfoozat, Vol. 111, pp. 202-203).

Sometimes it happens that a person supplicates for something, but his supplication is the result of his ignorance and stupidity. He desires something from God Almighty which under no circumstances can be useful or beneficial for him. In such case, God Almighty does not reject his prayer, but fulfills it in some other form. For instance, a cultivator who needs a bullock for his plough goes to a ruler and asks him for a camel. The ruler knows that a bullock would be useful for him and he directs that he should be given a bullock. If that person should say that his request has not been granted, it would be foolish on his part, for if he were to reflect, that which happened was the best for him. In the same way, if a child beholding red burning brands should ask its mother for them, would a kind and compassionate mother hand them over to it? Thus, sometimes, circumstances arise in connection with the acceptance of prayer that people who are impatient and lack goodwill become the cause of the rejection of their prayer (Malfoozat, Vol. IV, p. 435).

Do Not Be Impatient And Restless

During the interval between a supplication and its acceptance one is often subjected to trial after trial, some of which are back-breaking. A persevering and good-natured supplicant smells the perfume of the favors of his Lord in these trials and difficulties and his intelligence informs him that they will be followed by help. One aspect of these trials is that they foster eagerness for prayer. The greater the distress of the supplicant, the more his soul will be melted. This is one of the factors in the acceptance of prayer. So one should not lose heart and should not think ill of God through impatience and restlessness. One should never think that one's prayer is not accepted or will not be accepted. Such a notion is a denial of the attribute of God that He accepts prayers (Malfoozat, Vol. IV, p. 434)

Prayer is very valuable and a person who is given to prayer succeeds in the end. It is foolishness and disrespect that a person should seek to avoid the design of God Almighty. For instance, to pray that the sun should appear in the early part of the night is impertinence. A person who loses hope or desires fulfillment before it is time, suffers loss. For instance, if after ten days of marriage the husband and wife should desire that a child should be born to them, it would be foolish on their part. In the same way, he who does not allow time for a plant to grow does not let the stage of the ripening of the grain to come....

Muslims are ignorant of the principles of prayer, and some of them are such who had the opportunity to pray but as they did not exercise patience and perseverance they were frustrated and adopted the view of Syed Ahmed Khan that prayer is nothing. They fall into such error as they are unaware of the reality of prayer and do not know its effects. Seeing that their hopes of wealth are not fulfilled, they announce that prayer is nothing and they draw away from it. Prayer is a perfect relationship between Providence and servitude. If prayer had no effect, to have recourse to it or not would be equal (Malfoozat, Vol. 111, pp. 203-204).

We should have recourse to prayer and should seek forgiveness from God Almighty for He is Self-Sufficient and is not subject to anyone's authority. He has no regard for a person who does not come to Him humbly and in submission. If a person goes to another begging or seeking a favor and puts forward his helplessness and poverty, he would be shown some favor, but if a person comes riding a horse and seeks a favor and threatens that if it is not granted he would have recourse to force, he would only be met by force. To seek a favor from God Almighty obstinately, and to make one's faith conditional, is a great mistake and is likely to prove a stumbling block. Perseverance and steadfastness in prayer is one thing, but obstinacy is quite another. To say that if one's purpose is not fulfilled one would deny faith or would say this or that is great foolishness and betrays ignorance of the manner of prayer and amounts to shirk. Such people are not aware of the philosophy of prayer. Nowhere does the Holy Quran say that God would accept prayer according to the desire of the supplicant. It is true that it is said: Call on Me, I shall respond to you (40: 6 I); but the Holy Quran also says: We shall surely try you with somewhat of fear and hunger (2: 156).

If by virtue of: Call on Me, I shall respond to you; God accepts your prayer, then by virtue of: We shall surely try you; He enforces His Own will. It is the Benevolence of God Almighty that He accepts the supplications of His servants; otherwise, it would not be inconsistent with His Godhead and Providence that He should always enforce His will. When He says: We shall surely try you with somewhat of fear; at that time He desires to enforce His will. There is sometimes fear and sometimes hunger, and sometimes there is decline in wealth, or loss in trade, or poor harvest, or death of children or loss of fruits and harmful results. These are trials from God Almighty. At that time God desires to display His authority and to enforce His will. At such times a sincere believer accepts the will of God cheerfully and gives it preference and is pleased with it and makes no complaint and thinks no ill. The verse goes on to say: Give glad tidings to the steadfast (2: 157); it does not say that glad tidings should be conveyed to supplicants. It is necessary, therefore, that a supplicant should not lose heart if he meets with failure in his prayers, but should prefer the pleasure of God Almighty with steadfastness and perseverance. The men of God perceive the hopefulness of an enterprise and in that case they supplicate; otherwise, they are content with Divine determination. When they perceive the signs of a calamity, they supplicate, but if they feel that such is Divine determination, they are steadfast, as was the case with the Holy Prophet on the demise of his children, one of whom was Ibrahim (Malfoozat, Vol.Ill, pp. 385-386).

It is my frequent experience that God is so Benevolent and Merciful that when in His Wisdom He does not accept a prayer, He accepts some other prayer in place of it which is like it. As He has said: Whatever sign We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring in its place one better or the like .thereof. Know you not that Allah has full power to do all that He wills (2: I07)? (Haqiqatul Wahi (Qadian, Magazine Press 1907) , Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984) vol. 22., p. 327)

Be not content with thinking that you pray every day and that the whole of Salat is prayer, for the prayer which issues after understanding and through grace is of a different type altogether. It is something that destroys, it is a fire that melts, it is a magnetic power that draws mercy, it is death which in the end revives, it is a fierce inundation which becomes a vessel, every frustration is remedied by it and every poison becomes an antidote through it.

God Is Brought Close Through Prayer

Blessed are the prisoners who supplicate and do not get tired for they shall one day be released; blessed are the blind ones who persevere in their prayers for one day they shall see. Blessed are those who are in the graves and seek the help of God through supplication for one day they shall be taken out of their graves.

Blessed are you who do not get tired in your prayers and your souls melt while you pray, and your eyes shed tears, and a fire is lit in your breasts and you are driven into dark chambers and wild forests seeking solitude, and you are rendered restless and mad and unconscious of self, for in the end you will become the recipients of grace. The God on Whom we call is very Benevolent and Merciful and Modest and True and Faithful and Compassionate to those who are humble. You should also become faithful and supplicate with full sincerity and loyalty so that He should have mercy on you. Withdraw from the tumult of the world and do not make your faith a matter of personal contentions. Accept defeat for the sake of God so that you might become heirs to great victories. G1od will show a miracle to those who pray and will bestow extraordinary favor upon those who beg. Prayer comes from God and returns to Him. Through prayer God comes close to you as your life is close to you. The first bounty of prayer is that it creates a holy change in the supplicant and in consequence of this change God makes a change in His attributes. His attributes are unchangeable, but for a person who has changed himself, He has a special manifestation of which the world does not know, as if He were another God. He does not become another God, but a new manifestation displays Him in a new light. In that special manifestation He does that for His changed servant which He does not do for others. In short, prayer is that sovereign remedy which converts a handful of dust into precious metal. It is the water which washes out inner impurities. With prayer the soul melts and, flowing like water, falls at the threshold of the Divine. It stands before God and bows down before Him and prostrates itself before Him so that the Salat that Islam teaches becomes its reflection. The standing of the soul in prayer is that it is prepared to endure every misfortune for the sake of God and is eager to carry out His commands, and its bowing down means that discarding all other loves and relationships it leans towards God and becomes His; and its prostration is that falling at the threshold of God, it loses itself altogether and wipes out its own being. This is the Salat which brings about a meeting between God and the worshipper. The Islamic law prescribes a picture of it in the Salat so that the physical Salat should urge a worshipper towards the spiritual Salat. God Almighty has so constituted man that the soul and the body act and react upon each other. When the soul is sad tears start from the eyes and when the soul is happy the countenance displays cheerfulness so that sometimes the person begins to laugh. In the same way when the body is hurt and feels pain, the soul also partakes of pain, and when the body is pleased with a breeze, the soul is also affected by it. Thus the purpose of physical worship is that on account of the relationship between the soul and body, the soul should be moved towards God and should occupy itself in spiritual bowing and prostration Lecture Sialkoat entitled Islam ( Sialkoat, Mufid Aam Press, 1904) Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984) vol. 20, pp. 26-29).

To think that seeking help from God is sometimes without result and wondering that the Rahmaniyyat and Rahimiyyat of God do not manifest themselves in the shape of help, is the result of misunderstanding. God Almighty surely hears the prayers that are offered in sincerity and helps the seekers of help as He considers proper. But sometimes it happens that the prayer and request for help of a person are not inspired by sincerity and lack the humility of the heart, and his spiritual condition is not up to the mark, so that while his lips utter the words of supplication his heart is inattentive or is only making a show. It also happens sometimes that God hears the supplication and bestows whatever He considers proper and most appropriate in His perfect Wisdom, but the foolish supplicant does not recognize the hidden favor that God does to him and begins to complain on account of his ignorance and unawareness. He does not appreciate the verse: It may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and it may also be that you prefer a thing and it may be the worse for you. Allah knows the reality of all things and you know not (2:217) (Braheen Ahmadiyyah Volume V , Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984) vol. 21. pp. 361, footnote 11).

Acceptance Of Prayer Demands Eagerness

God Almighty has taught a method of prayer in the Surah Fatihah than which nothing better is possible and which comprises all those matters which are necessary for inspiring the heart with eagerness in prayer. For the acceptance of prayer it is necessary that there should be eagerness in it for the prayer that lacks eagerness is mere words and is not true prayer. It is obvious, however, that it is not the choice of a person that his prayer should be inspired by eagerness at all times. It is necessary that at the time of prayer the matters that inspire eagerness should be present in the mind of the supplicant. Every sensible person knows that the heart is inspired with eagerness in consequence of two feelings. First, that the worshipper should contemplate God as Perfect and Powerful and possessing all perfect attributes, and to consider His mercies and His benevolence as essential from the beginning to the end for his own existence and preservation, and to consider Him as the Fountainhead of all grace. Secondly, to consider himself and all his fellow beings helpless and poor and dependent upon God's help. These are two matters that inspire eagerness in prayer. Eagerness is inspired when the supplicant finds himself altogether weak and without strength and dependent upon Divine help, and believes firmly that God is All Powerful and Lord of the worlds and Gracious and Merciful and Master of Judgment and that the fulfillment of all human needs lies in His hands. The Surah Fatihah sets out in the very beginning that God is the Being Who is worthy of all praise and comprises all excellencies and is the Lord of the worlds and is the Fountainhead of all mercies and bestows upon everyone the reward of their actions. By setting out these attributes God Almighty has proclaimed that all power is in His hands and that all grace proceeds from Him. He has proclaimed His greatness to the degree that He is the fulfiller of all needs in this world and the hereafter, that He is the Cause of all causes and that He is the Source of all grace. He has also indicated that without Him and His mercy the life and comfort and ease of an animate is not possible. Then the supplicant has been taught humility in the words: Thee alone do we worship, and Thee alone do we implore for help (1: 5). This means that we are helpless and can achieve nothing ourselves unless we are bestowed strength and support by Thee. Thus God Almighty has set forth two matters that inspire eagerness in prayer; one, His Greatness and Mercy and the other the helplessness and humility of His servants. These are two matters which it is necessary for supplicants to keep in their minds at the time of prayer. Thus those who have some experience of prayer know that without the presence of these two inspirers of prayers there can be no prayer, and that without these the fire of the love of God does not raise its flames in prayer. It is obvious that a person who does not keep in mind the Greatness and Mercy and perfect power of God cannot turn to God, and that the soul of a person who does not acknowledge his own helplessness and poverty cannot incline towards the Benevolent Master. This is a verity which needs no deep philosophy for its appreciation. When the Greatness of God and one's own humility and helplessness are truly reflected in the heart, that condition itself instructs the worshipper that that is the means of offering true prayer. True worshippers know well that a concept of these two matters is essential for prayer: first, that God Almighty has the power to foster and to develop and to bestow mercy and reward and that these perfect attributes of His are always in operation; and secondly, that man can achieve nothing without the help and support of the Divine. These two concepts are such that when they are established in the heart at the time of prayer they work such a change in the condition of the worshipper that, being affected by them, an arrogant one falls on the earth and tears start running from the eyes of a haughty hard-hearted one. This is the machine that puts life in a heedless dead person. Through these two concepts every heart is drawn towards prayer. This is the spiritual means through which the soul of a person turns towards God and observes its own weakness and the need of the help of God. Through it a person arrives at such a stage of selflessness in which no sign of his own opaque existence remains and the glory of a Great Being shines forth and that Being appears as All Merciful and the Support of every being and the Remedy of every ill and the Source of every grace. At last a condition of being lost in God manifests itself in consequence of which a person is left with no inclination towards any part of creation, or towards his own self, or towards his own designs, and is wholly lost in the love of God. By the manifestation of that reality one's own existence and the existence of the rest of creation appear as naught. This condition is called the straight path by God which a servant has been instructed to seek through the supplication: Guide us along the straight path (I :6); that is to say: Bestow upon us that path of losing of self and Unity of God and love of God which has been indicated in the previous verses and cut us asunder altogether from everything beside Thee. In short, God Almighty has bestowed such true means upon man for creating eagerness in prayer that through their adoption a supplicant is transported from the consciousness of self to the world of non- existence. It should be borne in mind that the Surah Fatihah is not merely one of the many means for seeking guidance, but as has been established by the arguments that have been already set forth, it is the only means by the adoption of which prayer is offered with the eagerness of the heart and which the nature of man desires to follow under the urge of a natural demand. The truth is that as God has appointed rules for other matters, there is a particular rule for prayer and that rule is set out in the Surah Fatihah. It is not possible that there should be eagerness in prayer unless the factors that inspire the heart with eagerness are present to the mind. Thus the natural way of prayer is that which is set out in the Surah Fatihah. It is one of the excellencies of that Surah that it sets out prayer along with those factors that inspire it (Braheen Ahmadiyyah Volume V , Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984) vol. 21., pp. 476-483, footnote 11).

A Humble Prayer

Most Merciful One, a humble servant of Thine, useless and full of errors and without any merit, Ghulam Ahmad, who dwells in India supplicates: Most Merciful One, be Thou pleased with me and forgive my mistakes and sins for Thou art most Forgiving and Merciful. Cause me to do that which should please Thee greatly. Put away my ego from me as far as the east is from the west and make my life and my death and every faculty that I have, devoted to Thee. Keep me alive in Thy love and cause me to die in Thy love and raise me up among Thy perfect lovers.

Most Merciful One, do Thou, by Thy grace, carry to its conclusion the task for which Thou hast appointed me and the service for which Thou hast created eagerness in my heart. Establish conclusively the truth of Islam through the hand of this humble one in the eyes of the opponents of Islam and in the eyes of all those who are unaware of the excellencies of Islam. Keep this humble one and his friends and sincere companions in the shade and support of Thy forgiveness and Graciousness. Be Thou the Provider for them in matters of faith and in matters of the world and transport all of them to the house of Thy pleasure and send down peace and blessings to the utmost degree upon Thy Messenger and his companions and followers. Amen (Qadian Alfazal, October 11, 1942).

[Note: This prayer was sent by the Promised Messiah in a letter to Hazrat Sufi Ahmad Jan Sahib of Ludhiana and he was instructed It is your duty that you should pray in these very words, without any change, on my behalf in the House of Allah, before the Most Merciful One. Keep this letter with you to help your memory. Accordingly, Sufi Sahib, on the day of the great pilgrimage in the year I302 A.H. offered this prayer in the House of Allah in a loud voice while his companions continued to respond with Amen.]

My Powerful God, hear my humble prayers and open the ears and hearts of this people. Show us the time when the worship of false deities should disappear from the world and Thou shouldst be worshipped sincerely in the earth. The earth might be filled with Thy righteous servants who believe in Thy Unity as the ocean is filled with water and the greatness and truth of Thy Messenger Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, might be established in the hearts of people. Amen. My Powerful God, show me this change in this world and accept my prayers for Thou hast all power and strength. Amen, O Powerful God. Our last call is that all praise belongs to God the Lord of the worlds Haqiqatul Wahi (Qadian, Magazine Press 1907) , Now published in Ruhani Khazain (London, 1984) vol. 22. Tatimah, p. I64).

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