After reciting the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first chapter Al Fatiha of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo’menine, Zafrullah Domun said:

I told you last week that I will be starting a series of sermons on the most important subject of supplications. By the grace of Allah I said a few words about this matter in my Eid sermon and I will continue talking where I left off. We have to bear in mind that Hazrat Masih Maood ^as has made it very clear to all of us in his writings and speeches and casual talks that our duties are divided in two parts. One is our duties to Allah like namaz, roza, Zakaat and hajj. The next is our duties to our fellow human beings, that is to say how do we deal with them. He has told us that unless and until our dealings with our fellow human beings are not according to the pleasure of Allah we will not get a pass mark in our duties with Allah however advanced we might think that we are in this field. I simpler words it means that our namaz, roza, Zakaat and hajj will be of no avail if we do not exhibit excellent conduct with our fellow human beings. For example someone may pray five times daily and he might also fast during the month of Ramadan and pay the Zakaat and go for hajj many times over but if he cheats on his wife or he has dishonest business transactions or he is a habitual backbiter, all his worships are vain. That is why the criteria for the acceptance of your fulfillment of your duties towards Allah are dependent upon how you behave towards your fellow human beings. This is a concept that I hope will be clear to everyone by now.

I hope you still remember the long hadith that I told you about some time back where some beautiful actions of many persons were being rejected because they were tainted with some characteristics that were not approved by Allah. You may have a look again on our website. It was the sermon of 6^th February 2009. This hadith teaches us how we should aim at developing absolute sincerity in our intentions and we should make Allah the be-all and end–all of our existence. Then one may ask why is it then that I am talking about the subject of supplications (do’a)? The fact is that all prophets, friends of Allah, saints have attained to their status definitely through Allah’s Grace. But that door to that Grace was opened by the supplications that these people made to Allah. When we read the history of Islam during the past 14 hundred years we see that all those who progressed spiritually did so because they developed a personal relationship with Allah. They saw to it that their relationship with their Lord developed throughout their lifetime and never did they ever relax and think that they had arrived at their destination. Until their last breath they kept praying and supplicating their Lord.

Allah sent Hazrat Masih Maood^as as the Messiah and Mahdi so that he might remove the Muslims from darkness and bring them back to light which is where they should be. Unfortunately the majority of Muslims have up till now ignored his message and they are all paying the price of this rejection. But that is a different story. Hazrat Masih has told us several times that his Jamaat has been given no other weapon besides the weapon of making supplications to Allah with the hope that they will be accepted. Hence every Ahmadi who has joined the Jamaat of Hazrat Masih Maood should strive to develop within himself the capacity and passion to make supplications to Allah. But this is no easy task. We cannot just will this capacity to be present within us. But Allah can will it to be present within us. But this will happen only to those who show themselves to be selflessly devoted to Allah in the true sense of the word. And this will happen when we understand what self purification is and how to achieve it. And for this to happen we should become constantly engaged in prayers. In fact it is the daily prayers that hold the key to bringing about the transformation that was to usher in a revolution in the thinking and actions of people around the world.

Those who think that by just forming part of Jamaat Ahmadiyya they are saved are completely mistaken. Unless and until there is a determination on the part of each Ahmadi to carry out his personal struggle to achieve the purpose for which he has joined the Jamaat, no significant progress will be made by the majority to find true salvation. Remember that our salvation depends more upon how we act with our fellow human beings than how we fulfill our obligations to Allah. But the key to improving both our relationship with our fellow human beings and our relationship with Allah is through supplications made to Allah. So, for today, I will read to you some extracts from the writings of Hazrat Masih Maood^as where he advises us on this most important subject. I hope all of you will take to heart these teachings and you will profit by them to unlock the door to your personal salvation and that of your dear ones incha Allah.

“I say truly that if crying before God Almighty is in the utmost humility, it moves His grace and mercy and draws them. I can say it out of my own experience that I have felt and seen the grace and mercy of God, which come in the shape of the acceptance of prayer, pulling towards themselves. If the dark-minded philosophers of this age cannot feel it or see it, this verity cannot disappear from the world, especially as I am ready at all times to demonstrate the acceptance of prayer” (AlHakam, Vol 5No. 28-34 July 31, September 17, 1901 reprinted in Malfoozat, Vol.I, p. 198).

Explaining further the changes that were brought about by the Holy Prophet Mohammad^saw he says:

“There are many instances of this in the holy Books of God Almighty. Some types of miracles are in reality the acceptance of prayer. The source of thousands of miracles that were manifested by the Prophets and the wonders that have been exhibited throughout by the saints was prayer, and it is through the effect of prayer that extraordinary events display the power of the All-Powerful. Are you aware what was the wonderful event that happened in the deserts of Arabia, that hundreds of thousands of the dead came alive within a few days, and those who had been corrupted through generations took on Divine color, and the blind began to see, and the tongues of the dumb began to flow with Divine insights, and such a revolution took place in the world which no eye had seen and no ear had heard before? It was the prayers during dark nights of one who had been wholly lost in God which created uproar in the world and manifested such wonders as had appeared impossible in the case of that unlearned helpless one. O Allah send down blessings and peace on him and on his people according to the number of his griefs and sorrows for the Muslims and send down upon him the lights of Thy mercy for ever. I have experience that the effect of prayers is greater than the effect of fire and water. Indeed in the systems of natural means nothing has greater effect than prayer.”

In almost all his speeches in Jalsa salanas he did not miss an opportunity to emphasize the importance of supplications to Allah. Once he said:

“When a child being driven by hunger cries for milk, then milk is generated in the mother's breasts. The child does not know what prayer is, but his cries draw the milk. This is a universal experience. Sometimes when the mother does not perceive the presence of milk in her breasts, the child's cries help to draw it. Then can our cries before God Almighty draw nothing? They certainly draw everything, but the learned ones and philosophers, who are blind, cannot see it. If a person were to reflect on the philosophy of prayer, keeping in mind the connection and relationship which a child has with its mother, it would be quite easy. The second type of mercy comes into operation after supplication. Go on asking and it will be given to you. Call on Me, I shall respond to you, is not mere words, but is a characteristic of human nature. It is human to supplicate and it is a Divine characteristic to respond. He who does not understand and does not believe is false. The illustration of the child that I have set forth expounds the philosophy of prayer in an excellent way.” {Malfoozat, Vol. 1, p, p. 129-130}

There is a very beautiful supplication that can be made in ruku or sajdah or in qiyam in Namaz and it is as follows “ Subhanak Allahoumma wa behamdeka amartana bid do’a wa wa’adtana bil istijaaba”. It means “Pure art Thou Oh My Lord and all praise are for You; You have commanded us to supplicate you and You have promised to accept our supplications.” Try it and you will see how it increases your inclination towards Allah and how it increases your humility in front of Him.

Speaking about perseverance in making supplications Hazrat Messiah said:

“It is at a time of trial that the wonderful and rare qualities and effects of prayer are manifested. The truth is that God is recognized only through prayer.

Prayer is a wonderful thing. It is a pity that those who pray are not aware of the true manner of prayer, nor are they acquainted with the ways of the acceptance of prayer. The truth is that the very reality of prayer has become strange. There are some who deny the effectiveness of prayer altogether and there are others who do not deny it, but as their prayers are not accepted on account of their lack of knowledge of the manner of prayer and are not prayers in the true sense, their condition is worse than that of those who deny the effectiveness of prayer. Their practical condition has pushed many others to the verge of atheism. The first condition for prayer is that a supplicant should not get tired and become a prey to despair that nothing will happen. Sometimes it is seen that a prayer is carried on till it is about to be accepted and then the supplicant gets tired and the result is failure and frustration. Frustration results in the denial and effectiveness of prayer and gradually culminates in the denial of God. It is said if there is God Who accepts prayer why have not those prayers been accepted which were offered over a long period? If those who think thus and stumble were to reflect upon their lack of perseverance, they would come to know that all their frustration is the result of their own haste and impatience which generated an ill concept of the powers of God and resulted in despair. So one should never get tired.

Praying is like the sowing of a seed by a cultivator. By carrying out sowing over a field, he places underground the seed corn. Who can expect at that time that every grain of seed will be nurtured like a good plant and will bring a harvest? Outsiders and even the cultivator himself cannot see that the grain is assuming the form of a plant inside the earth. But the reality is that within a few days the grain undergoes a change and begins to assume the shape of a plant till its shoot emerges from the earth and becomes visible to everyone. From the moment when the grain was placed in the earth it had started its preparation to become a plant, but an eye that can only perceive the visible was not aware of it till its shoot emerged from the earth and became visible. An ignorant child cannot understand at that stage that it will bear fruit only at its due time. He desires to see it bearing fruit immediately, but an intelligent cultivator will know what is the time of its bearing fruit. He looks after it steadfastly and nurtures it till the time comes when it bears fruit and that fruit ripens.”(Malfoozaat Vol 4)

Most of these extracts are taken from the www.alislam.org website. Those who have access to the internet should spend time reading these materials. Instead of making bad use of a good facility I advise the young ones that they do go on the website and better their knowledge of Ahmadiyyat before they will have to render account of their deeds to Allah. Let us pray that Allah makes our rendering of the account easy for all of us. More incha Allah next week.